he quarter-deck being, as I said, quite rotten, cut
them off clean level with the main chains, sweeping them, and guns, and
men, all overboard together. The mizzenmast went, but the mainmast held
on, and I was under its lee at the time, and was saved by clinging on
like a nigger, while for a minute I was under the water, which carried
almost all away with it to leeward. As soon as the water passed over
me, I looked up and around me--it was quite awful; the quarter-deck was
cut off as with a knife--not a soul left there, that I could see; no man
at the wheel--mizzen-mast gone--skylights washed away--waves making a
clear breach, and no defence; boats washed away from the quarters--all
silent on deck, but plenty of noise below and on the main-deck, for the
ship was nearly full of water, and all below were hurrying up in their
shirts, thinking that we were going down. At last the captain crawled
up, and clung by the stancheons, followed by the first lieutenant and
the officers, and by degrees all was quiet, the ship was cleared, and
the hands were turned up to muster under the half-deck. There were
forty-seven men who did not answer to their names--they had been
summoned to answer for their lives, poor fellows! and there was also the
swearing lieutenant not to be found. Well, at last we got the hands on
deck, and put her before the wind, scudding under bare poles. As we
went aft to the taffrail, the bulwark of which still remained, with
about six feet of the quarter-deck bulwark on each side, we observed
something clinging to the stern-ladder, dipping every now and then into
the sea, as it rose under her counter, and assisted the wind in driving
her before the gale. We soon made it out to be a man, and I went down,
slipped a bowling knot over the poor fellow, and with some difficulty we
were both hauled up again. It proved to be the lieutenant, who had been
washed under the counter, and clung to the stern-ladder, and had thus
miraculously been preserved. It was a long while before he came to, and
he never did any duty the whole week we were out, till we got into
Yarmouth Roads; indeed, he hardly ever spoke a word to any one, but
seemed to be always in serious thought. When we arrived, he gave his
commission to the captain, and went on shore; went to school again, they
say, _bore up for a parson_, and, for all I know, he'll preach somewhere
next Sunday. So you see, _water_ drove him out of the sarvice, and
_fire_ fo