o a hurricane,
the thunder rolled frightfully, and the only light which we had to guide
us on our way was the red forked lightning which burst at times from the
bosom of the big black clouds which lowered over our heads. We were
exerting ourselves to the utmost to weather the cape, which we could
descry by the lightning on our lee, its brow being frequently brilliantly
lighted up by the flashes which quivered around it, when suddenly, with a
great crash, the engine broke, and the paddles on which depended our
lives ceased to play.

I will not attempt to depict the scene of horror and confusion which
ensued: it may be imagined, but never described. The captain, to give
him his due, displayed the utmost coolness and intrepidity, and he and
the whole crew made the greatest exertions to repair the engine, and when
they found their labour in vain, endeavoured by hoisting the sails and by
practising all possible manoeuvres to preserve the ship from impending
destruction. But all was of no use; we were hard on a lee shore, to
which the howling tempest was impelling us. About this time I was
standing near the helm, and I asked the steersman if there was any hope
of saving the vessel or our lives; he replied, 'Sir, it is a bad affair;
no boat could for a minute live in this sea, and in less than an hour the
ship will have her broadside on Finisterre, where the strongest
man-of-war ever built must go to shivers instantly. None of us will see
the morning.' The captain likewise informed the other passengers in the
cabin to the same effect, telling them to prepare themselves, and having
done so he ordered the door to be fastened, and none to be permitted to
come on deck. I, however, kept my station, though almost drowned with
water, immense waves continually breaking over our windward side and
flooding the ship; the water-casks broke from their lashings, and one of
them struck me down, and crushed the foot of the unfortunate man at the
helm, whose place was instantly taken by the captain. We were now close
on the rocks, when a horrid convulsion of the elements took place; the
lightning enveloped us as with a mantle, the thunders were louder than
the roar of a million cannon, the dregs of the ocean seemed to be cast
up, and in the midst of all this turmoil the wind, without the slightest
intimation _veered right about_, and pushed us from the horrible coast
faster than it had previously drawn us towards it.

The oldest sailo