o potent that I frequently found it exceedingly difficult to maintain
that equable coolness and strict friendliness of behaviour demanded by
the exigencies of our peculiar situation. All of which, however, is
merely parenthetical.

Breakfast over, a busy day awaited me. I had used my eyes to good
purpose, even while taking my morning tub; and had observed, among other
things, that the brig's canvas was not furled; it had simply been blown
clear and clean out of the boltropes. When the accident befell her she
had been under courses and single-reefed topsails, spanker, fore-topmast
staysail, and jib, for there the boltropes still were, with small
fluttering rags of canvas still adhering to them, here and there. There
was no difficulty whatever in arriving at a correct conclusion as to
what had happened,--the aspect of the ship told the story as plainly as
her own crew could have related it. The thing had happened after
nightfall--that part of the story was made clear by the litter that had
been shot off the cabin table, and which showed that the skipper and one
of the mates had been at supper at the time. The single-reefed topsails
indicated that it had previously been blowing strong, and I took it that
the night had settled down so dark and cloudy that the officer of the
watch had failed to note the approach of the squall until too late. The
topsail halliards had been let go fore and aft when the squall swooped
down upon them, but before it was possible to do anything further the
brig had been hove down upon her beam-ends, a panic had seized the crew,
they had made a mad rush for the boats, under the conviction that the
vessel was capsizing, and they had either been swamped, or had been
driven out of sight to leeward, before the brig had righted again.
There was no doubt that the squall had been of exceptional violence, for
not only were all the sails blown away, but both topgallant-masts were
gone at the caps--not only broken off but actually torn away, the
rigging that held them having parted.

It would be strange indeed if a vessel, having passed through such an
ordeal as this, should not show signs of having been more or less
strained, and I was quite prepared to find that she had a considerable
amount of water in her. And this anticipation was so far confirmed
that, upon sounding the well, I found close upon three and a half feet
of water in the hold. This was bad enough, still it was hardly as bad
as I ha