dred yards from the shore, a French Chasse-mare, or
fishing boat, driving straight for the rocks. I shouted, but the noise
of the breaking sea rendered it inaudible five yards off against such a
wind. Two of her three masts were gone, and by the next flash I could
distinguish several men crouching by the bulwarks, and one at the
tiller. Then came a sudden lurch and a dead stop, a tremendous sea
crashed on deck, and I knew she had struck the rocks on the beach not
fifty yards from where I stood.

Heaven help them, for no earthly power could. I was helpless to render
the slightest assistance. I could only pray, and that I did fervently.
Doubtless the men would jump into the sea, with the very remote chance
of being thrown ashore alive, but that was very improbable.

Still, there _was_ a chance, and I went along the beach, as far as the
nature of the rocky shore would allow me, up and down, up and down, like
a dog on a race course, till at last, among a lot of cordage and fishing
gear, I thought I espied a man cast ashore, and so it was. He was
entangled in the mass of wreckage, and appeared dead. As I thought a
spark of life might still remain, I tried to disengage him, but try as I
would I could not disentangle his legs, so had recourse to my knife to
cut away the ropes which held him so fast. This I found a long process,
but at length I freed the poor fellow, and carried, or rather half
dragged him to the shelter of some rocks, and tried to revive him. His
heart still beat, so I ran to the house and got a bundle of straw and
some brandy. With the straw I made him a kind of bed, as he was a big
man, and the pathway too steep for me to carry him up, and pouring some
brandy into his mouth as he lay back I succeeded in causing him to open
his eyes, after about twenty minutes. I chafed his hands and did all I
could for him, and then ran back to procure more comforts. When I
returned he appeared much better; but although he looked at me he
appeared unable to speak, although he made a curious unintelligible
noise, such as one hears a dumb man make when he wishes to call a
person's attention. I noticed that blood was oozing from the corners of
his mouth, and signed to him to open it, when, to my horror, I perceived
that he had bitten his tongue completely off; hence his inability to
articulate. I then proceeded to examine him all over, but when I touched
his body he gave great groans, so that I would fain have left him alone,