heir
seats, but were obliged to relinquish them, and sit down at the bottom,
holding on by the thwarts. The terrific roaring of the hurricane
prevented any communication, except by gesture. The other boats had
disappeared; lighter than ours, they had flown away faster before the
sweeping element; but we had not been a minute before the wind, before
the sea rose in a most unaccountable manner--it appeared to be by magic.

Of all the horrors that ever I witnessed, nothing could be compared to
the scene of this night. We could see nothing, and heard only the wind,
before which we were darting like an arrow--to where we knew not, unless
it was to certain death. Swinburne steered the boat, every now and then
looking back as the waves increased. In a few minutes we were in a
heavy swell, that at one minute bore us all aloft, and at the next
almost sheltered us from the hurricane: and now the atmosphere was
charged with showers of spray, the wind cutting off the summits of the
waves, as if with a knife, and carrying them along with it as it were in
its arms.

The boat was filling with water, and appeared to settle down fast. The
men baled with their hats in silence, when a large wave culminated over
the stern, filling us up to our thwarts. The next moment we all
received a shock so violent, that we were jerked from our seats.
Swinburne was thrown over my head. Every timber of the boat separated
at once, and she appeared to crumble from under us, leaving us floating
on the raging waters. We all struck out for our lives, but with little
hope of preserving them; but the next wave dashed us on the rocks,
against which the boat had already been hurled. That wave gave life to
some, and death to others. Me, in Heaven's mercy, it preserved: I was
thrown so high up, that I merely scraped against the top of the rock,
breaking two of my ribs. Swinburne, and eight more, escaped with me,
but not unhurt: two had their legs broken, three had broken arms, and
the others were more or less contused. Swinburne miraculously received
no injury. We had been eighteen in the boat, of which ten escaped: the
others were hurled up at our feet; and the next morning we found them
dreadfully mangled. One or two had their skulls literally shattered to
pieces against the rocks. I felt that I was saved, and was grateful:
but still the hurricane howled--still the waves were washing over us. I
crawled further up upon the beach, and found Swinb