p their search for us. We forgot how
fast the wreck had been drifting away. Ours seemed a hard fate.
Without food or water, unless picked up we must evidently soon perish.
Mr Merton addressed us in a spirited, manly way. He told us not to
despair--that many poor fellows had been much worse off than we were,
and that certainly by daylight we should be seen by our shipmates in the
boats, and be supplied with what we wanted. If not, we were exactly in
the track of homeward-bound vessels coming from America, and that we
should be certainly fallen in with.

It was a very dreary night, though. All we could do was to sit quiet
and watch the burning wreck. Gradually the flames burnt lower and
lower. Then a huge glowing ember appeared, and that suddenly sank from
sight. In spite of our position, I had fallen asleep, when I was
aroused by a loud shout from my companions. It was in answer to a cry
which came floating over the water from a distance. We waited eagerly
listening. Again the far-off cry was repeated. Loudly we cheered in
return, for we were very hungry, and had not yet had time to grow weak
from hunger. In less than twenty minutes the boats came dashing up
round us, and we found ourselves amply supplied with provisions, which
we discussed with no small appetites. The captain then addressed us
all; he told us that we must husband our provisions and water, as we
could not tell when any vessel might fall in with us. He then urged the
people in the other boats to remain by the raft, and suggested that in
the day-time they should extend themselves about ten miles on either
side so as to have a wider field of observation, but in the night that
they should come back and hang on to the raft.

I ought to have said there were four boats, and thus we were able to
command a range of vision of at least fifty miles. That is to say--the
raft being in the centre--the boats were twenty miles apart, and from
each boat a sail of fifteen miles off could at all events be seen. The
plan was agreed on. We had secured a long spar, which we set up as a
mast in the centre of the raft, with a flag at its head, so that the
boats could always have us in view; besides which, several compasses had
been saved which would enable them to find us even in thick weather.
All we had now, therefore, much to fear from was bad weather and a long
detention, when we might run short of provisions. The day passed away,
and no sign of a vessel