ul
sight before our eyes of witnessing the sudden disappearance of an English
brig. She was lying-to, directly on our course, and I was looking at her
from the windlass, trying to form some opinion as to the expediency of our
luffing-to, in order to hold our own. Of a sudden, this brig gave a
plunge, and she went down like a porpoise diving. What caused this
disaster I never knew; but, in five minutes we passed as near as possible
over the spot, and not a trace of her was to be seen. I could not discover
so much as a handspike floating, though I looked with intense anxiety, in
the hope of picking up some fellow-creature clinging to a spar. As for
stopping to examine, one who did not understand the language might as well
hope to read the German character on a mile-stone, while flying past it in
a rail-road car.

At noon, precisely, away went our fore-top-sail out of the gaskets. One
fastening snapped after another, until the whole sail was adrift. The tugs
that this large sheet of canvass gave upon the spars, as it shook in the
wind, threatened to jerk the foremast out of the ship. They lasted about
three minutes, when, after a report almost as loud as that of a small
piece of ordnance, the sail split in ribands. Ten minutes later, our
main-top-sail went. This sail left us as it might be bodily, and I
actually thought that a gun of distress was fired near us, by some vessel
that was unseen, The bolt-rope was left set; the sheets, earings, and reef
points all holding on, the cloth tearing at a single rent around the four
sides of the sail. The scene that followed I scarcely know how to
describe. The torn part of the main-top-sail flew forward, and caught in
the after-part of the fore-top, where it stood spread, as one might say,
held by the top, cat-harpins, rigging, and other obstacles. This was the
feather to break the camel's back. Bolt after bolt of the fore-rigging
drew or broke, each parting with a loud report, and away went everything
belonging to the foremast over the bows, from the deck up. The
main-top-mast was dragged down by this fearful pull, and that brought the
mizen-top-gallant-mast after it. The pitching of so much hamper under the
bows of the ship, while her after-masts stood, threw the stern round, in
spite of the manner in which Marble steered; and the ship broached-to. In
doing this, the sea made a fair breach over her, sweeping the deck of even
the launch and camboose, and carrying all the lee-bulwark