dant.

At twelve o'clock, on my taking charge of the deck, the scene bore a
character widely different from that which it presented but three
hours before. We now sailed under close-reefed maintopsail and
foresail. The sea ran high; our bark laboured hard, and pitched
desperately, and the waves lashed her sides with fury, and were
evidently increasing in force and size. Over head nothing was to be
seen but huge travelling clouds, called by sailors the "scud," which
hurried onwards with the fleetness of the eagle in her flight. Now and
then the moon, then in her second quarter, would show her disc for an
instant, but be quickly obscured; or a star of "paly" light peep out,
and also disappear. The well was sounded, but the vessel did not yet
make more water than what might be expected in such a sea; we,
however, kept the pumps going at intervals, in order to prevent the
cargo from sustaining damage. The wind now increased, and the waves
rose higher; about two o'clock A.M. the weather maintopsail-sheet gave
way; the sail then split to ribbons, and before we could clue it up,
was completely blown away from the bolt-rope. The foresail was then
furled, not without great difficulty, and imminent hazard to the
seamen, the storm staysail alone withstanding the mighty wind, which
seemed to gain strength every half-hour, while the sea, in frightful
sublimity, towered to an incredible height, frequently making a
complete breach over our deck.

At four A.M. I was relieved by Thomson, who at daylight apprized me
that the maintopmast was sprung, and that the gale was increasing.
Scarcely had I gone on deck, when a tremendous sea struck us a little
"abaft the beam," carrying every thing before it, and washing
overboard hencoops, cables, water-casks, and indeed every movable
article on the deck. Thomson, almost by miracle, escaped being lost;
but having, in common with the lascars, taken the precaution to lash a
rope round his waist, we were able, by its means, to extricate him
from danger; at the same time the vessel made an appalling lurch,
lying down on her beam-ends, in which position she remained for the
space of two minutes, when the maintopmast, followed by the
foretopmast, went by the board with a dreadful crash; she then
righted, and we were all immediately engaged in going aloft, and with
hatchets cutting away the wreck, each of us being lashed with a rope
round the waist; ropes were also fastened across the deck, in paralle