opinion, was not to be neglected, especially as the water was now up to the cabin windows. On coming out, I found every one, excepting the Captain, in the greatest alarm; all dreading that the ship would suddenly slip off the rock, and drag the boats down with her, thereby rendering our escape impossible, and our destruction inevitable.
Although the Captain and myself were still persuaded that there was no immediate danger of such an accident, yet, in acquiescence with the general wish, the order was given, which there was no occasion to repeat, for all hands to go into the boats; and we left, with sorrowful hearts, the ship that had conveyed us in safety through stormy seas, so many thousand miles, just as the sun,—emblematic of her fate,—had sunk in the western wave.
