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another of porter were handed to us, with the table-cloth and a knife, which proved very useful; but the fire raged so fiercely in the body of the vessel, that neither bread nor water could be come at.
It was now about nine o’clock: the rain poured in torrents : the lightning continued to stream from one side of the heavens to the other, one moment dazzling us by its glare, and the next leaving us in darkness, relieved only by the red flames of the conflagration, from which we were trying to escape.
Our first object was to get clear of the vessel, lest she should explode and overwhelm us. But to our great distress we discovered that the yawl had no rudder, and that in the two boats we had only three oars, all exertions to obtain more from the ship having proved unsuccessful. From the gig, which had a rudder, they gave us a rope’s end to keep us in tow; and by means of a few spars, found at the bottom of the boat, we assisted in moving ourselves slowly through the water. Providentially the sea was very still, or our boats would have swamped and we must have perished. There was also very little wind, but it sometimes changed, and assisted by the prevailing current, urged forward the burning ship; for the sails, being drenched with rain, did not easily take fire. Our situation, therefore, was for
