moving it to her lips, "if we should be drowned, we shall die together, and we shall not be separated: we shall meet, where we can part no more." Her feelings now overpowered her, and she fell on my neck and wept. I kissed away the tears from her eyes, saying, "We will trust in the Almighty."

I wanted to go on deck, but was not able to effect it; the companion door would not move, and the sea was dashing over the quarter deck. I, however, got the people there to open one of the side doors a little, and I peeped out. The wind howled horribly, and the sea was all in a foam: the brig was running before the wind, sometimes on one point of the compass, sometimes on another, just as the gale happened to chop round, which it sometimes did, and then the sea broke over the brig while she was veering to the wind. Two of the hands and the yawl had been washed overboard. We continued to be driven by the storm for eight or ten hours, I cannot tell in what direction; but about two or three o'clock in the morning they called out, "Breakers, breakers! land! breakers!" I was below with my wife in the cabin. Being no seaman, I could do no good on deck; but, hearing this, I got up the ladder to the companion door. All was again fast down, and they could not open it; in fact, all hands were too much absorbed by the awfulness of their situation. In a few minutes the vessel struck, and we, who were below, were thrown violently on the cabin floor. The poor dog, our faithful Fidele, howled mournfully as he was driven to the further end of the cabin: this, at such a moment, had a powerful effect on us. "We are indeed lost!" said

my wife, as she recovered a little from the fall she had just received. I did not now wait to console her by my words: I renewed my efforts to force the companion door, and get upon deck; but it was perfect darkness where we were, and I could not find any thing to add to my own ineffectual strength, nor could I make any one on deck attend to me; they could not hear me for the noise made by the howling of the wind and the breaking of the sea; yet I sometimes heard them, and could discover that they were cutting away the wreck of the mainmast, which lay over the side-making ready to get the long boat over the gunwale, to escape, if possible, from the perishing vessel. I now became frantic; I knocked with my hands, and hallooed with all my power, but to no purpose. By accident I stumbled over an empty stone bottle at the foot of the ladder, with the bottom of which I struck the companion door so violently that I succeeded in arresting the attention of the captain. He unbolted it, telling me at the same time, "We are all lost!" but that the men were trying to launch the long boat, our only chance; for, although it was likely she would swamp in the breakers, it was quite certain the brig would go to pieces in a few minutes; and if Mrs. Seaward and I chose to go, we must be up in a second, for "look there!" said he; crying out at the same time, "another shove, lads, and she's all our own !". the long boat was launched; and I returned down the ladder, with all speed. The brig was lying on her starboard side, the sea breaking over her bow and fore-chains; but, from the position of a rocky island to windward, she

was pretty quiet abaft, and to leeward, so that a boat might live under her lee; and I expected the captain would wait for us there a little. The moment I rejoined my dear wife, I urged her instantly to accompany me to the deck, telling her our situation. "No!" said she, "I will not stir, and you will not stir; they must all perish; a boat cannot endure this storm. Let us trust in God, Edward," continued she," and if we die, we die together.". "It is done," I replied; 66 we will not stir.". "Then tell them so," cried she hastily; "and if you can lay your hand on the bread-bag in your way, it may be useful to them, if they survive this hour." I hastened to ascend, at which moment the brig seemed to right, and I was struck back by a column of water rushing down the companion, followed by the shutting to of its doors. The brig had swung off the point of the reef, and the sea then broke over the main chains, the vessel being upright. I now easily succeeded in getting on deck, but no boat was to be seen; yet now and then I thought I heard the voices of the miserable crew at some distance on the brig's quarter; and sometimes I fancied I saw them, when the strong lightning's glare lighted up every thing around for an instant, leaving the immediate darkness greater. The brig soon took the ground again, on a reef within, and heeled over as before, which threw me down the ladder; the companion doors fortunately slamming to after me, as the sea instantly broke over the vessel fore and aft. My ever kind wife hastened to my assistance, but was herself thrown to the other side of the cabin. I was not hurt, so that in a little time I

reached the place where she lay, and we crawled up together to windward, where we endeavoured to secure ourselves. More than an hour passed away with us thus, in dismal darkness below; but we enjoyed the light of God's presence; offering up prayer to him, in short but emphatical ejaculations; and he heard us: we felt the influence of his peace, and were resigned to his will.

Our situation was awful; in all human probability, within one short hour we should be engulfed by an overwhelming sea. With arms folded round each other, we sat, endeavouring to keep our position, and so remained till the heaving motion of the vessel gradually subsided, and at length became scarcely perceptible; but she continued to lie over, nearly on her beam ends. I now again thought it right to reach the deck, and as the ladder had been lashed to its situation, it was not displaced, notwithstanding all the shocks the vessel had sustained. On ascending the ladder, I pushed open the lee half of the companion door, when a gleam of joy rushed upon me, on perceiving that the day had dawned, and that the water to leeward was quite smooth. The brig now lying on the innermost part of the reef, I discovered high land ahead and astern, and a fine sandy beach abreast of us, little more than a mile off. I hastened below to my dear wife, into the dark cabin, exclaiming, "Come to me, my love'; come on deck; it is daylight!" Without a word, she made her way to me, and ascended the ladder. On emerging from darkness into light, her feelings overcame her, and she poured forth her heart to God. After a few moments of abstraction, she

crept down to the lee gunwale of the quarter-deck: "Where is the boat, and our poor companions?" she exclaimed; "I do not see them!". Perhaps," I replied, "they are safely landed on yon beach, and will soon return to take us out of the vessel." I now looked earnestly around me: the mainmast was gone, but the stump was standing; the wreck of it had been cleared away: the foremast remained, but the fore-topmast had gone, and was hanging by its rigging forward: the booms were gone, the boats were gone, the gabbose for cooking gone, the binnacle gone: the hen-coops alone remained in their places; but all the fowls and Guinea-fowls that were in the coop to leeward, were drowned: the ducks which were in the other coop survived, and also four fowls; yet these seemed more dead than alive. All was desolation on deck and aloft; but the day had dawned, and the morning smiled serenely on us, while a gentle calm spread itself over the ocean all around.

The land astern of the brig to the northward, seemed high and well wooded; but our eyes were attracted by the smooth sandy shore, where we wished and hoped to be; and thus gazing, our attention became gradually riveted on a promontory, which terminates the sandy beach to the southward, distant about three miles. The rising sun shone directly upon it, and it was then that it arrested our particular notice, indeed admiration, notwithstanding our critical situation. When these almost

happy emotions had a little subsided, we looked in every direction for the boat, but looked in vain; and then sad misgivings for the fate of the crew