Page:Melancholy consequences of two sea storms.pdf/10

(10) horror I was in could not prevent me from observing a very curious circumstance, which at any other time would have excited laughter, though now it produced no other emotion than surprise. We happened to be in part laden with mangoes, of which the island of Goa is known to produce the finest in the world, some of them lay in baskets on the poop a little black boy, in the moment of greatest danger, had got seated by them, devouring them voraciously, and crying all the time most bitterly at the horrors of his situation!

"The vessel now got completely water-logged and Mr. Hall and I were employed in forming conjectural calculations how many minutes she could keep above  ter, and consoling one another on the unfortunate circumstances under which we met, lamenting that fate had thus brought us acquainted only to make us witnesses of each other's misery and then to see one another no more.

"As the larboard side of the vessel was gradually going down, the deck, and of course the capster became too nearly perpendicular for us to continue on it: we therefore forsaw the necessity of quitting it, and got upon the starboard side, holding fast the gunnel, and allowing our bodies and legs  yield to the sea as it broke over us. Thus we continued for some time: at length the severity of the labour so entirely exhausted our strength and spirit that our best hope seemed to be a speedy conclusion to our painful death; and we began to have serious intentions of leting go our hold, and yielding ourselves up at once to the fury of the waves.

"The vessel which all this time drifted with t sea and wind gradually approximated the s and at length struck the ground, which for an instant revived our almost departed hopes; but soon found that it did not in the smallest degree