After believing themselves buried, they declare their resurrection; they

feverishly embrace what they do not yet possess; it is clear that the

bad luck has turned; they declare themselves satisfied; they are saved;

they cry quits with God. They should not be in so great a hurry to give

receipts to the Unknown.

The sou'-wester set in with a whirlwind. Shipwrecked men have never any

but rough helpers. The Matutina was dragged rapidly out to sea by the

remnant of her rigging--like a dead woman trailed by the hair. It was

like the enfranchisement granted by Tiberius, at the price of violation.

The wind treated with brutality those whom it saved; it rendered service

with fury; it was help without pity.

The wreck was breaking up under the severity of its deliverers.

Hailstones, big and hard enough to charge a blunderbuss, smote the

vessel; at every rotation of the waves these hailstones rolled about the

deck like marbles. The hooker, whose deck was almost flush with the

water, was being beaten out of shape by the rolling masses of water and

its sheets of spray. On board it each man was for himself.

They clung on as best they could. As each sea swept over them, it was

with a sense of surprise they saw that all were still there. Several had

their faces torn by splinters.

Happily despair has stout hands. In terror a child's hand has the grasp

189

The Man Who Laughs