A young man quite naked, who stood before him, eagerly seized the sleeve of his shirt, and for some moments deprived him of this salutary refreshment. It was not yet midnight. The small number of those who were left, were transported to the greatest excess of rage and despair. They all called aloud for air, because the water that had been brought to them afforded no relief. Soon after this the noise suddenly ceased. The greater part who were living laid themselves down, deprived of all their strength, and peaceably breathed their last. Others aimed at getting into _Holwell’s_ situation; a Dutchman mounted on one of his shoulders, and a black soldier on the other. In this situation he remained till two in the morning, when he gave up his place to a marine officer, who was soon forced out of it by the Dutchman. The officer retired with _Holwell_ to the other corner of the prison, and in a few moments afterwards died. _Holwell_ himself was soon deprived of sense, and from that time till sun rise we have no account of what passed. One of those who remained alive, at five in the morning, drew forth _Holwell_ from the heap of dead, and found in him some signs of life; about that time the Viceroy inquired whether he was still alive; he was told, that if the door was immediately opened, it would, perhaps, be possible to recover him, and orders were accordingly given for this purpose. But the door of the prison opened inwards, and they who were within it, and living, were deprived of all their strength, so that more than twenty minutes elapsed before the dead bodies were removed, which prevented the door from being opened. At a quarter after six o’clock, there came out of this melancholy dungeon three and twenty persons, the remains of the hundred and forty-six who had entered it on the preceding evening. Upon the events thus related we have to remark, that no advice could be more judicious than that given by _Holwell_ to his companions in the early part of their imprisonment—“to be quiet and orderly, and not to exhaust their strength by useless efforts.” Nor can we imagine any measure more calculated to increase the sufferings of their situation than that which was subsequently proposed, and adopted, by another of the company, “to fan the air with their hats, and to kneel down and rise together, by a simultaneous motion.” It has been satisfactorily established by physiological researches, that the demand for oxygen, in an animal body, will be in proportion to its expenditure by muscular exertions.[49] Whenever, therefore, circumstances may render a supply of air deficient, we shall best economise that which we possess by perfect quiet. _Lavoisier_ says, that a man, under ordinary circumstances, consumes 1300 or 1400 cubic inches of oxygen in an hour, but he found that if he is engaged in raising weights the consumption is at the rate of 3200 in the hour.