Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 2 (of 2)
General
Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 2 (of 2)
Authors, English -- Biography; Women authors, English -- Biography
The passengers sprang from their berths, aroused by the dreadful
shock, and guessing but too well its import. Then came the crash of
the falling masts, the roar of the waves, as they shattered the cabin
skylight and poured down into the cabin, extinguishing the lights.
These features of the moment are related as recalled by Mrs. Hasty,
sole survivor of the passengers.... The leeward side of the cabin was
already under water, but its windward side still gave shelter, and
here, for three hours, the passengers took refuge, their feet braced
against the long table. The baby shrieked, as well he might, with
the sudden fright, the noise and chill of the water. But his mother
wrapped him as warmly as she could, and in her agony cradled him on
her bosom and sang him to sleep. The girl Celeste was beside herself
with terror; and here we find recorded a touching trait of Ossoli, who
soothed her with encouraging words, and touched all hearts with his
fervent prayer.... The crew had retired to the top-gallant forecastle,
and the passengers, hearing nothing of them, supposed them to have
left the ship. By seven o’clock it became evident that the cabin could
not hold together much longer, and Mrs. Hasty, looking from the door
for some way of escape, saw a figure standing by the foremast, the
space between being constantly swept by the waves. She tried in vain
to make herself heard; but the mate, Davis, coming to the door of
the forecastle, saw her and immediately ordered the men to go to her
assistance. So great was the danger of doing this, that only two of the
crew were willing to accompany him. The only refuge for the passengers
was now in the forecastle, which, from its position and strength of
construction, would be likely to resist longest the violence of the
waves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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