The question was anxiously deliberated, whether they should still brave the peril of the seas. Paul, probably speaking, not by inspiration, but from his own natural intelligence and caution, warned them, that, if they continued their voyage, not only would the safety of the ship be imperilled, but also the lives of all on board; but as the present anchorage was incommodious to winter in, and there was no other good harbor near, it was decided, notwithstanding the warning of Paul, to continue the voyage. About fifty miles west of the Fair Havens, on the southern coast of the Island of Crete, was the seaport of Phenice. Some who had been there spoke of that harbor as a safe one, and urged, that, at all hazards, they should try to reach Phenice, where they could winter if it were deemed expedient. Taking advantage of a gentle south wind, they were sailing close by the southern shore of Crete, when suddenly a very fierce tempest arose from the north-east,――a hurricane, probably such as is now called a Levanter, but then called Euroclydon,――and they were driven helplessly before it, in hourly peril of being ingulfed. About forty miles off the southern coast of Crete was situated the small Island of Clauda. Under the lee of this island, they succeeded with great difficulty in saving the small boat which was attached to the ship, and which had been in great peril of being staved to pieces. The fury of the wind and waves was such, that there was danger that the over-strained planks would open seams, so that the ship would founder. To obviate this danger, heavy cables were passed around the ship, slipping them over the bows, and tightening them upon deck, so as to bind the loosening planks together. Still the gale was driving them at its mercy towards the coast of Africa. Near that coast there were two dangerous quicksands, ever shifting their places under the wash of the surging sea, so that their position could never be laid down with certainty in any chart. The storm raged with increasing fury until the third day, when they endeavored to lighten the ship by throwing over a portion of her cargo. Still the days and nights of peril came and went. Thick clouds darkened the sky. Neither sun nor stars were visible. All reckoning was lost, as the shifting gale drove them they knew not whither. During this terrible tempest, the suffering of body and mind was such, and the labors of the crew so incessant, that there had been no opportunity for receiving food. All now seemed to have surrendered themselves to despair. The opening seams indicated that the ship must soon founder. In this hour of extremity, Paul said to the officers,――