_Our wreck was caused by a heavy gust of wind from the Southeast, which arose when we were near the shore,--a wind so strong that in spite of all the diligence of our Pilot and his Sailors, and the vows and prayers which we made to avert the disaster, we could not avoid striking upon the rocks. This was on the 26th day after our departure, saint Barthelemy's day, about nine o'clock in the evening. Of the 24 who were in the barque, ten only escaped, the others being suffocated in the water. The two nephews of Father Noyrot kept company with their uncle, and there the bodies were buried,_ [277] _among others that of Father Noyrot and our brother; of the seven others we have no tidings, notwithstanding the search that has been made. It would be difficult for me to tell you how Father de Vieuxpont[45] and I escaped shipwreck, and I believe it is known only to God, who, in harmony with the purposes of his divine providence, has preserved us; for in regard to myself, not thinking it within the bounds of human possibility that I could escape this danger, I had resolved to remain in the ship's cabin with our brother Louys. We were preparing ourselves to meet death, which could not be farther away than three_ Miserere's, _when I heard some one call me on the deck of the ship. I thought it might be some one who was planning my rescue. I went up and found it was Father Noyrot, who asked me to again give him absolution. After having given it to him, and having all sung together the_ Salve Regina, _I was obliged to remain above, for there was no means of descending; the sea being so high and the wind so furious, that, in less than no time, the side which leaned toward the rocks was broken in pieces. I was near Father Noyrot, when a wave struck the ship so hard on the side where we were that it broke everything, separating me from Father Noyrot, from whose lips I heard these last words_: In manus tuas Domine, &c. _I found myself after this blow entangled in four pieces of wood, two of which struck me so hard on the chest and the other two hit me so heavily upon the back, that I thought I should die before being engulfed in the waves; but then came another sea, which, freeing me from these pieces of wood, carried me off, and my cap and slippers, and scattered the rest of the ship over the sea. Fortunately, I fell upon a plank to which I clung, and which happened to be attached to the rest of the side of the ship. We were then at the mercy of the waves, which did not spare us, but which rose, I know not how many cubits above us, and then fell forward over our heads. After having floated about a long time in this manner, in the darkness of the night, which had already set in, looking around me I saw that we were surrounded on all sides by pine trees, and