The ship was, as I have said, buried in the waters, and within her were the dead bodies sepulchred, as it seemed without a hope, and destitute of aid. But pitying Heaven, which sometimes helps the unfortunate, when at the last extremity, so ordered it, that the vessel was cast ashore by the waves in an open bay, which seemed as if it served as a safe harbour, from its tranquillity. Not far off was a port capable of containing many vessels, and in these waters, as in a clear mirror, might be seen reflected the buildings of a large and populous city, which reared its head on the summit of a lofty hill. The people in the city saw the wreck, and thought that it was a whale or some other large fish that had been encountered by the tempest. A good number sallied forth to see, and ascertaining it to be a ship, the news reached the ears of the King Polycarp, for he was the lord of this city; and accompanied by many persons, amongst whom were his two beautiful daughters, Polycarpa and Sinforosa, he went out to give orders that with capstanes, windlass, and with boats to row round the ship, she should be brought into port. Several men jumped upon the wreck, and told the king that they could plainly hear a sound of knocking within, and they almost fancied of human voices. An old knight, who was standing near the king, said, "I remember, Sire, having once seen in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Gulf of Genoa, a Spanish galley, that in shortening sail had upset like this vessel before us, and remained bottom upwards. Before they turned her over, having first heard a noise, as they say they hear in this, they sawed an opening in the hull, so that they might look into the inside; and upon the light being admitted, they discovered the captain of the vessel and four of his crew all alive therein. I saw this, myself, and the details of the story are given in many Spanish histories. The persons who were thus brought into the world a second time, from the womb of the vessel, are yet living, and if here the same thing should happen, it need not be esteemed a miracle, but a mystery, for miracles are events that occur out of the order of nature, and mysteries are things that seem to be miracles, but yet are not so, only of very rare occurrence."