{108}[138] ["In this affecting situation both remained four or five days, till _the boy expired_. The unfortunate parent, as if unwilling to believe the fact, raised the body, looked _wistfully_ at it, and when he could no _longer entertain any doubt_, watched it in silence _until_ it was carried _off by sea_; then wrapping himself in a piece of canvas, _sunk down_, and rose no more; though he must have lived two days longer, as we judged from the _quivering of his limbs_ when a wave broke over him."--"Narrative of the Shipwreck of the _Juno_, 1795," _Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea_, p. 274.] {109}[139] [_"About this time a beautiful white bird, web-footed, and not unlike a dove in size and plumage_, hovered over the mast-head of the cutter, and, notwithstanding the pitching of the boat, frequently _attempted to perch on it_, and continued _fluttering there till dark_. Trifling as such an incident may appear, we all considered it a _propitious omen_."--"Loss of the _Lady Hobart_, 1803," _Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea_, 1812, iii. 389.] [140] ["I found it necessary to caution the people against being deceived by the _appearance of land_, or calling out till we were quite convinced of its reality, more especially as _fog-banks_ are often mistaken for land: several of the poor fellows nevertheless repeatedly exclaimed _they heard breakers_, and some the _firing of guns_."--"Loss of the _Lady Hobart," Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea_, 1812, iii. 391.] {110}[141] ["_At length one of them broke out into a most immoderate swearing fit of joy_, which I could not restrain, and declared, that _he had never seen land in his life, if what he now saw was not so_."--"Loss of the _Centaur," ibid_., p. 55.] [142] ["The joy at a speedy relief affected us all in a most remarkable way. Many _burst into tears; some looked at each other with a stupid stare, as if doubtful_ of the reality of what they saw; while several were in such a lethargic condition, that no animating words could rouse them to exertion. At this affecting period, I proposed offering up our solemn thanks to Heaven for the miraculous deliverance."--"Loss of the _Lady Hobart," ibid_., p. 391.] [143] [After having suffered the horrors of hunger and thirst for many days, "they accidentally descried a _small_ turtle _floating on the surface of the water asleep_."--"Sufferings of the Crew of the _Thomas," ibid_., p. 356.] {111}[144] ["An indifferent spectator would have been at a loss which most to admire; the eyes of famine sparkling at immediate relief, or the horror of their preservers at the sight of so many spectres, whose ghastly countenances, if the cause had been unknown, would rather have excited terror than pity. Our bodies were nothing but skin and bones, our limbs were full of sores, and we were clothed in rags."--_Narrative of the Mutiny of the Bounty_, by William Bligh, 1790, p. 80. Compare _The Siege of Corinth_, lines 1048, 1049, _Poetical Works_, 1900, iii. 494, note 3.]