Accidents > Dangers of the deep, or, Narratives of shipwreck and adventure at sea

OP DR. JOHNSON.
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leak vas incurable, that it could not be stop¬
ped, and that the water was rushing in so fast,
we must instantly perish. They said nothing,
however, that we did not read in their visages,
where our fate was pictured.
“ There was no time for consultation ; the
long-boat was hoisted out, and guns discharged
as a signal of distress to Bartholomew Cook,
the master of a ship in company, only a little
a-head. Trusting to relief, we leapt into the
boat; but unfortunately I fell short, and with
difficulty got out of the sea; no sooner had I
secured myself, than a mariner leapt from the
ship upon me, and crushed me down with his
weight. This I did not regret, as I should
willingly have borne them all to have saved
their lives. There was only one person remain¬
ing onboard, who made such grievous lamenta¬
tions, that although the ship’s sails now lay on
the water, and her sinking would have drawn
down the boat along with her, we approached
and took him in.
“We now rowed clear of the ship, when
not seeing Bartholomew Cook come to our
relief, we began to talk reproachfully of him,
as if he were negligent of our welfare; un¬
happily this honest master drank a deeper