Julia lay fainting with terror and sickness in the cabin, and
Ferdinand, though almost hopeless himself, was endeavouring to support
her, when aloud and dreadful crash was heard from above. It seemed as
if the whole vessel had parted. The voices of the sailors now rose
together, and all was confusion and uproar. Ferdinand ran up to the
deck, and learned that part of the main mast, borne away by the wind,
had fallen upon the deck, whence it had rolled overboard.
It was now past midnight, and the storm continued with unabated fury.
For four hours the vessel had been driven before the blast; and the
captain now declared it was impossible she could weather the tempest
much longer, ordered the long boat to be in readiness. His orders were
scarcely executed, when the ship bulged upon a reef of rocks, and the
impetuous waves rushed into the vessel:--a general groan ensued.
Ferdinand flew to save his sister, whom he carried to the boat, which
was nearly filled by the captain and most of the crew. The sea ran so
high that it appeared impracticable to reach the shore: but the boat
had not moved many yards, when the ship went to pieces. The captain
now perceived, by the flashes of lightning, a high rocky coast at
about the distance of half a mile. The men struggled hard at the oars;
but almost as often as they gained the summit of a wave, it dashed
them back again, and made their labour of little avail.
After much difficulty and fatigue they reached the coast, where a new
danger presented itself. They beheld a wild rocky shore, whose cliffs
appeared inaccessible, and which seemed to afford little possibility
of landing. A landing, however, was at last affected; and the sailors,
after much search, discovered a kind of pathway cut in the rock, which
they all ascended in safety.
The dawn now faintly glimmered, and they surveyed the coast, but could
discover no human habitation. They imagined they were on the shores of
Sicily, but possessed no means of confirming this conjecture. Terror,
sickness, and fatigue had subdued the strength and spirits of Julia,
and she was obliged to rest upon the rocks.
The storm now suddenly subsided, and the total calm which succeeded to
the wild tumult of the winds and waves, produced a striking and
sublime effect. The air was hushed in a deathlike stillness, but the
waves were yet violently agitated; and by the increasing light, parts
of the wreck were seen floating wide upon the face of the deep. Some
sailors, who had missed the boat, were also discovered clinging to
pieces of the vessel, and making towards the shore. On observing this,
their shipmates immediately descended to the boat; and, putting off to
sea, rescued them from their perilous situation. When Julia was
somewhat reanimated, they proceeded up the country in search of a
dwelling.