The young missionaries, who had for a minute disappeared, were again on deck, and as well as the master himself now took their spell at the pumps with the crew; but still there was no rushing nor alarm apparently amongst them. By and by, I noticed the master go aft, and take upon his knee one of the black boards used to shut up the front of the hencoops in bad weather; on which he appeared to write something, in order, as I conjectured, to communicate with us, as, from the increase of the gale and the sea, there was no use now in attempting to be heard through the trumpet. Evidently with a desire not to alarm the crew, he now quietly slipt the board over the side. On it was written in chalk.
The gale now came thundering down with such violence, that we found it necessary to clew up every thing but the close-reefed foresail, and the tremendous seas that roared astern of us made it doubtful how long we should be able to scud. The distress of the ship was fast increasing; and I noticed that the poor helpless women were now on deck clinging to the old man, whose age rendered it out of the question his attempting to be of any use at the pump.
I shall never forget the group. He was holding on by the mizen-backstay, in a half kneeling position; the youngest woman was beside him in her nightdress, with her long hair hanging lank down and drenched with rain over her deadly pale features, while her fair and taper naked arms were clasped convulsively round his neck, as she hid her face in his bosom. The elder lady was sitting covered with a boat-cloak on the small bench, that ran along the larboard-side of the companion, with one of her arms over the top of it to keep her in her seat, which she seemed to accomplish with great difficulty, as the labouring ship sweltered about on the boiling sea. A sheep, apparently a pet lamb, stood, or rather staggered about, on the deck beside her, every now and then turning up its innocent face and bleating, and trying to poke its head under her cloak.
A sea at this moment broke over the starboard quarter of the ship, and drenched all of them, washing aside the skirt of the cloak that covered the oldest of the females, and disclosing, alas, alas! my poor dear little boy, crying in his mother's arms, and stretching and struggling with his little limbs, as if he had slept through it all, until the very moment when the unruly surge washed him in his nest.