[137] ["Whenever the boy was seized with a fit of retching, the father lifted him up and wiped away the foam from his lips; and if a shower came, he made him open his mouth to receive the drops, or gently squeezed them into it from a rag."—Ibid.]
[138] {108}["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.]
[139] {109}["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.]
[141] {110}["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.]
[144] {111}["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.]
[145] {112}["They discovered land right ahead, and steered for it. There being a very heavy surf, they endeavoured to turn the boat's head to it, which, from weakness, they were unable to accomplish, and soon afterwards the boat upset."—"Sufferings of Six Deserters from St. Helena, 1799," Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, 1812, iii, 371.]
[146] [Compare lines "Written after swimming from Sestos to Abydos," Poetical Works, 1900, iii. 13, note 1; see, too, Letters, 1898, i. 262, 263, note 1.]