ROBINSON CRUSOE 37

all have perished immediately ; and we were immediately driven
into our close quarters, to shelter us from the very foam and
spray of the sea.

It is not easy for any one who has not been in the like con-
dition to describe or conceive the consternation of men in such
circumstances. We knew nothing where we were, or upon what
land it was we were driven—whether an island or the main,
whether inhabited or not inhabited. As the rage of the wind
was still great, though rather less than at first, we could not so
much as hope to have the ship hold many minutes without
breaking into pieces, unless the winds, by a kind of miracle,
should turn immediately about. In a word, we sat looking
upon one another, and expecting death every moment, and
every man, accordingly, preparing for another world ; for there
was little or nothing more for us to do in this, That which was
our present comfort, and all the comfort we had, was that,
contrary to our expectation, the ship did not break yet, and
that the master said the wind began to abate.

Now, though we thought that the wind did a little abate,
yet the ship having thus struck upon the sand, and sticking
too fast for us to expect her getting off, we were in a dreadful
condition indeed, and had nothing to do but to think of saving
our lives as well as we could. We had a boat at our stern just
before the storm, but she was first staved by dashing against
the ship’s rudder, and in the next place she broke away, and
either sunk or was driven off to sea; so there was no hope from
her. We had another boat on board, but how to get her off into
the sea was a doubtful thing. However, there was no time to
debate, for we fancied that the ship would break in pieces every
minute, and some told us she was actually broken already.

In this distress the mate of our vessel laid hold of the boat,
and with the help of the rest of the men got her slung over
the ship’s side ; and getting all into her, let go, and committed
ourselves, being eleven in number, to God’s merey and the
wild sea; for though the storm was abated considerably, yet
the sea ran dreadfully high upon the shore, and might be well
called den wild zee, as the Dutch eall the sea in a storm.

And now our case was very dismal indeed; for we all saw
_ plainly that the sea went so high that the boat could not live,
_ and that we should be inevitably drowned. As to making sail,
_ We had none, nor if we had could we have done anything with
it; so we worked at the oar towards the land, though with
heavy hearts, like men going to execution; for we all knew
that when the boat came near the shore she would be dashed in