The Arkansas advocate., 1830-05-12

He had no time, however, to attend to any thing but the concerns of his own ship; the men were now in confusion. scfanbling about the rigging, and en- deavoring to take in the expanded sails, and leave nothing but the bare masts ex- posed, so that the hurricane might blow over. On deck, the officers were running from one quarter to another, issuing or ders, but 1t was all in vain. The topsails were almost untouched, when the squaIl reached them, and the mainsail was only half clewed up, whentheimpetuous gust of wind filled it in an instant, and rend- cred t totally impossible to take 1t in, the whole ocean had become suddenly swolnand bilIowy, whilst the raging wind blew sheets of foam from every wave that eurled above it, and rushed with a terrific sound through the nasts and rig ging in the Syren. All this had passed in a shorter time than have taken tore late 1t: terror for a moment seemed to paralize the efforts of the crew, and in the next, the resistlcss tempest laid the vessel on her side; the sea rushed in iin- petuously, and as the storm continued to bear her stern under water, she filled in an instant, and sunk into the terrific gulf; q tremendous whirlpool accompa- nied her decent, and as the waters closed above her, gursgylingg rush ef snowy foam arose to the surface of the sea, bearing with it some floating spars of timber and some water-casks, which had been lying on the decks.
 At the moment of her descent. Frank grasped convulsively the mast, but the powerful current of the whirlpool quick ly disengaged him from his hold, and he rose half stiaed to the surface; here again he was rapidly sinking, when q wave threw him towards a beam of tim- Der which came up close behind him. He grasped 1t with desperate force and finding that it was sufficient to support l his weight, he continued to cling to it, in spite of the haileting of the waves. 1t was now So dark that the AdmiraIs vessel was totally hidden from his sight, nor could he distinguish any object, even at very few yards distance, but all around him he faneied he could hear the dying gurgling screams of his drown ing companions. At the same moment he felt the hand of some struggling wretch lay hold upon him; and on turn ing around, he saw the writhing features of poor Godfrey for an instant, as he was sinking forever beneath the remorse- less pillows. Trembling with terror V overPowering agony, he grasped still closer the floating beam to which he was elinging; but he heard, nor saw, tor felt no more; he became totally irl- sensible to what was passing around him, and some hours seemed to have elapsed, when he again recovered his consciousness,
 The sun was setting, and the storm had ceased the sky was again pure, and calmand cloudless, but the seawas heav- ing, and troubled and billowy. He saw the Britannia at distance, cruising a. bout, and evidently in search of the sur vivors from the wreck, and he perceiv- cd with agony that it would be pitchs dark before she could come near to where he was; he stroye to rise and stand upon the plank which feebly sup ported him, but he was unable; and mad with terror and disappointment, he screamed and shouted atthe distantship, till his lungs grew sore with the exertion, and his heart sick with dread and appre- hension. Yet still she came not near; she kept on her course in one direction, whilst the wind and the current were rapidly bearing him off towards an is- land which lay to the east of the spot where the Syren had sunk. At last he saw the hurrying sun go down, and darkness brooded over the face of the great deep; he saw the Britannia bear away in the direction she had at first been steering for; and as the last ray Of hope failed him, he abandoned himself to despair.
 1
 During the night, no sound disturbed