EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES. 309
nobody could go down below, e.e- Ty one expecting his death every minute, either by fire or v.acer, and were taking leave of each other. Soon after going out of the ad- miral's cabin, 1 favv the flames coming out of the hatchway jf the upper gun-deck ; I returned imme- diately, and took my leave of the petty oiHcers that were there, and went over the ftarboard Itern lad- der, to fave myfelf by fwimming, and, thanks to the Almighty God ! reached a boat, and was taken up.
I had jud got clear of the (hip, when the flames became general, and thofe poor unhappy wretches that could not fwim, were obliged to remain upon the wreck, with the fire falling down upon them. Shortly after the malts went away, and killed numbers, and thofe that were not killed by the mafts, thought themfelves happy to get upon them. But the Ihip rolling by reafon of the great fea, the fire had communicated itfelf to the guns, which fwept them off the deck in great numbers, they being all loaded and {hotted.
Such a terrible fight the oldell men in the fleet fay they never faw. Thus ended our unhappy ihip, after burning about fix hours and a half, who had as complete a crew, and was as well manned as any fhip that ever failed from Eng- land.
Letter from the majier of a mer chant - many under convoy of Admiral Broderick.
THurfday, April i 3th, Ufhant bearing Eall, fixty leagues dillance, at noon, I faw Admiral Broderick hoift a fignal of diilreu ;
upon which I made what f;il I could, and went down on him. At one in the afternoon I could difcern the Prince George on fire; at two drew pretty near her, but thought they might have quenched the fire. At three o'clock I faw plainly there was no quenching it. I was within a hundred yards of her flern, but durlt not venture along-fide, the fea being high j befides the going off of her guns, and danger of blowing up. At four in the afternoon the admiral was taken up fwimming by a mer- chant-fhip's boat, as then the fhips that had boats were all out, and a good many of them loft. The weather proving badjtowarc's night I was within piuol-fhot, and there remained fome time; and picked up four of her crew : and had not two of my men run away wiih my boat the night before we fail- ed from St. Helen's, I am confi- dent I could have faved fixiy or eighty of them at leafl, as 1 was all the time nearer to them than any fhip in the fleet. What made me venture fo near was, that I knew my fhip went well, and was under good command. At fix, what a difmal fight ! the malts and fails all in a blaze; hundreds of fouls hanging by the rope? along- fide, I could count fifty of them hanging over in the flern-ladder, others in the fea on oars, and pieces of wood ; a melancholy Ipeftacle ! befides the difmal cries from the fhip, which Itill ring in my ears. Half an hour palt fix the flames broke out at her broad- fide, and in lefs than five minutes every bit of her was in flames, and {o continued till feven, when fbe overfet, but did not fink. I then ran within twenty yards cf X 3 her.
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