It was curious to observe the different procedure of these different nations upon the same accident. As soon as the squall began to become violent, the masters of the Ragusan vessels, and the French caravaneurs, or vessels trading in the Mediterranean, after having put out every anchor and cable they had, took to their boats and fled to the nearest shore, leaving the vessels to their chance in the storm. They knew the furniture of their ships to be too flimsy to trust their lives to it.
Many of their cables being made of a kind of grass called Spartum, could not bear the stress of the vessels or agitation of the waves, but parted with the anchors, and the ships perished.
On the other hand, the British, Danish, Swedish, and Dutch navigators of the ocean, no sooner saw the storm beginning, than they left their houses, took to their boats, and went all hands on board. These knew the sufficiency of their tackle, and provided they were present, to obviate unforeseen accidents, they had no apprehension from the weather. They knew that their cables were made of good hemp, that their anchors were heavy and strong. Some pointed their yards to the wind, and others lowered them upon deck. Afterwards they walked to and fro on their quarter-deck with perfect composure, and bade defiance to the storm. Not one man of these stirred from the ships, till calm weather, on the morrow, called upon them to assist their feeble and more unfortunate brethren, whose ships were wrecked and lay scattered on the shore.
The
