out of the horrible chaos of despair, and, with the other boat still consorting with them, rowed on.  They watched from a distance the piteous sight of the ill-fated steamer settling down, the gay girdle of light that marked the line of her beautiful saloons and cabins gradually sinking nearer and nearer to the blackness, in which they were presently extinguished; and the ship, with all its precious human freight engulfed—­all but the handful left in those two open boats, to brave the dangers of that terrible coast!

They were somewhere off the North Carolina shore, which, when the daylight dawned, they could distinctly see, with its ominous line of breakers and inhospitable perilous coast.  The men had continued rowing all night, and as the summer sun rose flaming over their heads, the task of pulling the boat became dreadfully severe; still they followed the coast, Mr. C——­ looking out for any opening, creek, or small inlet, that might give them a chance of landing in safety.  The other boat rowed on at some little distance from them.

All the morning, and through the tremendous heat of the middle day, they toiled on without a mouthful of food—­without a drop of water.  At length, towards the afternoon, the men at the oars said they were utterly exhausted and could row no longer, and that Mr. C——­ must steer the boat ashore.  With wonderful power of command, he prevailed on them to continue their afflicting labour.  The terrible blazing sun pouring on all their unsheltered heads had almost annihilated them; but still there lay between them and the land those fearful foaming ridges, and the women and children, if not the men themselves, seemed doomed to inevitable death in the attempt to surmount them.  Suddenly they perceived that the boat that had kept them company was about to adventure itself in the perilous experiment of landing.  Mr. C——­ kept his boat’s head steady, the men rested on their oars, and watched the result of the fearful risk they were themselves about to run.  They saw the boat enter the breakers—­they saw her whirled round and capsized, and then they watched, slowly emerging and dragging themselves out of the foaming sea, some, and only some, of the people that they knew the boat contained.  Mr. C——­, fortified with this terrible illustration of the peril that awaited them, again besought them to row yet for a little while further along the coast, in search of some possible place to take the boat safely to the beach, promising at sunset to give up the search; and again the poor men resumed their toil, but the line of leaping breakers stretched along the coast as far as eye could see, and at length the men declared they could labour no longer, and insisted that Mr. C——­ should steer them to shore.  He then said that he would do so, but they must take some rest before encountering the peril which awaited them, and for which they might require whatever remaining strength they could command.  He made the men leave the oars and lie down to sleep for a short time, and then, giving the helm to one of them, did the same himself.  When they were thus a little refreshed with this short rest, he prepared to take the boat into the breakers.