“Silence, and remain where you are, my men.  Listen to what I say:  if you frighten the troops and passengers we shall do nothing; we must trust to ourselves; there is no time to be lost.—­Mr Krantz and the carpenter are doing all that can be done at present; and now, my men, do me the favour to sit down on the deck, every one of you, while I tell you what we must do.”

This order of Philip’s was obeyed, and the effect was excellent:  it gave the men time to compose themselves after the first shock; for, perhaps, of all shocks to the human frame, there is none which creates a greater panic than the first intimation of fire on board of a vessel—­a situation, indeed, pitiable, when it is considered that you have to choose between the two elements seeking your destruction.  Philip did not speak for a minute or two.  He then pointed out to the men the danger of their situation, what were the measures which he and Krantz had decided upon taking, and how necessary it was that all should be cool and collected.  He also reminded them that they had but little powder in the magazine, which was far from the site of the fire, and could easily be removed and thrown overboard; and that, if the fire could not be extinguished, they had a quantity of spars on deck to form a raft, which, with the boats, would receive all on board, and that they were but a short distance from land.

Philip’s address had the most beneficial effects; the men rose up when he ordered them; one portion went down to the magazine, and handed up the powder, which was passed along and thrown overboard; another went to the pumps; and Krantz, coming up, reported the hole to have been cut in the planking of the deck above the main-hold:  the hoses were fixed, and a quantity of water soon poured down, but it was impossible that the danger could be kept secret.  The troops were sleeping on the deck, and the very employment of the seamen pointed out what had occurred, even if the smoke, which now increased very much, and filled the lower deck, had not betrayed it.  In a few minutes the alarm of Fire! was heard throughout the vessel, and men, women, and children were seen, some hurrying on their clothes, some running frightened about the decks, some shrieking, some praying, and the confusion and terror were hardly to be described.

The judicious conduct of Philip was then made evident:  had the sailors been awakened by the appalling cry, they would have been equally incapable of acting, as were the troops and passengers.  All subordination would have ceased:  some would have seized the boats, and left the majority to perish:  others would have hastened to the spirit-room, and, by their drunkenness, added to the confusion and horror of the scene:  nothing would have been effected, and almost all would, in all probability, have perished miserably.  But this had been prevented by the presence of mind shown by Philip and the second mate, for the captain was a cypher:—­not wanting in courage certainly, but without conduct or a knowledge of his profession.  The seamen continued steady to their duty, pushing the soldiers out of the way as they performed their allotted tasks:  and Philip perceiving this, went down below, leaving Krantz in charge; and by reasoning with the most collected, by degrees he brought the majority of the troops to a state of comparative coolness.