death.’  On hearing the above words, poor Steel, the doctor, exclaimed, ’Rooke!  Rooke! there are other things to think of now.’  The words were prophetic, for before many minutes had elapsed, he had ceased to exist.  As they approached the shore, the sail was shifted from the port side to the starboard, and the sheet which had been held by Hills, the captain’s steward, for ten hours, was fastened to the thwarts.

Mr. Rooke now again resigned his place as steerer to Larcom, the gunner, and assisted the others in baling out the boat, which had shipped a heavy sea on the quarter.  The boat was steered within about one hundred and fifty yards of the beach, when the rollers caught her, first lifting her upright, and, as there was not water enough to float her whole length, she filled and capsized.  Larcom, Lieutenant Rooke, Hills, the captain’s steward, and the boy Morley, succeeded in gaining the beach, but the rest of their unfortunate comrades perished.

We should here mention that this was the second occasion on which the boy Morley narrowly escaped a watery grave.

When the Avenger was at Lisbon, the boy fell overboard, and would have perished, had it not been for Lieutenant Marryat, who, at the risk of his own life, sprung into the sea, and rescued the boy.

In a few minutes a Bedouin Arab, who had been watching the boat from some high ground, came toward them and conducted them to his hut, where he supplied them with some milk; and having lighted a fire, they were enabled to dry their clothes.

They remained with their hospitable entertainer during that day, and in the evening made a supper of maize-cake and sour milk.  In the meantime, Mr. Rooke had made the Arab understand their situation, and their wish to get to Tunis; and after some trouble and promise of reward, he agreed to conduct them next morning to Biserta.  The wearied men then threw themselves on the ground, where they passed the night in company with dogs, cows, and goats, exposed to a violent wind and pouring rain.

Their subsequent proceedings are thus related by Lieutenant Rooke:—­

’Wednesday, December 22nd.—­At about 9 A.M. we started.  Our road lay at first over a ridge of high hills, from which we saw nothing of the ship.  We then crossed a sandy plain covered with the cactus, which severely wounded my feet.  Afterwards passed through some wooded ravines, and over an extensive marsh intersected with brooks.  Towards the evening a horseman overtook us, who seeing the tired condition of the steward, his feet bleeding, and also suffering from a gash on his head, received whilst landing, carried him for about four miles, and when his road lay in a different direction, gave our guide his gun, and a piece of silver for us.

’The night being now dark, and all of us exhausted, we stopped at a Bedouin encampment, and asked for shelter, which after some time was granted.  We had been walking about ten hours, and got over more than thirty miles of broken ground, having stopped once for a few minutes to pick the berries off some arbutus trees, being our only food since breakfast till late that night.  We were wet, coverless, and all except myself shoeless.