At last, the thought occurred to him that whilst in the
intense heat of the tropics, the plant would require more water; and
therefore poured on it almost his whole allowance. The effect was
immediate in restoring its life and verdure, and Louisa was again
happy. The ship was still some hundreds of leagues from Martinique,
when a violent tempest arose, apparently the last of a fearful
hurricane which had raged through the Antilles. It was found that the
ship had sprung a leak; the pumps were not sufficient: they were in
imminent danger, and the necessity of lightening the vessel was so
urgent that they were forced to throw overboard almost all the
merchandise, a part of the ballast, and even several barrels of
water. This last sacrifice was an appalling one: it was with a solemn
feeling they made it, similar to that with which one hears the earth
fall upon a coffin, or gives to the departed one the ocean for its
tomb. Indeed, these casks of water carried with them the lives of
many individuals, who had now no escape from a cruel death by thirst.
Pages:
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159