A FAMILY COUNCIL.

23

At length the night passed away, and without any accident. Towards morning the wind went down; the sky brightened; and the dawn, breaking on a cloudless horizon, foretold a day of calm. With reinvigorated heart I summoned my wife and children upon deck, whither I had already ascended: my sons at first were struck dumb with surprise at seeing none of their companions. "Where, then, are all our people?" they exclaimed; "why have they departed without us? how shall we finish our voyage?"

My dearest boys, He who has protected us hitherto will know how to preserve us and free us from our present peril: let this teach you to rely only upon Heaven and your own energies. The comrades in whom we placed so much confidence have pitilessly abandoned us in the hour of danger; but there remain to us God and the understanding which He has given us; let us bow before the one, and turn the other to advantage. Help thyself, and God will help thee,' is a maxim we never should forget. Now, my children, to work! Let us contrive some means of quitting this wreck, and gaining the shore, which looms yonder at no great distance."

We discussed the matter together. Frederick, who was a bold swimmer, held stoutly to his original proposition, and even undertook to guide his mother with one arm while he swam with the other.

You, papa, can conduct my two brothers; and Ernest is strong enough, with the help of these two casks, to accomplish the passage alone."

Ernest, somewhat slow and lethargic by nature, did not relish the proposal. "It would be better," he said, " to construct a raft, and then all of us might set out together."

"Undoubtedly," I replied; "if its construction were not a task beyond our strength, and, at the same time, a very hazardous embarkation. Let us think of some other plan; but first we will go over the ship; the examination may suggest some idea capable of being more easily carried out."

Immediately we all began to explore the vessel. For my part, I first visited the caboose, where the provisions and fresh water were stored, for the thought troubled me how all my people would

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2-1

SEEKING AND FINDING.

be fed. My wife and little Fritz went in search of the poultry and domestic animals, which, forgotten two whole days in the press of our misfortunes, were dying of hunger and thirst.

As soon as Frederick had discovered the powder-room, Ernest repaired to the carpenter's stores, and Rudly to the captain's cabin; but he had scarcely opened the door before two dogs burst forth, and in their joy at recovering their liberty, brought our little boy to the ground with their noisy caresses.

Rudly was at first much alarmed by the strange apparition, but he soon recovered himself; and as hunger had rendered the poor animals very tractable, found no difficulty in mastering them. Taking each by the ear he led them upon deck, whither I had already returned. His brothers arrived also from their various quarters Frederick brought two fowling-pieces, some lead, and a small cask of gunpowder; Ernest carried an axe, a hammer, and a pair of pincers. He had filled his cap with nails of all sizes, and a chisel and half-a-dozen gimlets projected from his pockets. Not one of us but contributed something to the general store; even little Fritz presented a box in which he had found, he said, "some pretty hooks."

"Truly," said I, after I had examined his treasure-trove, our youngest has made the best discovery; Fritz's 'little hooks' are good strong fish-hooks, which will, perhaps, do more to support our lives than anything else in the whole vessel. Thus it is, my children, that good fortune in this life often falls to those who seek and understand it least."

"As for me," said my wife, "I bring nothing but good news: I have found a cow, an ass, two goats, and seven sheep, as well as a fat sow, still alive; and as I have given them plenty of food, they will, perhaps, supply our wants if it be the will of God we should remain some time on this frail shelter."

"Undoubtedly," I exclaimed, my mind recalled to our most pressing anxiety, "your intelligence is very pleasing; but the difficulty is not yet solved. You, Rudly, for instance, in your concern for your favourite animals, have brought nothing useful; what would you have us do with a couple of dogs? They are only two mouths more to feed."

A NEW KIND OF BOAT.

25

"But, papa," replied the child, caressing his favourites, "when we are ashore they will help us in the chase."

"Very true; but first we must get there, and you will not accomplish the passage, I suppose, on the back of your dogs."

"Oh!" said Rudly, with chagrin, "if I had but the great tub mamma formerly used in her washing, and in which I paddled upon the lake at home, I would soon manage to carry you all ashore: I would go much farther than that with my boat."

His words fell on my mind like a ray of light.

"Blessed be the fortunate suggestion," I cried; "though it issued only from a child's mouth. My God, I thank thee! Follow me, children; come, saw, hammer, nails, gimlets! We are going to work, I can promise you."

In a few words I explained my idea, and we immediately descended into the hold, where I had noticed some large casks floating in the water with which it was filled. After several fruitless attempts, we succeeded, at length, in getting possession of a few of them, and rolled them on the upper deck, which was nearly level with the waves. Made of substantial oak, and bound with strong iron hoops, I found them well fitted for my object; and, with the help of my wife and eldest son, sawed them in halves. I thus obtained eight small tubs, each about three feet in diameter and four in height.

I then sought out a long flexible plank, on which I arranged my tubs, placing them side by side in a row, and allowing my plank to project beyond them both in front and rear, so that it was bent or curved like a ship's keel; we then secured them with heavy nails through their bottoms, and some strong bolts, of which Ernest had found a quantity in the carpenter's workshop.

This first operation concluded, we enjoyed an interval of rest and took some refreshment, for the reader will understand that the unaccustomed labour had greatly fatigued us; we then resumed our work with redoubled ardour. Fortunately, we had excellent tools, and a plentiful supply of nails and timber. Two other planks of equal length I fastened along the sides of my tubs, so that their extremities, held together by bolts, formed, as it were,

26

26

LESSONS IN MECHANICS.

the bow of my boat, while at the stern they were cut away at an acute angle, and also closely fastened. Although we had laboured with the utmost energy, it was nearly evening before our work assumed any appearance of completeness. When it was finished, we found a difficulty in conveying it from our dockyard to the sea; our feeble arms, it is true, had managed to collect the different parts, but it was impossible for them to move the whole. I comforted my children on this point by bringing them acquainted with an instrument whose effects seemed absolutely marvellous; I mean the screw-jack, a machine composed of a toothed iron wheel, set in motion by a winch; the said winch gradually raising an iron pincer, by whose agency the heaviest burdens can be lifted. While I sent two of my sons in search of this machine, I sawed a stout spar into several short rollers; and fixing the screw-jack under the bow of my boat, I turned the handle: slowly rose the mass, and one of the children placed the wooden rollers under the keel in such wise as to propel the boat towards the place where I intended to launch it. All these operations were sufficiently protracted, and Rudly especially was astonished at the slowness with which I turned the handle of the jack.

"It is better to go slowly than not at all, my son. It has been proved by numerous observations, and it is a principle of the science called Mechanics, that every machine loses in power what it gains in rapidity, just as it loses in rapidity whatever it acquires in power. The screw-jack is not intended to move swiftly, but to raise heavy weights, and the better it fulfils this function, the slower will be its action."

66

'But," replied the little unbeliever, "you have only to turn the handle a little quicker."

"You would break the spring which regulates the movement of the wheel, and that is all you would gain. It is not a question of time; with patience and intelligence we come to the end of everything, my son; and, aided by these two powers, I hope to bring our enterprise to a successful conclusion."

In fact, thanks to the wooden rollers on which our improvised boat now rested, it quickly glided with majestic motion towards the main-chains of the ship, whose broadside having been heavily

ALL HANDS TO THE LAUNCH.

27

shattered by collision with the rocks, afforded an opening through which we might easily launch our bark. I had taken the precaution to attach to its stern a long cable, which I fastened at the other end to a strong piece of wood, so as to prevent our handiwork from drifting away from the vessel's side after it had been launched.

This final operation was accompanied by a loud cheer; but our joy was quickly changed to anxiety, when we saw the boat dance on the water as if inspired by some sudden frenzy, and reel from one side to another in such a manner as to alarm us with the idea that all our toil and anxiety would prove fruitless; for it seemed

impossible to trust oneself without peril to such a tottering craft. I meditated long and painfully on the probable defects of its construction. All at once it occurred to me that its lightness was possibly the sole cause of its insecurity; I therefore collected some of the shot piled up near the great guns, hurled them adroitly into the tubs, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing my uncouth bark gradually right itself, and finally sit "swan-like" on the surface of the water. Joyous outcries saluted this signal success, and so great was the confidence of my lads, they were fain to descend at once into the boat. But afraid that I might not have thrown in sufficient ballast, and that the movements of my hasty-spirited youngsters might capsize it, I conceived the notion of providing it with an outrigger in imitation of those which the savages employ to steady their frail canoes. I explained my idea to my companions, and set myself to work.