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NAVAL HISTORY of GREAT BRITAIN - Vol II
1797
LOSS OF THE DROITS DE L'HOMME
19


a quarter of an hour, neither the boat nor its contents were visible. Too soon, however, were seen the bodies of the wretched victims floating in all directions. Touched with the melancholy fate of so many of his brave comrades, a French adjutant general, named Renier, resolved to gain succour from the shore, or perish in the attempt. He plunged into the sea, and was drowned.

Already nearly 900 souls (according to Lieutenant Pipon, but we think the number is overrated) had perished, when the fourth night came with renewed horrors. " Weak, distracted, and wanting every thing," says the lieutenant in his narrative, " we envied the fate of those whose lifeless corpses no longer needed sustenance. The sense of hunger was already lost, but a parching thirst consumed our vitals. Recourse was had to wine and salt water, which only increased the want. Half a hogshead of vinegar floated up, and each had half a wineglass full. This gave a momentary relief yet soon left as again in the same state of dreadful thirst. Almost at the last gasp, every one was dying with misery, the ship, which was now one third shattered away from the stern, scarcely afforded a grasp to hold by, to the exhausted and helpless survivors. The fourth day (the 17th) brought with it a more serene sky, and the sea seemed to subside; but to behold, from fore and aft, the dying in all directions, was a sight too shocking for the feeling mind to endure. Almost lost to a sense of humanity, we no longer looked with pity on those who were the speedy forerunners of our own fate, and a consultation took place to sacrifice some one to be food to the remainder. The die was going to be cast, when the welcome sight of a man-of-war brig renewed our hopes. A cutter speedily followed, and both anchored at a short distance from the wreck. They then sent their boats to us, and, by means of large rafts, about 150, of near 400 who attempted it, were saved by the brig that evening: 380 were left to endure another night's misery, when, dreadful to relate, above one half were found dead next morning."

The man-of-war brig was the Arrogant, commanded by Enseigne de Vaisseau Provost, and the cutter the Aïguille. Mr. Pipon thus concludes his interesting narrative : " I was saved at about 10 o'clock on the morning of the 18th, with my two brother officers, the captain of the ship, and General Humbert. They treated us with great humanity on board the cutter, by giving us a little weak brandy-and-water every five or six minutes, after which a basin of good soup. I fell on the locker in a kind of trance for nearly 30 hours ; and was swelled to that degree as to require medical aid to restore my decayed faculties. We were taken to Brest almost naked, having lost all our baggage. There they gave us a rough shift of clothes, and, in consequence of our sufferings, and the help we afforded in saving many lives, a cartel was fitted out by order of the French government, to send us

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