and ought not this man to have been found among the chief officers? How
shall their conduct be justified? There are, certainly, some reasons to be
alledged. Impartial judges of events, we will describe them, not as unhappy
victims of the consequences of this desertion, but as men free from all
personal resentment, and who listen only to the voice of truth.

The raft, drawn by all the boats united, dragged them a little back; it is
true that we just had the ebb, and the currents set from shore. To be in
the open sea with undecked vessels, might well inspire some apprehensions:
but, in a few hours, the currents would change and favor us; we ought to
have waited for this moment, which would have infallibly demonstrated the
possibility of drawing us to the coast, which was not above twelve or
fifteen leagues distant: this is so true that the boats discovered the
coast, the same evening, before sunset. Perhaps they would have been forced
to forsake us the second night after our departure, if indeed more than
thirty-six hours had been required to tow us to land; for the weather was
very bad; but we should then have been very near to the coast, and it would
have been very easy to save us: at least we should have had only the
elements to accuse!--We are persuaded that a short time would have sufficed
to tow us within sight of land, for, the evening of our being deserted, the
raft was precisely in the direction which the boats had followed between
the frigates and the coast, and, at least, five leagues from the former.
The next morning, at daybreak, we could no longer see the Medusa.[A9]

At the first moment we did not really believe that we had been so cruelly
abandoned. We imagined that the boats had let loose, because they had
perceived a vessel, and hastened towards it to ask assistance. The
long-boat was pretty near us to leeward on the starboard. She lowered her
foresail half way down: her manoeuvre made us think that she was going to
take the first tow-rope: she remained so a moment, lowered her foresail