an Indian hunter, and the face of a Roman sage; this image
lingered longer, and then vanished, like Victor Hugo's Gilliatt,
by cruel gradations. Meanwhile the gilded name upon the taffrail
had slowly disappeared also; but even when the ripples began to
meet across her deck, still her descent was calm. As the water
gained, the hidden fire was extinguished, and the smoke, at first
densely rising, grew rapidly less. Yet when it had stopped
altogether, and all but the top of the cabin had disappeared,
there came a new ebullition of steam, like a hot spring, throwing
itself several feet in air, and then ceasing.

As the vessel went down, several beams and planks came springing
endwise up the hatchway, like liberated men. But nothing had a
stranger look to me than some great black casks which had been
left on deck. These, as the water floated them, seemed to stir
and wake, and to become gifted with life, and then got into
motion and wallowed heavily about, like hippopotami or any
unwieldy and bewildered beasts. At last the most enterprising of
them slid somehow to the bulwark, and, after several clumsy
efforts, shouldered itself over; then others bounced out, eagerly
following, as sheep leap a wall, and then they all went bobbing
away, over the dancing waves. For the wind blew fresh meanwhile,
and there were some twenty sail-boats lying-to with reefed sails
by the wreck, like so many sea-birds; and when the loose stuff
began to be washed from the deck, they all took wing at once, to
save whatever could be picked up,--since at such times, as at a
conflagration on land, every little thing seems to assume a
value,--and at last one young fellow steered boldly up to the
sinking ship itself, sprang upon the vanishing taffrail for one
instant, as if resolved to be the last on board, and then pushed