ten o'clock
As night approached the sea became calmer , a bright streak gleamed along the western horizon ; hearts that had sorrowed gladdened with joy , as the murky clouds overhead chased quickly into the east and dissolved , and the blue arch of heaven-hung with pearly stars of hope-shed its peaceful glows over the murmuring sea . Again the night was passed in incessant labour of pumping and clearing up the dismantled hull ; but when daylight appeared , the wind having veered and increased , the sea ran in short swells , rocking the unwieldly hull , and fearfully straining every timber in its frame . The leak now increased rapidly , as also did the water in the hold , now beyond their exertions to clear . At ten o'clock all hopes of keeping the wreck afloat had disappeared ; and the last alternative of a watery grave , or launching upon the broad ocean , presented its stern terms for their acceptance . A council decided to adopt the latter , when , as the hulk began to settle in the sea , and with no little danger of swamping , boats were launched , supplied with such stores as were at hand , the passengers and crew embarked , and the frail barks sent away with their hapless freight to seek a haven of safety . The leviathan hulk soon disappeared from sight . Franconia , with twenty-five fellow unfortunates , five of whom were females , had embarked in the mate 's boat , which now shaped her course for Nassau , the wind having veered into the north-west , and that seeming the nearest and most available point .