midnight
It was , indeed , hardly possible for us to be in a more pitiable condition . At noon there seemed to be some slight appearance of the gale 's abating , but in this we were sadly disappointed , for it only lulled for a few minutes to blow with redoubled fury . About four in the afternoon it was utterly impossible to stand up against the violence of the blast ; and , as the night closed in upon us , I had not a shadow of hope that the vessel would hold together until morning . By midnight we had settled very deep in the water , which was now up to the orlop deck . The rudder went soon afterward , the sea which tore it away lifting the after portion of the brig entirely from the water , against which she thumped in her descent with such a concussion as would be occasioned by going ashore . We had all calculated that the rudder would hold its own to the last , as it was unusually strong , being rigged as I have never seen one rigged either before or since . Down its main timber there ran a succession of stout iron hooks , and others in the same manner down the stern-post .