four in the morning
With us it had nearly proved fatal to the ship . Had we met with an enemy , we must either have disgraced the flag by running away , or been taken . No sooner clear of the Needles than night came on , and with it a heavy gale of wind at north-north-west . The officers and men were at work till four in the morning , securing the boats , booms , and anchors , clearing the decks of provisions , and setting up the lower rigging , which by the labour of the ship , had begun to stretch to an alarming degree ; by great exertion this was accomplished , and the guns secured before the gale had increased to a hurricane . About nine the next morning , a poor marine , a recruit from Portsmouth , unfortunately fell overboard ; and though many brave fellows instantly jumped into one of the quarter-boats , and begged to be lowered down to save him , the captain , who was a cool calculator , thought the chance of losing seven men was greater than that of saving one , so the poor fellow was left to his fate . The ship , it is true , was hove to ; but she drifted to leeward much faster than the unfortunate man could swim , though he was one of the best swimmers I ever beheld . It was heart-breaking to see the manly but ineffectual exertions made by this gallant youth to regain the ship ; but all his powers only served to prolong his misery .