He gave me a look out of his dear old brown eyes, as much as to say: "What a stupid I am, what a thick-headed dog my poor comrade is saddled with." That's how he looked, children, and that's how he thought, depend on it, for kind hearts is always blaming themselves. So he set up a bark, and for three mortal hours he barked and barked, and the hoarser he got the more he strained himself, and the more he bellowed. Once or twice I thought he must burst if he went on that gait, but the animal kept on filling his lungs as if they were made of leather. At last there was a glimmer of light. Oh! my children, you must lie in the dark and the cold and at the door of death, before you know what light is! It jumped about, here, there, a wisp of lantern doctored Dago too, for he was that hoarse with cold and barking, he had as bad an attack of bronchitis as a human being. That's the tale of him, my children, let it wag awhile in your thinking-caps. I begged him when he died and had him stuffed, and he looks very well except about the eyes, which no glass could come up to his own, not even if they were diamonds, and the Queen sent me two of her crown jewels to put some light into 'em. Well, we must all die some day, children, and if we haven't all the chance of being life-preservers, as that good creature was, let's do something worth the having breath in us; and there's my story till you ask for it again. M. B. MAN'S TRIUMPHS. HE plucks the pearls that stud the deep, Admiring beauty's lap to fill; He breaks the stubborn marble's sleep, In fields of air he writes his name, SEA STORIES OF PERIL AND ADVENTURE, BATTLE AND SHIPWRECK. BY W. DAVENPORT ADAMS. THE STORY OF A BOAT VOYAGE. HE Wager, under the command of Captain Cheap, was one of the ships of the squadron under Commodore (afterwards Lord) Anson, despatched, in 1740, on an expedition to the South Seas. In a violent hurricane she lost sight of the Commodore on the 19th of April, 1741, and was driven so far to leeward that she failed to overtake her consorts. On the 15th of May she was wrecked on a desolate island, off the coast of America (in lat. 47° S. and long. 81° 40′ W.) A narrative of the adventures of her officers and crew was written by one of her midshipmen, the Hon. John Byron, and from its graphic pages the midshipman's famous grandson, Lord Byron, borrowed some of the details of the sea-scenes in "Don Juan." We have been indebted to it for the following "sea-story." It was unfortunate that, at the time of the wreck, Captain Cheap was suffering from a dislocated shoulder, which prevented him from taking active. command, and by his presence enforcing discipline and preserving order. He showed, however, the characteristic courage of an English officer. When he was advised to leave the ship, as it would soon be broken up by the violence of the waves, he replied, Go and save all the sick, and don't mind me." The boats were hoisted out as quickly as possible, and the men busied themselves in collecting the most necessary and useful articles. Then the yawl was loaded and sent ashore, and after her the barge and the cutter. The crew of the Wager did not manifest that obedience to orders and devotion to duty which we are accustomed to expect from British seamen. When their officers urged on them the necessity of going back to the wreck, and bringing off the stores and provisions indispensable for their support on a barren island, they refused; but some of the petty officers contrived to accomplish the trip in the yawl, and persuaded Captain Cheap to give up his unavailing watch. There were two or three Indian huts on the island, and one of these was set apart for his accommodation. Had no shelter been available, he would probably have perished. As soon as he recovered himself he ordered Campbell, a midshipman, to take the yawl back again, and see if he could persuade the men still on board to come ashore. He went; and found them enjoying a strange saturnalia of licence and disorder; some were shouting psalms, others fighting, others swearing, while not a few lay helplessly drunk. Campbell thought it useless to speak to these wild spirits; but observing some casks of ball and powder on the quarter-deck, he began to put them into the boat. Two of the sailors immediately sprang forward: "You shall not have them, for the ship is lost, and all is ours." A third brandished a bayonet, and swore he would kill him: "You have carried a strait arm all the voyage, and now shall pay for it!" He flung the bayonet at his officer, but missed his mark, and Campbell, leaping into the yawl, put off, and returned to the shore. In the middle of the night the wind and tide, battling together, rolled up a heavy sea; and the timbers of the wrecked ship straining and creaking, the wretches on board grew afraid that she would go to pieces. As no boat came to the rescue, they pointed a quarter-deck gun towards the captain's hut, and almost hit it. The captain, having no liking for such rough messages as cannon-shot, which are apt to take no denial, ordered Campbell and three other petty officers to make another visit to the wreck. But the main-mast laying alongside, and the billows rolling violently, they found themselves unable to get on board, and were compelled to leave the crew to their own devices. Their fears impelled D these men to acts of drunken madness. Some of them broke open the lazaretto, where the wine was stowed; scuttled the pipes of port and sherry, and made themselves SO intoxicated that several tumbled from the ship into the water, and were drowned" which was more owing to the liquor within than without!" Others broke open the chests and cabins, and loaded themselves with plunder; which, however, they were compelled before long to relinquish. On the following day a third attempt was made to bring the rioters ashore. As they landed they were disarmed, and the arms and ammunition were deposited in a bell-tent erected for the purpose. This stratagem did not prove of much utility, for, under cover of the night, the wretches stole into the tent, and, re-furnishing themselves with weapons, were able to treat their officers with insolent defiance. A grievous scene of anarchy and folly the lonely island presented, until at last a part of the crew, including the most reckless and violent spirits, went off in the long-boat. As those who were left behind had but a small supply of provisions, the prospect before them was sufficiently gloomy. They were twenty in number: Captain Cheap, Lieutenant Hamilton, of the Royal Marines, Elliot the surgeon, Harvey the quartermaster, four midshipmen, and twelve of the crew. Their two boats-the barge and yawl-were unseaworthy, and their great care was to get them into better order. For this purpose every man turned carpenter. The captain, though still an invalid, did his best to help them. He went about in search of wood and water; he made the fires; he displayed a hitherto dormant genius for cooking. A slough cake of his invention called forth cordial commendations. The recipe was as follows: Take of flour and water,quantum suff., knead them into a batter, and mix with them a flavouring of a small seaweed, called the slough, which grows on rocks below high-water mark; fry the whole with pork slush. Throughout November bad weather prevailed, so that the castaways could get no shell-fish, on which they chiefly depended for subsistence. When the captain's private stock of provisions was exhausted they lived wholly on slough, fried with tallow candles a diet not calculated to maintain their strength. A couple of Indian canoes visited the island, but brought only a few dogs. These were killed and eaten. After the departure of their visitors, Captain Cheap and his companions were for a whole month on the verge of starvation; their food consisting of slough, and of the few sea-fowl they shot occasionally when able to take the yawl out to sea. Three of the company, in their desperate hunger, broke open the captain's store-tent, in which he had saved some flour for their voyage to Juan Fernandez, -the rendezvous which Commodore Anson had appointed for his squadron. They carried off a portion of the flour, but were discovered by the traces it left in their hut. One of these made his escape into the woods. The others, after a severe flogging, were ordered off to an adjacent islet, called Long Island; but one escaping, the survivor was sent thither alone in the barge, and left upon the sea-girt rock to perish a punishment which surely seems too heavy for the offence. On the 3rd of December the weather moderated, and a warm south wind blowing up, the midshipman Campbell was sent to the wreck to search for provisions, and to the general joy alighted upon three casks of" very fine beef." Rations were immediately served out; and this supply of wholesome food restored the spirits of the shipwrecked company, renewed their energies, and recruited their physical strength. "Our method of cooking," says Campbell," and the manner in which we ate our beef, was this: We fried our fat with slough and other sea-weed, and this composition served us for bread to our meat. There grows upon this island a sort of wild purslane, which we boiled, and this for some time served us for cabbage to our beef. But as it had a very bad effect upon us, purging us to a most desperate degree, we were obliged to leave it off; though this herb was our only resource in bad weather, when we could get no shell-fish." It is not surprising that in such deplorable circumstances the castaways should weary of their delay on a barren island; and though Captain Cheap foresaw the dangers of a long boat voyage at that period of the year, their solicitations compelled him to hazard the enterprise. The two boats were got ready, such small supplies of provisions as remained were put on board, and on the 18th of December the company embarked-the captain, the Honourable Mr. Byron, and the surgeon, with eight men, in the barge; Lieutenant Hamilton and Mr. Campbell, the midshipman, with nine men, in the yawl. "We had not sailed," says Campbell, "above one hour and a half, when it began to blow hard, and the wind shifted more to the westward, so that we were obliged to bear away right before it. The seas were now so rough that we every instant expected to go to the bottom; to avoid which, as far as lay in our power, we flung overboard almost everything we had-even our beef which we had taken from the wreck, notwithstanding we knew not where to get a bit more to save us from perishing with hunger-the most miserable of all deaths. But this we did to avoid a more immediate death, though of a less shocking nature, trusting to God for our future preservation. Our situation was the more desperate, as we were running (we knew not whither) on a lee shore, in two open boats, with a terrible gale of wind, a great sea, and night coming on. Mr. Hamilton and I were obliged to set our backs against the stern of the vessel to keep the sea out of her, though we did not think anything less than a miracle would preserve us from destruction. "We did not all this time," he continues, "see the barge, the sea running so high; in short, it is impossible to conceive how a boat could live in such weather. But it pleased God, as we advanced on the lee-shore, looking every moment when we should strike against the rocks, and whilst every man was preparing for another world as well as he could, we saw an opening in the rock which we stood for, and found an inlet through the mountains, but so narrow that we could hardly row with our oars. The minute we entered this inlet, we found ourselves in a perfect calm, and were, therefore, obliged to row. Soon after, through the providence of the Almighty, the barge came to the same place. None but those who have been in the like circumstances can conceive our joy at so happy a meeting after such dangers past." In the maze of mountainous islands which they were compelled to traverse, our voyagers discovered numerous inlets; but, from want of a compass, were afraid to attempt their navigation. Of such a height were these rugged peaks, and so thick and close a barrier did they form, that they completely blocked out the sunlight. Landing in the channel already spoken of, they went in search of a place where a fire could be kindled, but as the rocks rose abruptly from the water's edge, it was not without difficulty they found one-a kind of natural hollow, or cavern, where they encamped for the night. Before morning several were almost dead, the frost was so severe. They rose early, and as the wind was fair, and the sea smooth, took again to their boats, and resumed their onward course. this gloomy fate because they could be of no service in the boat. The captain left them arms, ammunition, a frying-pan, and some other necessaries, but as the island was destitute of seal, shell-fish, and every kind of provision, their end must have been most miserable. This dismal affair concluded," says Campbell, "the rest of us went with the barge to try the aforesaid Cape again; and when we departed, the four poor wretches stood on the bank, gave three cheers, and cried, God bless the king.' Our hearts melted with compassion for them; but there was no helping their misfortune." A third time they essayed to double the Cape, but not with the luck which is generally supposed to attend a third effort. The wind was still contrary, and very violent, and the sea raged so furiously that an open boat could not live in it. Six weeks had passed since their departure from Wager Island-the scene of their shipwreck. All this time they had subsisted mainly on sea-weed and shell-fish. With fatigue and want of nourishment, they were reduced to skeletons; and, in an access of despair, they resolved on returning to Wager Island, which, from their long residence upon it, they had come to regard as a kind of home. Before setting out they killed some seal. As they passed the islet where the four mariners had been abandoned, they stopped to take them off, considering that if the boat sunk, they would but be delivered from a misery which had become intolerable. But the poor wretches were not to be found, and the only traces of them were a The following three days were spent on an inhospitable islet, which produced nothing but the seaweed, called "tangle." Heavy rains came on, and the weather again grew tempestuous. On the fourth day, with a south-east wind, they made good progress. On Christmas-day they disembarked on a bold promontory, enjoyed a Christmas dinner of "tangle," and drank the health of King George the Second in water. On the 27th they started with the view of doubling the Cape, but were blown back, and compelled to lie all night upon their oars. As the weather on the 28th was as bad as their worst enemies could have wished, they landed, laid up their boats, and searched for food-finding nothing, how-musket and their ammunition. ever, but tangle and slough. A day or two afterwards, higher up the coast, they fell in with some spacious lagoons, where seals and mussels abounded. They laid in as large a stock as their crowded boats could carry, and resumed their attempt to double the promontory, which from the three peaks comprising it the Spaniards call Capo di Très Montes. On reaching the first spur or headland, they met with the wind full in their teeth, were obliged to lower their masts, and take to their oars, until they had cleared the second headland. There the wind and tide lashed the sea into a furious whirlpool, and in spite of all their efforts they were driven back into the bay. All hands went ashore to collect provisions, except a couple of men left in charge of each boat. A young seal was killed, and made a sumptuous repast; after which Hamilton and Campbell went out with their guns to look for game. Each went in a different direction; and as Campbell returned from his expedition, he saw the boats riding at a grapnel. But, with a sudden change of the wind from north to south, a tremendous mass of angry waters rushed into the bay, and overwhelming the yawl, filled and sunk her. One of the men on board of her was drowned; the other was hauled ashore more dead than alive, but recovered. The loss of the yawl was a great affliction, the captain and her crew losing all their clothes. The barge was unable to carry her own company and the yawl's, and it was resolved that four of the marines should be left upon this desert island. I suppose the captain could come to no other decision, and yet it seems terribly cruel. The marines were chosen for On the sixth day of their voyage they reached Montrose Island, where, besides shell-fish and seaweed, they met with a black berry, growing on a thorny bush, and tasting like a gooseberry. They found here a small Indian canoe, which proved of great. service to them; and putting a couple of hands into her, they towed her astern of the barge. At length they arrived at Wager Island, but in a starved condition, having eaten nothing for three days but tangle and other sea-weeds. On the fifteenth day after their return, a party of the Chono Indians visited the island in a couple of canoes. One of them, a cacique, or chief, who had been confirmed in his rank by the Spaniards, and spoke the Spanish tongue, conversed with Mr. Elliot, the surgeon, and was bribed into an agreement to conduct the castaways to the nearest Spanish settlement. Accordingly, they embarked on board their barge to the number of fifteen, including the cacique, whose name was Martin, and his servant Emanuel. They had counted eighteen on their return from their last fruitless. attempt to quit the island; but in the interval they had buried two, who had perished of hunger, while a mariner, having committed theft, betook himself to the woods to escape punishment, and was never more heard of. The first night of their expedition they lay at a barren island; but finding some fuel, they contrived to light. a fire, and slept in its welcome warmth. They were less fortunate on the second night, though their wants were increasing; for, having run to the westward of Montrose Island, they could secure no shelter, but were compelled to lie upon their oars, suffering the severest pangs of hunger. Next morning they put into the bottom of a great bay, where for two or three days" all the difficulties we had hitherto endured seemed they employed themselves in seeking along the shore for shell-fish. Accompanied by the Indian guide and his family, they once more resumed their voyage, and began the ascent of a river, the current of which was so strong and vehement that several days were wasted in vain efforts to stem it. Byron had hitherto steered the boat, but one of the men sinking from fatigue, and dying, he was forced to take an oar. Another of the common seamen, whom they considered the strongest and stoutest of the party, fell from his seat under the thwarts, complaining that his strength was quite exhausted for want of food, and that he could hold out no longer. As he lay in his agony, he begged more and more for some little sustenance; two or three mouthfuls, he said, might save his life. Byron tells us that at this time the captain had by him a large piece of broiled seal, but adds, that they were now so hardened against the sufferings of their fellows by their own distress, that the poor man's dying entreaties met with no response. "I sat next to him," he says, "when he dropped; and having a few dried shell-fish (about five or six) in my pocket, from time to time put one in his mouth, which served only to prolong his pains; from which, however, soon after my little supply failed, he was released by death." light in comparison to what we expected to suffer from this cruel treachery." With the boat went everything which might have been useful for their preservation;-their few clothes, their muskets, and ammunition: they had with them a little powder, which might be serviceable in kindling fires; and Byron's gun, but without any cartridges. In their present danger lay, however, as is often the case, the source and means of their eventual safety. It did not occur to them that the barge, in which they centred all their hopes of escape, would certainly have proved the means of expending their little remaining strength in vain efforts to double the stormy capes and headlands. It was true that their condition seemed irretrievably desperate. A furious sea rolled its mountainous billows on the coast, and there seemed no means of deliverance from a region cursed with perpetual barrenness. But it is always the darkest before dawn; and while they were chewing the cud of bitter fancies, they descried the cacique's canoe boldly making towards the surf-resounding beach, and before long it stole into a small cove which a barrier of rock defended from the fury of the oceanwaters. A day or two later, Emanuel, the cacique's servant, made his appearance, having contrived to elude the vigilance of the seamen, and return along the shore by ways which to any but an Indian would have been impossible. f (To be continued.). Byron goes on to accuse Captain Cheap of deliberate inhumanity; but the charge hardly tallies with the account we have of the Captain's conduct at the time of the wreck; so that, if it be not exaggerated, we must suppose that his natural generosity had yielded to the all-powerful instinct of self-preservation. "The Captain," he says, "had better opportunities for recruiting his stock than any of us, for his wish was considered by the Indian as a reason for supplying him when he could not find a bit for us. Upon the evening of the day on which these disasters happened, I committed to them, an incident like the following is worth the captain, producing a large piece of boiled seal, suffered no one to partake with him but the surgeon, who was the only man in favour at this time. We did not expect from him, indeed, any relief in our present condition, for we had a few small mussels and herbs to eat; but the men could not help expressing the greatest indignation at his neglect of the deceased, saying that he deserved to be deserted by the rest for his savage behaviour." The voyage now lay along a gloomy and savage shore, which will probably defy for all time the genial influences of civilization. Agriculture is impracticable in such a climate, and commerce can never be favourably carried on, because the rocky coast offers no secure harbours, but is washed by a boiling surf. Inland, vast dense woods and deep morasses spread far and wide. Seldom is nature seen under a more forbidding aspect; and in such a region it would seem as if she intended man to remain for ever in the degraded condition of the savage. The cacique and his family set out to hunt for seal, while the crew of the Wager, accompanied by the cacique's servant, searched everywhere, but in vain, for food. After exploring the wilderness for some time without success, they began to think of returning to the barge; when, behold! six of the men, with the Indian, having got ahead of the officers, clambered hastily into the boat, and put out to sea. "And now," exclaims Byron, with simple pathos, FAITHFULNESS. C N these days when so many people are false to the trusts remembering: Gerhardt was a German shepherd boy, and a noble fellow he was, although he was very poor. One day, when he was watching his flock, a hunter came out of the woods, and asked: "How far is it to the nearest village?" "Six miles, sir," answered the boy; "but the road is only a sheep track, and very easily missed. if you will leave your sheep and show me the road, I will pay The hunter looked at the crooked track, and said: "My lad, you well." "The sheep," said he, "do not know your voice, and ""And what? Can't you trust me? Do I look like a dishonest man?" asked the hunter, angrily. how do I know that you would keep your word?" "Sir," said the boy, "you tried to make me false to my trust, The hunter laughed, for he felt that the lad had fairly cornered him. He said: "I see, my lad, that you are a good, faithful boy. I will not forget you. Show me the road, and I will try to make it out myself." Gerhardt then offered the contents of his scrip to the hungry man, who, coarse as it was, ate it gladly. Presently his attendants came up, and then Gerhardt, to his surprise, found that the hunter was the Grand Duke who owned all the country around. The duke was so pleased with the boy's honesty that he sent for him shortly after that, and had him educated. In after years, Gerhardt became a very great and powerful man, but he remained honest and true to his dying day. |
