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beings endowed with sense and reason like ourselves, debasing themselves in their last moments below the level of the beasts that perish, and recklessly rushing into the presence of the Almighty in a state of swinish intoxication.

"What is that?" cried Mr Marline. "Heavens, if they have not set fire to the rum in the spiritroom!"

As he spoke, a wavering flash of blue flame gleamed for a moment up the after hatchway, the hatches of which, in the increasing confusion, had been knocked off. Presently this was followed by a thick column of white smoke, speaking as plain as tongue could have told, that the fire had caught. The column - became suddenly streaked with fire, which instantly drove the miserable group of women and men forward into the waist. In a minute the flames burst out of the main hatchway also, and scorched away the two young missionaries and the captain from the pumps, to which, although deserted by the crew, they had, with noble intrepidity and calm resolution, clung until this very mo

ment.

The eldest lady was now lying motionless on the wet deck, apparently dead or in a faint, with her bare arms clasped round her child, who, poor little fellow, was tossing his tiny hands, and apparently cry ing piteously, while the younger woman was clinging convulsively round her husband's neck, as, along with his companion and the old captain, he had now sat down on the deckthe whole grouped round the patriarchal old Moravian, who was kneeling in the middle, and with outstretched hands apparently imploring Heaven for mercy, while over all, the sea, now lashed into redoubled fury by the increasing gale, broke in showers of spray.

The whole after part of the ship was by this time on fire; and falling off before the wind under her foresail, she ran down in the direction of the frigate that was lying to about a mile to leeward. As she bore up and passed us, the old captain, drenched, half-naked, and bareheaded, with a face pale as death, 'was endeavouring to seize the ensign union down in the main rigging, but it was torn from his feeble

hands by the strength of the wind, and as if it had been the last faint gleam of hope finally deserting them, flew down to leeward like a flash of red flame. He then again hung the board on which he had formerly telegraphed over the gangway. The following fearful legend was now written on it in chalk:

ON FIRE, AND SINKING! If I had followed her, after having once been pooped, and nearly swamped already, it would have been downright madness, epecially as I could render no earthly assistance. I had therefore nothing for it but to keep the Midge lying to.

The firmament now became black as night. A thick squall, with heavy rain, that had been some time brewing to windward, burst down on us with the most terrific fierceness. For a minute we could neither see nor hear any thing but the roaring of the tormented waters, and the howling, or rather thundering of the wind. The shred of sail that we had set flew out of the bolt-rope into ribbons, with a sound like a cannon-shot, and I thought the little vessel would have turned keel up. At length it passed us, and cleared where we were, only to shew us the poor disabled ship overtaken by it. And now it was evident that she was water-logged, from the heavy sickly way in which she rolled and pitched, while the fire lit up the whole dark sky overhead with a red murky glare, as if it had been midnight.

The squall crept up to her, thickened round her, and gradually concealed both her and the frigate, hiding them entirely from our view within its watery veil; but the conflagration still lit up, and shone through the grey mist like shroud, (alas, in very truth a shroud to one of them!) and gave horrible indication as to her whereabouts.

It suddenly disappeared, the tornado of wind and rain drifted down to leeward. A blinding flash of lightning took place, and anon a peal of thunder shook the empyrean, as if it had been the trumpet of the Archangel. The clouds rose the weather cleared away-Great God, what do I see! The frigate is there -BUT THE SHIP IS GONE!

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For several minutes, the thunderstorm continued with the same violence. At one time I thought the lightning had struck our mast-head. But it was the breaking up of the weather, for with startling suddenness a bright slanting beam from the evening sun pierced through the dark masses of cloud in the west, and floated on the tempestuous surface of the troubled waters where the ship had gone down, like a ray of hope breaking through clouds and shadows on the tumultuous agita tions of a departing spirit. Was it the eye of Providence glancing on the watery grave of the innocent and virtuous, and evincing through our senses, that the quenching of their gentle light amidst the howling waste of waters, although unseen of men, was not unmarked of the Eternal, "who maketh the clouds his chariot, and who walketh on the wings of the wind?" And was the doom of the wicked in the rolling thun der? The thought stirred me like a trumpet-note.

The sunbeam travelled on, as if drifting before the wind, until it glanced on the dark hull, and lofty spars, and storm staysails of the noble frigate; and the weather moderating at the same time, I ran off the wind to close the Commodore, and sailed over the spot where the ship had foundered, as near as we could judge. Several hencoops and spars were floating about; but the whole crew were gone to "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."

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Keep her away a bit," sung out Lennox from forward-"keep her away a bit, Mr Brail, there is something struggling in the water close

to.

More yet-more yet," as the noble fellow fastened a rope round his waist; "that will do-now, messmates, hold on, and mind you haul me in if I miss, and seem pretty well done." In a twinkling the poor fellow was overboard, and striking out gallantly amongst the choking spray. I see the object," I exclaimed, "that is flashing and struggling in the water; whatever it may be, he has it; down with the helm, and bring her to the wind-down with it, hard-a-lee. He has it-he has it! No, missed it, by heaven! No, no, he has fast hold; gently, haul him in,

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men-gently, that's it; now, handsomely, in with him. Hurra! well done, Lennox! You are on board again, my lad."

"Why, what have they hauled in with him?" said Donovan, who was standing aft beside me, while Lennox was got on board at the bows. I was myself confoundedly puzzled. "A sheep, and a bundle of clouts, ha, ha, ha!" shouted Joe Peak. I jumped forward. A bundle of cloutsalas, alas! it was the breathless body of the beautiful child I had seen on board the ship.

It was lashed to the neck of the pet lamb with a silk handkerchief, and now lay at my feet a little blue and ghastly corpse. I snatched it up in my arms, more from the impulse of the moment, than any expectation of the ethereal spark being still present in the little cold clammy body; and, to the great surprise of the crew, I called Lennox, and desiring him to get some hot salt in a cloth, and two bottles of hot water, and to bring some warm cloths into the cabin immediately, I descended; stripped the child, and drying his little limbs with a piece of blanket, I clapt him into my own berth. Lennox and Donovan followed; and, against all appearances, we set to, and chafed and manipulated the frigid limbs of the darling boy, and applied hot bottles to his feet, and the hot salt to his little chest and stomach; but it was all in vain. It was a moving sight to see great rough bushy-whiskered hard-aweather seamen, in despite of all etiquette, struggling like children at a raree show to get a peep at what was going on below, through the small open skylight, that ventilated the little well cabin.

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Ab, my poor little fellow, you are gone; your unhappy mother might have spared her dying heart the pang of parting with you, when she made you fast to the lamb-you would then at least have died in her arms, and beside her heart, my sweet child!" As I said this, my brother officer, and Lennox, the latter all dripping with sea water, and still pale and breathless with his recent exertions, were both standing looking down on the body of the child, having done all they could,but all in vain.

The tears were rolling down thẹ

Scotch lad's cheek, and Dennis, honest fellow, once or twice blew his nose very suspiciously, contriving during the trumpetings to steal a small swab at his eyes, lest the share the old lady in Sackville Street, Dublin, had in him, might become too apparent.

"He is gone," said Lennox, after a long pause, as he stepped to the berth, with the intention of covering the dead body with the sheet. He no sooner stooped down than he suddenly started back, and held up his hand to attract our attention. I looked-one eyelid quivered-it opened a little, then shut again, and again the aguish appearance passed over it; the chest heaved, and the little sufferer drew a long sigh. "He lives, he lives!" said Lennox, in a low voice, and speaking as if he was himself choking. The word was passed through the skylight to the warm-hearted expectants clustered round it on their knees on the deck above. My eye, what a row! They instantly jumped to their feet, and began to caper about overhead as if a legion of dancing devils had suddenly possessed them.

"He's alive," shouted one poor fellow, "and we can now spare Dicky Phantom."

"Forward with you, men," sung out Mr Wadding, " forward with you; how dare you lumber the quarterdeck in that way, with your lubberly carcasses?

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We now increased our exertions, and had the inexpressible pleasure of seeing them crowned with success; and having poured some tepid wine and water down the child's throat he was as yet too weak to drink it himself, or to speak-we had the happiness to see him open wide his fine dark blue eyes, and take a steady, and apparently a conscious look at us; and presently his respiration, though as yet slow and sighlike, became regular; the animal heat of his body over his heart began to be perceptible-the blue clayey colour of his skin and face, the sharpness of his features, and the blackness of his shrunk lips, began to fade and give way before the accelerating circulation-and after coughing up a large quantity of salt water, he turned his little face to the

ship's side, and fell into a sound sleep.

By this time it was near sunset, and the gale was rapidly abating, but the sea was still very high. We ran down and closed with the Commodore, and kept him in view the whole night.

Donovan and I were sitting in the cabin regaling ourselves with a glass of grog, about nine o'clock in the evening "I say, Benjie, how that poor little fellow snores-do you hear him?"

"I do, and it is music to mine ear, my darling. What a scene it must have been when the ship foundered! I am glad we did not see it, Donovan."

"And so am I-why, we have rather had a stirring time of it lately, a number of odd circumstances have happened; but what do you make of the Commodore's taking on so, as you and Sprawl said he did, when he heard that young De Walden was missing-had he any hand in the young chap, think you?"

"Oh, no," said I laughing, "nothing; besides he used to keep him tighter set up than any other mid in the ship. However, that would neither make nor mend as to the probability of your surmise, Donovan; but I verily believe he was no connexion of the Commodore's."

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'Well, well," said Dennis, " give me t'other glass of swizzle, Lennox -thank ye. I say, Lennox, my ladgallant conduct enough that of yours

-after having been so ill too-I wonder you had strength." The man bowed." Now since I have had time to consider, what are you going to do with the child there, Benjie?

"Send him on board Gazelle, I presume, when the weather moderates-but, good-night, I am off to my cot-who has the watch, Lennox ?" "Mr Peak, sir."

"Tell him to keep close to the Commodore, and call me the instant any thing worth reporting occurs." "Yes, sir."

"How is the weather?"

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When I awoke next morning, the first thing I did was to reconnoitre how my little and most unexpected visitor held out. There lay the fair child, steeped in a balmy slumber, with his downy cheeks as peachlike and blooming as ever; even his hair, with the crystallized, salt sparkling amongst it, once more curled thick and clustering round his magnificent forehead. As I stooped over him he awoke, and stretched out his arms in the evident expectation of clasping some one that he had been accustomed to lie beside; alas! they touched the cold hard ship's side. He grew startled, and called on his mother and then on his father, and on his grandfather, and his dear aunt Emily waiting between each exclamation for the wonted caress or answer. His eye caught mine-he looked surprised, and peered anxiously all about the cabin, until at last, as if he had really comprehended the full extent of his desolation, he began to cry bitterly, and to sob as if his little heart would have burst. Lennox and I did all we could to pacify him, but who could come instead to him of those whose hearts were now cold for ever? I could not stand it, and went on deck, leaving him in the hands of the steward.

The weather was now clear, and the sea had gone down; the frigate was about a mile and a half on our lee-bow, carrying all sail, so that we had to crack on to keep up with her. During that forenoon and the following day we had no communication together, but about 11 A. M. on the third day after the ship had foundered, we got so well placed on her quarter as to be able to communicate without trumpets.

The Commodore hailed first"Sad accident that t'other day, Mr Brail."

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he had nothing on but his little frock and shift, which had been torn in the getting of him in, so Lennox and the sailmaker had rigged him in a tiny check-shirt, with white lappels, a pair of little duck trowsers, with large horn buttons, very wide at the feet, and very tight at the waist-cut, in a word, in the very extreme of nautical dandyism; little white canvass shoes, and a small tarpauling hat completed his set out. They had even hung by a piece of spunyarn a small hornhandled knife round his neck, so that he was a complete topman in miniature.

Childlike, for he could not have been three years old at the most, he had already taken to the men, and was playing with the pet-lamb, that was making believe to buck him with its head; and indeed every now and then it would knock over the little fellow, but without hurting him, and roll about with him on the deck.

"What child is that? And I see you have some live-stock-where got you the sheep?"

"The child was picked up, lashed to the lamb, Sir Oliver, when the ship went down."

Come on board, and dine with me at three, Mr Brail-you can tell me all about it then."

We sheered off again; and it was laughable to notice the crowd of heads out of the frigate's ports the instant the little fellow was noticed on our decks. Immediately after this a group of men were sitting in the bows of the felucca with the child amongst them. Lennox came up to me and touched his forehead-" The little fellow told me his name was William Howard, sir; probably you would like to set it down as a clew to find out his friends when we get to England."

“A very proper precaution, Lennox, and well thought of, but are you sure that was the name the child answered to."

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time the boy was tumbling about amongst the men, taking no notice either of Lennox or me.

"William Howard," said Lennox. "What you want?" promptly said the child, as he knocked off from his play, and looked steadfastly at the marine. "A good and satisfactory proof," said I; " I will make a note of it, Lennox."

Donovan and I sometime after this were walking backwards and forwards on the small quarterdeck, talking of I don't remember what, when we perceived a stir amongst the men forward, and an attempt evidently making amongst them to shove old Dogvane aft with some communication to me. He appeared reluctant to be thrust forward as spokesman, and waxed very emphatic in his gestures to the group who were all talking at the same time, and laughing with each other as they closed round the old quartermaster.

"Come, there is more rain than wind in that squall," said I, to Donovan, looking towards the group. "What request, think you, is to be made now, Dennis ?"

"Can't conjecture for the life of me," said he.

Dogvane now took a fresh quid, by way of gaining courage, I suppose, to enter on his embassage, and advancing a step from the rest, he cast his eyes on the deck, and began to thump one hand on another, and to mutter with his lips as if he had been rehearsing a speech. Presently, giving his trowsers a hitch, and his quid a cruel chirt, he looked towards us, in act to advance, as it were, but his heart again failed him, and with another pull at his waistband, and a tremendous chew of his quid, which made the tobacco juice squirt from both corners of his mouth, he hove about again, apparently in despair and discomfiture, and joined the others, who instantly set up a loud laugh.

Lennox, I saw, had now slid round to the men, and with a most quizzical cast of his eye, was using his powers of persuasion with old Dogvane, to get him to weigh anchor once more, and to set forth on his mission again, but the quartermaster shook his head, and seemed to refuse point-blank. At length, after a great deal of bother, the steward ap

peared to have screwed his courage to the sticking place, for he now advanced to within a couple of yards of where we stood, the group behind creeping up after him. He kept rubbing the back of his hand across his muzzle, and coughing and clearing his voice, and every now and then he took a squint over his shoulder, to see that, in case his memory should fail him, he was in immediate communication with his reserve. After another stiff chew of his quid, and a devil of a hitch of the waistband of his trowsers, and a smoothing down of his forelock, he tore his hat off his head, as if it had been a divot, as Lennox might have said, and broke ground to the following purport

"You sees, your honour, and Mr Donovan, there-gentlemen both"A considerable pause, during which he seemed awfully puzzled.

"I am gravelled already, Lennox, you see," quoth he, over his shoulder.

"No, no," said Lennox, "try again, man, try again."

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May it please you, sir-it has blowed half a gale of wind some two days agone, as mayhap your honour knows".

I could not help smiling for the soul of me." Why, Dogvane, I have reason good to know that, but what would you be after? Come to the point, man.'

"And so I would, captain, if I only knowed how to get thereI fear the point he speaks of lies in the wind's eye, and that I sha'n't fetch it," (aside to Lennox)" but as I says before, your honour, we had a sniffler some two days agone, and the parrot, Wapping Poll, your honour-why, she was blown overboard, your honour, and as a parrot is not of the gull specie, your ho nour, I fears as how poor Poll may have been drowned.'

I could scarcely keep my gravity. Why, assume that the bird is drowned, then, Dogvane, and get on."

"No, sir, with all submission, I have no sartainty of that. A bird that can speak, must think; and it's no impossibility, in my mind, in Poll being at this moment cruising as mate of the watch on the back of a wild-duck-but then a duck does dive now and then, to be sure."

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