half disenveloped from its ham-weather should come on, gave mock,-when I distinctly saw me no apprehension: I was too its livid and ghastly features much proof against the fear of covered only by an inch of the future, or any danger that transparent sea, and a huge it might bring. Robson could shark preparing his hungry jaws give me no assistance; I had to prey upon it,-I drew not therefore to rely upon my own back, but kept my eye coldly exertions for everything. If the upon it, as if it had been the vessel ever moved again, I must most indifferent object upon hand and steer-though, from earth; for I was as insensible the continuance of the calm, it to emotion as a statue would did not seem likely I should be have been. This insensibility soon called upon to do either. enabled me to undertake any I kept watch at night upon deck, office for the sick, and to drag and could sleep, either by day the bodies of the dead to the or night, only by short snatches, ship's side and fling them over-extended at full length near the board; for at last no one else was left to do it. All, save myself, were attacked with the disorder, and one by one died before the ninth day was completed, save James Robson, the least athletic man I had, and who, judging from constitution, was but little likely to have survived. The disorder left him weak as a child. I gave him the most nourishing things I could find: I carried him, a mere skeleton, into my cabin, and placed him on a fresh bed, flinging his own and all the other beds overboard. I valued him as the only living thing with me in the vessel; though, had he died, I should at the time have felt little additional pain. I regarded him as one brute animal would have looked at another in such a situation.

helm. On the tenth night, while the sea was yet in the repose of the grave around me, I fell into a doze, and was assailed with horrible dreams, that precluded my receiving refreshment from rest. Millions of living things, which had ascended from the caverns of the deep, or been engendered from the stagnation and heat, seemed to play in snaky antics on its surface. aroused myself, and the silence on every side seemed more terrible than ever. Clouds were rising over the distant sea-line and obscuring the stars, and the ocean put on a gloomy aspect. No sailor was now pacing the deck on his accustomed watch. The want of motion in the ship, and her powerless sails hanging in festoons amid the diminishing starlight, added to 'How the ship was to be the solitary feeling which, in navigated by one man, and spite of my apathy, I experiwhat means I possessed of keep-enced; I thought myself cut off ing her afloat in case blowing from mankind for ever, and that

conversation exhausted him, while talking in his incoherent fits did not produce the same debilitating effect. "Where is the mate?" he wildly asked me;

my ship, beyond where winds ever blew, would lie and rot upon the corrupting sea. I forgot the melancholy fate of my crew at this moment, and thought, with comparative un-"Why am I in your cabin, capconcern, that the time must soon come when, the last draught of water being finished, I too must die. The next night, half slumbering, a thousand strange images would come before my sight; the countenance of my late mate, or some one of the crew, was frequently among them, distorted and fitted upon uncouth bodies. I felt feverish and unwell on awaking. One moment I fancied I saw a vessel pass the ship under full sail, and with a stiff breeze-and then a second; while no ruffle appeared on the ocean near mine, and I hailed them in vain. Now I heard the tramp of feet upon the deck, and the whisper of voices, as of persons walking near me, whom I uselessly challenged this was followed by the usual obdurate silence. I felt no fear; for nature had no visitation for mortal man more appalling than I had already encountered and to the ultimate of evils with social man, as I have before observed, I was insensible; for what weight could social ideas of good or evil have with me at that moment?

"The morning of the eleventh day of my suffering I went down into the cabin, to take some refreshment to Robson. Though at intervals in the full possession of his senses, the shortest rational

tain? Have they flung Waring overboard yet?" I contented myself with giving him general answers, which appeared to satisfy him. I feared to tell him we were the only survivors; for the truth, had he chanced to comprehend it in its full force, might have been fatal. On returning upon the deck, I observed that clouds were slowly forming, while the air became doubly oppressive and sultry. The intensity of the sun's rays was exchanged for a closer and even more suffocating heat, that indicated an alteration of some kind in the atmosphere. Hope suddenly awoke in my bosom again: a breeze might spring up, and I might get free from my horrible captivity. I took an observation, and found that I was clear of the rocks and shoals of the Bahamas, towards which I feared a current might have insensibly borne me; all I could do, therefore, in case the wind blew, was to hang out a signal of distress, and try to keep the sea until I fell in with some friendly vessel.

'I immediately took measures for navigating the ship by my self. I fastened a rope to secure the helm in any position I might find needful, so that I might venture to leave it a few minutes when occasion required. I went

aloft and cut away the topsails which I could not reef, and reduced the canvas all over the ship as much as possible, leaving only one or two of the lower sails set; for if it blew fresh, I could not have taken them in, and the ship might perish, while by doing this I had some chance of keeping her alive.

chance of once more mingling with my fellow-men filled my imagination, and braced every fibre of my frame almost to breaking. The ship's motion. perceptibly increased; the ripple under her bow at length became audible, she felt additional impulse, moved yet faster, and at length cut through the water at the rate of four or five knots an hour. This was fast enough for her safety, though not for my impatience. I steered her large before the wind for some time, and then kept her as near as possible in the track of vessels bound for Europe, certain that, carrying so little sail, I must be speedily overtaken by some ship that could render me assistance. Nor was I disappointed in my expectation. After steering two days with a moderate breeze, during which time I never left the helm, a large West Indiaman came up with me, and gave me every necessary aid. By this means, I was at length enabled to reach Halifax, and finally the river Mersey, about five weeks later than the time I had formerly calculated for my

'I now anxiously watched the clouds which seemed to be in motion, and the sight was a cordial to me. At last the sea began to heave with gentle undulations; a slight ripple succeeded and bore new life with it. I wept for joy, and then laughed, as I saw it shake the sails and then gradually fill them; and when at length the brig moved, just at noon on the eleventh day our becalming commenced, I became almost mad with delight. It was like a resurrection from the dead; it was the beginning of a new existence with me. Fearful as my state then was in reality, it appeared a heaven to that which I had been in. The hope of deliverance aroused me to new energies. I felt hungry, and ate voraciously; for till that moment I had scarcely eaten enough to sustain life. The voyage.'

CHAPTER XVII.

THE BURNING OF THE EARL OF ELDON.

'ON the 24th of August 1834, I | Bombay, with a view of returnembarked on board the ship ing to my native land on furEarl of Eldon, of 600 tons, com-lough. She was the finest and manded by Captain Theaker, at strongest ship in the trade, and

any insurance might have been become fire. The captain came had on the chances of her suc-on deck, and I asked him what cessfully resisting the winds and it was. He answered steam, waves; but who can foresee and that it was common enough their fate, even for a day? She in cotton-loaded ships when the was cotton-loaded; and as the hatches were opened. I said number of passengers was small, nothing, but the smoke becomthe space between decks was ing more dense, and beginning filled choke up with cotton bales, to assume a different colour, I screwed in as compact and tight began to think that all was not as possible, so as to render it a right, and also that he had some matter of more difficulty to take idea of the kind, as the carpenter them out than it had been to was cutting holes in the deck put them in. It unfortunately just above the place where the happened that the cotton had smoke appeared to come. I been brought on board damp, went down to dress, and about during heavy rain, and had not half-past six the captain knocked been dried in the warehouses at my door, and told me that previous to its being screwed. part of the cotton was on fire, As this operation is performed and he wished to see all the by very powerful compression, gentlemen passengers on deck. it is not unlikely that fire-damp We accordingly assembled, and might be generated in the same he then stated the case to be manner as in a hay-stack when this, that some part of the cargo it has been stacked damp. The appeared to have spontaneously number of individuals on board ignited, and that he proposed was forty-five, including three removing the bales until they ladies and an infant, and the should discover the ignited ones, captain and his crew. and have them thrown overboard, as also those which appeared to be in the same damaged condition; and that it being necessary, in his opinion, to do this, he deemed it his duty to lay the matter before us. We of course submitted everything to his judgment, and he ordered the hands to breakfast as quickly as possible, and to work to discover the source of the fire. This having been done, he said that there did not appear to be immediate danger, and that he hoped we might be able to avert it altogether. However, at eight

On the 26th of September, after a series of baffling winds and calms, and heavy rains with squalls of wind, we fell in with the trade winds, and began to anticipate our arrival at the Cape. On the morning of the 27th, I rose early, about halfpast five, and went on deck. I found one of my fellow-passengers there: we perceived a steam apparently arising from the fore-hatchway; I remarked to Hunt that I thought it might be caused by fire-damp, and if not immediately checked, might

o'clock, the smoke became much part, orders were given to hoist thicker, and began to roll throughout the bales until the inflamed

the after-hatchway-the draught having been admitted forward in order to enable the men to work. Several bales were removed; but the heat began to be intolerable below, the smoke rolled out in suffocating volumes, and before nine o'clock we discovered that part of the deck had caught fire; in short, the men were obliged to knock off work. The captain then ordered the hatches to be battened down, with a view to keep the fire from bursting out, and to hoist out all the boats, and stock them in case of necessity. This was done; and about half-past one, the three ladies, two sick passengers, an infant, and a female servant were put into the long-boat, with two hundred and sixteen gallons of water, twenty gallons of brandy, and biscuit for a month's consumption, together with such pots of jam and preserved meats as we could get at, and the day's provision of fresh and salted

meat.

'It was now about two o'clock; the hatches were then opened, and all hands set to work to endeavour to extinguish the fire. The main hatch being lifted, and a tarpaulin removed, there was a sail underneath, which was so hot that the men could hardly remove it; when they did, the heat and smoke came up worse than ever; and it being now known from inspection that the fire was underneath that

ones could be got at; but when the men laid hold of the lashing to introduce a crane-hook, they were found to have been burned through beneath, and came away in their hands.

'The case now appeared bad indeed; however, we cut a bale open and tried to remove it by handfuls, but the smoke and heat became so overpowering, that no man could stand over it, and water only seemed to have the effect of increasing it, in the quantities we dared use; for had the captain ventured to pump water into the ship to extinguish the fire, the bales would have swelled so much as to burst open the deck, and have increased so much in weight as to sink the ship; so that either way destruction would have been the issue. Under these circumstances, perceiving the case to be utterly hopeless, the captain called us together on the poop, and asked if any one could propose any expedient likely to avail in extinguishing the fire, and saving the ship, as in that case "we will stick by her while a hope remains." It was unanimously agreed that all had been done that could be done; the men were all perfectly sober, and had been indefatigable in their exertions, but one and all seemed coolly and positively of opinion that the case was hopeless. The heat was increasing so much, that it became dangerous to leave the poop; the captain