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THE SUNKEN TREASURE.

WILLIAM PHIPPS was a poor man's son, and was born in the province of Maine, at the time when it was under British rule.

In his boyhood and youth he used to tend sheep upon the hills, and until he had grown to be a man, he did not even know how to read and write. Tired of tending sheep, he next apprenticed himself to a ship-carpenter, and spent about four years at this work.

In 1673, when he was twenty-two years old, he went to Boston, and soon afterwards was married to a rich widow. It was not long, however, before he lost all the money that he had acquired by his marriage, and became a poor man again. Still he was not discouraged. He often told his wife that, some time or other, he should be very rich, and would build a 'fair brick house' in the Green Lane of Boston.

Several years passed away, and William Phipps had not yet gained the riches which he promised to himself. During this time he had begun to follow the sea for a living. In the year 1684, he happened to hear of a Spanish ship which had been cast away near the

Bahamas, and which was supposed to contain a great deal of gold and silver. Phipps went to the place in a small vessel, but he did not succeed in fishing up gold and silver enough to pay the expenses of his voyage.

But before he returned, he was told of another Spanish galleon, which, laden with immense treasure, had been cast away near Porto Plata. This ship had lain as much as fifty years beneath the waves. But though it was now an old story, and the most aged people had almost forgotten that such a vessel had been wrecked, Phipps resolved that the sunken treasure should again be brought to light.

He went to London, and obtained admittance to King James. He told the king of the vast wealth that was lying at the bottom of the sea. King James appointed Phipps to be captain of a vessel called the Rose Algier, carrying eighteen guns and ninety-five men.

Captain Phipps sailed from England in the Rose Algier, and cruised for nearly two years in the West Indies, endeavouring to find the wreck of the Spanish ship. It was all in vain. But before leaving the West Indies, he met with a Spaniard, an old man, who remembered the wreck of the Spanish ship, and gave him directions how to find the very spot. It was on a reef of rocks, the old man said, a few leagues from Porto Plata.

On his arrival in England, Captain Phipps

solicited the king to let him have another vessel, and send him back again to the West Indies. But King James, who had expected that the Rose Algier would return laden with gold, refused to do more.

Phipps might never have been able to renew the search, if the Duke of Albemarle and some other noblemen had not lent their assistance. They fitted out a ship, and gave the command to Captain Phipps. He sailed from England, and arrived safely at Porto Plata, where he assisted his men to build a large boat.

The boat was intended for the purpose of going closer to the reef of rocks than a large vessel could safely venture. When it was finished, the captain sent several men in it to examine the spot where the Spanish ship was said to have been wrecked. They were accompanied by some Indians, who were skilful divers.

The boat's crew proceeded to the reef of rocks, but nothing could they see more valuable than a curious sea-shrub, growing in a crevice of the reef of rocks.

"We won't go back empty-handed,” cried an English sailor; and then he spoke to one of the Indian divers. "Dive down and bring me that pretty sea-shrub there. That's the only treasure we shall find." Down plunged the diver, and soon rose dripping from the water, holding the sea-shrub in his hand. "There are some ship's guns," said he, the moment he had

drawn breath, "some great cannon, among the rocks, near where the shrub was growing."

No sooner had he spoken, than the English sailors knew that they had found the very spot where the Spanish galleon had been wrecked so many years before. The other Indian divers immediately plunged over the boat's side, and swam headlong down, groping among the rocks and sunken cannon. In a few moments, one of them rose above the water with a heavy lump of silver in his arms. The single lump was worth more than a thousand dollars.

The sailors took it into the boat, and then rowed back as speedily as they could to inform Captain Phipps of their good luck. "That is lucky!" cries Captain Phipps. "We shall every man of us make our fortunes!"

Hereupon the captain and all the crew set to work with iron rakes and great hooks and lines, fishing for gold and silver at the bottom of the sea. Up came the treasure in abundance. Now they beheld a table of solid silver, once the property of an old Spanish Grandee. Now they drew up a golden cup, fit for the king of Spain; now their rakes or fishing-lines were loaded with masses of silver bullion. There were also precious stones among the treasure, glittering and sparkling.

After a day or two, Captain Phipps and his crew lighted on another part of the wreck, where they found a great many bags of silver

dollars. But nobody could have guessed that these were money-bags. By remaining so long in the salt water, they had become covered over with a crust like stone, so that it was necessary to break them in pieces with hammers and axes. When this was done, a stream of silver dollars gushed out upon the deck of the vessel.

The whole value of the recovered treasure, plate, bullion, precious stones, and all, was estimated at more than two millions of dollars. Captain Phipps and his men continued to fish up plate, bullion, and dollars, as plentifully as ever, till their provisions grew short. Then, as they could not feed upon gold and silver, Phipps returned to England, where he was received with great joy by the Duke of Albemarle and other English lords who had fitted out the vessel.

The captain's share was enough to make him comfortable for the rest of his days. It also enabled him to fulfil his promise to his wife, by building a "fair brick house" in the Green Lane of Boston. Before Captain Phipps left London, King James made him a knight; so that, instead of the obscure ship-carpenter who had formerly dwelt among them, the inhabitants of Boston welcomed him on his return as the rich and famous Sir William Phipps.

Edinburgh:

Printed by W. & R. Chambers.

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