17ZZZ-lin V.SO
IFOW.k.B3D&B
WEDNESDAY, AUG us l r 6, 1845
[Written for the Bradford Reporter.]
A Fragment.
The years, the years! how noiselessly they weep
Along this waste of being. Stealthfully
They work with influence invisible,
Yet in their imperceptible advance
All earthly things must feel their power. They creep
Upon The face of beauty and its sheen
Isdarkened. The light and joyousness •
Of childhood's cheek, grow faint and fade away
Beneath the shadows which their airy wings
Cast o'er their sunny tracts of life. How doth '
The rigid brow of manhood lose its cast
'Of hold adventure and grow tremulous
And palsy-shaken, when the flying years
With noiseless arrows have drunk up
The spirit-fountains of the soul. Meanwhile,.
No new vicissitude diversifies
The march of their existence. Still they Move
As rapidly as when they saw the earth's ,
Primeval landscapes clad with verdant groves--
Ere ever voice of man or beast or bird,
Awoke the stillness of the new-born world;
Or ever Nature, working in her sphere
'Midst forms and shapes and kinds innumerable
Of untold beauty, found response and s aw
Herself disclosed and worship'd by
Intelligences of her own—changeless
Themselves, though changing all.—Yonder new babe,
A tiny being, rock'd in earliest
Repose upon its mother's bosom, feels
The freshest glow of life in heart and limb;
Unconscious of all else. Some fleeting year
Pass smoothly on : the stranger learns to act ", ,
His part with more or less adroitness, till
His little tragady of life is done ;
And new again he sleeps upon the breast
Of Earth, our general Parent, which shall heave
Not till the last trump shall sound its dread alarm
And wake the slumberer.—-
The years, the years ; with tempest roar an force
They thunder by. In their majestic march
They hurry onwards to their final close
And consummation all created things.
Methinks I bear the solemn melody
.Of vast revolving spheres, that mix and whirl
In undistinguishable mazes through
The infinite of space. And stunning sounds
Of elemental war and battle shock,
And busy hum of every living thing,
Arise in awful chorus to salute
lily newly open'd ears. The earth, the sea,
The liquid depths of ether, turn with life
Painful of happy, and the farthest realms
Of space are instinct with intelligence
And motion. Winds that shake the mountains tops
And earthq‘akes struggling under ground, the huge
Leviathian.that flounders through the deep,
Nor less the countless living things that fill
Earth's smallest particle—the water-drop
The green leaf and the rose's delicate tint,
Display the workings of the boundless Mind.
Nor we slime, the beings of a day,
Do live—Se universe has one great Soul
That lives and moves and breathes in every thing—
And bears the burdens of existence too.
The universe is living. Hills and rocks
And morn and stars and seas and shores endure
Change and vicissitude in endless round.
And ever as the solemn years sweep by,
The pulses of the universal Soul
Heave through old Nature); mighty frame. Our life,
A rnetcor r blaze across ‘ the azure sky,
Endures but for a moment and is gone—
A dancing bubble on the ocean wave,
It bursts and sinks into the general mass
Of waters. But the soul that breathes our breath—
The ground on which our particolor'life
Is painted, is eternal; and while all
The fleeting forms that mock our vision come
And go, it holds its lofty state above •
All change, all passion, hope, desire or fear.
Tow ANDA. July 27th, 1845,
Getting to Sea,
By HARRY DANFORTH, AUTHOR OF " CRUISING
IN THE LAST WAR."
We were blockaded at Newport. Our ves
sel was a sharp. Baltimore-built craft, heavily
sparred, and carrying twenty guns. She had
never been beaten .by a square rigged vessel
on wind. If once at sea, therefore, we should
have little to lear. But for three weeks we
had been lying idly -at anchor, and, as winter
was cominz on, the crew began to be impa
tient. At list a norther blew the blockading
squadron from the Mouth Of the harbor, and
the skipper resolved to seize the occasion and
attempt to get to sea.
The sun had declined towards the low shore
of the opposite Island, when, in obedience to
a note from the Captain, we met him at the
wharf to repair on board. Our ship lay but a
short distance off, and as we pulled towards
her . I contemplated her exquisite proportion
for the twentieth time. Her long low bull eat
so light upon the waters; it scarcely seemed to
touch them. The tall, jaunty masts, crossed
by the long black yards, rose to an immense
distance overhead, raking far away aft and ta
pering aloft whipstalks. The bowsprit show
ed itself high up in front, the stays bracing it
taunt to the foremast, and appearing to extend
thence, in mazy lines of hamper, to every part
of the ship. From the mainmast to the" pen
non drooped nearly to the water. now and
then stirring lazily in the almost imperceptible
currents of air. The :hull was painted of a
deep black ; the only other color perceptible
about the ship was the blood-red of the open
ports.
A few quick strokes brought us on board.—
The decks were white with constant holyston
ing, and the Rase ornaments around were
burnished to their utmost polish. Immediate
ly all hands were piped to muster. They
numbered, all told, one hundred and twAnty
" -
• •
. . .
. .
. .
..
- 2.`• , r
. .
'a.
;.:f
. ,..:.
, v ...; ,
f f
et. •r,
4;
The ensuing evening broke clear, without a
particle of haze. The stars, however, had not
yet faded from the 'firmament before the cold
gray light of approaching day, when all hands
were piped to make sail. We fired a gun,
sat the colors, and loosed the top sails.—
Then the shrill whistle of the boatswain again
rang through the ship, and the cry, all hands
unmoor," floated over the water. The men
started merrily to their - work, and soon the ca
ble hove short. Then followed the quick or
der to brace the head-yards aback and the af
ter-yards full ; the windlass was manned again,
a sheer was given to port,' the anchor tripped,
and the jib hoisted. Her head now fell rapid
ly off,aud we began to hear the water bubbling
under her stem.
"Fill away the head-yards—haul out the
spanker," thundered the officer of the deck,
and, his orders being. obeyed, we were soon
fairly under way, shooting out of the inner
harbor with easy velocity, like a sea-bird ta
king wing.
By this time the sun was half way above
the low hills, to the eastward, and the lofty
spars, and then the decks were lighted up by
his rays. A pleasurable excitement diffused
itself in every heart, caused by the rapid mo
tion of the vessel, and the beauty of the scene
around. Behind us lay the town, the white
steeples of some of the prouder mansions glis
tening in the sun, while a low murmur rising
from its crowded buildings betokened .that its
inhabitants were beginning to stir... From the
fort broad on our star board we heard thembeat
ing the reveille, and its martial tones came stir
ringly on our ears. Both the outer and the
inner harbor were dotted with sails, mostly
those of fishing boats or vessels trading up the
river. A cable's length or so, from Fort 11/ol
cott lay a taunt rigged brig, with her posts up,
and a few men seen lazily about her decks.—
She was a privateer that had slipped in a few
days before, after a highly successful cruise.
As we drew nearer to her, however, man after
man showed his head above her bulwarks
until her whole crew was visible, watching
us as we came down. We were soon side
by side.
•• Give them three cheers, my lads," said the
skipper, as we shot past.
Instantly the deafening huzzas arose, died
off, and rose again ; and when this round was
complete, the crew of the privateer sprang into
her rigging and answered us, while the offi
cers on her quarter waved their caps for a
parting salute. In a few minutes, the brig was
far astern.
We were now . opposite Fort Wolcott, when
we fired a salute to set all drawing sails.—
Newport lights waasoon left astern and before
two hours Block island was visible from the
deck. The broad ocean was now before us,
and we took our exuberant spirits. The sky
was' without a cloud, the waves danced and
sparkled in the sunbeams, the freshening
breeze whistled pleasantly in the rigging, and
the log told us that we were leaving the shore
with a velocity that would soon place us be
yond the reach of danger, especially if the fleet
of the enemy remained a few hours longer out
of sight.
" A sharp run this,,Alcott," said one of my
brother lieutenants. "We shall have to thank
our stars if we don't find any of the enemy in
our track."
I don't know," I replied ; our craft is
a Clipper, and can go into the very eye of the
wind.,,
W bile I was speaking my eye had been
turned to. the look-out at the mast-head, and
with the steadiness with which he gazed down
to leeward I suspected he saw a sail in that
quarter.. I was not mistaken. Simultaneous
ly with my remark he hailed.
'• A sail—brow' on the lee-beam r
All eves were turned toward the designated
quarter, and, with the aid of our glass we made
nut the stranger to be a heavy ship, apparently
under a crowd of canvass, standing from us.
We kept on our course, however, and directly
saw a second, and then a thud sail under our
lee. all crowding on every thing to come up
with us. It was evident that they were the
van of the English squadron, returning to
their blockading station, and that they had
made us out from the mast head and given chase.
The sea was smooth, with a gentle breeze,
so that we feared nothing so long as we kept
the weather guage. We were anxious to get
as far on our present tack as possible; accord
ingly, we continued our course until the nearest
'of the squadron was but two miles distant.—
She was a light frigate, whn had drawn far
ahead of her consorts. As she came dashing
up toward us, careening slightly, ber.pyrainitl
of canvass rising gracefully from her hull, and
_her peak blowing out from her main-topmast
head, she presented a stirring picture. Even
the skipper, who usually could see nothing
to extol in an enemy, joined in the general
praise:,
ME
" She, is a handsome croft," said he, pausing
at the. end of his usual walk on the quarter
deck, and wheeling sharp on his heel, after a
military fashion he had acquired on shore.—
" I did not think his Britanic Majesty had a
frigate so beautiful ! But ha !—the fellow- is
going to fire at us. He is close within range,
too. It wont do," he continued as if convers
ing with himself, " to go nigher one might get
one's spars crippled."
His remarks were cut short, by the sfioot
ing of a jet of flame from one of the forward
ports of the frigate, followed by a puff of thick
white smoke, which immediately floated back
wards against the hulk part of it passing over
her decks in thin white wreaths to leeward,
and part clinging to her dark sides and settling
doWn on the water. We had time to notice
these things fully before we heard the ball
whistling overhead.
"By the Lord,!" ejaculated the skipper,
"he flings his shot farther than I thought he
could. It was well aimed, too—eh, Andrews !"
he said, addressing his first lieutenant. "This
wont do-z•we have gone as far as we can on
this tack ; it is time to put about. Clear away
the long thirty-four. however," he thundered,
suddenly elevating h 4 worm. " and give that
chase a ~Aiot,"
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY, AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. S
" REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER."
The gun of which he spoke was a heavy
piece, mounted aminships, for the purpose of
crippling vessels we might be in chase of and
which were out of reach of our cannonades.—
The command was obeyed with alacrity, the
crew had caught on the instant, the spirit of the
skipper,
" A little lower," said the old tar, who was
the captain of this favorite piece " a wile yet
—there, that's it my hearties. This is a beau
tiful sea, lads. for a range—no pitching and
jerking, as if one's teeth were to be drawn out
—but easy and calm as a fresh water pond.—
Now we have all right—stand off."
With these words he applied the match, and
instantly stoopim - - ! hand on a
shipmate's shout' id stretching
forward eagerly, ourse of the
ball. In a few , he splinters
fly frOrn the dark
Hit her, by
bore her througl
wouldn't, if the sl
chance. But 1 s
windward."
The old tar's pi so pnourn
fully, was correct sr, however
willing he might ige his crew
in a harmless bra , II to endan
ger his craft by ri wnhin reach
of the enemy's „Illingly the smoke
from our piece had scarcely blown away from
the deck, when he issued orders fur all sail to
be made and the ship close-hauled. We were
soon, therefore, eating into the wind's eye with
every thing set that would draw.
The enemy, however, did not seem dispos
ed to allow us to escape so easily. The mo
ment his shot was returned and he saw us go
ing oft dead on the wind, he threw out lighter
canvass, and, bracing himself sharp up, began
a serious chase. But before the trial of speed
had continued half an hour, he saw that we
were more than a match for him, and giving
up all hope of overtaking us in a pursuit, be
gan to fire on us, in the hope of crippling our
spars. His first shot went through our mizzen
topsail.
" Hah !" said the skipper, wheeling again
suddenly on his heel, while his brow gathered
into a frown as he gazed at the frigate ; and
then he muttered to himself in an under tone,
" I have got the little Atlas into hot quarters,"
and again he look angrily and uneasily at the
frigate, from whose side, at that Instant, an
other sheet of flame leaped forth.,,
We watched anxiously the approach of the
shot—so anxiously that the few: secondsoccu
pied by it in traversing the distance belts een
the frigate and ourselves appeared protracted
into an age. Our situation 0 as, in reality , one
to awaken the most serious apprehensions.—
W ith the wish to run to sea as lar as possible
on our first tack, we had allowed the enemy
to approach within a dangerous proxlmity,
which the accuracy with which his guns were
pointed rendered doubly critical. A single
well•aimed shot might carry away some India=
pensable spar, and before the damage could be
repaired, the frigate might gain on us sufficient
ly make our capture inevitable ; for the lessen
ing by a tulle the distance that separated tie
would render all attempts to escape futile, as,
in that case, with the present smooth sea, the
foe could pick off our important spars as sure
ly and easily as a practical duelist could split
his bullet on a knife, nine times out of ten. ,
We held our breath, then fore, during the
passage of the Lall, nor were we relieved when
it struck the transom knee, scattering the splin
ters in every direction.
They know more of gunnery on board
yonder frigate than in most vessels to his ma
jesty's navy," whispered the third lieutenant
to me. a. We are in a pretty pickle. Depend
on it, they have only been trying their range,
and that we shall soon have a broadside rattling
about us."
He had scarcely spoken when the frigate,
which hitherto had been firing on us tvith - her
bow guns, yawed slightly, and siinulianously
the whole of her side Mrward was sheeted with
flame, while the cannon balls were visible re-
Corbeling, over the waves in their passage to
wards us. For an instant we experienced
again the most intense anxiety. At last the
iron.shower burst upon us. One ball shatter
ed the bulwarks but a few feet from where I
stood, knocking the splinters twenty feet into
the air. One of these splinters was driven, as
would drive a dagger, into the body of a sea
man who happened to be near me. The poor
man tell bleeding and ghastly to the deck, trom
whence be was carried below ; and before an
hour he was a corpse.
"The main top-mast head is injured," re
ported the captain of the top.
This was a serious piece of news, and I no
ticed that a look of anxiety came over the cap
tain's face, nor did it disappear until the dam
age had been examined and reported to be
comparatively trifling, though in a stiff gale
the spar would have certainly given way be
fore it could hare been strengthened. The re
pair of the injury was instantly begun ; and a
feeling of relief spread abroad when we came
to examine the remainder of the damages and
found them to be immaterial, since most of the
shot had passed over us or fallen short.
We were now rapidly drawing out of reach
of the enemy's fire. We had gained perceptii
bly on him 'before he resorted to his batteries,
but since then his velocity had been diminish
ed while ours remained unabated, the conse
quence was that he was now fast fallinv , astern.
He appeared sensible of this, and - made anoth
er effort to arrest our progress with his guns.
This time he yawed widely and discharged his
whole broadside at us, but every shot fell short.
We now merrily bacle.him farewell, thinking
the peril past.
The day, meantime. had passed the meridi
an, and night was fast approaching. The
sea continued smooth with gentle breezes. All
our light sails being set, we were rapidly in
creasing the distance between us and the pur
suing squadron, when suddenly four bells in
the afternoon watch a sail was discovered to
windward, which we soonoade out to bo a
schooner with all her canvass abroad, evident
ly watching us. Our glasses were immediate-
ly put in requisition, and she was discovered
to be heavily armed, with every appearance of
belonging to the blockading squadron: A fast
sailing schooner, origumlly an American priva
teer, had lately been caiitued anti commission
ed by the British admiral r at Halilaz to cruise
off the Sound of Long Island. It war highly
probable that she was the vessel in sight.
ylf so," said the skipper, " she is a clip
per on a wind, She will hug it close, and
pepper at us with her long Tom, in order to
cripple us so that the squadron may come up
and complete the capture, I wonder if any one
on board knows,. her."
A weather 7 beaten topman ?resented himself
when this inquiry ilas made on the forecastle.
fie had' been chased in a plot-boat about a
inonth before by the schooner, and could easi
ly recognize , her. The old know was asked
aft and a glass handed him.
shot. I'd
smote if 1
• give me a
off to the
He took it, after he had made his bow and
placing his tarpolean carefully on the deck,
proceeded, with a great deal of importance in
his air, to adjust the slides, so as to get. the
exact range for his eye. This, with some de
lay, he succeded in doing. Then he took a
long look at the schooner, during which the
skipper and his officers stood by scarcely able
to conceal their impatience. When lie had
apparently satisfied himself, he removed the
glass from his eve, and with the same slow
exactness closed the slides aid handed it to
the captain, still, however without
,uttering a
syllable.
" Well," said the 'skipper, now losing all
patience, and speaking in his quick way, as he
always did when excited, what do you
think ? You have taken a look loig enough
to recognize her, if you ever saw her be
fore."
" That's what I was bound to do." answered
the imperturable tar, seeing all depended on
sartainty in this waiter. Slow and sure is
what they used to teach us in old Nhssachu
setts, and I take it that what was a gm! rule
then is a good rule now—"
'• But the schooner," interrupted th! skip
per.
•. The schooner's a schooner, that's sirtin."
replied the topinan, turning a gnidieisu•ely to
his mouth, and if she ain't," he contnued,
perhaps noticing the angry frown beginring to
lower on the captain's brow, the same craft
that chased us ofT 'Montauk, a matter of a
month ago or an, then I know nothing tf 'the
rigging of a fore and aft.
The officers looked ateach other o ith think
faces. A silence ensued. Then the skpper
gave orders to heat to quarters. At the fint tap
of the drum the men were at their maims.
restless with imp:lth.! re to terminate the sus
pense of, our present situation.
As we were close on a wind, and theschoom
er coming down free it was not long before we
could see her decks, which appeared crowded
with men. The setting son, as it wheeled its
broad disc into the western ocean, dying the
I horizon with the gorgeous colors of the expir
ing dolphin, levelled its slant rays on he- white
sails, and brought her boldly out into rilief.—
As the billows heaved and fill against tie gol
, den orb, their white spray flashed like 'soften
silver ; while the tops of the waves between it
and us glistened gloriously along the wake of
the sunbeams. For some minutes we forgot
everything else in admiration of this settle.—
Gradually the luminary sank beneath tht
ion
zoo ; and one alter another of the brilliant tints
in the western sky faded into others less splen
did, the gold changing into crimson, the crim
son into purple, and that finally subsiding into
a pale, cold apple-green.
While, however• twilight was gradually
stealing over the ,eaboard in this quarter,
bringing with it the vague feeling of loueliness
which always attends that hour on the mean,
the moon, long since risen and now almost at
her meridian, was filooding the waters around
with her silvery light. Insensibly her berms
changed the character of the prospect to the
windward. The apple-green disappeared !root
the firmament, and night sensibly set in. The
horizon grew vague and shadowy ; thin indis
tinct masses of what - appeared mist hung
around the seaboard, which contrasted strik
ingly with the floods of effulgence poured down
from the - full moon, in our immediate vicinity.
There was not a cloud in the sky. The stars
were mostly hidden, though here and their one
larger than the rest twinkled with a subdued
light. And us the beams of the moon tell on
the snowy sails of the schooner. surrounded
by its shadows; it seemed like some renal
barque.
Nv e were now within range of each other,
when suddenly the schooner hauled her wind
and stood away on the same tack with our
selves. 'lmmediately afterward the foot of her
foresail lifted and a cloud of smoke puffed up
ward. Almost before we could comprehend
these manmuvres a- shot went hissing and
whizzing ahead of its, and plumpieg, into the
sea a few fathoms off, threw up a column of
spray.
‘• By the gods !" exclaimed the skipper,
"just as I expected. But if the fellow thinks
we carry only' earronades. and believeS that
by keeping aloof Iromi them lie can cut our
spars to pieces with his longtTom, and so en
sure our capture when the squadron came up,
he is mistaken. We may get crippled, but
we'll have a trial on him, at any rate.. For
ward there, Tackle. and see what your bull dog
can say."
Ay I. ay ! sir," answered the captain of our
thirty-four ; " we'll give a good account of him.
Now, look out, my hearties."
As he spoke he sighted the gun and imme
diately afterward we heard the report and saw
the shot skimming away over the waters. It
did not, however, hit the enemy, but passed
quite a pistol shot ahead. Tackle gave vent
to an impatient oath. and took care to keep his
eye from meeting that of the skipper, who
stood on the quarter deck.
" Dowse her out, my lads," erclaimed the
old whter dog. "and we'll try her again.—
Yellow Bess wont fail us a second time, Or my
name ain't Thomas Tackle."
His favorite piece was soon loaded.. He
stooped down, squinted along it, and rose up
GOODRICH & SON.
with au impatient humph. After wauuig a
second, he ran his eye again along the gun: and
from the length of time he occupied before he
succeeded in pointing it to his satisfaction, we
knew that his pride was aroused, and that ,the
ball would tell home. While lie was yet sight
ing the gun, a shot from the long Tom of the
schooner rang through the rigging overhead.—
But not a muscle of the old lellow's counte
nance moved. Quick as lightning he applied
the match, and as the smoke eddied off palely
in the moonlight, we saw the ball froth his
piece knock off the white splinters from the
after part of the schooner and then pass in ou
her deck, no doubt doing much damage,
" Huzza !--there she takes it," cried.out
Tackle ; • the varmints have it now on full
allowance, plenty of yankee balls and British
splinters. We'll give 'em more before we
have done with them. I'll pick off their spars
directly as I used to knack over the ducks in
the Egg Harbor thoroughfares. Howse her
out—bowse away merrily. We'll show 'em
what we can do."
Several shots were now exchanged with
considerable animation, the enemy returning
our fire briskly from its long Tom. But the
distance between us was so great as to redder
this kind of warfare of but little peril, for ma
ny of the shots fell short and the few lhat hit
the schooner had mostly spent their force.—
Tackle, however, soon proved.to our satisfac
tion his superior gunnery, for scarcely a hall
that carried far enough missed its aim. Had
we been able to get nearer to - the foe, we
should have bored her through and through.
but she hugged the wind miraculously. and
soon gained enough on us to render it certain
that she could beat us on our present tack, a
thing not so surprising, however. when' her
fore and aft rig was considered. Having satis
fied herielf of her superiority in this point she
allowed us again to approach. and began a ra
pid fire on us from her piece once more. in this
hopes of disabling us. We replied. however,
to her fire as rapidly, and . with more certainty.
Making every effort to get nearer, and close.
But this she evaded. dexterously keeping us
just within range. By what miracle our spars
escaped unhurt I know not. hut after keeping
up the contest for some time, we were still un-
Injured aloft, except by one or two trifling
hurts. Several shot however had taken effect
in our hull. On the otker hand, we bad cut
away the main peak halyards of our adversary,
and riddled her sails so thoroughly that she
began perceptibly to lose her advantage in sail
ing. A successful shot from Tackle's.piece, at
length. cut her foresail loose, and it came down
by the run.
We now gained rapidly nn her. - Every ex
ertion appeared to be making to repair damage,
but ht fore the foresail could be replaced we
we had run up comparatively close on her
quarter, and were doing terrible execution
with our gun. She was not -long without
spirit on her part, however; and her long thir
ty-four was working with such rapidity and
precision as to make us heartily wish to get
beyond its range. But our only chance of do
ing this safely remained in cracking on every
thing and so working to windward. .
" Hot work this, sir," ssid Tackle, as the
skipper came forward and addressed him ;
" but it's a smooth sea, and nearly as light as
day. I've had a shot already at that long gun
of theirs, and I'm no Egg Harbor man it I
don't dismount it yet. There's nothing, else
in our way when that's gone, except a broad
side from their earronades when we pass them,
and we can Trepper them after that fashion quite
as well as they can pepper us. That's it.
now for cutting legs of that barking devil of
theirs." . .
The shot hissed through the air, and almost
before we knew it had left the piece, reached
its destination. There was a perceptible con.
fusion on the deck of the schooner-; their
gun was dismounted, as the old tar had tore•
told.
Iluzza!" he exclaimed, unable to conceal
his exultation. waving his smoke griminvd, hat
around Ins head, and the crew, now equally
excited, took up the shout until the welkiii
quivered with the sounds.
Our gallant craft seemed to catch the en
thusiasm and start forward like a high mettled
courser when he feels the spur. iNe were
soon drawing across the schooners bows with
every man at his quarters, and the matches
lighted. Our piece, meanwhile• had kept do
ing the execution: Most oldie head•sails of
the schooner had been shot away, so that she
now lay unmanageable and at our mercy.
Haul down your flag,," . thundered ourcom
mander, as we ranged up across her forefoot.
or I'll sink
there was no answer, unless-a sullen din'
feeble shout of di fiance might be called one,
that floated across the silent waters..
•• Then God have merry on you!" spid the
skipper. and, leaping from the gun where lie
had stood, he gave the command to fire.
instantaneously our sides were sheeted with
flames ; the ship reeled backward, quivered
from keel to truck, and the iron tempest sped
on its work dl destruction, We heard the
splintering of timbers. the cracking of spars,
the shrieks of thetounded, and the fall of the
foremost into the .ater. When the smoke
eddied away partially, so as to give us a
glimpse of the foe, t saw him lying a perfect
wreck.
We have surrendered I" cried a voice from
the schooner.
A boat was instantly despatched on board.
When - we mounted the deck there were scarce
ly half a dozen persons to be seen, for most
of the crew had flinched from their guns• and
ran below before we delivered our raking lire.
The shout of defiance we heard had proceeded
from the officers and a few resolute veterans
who stuck to them.
Our almost miraculous success suggested a
plan In our skipper which he instantly pro
ceeded to carry Into effect. The speed of the
schooner make her a dreaded foe ; he there.
fore determined to disarm her men and remove
them into the boats, after which he would Set
the prize on fire.
4. That will he soinethincr to be talked
he said rubbing his hands in glee. uTheEn=,
giish will never forget our having captured
their crack schooner in sight of their squadron
aid set her on fire. By jove this has been
a clorinus night. We are getting to sea tt's
some pi:rporr."
This hold resolution was instantly carried
into effect. The men were ordered up
ne by one through the hatchway, disarmed,
and commanded to take their places in boatri.
The wounded were then carefully removedi
those who could hear it were placed with their
companions. and the rest given in charge of
our own - surgeon.
Now, my lads," s aid the skin
,per. ligh,
the bonfire, and let us by its light see where
the - British squadron Iles "
The boats pulled sullenly away in the dirq
lion of the fleet, which they would have - no
difficulty in reaching, as the night was clear
and the sea smooth. Meantime the schoon'er
WAS fired to several places, and having satisfied
ourselves that the crew could not return and
extinguish it, we once more stood away to
windward. Soon the flames , began to break
tip the hatchways, rolling before them huge
volumes of !may smoke that settled away to
leeward, as if a gigantic black curtain had been
dropped from the sky in that direction.L
A gainst this gloomy back-ground the lurid cdn.
flogration shone in hold relief. The fire spre l ad
now with inconceOrable rapidity. It licked
the masts caught the shrouds, leaped into the
fore-rigging, and shooting its thousand Corky
tongues in every direction. caught to the stays
and other parts of the mazy hamper. until the
schooner was a sheet of flame that blazed high
above the main mast and streamed far down to
leeward. illuminating the horizon 'with the
light of noon-day.
The burning cinders floated off like showers
of stars, and spattered on the waters contindal
ly. The crest of every wave in our immediate
vicinity glowed like molten gold. -At length
the flames reached the magazine, for suddebly
a jet of flame of intense brilliancy shot intothe
air, while the huge mainmast went up to the
sky like an arrow from a bow. , Instantly—
quicker than the thunderbolt follows the flash
—we heard a stunning roar that made our ship
red like a drunken man ; then follbwed !the
splashing of timbers on the deep. the hissing
as !hey sunk into silence and darkness:—Awe
struck and speechless. we stood gazing. is if
spell-hound on the spot where the schooner
had been.—Nothing was to be seen there ;I but
behind it still hung that ominous cloudl, I
drew a long, breath. At that instant the moon.
w Inch had been concealed by the pall of smoke,
broke through its upper edge and poured] her
pensive beams across the deep. It waa like
the opening of a magic curtain. By its light
we saw the boats pulling rapidly away to lee
ward where on the farthest Seaboat, the sqhad
ron was visible.
The night passed without further incident.
We kept on our course, gradually losing eight
of one after another of the enemy, until then
morningltlawned we found ourselves alorle on
tho.deep. Not a sail was in sight. I aseend
ed to the mast head to look out for bind to the
westward, but we had run it out of sight,l and
were fairly at sea. The breeze was rapidly
freshening and the comb began to gather on
the hitherto lazy and monotonous waves.—
There was every appearance of a rising storm,
when we shaped our course for the African
coast. '
Tilt CA-1101AM or PARIS.—PrOrtIVEOTIDur
hin, in his work ortEurope. gives a sketch of
i the catacombs of Paris. He states that that
part of the French metropolis which lies upon
the lower side of the Seine is the oldestl'• and
from time immemorial, the stone for budding
was obtained from quarries lying under the city.
It is supposed that the excavations extend un
der one-sixth of the city. b 11785, a sugges
tion. was made to convert them into receptacles
fir the dead ; mid it was finally decided that the
remains of the millions that had , passedlaway
front the capital during ten centuries, ' should'
he removed to those subterranean abodes. I The
rubbish wus removed, and pillars built ill) in
folic! mashnry, and particular portions oft sep
arated front the rest by strong doois, with locks,
to serve as first rt. eemaeles. - In 1788, the
hones were conveyed in funeral eats, froth one
of the prim iples cemeteries, and were p.lrceipi
tated into die caverns below. The contents of
oilier cemeteries, were soon priced in the vita•
combs, w Inch were rapidly augmented by the
massacres of tho evolution a little building is
erected (to kide Barriers a' IVer, in w hieit is the
opening ofthe Tall. The professor and hiii party
descentied by ninety steps, and found therhselves
alum in the caverns.- '1 hey followed thei t r guide
al-out tweniy minutes a.id came to a strong floor.
each side of which was ornamented whit Vitus
of Tuscan architecture. This door wad open,
end as the parry passed through the threshold,
the stringers round themselves surrounded by
walk of human bones, which the glare 4f their
tapers showed . to lie rt gularly -piled up f om the
floors to the roof of the quarries. Tfin ones of
the legs and atlas mire closely laid in Crr, with
i,
their ends oomanis ; and at regular i terrals,,
skulls-axe interspersed in three horizomal ran
ges, disposed so as to present alternate parts of
the head, and sometimes a perpentlictilai range
is seen, still further varying the generallobtlinr,
Passing along what seemed to be interminable
ranges of these piles of human beings. they came
to several apartments twanged like chape l ls, with
yariril dispositions of legs and arms-and grin
ning skulk. How new, how strange, ilremarks
the author, were the associations of the place.
.4 Over our beads was rolling the cast tide fir tire
in the gay and the wicked city : its myriads of.
Mhabitains were jostling each other on ithe high:. -
r unt of haistne , s. while here were the i remains -,
of four limes their number; lying in silent and -
motionless piles in the derlis below." I - ~.
The Pica. !we teiiq story of a an old i horse
o far gone that he wasnot able to die. He
used to lean on the sunny side of the barn.
without strength enough to wink the flies front
his eyelids, and his owner was compelled to
get another horse to help the poor iroal to
draw his Just breath
F
'mama ecl,
htu l i
ME