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to the place at which I landed, when I saw a raft, with
about nine men on it, endeavouring to land, but they
did not succeed in doing so until they saw me on the
rocks standing opposite to the proper spot; they then
steered straight for me, and finally landed at seven a.m.
Lieutenant Girardot, of the 43rd Light Infantry, was one
were thrown on the rocks off a spar, and landed, very
of them. At the same time two or three other men
After describing their arrival at Captain Smale's
much cut and bruised, and entirely naked."
residence, and their kind reception there, Cornet Bond
speaks of what he saw on returning to the scene of the

struck till she totally disappeared, far exceeded
anything that I thought could be effected by the
best discipline; and it is the more to be won-
dered at, seeing that most of the soldiers had been
but a short time in the service. Every one did as he
was directed, and there was not a murmur nor a cry
among them until the vessel made her final plunge.
I could not name any individual officer who did more
than another. All received their orders and carried
them out, as if the men were embarking instead of
going to the bottom: there was only this difference,
that I never saw any embarkation conducted with so
little noise or confusion. One fact I cannot omit men-wreck. He says:-
tioning. When the vessel was just about going down,
the commander called out, All those that can swim,
jump overboard and make for the boats.' Lieutenant
Girardot and myself were standing on the stern part
of the poop. We begged the men not to do as the
Commander said, as the boat with the women must be
swamped. Not more than three made the attempt."
A letter written by Cornet Bond, of the 12th Lancers,
another of the survivors, contains the following striking
particulars :-

the boats.

"We left Simon's Bay at seven o'clock in the evenAt two o'clock the next morning I ing of the 24th. was awoke by the vessel striking upon a rock. I immediately dressed myself and went on deck, and I heard the captain give found all in confusion. orders to back her, which I hardly think was carried the fires were almost immediately into effect, as extinguished. He then gave orders to Major Seaton to get the horses up, and throw them overboard, I then went and I, with a sergeant and some belonging to the 12th Lancers, succeeded in doing so. on the poop, where the captain was standing. He The told me to go and get the women and children up; which I did by carrying up two of the latter. others followed, and were immediately lowered into At this time the greatest order and regularity prevailed. All the officers were then employed with gangs of men at the pumps, and a number of soldiers under the command of Mr. Brodie, the master, were endeavouring to haul out the paddle-box boat on the port side, which was nearly hoisted out when broke off at the tackle broke, and it remained fixed in the air. The forepart of the ship now the foremast, and soon after she cracked in the middle, and filled with water. A great many of the men on the troop deck were drowned in their hammocks, not being able to effect an escape. All those who could succeed in reaching the poop now crowded there, and the captain sung out to those who could swim to make for the boats,' of which there were three, at a distance of 150 yards. They did not come nearer, for fear of being swamped. A gig on the starboard side was then ordered to be lowered, in which Mr. Rolt, of the 12th Lancers, who was unable to swim, and several seamen, were seen to enter; but, in lowering it, one of the ropes broke, and she was swamped. Poor Rolt rose, but was unable to reach the shore, and was drowned. The poop, immediately afterwards, owing to the force of the water rushing up, went down, drawing all those who were on it, as well as myself, under water. I rose to the surface almost immediately. I had one of Mackintosh's lifepreservers on, which may be filled in the water, which I did. The sea at this time was covered with struggling forms, while the cries, piercing shrieks, and shoutings for the boats were awful. I swam astern, in hopes of being picked up by one of them. I hailed one sixty yards off, but could not reach it, as they pulled away, I suppose for fear of too many attempting to get in. I then turned round, and made for the shore, about two miles distant, which I finally succeeded in reaching, at a little after five a.m., by swimming only. Two men, who were swimming close to me, I saw disappear with a shriek, most probably bitten by sharks. I fortunately hit on the landing-place, but, owing to the great quantity of sea-weed I had to struggle through, and being quite exhausted, I almost failed in reaching it. I then walked up a sort of beaten track from the beach, in hopes of finding some habitation. In doing so I perceived my horse, at a short distance, standing in the water on the beach. I got him out, and then returend

"On our way thither we met numbers of men who
had landed. Some came ashore in the paddle-box boat,
which had floated up; the one was full of water, and
the other keel uppermost. One of the ship's quarter-
We also met
masters told me that there were seven others in the boat
died from cold, having been many hours in the boat,
with him, which was full of water. They, however, all
and quite naked. He had his clothes on.
he had been along the shore, and had picked up several
Some rafts reached the shore with bodies lashed
Captain Wright, 91st, who had landed on the sponsoon;
men.
on them quite dead; other bodies washed up, some of
them dreadfully mangled by sharks. The time from
which the ship struck, to the period at which the poop
sunk, and those on it were precipitated into the water,
did not occupy more than twenty minutes."

Some light is thrown on the cause of this dreadful
"that her Majesty's ship Birken-
catastrophe by the dispatches received by the Board of
Admiralty, from the commander, Wyvill. "It appears,"
head, was duly pricked off on the chart at eight o'clock
says the commander,
on the night of the 25th, within False Bay, by the
second master; that the course was shaped SSEE,
master, Mr. Brodie, and officer of the watch, Mr. Spear,
and Cape Hanglip giving a berth of about four miles.
The man at the wheel, J. Haynes, A.B., from ten to
twelve o'clock of the first watch, states that he steered
that course with directions not to go to the eastward of
it. A leadsman was on the paddle-box, and look-out
men were placed. The night was fine, starlight, and
calm, but a long swell setting in on shore. The land
port bow. At about ten minutes before two o'clock, in
was seen all the night from three to four points on the
the middle watch, the leadsman, Abel Stone, ordinary
The ship was going about eight
seaman, got soundings, in twelve or thirteen fathoms, of
which he gave notice to the officer of the watch, Mr.
Davis, second master.
knots. Before he could get another cast of the lead the
It appears that Mr. Salmond, who
ship struck, and he found seven fathoms alongside;
there were two fathoms water under the bows, and
eleven by the stern.
was roused by the shock, went on deck, inquired the
time, a few minutes past two o'clock, and the course
steered; it was reported to be SSEE, which he stated
was quite correct. He immediately ordered the engines
to be stopped, the small bower anchor to be let go, the
quarter boats to be lowered and lie off alongside the
ship, the paddle-box boats to be got out, and a turn
astern to be given by the engines. He ordered the
military officers, who were all in attendance (Major
Seaton, of the 74th regiment, and Captain Wright of
the 91st), to send the troops to the chain pumps; the
orders were implicitly obeyed, and perfect discipline
maintained. So soon as Mr. Salmond heard there was
water in the ship, he directed the women and children
to be put into a cutter, in charge of Mr. Richards,
master's assistant, which was done. In ten minutes
after the first concussion, and while the engines were
turning astern, the ship struck again under the engine-
room, bulging the side in several feet, and tearing open
the bottom; the water rushed in, drowned the fires, and
stopped the engines; the engineer, Mr. Renwick, and
stokers, making their escape to the upper deck. Instantly
the ship broke in two, abaft the mainmast, and sank,
leaving the maintopmast and topsail yard only visible
above water. Up to this awful moment the resolution and
There is no doubt but the course of the ship
coolness of all hands were remarkable. Mr. Salmond
gave his orders with much presence of mind to the last.
was shaped to hug the land too closely; and, as it does

90

THE HOUSEHOLD NARRATIVE.

any person vending fruit or other articles in the streets after a certain time in the morning. On Sunday morning the police, in enforcing the regulation, gave chace to the poor woman, who was selling oranges. In endeavouring to escape with her stock in trade, she attempted to cross the New-road, when she was knocked down by a cab horse. The wheel of the vehicle passed over her head, causing such severe injuries that she died almost instantly.

baffled by the intensity of the heat. Almost imme-
diately afterwards the roof feel in with a tremendous
crash, burying the seven children. The origin of the
fire has not been discovered.

A boy ten years old Drowned Himself in Derby on
the 14th inst., from mortification at his mother having
discovered that he stole sixpence.

An explosion of Fire-damp took place on the evening of the 23rd, in a colliery at Pemberton, near Wigan, by which ten persons were killed, and six others so much injured that their lives were despaired of. An inquest on the bodies has commenced.

A Frightful Accident has taken place at Ravensdale corn-mill, in Cumberland. Young Mr. Anthony Dawson was left alone in the mill by his father at half-past three o'clock in the morning. While in the act of placing the belt upon one of the wheels to set more machinery to work, he was caught by the axle, and wound up by his clothes, and crushed in the most shocking manner. Some idea may be formed of the sufferings of the unfor- SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL tunate man, and the awful pressure upon him, from the fact that his body, thus entangled, stopped all the power and machinery of the mill, and that he was held in that painful position upwards of four hours. The accident was not discovered till eight o'clock, when the sufferer Two surgeons were immediately in was released. attendance, but could render him no assistance, and he only lingered until one o'clock. He was quite sensible all the time, and gave a full account of the accident.

Shrivenham House, in Wilts, the property of Viscount
Barrington, has been completely Destroyed by a Fire,
which appears to have originated in the kitchen
The house was
chimney. The building burst into flames when the
doors were opened in the morning.
occupied by Mr. Pole: part of the contents were saved.
A serious Railway Accident occurred on the night of
the 10th instant, on the branch of the Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire line, from New Holland to
the market town of Barton. A new engine was drawing
the 5 o'clock train, and had, with one stoppage, brought
it in safety the three and a half miles to Barton; but on
arriving there, the driver and guard were unable to
make their breaks act efficiently, and the engine went at
the rate of twelve or fourteen miles an hour through a
thick wall at the end of the line into the station house,
the internal fittings being completely smashed. Mr.
Taylor, the station master, was writing at his desk at the
time, and had a very narrow escape. Hearing the loud
shouts of the people outside, he ran out, and had not
been gone a second, when the buffers of the engine
smashed the counter he was sitting at into splinters.
The engine-driver, Vince, and the stoker, saved them-
selves by leaping on to the platform when they found
the train could not be stopped. The former went back
to New Holland, gave information of the accident, and
has not been heard of since. Several of the passengers
were injured. Mrs. Morley, of Hull, was most severely
cut and bruised about the legs, and several others are
now under medical treatment for the injuries received.
The train consisted of five carriages and a luggage van,
and it is singular that the persons who were riding in
the carriage immediately behind the engine, which was,
so to speak, "doubled up" by the concussion, escaped
without the slightest injury, while those who were hurt
were travelling in the last carriage of the train.

On the 15th inst., at the village of Renton, near Dum-
barton, Seven Children Perished in a Fire, which
destroyed two houses. About six o'clock in the evening
smoke was seen issuing from the window of a garret in
the front tenement occupied by a person named Loy, in
which his two sons with five other children had been
amusing themselves in the afternoon during his absence
at work at Dumbarton, where he is employed as a
labourer. The flames spread with such fearful rapidity
that in a few minutes the roof was beyond recovery, and
in a short time the fire had communicated with, and
taken effect upon, the thatch of the adjacent dwelling-
house. The villagers were ignorant of the imminent
danger of the occupants of the garret, for no attempt was
made to rescue them from the flames. There is too
much reason to fear, however, that the dense smoke
which filled the apartment had suffocated the ill-fated
children at an early period of the evening, and that
they were thus prevented from continuing their calls for
assistance. Several men attempted to effect an entrance,
first by the door and then by a window; but they were

PROGRESS.

A DEPUTATION from the Metropolitan Sanitary Asso-
ciation-very numerous, and headed by the Bishop of
London-has been received by Lord Derby, and assured
by him, that, "short as the session would be, the govern-
ment was in hopes of doing something towards settling
separation of Parliament."
the important question of Intramural Burial before the

Very important discoveries of first-rate Iron-Stone
have been recently made in the oolite district, near
Thirsk, amongst which are the beds known as the
variety of ores, the iron being found in combination with
Cleveland and the Northampton. There is a great
the lime and sandstone as well as the clay of the geological
formation.

The first triennial visitation of the Queen's College at Belfast was held on the 5th instant, by the visitors, the Duke of Leinster, Lord Chancellor Brady, Judge Green, the Bishop of Down and Connor, and Dr. Coulter, a great and distinguished company. The students were moderator of the General Assembly, in the presence of were 14437.; they had been 13207. last year, and 12424. eleven more than last year; and the matriculation-fees the year before. The Duke of Leinster, on behalf of the visitors, said that, everything they saw gave them the highest gratification.

The seventh anniversary festival of the General Theatrical Fund took place on the 5th instant, at the London Tavern, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, who occupied the chair, congratulated the meeting on the success which had attended their efforts, and attributed that success to the recognition of two principles, on which every society which had for its object the benefit of the professors of any art ought to be founded. The first of these was the principle that every such society ought to embrace the objects of a mutual benefit association; and the second was, the recognition of the fact that art was something imperishable and universal, and was not confined to any particular buildings of brick and mortar in which it might be exercised. The peculiar feature and merit of the association the members and friends of which he was addressing was, that they recognised these connected with certain buildings, endowed with excluprinciples, that they had nothing to do with associations sive patents and privileges it was true, but from which the drama had long gone forth. The General Theatrical Fund was established not for the benefit of a professional party, but for the professors of an art, and the society Mr. Buckstone, the honomust therefore endure because it had attached itself to two things which would endure after the Pyramids were dust-art and misfortune. rary treasurer, adverted to the balance in hand, and announced a prospective legacy from Mr. T. P. Cooke, of 1000l. Among the subscriptions announced were, the Queen's annual donation of 1007.; Sir Edward B. Lytton, 10%.; the Duke of Devonshire, 107. 10s.; Earl Fitzhardinge, 51. 58.; Dr. Hastings, 57. 58. ; Mr. Webster, 5l. 5s.; Mr. Montague, 57. 58.; Mr. Lumley, 51. 5s.; Mr. C. Kean, 5l. 5s.; Mr. Phelps, 5l. 5s.; Mrs. Theodore Martin (late Miss H. Faucitt), 51. 5s; Mr. Toole, 3. 3s.; Madame Celeste, 51. 5s.; Mr. T. P. Cooke, 31. 3s., and a number of others, from members of the profession.

The tercentenary commemoration of the founding of King Edward's School at Birmingham was observed, on

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the age of eighty-two. By his death Mr. Fox Maule will succeed to his title and great estates.

MR. FRANK FORSTER, recently the engineer to the Metropolis Commissioners of Sewers, died suddenly on the 13th inst. He was in the act of writing a letter when he was struck with apoplexy, and almost immediately expired.

MARSHAL GERARD, the Senior Field Marshal of France, died at Paris on the 17th inst., in his eightieth year. PRINCE PAUL OF WURTEMBERG, brother of the reigning King of Wurtemberg, brother-in-law of Jérome Bonaparte, and uncle of the President of the French Republic, died in Paris on the 16th. On the day before, when the Prince was supposed to be dying, the Papal nuncio, to the surprise of everybody, entered

of the deceased, whose family is Protestant, were gathered.
the chamber of the hotel where the nearest friends and relations
Madame de Montessuy, the Prince's natural daughter, then
announced to the company that the Prince had abjured Pro-
painful impression was caused by this sudden disclosure, and
testantism and embraced the Roman Catholic religion. A very
against the clandestine abjuration snatched from the Prince in
They
the members of the family of Nassau protested energetically
was the fact, that the Prince had not for the last fortnight been
a moment when he was in the grasp of death, and stated, which
in a fit state of mind to take so important a step.
remained, however, in the room till the Prince died.
nuncio administered the sacraments and then withdrew.

The

COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES.

THE Overland Mail has brought dates from Bombay The expedition against the to the 15th of March. Burmese was to start from Madras for Rangoon between the 15th and 20th of March.

The Calcutta papers state that intelligence has been received of the accidental smothering of 50 coolies out of a cargo of 234 in the hold of the Futtay Salem, during a hurricane off Madras, on the 22nd-25th December. On the The hatches had been battened down, and cries for relief were unheard during the fury of the storm. 2nd March, Calcutta was visited by the first nor-wester of the season-a furious storm of wind, thunder, hail, and rain. The electric fluid passed in large quantities along the wires of the telegraph, detonating in loud explosions at the stations; but beyond a little interrupting the communication, and endangering the attendants, it did no harm.

There was a great earthquake in Goozerat, Cutchee, and Upper Scinde, on the 24th of January. In The following deCutchee the fatality was great. scription is given:-" At Khangur, at 3:45 A. M., three smart shocks of an earthquake, following each other in rapid succession, were felt. The direction was from west to east, and the time occupied in all amounted to about 45 seconds. There it was attended with no danger to any of the houses; but in the Murree hills its effects have been very severe, and attended with great loss of life and property. Accurate accounts, which have now been received, state the number of killed belonging to the Murree tribe to amount to 340 individuals, and, as yet, an unknown quantity of cattle and other animals. The majority of the houses, and the greater portion of the walls of their capital (Kahun) fell, burying men, women, and children in the ruins; and in a large cave, a little to the north, which was inhabited by a number of families, the sides also fell in, and almost all perished. The city is now totally deserted; and so great is the terror prevalent amongst them, that they are said to be anxious to remove from the hills altogether. The effects of the shock were such, that large masses have fallen from the mountains, and the Nuffoosk Pass, leading to Kahan, has become blocked up. Amidst such havoc and desolation, the only advantage which has accrued is, that the river Lheree, which, unless rain falls, is lost immediately before its exit point from the hills, has suddenly extended many miles further than usual at this season. It is now flowing past the town of Lheree, and the inhabitants are busy cultivating from it; for there, as in all the alluvial soils of this country, the rule holds good, are the capabilities for as the supply of water, so growth."

There are accounts from Port Philip to the 21st of January, brought by the ship Brilliant, which arrived on the 22nd, having on board about two tons and a half of gold, valued at 217,000. The day the Brilliant left Port Philip, twenty-one vessels were entering the harbour, most of them freighted with emigrants from the adjoining colonies. New diggings had been discovered at the Muddy Creek and the Hume River, promising as fertile a field as the most productive spots. The "Melbourne Argus" of the 17th of January states that up to the 20th of December, 163,414 ounces of gold had arrived at Melbourne and Geelong, and 80,000 ounces still remain in the hands of the diggers, making the total yield up to that date 243,414 ounces, worth 730,2427.

Advices from Jamaica to the 2nd of March, state that the island Legislature was prorogued by Governor Grey the loan bills passed by the two Chambers; and he on the 26th of February. The governor had disallowed stated that he had received from the Colonial Office a dispatch approving of his intention to withhold his consent. In his speech on proroguing the Chambers, Maintaining the principle, he said, "The drooping and decaying position of the the affairs of Jamaica." planting interest, is still the most prominent object in that the compensation given by the mother-country | from the resources of her whole community to relieve any portion of it which may suffer by the introduction of improved institutions, should be adequate, but stating that "it is notorious and certain that the relief even proportionate to the effort and sacrifice which of the planting interest has neither been complete nor were made for the purpose of affording it," he hinted his own notion that relief might still be rendered in a manner that should be advantageous both to England and Jamaica:

"It would be a source of great and lasting joy to me if I could in any degree be instrumental in advancing this fine island and its inhabitants to the state of prosperity of which I think they are capable, and still more if this were to be effected by measures which might serve as a basis for that union of England with her colonies, which is all that is wanting to make the British empire The question of sending delegates to England to rean example to be followed by the whole world." present the state of the colony was agitated: subscriptions had been raised, and three persons had been chosen for the mission. These persons were Messrs. Thompson, Girod, and W. Smith; but after they were chosen, three other gentlemen were added to them, Messrs. Jackson, Franklin, and Vickers. The last was a man of colour, and the three delegates first chosen declined to accept him as a colleague, on the ground that he was not sufficiently acquainted with the history of the colony to enable him to act; they said they would act with any man of colour properly qualified by education and knowledge.

The West India Mail brings dates to the end of March. There is no intelligence of importance. In British Guiana a favourable account is given of the was an improvement on the crop of 1850. The yellow sugar crop. There is every prospect of the present crop The young canes being larger than even that of last year, which again fever was prevalent at Demerara. At Antigua, the weather continued distressingly dry. were burned up, and the older ones were suffering sadly. The manufacture of the present crop was progressing rapidly; but in many instances the yield of the canes was far below the expectations formed of them. At Barbadoes the weather had not been very favourable for reaping, the principal operation of the month. The old cane crop continued to yield well, and to give sugar of an excellent quality. The young cane crop was clean, manured, and partially trashed.

Intelligence from the Cape of Good Hope has been received to the 3rd of March, no military operations of General Somerset's and Colonel Eyre's patrols were yet consequence had taken place during the preceding month.