The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-24 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

ATL ANTIC AND TRANSATLANTIC
SKETCHES AFLOAT AND ASHORE.
By Captain Mackinnon. Colburn.
In his narrative of a fourteen months' sojourn in
America, or on its coast, Captain Mackinnon has dis-
played considerable skill in blending practical infor-
mation with amusing anecdotes ; his description of the
Falkland Islands, and his adventures with the wild
cattle, are well written and worthy of perusal. The
following extract from an account of a West Indian
hurricane, will give some idea of the terrible force of
these tornadoes :
"All doubt about the approaching tempest was now
dispelled. The black inbatiitants of the small cottages
in the vicinity, belonging to the estate, flocked up to
Dry-hill House, to seek consolation from companionship
with the white people.
" A light breeze soon sprang up from the north, and,
as it rose, the mercury fell. At three o'clock a furious
gale was raging. Being anxious to observe the proceed-
ings of the shipping, I slipped out of the back part of
the house, and went down towards a cliff overlooking
the anchorage. To my great disgust as a sailor, I per-
ceived amongst the twelve merchant-vessels, lying in the
roads, that only four were making any preparations to
withstand the typhoon. Three were at single anchor,
with a short scope of chain, and top-gallant yards across,
and one brig with royal-yards and head-sails loosed.
Such hare-faced and lubberly carelessness is almost in-
Old Columbus ' knew better. He soon made
himself master of the signs preceding a hurricane in the
Went Indies.
" When he was off the principal Spanish West Indian
settlement at St. Domingo, he foresaw that a hurricane
would shortly arise, and sent to Ovando, the governor
of the place, to request that he might be allowed to take
refege in the harbour; but this being refused, he was
obliged to stand out to sea, and face the storm. ' What
man, without excepting even Job, would not have died of
despair,' says Columbus, 1 to find that, at the crisis when
the lives of myself, my son, my brother, and my friends
were in danger, I was prohibited from approaching that
country, and those ports, which, under the blessing of
God, I had purchased for Spain at the expense of my
blood!' At this time a fleet of twenty-four ships was
about to sail for Spain, carrying large quantities of gold
and pearls, partly the revenues of the king, and partly
the properly of those private individuals who were pas-
sengers on board. Columbus, notwithstanding Ovando'a
inhumanity, advised him to detain the fleet a few day s,
because • a tornado was likely soon to occur; but- his
warnings were treated with contempt, and the vess%is
were suffered to proceed on their voyage. Before the
close of the following day, twenty of their number, with
fifteen hundred persons, had foundered in the hurricane.
The loss of treasure on this occasion was so great as to
aff et the financial resources of Spain for several years
after.*

"As the wind still steadily increased, I considered it
best to get back to the shelter of the house. To enable
me to do this conveniently, it was necessary I should
creep along under the gayclen bank, v.,hich offered some
protection against the gale. Not having the slightest
idea that the force of the wind would he so enormous in
this early stage of the hurricane, I attempted to walk
past a gateway, and being instantly struck by the full
power of the blast, was rolled over, and driven, as by a
giant's strength, violently along the ground. For a
moment I gave myself up for lost, as the harbour of St.
John was directly in my compelled course. Fortunately,
before coming to the open water, the land declined into
a bushy marsh. Here, assisted by the underwood, I
clung firmly to Mother Earth."
" The natural anxiety of a sailor again led me down
to view the shipping. Never did I behold such a scene
of wreck! Two of the largest; craft had foundered with
all hands; the lower mast-heads still sticking above the
water. The small vessels, as already stated, I found a
long way above high-water mark. Three had ridden out
the storm, and amongst them, to my surprise, the brig.
Tt.ere she lay, still at single anchor, the main-royal yard
still crossed, but the fore-top-mast-head twisted off, and
all the upper gear gone. Who can account for this?
"The poor steamer to which I was attached in English
Harbour had fared very badly. In the first part of the
gale she had dragged the huge moorings, and gone
broadside on to the wharf. On the gale shifting, not
being able to snap the numerous fastenings by which
she was secured to tha buried guns, she had torn down
the whole length of the wharf whereto she was at-
tached, and dragged huge masses of d‘')ris into the har-
bour. Several ponderous stone buildings in the dock-
yard were blown down, and a Dutch corvette, strongly
secured in English Harbour, was driven up into six feet
water; her usual draft being seventeen feet."
The descriptions of the various towns and seaports
which the author visited, and his rambles inland,
contain interesting accounts of their situations and
resources, together with the customs of the inhabi-
tants, whether human or animal. We may, perhaps,
complain that the author has been rather prolix on
some points, and has introduced immaterial passages,
still this but shows that he has endeavoured to give a
true account of his rambles rather than to publish a
work containing only the marvellous. This certainly
is a proof of its genuineness.
*Howison's "Colonies."

ADMIRAL AUSTEN AND .HISFLAG-SHIP.
Sir,—Under the head of " Naval Inteligence," dated
" Plymouth," in your impression of Saturday, occur
some observations reflecting on the conduct of
Rear-Admiral Austen, in not taking his flag-
ship with him to Rangoon. I should hardly have
thought it worth while to notice such observa-
tions if they had been confined to a provincial
paper, but when the Times gives them circulation it
is different. It seems to be implied in the observations
i❑ question that the presence of the Admiral's family
was in some way the cause of the arrange-
ment commented on. On the 24th of March the Ad-
miral's family was living in his house on Penang-
hill; on the 28th of that month he proceeded in. the
Rattler to Rangoon. It is not very easy to see how the
one circumstance can have had any connexion with the
other. Independently of this, however, I am able to
ste.to that the reason why the Hastings did not accom-
pany the Admiral, as bad been intended, was, that there
was not water for a ship of her size in the Irrawaddy,
and the Commodore had stated that ho had force
enough without her. As there is no safe anchorage off
the Irrawaddy, it would have been imprudent to take
the Hastings there, with the change of monsoon
coming on. it alight, perhaps, not be too much
to assume that the Admiral would not wantonly have
left his own immediate followers behind when active and
honourable service was to be expected; and tho prompti-
tude with which, for the good of the service, ho gave up
the advantages cf their attendance and the comtorts of
his own ship, and transferred himself to a small steamer
commanded by a stranger, if it ha 3 not obtained him
" ocanplimeats," might at least have saved him from
attack.

I have the honour to be, &c.,
HENRY E. AUSTEN.
7, New Equare; L.. inco(filn' osalonrsno,,JuunnevA2.elr.
for Admiral
Alst'tie:sr,,,swernt'invl,-,:::' we cannot presume to assert
that . family
when,.
con,ideration he
s "
dheidm t too
Rl e sa voo
the Ila,ting6 behind .
goon, although (an lty order lately issued
At' miralusiou. As to there
seems to Rant to
trial ecific
be Hastings in the
not being water enough for the 1 , learn next mail
Irrawaddy, we shall not be surprised to
that, goon anchorage has been sound for °
her. There is
certainly n Pour d for Mr. AUStell'S second reaso
h,
her absence—that the Commodore had force enoug
sianc:htfbet Lln)g
r o gidti
mtid toreinforce and the Winchester inchc
testetrha
. d f
r have been 016-
psquadron.—
Times

It appears that the highest price ever reacbed
Consols was nearly a century back. In the year 1757 they
were quoted at 107.