The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-18 00:00:00

A Melancholy Narrative.

The schooner Robert Drape, Captain Montgomerie,
which has arrived in the West India docks, took eight pas-
sengers on beard at Algiers, for a passage to England.
They were a Mr. Hobbs, a native of Bath, a chairmaker,
his wife, and a family of six—the eldest eighteen years of
age. They left their native place some months previously,
for a town in Algiers ; but, failing in their expectations,
they wished to return to England, and applied to the
British Consul, who introduced them to Captain Mont-
gomerie. The captain states that, from a feeling of com-
passion for them, he undertook to give the whole family
a passage to England fur £l4 ; but ho represents that he.
expended £l7 in purchasing additional stores at Algiers
There were two spare bunks in the cabin, divided from
that part used by the captain and mate, for the accommo-
dation of the wife and daughters, and two spare bunks on.
the forecastle were allotted to the father and sons. The
schooner put to sea on Aug, 5, and owing to the warm weather
it is stated that the family wished to be berthed in the long
boat, which stood on deck. Their desire seemed to have been-
complied with. They made up their bed at the bottom of
the boat, and a kind of awning was erected in order to afford
some shelter. A dsy or so after the voyage commenced the
family suffered much from sea sickness, and the weather
setting in bad added greatly to their suffering. A heavy
gale of several days' duration was experienced off Cape Ste
St. Vincent. The condition of the family became worse,.
they were gradually getting more exhausted front
violent and continued sea sickness, and several
of them were seized with ague. The captain states
that he had fresh provisions up to and when the
vessel was off Cape St. Vincent ; but neither the parents
nor the children could be induced to take any solid food ;
they preferred tea, He also states that they were often
asked to leave the boat and to go to the bunks in the
cabin and forecastle, but they refused. At eight p.m. on
the 25th of August, George Hobbs, the eldest son, 18 years
of age, died in the boat from exhaustion consequent on
sea sickness, and on the following day the body was
buried. Two days afterwards, on the evening of the 27th
another of the children, Emily, aged five years, expired
in the boat ; and at midnight of the same day the third
child, Richard Hobbs, nine years of age, breathed his
last, and in the morning the two bodies were committed
to the deep. The father and mother and remaining three
children still kept in the boat, and the captain states
that all his remonstrances failed in inducing them to
leave it. He prepared what nourishment he could for
them, but he had much difficulty in getting them to take
anything. They still preferred tea. Rough weather was
met with in coming up Channel, and on the night of the
3d instant, when the vessel was between Dungeness and
Dover, Elizabeth Hobbs, the eldest daughter, aged six-
teen, was released from her sufferings. On the schooner
arriving in the Downs, the Violet lugger, of Deal, was
hailed, and the captain of the schooner desired the parents,
the two surviving children, and the corpse of the young
girl to be taken on shore. Tho lugger's crew state that
hey found the survivors in a most dreadful state of exhaus-
tion' and it is very doubtful whether they could haee lived
if they had gone on with the vessel to London. The lugger
took the poor creatures ashore at Deal, as also the body of
the girl. The survivors received that medical aid anti atten-
tion which their lamentable state required, and are grate
dually recovering.