The Sun.
London, England, 1839-07-15 00:00:00

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On the 10th of April, the New York, John Adams,
and Enterprise, sailed, to touch at Malta, on their way
to the enemy's port. While making this passage, just
as the music had been beating to grog, a heavy explo-
sion was heard near the cockpit of the flag-ship, and
the lower part of the vessel was immediately filled with
smoke. It was an appalling moment, for every man on
board was aware that a quantity of powder, not far
from the magazine, must have exploded, that Era was
necessarily scattered in the passages, that the ship
was in flames, and that, in all human probability,
the magazine was in danger. Captain Chauncey
was passing the drummer when the explosion oc-
curred, and he ordered him to beat to quarters.
The alarm had not been given a minute, when the
men were going steadily to their guns, and other sta-
tions, under a standing regulation, which directed this
measure in the event of a cry of fire, as the most cer-
tain means of giving the officers entire command of the
ship, and of preventing confusion. The influence of
discipline was well exhibited on this trying occasion ;
for, while there is nothing so fearful to the seaman as
the alarm of fire, the people went to their quarters as
regularly as in the moments of confidence. The sea
being smooth, and the weather moderate, the Commo-
more himself now issued an order to hoist out the boats.
This command, which had been given under the in-
fluence of the best feelings of the human heart, was
most unfortunately timed. The people had no sooner
left the guns to execute it, than the jib-boom, bowsprit,
spritsail-yard, knight-heads, and every spot forward was
lined with men, under the idea of getting as far
as possible from the magazine. Some even leaped
overboard and swam for the nearest vessel. The
situation of the ship was now exceedingly critical. With
a fire known to be kindled near the magazine, and a .rew
in a great measure disorganized, the chances of escape
were much diminished. But Captain Chauncey rallied
a few followers, and reminding them that they might as
well be blown up through one deck as three, he led
the way below into passages choked with smoke, and
danger rapidly increasing. There, by means of wetted
blankets taken from the purser's store-room, and water
thrown by hand, he began to contend with the fire, in a
spot where a spark scattered even by the efforts made
to extinguish the flames, might, in a single moment,
have left nothing of all on board but their names. Mr.
David Porter, the First L;eutenant, who meets us in
so many scenes of trial and danger, had ascended from
the ward-room by means of a stern ladder, and he and the
other officers seconded-the noble efforts of their intrepid
commander. The men were got in from the spars
forward, water was abundantly supplied, and the ship
was saved. The accident is supposed to have occurred
in consequence of a candle having been taken from a
lantern, while the gunner was searching for some object
in a store-room that led from the cockpit. A quantity
of marine cartridges, and the powder horns used in
priming the guns, and it is thought, some mealed
powder, exploded. Two doors leading to the magazine
passage were forced open, and nearly all the adjoining
bulkheads were blown down. Nineteen officers and
men were injured, of whom fourteen died. The -sea-
.

tinel at the magazine passage was driven quite through
to the filling room door.—Cooper's History of the Nary
of the United States.

A Correspondent sends us the following addition :
Mr. Cooper seems to write from information. I was
an actor in what lam about to describe. In the year
1809, I think, I was serving on board the Nymph,
Captain Joceylin Percy ; and when the incident I am
about to advert to happened, she was nearly midway on
her voyage from Lisbon to Madeira. She was running be-
fore an easterly gale, under close reefed topsails. No vessel
was in sight. She was perfectly alone in the midst of the
dark blue ocean. A little before 8 o'clock in the morn-
ing, I was in the gun-rcom prepared to breakfest and re-
lieve the second lieutenant, wiles° watch had then expired.
Suddenly nearly two hundred voices raised a thrilling
alarm of fire and a cry for water, and in a moment I
beard the crew rushing to the hatchways with the
utmost vehemence. To spring on the gun-room table, and
thence through the open sky-:ight on deck, and by two
other hounds up the quarter-deck ladder, was my in-
stant business. There I found the wild:st confusion—
some were caliirg fo: the drummer to beat to quarters
—some to lower the quarter boats—some were unlash-
ing, the boats on •the booms and getting up the

yard-arm tackles to hoist them out, some had run out on
the bow-sprit, and others crept on the spanker-boom ;
some were calling for water, some to rig the pumps,
and others demanding buckets ; so wildly terrified were
the mass of the crew, that no man heeded orders ; and
the ship, which had been brought to, more readily to
obtain a supply of water, was ordered to be again put
before the wind, to prevent the people cutting away the
quarter boats and destroying the chances of escape for
themselves and others. " The ship is on fire below !" was
the aw ful communication made to me by the Se-
cond Lieutenant ; " you had better go there."
I hastened below as quickly as I had gone
up. I hastened forward to the store-room, to
the very threshold of the great magazine, and there
were a few men passir's buckets, pouring water
down the fore cock-pit, and zealously labouring to stifle
a fire ; there was a dense and suffocating smoke, but
no flame. It was my business to endeavour immediately
to collect more assistants, to form a late of mcn to
pass the buckets—to order the hole to be applied to
the pump—to calm the fears of some, and encourage
the exertions of others. Soon the men in the cock-pit
said the fire was out—soon.that joyful word brought back
general calmness—soon the crew were restored to order—
and soon an investigation could be made into the cause
of the dreadful alarm. It then appeared that the man
who had charge of the carpenter's store-room, which ad-
joins the powder magazine, was mixing paint below,
contrary to orders; and, contrary to most positive orders,
was pouring turpentine out ofa large carboy, by a naked
candle. The ship gave a roll, the carboy fell, the flame
caught the turpentine, and the man tried to extinguish
it in vain. In his agony, he seized the flaming bottle in
his arms, and endeavoured to throw it up the hatchway
on deck. At that moment the whole crew had just sat
down to breakfast, on the deck, whither he threw
the bottle, and were all of them nearly witnesses of the
body of lime bursting, accompanied by a loud
scream, from the vicinity of the magazine. The terror
was nearly universal, and the crew was for the mment
utterly unmanageable. One or two brave men, parti-
cularly a boatswain's mate, ran to the spot, and their
exertions mainly sufficed to extinguish the flames. Too
soon they did not accomplish it, for the outer part of the
magazine was burnt, and the ends of some sky-rocket
staves were burnt in the magazine passage. One or
two minutes more, and what had become of the Nymph
might have been for ever a subject of painful conjec-
ture. The unfortunate and guilty man who was the
cause of the accident, but who bravely endeavoured to
stifle the flame, was most cruelly burnt by the turpentine
and lay a miserable and piteous object till an opportunity
offered to send him to the hospital. What became of
the brave boatswain's mate, whose courage and coolness,
under God, were the instruments of our preservation,
I know not. Perhaps, for such was not unfrequently
the reward of the best and the bravest, he might have
got a little tipsy, and been flogged, degraded, and for-
gotten. The alarm over we could rejoice at the nar-
rowness of our escape ; but never, I believe, till death,
will any person who heard that one terrific cry and
rush, or witnessed the scene of wild confusion which en-
sued, forget that awful moment.
I will now, with your permission, Mr. Editor, de-
scribe a different scene. I was on board a frigate
which, somewhere about the winter of 1810, was one of
the last to leave the Baltic. She remained as long as
the weather would allow her to cruise in Cattegat. While
engaged in this service she fell in one day with a fleet
of small vessels carrying corn to Norway. She chased
them and captured two ; but ever as she continued the
chase the breeze freshened till towards the close of the
short day it blew a heavy gale. Our two small and
ill-conditioned prizes were soon lost sight of, and they, I
believe, and all their crews perished. It became
necessary to carry as much sail as possible to
work the ship off a lee shore. The night was bitterly
cold. The old ship strained at every joint, and
creaked as she strained as if every plunge would
be her last. The spray flew over her from one end to
the other ; and no man could keep dry on any part of
the deck. So cold had it become, that our clothes
froze to us, and change, as often as we could and might
change them, we could not keep ourselves either dry or
warm.
We had to near ship ; after, it blew so bard tha-
she could not tack once or twice ; the crew were ent
feebled ; they were not happy,
and not contented ;
the Captain was a flogging Captain, and the people,
worn out with with wet and cold, would work no
more. As the gale increased we had been obliged to
reduce the sails, and every time that we wore some dis-
aster had fallen on us, till at length we had scarcely
any sail to carry, and the braces and tackles we had used
to strengthen the yards had got foul ; the crew were
exhausted, and the ship lay nearly helpless on the waves.
At that moment the Captain said " Look there, but
say nothing." I lo eked, and could plainly perceive,directly
under our lee, the white waves foaming mast-high, and
dashing against the high black rocks of Norway. Soon,
amidst the noise made by the wind whistling through
the rigging of our ship, the more awful voice
with which those waves spoke was heard, and there
seemed no hope of safety. Quickly was the ship
drawing to her fate About apparently a chance of
escape. There was one. Ere she reached the rocks,
the wind changed, changed considerably. New hopes
gave rise to new exertions ; new sails were got up, the
damages were gradually but. slowly repaired by our.
enfeebled crew, and slowly did the ship creep off that
Even
rising seaut
o
shore which was the grave of some of her best men,
and most promising young officers
pl new
those white shining waves which, like
of the deep, warned us, on the pain of destruction, not
to approach them. Once to have witnessed such scenes.
is to have them for ever engraves on the memory,
They become incorporated with, and are an enduring
part of ourselves.

HAMPTON C. ounT.—The royal apartments at
Hampton Court will henceforward be closed on the Friday
of each week instead of Saturday.