The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-30 00:00:00

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30, 1858.

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eagedy we scanned the ocean ! Several times I
caught myself looking and fancying that I saw a
sail ; but it was only the sun lighting up the white
crest of a wave. There was evidently no hope for
us, and many of us became quite resigned to our
terrible fate. _ _ _

" About noon the smoke and heat had become so
freat that we were driven from the top-gallant
orecastle, on which 'we had continued to pour
water, and indeed were unable to remain forward
of the foremast ; the decks also became very hot,
and we expected every moment to see the dames
burst through the bows ; we were also in some
dread of the foremast giving way, which would
have precipitated our fate, as in its fall- it must have
torn up part of the deck, through which the flames
_would then have burst upon us.
" The captain, purser, and myself, pitched over
bottles containing papers detailing our position and
gloomy prospects ; and I, having been wounded in
the thighs by a fall during the night, and feeling
the little chance I would have in a scramble for the
boats, had bid good-bye to friends and. to all the
world.

" The captain, chief officer, purser, doctor, Mr.
Warner, the other chief cabin passenger and my-
self, went into the saloon at two p.m. to eat some-
thing, for we were all becoming faint. We
were eating what we believed to be our last meal,
but we were calm, and even cheerful, Captain
Johnstone asking to be excused for the manner in
which he was breaking up the preserved salmon,
which, with a few biscuits, were to form our din-
ner; and I for Appearing at-Inner in such a guise,
being literally covered hands and face with tar.
"At about 2.30 p.m., and when about to say
Good bye,' in case of not meeting again before the
final catastrophe, we were startled with the
cry of A sail !' Ido not know how we all tumbled
on deck, but we were there in an instant. How I
looked to windward, and how faint and ill I felt
when I at first failed to perceive anything but the
ocean and a few black clouds just at the edge of
the horizon ; how we all at last saw the sail, just
like a distant gull—she was coming down upon us
—close by the edge of the sun's rays on the sea ;
how we all cheered, and wept, and prayed, and
laughed, and clasped each others hands, and cheered
again ; how great rough fellows hugged each other
and wept like children ; how men, who had pro-
bably never prayed before, muttered sincere thanks-
givings ; and how those who had preserved the
greatest indifference when death seemed so near
were now completely overcome, I cannot describe.
I shook hands with at least a hundred—many of
them rough, illiterate men, but who had worked
with a high courage in the hour of danger, and
who were now as sincere in their feelings of thank-
fulness as the best of us. In less than half an hour
from the time we first sighted her the vessel, which
proved to be the Merchantman, of and from Lon-
don, with troops for Calcutta, passed close under
our stern.. How we cheered her, and she returned
our cheer as only British soldiers and sailors can
cheer!

" Our captain hailed through his trumpet, We
are on fire, will you stand by us ?' to which Capt.
Brown returned a hearty Aye, aye; and send my
boats to assist you.'
" Soon two of the Merchantman's boats and three
of our own were launched ; but the sea still ran
high, and we expected every moment to see some
of them swamped, or dashed to pieces alongside ;
but thanks to the ability and care of Mr. Funnell
and Mr. Jones, the first and second officers of the
Merchantman, and of our own officers in charge
of the boats, they were conducted between the two
vessels without a single accident. We first embarked
the women and children, and by 1 p.m., we were all
safely on board the Merchantman, our captain being
the last to leave.

" When we consider the heavy sea running, and
the way in which both vessels rolled about, particu-
larly the Eastern City, from the absence of sufficient
sail to steady her, we cannot but admire the arrange-
ments of Captains Johnstone and Brown ; and to
have rescued. 227 souls from a disabled ship in such
a sea, without a single accident, speaks for itself.
_ _

" On board the Merchantman Captain Brown had
provided everything he could devise for relieving
our wants and conducing to our comfort ; and well
was he seconded by Captain Dawson, commanding
the troops. They had prepared hot tea and biscuit
for 400 ; what a glorious draught I took when I
touched the deck ; never in my life had I tasted
anything half so good. The women and children
were accommodated in the cuddy and officers' rooms
and the crew and passengers mustered and told off
to mess with the soldiers and sailors, without the
slightest confusion.
" The Merchantman stood by the burning vessel
during the night, and at about 2 a.m. the flames
burst forth over the topgallant forecastle ; soon
after the foremast went over the side, and in half
an hour the main and mizen masts went also, and
soon after she was all one mass of flames. We
could see her still burning until about 5 a.m., when
the Merchantman having stood away for Table Bay
the distance became too great for us to distinguish
other than a dark cloud resting against the dim
horizon, which was the last we saw of the gallant
ship.
" We in the first cabin saved a portion of our lug-
gage, but the whole of the other passengers and the
majority of the crew lost everything; but we were
all truly thankful for our preservation from a ter-
rible and inevitable death ; and we all feel that the
finger of Providence was in it, for had. the Merchant-
man not been obliged to put into Rio de Janeiro,
in consequence of the illness of her medical officer
then in charge of the troops, she could not have
been so far out of her course, and in a position to
rescue us.

" A singular circumstance was reported to us by
those on board the Merchantman. It appears that
while at dinner, and immediately before they per-
ceived us, the captain's lady andsome of the officers
affirmed that they heard distinctly, and at regular
intervals, the sound of distant artillery. As we
had no heavy guns, and did not fire off even a
pistol, I am unable to account for the sound, which
may have been caused by some submarine volcanic
phenomena, or there may have been another vessel
in distress at a greater distance, and the report of
her minute-guns may have been carried along by
an eccentric current of air.

" I, and I am sure every passenger on board, are
anxious to bear testimony to the kind treatment
we have received on board the Merchantman. Cap-
tain Brown went about among us like a father ;
and Captain DaWson also did all he could for us
personally, and by urging his men to share every-
thing with the passengers and crew; and well did
these brave fellows obey his orders.

" Mrs. Brown and Sirs. Dawson were very- at-
tentive to the women and children. Lieuts. J. It.
Carlisle and J. B. Ruttledge ; Ensigns D. W. B.
Ogilvy, P. W. Howley, and Smith; as also Gen-
tleman Cadet R. H. Inglis, H.E.1.C.5., and As-
sistant-Surgeon Forrest, R.N., nobly emulated
each other in striving who could be kindest to us,
and best minister to us in our all but destitute con-
dition. When we learnt that British officers were
on board, we felt assured that by them we would
be well treated with the sympathy to which in
some measure our misfortunes entitled us ; but we
were quite unprepared for the generous kindness,
displayed in such a feeling and considerate manner
which we have experienced during our voyage on
board the Merchantman.
" I cannot syeak too highly of Capt. Johnstone's
conduct, and I am sure every one who was on board
the unfortunate Eastern City will agree with me.
He did all for our safety and the safety of his ves-
sel that man could do, and by his calm courage
animated us all ; while by the ability of his ar-
rangements everything was conducted in an
the
slightest and systematic manner at a time when
slightest confusion must have been attended with
the most disastrous consequences.
"As the fire originated in the forehold, with
which there was no communication from the fore-
castle and foresteerage, and as the forehatch had
been battened down for four days, it must have been
caused by spontaneous combustion, or the friction
of badly stowed packages, during the previous day,
when the vessel rolled so heavily in the high sea.
I cannot close my communication without bear-
ing testimony to the calm behaviour of the female
passengers. After the first half-hour they never
complained, and it was only when the vessel took
a more than usually heavy roll that some of the
more timid uttered a few screams. Poor things,
they were many of them resigned to their sad fate.
The purser's wife, in particular, astonished me by
her calmness throughout.
" The vessel, cargo, and property belonging to
the passengers cannot have been worth less than
£90,000 to £lOO,OOO, but vessel and cargo are sup-
posed to have been insured."
On the passengers landing at Table Bay, they
presented letters to Capt. Dawson and Capt. Brown,
expressing their gratitude to them for their noble
conduct in rescuing them from a terrible death, and
for their subsequent kind and. generous treatment.
The Government emigration agent took charge
of them, and the barque - Caroline Elizabeth had
been chartered to take them on to Melbourne. A.
subscription had been started at Cape Town to re-
lieve theu temporary wants... ,