Star.
London, England, 1821-12-21 00:00:00

MELANCHOLY SHIPWRECKS.

EASTBOURNE, Dec. 19.—Yesterday morning, about
four hours before day-break, a French trading vessel,
of that description called a chase-maree, was driven
on shore by the violence of a tremendous gale, under
part of the high cliff near JAeachy.head, krown here-
about by the appellation of Belle. Tout, or Belo Out.
Hername proved to be la Jenne
,rani, of Vannes, last
front Camaret, a small port neat Brest, bound to Dun-
kirk, with a cargo of salt. The night was utterly
dark, the wind blew a hurricane directly upon the
shore, the surf rolled mountains high over the rocks,
the vessel struck heavily, and, in the next instant,
one huge wave swept the whole crew, six in number,
from the deck! Such was the irresistible force of this
mighty surge, that it threw four of the crew com-
pletely high and dry upon the beach, and severely
bruised one poor fellow, by rolling broken planks and
spars repeatedly over his breast and back. _The Cap-
tain, ..hose name was SILVESTRE, and his son, a lad
only eleven years'old, were never seen from the incr.
ment that this wave strut';-the vessel. The father and
his child must have perished together. A more mi-
serable fate 'seemed to await the survivors: they had
been thrown on shore at a spot between Billing-gap
and Cow-gap, where, for four miles, the cliff presents
a wall of chalk, perfectly perpendicular, without road
or path, or any means of ascent, in height from four
to eight hundred feet. The tide flowed in upon them
like a race.; the extreme points of the cliff, bath east
and west, were already buried in breakers. They
joined their feeble voices together and shouted for
succour; but the roaring of the tempest seemed to
mock the effort, and they had given up all hope of
escape, when, crawling along the foot of the preci-
pice, they discovered a pile of broken fragments
which had fallen from the mass of chalk above. Aid-
ing each other, they climbed to the top of this heap,
and in a few moments, the surf ranged stind the
foot of it—a frightful cauldron of boiling and whirl-
ing waters. With dismal forebodings they awaited
the result, clinging to each other, and trembling lest
each successive wave, as it shook the foundation of
their place of refuge, might roll the clumps of chalk
from underneath them: nor were they without fears
that the shelf whereon they sat might be overflowed
when the flood tide should have attained its height ;
until, in groping about, one of them grasped a bunch
of sea cafe, and this plant proving the ocean was not
accustomed to reach the summit, was hailed by them
as the olive branch that foretold their preservation.
In this situation, chilled with wet and cold, a wide
roaming ocean in front, and an insurmountable preci-
pice behind, these four miserable mariners sat huddled
and aghast on their precarious perch, for more than
five hours, until the ocean slowly receded, and they
were discovered by the sentinels of the Coast Blockade
service, whose establishment upon our coasts is the
greatest blessing that ever a wise Government con-
ferred upon those " that go down to the sea in ships,
and-occupy their business in great waters." By these
active and humane fellows the poor Fr enchmemt were
Immediately conveyed to the watch-house at 13:rling-
gap, placed by a rousing fire, clad in the English
seamen's dry apparel, and fed from the platters of
their former enemies.' Too much praise cannot be
bestowed upon Messrs. BROWN,WHEELER, and LETII-
'RIDGE, Admiralty Midshipmen of his Majesty's ship
SEVERN, who, leading parties of seamen to the spot,
succeeded in collecting together and removing toot
place of safety, the anchors, cables, sails, masts, cord-
age, and timbers, that lay scattered along the beach.
The names of the survivors, who appear to be fast
recovering from the effects f their sufferings, are as
follow:—Guillaume Bariet, Guillaume Picard,'Cluil-
laume de Guignan, and Jean Vincent Margare.
. WIIITEUAVEN, DEC. 17.—The Santon, BANKS, of
this port, sailed hence, in moderate weather, for Dub-
lin, between seven and eight o'clock in the evening
of Thursday, the 6th inst. Soon after it came on to
blow a very heavy gale from the south,which obliged
the Master to run fur Belfast; and, within five hours
after leaving this harbour, she struck upon King
William's Bank, off the Isle of Man. At this moment
a dreadful sea broke over the vessel, which swept
away the Master, and Wm. TURNEIt, Mate, and con-
signed them to the bed of the ocean. The crew im-
mediately put out the long-boat, into which six of
the eight remaining leaped for safety—the other two
went down with the vessel. Their situation was cer-.
tainly the most alarming that could be imagined ;
being without oars, nothing either to eat or drink,
the weather wet and tempestuous, and threatened
every moment with being swallowed up by the mer-
ciless waves ; contrary, however, to all hope and pro-
bability, the boat outlived the storm. • On Saturday
morning the boat had drifted into Glenluce Bay,
where she. was 'fallen in with by a fisherman and his
son, residing at Portwilliam, and landed near the;
residence of Sir W. MAXWELL, at- Monreith, in Wig.
tonshire ; but, melauchuly to relate, out of the six one
man only (lleanv Ilaststs, the Master's brother) sur-!
vived to communicate the particulars of the awful
catastrophe, the other five having died from fatigue
and starvation, and whose dead bodies were still in
the boat! Of the bodily sufferings of the Survivor
some idea may be formed from his weak and ex-
hausted state when found ; but we shudder a: the
idea of what his mental sufferings must have been,
in witnessing, under such dreadfol circumstances,