Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-10-06

and yielding ready compliance TO his wishes
were IN moment OH board of their barge. ant
ready to return TO the shore. But ere they de.
parted, they begged the officer to inform them
whence tho ship came, and where she was
bound to all of which enquiries, theIofIicer re-
pi'ed ny smile Of scon and contempt, and
Did them get to the land "We ask informa-
| tion' not for ourselves but for tho citizens of
the town." continued one Of the men in the
barge, "who have been thrown into state of
CONSERVATION and fear, by your strange ship,
ana IN their name, and in the name of our
Royal Master, King George of England, and
for the sake of the quiet of whole people, we
beseech you good Mr.. Officer to give some
light on the subject" Tho officer was in tho
act ofpfcsenting his calbine to them the Sec
ond time, when he suddenly paused at the
sound of bell. and falling upon his knees,
kissed the blessed crucifx, and told his rosorv
In moment, withered looking man clad
in the costume of Friar of the order of ST.
Stephen ascended from the cabin, leading a
young female: %hose abject countenance and
uo"ncast eye, told In language not to be
misunderstood, that she was writhing mid the
ontercst sorrow and despair. As she moved
along towards the Prov of the ship, leaning
upon the arm of the holy father, the old man
would now and then raise his eyes towards
heaven, aud mutter an incoherent prayer TO
the ruler ofthe Skies A train of young girls,
neatly attired, in monastic costume, followed,
and whilst the bell slowly knollcd, the group
passed along, till having reached the matches
distant a few feet from the manmast they hasti-
ly descended, and forever fled from the eyes of
the companions of the boat. Again soft music
proceeded from the cabin, and again were
heard repeated bursts of laughter; and the
tcrror-stricken visitors, awakened from their
amazement, pushed from the ship, and with
counfenances. which bespoke their constcrna-
ton, fled for the shore.
Their story, only tended to increase the anx-
iety and curiosity of the Islanders; but though
each and all wished to visit the ship, never af-
terwards could a company sufficiently hardy be
collected to engage in the ontcrprzc; and
hence all accurate information relative 10 the
ship, which probably might have been ascer
tained' was lost forever.
After remaining at anchor in the harbor
seven days, the stranger disappeared; but
when she took her departure no one ever
knew, as shc was last socn at the approach of
night;-tho next morning she was gone, and
left the busy multitude to indulge in thousand
conIecturos. For many years the mystery of
the ship was the constant theme among the
Islanders; the all-absorbing topic among the
old, the young, the giddy, and tho grave
Precisely seven years after her disappearance,
in the midst of dreadful tempest which at that
time visited the coast, and about the same hour
of the day, she again entered the waters of
Narraganset Bay. and landing on Hinty
beach, was bilged, and soon after went to
pieces. But she was mere: skeleton Of ship,
when she approac ched tho oast;-hcr masts
tottercd in their steps, her yards had long been
absent from the masts, and what rigging re-
NAMED was scarce able TO support itself, and
the whole of her once noble form was falling
to decay. Before she separated she was board
ed by number of the Islanders, who, on ex-
aiming her cabin and hold, found tho skole- |
tons of some twenty human beings,a few trifling
trnkets, several instruments of music, beside |
some Of the regalia of the Papal Church, all
Of which convinced them, when added TO the |
popularity of her model, that the wreck was
none other than the strange ship, which first
made her appearance in the waters of the Mar
Bay, in the month of August, I74e.