The Columbian fountain., 1846-02-03
@n. EDITED AND PUBLIsHED ny ulysses WARP
WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1916.

! coast Of Africa, while her seaInen battled will
the Arabs Of the desert, then she was said /,
have been sunk In gale off the Spanish shore
after an action with an English frigate At one
time she was supposed to have been lost in the
Wild ocean, alone. AT another blown up by The
accidental ignition Of her magazines History
being silent upon the subject the pen Of ina yina
tlol must trace her last moments.
1t was an awful night in the South Atlantic
the waves leapt in mighty masses, like spectre
knights In dusky armor. Loud rolled the thun-
der OF heaven, and around the horizon the light
enlng like the tongues Of a thousand adders fork
ed IN air, or Wrealhed around the magazines Of
hail, that reared their pale blue bodies upon the
bosom Of the Storm The wind swept in one un-
broken howl, and the din Of the dashing waters
completed The dreadful music of the elemental
war. o .sH
Not sail was to be seen. 1t seemed as
though man had left the ocean in its majesty to
has God, while the clouds and darkness, the
whlrlwind and the watef f-spout, the lightning
and the deopmeuthed thunder gave terrific evil
dence OF the presence Of the Creator! But,
iiark! "A cannon family echoes see pale Sc
Pulchral light family glares upon the deep -
And nowWith the velocity ofthe wounded whale,
sloop Of war with her sails in strips, her spars
twisted, splntered.r and broken, her bulwarks
partly carried away, her rudder goue, comes
down before the wind. She falls off from her
course-now she burTies her head In foam, and
now her stern seems fast disappearing in the hol
low Of the deep. Sea after sea rolls over her
deck, and the seamen lashed TO her sides seem
waiting the hour Of near destruction
The commander at the wheel with his brazen
trumpet, is silent His eye flashes like that Of
the chained eagle, as he scans the deep, A few
houts more and the vessel must founder at sea -
her banner still floats in ribbons al her peak a
faint light geapls from her starboard binllacle
aud the signal bell tolls sadly as the vessel as
Is thrown from bruadside to broadside upon the
sidelng waves. ~ si
The storm .abates! The ferceness Of the blast
is gone! The sea srolls in gentle billows, and
1 he heavens shower darkness insteadsof fDrked
file. a Temporary rudder is rigged--a storm
stay sail is s,t--,he wreck of spars is cleared
away. The rolling guns are checked with ham
mockN from the nettings, and the ports are closed
e<Ha! my brave fellews. ihundered the COM
mander, 1--WE are safe. Reilys Tillinghast. and
Barry, nOoly have you stood the test of this war
of nature All hands save ship"
".All hands," shouted the first Lieut..
''1'nml,le up, tumble up ocried the boaiswan's s
mate belosy. .r...#.s
And now the weary crew are upon deck
Those who are lashed, cut their settings as if by
magic. Cir asping axes, the officers spring to the
tops and ano' work with their undaunted men,
The shattere topmasts are replaced. new sails
are bent, and already the distressed bark begins
to wear the appearance of a ship of war. But,
bark from the northwest rushing sound is
heard A bright bow re ars itself from the edge
Of the horizon And from the centre of that
arch of fire, a fash Of Lightning followed by an
crash, blinds the eyes of the anx-
ious leader and his busy crew. In moment
more, the fierce Norther strikes the ship aback-
from the top Of giant billow it hurls her down.
A huge abyss yawns to receive her-and with
her mainmast blazing with the lightnings fire.
and here tattered Stars gea ming amidst the lurid
glare down to the ocean s,pulchre sinks tbs gal
liant Wasp, with her IMMORTAL Blakely and his
crew.
One wild wall new rings along the solitary
sea; it dies in echoes far away. The wind howls
sadly in its fury-the waves leap in majesty
thunder peal answers the roar OF the
pillow, and the dead sleep in their coffin of glory
in sweet forgetfuln es,