Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1850-09-26

NOR lieutenant 5.
Can YOU see anything of the ship,' said
he.
No. l replied, she is entirely out of
sight.
What is to be done,' he asked,
You have no water or provisions on board.
| suppose
Nothing but a breaker Of water, and not
a solitary biscuit
How far is it to the nearest land,'.
About FIVE hundred miles, | take it,
SO thought answered.
And now unused for moment, the crews
of the three boats resting on their oars.
and looking eagerlyat me. Every man knew
as well as myself, that in all likelihood we
should never see the ship again; in which
event a lingering death by starvation was our
almost inevitable doom On my decision.
whether TO pull after the ship, which would
carry us further from land, or, abandoning the
hope of meeting the ship, seek to reach the
coast by the nearest route, hung, perhaps, our
/ hNNs duu hli NCIG dWdIt VI llllS.
Follow the squall, said at last, turning nv
eyes to the dark cloud, now disappearing on
the western horizon, : it is our only chance -
if we do not find the ship we are dead men,
If is madness TO think of reaching land
| would to God the sun was a few hours
| higher. said the lieutenant, looking at the
luminary, which now hung blazing orb,
few degrees only above the horizon. we
havn't even Il lantern on board TO show a
Iightr
Nothing further was said The boats were
heading east, the men bent TO their tasks.
and IN another minute the little feet was
speeding silently across The waters. But
with what different feelings from those with
which we set out from The ship two hours
before.
AS HE time wore on, aud the sun declined
lower TO The horizon, Yet still no sign of the
ship became visible, our hearts sunk within
us. The squall in tie distance had dwindIed
10 bank OF clouds, low on the furtIlesr sea-
board; but no vestige of the ship, between
It and us, was perceptible. AT last the
the suns disc touched the western horizon.
and IN another instant entirely disappeared
Darkness, deep and profound, now fell upon
us; for in that Irophical latitude, there was
no twilight TO prolong in part, the day. As
the gloom settled around us, dccp-drawn
4 hTpa;li trnp, Itc b,,t'-
involuntary expression Of The general feel
4 ing, that with the sun, hope too had set.
For more than an hour we pulled OH in
silence. As no sail had been in sight when
darkness had shut in, it was useful To hail
and 50 we continued without word being
! spoken. Not a sound. therefore, broke the
hush except the measured rollickins of the
oars. and the sursing noise of the launch rs
/ il was propelled heavily through the water
I The darkness still continued, for numerous
clouds tieckcd the sky, and every here and
there, in consequence, would star find its
way out But in the azure west like a lus-
tIous gem, there shonc through al one brgh
orb, whose light, Pickering aud daucin.
along the wafer, cheered us with It's beauty
and kept us from entirely despording.
Suddenly the old veteran, whom have be-
fore alluded 10, looked up.
IL I'm not mistaken SIR said he. address
ing me, there's bunch Of rockets in the
slern-sheels. They were put there by The
gunners some days ago, and have never, !
believe becn removed. AT any rate it is
worth while TO look
Never did 1 hear sweeter words TO my
ears. | was up in an Instant and searching
the locker. Sure enough, as the old tar had
said, the rockets were still there, care
lessness which now appeared 10 me 10 have
been little less than provdential.
The intelligence was Immediately announ-
ced to the other boats and the crews inspir-
ed by the news rested on their oars, as of one
accord, and gave vent to three hearty cheers.
'l will signal the ship l said to my second
i'll command, 'and if she is anywhere with
in range division, we shall hear from her in
stantly.
Accordingly | let off two rockets in rapid
succession. The fiery missiles shot up to
great helgh; in the sky, and falling in show
er Of stars, illuminated the horizon far and
near for n moment.
Many an eye, during the half instant, scan
ned The seaboard eagerly, in order 10 see il
the ship was in sight; but no sign of her was
perceptible, and deep sigh told the disap-
pointment.
| l, however, did not despair. knew that
the ship, though invisible in that partial light,
might he still near enough to discern our
rockets and was well aware that on board
Of her half hundred eager eyes were at tina,
moment on the lookout. Without despair
yet with beating heart, watched for the
reply TO my signal One minute passed, and
then another, but still there was no sign of an
answering rocket.
My heart grew faint. My limbs tottered
beneath me. Minute after minute succeed.
ed, and my hopes were gradually dwindling
away, when suddenly the old tar before me
shouted
'Huzza, there she goes huzza -huzza, we
are safe lads, huzZaln
Quick as thought my eyes followed his,
and saw far off, apparently On the surface
of the water, single spark of light. But
that spark grew and grew, and as it grew, il
roSe un,iI finally IL assembled hi uh y, T., i, III,