Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-08-21
MISCELLANEOUS.
A TRAGEDY AT SEA.


Tnere may be. and there Often is. deeper pathos
Ia the simplest narrative of fact than in the most
h.rhly.wrough. details which an imaginative writer
# romance can weave into uarrative-tor tnere
are many incidents which are touching IN the very
p.anness Of their truth. As vain would II 10 70 d.
tempt to paint the lily, or add fresh sweetness 70 me
violet, as to improve upon inc P'aiu' Smo ~.
gard, uuadorued statements which sometimes meet
Us in the daily Journals, and win our symPatny, our
regrets, and often our tears.
lous aud painfully interesting account OF COLLISION
which took place on Saturday between the steam.
bost ~ elropolis" aud the propeller ~. w. Harris
TIE Litter vessel left New York Friday afternoon,
With a large cargo, and twentyseyen human beings,
sixteen of whom were passengers, with crew Oh
eleven. AboG. two o'clock on Saturday morning,
when the propeller Yves sixty FIVE miles up the Sound,
between Falkland Island and New Haven. she was
run into by the Metropolis there was scarcely
uuy light shown by the propelsr,) which cut her IN
two. The j. w. Harris sank almost mmeulstey
in sixteen fathoms water. The women and children
on board were in bed and almost instantly periened
The "Me;ropois" picked up and saved twelve per
soas including the captain, the first and second en-
Iineers. two deck hands aad seven passengers'-
Among the fifteen who Perlsheo, eight were ieuaieS
The report adds.
Immediately after the collision woman wac seen
struggling in the water supporting her infant oni'a
in her arms. a rope as thrown to her. which Tell
within her reach and she mignt have seized and
saved he5sslsby reioqushng her hold upon her ch'd
She looked up, saw ;ne rope, saw those VINO would
aave given almost ther own hold upon life to save
her, then pressed her child to her breast and sank
forever
This last sentence simple but touching, has far
deeper pathoa can befound in the artificial mourn
fumes OF Tennyson'S IN Memoriau." The de-
voted mother might have saved her own life
by letting her infant perish. SD. lacked up, pressed
the ohd TO her bosom, and perishso with it,
The narrative OF Captain Smith, o: the ID w.
Harris" Contains many passages of natural pathos,
which, doubt. have already touched he hears OF
aany Of our readers. There is one which every mo-
Their ar least will appreciate, AVID with all the tend-r
u-ss Of fine wonsny rature. apply TO tho Thought ct
what would ave oeen her own grief under ike try
ing circumstances Among the drowned ara Captain
S,ni.as son. aged nine, aud two daughters, resP-c
ivaly aged seven and three years. de thus RECORDS
hiss loss
II have lost three of my little children which ~ili
be bad news for mo 10 carry HON. 10 their motntr,
who 10 In New London. have already sent ais
patch of tho fact to her..
Bad news for her, indeed. Unhappy mother los
nc ;h-oo of her little children, those gentle flowers,
10 one fell swoop. She will $50 their fair young faces
never more except when they revisit her II the vis-
IONS of the night. She will hear their sping prate
never more eIcsp, when i, geatly wakes an echo 10
the haunted chambers of hsr memory. She will
watch TOR their light footsteps never more-lite and
motion are ended for them, and they walk now with
tho angels, not on the familiar paths OF that EARN
the starry glo.y-beds of Heaven Now, and for some
time to come, it may be, that home which once was
Frightened by the ost ones gais:y and clingng ten
derness will have cloud over 1.-THE shadow OF dark
mortality. There may be what IN many homes, as 10
that of Rama, there has been, since Time comlnenc
cd, fermentation and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be
comfor,sd, because they were no.. But II happily
10 ordained that human grief, however deep does not
preserve the intensity which brushes the heart at hrst
Time the consoler, gradually and gently softens the
wild passion, ard subdues the soul into submissive
tenderness. And then, muslng on what has oeen'
.neditating on the recollection of the Dead camer
thought begins to fill the soul, and Faith points to
,hat hereafter in which, enfranchised from the pains
aud cares Of human life, the loved aud lost OF earth
will meet again. There the sad mother will reJon
those whom she has 80 much alaented-Iot lost, but
gone before.
choly story Of this catastrophe which has deprived
bim of his children, and also OF his worldly means
tfor bis whole substance was invested in snare 10
the doomed vessel there occurred an ep.Sooe whlca
We shall here repeat 10 full:
AT this moment al old greY-headed gentleman
came Into the upper saloon Of the Metropolis, where
Captain Smith was sitting at table making his
statements to several reporters aud, walking up 70
tie Captain, reached out bis hand, which wee
,rasped by that Of Captain Smith, who said, How
do you do. Mr.. GordoDr at tho same time averting
ais face from that of SIR. Gordon 1.-THE name OF the
old gentleman) to hide the tears which began TO
tdckls down bis face. The old gentleman, in
trsmulous voice, aud without answering the Cap
tain's interrogstory, said, Il came 10 ask about my
daughter where Is she! IL she alive Or not!-
She is gone, replied the Captain, which announce
,neut seemed to be too much for the poor man,
who, e1claiming, oh, my God. do you tell me sos
is it possiblsl' sank down into seat and wept like
a child for several minutes, during which time there
wss not a dry eye in the saloon. The meeting, and
the sad intelligence impaired III go few words, was
ost impressive indeed. Captain Smith seemed 10 feel
fpr in n
beautiful promising children Of his own sged respec-
lively nine, seven, and tive, he had at one fell swoop
been compelled 10 Witness Ms it were, the death strug
giles Of the Ives children, or friends OF some OF his
Oldest and most intimate associates, without even the
poor consolation having been afforded him OF endea.
vorug to extend TO them helping hand. For some
moments afterward he could not SPEAK word. bat
was obliged to rise from bis seat and walk away from
the tables subsequent ~ which he had few words
more with Mr.. Gordon in relation 10 tho sad affair,
who thsu retired from tue cabin, weeping most Bit
;erly. Captain Smith then returned to the table ut
which the reporters were sitting, aud addressing
them, said-'She was most beautiful girl, Gully egh-
teen years Of age; and only think her father brought
her down to my boat last evening and gave her into
nv charge to take to her friends i'll New London, but
DOW she has gone With my children, hope, to bet
ter world"
We shall no: weaken the force Of this by any com
ment Its natural patlos. as it seems to ny, very
grea: Indeed.
That our readers may compare the plair, unadorn-
copiessedy 10 the finest and most richly wrought po'
etcel description Of wreck, We subloin two sanzaz
from Byron, with which, no doubt most OF our read
ers are familiar yet will probably not regret to see
again brought before them
Then rose from sea to sky tho Wild farewell
Then shrieked the tnid aud stood still the brave
Tbeu some leaped overheard with dreadful yell,
AS eager to anticipate their grave;
Aud the SEQ yawned around her like a bell,
And down she sucked with her the wbiriug wave,
Like one who srapples with hia enemy
And strives to straDge him bsfo-e be dies.
And nrst one universal sh:iek there rushed
Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash
Of echoiaS thunder and then all was hushed,
Save wild wind and the renorseiess dash
Of pillows but at intervals there gushed,
Accompanied with oonvulsve splash,
A solitary shrek. the bubbluS cry
OF some strong swimmer IN his agony.
Compare this poetry, beautiful it is, with Cap
tain Smiths plain, p,ose'stoTy Il have nothing to
cay a, present ss 20 how it happened. Tae nigh,
was bright and starlight head. aud neither the
water nor weather wac rough. The women and
children all in the cabin asleep at the time and
all los,. Those OF the passengers that in
bed at the time. who did make out to cave them.
selves bad barely chance Of doing co. as the vessel
want down so soon after she was struck, we had no
chance 10 get into the cabin or 10 make any a,,omp,
TO rescue the persons who were therein or With the
troe tragedy of his declaration. Il have lost three
of my little children which will be bad to car.
~ hons to :ser mother" or With the nnuruul inter
View With the old grey.headed Mr.. Gordon, who
oams to ask after HIS daughter, and sat down aud
'wep, like child" when he hearu that be- had lost
her, the seli.sacr6cing love Of that doting mother
who might have saved her life by loosening her h"ld
upod her child. and, martyr to holy affection, pre-
fefred to perish With It. The most tender pathos Do.
lonea We think to the prose fact. and no; to the po
etc action.-[ Philadelphia Press.
LABLACHE NOT DEAD.-A letter dated Paris
July Both, to the London Daily News, says:
The news Of the death Of Lablaohs, which was
circulsted by the Preese yesterday is authoratvely
oontradicted His eon.inlaw called at the Presse
Office to-day to cay that Lsbaohe ia at this moment
ct Kissengen, with his daughter, Madame Singer and
that he has derived much benefit from the waters ~