Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-12-10

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the letter. The village schoolmaster also Dor
his testmony,to the fact of jeffrey being abb
! to write fair hand. The intelligence ais
came out that, when put on shore ut Sombre
fellow-townsmen on no account to tell his mo
ther what had happened to him; thus indica
ting regard for her feelings which, it wa
urged, would surely, if he were yet alive an'
well have long since induced him to write,ant
assure her of his safety. Public interest wa
now at fever heat. Mr.. Cobbett famed thu
flame; and with his homely, common-sens'
questions, kept poking the ribs of the govern
ment in most uncomfortable manner Will,
he stirred up an immense blaze among the
Jolly tars' are to expect?'-a question which
considering the popularity of the navy, great
ly added to the ferment.
Matters now assumeda n very serious aspect
The public appeared determined to bring by
any means the whole subject to an issue, and
to obtain information as to whether the lad
was really dead, or was yet living. Those in
authority found that it was high time to take
some decisive step to decide the question
and in short time ship, under the command
of q captain in the navy, was on her way to
Boston with the necessary documents, to find
out the young man, and, if living, to bring
him home. This proved the climax in Jelic-
ry's history. Some little time elapsed before
the result of the mission could be known du-
ring which, however, the interestin the young
mans fate by no means diminished. And if
the attention of the public had been command
ed by the pecularities of the case, how are we
to describe the alterations of hope and fear
which agitated mothers anxious heart? At
length the vessel returned, TO put final end
to suspense as to the mans destiny. The no
tice of her arrival was accompanied by the
following announcement in the Morning Post
newspaper =
"Jeflery, the seaman, was this day dischar-
ged from the navy, by order of the lords COM
mssioners of the Admiralty. He was imme-
datcly set on shore, and set off for LondonP
Thus was this long-pcnding and much agi-
tated question finally settled by the appearance
of the young man himself A Thousand in
quirics were now of course put to him about
his adventures; to most of which the follow
ing narrative was the answer
AT first he was altogether unable to believe
that it was intended to abandon him in that
destitute condition, upon an island, which the
men who brought him there knew to be unin-
habited and unproductive. He thought II
probable he was merely left there for the night
to frghten him. yet he could not help fearing
the worst, from the stern character of his cap
tain. How anxiously he watched for the morn
ing how wearily that wrctchcd night passed
away without shelter, and without a second
covering for his frame The morning came
and all his hopes were confirmed on beholling
the Recruit only few miles off the shore. He
sat watching her from the gray dawn until it
was bright daylight every moment he ex-
pected to see the same boat which had torn
him from her, return on the welcome errand to
convey him back again. Vain hope He saw
her white sails unfurling and filling out with
wind, and perceived that the distance between
her and the island was rapidly increasingi and
thon, as she became speck on the mighty wa
tiers, then only did he give himself mp to over
wheming despair, as the awful reality of his
fate came home to his mind. She vanished in
the horizon, and he saw herno more. For two
whole days he suffered dreadfully from thirst, |
and deeply, though less distressngly, from
cravings of hunger. To alay the fever which |
consumed him, he drank a considerable
quantity of salt water, which, however, only
rendered his suiferings more intense. Death
was now before him, when most providentially
n refreshing shower of rain fell, and the guam
tity which remained in the creyices of the
rocks supplied him so long as he remained on
the island. But he was at some difficulty in
drinking it for ii lay in such shallow pools, or
in such narrow assures, that it was perplexing |
how to avail himself Of the precious gift. The |
idea at length entered his mind of sucking it |
out with quill and as the island aboundcd |
in birds, he was at no loss TO find one suitable |
for his purpose. Inserting one end ofthis into
quench his thirst, feeling inexpressibly grateful
for this most opportune blessing. But nature
now renewed her other calls upon him, and
was imperative in her demands for food. How |
to supply this want he knew not, nor could he |
think of anymeaus of doing so. He saw great |
number of birds of the gull kind, rather
larger than goose and attempted to catch |
some but in vain. He then hunted for their
eggs, but he could only find one which had |