Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1860-02-17
THE BURNING SHIP.

delphia. II is but nine miles from the
city, and near fine old turnpike, so that
a span of blood horses viii take you
there in forty minutes. His wife is
pretty angel beautiful, sweet-tempered,
and loves Harry devotedly. And then
a group of such lovely children
Did you ever hear how Isabel and
became acquainted ? said he to me
one evening, looking on his wife.
shook my head in the negative. Well,
then draw your chair closer to the fire,
and I win tell you.
With these words he began:
1t was night in the tropics. We had
been in pursuit of heavy merchant
man, but fog coming up she was shut
in from our sight, and for more than an
hour remained invisible. Suddenly, how
ever, the moon broke forth, and we saw
the chase close hauled, and on the very
point of escaping US. We instantly made
all sail, but the wind was so uncertain
that tie stranger kept his advantage, the
air bting comparatively still with US, while
he had respectable breeze. At length
it fell dead calm, the cLase being by
this time several miles off.
She could now be seen laying in a
liquid food of moonlight, rising and
falling lazily upon her swells, her white
sails scarcely moving from the masts
and flashing in the distance like sea
gulrs snowy wing. All at once, Capt
Drew, who had been scrutinizing her
through his glass, exclaimed
"Thare is something the matter or
board there-the men have almost al
left her decks, ana even those aloft re-
pairing are coming down-what can i
mean, Mr.. Jones p
q can't make it out, sir-the crew
perhaps, have mutinied, they are run.
ming wildly hither and thither-no, my
GoD, the ships on frer calculated he
as cloud of thick black smoke sudden
ly pufed up her fore hatchway, followed
by long, vivid stream Of fire, that sho
up brighter into the midnight sky.
I'VE saw at once the flames must hav,
been raging some time in the hold, ant
that they had attained an intensity whicI
would defy every effort to subdue them
1t was fearful sight. The eager ele
ment shot along the rigging, ran swift,
up the foremast, and wrapping the hamp
er in sheet oc fire, and streamed almos
perpendicularly upwards of fathom o
two above the truck. There was N
breeze; but the undulations of the at
mosphere swept the dense smoke to on
side, forming as it were gloomy cur
tain against which the lurid flames shon
in terrible relief. Every object on boar
could now be distinctly seen, and we no
ticed that all at once the whole crey
rushed aft. A signal of distress the mex
instant Was shown on that quarter. A
this had passed in moment.
"Lower away the boats-pipe thei
crews there, boatswain quick, sir, o
the poor wretches will be lostr thur
dered the captain.
'The men hurried to their stations
with sympathy equal to his own.
"'Mr. Danforth,' he said, Il sha
give you the command of the leadin
boat. Spare no effort to reach them i
time; but,' he continued, in a whispe,
mind the magazine ?
"Ay, ay; sir answered, and toucl
ing my hat, and leaping into the ster
sheets. continued Push off ther
forward-and how give away with vii
boys-pull?
AT these words the men bent TO the
oars with the thews of giants, curling tn
waters in foam beneath our bows, an
sending the boats along as if they ha
been pleasure boats.
But as swift as was our progress, tn;
of the destroying element was still MOI
so. The fire had spread with such fea
full rapidity as to wrap the whole foi
part of the ship in flames, and threate
to consume her before we could arrive.
Since it had found vent, it had rage
with redoubled fury, until now Il
shrouds, the foremast, the bowsprit, Il
yards, everything was sheeted with fir
which, whirling round and round, ascen
ed spirdlly to the masthead, shooting
forky tongue out on every hand, al
streaming Ike meteor away up in ii
calm blue sky.
Meanwhile the flames had brok,
out from the after-haich, and catching
once to the ratlins, leaped from rope
rope, ran wildly up the rigging, sprea
-. .,-.o-.I.. - .La h,,-a lou,