, 1860-01-21

!as tney aPpFoaenedssahe captalae F!ass ols-
parently frozen to the ice. mid with good many
/ human beings On it. Shortly aftor< they hoye
to. snd sent out the boa.s to tie relief Of &he
ispre1td 10 be v:esssc1'hoa Quebec, bound
| to liverpool, With passengers on board. She
bad 90. sntaugled in the ice. and finally frozen
fast. and iad passed scveral weeks iu q most
csiticul situation. She WIS store, her deck swept
-an fact. Q mere Frcck all her provisions a.ld
] almost all herwater gune. Her crew and pas
-sengars Ind lost nil hopes of being suyed, aud
proportionate!y great
As one Of the men who had been brought
aa'ay III the third boat tha. had reached the
wreck Vas ascehdiag the ships side; the mate
transformation. II was the .ety face he had
seea. three or four hours before, looking up at
him from the Captains desk.
l.; At first he tried to persuade mse1f it might
10 fancy; but tho more he examined th= mail
the moro sure le became that he Was right Not
| nctly corresponded.
Az soon as the exhausted crew and fanished
| passengers were cared for and the bark on her
course again, the mate called: the captain aside,
1T seems that vas not ghost aav to-day, sir;
! What do you mean: Who's a1ive:"
! Why, sit, Que Of tho passengers we hnre
! just saved Is the same man saw writing on
your slate ut noon. 1.would swear 10 it in a
| court
captain, sthis resa moTe aud moro Singular:
Let us 60 aud see this man."
They found him in CONVERSATION With The cap
tain Of the rescued ship. They both came for
ward, aud expressed, in the warmest terms,
their gratitude for dellse1ance from 4 horrible
fase-slow-coming death by exposure and
The captain replied that he had hut done what
he was certain they woula have done for hin,
under the same circumstances, and asked them
both to step Gown into the cabin. Then turning
to the passenger, he said, II hope, sir, rou will
be much obliged to you it you would write a fe"
words On This slate" And he handed him the
slate, With that side up On which tile Mysterious
writing was not. II will do anything Fou
ask" ask; replied the passenger; "bot what shall
4 few words ase all want. Suppose you
write Steer to the nor r'west.'"
The passenger, evidently puzzled 10 make cnt
the motive for such q request, complied, how
eser, VIII sn,i'e.: The, captain took up tue
aside SO as to conceal the sla:e IRON the passen.
ger, be turned it over aud gave it to him again
with the other side up a.: u: -"
,"yoU say that is your hand writing said be. |
" need not say So" rejoined the other look
ing at It, for ron saw me write it."
And thisf" said the captain turning the slate |
over.
The man looked first at one writing then at
the other, quite coufonnded. At last, What |
is the meaaiug Of this" said lie. ~ only wrote
one Of these Who wrote the Others"
"That's more than I can tell you, SIR Ny !
mate here says you wrote it, sitting Mt this desk
at noon to-day" ,~. =. !
The captain Of The wreck and ,ha passenger
looked at each other, exchanging s1ances Of IN.
te!lEence aud surprise; and tue former asked
4knI 4 Init Ia
this sate:"
tho. sir, not TINT remember" /
"You speak Of dreaming" said the captain Of |
The bark: "What was thus gentleman about ut !
"Captain,' reloiDed Tue other, "thc whole
thing IS most mysterious aud extraordinary |
aud I had intended to speak to you about it as |
~soan rs we got little quiet. This gentleman"
{pointing to the passenger,} 3beiaE much ex- |
s'avsted, fell into q heavy sleep, or what seemed
OF more he invoke and said to lae, ."Captaiu ne |
shall be relieved this very day" When asked !
him what reason he bud for sayfng SO. he re- |
piled that be had dreamed that he was on board
0 bark, and that she was coming to our rescue. |
lie described her appearance aud rig; and, to |
our utter astonish1nent, when your vessel hove
in sight she correspondent exactly to his descTip-
lion Of her. We had not put much taith in |
what be said yet still we hoped there might be |
something in il, for drowning men, ycu Know, |
will catch at straws. As il hasturncd out can |
no. doub. that it was alt arranged in some in |
compreheusible way, hr an ofefrutiug .proEi.
dencc, so that We might be savcd. 10 Him be |
a9I thanks for his goddess to It's.
"Tl,cre is not q doubt" rejoincd the other !
cnptain, "that the writing Oh the slste, let it
bare come there as it may, saFed aal our lires.
wns steering at the tine considerably south Of |
west and altered my course to uos'wcst, and |
had u lookout a'off, to see what would coule OF I
it. Nut rou saw lie added, turning TO the pas
sencer," that you did not dream Of wiring on
alate?" ]
@No. sir. have no recollection whatever Of !
aoingso. got ,he.inpression that tho bark |
s1w in mr. dream vas coming te rescue us; but |
how that impression came cannot tell. There ]
is another vers strange thing nhontlt, lie aided.
t'Escry thing here on ooara seems to NE quite
familiar yet am very sire never vas in !
your vessel before ii is all pn1zle 10 ne.
What did your mate see:' .s-. 4
Thereupon Mr. Bruce re11ted to them all the |
circumstances abuve detailed. The conclusion
they finally arrired at was, that it was special
intcrposition uf rrorjhencc to save them from |
what seemed hopeless fate. |
The above narrative WAS communicated to |
me by captain j. >. Clarke, Of the schooner |
Julia Nalock,+ who lad it directly frou, Mr. ]
Bruce himself. They smiled together for seven- |
teen months. in the year 1886 and 81: so that |
eight years after the occurrence. Hc ta> since !
lost sight of him, ond aocs mt know whether |
he is yet aiise. Alt he has heard of him since |
thcy weza ship,natcs is, that 10 contluusd 10 !
trade to New brunswick. tbat he became master |
Of the brig Comet, and that she was lost. /
asked Captain Clarke if hc Knew Bruce we'll,
aud iF6at sort Of nun be sas:
As tsutlful and straightforward d map, be !
replied, !" as ever met III I'LL my life. We were ]
As intimate as brothers; and two men can't be
tugether, shut up for seventeen months in tho |
saine ship, without getting to know whether
fhpe ran trtrst mn ann1h,-rH word or not. liz |