Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1860-01-27
"a few words are all | want. Sup


nose YOU write, Steer to the nor'west. ,"
The passenger, evidently puzzled to
make out the motive for such request,
complied, however, with smile. The
captain took up the slate and examined
it closely; then, stepping aside SO as to
conceal the slate from the passenger, he
turned it over, and gave it to him again
with the other side up.
"You say that is your handwriting p
said he.
II need not say So" rejoined the 9TH
err looking at it, " for you saw me write
it,"
"And this ~ said the captain, turning
the slate over
The man looked first at one writing,
then at the other, quite COMPOUNDED. At
last
q What is the meaning Of this 2" said
he. | only wrote one Of these. Who
wrote the other ?"
"Thats more than I can tell you, sir.
My mate here says you wrote it, sitting
at this desk, at noon to-day"
The captain of the wreck and the pas
senger looked at each other, exchanging
glances Of intelligence and surprise and
the former asked the latter,
Did you dream that you wrote on
this slate ?"
"No, sir, not that I remember"
!" You speak of dreaming" said the
captain Of the barque. "What was this
gentleman about at noon to-day 2"
Captain" rejoined the other, d" the
whole thing is most mysterious and ex-
traordinary, and I had intended to speak
to you about it as soon as we got little
quiet. This gentleman" (pointing to
the passenger " being much exhausted,
fell into heavy sleep, or what seemed
such, some time before noon. After an
hour or more he awoke and said to me,
Captain, we shall be relieved this very
day."
+" When I asked him what reason he
haG for saying so, he replied, that he had
dreamed that he was on board barque,
and that she was coming to our rescue.
He described her appearance and rig,
and, to our utter astonishment, when
your vessel hove in sight, she cores
pended exactly to his description Of her.
We had not put much faith in what he
said; yet still we hoped there might be
something in it, for drowning men, you
know, viii catch at straws As it has
turned ont, ! cannot doubt that it was all
arranged, in some incomprehensible way,
by all everything Providence, so that we
might be saved To Him be all thanks
for his goodness to US"
"There is not a doubt" rejoined the
other captain, "that the writing on the
slate, let it have come there as it may,
saved all your lives. / was steering at
the time considerably south of west, and
| altered my course to nor'west, and !
had lookout aloft, to see what would
come of it. But you say" he added,
turning to the passenger, " that you did
not dream of writing on slate"
I" No, sir. l have no recollection
whatever of doing SO. Igot the impress
sion that the barque saw in my dream
was coming to rescue US but how that
impression came cannot tell There is
another very strange thing about it."
he added. " Everything here on board
seems to me quite familiar; yet / am
very sure | never was in your vessel be-
fore. 1t is all puzzle 20 me. What
did your mate see 2"
Thereupon Mr.. Bruce related to them
all the circumstances above detailed. -
The conclusion they finally arrived at
was, that it was a special interposition Of
Providence to save them from what seem
cd hopeless fate.
The above narrative was communica-
ted to me by Captain j. S. Clarke, Of
the schooner Julia Hallock, who had it
directly from Mr.. Bruce himself. They
sailed together for seventeen months, in
the years 1886 and 1887 SO that Cap
tain Clarke had the story from the mate
about eight years after the occurrence.
lie has since lost sight Of him, and
does MOI know whether he is yet alive.
All he has heard of him since they were
shipmates is, that he continued to trade
to New Brunswick; that he became the
master of the brig Comet, and that she
was lost
/ asked Captain Clarke if he knew
Bruce well, and what sort Of man he
was.
i" As truthful aud straightforward a
man." he replied, as ever ] met in all
my life. We were as intimate as broth
ers and two men can't be together, shut
up foS seventeen months in the same
ship, without getting to know whether
they can trust one another's word or not.
He always spoke of the circumstances in
terms Of reverence, as Of an incident
that seemed to bring him nearer to God
and to another world. I'd stake my
life upon it that he told me no lie."