The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-03-31
A LEAP FOR LIFE.

was on my way from Paris to Rome,
and one morning in May found myself
in the city of Marseilles, where | had
made up my mind to take the steamer
for italy. The vessel | had intended to
to sail in had departed the day previous
to my arrival, so there was nothing to
do but to select the next best and COM
mence my journey. After noting the
offers of the various companies, finally
settled upon the General Abbertocci, of
the Valery line, and after seeing my
baggage aboard, and looking in vain for
some one to whom might say good bye,
| followed suit and was soon on thee
deck.
| looked around me at our passengers;
never was there greater mixture of ma
tons. French, Spanish, and above all
Italian, was heard on every side, but |
listened in vain for a sound of our good
old English tongue. After numerous
leave-takings and kissing, such as only
a foreigner can indulge in, we managed
to get off, and steamed from the harbor
with light breeze following, and as
happy a company as was ever got togeth-
er. There were several notables on board,
the Consul-G General Of France to Rome,
and his wife, an accomplished and ele-
CANT woman several Secretaries of Lee
CATION, besides many officers of the
French army, who, with a company of
troops, were on their way to relieve a
part of the garrison Of Civita Necchi,
then held by the French. As we sailed
along many small boats followed us, the
occupants shouting and waving their
of oil
Could they have seen what the next
twenty-four hours would produce; could
they have known that their good-byes
were indeed farewells to those who,
before the morrow's sun, would be in
eternity, their gladness would have been
changed to sorrow, and their rejoicing to
tears.
As said, we sailed on the morning of
the eth of May, 1869, and nothing oc-
Cured to mar our voyage up to o'clock
that night, when the wind changed, and
a head sea set in, which quickly drove
all the ladies and most of the men below.
AS for myself (having spent nearly a
year at sea, and never suffering from
that malady called sea-sickness), walk
ed the deck for some two hours, partly
for the fresh air, which ] could not get
in the saloon, and partly because feel
ing of uneasiness and insecurity had
taken hold on me, which | endeavored
in vain to throw off There were good
grounds, however, for my feelings, for
had not been half an hour on board be-
fore noticed lack of discipline among
the officers and crew, which BODIED no
good in accident, and which was after
ward fully confirmed by their conduct.
We were also heavily laden, including
among our freight deck-load of petro-
leum, upon the barrels Of which the
troops lay or sat smoking. endeavored
in vain, by signs, to make the Captain
understand the nature of such an in
hammable material, but he treated the
subject with the utmost indifference,
and, struggling his shoulders, went into
his room, as if the fate of over sixty
lives were of no possible consequence.
Having remained on deck up to near
ly one o'clock, ! went to my room and
lay down, taking off my coat merely, for
the horrid presentiment that something
would occur still chung TO me, and nv
sleep was anything but quiet. TWAS about
one o'clock, when | was awakened bv n
fearful crash, followed instantly by two
more shocks repeated in quick success
sion, while at the same moment shrieks
and cries burst from all parts of the
cabin, where terrified women and chill
dren were rushing madly hither and
thither. My first thoughts were that
we had struck upon some hidden reef or
shoal, which this part of the Mediter-
ranean abounds in, but on reaching the
deck | soon saw my mistake, for large
brig, whose outlines could just see in
the darkness, was slowly drifting away
from us, and knew in moment that
we had crushed into her, and the only
question now was, were we sinking or
was she2
Every one was now on deck, and the
confusion and excitement was dreadful.
Men called aloud for their wives, and
mothers for their children, while others
on their knees called upon God to, save
them.
Invent to the forward part Of tIae ship