New-York tribune., 1873-02-20
OF TIE DYING.

or THE DYING
The excitement which the loss of the North
fleet caused i'll England still continues to
show itself in various characteristic ways
The steamer, which escaped like conscious
murderer in the confusion and darkness, has
been vindictively watched for in every port in
Europe the inefficient means of escape pro-
vided on emgrant ships is blamed; the made
quate signal system, etc, etc. Contributions
for the few remaining victims pour in from
every quarter, from the Queen to the haIi-
starved miners That three hundred souls
should he thus lost in a calm sea, within sight OF
the English coast surrounded by dozen yes
sells, within easy hearing and reach OF
crowded English rOadstead, would be enough
to account for the thrill of universal horror,
and the eagerness with which the whole nation
has risen TO repair the injury as far as practI-
cable, were it not that catastrOphes just as
general and terrible have occurred and died
out of notice in a day.
But there was a single point of human in
terest in this ship as it went down which
made all nations akin as they looked at it.
A multitude Of deaths of unknown men
and women is, after all, only CHASTITY vague
fact, Unconditional as the sum total of bill OF
mortality But this Capt Knowles, wakened
out of his sleep to find the open sea yawnlng
beneath, and these 400 souls dependent upon
him, on the instant cool, steady, sagaclous,
seeing that death was inevitable and stand
ing on its edge to choose out the weakest and
most helpless to be saved-there is a real live
man whom we would fain claim as the brother
of us all. There is much said nowadays of
the corruption of society; when our political
leaders take bribes we are told that chlcanery
and money and love of sham show control the
majority OF lives yet sometimes Death, from
among us, takes some commonplace fellow
like this ships captain by the throat and bids
him justify his right to have lived; and the man
takes his footing upon his plain daily duty, and
doing that, chooses so to be lost in the eternal
silence. But how the whole world is stirred as
he goes out! How in every country in the last
fortnight mems hearts have beaten higher, and
the tears come to women's eyes looking at the
figure of this Knowles on the edge of his
sinking ship; how we had listened TO hear his
last words before the sea covered him to
know something more of the man. Cleopatra
puts on her crown to make a tragic ending.
Whats brave, what's noble let's do it after
"the high Roman fashion, and make Death
"proud to take us "The Captain was the
"ony quiet man aboard" said one of the sur
vivors she was about thirty years old, and
(" had been married six months. He kept the
" crew back with pistol in one hand from
"the boats, and helped the women and chill
" dren in with the other. Some called him to
&" tie himself to a spar, but he went on lifting
"in the women. He gave his wife TO the
boatswain in one of the boats. Take care
90 of her, bOsen,' he said; Il will never see you
"'again dear girl Mrs. Knowles was a young
thing, very much of a child She wanted to go
:" back on deck and die with her husband, but
" we held her"
While we look through the night at the
ship going down with this man at his post
on her, other remembrances come back to us
of Robert Shaw, "buried in pit with his
"niggers :" of the engineer Kealey lying dead
at the bottom of the river, and the train he
had saved safe at the other side ; and, dearer
than all, of another ship that sank in the
British Channel not many years ago. There
was part of an infantry regiment on board,
returning after five years absence from
India. "When it was found that the vessel
" was sinking, and that the boats were in
" "suflcient TO hold the women and children,
"the Colonel, to prevent confusion, marshaled
" his men in rank on deck. They obeyed, and
"presented arms" And So almost within sight
of the home they had not seen for five years,
foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder, silent and
immovable, as though ready to charge upon
the foe, they went down.
There are men whose lives are clad with
great deeds or words as with q royal garment;
but these were homely and commonplace,
doing the task of every day, after no high
Roman fashion, but quietly and steadily.
Attempting and achieving no more than tins
they passed through the great dark portal
which never opens twice for any man. but
when it has closed behind them 1t seems to us
rs though King had gone out from among us.
The Connecticut gentleman, Mr.. Lucas, already
embalmed in these columns who sued Mrs. Mark