Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-10-08

Giving bit of a cheer, our chaps
turned to the next, and were getting
in when there came a wave like a
mountain, ripped her from the davits,
and when [ shook the water from my
eyes, there she was hanging by one
end, stove in, and the men who had
tried to launch her gone-skipper and
mate as we'll.
There were only seven of us now,
and I could see besides the three wo-
men lashed to the side, and only one
of them was alive; and for bit no
one moved, every body being stunned
like with horror; but there came a
|lull, and feeling that the steamer was
sinking under our feet,Ishouted out
to the boys to come on, and we ran to
,,sle. iasts boat, climhyt. q, ara -ssfere,
casting off, when [ happened to catch
sight of the women lashed under the
bulwarks there.
"Hold hardH' | roars, for saw one
of them wave her hand.
"Come ON, you fool" shouts my
mate, ''she's going DOWN.
pray | may never be put to it again
like that, with all mans selfish de-
sire for life fighting against him. For
a moment | shut my eyes, and they be-
gan to lower; but / was obliged to open
them again, and as l did so saw
white scared face, with long wet hair
clinging round it, and pair of little
white hands were stretched out to me
as if for help.
"Hold hard!" l shouts.
''No, no, roared two or three, "there
isn't moment;" and as the boat was
being lowered from the davits / made
a jump, caught the bulwarks with my
hands, and climbed back on board just
as the boat kissed the water, was un-
hooked, and f1oated away.
Then as crept, hand-over- hand, to
the girls side, whipped out my knife,
and was cutting her loose, while her
weak arms clung to me, [ felt q horri-
BILE feeling Of despair come over me,
for the boat was leaving us; and |
knew what coward | was at heart, as
| had to fight with myself so as not to
leave the girl to her fate and leap over
board to swim for my life. | got the
better Of it though-went down on my
knees so as not to see the boat, and got
the poor trembling, clinging creature
loose.
"Now, my lass" l says, ''quick'
aud | raised her uphold on by the
side while | make fast Il rope round
you
"And then | stood up to hail the
boat-the boat as warn't there, for in
those brief moments she must have
capsized, and we were alone on the
sinking steamer, which now lay in the
trough of the sea.
As soon as | got over the horror Of
the feeling, sort of stony despair
came over me; but when | saw that
pale appealing face at my side, looking
to me for help, that brought the man.
hood back, and in saying encouraging
things to her did myself good.
NV first idea was to make something
that would float us, but gave that up
directly, for | could feel that l was
helpless; and getting the poor girl
more into shelter, took bit of to-
bacco in sort of stolid way, and sat
down with a cork life-buoy over my
arm, one which | had cut loose from
where it had hung forgotten behind
the wheel.
But | never used it, for the storm
went down fast, and the steamer float
ed still, waterlogged, for three days,
when We were picked up by passing
vessel, half-staryed, but hoping. And
during that time my companion had
told me that she was the attendant of
one of the lady passengers on board !;
and at last when We parted at the Cape,
she kissed my yhand. and called me her
hero, who had saved her life-poor
grimy me, you know.
We warn't long, though, before We
met again, for somehow we'd settled
that we'd write; and a twelvemonth
after Mary was back in England, and
my wife. That's why | said l took
her like out of the hands of death,
though in selfish sort of way, being
far, you know, from perfect. But
what | say, speaking as Edward Brown,
stoker, is this: Make good fight of it,
no matter how black things may look,
and leave the rest to Him.-G. Manrille
Fem, IN CasselPS.