The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1881-01-13

"a ApAooiou tlI1tC ollOuld Cli'l ~ ttll.
at least | thought it did, and l sprang
convulsively to my feet. Sosenstive was
my brain, partly no doubt from recent
sickness as we'll as fright, that | had mis-
taken the shout Of the boats crew for
the dreaded catastrophe. The boWsprit,
from the end of which rope was dang
ling, was empty! and both pilots, made
aware doubtless of the danger, were pull
ing with eagerness of fear from the ship.
The cheering among us was renewed
again and again, during which | c0ntin-
ued to gaze with arrested breath and faS-
cinated stare at the burning vessel and
! tieeting pilot boats. Suddenly pyramid
of flame shot up from the hold of the ship,
followed by a deatening roar | fell or
was knocked down, know not which
the boat rocked as if caught in fierce
eddy; next came the hiss and splash of
numerous heavy bodies falling. from a
great height into the water, and then the
binding glare and stunning uproar were
succeeded by a sOundless silence and a
thick darkness in which no man could
discern his neighbor. The stiffness was
broken by loud, cheerful hail from one
of the pilot boats. We recognized the
voice, and the simultaneous and ringing
shout which burst from us assured the
gallant seaman of our own safety and how
eXultantly we all rejoiced in his. Half an
hour afterwards we were safely landed.
A piece OF plate, at the suggestion of
Mr.. Desmond and his friends, was sub
scribed for and presented to Captain
Starkey at public dinner givenat Kings
ton in his honor, Il circumstance that
many there will remember In his speech
OH returning thanks for the compliment
paid him, he explained his motive for
resolutely declining to fight a duel with
VI. Dupont, half a dozen versions of which
had got into the newspapers. II was
very early left an orphan" he said 'and
was very tenderly reared by a maternal
aunt, Mrs. .---" (IIe mentioned a name
with which hundreds Of newspaper read
ers in England must be still famliar.)
"IIer husband fell in a duel in the second
month Of Wedlock. Ny aunt continued
to live dejectedly on till had passed my
nineteenth year, and 50 vivid an express
sion did the patient sorrow OF her life
make on me, so thoroughly did learn to
loathc and detest the barbarous practice
that consigned her to premature grave
that it scarcely required the solemn
promise she obtained from me, as the last
sigh trembed on her lips, to make me
resolve, never, under any circumstances,
to fight a duel. As to the behavior dur
inc the unfortunate cOnhagraton of the
Neptune, which my friend Mr. Desmond
has spoken Of 50 ilatteringly, | can only
say that | did no more than my simple
duty in the matter. Both he and | be
long to the maritime race, one Of whose
most peremptory maXims it is that the
captain must be the last man to quit and
| give up his ship. Besides, must have
| been the yeriest bastard alive to have
| quailcd in the presence-of-of that is, in
the presence circumstances which
| in point of tact-that is''-Here Captain
Starkey blushed and boggled sadly; he
was evidently no orator but whether it
| was the sly signtication of Senior Arguel-
| las countenance which Just then happen
ed to be turned toward him, or the glance
he threw at the gallery where Sonora Ar
| guellas's grave placidity and Donna An
tonia's bright eyes and blushing cheeks
encountered him, that so completely put
him out, cannot say but he continued
to stammer painfully, although the com
/ pany cheered and laughed with great
vehemence and uncommon good humOr,
in order to give him time. He could not
recover himself, and, after tlounderng
about through few more unintelligible
sentences, sat down, evidently very hot
and uncomfortable, though amidst lit
tie hurricane Of hearty cheers and hiari-
ous laughter.
l have but few more words to say.
Captain Starkey has been long settled in
Havana, and Donna Antonia has been
Just as long Mrs. Starkey Three little
Starkeys have to my knowledge already
come to town, and the captain is alto
gether a rich and prosperous man; but
though apparently domicilcd in a foreign
country, he is, | am quite satisfied, as
true an Englishman and as loyal a subject
of Queen Victoria as when he threw the
| glass of wine in the Cuban creole's face
| don't know what has become of Dupont
and, to tell the truth, don't much care