New-York tribune., 1884-02-17

sharSs in the FLYING Dutchman. Christmas rations
| III tell you my yoxperience: tin Of yellow water.
such as you'd got by dropping bucket into the
Thames abreast of tho Isle of Dogs. boiled till it
steams and served out under the title of pea soup,
because of few pale shot dropped INTO 1t. harder
cid pork. smelling like-but durst not seek com
parison for that and last, a mass OF coarse -four
worked into dough by tho help of the same sort Of
slush that they grease down with, and feed the
fOrccastle lamp with, sprnklcd with two penn 0rth
of raisns. for mess of ten twelve hungry souls,
| tub and called "pudden." Or for pea-soup and
pork substitute hunch of beef. so massive that
yOu could not drive corkscrew into it, taseless
in all save brine that nothing but the cask it comes
from cOnld find 1t = name; piece of meat you could
carve into a. pipe. or a Snuf-box aud uso or work
up into dolls house, OF an ornament for mantel
piece Then, for dessert, there are biscuits 80 full
of worms that broken bits of the ships bread might
| pass for diseased flbrrts Truly wO greatest mari
time people on the face of the earth treat sailors
| nObly Oh for the privilege of turning the tables
for six months only of letting the sailor send the
shp-owncr TO sea in the forccastle for that time.
in the cuddy on that Christmas Day our dinner
| table was embeshed with two plum-puddngs of
large proportions and dark color Daniel sat Pc De
hind Of them and from the foreend Of the table
| his face would look like the moon rising over
tnmulus. 1t WAS black enough outside to make the
cuddy brilliant and delightful shelter: You saw
the darkness lying as if it were u tarpaun upon the
| skylghts and the muilod moan of tho wind ana the
sti1ed wash Of the seas ran in grim sound through
the chatterng OF our voices ANA the chmh Oh plates
81 Shall be glad to feel Australian ground under
my foot sad Captain Jackson, " Inc voyage 10
| the AntpOdeS is long business
"Weii, sir" says Daniel. in another month or SO
hope you'll have been long enough ashore to make
you forget all about this voyage
ooh It's been good voyaPc-vcry comfortable.
| I'm sure" said Captain Jackson: "Shp trillo
deep perhaps. at the start but she's risen as she's
.. It's queer to think of to-day being Christmas
observed Mr.. Thompson Tucker. d" Where shall we
| all be this time year "
al suppose in hot countries there's no such thing
| as Christmas Day sad Mrs. . O'l5rcn.
! DEPENDS the religion of tine inhabitants,
! maam, replied Captain jackson.
= We'll. to be sure. should have thought of tk0t"
exclaimed Mrs, O'Brlcn; captain, how uncom-
"iIcad swell and beam sea--a nasty con
Junction. responded Daniel 3" Bnt we're heading
true for Bamain. and BY listening you shall be able
presently to hear the locusts hummlug.'
So the chattcrIng went on, all of us taking turn
at it; even Florence, who was usually very qnlet at
table. talked brisky. Thoro was a deal OF wine,
taking, for the custom was III force then and had
the honor Of drinking with Aunt DamarS, who, SIT
ting on the shippers right had some difficulty in see
ing mo; but when she did catch my eye her bow
| was a handsome one. II WAS quarter to >; dinner
| was over but were all lingering at table crack
/ ing nuts and nbbng at the biscuits and listening
to stories told first 10y and then another Cap
! anecdofc and MI J0vce's anecd0te recalling an in
| ciJrnt 10 somcbody else. The cheerful lanplght
swung over the table. and sparklcd bright m glass
aud silver: you the sern-cab lin doors IN shadow
past The miZ2cnmast, tho companion steps mounting
| 10 the deck the polished bulkheads going down
| with the lampight upon them t0 the cuddy front
| where the windows looking on to the ain-dcck
stood in ebony squares. | held my dar!lngs haud
under the table and my eyes wcro on her face, rs
she listened to the story thcn being told. Al that
instant there WAS a shock IA though earthquake
! had Lappened right under the ship Y0u heard a
! crash and ripping noise forward; SHOUTS and
screams the rending sound OF falling spars; rush
| of feet The ship stopped dead hcclIn8 over, over
! To lceward till thought she was capsZlnS; some
of the passengers lost their balance and tel; me
| women shrieked wildly; a hundrd articles rolled
off the table and the gathering and smashing OF
plgteo and Winegasscs icarfullY increased the con
| fusion Whether we had driven into ST Pauls or
Amsterdam Island or were IN collision WIN % s9p t
| other If was. | believed that the StTathlnore was
! going bodily down. She must have heclod over 70
angle of fifty degrees and Win orrmIc ,aG e. Hai .
right and the frIgntfu reel of tho vessel threw hcr
weight upon my ARM held on to the tablc %'lh
| INV teeth locked half stupefed, as the best OF us
,yiu SOMETIMES be when frightCu disaster hapNns
IN a breath when a calamity falls like thunder
bolt, and spreads hundred wild horrors ere man
/ looked for Daniel. but he had vanished; Down
TO the deck to lceward. against the bulkhead which
| framed the cabin doors. saw Captain Jackson sup
porting his wife, who appeared III ht Mr. joyce,
| with his hands bleeding, CROPPED IN bilnd way tor
the door of the cabin IN which hlS children were
sleeping staggering rs h0 felt along the polished
! paucla in the very posture of stumbling, stagger-
| ing skater upon ice; Mrs. Grant sat crouchcd on
the deck amid whole rattle of odds and ends which
had fallen from the table. shrcking for her daugh-
! fer who was seated on the right-hand side OF The
forcandaft table and who Tth tnd Eters nn9 LheIe of
tirrng Inv the terrific angle of the deck There is
nothing in language to give You the teeboSt dea OF
the frghtful confusion at mat moment !lt peH@nt @
ing of canvas outside, tho heavy scamperng OF 1eet
the wild shouts of men, the screams OF women, the
heavy washing sound of water the hlll-ilke angie
of the deck the drowning hcave OF the stricken hiI
| upon the heavy swell and the sharper play OF the
| sIirges | could not command my legs, ana durst
therefore LET go OF the ta9ie Pu IN u i LOW mo
Florence round the waist and feeling IN the grasp
took of her that at that moment had tle strehgth
of ten men in me, was bearing her 10 the cOmpaii-
ion steps when Aunt pamariS shricked out 10 me me
| TO save her and. fairly leaping from where she
| stood caught my arm in doath-cIasp. :,
| The sensation inspired by tho motion oi the nun
| was that she WAS settling down; and any man
would have imagined this to be happening who ilad
felt her sluggish recovery that "iS IKE ,ie ~ Va
leying this therefore. had but one thought 20 gel
| Florence on deck stand by her ana take my chahce
| of life and death with her and nj her SIDE l'ut hor
| aunt's prasp was net to be shaken Oft the tenacy
of II was like tho clip of steel hook 50, ~ IL lhgh
| be- placing my halt-falntlng love before me WIN
| nv right arm CrclDg her waist, pushed my way
| M the companion ladder dragging Aunt Daiuarls
| IN nv wake " no followed as If she had been sack
If am unable to give yon me ies1 t ,a to Iac HL to
| bowling thnnderous scene INTO wmGh ! S.nfIsool t
| with thoso two wOmens The ship, AZ might know
| bv the wind blowing over the tattTall, had swung
with her head to tho nOrrard IT was IA dusk AS "a
| VOLTS throat; here and there IN the soOty slladow
you'd SEQ the ghasly glare of foam iiickerlhg up IN
| instant aud disappearing: but oh II was not tne
baclnes5 that made the horror that was III the nell
| ish uproar along the poop and upon the maldec1
| Tie Yelling of men. the shrieking OF women, the
shouts of captain and mates, the bawling OF SEA-
| men there was wrcckago aiOft, as you might have
known by the pounding up there: apparently sheets
and baiar1s had been let go fore and aft, and the
DING rrar logged the masts and canvas as II a
! tGousaud fonds were overhead shifting the sparS
and sails with thongs in their triumph over the ear
piercing anguish below. D,,
| fWith Florence in one arm and Aunt Damarss 3
hands locked upon the other. stood looking from
| side TO side seaward to discover II possible, the
! cause of this disaster, for whether We had struck
nm iceberg or rock or a ship or of those lump
ing derelcts which cncumber tho ocean, to the tro-
| nucnt destruction of vessels, could not yet I'M
agine: but could see nothng-nota q light, not an
outline, not deeper shadow anywhere TO teti line me
| S1cIterinC block surface. had dragged Florence
vi & S,,nt to- tic rnil inst abait the foremost Oi