The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-08-31

to Bonifacio for help
Tired with having said so much, tn,
shepherd sat down, and the captain
went on with his story.
"Yes, monsieur, it was this poor OLE
fellow who came to warn us. He wa
crazy with fright, and ever since hi
brain has been Off tho track. To tell tn
truth, there was cause enough for 1t
Imagine 900 hundred corpses in heap
on the sand, mixed with great timber
and strips of sail. Poor Semillante
The sea had crushed hcS into crumb
with one blow. Palombo with difficult,
got enough wood to build fence arount
his hut As for the men, nearly al
were horribly disfgured and mutilated
1t was pitiful to see them clinging to
lgether in punches. We found the cap
tain In gala uniform, the chaplain
with his stole. In a corner between tw,
rocks there was a little cabin boy will
his eyes open. Ono might have though
him alive; but, no, it had been decreet
that not one should escape" Here h,
stopped.
Careful, Nardi, " said he; "the FIR,
is going out"
Nardi threw two or three tarred log
ON the embers, which quickly blazet
again.
Lionetti continued: 1.-The saddles
part of the story is yet to come. Three
weeks before the disaster a little cutter
which was going to the Crimea, like tn
Semillante. was wrecked in the sam,
way in nearly the same place, only thi
time we managed to save the crew ant
30 soldiers who were on board. W,
took them to Bonifacio and kept then
there at the station with us for tive
days.
"Once thoroughly dry and on foo
again, it was goodby, good luck. The,
returned to Toulon, from which por
they embarked again several days latel
for the Crimea. And imagine ON what
shipl On the Semillante. We fount
them all-all 20-lying among the deat
just where we are now l picked III
myself handsome brigadier, with {
long blond mustache, a STRIPPING from
Paris, whom ! had taken to my OWE
house, and who made us laugh all the
time with his stories. To see him there
crushed me. o holy motherl'
Thereupon the good Lionetti, much
moved, shook the cinders from his pipe,
and rolling himself In his cape wished
me good night
For some timo longer the sailors
whispered among themselves. Then,
one after the other, the pipes went out
No one spoke. The old shepherd hob
bled away, and was left alone to dream
away the hours in the middle of the
sleeping crew. 4E..
Still under the influence of the lugu-
brious tale which had heard, tried to
rebuild in my fancy the poor departed
ship and the story of this agony OF
which the sea gulls were the only wit
nesses. Several details which had struck
me-the captain in gala dress, the chap
lain's stole, the 90 soldiers-helped me
to imagine all the scenes of the drama.
l saw the frigate leaving Toulon in the
night. She loses sight of the port. The
sea is bad, the wind high. The captain
is valiant officer, and every ono on
board is undisturbcd. In tho morning
a mist rises from the sea- They com.
mence to be uneasy. All tho crew are
on deck. The captain does not leave the
bridge. Between decks, where the sol
diers are shut up, it is dark; the air is
close. Some are i'll, lying on their KNAPP
sacks. The ship pitches horribly. 1t is
impossible to stand up Sitting on the
floor, talking in groups, they cling to
the benches 1t is necessary to shout
to be heard. Some begin to be fright
ened. Listen, then. Wrecks are frequent
in the waters. The sailors are there to
say SO, and what they say is not reas.
surfing. Their brigadier, too, Partisan
who always talks wildly, makes Their
flesh creep with his jokes. "a wreck
oh, wreck is amusing, very We will
be well out of it after our iced bath.
Then they will take US to Bonifacio tC
eat blackbirds with old Lionetti."
Suddenly u crash What is it? Wha
can it be?
THE helm is gone, " cries dripping
sailor who goes running between decks
Bon voyage!' shouts that mailman
the brigadier. But no one laughs now
A great tumult on the bridge. The foI
prevents their seeing one another. TIL,
sailors go and come, cropping alon,
frightened. The helm is gone. 1t is i'm
possible to guide the ship The Semil
lantc, adrift, flies before the wind. 1t i
at this moment that the douanier see
her pass. 1t is half after II. Just ahea,
they hear, like the roar of cannon, tn
Ibreakersl The breakers! 1t is finished
There is no hope. They are goin,
straight on the rocks. The captain goe
down to his cabin. He comes up in
moment to take his place on the bridg
in his full uniform. He wishes to NEE
death in bravo attire.
Between decks the soldiers, in morta
terror, gaze at one another without
word. The sick try &c sit up; the littl
brigadier laughs no longer. Then tn
door opens, and the chaplain with hi
stole appears on'the threshold.
ITO your knees, my childrenr' AL
obey. In ringing voice the priest be
gins the prayer for the dying.
Suddenly fearful shock, n great cry
lupstretched arms, clinging hands, viii,
eyes, before which the vision of dealt
has flashed. Misercrel
1t was thus that | passed the nigh
dreaming, bringing back through /,
years the souls who had persisted in tn
poor ship whose debris surrounded me
Far away in tho strait the tempes
ragged. Tho flaruc of the fire bent unde
the blast. and l heard our bark thrash
ing and straining at her mornings @
the foot of the rocks -Ecanance.