The evening times., 1895-10-17

for their value upon Hamburg ard other
houses at so many months ahead. by the
time the bills fell due the goods hal Deeh
sold for cash, which was paid into the banks
TO meet engagements. But protracted
frost in the early part OF 1893 had SO long
sealed the Elbe that the mcrcha ndise had
been detained icebound. and could not be
landed or disposed OF in time.
1.-THE London traders, to save their SSsrdit
and escape the expense Of protest, providing
new bills and other probabl commercial
disasters, resolved to send cash across to
cover their drafts as they came to maturity.
So grave was the crisis. SO great the sum
to be embarked. that a Kings ship was
asked, and nearly every banking firm In
Lombard street dispatched member in
charge of its own cash contribution.
Moreover, as many legal questions might
arise. an experienced notary-his name Is
preserved. Mr.. sciiabrach-was secured 10
accompany the party ard advise in any
difficulty. The precious cargo was Insured
principally at Lloyd's.
Various ideas. and nothing quite au-
thorilative, prevail as 10 the exact amount
on board the Lutine. Some say the specie.
which was in coius OF all sorts, gold and
silver, guineas. golden piastres, double
Louis d'or, Sicilian gold pieces. silver
piastrcs aud dollars. also in gold and silver
bars reached a total value OF upward OF
n million. The only contemporary report
is that in the A nnuai Register and In the
GentIeman's Magazine, for 1873. which
fixes the amount lost at merely Fl 40.O 600.
but Lloyd's underwriters are sa id to
have paid insurance to the extent or
f1GO, ,0O0; another sum OF f1Oo.cCO was
insured in Hamburg. md there was Ell
900 in public money for pay TO the troops
"In October OF that year the LIrine was
ordered round to Yarmouth to take
treasure on board and proceed to the
Elbe. Her capita in was one Lancelpt
Ssynncr r. n. an officer OF distinction.
and no doubt his mission was much to his
taste. The short voyage was likely 10
bring him considerable profit for Vt was
the rule top pay naval captains commission
of per cent. on the toraf value embnrked-
s'On the evening of the 9Th OF October
the Lutine lay in Yarmouth roahs with
a merry party on board. The captain. no
doubt in excellent spirits had given
grand ball to the leading people in ard
about Yarmouth. The last of the guests
had hardly gone ashore when peremptory
orders came from the admiralty that
The Lufinr should forthwith go to sea
She saiied In the early morning OF The
Sth, and from that time very litfie was
heard OF her"
lit is. however. Known that she steered
straight course for Cuxhavcn. at fHe
mouth OF the Eibe, wind strong from
north mort Invest. and greatly in favor.
After landing passengers and treasur-, tire
Lutine was TO convoy n fleet of merchant
men to the Baltic.
"Soon after midnight. going free and
under full press of sail she struck on
the outer bank of the island of Vlieland
(FlyIand), the next to the Texel. and one
of the ring of islands that hem the mouth
of the Zuydcr Zee. She must have been
slightly out of the course, and it is said
that there was a 81 frong lee tide .sInDing.
During the night she went down with al
on board. Another kings ship, the Arrow.
Capt. Portlock, WAS in company, but she
could give no help, nor the Schools or
fishing boats of the coast, and when day
broke there was no Lutine. only two sur
vivors were picked up by Dutch lugger
at daylight cIinging to the wreckage,. one
OF whom died Almost Immediately. and
the other, Mr.. Schabrach, the notary,
very soon afterwards died. but not until
he had told the little he knew.
Repeated efforts have been made to
recover the money. In the year irnme-
diateIy following, when the whole thing
was fresh. and before the sand had sifted
and drifted over the wreck, the Fetch
men fished up some f55.00O. Then more
systematic and some really costly efforts
were made. and by $3.50 another f50, 900
were recovered.
"The present operations were begun IN
1892 by an English engineer, Mr.. Fletcher,
who had been engaged on the Dutch coast
In raising a sunken dredger. He became in
tcrcsted in the Lutine, and assoc.ating him
self with another eminent engineer, Mr..
Rinipplc. they have approached the business
in a novel way. Their idea is to clear the
ship of sand, but to inclose her in a central
area or dock-faced by sand bags, which viii
prevent further sitting. while they ransack
the interior of the wreck by divers. This
area Is 200 feet in diameter, from which
the sand will be removed by powerful sue
ton dretIgers.
1T is calculated that a lesser area of
some fifty feet in diameter incloses the ship
and its bullion chamber, possibly a much
less area; but 1t is supposed that the cham
Der has been broken up and its contents dis
persed some distance around. No doubt
the heavy bars of bullion will have worked
deep down Into the sand, as the guns must
havedone, for only two have been recovered;
but they will be found as the sand is re-
moved. Loose coins-many of them win be
probably sucked up through the dredging
pumps-when deposited on the perforated
tables on top the sand will pass freely
away, bat the coins will be retained. But
the bars Of gold are what Will be looked
for most eagerly"
Not in II.
"That," bitterly exclaimed the microbe,
as tn beautiful girl at the sound of the ia
g. N A-v- 49,