The Monticellonian., 1898-09-16

q double stream, pulling each other down, climbing upon each others backs. Two or three sailors tried 10 restrain us, but soon they were strug- eling with the rest, each man for him self. Alone they would have kept their heads; and I, too, had often looked peril in the face with reason able cooIness. But the panic was like an infectious delrium, setting loosv the wild beast that slumbers in each human soul. l stood for an instant sane; then. knew not how, I was in the midst of the crush, white, gasping eenyused with terror and effort. thrust aside a woman as if she had been hostile savage. She flung her self back upon the pack, claWing like q eat.
 "Just behind me lowered Yousouf, the gigantic Turk. He was bearing down all before him. I stopped and dived between his legs, and with q quick turn caught him by the waist band from behind. Quite unconscious of my existence, he lowed me through the writhing mob, and 1 reached the deck close in his wake.
 "A gray mist drizzled in cor faces and shut us in like the Tapping canvas of tent. The ship was listing heavily to starboard. Rockets were hissing through the air. The captain rased on the bridge, shouting and cursing. and some of the crew were striving to ear " out his orders; but as the stream from the steerage spread itself over the deck, confusion merged in frenzy. We rushed to the boats which the sail. ers were yainly trying to swing clear, and filled them to overfowing, block ing every effort. The tackle clogged; the davits swung inward.
 "Then, perceiving that this was hopeless, we rushed headlOng down the sloping deck to the boats on the other side; and some, unable to eha"k themselves, pitched overbDsv,5. Among these was Yousouf, who sank. rose. struck out wildly with three Herculean arm-beats, and went down as if some hidden monster had seized him from below. Then remembered his belt of golden eagles.
  and a slash on the forehead as crowded toward boat dazed me and dimmed my eyes with blood, so that for some minutes 1 clung to the raj and saw little of what was passing Then a boy stumbled against me with q life-belt. l spraug upon him with an oath. The deck WAS lurching he- h l1r al Ia F, of fear possessed me. wrenehed the belt from the poor little gamin's grasp. put tt on and leaped over the side, just as the shattered hulk dove % the bottom with I mighty swirl ard roar of inrushing waters.
 q was sucked under to giddy depth. but the cork brought me up just as the last atom of air was gur- gling from my lungs. In a moment tho waves around me were full of faces One little body rose close beside me. leaping into the air like a sturgeon, but it fell back lifeless and sank again.
 "That corpse, which when breath was in it, couldn't have weighed more than so pounds, is the heaviest thing
 
 ging me down to perdition-and 1 im- agined that a stolen life-belt would buoy me up. The weight of that body would sink me through the solid earth! But I shall never again set foot on land or ship. The life that disgraced my race to save isn't worth q days purchase.
 But the fury of the death-terror was then still upon me, and l struck and kicked at every struggling form which the eddies swept near. \ boat passed sunk low and swaying with its crazy load. l made after it, but with q boat hook they beat me off
 ''The fog was now lifting, and at . distance 1 discerned the dim outlines of a ship lying to. I swan laboriously toward it, but presently life-raft drifted across my course, and head ed for that. Only one man was upon it-a burly Italian, brandishing an oar, which he brought down on my skull with stunning violence just as I had caught hold of a trailing ropeeHd, The last thing saw was half-naked Austrian climbing up from the water with dirk between his teeth. l must have floated for long time, quite un- conscious.
 "When I came to myself my hand was stili clenched and twisted in the rope; l could scarcely unbeud my stiff. ened fingers. Beside me swung the raft, entirely deserted l erawled upon if, hut even the oar had disap- peared; could only guess what had No ship. no human being was anywhere to be seen.
 The rest is but an agony, of thirst, hunger, madness-and remorse. For uncounted hours have lain welterng under the glare of the sun and the gloom of the stars. am doubiy afraid to die, yet 1 cannot live. When I see a sail shall slide down from the raft and this dan.ning life=be that did murder to secure will not keep me 
 "July Tt has come at last. \ sail is in sight just over the ofling and am as glad as though l were 10 be res cued. Good-by, Joey; you're abont the only mortal care to be remembered to. I'm going now 10 make my apolo- gies to a little white corpse A, the bot tom of the sea-"
 only TurIs.
 During the Crimean war Lord Rag Ian was most conciliatory in his con duct and lanpuare 10 the French but.