Glasgow Courier. — 1866-02-08 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

PRINCE DE LA TOUR D'AUVERGNR.  FEARFUL DISASTER AT SEA. Captain Brayley, of Messrs Teighe & Smith's sailing Indiaman Gresham—which vessel arrived at Spithead on Thursday from Hong Kong and the Cape of Good Rope —reports having sighted, on the 27th January, in lat. 47 14 N. and long. 18 24 W., at s3me distance to windward of his ship, a vessel apparently dismasted and very deep in the water. Captain Brayley worked his vessel up towards the wreck, and on nearing it launched one of his boats and proceeded on board. It was found to be a large vessel water-logged, and evidently of old build. There was no living person on board. Her decks had been swept by some tremendous sea, which had carried away bulwarks fore and aft, boats, deck-houses, and one cathead with its anchor. The broken part of the chain cable lay amidships on the vessel's deck, and on the top of a heap of a wreck, composed of broken spars, the ship's capstan, winch, and other gear. Underneath this wreckage were lying, jammed on the broken deck by the weight, three human bodies, frightfully mutilated. One body was apparently that of a ship's officer, the others those of two seamen. Captain Brayley poses these men to have formed part of the ship's watch when she was struck by the sea. Where the bodies lay the deck had been torn up by the ringbolts which held boats' fastenings to the deck amidships, and which had been dragged out by the boat when carried away by the sea. Through the openings in this torn planking projected parts of the bodies of two more of the crew, the limbs jammed in between the broken planking, These had no deck clothing on, and are therefore suPposisd to have formed part of the crew below. No other bodies could be found. The ship's stern was carried away, and part of the cargo--timber, in deals and balks—washed out. The bowsprit, with all the head gear and cathead, was gone. On the other cathead hung its anchor, with the greater part of the chain cable run out, and hanging down in a long bight from the hawsepipe. The fore and mizen masts were carried away about a foot below the trestletrees. The maintopmast was carried away near the mainmast-head, and no yards remained aloft but the fore and main lower. The sail itself had been blown out of the bolt ropes, and fluttered from the mainyard. The maintop was covered round as securely as possible with canvas, and here had evidently been the last refuge of the survivors after the catastrophe had jsce below. Bags of clothing, the ship's ensign, a compass, a chronometer, a carpenter's axe, saw, and tin were found there, but there. vl nu trace qf food or water. farther search amonge wreckage en the hrplati deck by paptain BraYley- an his men, after leaving the maintop, led to the discovery o a bell, which had on it the name "Jane Lowden," Captain Brayley took the chronometer away with him from the wreck, but left all the other articles on board, removing them down, however, from the maintop to the vessel's deck, and tearing away the remains of the mainsail, which looked so like a signal for assistance to passing ships. There was no evidence either of the rescue or death of the men who had eadeavoured to find a temporary place of security in the masthead of the waterlogged and disabled ship. They may certainly have been rescued, previous to the wreck being fallen in with, by some passing vessel; but this is hardly probable, looking at the fact that the chronometer, bags of clothing, &c., remained in the top. It seems far more likely that they all perished on board their own ship. A telegram from l'iYrnouth of the 2d inst. says:— " The captain, the sole survivor of the barque Jane Lowden, of Padstow, which was reported by the trcalpi ship Gresham to have been at sea waterlogged, has arrived at Texel, in the Ida Elizabeth. He states that nine of the crew weP3 Washed overboard, and six died on beard of iiijurieS, cold, and hunger. The captain was 33 days in the maintop, and during the last 8 days never tasted food. Ha W 46 taken off the wreck on the 23d January, One man lived in the maintop to within ben days of that date.  Miss Longworth, or Mrs Yelverton, is about to give a mice of public readings, the first to be given at Edinburgh on the 16th inst. On Thursday morning last, a man committed suicide by leaping from the Caledonian Railway bridge, crossing the Clyde at Meadowbank, Uddingstone  We understand that the beautifully situated and compact email property of Drydenham, near Hawthornden, has been purchased by Mr James Lindsay, merchant, Edinburgh. The ship Transit of Bristol, Capt. David Moor, at Greenock from Australia and East Indies, lost the mate, Mr David Burnet (34), of Aberdeen, at sea, from asthma; and Charles Johnstone, seaman (25) of Hartlepool, was drowned at Melbourne, while the ship was alongside of Williamston Pier. He fell from the pier, and the body was not recovered, although' aver oft WM made.