Year: 1862

The crew was engage in furling sail. The
topman, whose duty it was to take in the
starboard upper corner of the main top
sail, lost his balance, he was seen totter-
ing; the dense throng assembled on the
wharf of the arsenal uttered a cry, the
mans head over balanced his body, and
he whirled over the yard, his arms out
stretched toward the deep; as he went
over, he grasped the man ropes, first with
one hand and then with the other, and
hung suspended in that manner. The
sea lay far below him at giddy depth.
The shock of his fall had given to the
man ropes violent swinging motion, and
the poor fellow hung dangling to and fro
at the end of this line, like stone in a
sling.


TO 60 to his aid was to run frightful
risk. None of the crew, who were all
fishermen of the coast recently taken into
service, dared attempt it. In the mean
time the poor topman was becoming ex-
hausted his agony could not be seen in
his countenance, but his increasing weak
ness could be detected in the movements
of all his limbs. His arms twisted about
in horrible contortions. Every attempt
he made to reascend only increased the
oscillations of the man ropes. He did
not cry out for fear of losing his strength.
All were now looking forward to the mo-
mcnt when he should let so of the rope,
and, at instants, all turned their heads
away that they might not see him fall.
There are moments when ropes end, a
pole, the branch of tree, is life itself,
and it is a frightful thing to see living
being lose his hold upon it, and fall like
a ripe fruit.


Suddenly a man was discovered clam
bering up the rigging with the agility of
cat. This man was clad in red.-it was
convict; he wore green capt was a
convict for life. As he reached the round
top, gust of wind blew off his cap, and
revealed head entirely white: it was not
a young man.


In fact, one of the convicts employed
on board in some prison task, had at the
first alarm, run to the officer Of the watch,
and, amid the confusion and hesitation of
the crew, while all the sailors trembled
and shrank back, had asked permission to
save the topman's life at the risk of his
own. A sign of assent being given, with
one blow of hammer he broke the chain
rivited to the iron ring at his ankle, then
took rope in his hand, and flung him.
self into the shrouds. Nobody, at the
moment, noticed with what ease the chain
was broken. 1t was only some time af-
terward that anybody remembered it.


In twinkling, he was upon the yard.
He paused few seconds, and semeed to
measure it with his glance. Those Sec
onds, during which the wind swaycd the
sailor to and fro at the end of the rope,
seemed ages to the lookers-on. AT length
the convict raised his eyes to heaven, and
took a step forward. The crowd drew a
long breath. He was seen to run along
the yard. On reaching its extreme tip,
he fastened one end Of the rope he had
with him, and let the other hang at full
length. Thereupon, he began to let him.
self down by his hands along this rope,
and then there was an inexpressible SEN
sation of terror; instead of one mon two
were seen dangling at that giddy height


You would have said it was a spider
scizing fly only, in this case, the spi.
der was bringing life, and not death. Ten
thousand eyes were fixed upon the group
Not cry; not word was uttered the
same emotion contracted every brow
Every man held his breath, as if afraid
to add the least whisper to the wind
which was swaying the two unfortunate
men.


However, the convict had, at length,
managed to make his way down to the
seaman. 1t was time one moment more
and the man, exhausted and desparing
would have fallen into the deep. Tht
convict firmly secured him to the rope, tc
which he clung with one hand while ht
worked with the other. Finally, he was