Footprints of Former Men in Far CornwallHawker, Robert Stephen
History
Footprints of Former Men in Far Cornwall
Hawker, Robert Stephen
Cornwall (England : County) -- History
manifestly lifted by a billow and hurled against a rock, and so slain;
for the victims of our cruel sea are seldom drowned, but beaten to
death by violence and the wrath of the billows. We gathered together
one poor fellow in five parts; his limbs had been wrenched off, and
his body rent. During our search for his remains, a man came up to me
with something in his hand, inquiring, “Can you tell me, sir, what is
this? Is it a part of a man?” It was the mangled seaman’s heart, and we
restored it reverently to its place, where it had once beat high with
life and courage, with thrilling hope and sickening fear. Two or three
of the dead were not discovered for four or five weeks after the wreck,
and these had become so loathsome from decay, that it was at peril of
health and life to perform the last duties we owe to our brother-men.
But hearts and hands were found for the work, and at last the good
ship’s company--captain, mate, and crew--were laid at rest, side by
side, beneath our churchyard trees. Groups of grateful letters from
Arbroath[50] are to this day among the most cherished memorials of my
escritoire. Some, written by the friends of the dead, are marvellous
proofs of the good feeling and educated ability of the Scottish people.
One from a father breaks off in irrepressible pathos, with a burst of
“O my son! my son!” We placed at the foot of the captain’s grave the
figurehead[51] of his vessel. It is a carved image, life-size, of his
native Caledonia, in the garb of her country, with sword and shield.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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