disposition, and had endeared himself by his good qualities to all on board. He was every inch a sailor, having spent a number of years in the American merchant-service, wherein, strange to say, he had several times narrowly escaped drowning. On our first visit to Vasse, he was also barely saved from a similar fate. It is customary, just previous to leaving port, to roll the boats over and over in the water, for the purpose of cleansing them from the sand that is collected in them by beaching; which is usually done, amid much merriment, by several men stripping and going into the water for the purpose of conducting the operation. On the day to which I have reference, John Walter was seated in a boat, when orders were given to roll her. He remained in her; and the officer, supposing that he could swim, but did not care to take off his clothes, ordered the boat-plugs to be drawn out; whereupon she filled, and rolled over. From his frantic struggles, we then discovered his inability to support himself. The alarm was instantly given; and a boat alongside, belonging to the barque Monmouth, of Cold Spring, was cast loose, and soon had him aboard, totally exhausted. Now, however, after these hairbreadth escapes, as if fate had such a death in store for him, he met a watery grave in the broad South Pacific Ocean. Well may his life be said to have been one of fearful vicissitudes. But he had not always been alone in his imminent perils; for in one case, whilst pursuing the hazardous duties of his arduous profession, he found himself in the middle of the Atlantic, aboard a ship fearfully leaking. The cargo, which was salt, having got into the pump-wells, prevented their being used; and it was only by the most strenuous exertions, that they were enabled to retrace their course, and run their ship ashore in the harbor of Cadiz. And now our little circle was broken into by the King of Terrors! Sailing under the same flag--every day in contact with each other--depending on the same planks for protection from the wind and wave,--in the course of the two years that we had been upon the ocean, warm friendships had sprung up, and “shipmate” was only another name for “brother.” This accident--one to which we all felt ourselves liable--excited expressions of feeling, that one would scarcely believe could emanate from the speakers: men in our line of life seldom making an undue display of emotion. Every good quality and trait inherent to the deceased was rehearsed; and in conclusion, all hoped that poor John was in a better home above; and, if any one on board our ship had a prospect of a bright hereafter, surely he, the least offender of us all against the Divine law, would be the one. On the following morning we ran down and spoke the Allen. They were cutting in their whale; and the cheerful note of their merry chaunt, as they worked the windlass, contrasted strongly with our own bitter feelings and heavy hearts.