English essays -- 19th century; Great Britain -- Social life and customs; London (England) -- Description and travel
“In the course of the day the ladies joined the ship. The boats were
ordered alongside, but they found the sea too heavy to remain there. The
gig had been abandoned during the night, and the crew, under Mr. Wood,
fourth officer, had got into another of the boats. The troops were
employed the remainder of the day baling and pumping, and the crew
securing the stern. All hands were employed during the following
night baling and pumping, the boats being moored alongside, where they
received some damage. At daylight, on the 13th, the crew were employed
hoisting time boats, the troops were working manfully baling and
pumping. Latitude at noon, 13 deg. 12 min. south. At five P. M., the
foresail and foretopsail were set, the rafts were cut away, and the ship
bore for the Mauritius. On Thursday, the 19th, she sighted the Island of
Rodrigues, and arrived at Mauritius on Monday the 23rd.”
The Nile and Trafalgar are not more glorious to our country, are not
greater victories than these won by our merchant-seamen. And if you look
in the Captain's reports of any maritime register, you will see similar
acts recorded every day. I have such a volume for last year, now
lying before me. In the second number, as I open it at hazard, Captain
Roberts, master of the ship “Empire,” from Shields to London, reports
how on the 14th ult. (the 14th December, 1859), he, “being off Whitby,
discovered the ship to be on fire between the main hold and boilers: got
the hose from the engine laid on, and succeeded in subduing the fire;
but only apparently; for at seven the next morning, the 'Dudgeon'
bearing S.S.E. seven miles' distance, the fire again broke out, causing
the ship to be enveloped in flames on both sides of midships: got the
hose again into play and all hands to work with buckets to combat with
the fire. Did not succeed in stopping it till four P. M., to effect
which, were obliged to cut away the deck and top sides, and throw
overboard part of the cargo. The vessel was very much damaged and leaky:
determined to make for the Humber. Ship was run on shore, on the
mud, near Grimsby harbor, with five feet of water in her hold. The
donkey-engine broke down. The water increased so fast as to put out
the furnace fires and render the ship almost unmanageable. On the tide
flowing, a tug towed the ship off the mud, and got her into Grimsby to
repair.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account