Our vessel was one of Soames' finest ships, and for nearly a month after the wreck lay firmly imbedded in the sand; but the pieces of the hull of the "Waterloo" which were picked up on the beach, crumbled to dust in the hands of those who tried their strength. I have said thus much of ourselves, and I have said it impartially, because, in cases of shipwreck, the captain is frequently blamed for what he cannot help--for what, in fact, is a visitation of the Almighty. To the master of the troopship, as well as to Lieutenant Black, R.N., we were indebted, during the whole of the voyage, for the utmost attention and kindness; the more so as, from the unanimity subsisting between them, they were enabled to act together for the benefit of us all; and I think I cannot close this part of my narrative better than by publishing a letter written to Captain Young a few days after the wreck by Captain Bertie Gordon. [One equally complimentary was written to our esteemed friend Lieutenant Black.] "Main Barracks, Cape Town, August 31, 1842. "My dear Sir, "As commanding the reserve battalion of the 91st Regiment at the time of the wreck of the transport `Abercrombie Robinson' in Table Bay, I feel myself authorised to express my sense of your coolness, intrepidity, and readiness of resource, during those anxious hours of responsibility, when, from eleven o'clock on the night of the 27th of August, to daylight on the morning of the 28th, the lives of seven hundred souls depended, under God, on your firmness and seamanship. They are qualities essential in the commander of a ship at all times, and must be more than ever necessary when several hundred soldiers, women, and children, crowd his decks. "They conspicuously distinguished your conduct throughout that night, whose scenes were too full of danger not to have impressed every one with the near possibility of destruction. "The question of life or death seemed often to hang on each minute's duration; but, through God's mercy, your able conduct brought us safely through a host of perils. "On the part of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of the reserve battalion 91st Regiment, and of the detachments of the 27th Regiment and Cape Mounted Riflemen, then on board, I beg to offer our united acknowledgments of the praise and gratitude which your exertions so highly merited. "I remain, my dear Sir, "Very truly yours, "Bertie E.M. Gordon, Capt. 91st Regt. "The undersigned officers of the 91st Regiment, on board the `Abercrombie' at the time of her being driven ashore on the morning of the 29th of August, beg to subscribe their names to the above letter of thanks. "J. Ward, Captain 91st Regt. "J.C. Cahill, Paym. Res. Batt. 91st Regt. "J.H.E. Stubbs, M.D., Asst.-Surg. 91st Regt. "J. McInroy, Ensign 91st Regt. "Robt. Lavers, Ensign 91st Regt." ------------------------------------------------------------------------