The cause of the fire on the _Lightning_ was agreed to be spontaneous combustion. A very different reason was given for the burning of the second _Sovereign of the Seas_. This ship had just arrived in Sydney with emigrants in 1861 and was discharging at Campbell’s Wharf when the fire broke out, and at the coroner’s investigation the jury found “that the ship _Sovereign_ _of the Seas_ was wilfully, maliciously and feloniously set on fire on the 10th September, and that there was sufficient evidence to commit one of the ship’s sailors, then in custody of the water police, on the charge.” The Sydney fire brigade fought the flames for a whole day without avail; then half a dozen ship’s carpenters attempted to scuttle her, but all in vain, and she was left to her fate. The _Ocean Chief_, which was burnt at the Bluff, New Zealand, was also said to have been set on fire by her crew. The first _Empress of the Seas_ was burnt at Queenscliff on the 19th December, 1861, three months after the _Sovereign of the Seas_ had been set on fire at Sydney. “Blue Jacket’s” Figure-head. The first _Blue Jacket_ left Lyttelton, N.Z., homeward bound, and was abandoned on fire off the Falkland Isles on 9th March, 1869. Nearly two years later, on 8th December, 1871, to be exact, _Blue Jacket’s_ figure-head was found washed up on the shore of Rottnest Island, off Fremantle, Western Australia. Part of it was charred by fire, but there was no mistaking the identity of the figure-head, which was described as “a man from the waist up, in old sailor’s costume, a blue jacket with yellow buttons, the jacket open in the front, no waistcoat, loose shirt, and large knotted handkerchief round the neck; with a broad belt and large square buckle and cutlass hilt at the side. On either side of the figure-head was a scroll, saying:—‘Keep a sharp lookout!’” The Loss of the “Fiery Star.” On 1st April, 1865, the _Fiery Star_ left Moreton Bay for London. On the 19th one of the men reported a strong smell of smoke in the foc’s’le—this soon burst forth in volumes and a fire was located in the lower hold. The captain, named Yule, immediately had all hatchways battened down and ventilation pipes blocked up. The ship was running free, 400 miles from Chatham Island. A few days before a heavy sea had made matchwood of two of the boats, so the westerlies were evidently blowing strong. On the 20th a steam pump was rigged down the fore hatchway, and wetted sails were fastened over all scuttles and vents in the deck. But the fire continued to gain, and at 6 p.m. it burst through the port bow and waterways. The four remaining boats were at once provisioned and got over the side. Seeing that there was not room for everybody in the boats, Mr. Sargeant the chief officer, 4 A.B.’s and 13 apprentices agreed to stand by the ship—the remainder of the passengers and crew, to the number of 78, leaving in the boats under the captain.