"Mysore," and found themselves in a pitiable plight, having no food on board, no chart, no compass. The second officer, now, alas! the sole survivor of those who had had command in, the ship, and whom, in the remainder of our narrative we shall designate the "captain," committed himself to the care of Him who rules the winds and waves, and set himself heartily to the task of guiding his frail bark as best he could. roots, but they got their bucket filled with fresh water. Five days after they had been separated from the wreck, one of the Lascars was seen sitting in the bows, with his back turned, munching something. This was found, on examination, to be some biscuits, and brown sugar, which he had brought with him, and which on being produced in the corner of his handkerchief, had turned to pap with the salt water. It was, however, shared among them, each getting a dessert-spoonful, their first breakfast for many a day. by heavy squalls, and was found to be making much water. The morning of Monday, 7th December, found them in the midst of a perfect hurricane, their sails torn into ribbons, three feet of water in the hold, - for the ship had been leaky when leaving the port. the attention of both officers and men being engrossed with the pumps, in the vain endeavor to prevent the sea gaining on them. After a fearful day, during which "both quarter-boats, main and mizen topmasts, gaff, and all the topsail Having cut up one of the thwarts, and fitted a yards were swept away, and the vessel was nearly piece of it into the hole on the boat's side, they sucfull of water, the lower deck afloat and lying over ceeded in stopping up the leak which had threatened with the starboard chains in the sea," the wind fell to prove so troublesome. They then put on as much about 9 P. M., and the moon made her appearance. sail as she could safely carry, and at length came in Orders were given to clear away the remaining sight of some islands, on which, however, they could boats, the pinnace and long-boat being alone left. not for some time effect a landing, in consequence of In an hour, the former, furnished with ten oars, the surf. When they did land on one, they found three lug-sails, jib, an anchor and cable, a water-nothing to eat but the heart of bamboo, and some soft bucket, an axe and musket, was ready to be hoisted out. She was intrusted to the second and fourth officers, with directions to keep her under the ship's lee while the long-boat was got out. While the pinnace was being lowered, she was struck on the side by a belaying-pin, which unfortunately stove in two planks; she consequently made a good deal of water, on finding which the fourth officer and several of the crew scrambled on board the Mysore" again, leaving the others to their fate. Heavy weather again set in, and those remaining in the pinnace had difficulty in keeping her so near the ship as they wished. All hands on board were meanwhile busied in endeavoring to get out the long-boat. "When they had her up as high as the gunwale, something gave way; we (in the pinnace) could not exactly see what, it being The writer of the journal then describes trial dark, but we supposed it to be one of the tackles, from another quarter. "I now thought we had and the boat afterwards fell down on the deck. It gone too far to the west, and were in the Gulf of was now about midnight: a heavy squall came on, Siam. Hauled up to the eastward to make the which blew us to leeward of the ship. However, in Straits of Singapore. The crew, upon seeing this, about half an hour afterwards we could see the were much dissatisfied, and insisted on still keeping long-boat again above the gunwale and seemingly to the southwest. All my persuasion would not do: outside the ship, and heard the carpenters called they said we could never make the land in that for several times, I suppose for the plugs of the scup-manner, and persisted on keeping before the wind. pers in the boat's bottom." Just at this point the party in the pinnace heard the captain's voice hailing them to pull hard to the ship, which now seemed settling very fast; but in a few minutes she made two or three very heavy plunges, and then with her freight of living souls disappeared, having, it is supposed, parted in halves about the fore hatchway, with a tremendous crash. The survivors in the pinnace pulled with all their might towards the dreadful scene; but by this time the moon had gone down, and not a single soul could be seen. 66 "Sometimes a broken yard or mast would come across us to endanger our boat, which we avoided as much as possible; still hearing cries on all sides, and endeavoring all in our power to reach the place whence they proceeded, but in vain, the swell and wind being too powerful for our feeble efforts, having been completely worn out for the last few days." After four hours' ineffectual attempts to pick up any of their shipmates, the party had to abandon all hope of ever again seeing any of them. The pinnace by this time was half full of water, which they baled out, stopping the hole as best they could with one of the Lascar's blankets. Having appointed one of their number to sit by the leak, and continue the work of baling, the rest resigned themselves to sleep, of which they had had none for two nights. At daybreak they could see no vestige of the For days they continued enduring dreadful hardships from hunger, thirst, and exposure to the weather, not to think of the dangers which they ran from the violence of the squalls, which from time to time threatened to engulf their pinnace. So we again bore up to the southwest. Having very unfavorable weather, with heavy rains and calms, my feelings were much hurt at the behavior of the Lascars, as I thought we had done very well, and were in a fair way to make the straits; but now to be led away by these ignorant people to a country with which none of us were acquainted, completely stupefied me; in short, I let go the tiller, and told them to steer their own course, resigning myself to the will of Providence. In this way we sailed for two days." Bodily weakness had deprived them of the services of some of the crew, and those who were still enabled to keep up were so exhausted and emaciated as to feel that a few days longer must inevitably see them, too, in the position of three of the Lasears, who lay prostrate in the bottom of the boat, crying out, Ma, bap, khana ne mwyaga! (Mother, father, no food: we shall die!) But, in singular illustration of the oft-repeated truth, "Man's extremity is God's opportunity," the morning of Sunday, 20th December, found them alongside of a shore, on which they descried plenty of cocoanut-trees, some houses built in the English fashion, and every appearance of a large town. Having with difficulty effected a landing, they were welcomed by the Rajah and his attendants, who conducted them to a place of shelter, supplying them with eatables, which they felt to be the sweetest meal they had ever eaten, having been now thirteen | mates in the "Mysore" swallowed up by the redays at sen in their open boat, not to mention the days of tempestuous weather which they encountered before their vessel was wrecked, and on which they had no cooking of provisions on board. Tringany was the name of the place where they had thus landed. It was governed by an elder and younger Rajah, the former giving himself no trouble with public affairs, the whole management of which devolved on the latter. There were about one hundred junks belonging to the port, all laid up for the winter. A considerable amount of trade was carried on with Cochin-China, Siam, Batavia, Malacca, and other parts, in gold dust, pepper, sago, rice, coffee, and betelnut, as exports; while the imports were iron, cloth, guns, etc. In fishing, the natives did not go out in boats, but used nets, walking in the surf up to their neck. The captain amused himself as best be could, in fishing and hunting. One evening, being bright moonlight, he tells us, he was indulged with a sight of the whole of the Rajah's seraglio, about thirty ladies, taking their customary airing on foot. They seemed much amazed at seeing "the 'ourang pooty, as they called me, having never seen a white man before.' The captain had his patience much tried with the many vexatious delays which occurred, ere, after recovering from the sad effects of his many privations, he could get under sail again. The Rajah at one time affirmed that it would be highly dangerous to set out to sea for some weeks, on account of the stormy weather they expected at that season. When, again, his scruples were overcome, and a day fixed for embarkation, the Malay seamen who were to accompany the expedition declared that go they would not in so stormy a month. In the course of one interview which the captain had with the head Rajah, he expressed his unwillingness that he should leave the place at all, and asked him to take command of his war-prows, offering him as an inducement the hand of any of the princesses he chose in marriage. At last a prow was got ready, manned, and provisioned, and, after the writing of as many papers and the procuring of as many signatures and seals as might have cleared out a whole fleet of Indiamen, they got under way on 19th January, 1819. In the course of their voyage they fell in with several vessels, and, on hauling up to speak to one, were saluted with round and grape shot, the captain and officers being evidently alarmed at the appearance of a manned Malay prow, having on board an officer with a white face, and the high-crowned Portuguese black hat he had received from the Rajah. This vessel afterwards proved to belong to the King of Siam, and was commanded by a gentleman from Forfarshire, of the name of Mitchell, with whom the captain ultimately became very intimate at Calcutta. Towards the afternoon of the 28th January the voyagers sighted the Roads of Malacca, into which, a favorable breeze springing up, they pressed with full sail, and came safely to anchor at two o'clock. Here the captain received much attention from the agents of the owners of the "Mysore," who procured for him and the Lascars a passage to Calcutta in the "Hope," from whose officers they experienced all manner of kindness, reaching their destination after a pleasant voyage. morseless waves, while he alone, of all his own countrymen, was, after so striking a preservation, brought to "the desired haven." He had experi enced a deliverance which might well give a turn to all his future thoughts, and, from the reflections contained in his journal, we believe he was deeply impressed then, and continued to be so, with a sense of what he owed to the merciful providence of God. THE AUCKLAND ISLES.* THE adventures of Robinson Crusoe have for several generations been read with intense interest by millions, probably, of people in almost every language, and have been the delight of Englishmen in particular from their school-boy days up to the most advanced period of their lives. It is but rarely, however, that we find similar records of such events happening in actual life, for the narrative of Alexander Selkirk, and of his three years' solitary abode on the Island of Juan Fernandez, the commonly supposed origin of Robinson Crusoe, appears to have done little more than suggest the main idea of his story to Defoe, who supplied all the remainder from his own fertile and creative genius. But in Captain Thomas Musgrave's account of his shipwreck on the Auckland Isles, and of the escape of himself and his crew after twenty months' thraldom, we find a description of real occurrences quite as singular and romantic as those related in " Robinson Crusoe," and in many respects far more painful. The whole narrative, indeed, from first to last, bears a striking resemblance to Defoe's story, and, as we read on, we are constantly and forcibly reminded of that wonderful tale. Mr. John Shillinglaw, the author of "Arctic Discovery," and editor of the present volume, which is compiled from the private journals of Captain Musgrave, justly observes, in a brief introductory chapter, that "few more interesting narratives of disasters at sea have ever been given to the world than the journals in which Captain Musgrave records the wreck of the Grafton. A great trial, bravely met and gallantly surmounted, is therein told with a care and exactness which is at the same time singularly modest." On the 12th of November, 1863, Captain Musgrave sailed from Sydney, New South Wales, in the brig Grafton, bound for the South Sea Islands. She had an extremely rough passage, and encountered very tempestuous weather, with rain, boisterous gales, and an angry sea. After suffering in this way for several weeks, the Grafton was wrecked on the 3d of January, 1864, on the principal island of a group in the Southern Ocean, called the Auckland Isles. These islands were originally discovered by Captain Abraham Bristow, in a merchant vessel, during a whaling expedition, in the month of August, 1806. Captain Bristow named them the Auckland Isles out of compliment to his friend Lord Auckland, and immediately "took formal possession of them for the British Crown." They were subsequently visited at different periods by Sir James Clark Ross and Captain Crozier in the ships Erebus and Terror (which were afterwards lost in the Arctic regions in connection with the ill-fated Franklin expedition), by Mr. Charles Enderby, *Cast away on the Auckland Isles. A Narrative of the Wreck of the Grafton, and of the Escape of the Crew after Twenty Months' Our readers may easily conceive what would be the captain's feelings when Calcutta was at length suffering. From the Private Journals of Captain Thomas Musentered by him, as he thought of his many mess grave. Captain Charles Wilkes, and other enterprising | nated with violent hurricanes; and heavy falls of navigators, English and American. They were snow and sleet, together with sharp frosts, were of frequent occurrence. Fine warm days were but rare exceptions to the rule. The stock of ship's provisions, as may be imagined, was soon exhausted, but the party did not suffer for want of food while they remained on the island, although they frequentgers and difficulties in endeavoring to obtain the necessary means of subsistence. In the course of their researches, they discovered a root which grew abundantly everywhere, and which they found to be an excellent substitute for both bread and potatoes. It was, especially, an admirable relish with fish, and contained a good deal of saccharine matter, in consequence of which they made a quantity of sugar from it, and gave it the name of sacchrie. They likewise manufactured from this prolific root a kind of beer, which they found preferable to cold water, and which they used as a substitute for tea. This beer was made by first grating the root on a large grater, afterwards putting it through the different processes of boiling and fermenting, and, finally, placing it in a cask, from which it was drawn off as it was wanted. also colonized for a short time by a small tribe of New Zealanders who had emigrated from their own island, and afterwards by a few Europeans, who opened "The Great Southern Whale Fishery" in the island; but they were soon deserted by both parties, and the chief of the group was quite unin-ly endured extreme toil, and had to face great danhabited when the Grafton, with Captain Musgrave on board, was wrecked there about two years ago. During his twenty months' miserable residence on this bleak and dreary spot, Captain Musgrave kept a journal in which he made notes of every important event that happened, and of every adventure that befell him and his companions in misfortune, from the period of their being cast away. A considerable portion of this diary was written in seal's blood, which Captain Musgrave was obliged to use after his ink was gone. The journal does not appear to have been a daily record of events, but circumstances seem to have been chronicled indiscriminately here and there, according as they chanced to happen. We learn that Captain Musgrave and his fellow-sufferers contrived, after many weeks of patient toil and labor, to build themselves a kind of house or hut, formed partly of the sails, yards, &c. of the ship, partly of planks and boards taken from the wreck, and partly of timber cut from trees in the neighboring forests, of which there are several near the spot where they were encamped. Here, again, the narrative bears a striking similitude to "Robinson Crusoe." Indeed, in writing his journal, Captain Musgrave would seem to have occasionally had Defoe's work in his mind. The whole book, as may be supposed, is extremely painful. The writer keenly depicts the scenes of trial and suffering, both bodily and mental, which he endured dur-bravely face their adversaries, and fight long and ing his residence on the island, and he sometimes expresses himself in very forcible and affecting language, inspired by the terrible circumstances in which he found himself. When Captain Musgrave and his companions had at length completed their hut, they roofed it in with thatch made of grass which grew on the island, and afterwards covered the outside with old canvas, which did not, however, by any means exclude the wind. In the interior, they constructed a fireplace of tin, zinc, and copper from the ship, with boards towards the top. The furniture consisted of two or three tables, some benches and stretchers to sleep on, a looking-glass, and a few other articles, all of which were likewise got from the wreck. The construction of this hut was a work of time and difficulty; for, besides having numerous obstacles to contend with in the shape of wet and stormy weather, high winds, scarcity of hands, and occasional sickness among the men, all of whom had caught severe colds from being compelled to lie on the damp ground, Captain Musgrave and his followers were sadly in want of proper tools for their work, their only implements being a hammer, an axe, an adze, and a gimlet. However, Mr. Raynal, the chief mate of the Grafton, who appears to have had a special mechanical genius, turned blacksmith on the present occasion, and manufactured a quantity of nails, thus rendering considerable assistance to his fellow-sufferers in building their hut. All the time they were compelled to abide on this remote and desolate spot, these unfortunate men had to encounter, in addition to their other hardships, great sufferings from the severity of the weather. Storms of hail, rain, thunder, and lightning, alter They were soon compelled, however, to leave off drinking this beverage, and to take to water again, as it produced bowel complaint. Their food consisted chiefly of seals dressed in various ways, seagulls, oysters, mussels, and several other kinds of fish; penguins, quails, widgeons, snipes, and other wild-fowl, with which the island abounded. Seals appear to have been the principal article of consumption, and, in killing these animals for food, the mariners used often to have very desperate encounters with them, as, when attacked, they will furiously, in which case the party commencing the assault will seldom escape without damage. It therefore requires great art as well as nerve to overcome these creatures, the best method of killing them being to take them while they are asleep. They are likewise extremely ferocious among themselves; and pitched battles between large numbers of opposing forces, resulting in great slaughter, are no uncommon occurrences. Of the skins of the seals, Captain Musgrave and his fellow-castaways made themselves clothes after a time, using canvas ravellings for thread, and sewing with a sail-needle. They also found on the island a species of bark, which they could tan admirably, and of which they made themselves shoes. While they were on the island, Captain Musgrave and his followers frequently heard the barking of dogs, and discovered the tracks of many of these animals, which they imag ined to be sheep-dogs, but they were never able to obtain a sight of one of them. In the course of their travels, however, they found a common domestic cat, and brought her home to their habitation. On the 27th of June, 1865, Captain Musgrave, Mr. Raynal, and two of the men, succeeded in launching a boat of their own construction, which was made partly of planks saved from the wreck of the Grafton, and partly of timber cut out of the bush; the ballast, sails, &c., being mainly composed of salted seal-skins. In this operation, Mr. Raynal took a very active part. He was largely engaged, not only in making the boat, but likewise in blacksmith's work, having manufactured a great number of implements required for the purpose, as they were terribly short of tools. These were constructed with much mechanical skill, and Mr. Raynal worked April 14, 1868.[ hard, from morning till near midnight. Having stocked the boat with provisions and other necessaries, they set sail in the hope of reaching New Zealand, from which they would endeavor to return, or send for those left behind at Auckland. They reached no farther than Camp Cove, about seven miles distant, the first day. Here they halted, and were afterwards obliged to take the two men who started with them back to the old camp at the wreck, as they could not be induced to proceed any farther. After being detained several days by bad weather, Captain Musgrave and Mr. Raynal again launched their boat, on the 19th of July, and on the 25th of the same month, they landed at Port Adventure, in a very weak and exhausted state, and were kindly received by Captain Cross, of the Flying Scud. They afterwards sailed with him for the island of Invercargill, where they landed on the 27th of July. patient endurance and heroic fortitude under severe trials and sufferings, of dogged perseverance and resolution; and we have no doubt that the work will be read with the deepest interest, and with combined feelings of pity and admiration, by many persons both in England and the colonies. FOREIGN NOTES. "THE Death of Lucretius" is said to be the title of Mr. Tennyson's new poem. THE Rev. Dr. Thompson, Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Cambridge, succeeds the late Dr. Whewell as Master of Trinity. Russia, to learn the language, and to study naval THE Tycoon has sent seven young Japanese to and military science. tion in the Champs Elysées, by driving a team of A SWEDISH nobleman has been making a sensaNorwegian dogs attached to a sort of droiska. FROM Paris we hear that M. Gustave Doré is preparing to illustrate La Fontaine's "Fables," for which purpose he spends most of his time in the Jardin des Plantes studying animals, not forgetting fourteen rats, more or less, which he keeps in an immense cage in his studio, in order to observe their habits. THE Kladderadatsch, the Punch of Berlin, has a clever and somewhat ominous cartoon. Austria and Prussia, as two gladiators, are approaching a throne Having stated the circumstance of his shipwreck at Auckland to the authorities at Invercargill, a large subscription was immediately got up for Captain Musgrave, and finally a boat, well furnished with clothing, blankets, and other necessaries, was provided to enable him to return to the former island for the men who had been left there. On the 30th of July the boat weighed anchor, and, after an extremely rough passage, and repeated delays owing to great stress of weather, they once more landed at Auckland, on the 24th of August, and "beat up" for their old hut, within a mile of which they met their fellow-castaways. The poor men were in a very reduced condition, being half starved. Captain Musgrave immediately provided them with a hearty and substantial meal, to which they did ample justice, for they had been so pinched for food during the captain's absence that, on one occasion, they were obliged to catch mice and eat them. "Moreover, it appears," says our author, "that they could not agree, and, strange as it may seem, although there were only two of them on the AT a recent meeting of the Société des Gens de Letisland, they were on the point of separating and tres, in Paris, Alexander Dumas advocated a plan for living apart!" On the 1st of September, the the construction of a gigantic theatre, where plays of whole party took their final departure from the every nation would be performed. He merely asks Auckland Islands, and on the 14th arrived at Port for two millions to carry out his scheme, and promAdventure, whence Captain Musgrave soon after-ises to subscribers of 2f., 5f., or 1000f., 100 per cent wards sailed for Melbourne. profit. M. Dumas purposes travelling all over the In the course of his wanderings in Auckland, the known world to collect subscriptions, and feels concaptain had discovered the dead body of a man hav-fident he will yet construct his cosmopolitan theatre. ing the appearance of a seaman who had died of starvation; and he also found the ruins of some huts, traces of vegetation, and other signs of the island having been inhabited. On arriving at Melbourne, from which port several vessels which had previously sailed were missing, Captain Musgrave waited on the authorities, and, having stated the above facts, offered his services to rescue those persons whom he believed to be still on the island. A steamship was accordingly at once equipped under the command of Captain Norman; and this vessel, being amply supplied with stores, clothing, &c., set sail for Auckland on the 4th of last October, accompanied by Captain Musgrave. However, on arriving at the island, no signs of any human beings, either dead or living, were discovered, although the group was diligently searched throughout. It is supposed that the greater number of the castaways had been previously rescued by foreign vessels which had touched at the Auckland Isles at different periods, as explained in the introduction and appendix to Captain Musgrave's work by Mr. Shillinglaw, the editor. The present narrative is a most striking record of AMONG the many munificent contributions to literature made by the Bavarian government, is a complete edition of the chronicles of the cities of Germany from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Three volumes have been published, and a fresh set is commenced by the Chronicles of Augsburg, which are rich in picturesque anecdotes, and graphic illustrations of the manners of the times. M. PRÉVOST-PARADOL, of whom there is so much talk in Paris just now, is well known for his love of horsemanship, as well as his little regard for the present dynasty. A curious circumstance happened to him a few years since. Being unable to keep a stable of his own, he had hired a horse from a dealer. It was a strong, spirited animal, and off he galloped on it to the Bois. There he fell in with the Prince Imperial, attended by a small escort of dragoons. Just then the bugler blew a call, and at the sound M. Prévost-Paradol's horse pricked up its ears and suddenly joined the troop. In spite of all his efforts to prevent it, the young journalist was carried along with the escort, and had to ride into The the court-yard of the Tuileries in attendance on the | stitute all the remaining vestiges of the ancient city, Prince. It turned out that he was mounted on an whether of the Roman or of the Etruscan age, exold cavalry horse. cepting some fragments employed in the construction of other buildings, and a few relics. amphitheatre was excavated in 1809, at the expense of a Prussian nobleman; but, strange to say, though very interesting, the greater portion was Fiesole is, indeed, so full of promise that it is greatly again covered with earth. The unexplored part of to be hoped that it will be efficiently explored. A MOST curious gathering of autograph letters, addressed to the late Lady Blessington by artists, literary men, noblemen, and others, has just been sold by auction in London. The names of Moore, Shelley, Landseer, Dickens, Macready, Bulwer Lytton, Disraeli, and many other celebrities occurred. There were also some very extraordinary relics in the shape of locks of hair of distinguished persons; amongst others, Lucretia Borgia (given by her to Peter Bembo, and presented to Lady Blessington by the Abbé Bentivoglio, keeper of the Ambrosian Library at Milan, 24th May, 1826); the Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson, Countess Guiccioli, and Mrs. Hemans. AN important addition to the means of diminishing pain has been made by an English physician, who has introduced a new method of producing local insensibility to the knife. Chloroform robs the most terrible surgical procedures of the worst horrors which formerly surrounded them, and has even rendered possible some operations which could hardly have been attempted without it; but it has its own peril, the peril of death. Surgeons justly encourage their patients, by reciting to them the statistics of fatal accidents under chloroform, which, incomplete though they be, demonstrate the extreme rarity of such misfortunes. It has, however, been observed by all authors who have collected these cases, that a remarkably large proportion of the recorded deaths have occurred where only minor operations have been contemplated. Hence a rapid and efficient means of producing local anæsthesia, and one free from any of the constitutional risks attending the administration of chloroform, is a boon of great price. Dr. B. W. Richardson effects this result by directing on the skin a finely divided spray of pure ether, using an ingenious modification of the spray tubes, lately much in vogue as toys, for diffusing perfumes. A rapid blanching of the skin, and insensibility to pain, follow in from about thirty seconds to two minutes. Upwards of a hundred operations have within the last few weeks been painlessly conducted under this method. It is only likely to be generally useful for superficial operations; but these are so often undergone at the cost of great terror and anguish, through dread of the risks of chloroform, that the value of this invention must be very great. AN extremely interesting discovery has just been made at Fiesole, on the site of a vineyard adjoining the Villa Mozzi, or Villa Spence as it should now be called in accordance with Florentine custom, which confers the name of the possessor of the villa on it. During the process of digging trenches, the laborers came on the foundations of what there is every reason to believe must have been an Etruscan temple, and also of a conduit, and what appears to have been a circular well. The base of a large column has been laid bare, and portions of a wall, resembling in its nature the fragments of the ancient city wall, visible on the north side of the hill. These discoveries are of such importance that Mr. Spence purposes continuing the excavations in hopes of finding further relics of the past. Bearing in mind how important a place Fiesole was, it is remarkable that the hill has never been thoroughly examined. Some remains of an amphitheatre con A COMMON CHILD. A LONDON LYRIC. A pretty name, -a pretty face, To all she does or utters, Got cast among the gutters. For Fate, you see, has willed it so Are not without their trials; Suppose an able artisan So written-at and lectured), 'T was hard upon his death, I think, (And harder still on baby). Or love of gin, it may be. So there was Elsie all astray, So, reader, I had best be dumb Saint Giles's ugly church in. |