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diff --git a/42415-8.txt b/42415-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c936cab..0000000 --- a/42415-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10052 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Storm Warriors, by John Gilmore - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Storm Warriors - or, Life-Boat Work on the Goodwin Sands - -Author: John Gilmore - -Release Date: March 26, 2013 [EBook #42415] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORM WARRIORS *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -STORM WARRIORS: -OR, -Life-Boat Work -ON THE GOODWIN SANDS. - -BY THE REV. JOHN GILMORE, M.A., -RECTOR OF HOLY TRINITY, RAMSGATE; AUTHOR OF "THE RAMSGATE LIFE-BOAT," -IN MACMILLAN'S MAGAZINE. - -_FOURTH THOUSAND._ - -LONDON: -MACMILLAN AND CO. -1875. - -[_All rights reserved._] - - -[Illustration: Life-boat] - - -LONDON: -PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS. -STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. - - -TO -THE MOST BELOVED MEMORY OF MY LATE FATHER, -JOHN GILMORE, COMMANDER, R.N., - -AND TO THE MOST BELOVED MEMORY OF -MY LATE ELDEST BROTHER, -ROBERT GRAHAM GILMORE, CAPT., R.N.R., - -TWO MOST BRAVE, AND SKILFUL, AND TRUE, -AND LOVING-HEARTED SAILORS, -WHO HAVE PASSED IN FAITH AND PEACE TO THE -HAVEN THAT THEY HUMBLY SOUGHT, -I INSCRIBE THIS WORK. - -J. G. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -"O Mamma, I do hope that we shall be wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, that -we may be saved by the brave life-boat men!" - -"You horrid boy, hold your tongue, do," replied the Mamma, who was -anticipating, with some degree of nervousness, starting upon a voyage -for Australia in about three weeks' time, and could scarcely be expected -to enter to the full into her young son's very practical enthusiasm. - -But within the last half hour the boy's shrill voice had been heard at -the Ramsgate pier-head, among the cheers that welcomed the life-boat -back from a night of toil and triumph on the Goodwin; and for the -present, to be saved from a wreck by the life-boat men is to him one of -the most delightful ideas on earth. - -After reading an article in 'Macmillan's' of the life-boat men's doings, -a brave English Admiral, then commanding a fleet, wrote--"My heart -warms to the gallant fellows; tell them so, and please give them the -enclosed (a guinea each) from an English Admiral without mentioning my -name." - -A Kentish Squire, sending a donation of a guinea for each of the men -wrote,--"To read the brave self-sacrificing doings of the Ramsgate -life-boat men, makes me proud of the men of my county." - -Other gentlemen wrote, and ladies wrote, and by-and-by we heard from -Australia, America, South America, and also from other parts of the -world came evidence, that English hearts, wherever they are, cannot but -feel deeply as they read the simple narrative of such gallant deeds. -"Your life-boat stories have undoubtedly helped on the good life-boat -cause," said Mr. Lewis. - -"The public have evinced considerable interest in those tales of -life-boat work," said Mr. Macmillan; and so the idea grew that I must -write a book about the life-boat work on the Goodwin Sands. - -A formidable idea this for a man with no "learned leisure," and quite -unconscious of possessing any especial literary skill, or any especial -literary ambition. - -Certainly, I could have no difficulty in obtaining full and abundant -particulars of the various adventures of the life-boat. - -It was gravely said to a friend of mine,--"It is really very wrong of -Mr. Gilmore, as a family man, to risk his life in the life-boat." I have -been able to get all particulars without risking my life, and without, -which is not much less to the point, lumbering up the boat with a -useless hand; moreover, I doubt whether I should have had very keen -powers of observation, while cold and exhausted and breathless, and -clinging for very life to the thwarts, with the seas rushing over me, -and tearing at me, striving to wash me out of the boat; which would have -been my condition and very soon the condition of any unseasoned landsman -who went to share the strife which the experienced boatmen often find it -hard enough to endure. - -I have managed better: I have had sometimes two, three, or four boatmen -up to my house; and we have fought their battles over again; I -questioning and cross-questioning, getting particulars from them, small -as well as great. - -"What did you do next?" To one such question, I remember the answer -was--"Why then we handed the jar of rum round, for we were almost beaten -to death."--"But with the seas running over the boat, and the boat full -of water, it must have been salt-water grog very soon--how did you -manage it?"--"Well, Sir, when there was a lull, a man just took a nip; -then if there was a cry, 'Look out! a sea!' he put the jar down between -his legs, shoved his thumb in the hole, held on to the thwart with his -other arm, then bent well over the jar and let the sea break on his -back." - -Thus getting them to recall incident after incident, I got the full -details of each adventure; and when we arrived at the more stirring -scenes, it was very exciting work indeed; the men could scarcely sit in -their chairs--their muscles worked, faces flushed, and most graphically -they told their tales, I, not one whit less excited, taking notes as -rapidly as possible. - -Truly I must live to be an old man before I forget the hours I have -spent in my study with Jarman, Hogben, and Reading, and R. Goldsmith, -and Bill Penny, and Gorham, and Solly, and some other of my brave -boatmen friends, as they have told me their many experiences and toils -and dangers in life-boat work. - -To Jarman especially do I owe thanks for his many graphic narratives; he -was coxswain of the boat for ten years, and during the time of most of -the adventures related. - -One difficulty I have had to contend with has been the comparative -sameness in the ordinary life-boat services. I could have had nine -narratives in one especial fortnight, for nine times was the life-boat -out during that time; but it has taken nearly ten years for me to find -a sufficient number of narratives so varying in their chief incidents -that the book should not of necessity be wearisome from repetition, and -at the same time give a picture of the varied experiences and dangers of -life-boat work. - -I must leave my Readers to judge how far I have gained my object in the -selection I have made. - -As the few life-boat stories I have already published have been used to -some extent in public Readings, Penny Readings, and on the like -occasions, I have thought it well to make each story, as far as -possible, complete in itself, although to effect this, some repetition -of similar incidents has been unavoidable. - -I come of a sailor family--this will account to landsmen for my seeming -acquaintance with nautical matters; I have never been to sea--this will -explain to sailors the ignorance on such matters that they will not have -much difficulty in detecting. - -"God help the poor fellows at sea!"--"God protect and bless the -life-boat men!" (humble, honest, hardworking and most generous and -brave-hearted men as I well know full many of them to be); - -"And God prosper the good Life-boat Institution, and advance its noble -object!" that many a brave fellow may be spared to his family and home; -many a good man be plucked from death to be yet the joy and support of -loved ones; and many a man, unfitted to meet death, be snatched from its -jaws to live to repent and to seek that peace which he had formerly -disregarded. With such prayers I launch my book. And may God further it -to His glory, by making it instrumental in gaining yet increased -sympathy with the already much-loved life-boat cause; thus blessing it -to be one of the humble instruments, among many, in helping to work out -the results for which, in our sailor-loving land, so many are ever ready -to hope, to work, to pray. - -One last word. The narratives related are, I firmly believe, as far as -possible, strictly and literally true; I am positive the boatmen would -not knowingly exaggerate in the least; and I have sought to tell the -tales, incident by incident, what the men did, and what the men -suffered, and what the men said--simply as they related each -circumstance to me. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - PAGE -CHAPTER I. -HOW THE SHIPWRECKED FARED IN DAYS OF OLD, AND -THE GROWTH OF SYMPATHY ON THEIR BEHALF 1 - -CHAPTER II. -WRECKERS 13 - -CHAPTER III. -THE INVENTOR OF THE LIFE-BOAT 19 - -CHAPTER IV. -THE GROWTH OF THE LIFE-BOAT MOVEMENT 23 - -CHAPTER V. -THE INVENTION AND LAUNCHING OF THE PRIZE LIFE-BOAT 32 - -CHAPTER VI. -THE RAMSGATE LIFE-BOAT AT WORK--STORM WARRIORS TO -THE RESCUE 48 - -CHAPTER VII. -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "SAMARITANO," AND -THE RETURN 66 - -CHAPTER VIII. -A NIGHT ON THE GOODWIN SANDS 82 - -CHAPTER IX. -THE WRECK ABANDONED, AND THE LIFE-BOAT DESPAIRED OF 94 - -CHAPTER X. -SIGNALS OF DISTRESS--OUT IN THE STORM 116 - -CHAPTER XI. -THE EMIGRANT SHIP 134 - -CHAPTER XII. -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "DEMERARA," AND -THE EMIGRANTS' WELCOME AT RAMSGATE 149 - -CHAPTER XIII. -THE WRECK OF THE "MARY"--GALES ABROAD 161 - -CHAPTER XIV. -THE WRECK OF THE "MARY"--A STRUGGLE FOR DEAR LIFE 171 - -CHAPTER XV. -DEAL BEACH 192 - -CHAPTER XVI. -THE LOSS OF THE "LINDA," AND THE RACE TO THE RESCUE 203 - -CHAPTER XVII. -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "AMOOR" 214 - -CHAPTER XVIII. -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "EFFORT"--THE -DANGERS OF HOVELLING 224 - -CHAPTER XIX. -THE HOVELLERS, OR SALVORS SAVED. THE "PRINCESS -ALICE" HOVELLING LUGGER 234 - -CHAPTER XX. -THE SAVING OF "LA MARGUERITE"--(A HOVEL) 254 - -CHAPTER XXI. -THE WRECK BROUGHT IN 265 - -CHAPTER XXII. -THE WRECK OF THE "PROVIDENTIA" 275 - -CHAPTER XXIII. -HARDLY SAVED 287 - -CHAPTER XXIV. -SAVED AT LAST--THE FATAL GOODWIN SANDS 298 - -CHAPTER XXV. -SAVED AT LAST--WE WILL NOT GO HOME WITHOUT THEM 310 - -CHAPTER XXVI. -SAVED AT LAST--"VICTORY OR DEATH" 320 - -CHAPTER XXVII. -OF SOME OF THE LIFE-BOAT MEN 333 - -CHAPTER XXVIII. -CONCLUSION--THE LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION 344 - - - - -STORM WARRIORS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -HOW THE SHIPWRECKED FARED IN DAYS OF OLD, AND THE GROWTH OF SYMPATHY ON -THEIR BEHALF. - - A worthy Quaker thus wrote:--"I expect to pass through this world - but once; if, therefore, there can be any kindness I can show, or - any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it - now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way - again." - - -Before in fancy we man the Life-boat, and rush out into the storm, and -have the salt spray dashing over us, and the wind singing like -suppressed thunder in our ears--before we watch the gallant Storm -Warriors of the present day, in their life-and-death struggle, charging -in through the raging seas to the rescue of the shipwrecked, let us look -back and see how the unfortunate by shipwreck fared in the old time, and -then take a hasty glance or two, watching the gradual growth, from age -to age, of sympathy for the distressed; humanity becoming more -pronounced, and more practical; the progressive adaptation of Maritime -Law to the advancing tone of feeling; the gradual organization and -development of that most noble Society, "The National Life-boat -Institution," which has for its sole object the lessening of the dangers -of the sea, and the saving of the shipwrecked; and, lastly, the progress -and final triumph of the labours of science, in the invention of a -life-boat which is able successfully to defy the efforts of the most -raging storms. - -The "good old days!" Those who sing too emphatically the glories of the -"good old days" must either be influenced by the enchantment distance -lends to the view, or guided by the wholesome proverb, "Let nothing, -except that which is good, be spoken of the dead." - -Human nature seems an inheritance unchanging in its properties, and it -was in the old time much as it is now, capable of bringing forth fruit -good or bad, in accordance with the training it received, or the -associations by which it was surrounded. The old days were very far from -being either very golden or very good, the strong arm was too often the -strong law, and selfishness was far more likely to make the weak ones a -prey for plunder, than was compassion to make them objects for -assistance. There was a good deal of the Ishmael curse about the old -feudal days; the Baron's hand was too ready to be against every man's, -and every man's against his; to plunder and to pillage at all convenient -opportunities, as well by sea as by land, seemed very much a leading -institution. - -In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Piracy was almost openly -recognized; a foreign ship with a rich cargo was too great a temptation -for the free sailors of those rough-and-ready days, and there was in -reality as much of the spirit of piracy in the rugged justice by which -it was endeavoured to suppress the crimes, as in the crimes themselves. -Supposing an act of piracy to have been committed, restitution was first -demanded from the nation, or maritime town, to which the pirate -belonged; and if satisfaction was not obtained, then the aggrieved party -was allowed to take out "Letters of Marque," and might sally forth to -all intents a pirate, to plunder any ship sailing from the place to -which the vessel which had first robbed him belonged. This system was -acknowledged under the name of the "Right of Private Reprisal;" and so, -what with pirates licensed and unlicensed, ships seeking plunder without -any discrimination, and ships seeking revenge without much, Hallam might -well write: "In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a rich vessel -was never secure from attack, and neither restitution nor punishment of -the criminals was to be obtained from Governments, who sometimes feared -the plunderer, and sometimes connived at the offence." - -To piracy was added the constant petty warfare and feuds that were -carried on between maritime nations, and even between towns of the same -nation. - -Hallam quotes, "The Cinque Ports, and other trading towns of England, -were in a constant state of hostility with their opposite neighbours -during the reigns of Edward I. and II.; half the instruments of Rymer -might be quoted in proof of these conflicts, and of those with the -mariners of Norway and Denmark." - -Sometimes mutual envy produced frays between different English towns; -thus in the year 1254 the Winchilsea mariners attacked a Yarmouth -galley, and killed some of her men. - -The evil effects of this confusion of might with right, the anxiety -occasioned by this constant warfare, and by these petty feuds, lingered -longer on sea than on land; and kept the morals of the seafaring -population of the coasts at the lowest ebb; and as one consequence, the -plundering of vessels wrecked on the shores was in all parts of Europe -carried on with as ruthless a hand, as was piracy and privateering -afloat. - -It may be somewhat interesting to consider the gradual progress of -legislation with reference to this very terrible system and crime of -wrecking; and while doing so, we shall receive further proof of how the -rough mastery of the strong over the weak crept into the Laws, and how -full a development it had in such laws, as especially related to wrecks -and wreckage. - -It is hard in the present day to conceive how, in the name of any -government making claim to the administration of justice, such a law -could have been passed as that which existed prior to Henry I., which -gave the king complete possession of all wrecked property: ownership on -the part of the original possessor was supposed to have been lost by the -action of the sea. Whether the law originated in that strong instinct -for the appropriation of unconsidered trifles, which is rather a snare -to all governments, or whether it was found necessary to make the king -the owner of wreckage, in order to lessen the temptation to cause -vessels to be wrecked, and their crews murdered for the sake of pillage, -no unfrequent occurrence in those days, however it was, the law existed, -and the shipwrecked merchant might come struggling ashore upon a broken -spar, and find the coast strewn with scattered but still valuable goods, -so lately his, but now by law his no longer, any more than they belonged -to the half dozen rude fishermen who stood watching the torn wreck, and -dispersed cargo being wave-lifted high upon the beach. - -Henry I., whose declining years were years of tender and deep sadness, -on account of his own losses at sea, was somewhat more compassionate in -his dealings with the unfortunate by shipwreck. - -He decreed that a wreck or wrecked goods should not be considered lost -to the owner, or become the property of the Crown, if any man escaped -from the wreck with life to the shore. - -Henry II. made a feeble enlargement of this scant degree of mercy--he -expanded this saving clause, so that if either man or beast came ashore -alive, the wreck and goods should still be considered as belonging to -the original possessors; but failing this, although the owner should be -known beyond all possibility of doubt, all the saved property should -belong to the king; so that in those old days, if a cat was supposed to -have nine lives, it was quite sufficient to account for its being for so -long a popular institution on board ship; for even a cat washing -ashore, would become the owner's title-deeds to all of his property that -the sea had spared. - -Richard I. could be generous in things small as well as great; he could -act nobly upon principle as well as upon impulse; it must have been, -indeed, only natural to his open unselfish nature and high courage, to -spurn the idea of robbing the robbed, of making the victim of the sea's -destructive power the further victim of a king's greed; he was prepared -to give his laws of chivalry a wide interpretation, and let them ordain -succour for the distressed by the rage of waters, as well as for the -distressed by the rage of men. - -And so when about to take part in the third crusade, King Richard -decreed, "For the love of God, and the health of his own soul, and the -souls of his ancestors and successors, kings of England. - -"That all persons escaping alive from a wreck should retain their goods; -that wreck or wreckage should only be considered the property of the -king when neither an owner, nor the heirs of a late owner, could be -found for it." - -For several centuries all European nations had for the foundation of -their maritime laws, a certain code, called the Code of Oleron. - -There is the usual veil of historical uncertainty clouding the origin of -these laws, for while some authorities declare that Richard I. had -nothing to do with them, others declare that they were completed and -promulgated by Richard, at the Isle of Oleron, as he was returning from -one of his crusades, and that they had first and especial reference to -the customs on the coasts of some of his continental domains. - -The Laws of Oleron contain thirty-seven articles, and make very terrible -statements as to the system of wrecking, which in those days disgraced -the then civilized nations of the earth, while they show also, that if -sinners were then prepared to sin with a high hand, that the authorities -were prepared with no less energy to inflict punishment for crime. - -Some of the extracts from these laws are as utter darkness compared with -light, when you read them beside extracts from the Life-boat journals of -the present day, suggesting as they do the customs of the people as -regards wrecking, and the scant mercy that was shown to the shipwrecked. - -Consider, for instance, the picture as given in the following extracts -from the old laws of Oleron:-- - -"An accursed custom prevailing in some parts, inasmuch as a third or -fourth part of the wrecks that come ashore belong to the lord of the -manor, where the wrecks take place, and that pilots for profit from -these lords, and from the wrecks, like faithless and treacherous -villains, do purposely run the ships under their care upon the rocks." - -The Code declares, that the lords, and all who assist in plundering the -wreck shall be accursed, excommunicated, and punished as robbers. "That -all false pilots shall suffer a most rigorous and merciless death, and -be hung on high gibbets." - -"The wicked lords are to be tied to a post in the middle of their own -houses, which shall be set on fire at all four corners, and burnt with -all that shall be therein; the goods being first confiscated for the -benefit of the persons injured; and the site of the houses shall be -converted into places for the sale of hogs and swine." - -But if this threat of burning the said wicked lords, and the wholesale -confiscation and destruction of their houses and properties, had not -sufficient terrors to control such hardened sinners, and if they, or -others, were prepared to add murder to robbery, then the laws enacted-- - -"If people, more barbarous, cruel, and inhuman than mad dogs, murdered -shipwrecked folk, they were to be plunged into the sea until half dead, -and then drawn out and stoned to death." - -Railway directors and others would scarcely like the enforcement of laws -parallel to those which dealt with the carelessness of Pilots; which -provided, "That if negligence on the part of the Pilot caused shipwreck, -he was to make good out of his own means the losses sustained, and if -his means were not sufficient, then he should lose his head;" it was -meekly suggested; "that some care should be taken by the master and -mariners," possibly as much for their own sakes as for the sake of the -unfortunate pilot. "That they should be persuaded that the man had not -the means to make good the loss, before they cut off his head." - -The preamble of an Act of Parliament is generally the summary of the -arguments for the necessity of the Bill. - -The preamble of a Bill for the repression of crime, may be therefore -taken as the expression of the national conviction, that such crimes -exist at the time. - -If so, during the reign of George II. human nature did not show itself -to be one whit better than in earlier days, still were men equally -capable of cruel selfishness and wrong, although civilization had done -much to curb the outward expression of many of the former evils, and to -control, to some extent, the open and virulent barbarities of still -darker days. - -For we find that the old laws, and barbarous modes of punishment, were -not sufficient to cope with the strongly developed tendencies for -wrecking, which showed themselves, in various ways, to be existent, and -in full activity. - -And therefore a new Act was passed, which recited-- - -"That notwithstanding the good and salutary laws now in being against -plundering and destroying vessels in distress, and against taking away -shipwrecked, lost, and stranded goods, that still many wicked enormities -had been committed to the disgrace of the nation." Therefore certain -provisions were enacted, the bearing of which was as follows:-- - -Death was to be the punishment for the chief of these enormities, such -as hanging out false lights for the purpose of bringing vessels into -distress. - -Death for those who killed, or prevented the escape of shipwrecked -persons. - -Death for stealing goods from a wreck, whether there be any living -creature on board or not. - -Acts of Parliament in following years felt the impress of the more -merciful spirit of legislation which began to prevail. The punishment of -death for theft from a wreck was reduced to imprisonment; while penal -servitude for life was made the penalty for a new development of crime, -namely, that of wilfully scuttling, or setting on fire, or wrecking a -ship for the purpose of defrauding or damaging Insurance Offices or -Owners. - -The existing Merchant Shipping Act of 1854, and the amendments and -additions to it, now form the Code by which all maritime questions are -arranged; and most of the barbarities, cruelties, and wrongs which, for -so many ages, added to the perils of the sea, both as to life and -property, are now sufficiently guarded against. - -But still a most subtle cruelty and fatal wrong is left almost -altogether untouched, that of sending vessels to sea in an unseaworthy -condition, as to hull, or spars, or sails, or rigging, or perhaps -dangerously overladen; many a vessel only worthy of being utterly -condemned, which no office would think for one moment of insuring, and -that would scarcely pay for breaking up, is bought cheap, patched up, -and sent, perhaps, to float up and down our coasts as a Collier, a sort -of dingy coffin, only waiting to be entombed by the first heavy gale and -raging sea in which she is caught, and then to go quickly down to her -grave, carrying with her her crew, unless they have taken warning in -time, and found some chance of escaping, which they are not slow to take -advantage of, knowing the nature of the craft they are in; but many a -brave sailor finds no escape, and feels no hope, when once the heavy -gale breaks on the crazy craft, and thus dies a victim to one of the -treacherous, and permitted, and most fatal cruelties of our most -Christian and most enlightened age; but this state of things, we may -well believe, will not be permitted to last much longer; the attention -of the public has been thoroughly aroused to the subject, more -especially by the zealous, energetic, and unselfish action of Samuel -Plimsol, Esq., M.P., who having the welfare of the poor sailor most -thoroughly at heart, has attacked with every courage the still existing -abuses, arising chiefly from the deficiencies in our Maritime Code, and -all who have sympathy with the sailor must wish him success, and who has -not? but it is hard work to develop legislative action, even from -wide-spread national sympathy; but the work is commenced; and as one -result of his action, a Royal Commission has been issued by Her Majesty. -The following is a synopsis of the opening instructions of the -Commission:-- - - - VICTORIA R. - - WHEREAS--We have deemed it expedient for divers good causes and - considerations that a commission should forthwith issue to make - inquiry with regard to the alleged unseaworthiness of British - Registered Ships; whether arising from overloading, deck-loading, - defective construction, form, equipment, machinery, age or - improper stowage; and also to inquire into the present system of - Marine Insurance; of the alleged practice of undermanning ships; - and also to suggest any amendments in the law which might remedy or - lessen such evils as may be found to have arisen from the matters - aforesaid, &c., &c. Given at our Court at St. James's the 29th day - of March, 1873, in the thirty-sixth year of our reign. - - By our command, (Signed) H. A. BRUCE. - - -We may now therefore have great hopes, that there will be speedily some -good result, from the spirited manner in which this question of sending -unseaworthy vessels to sea has been brought before the public. - - - Note.--I have to thank a friend for Notes, which he kindly gave me, - of extracts which he made from books to which he had access in the - British Museum, referring to the Ancient Maritime Laws upon - Wrecking. My friend has, since this Chapter was first written, - developed his Notes into an Article, which he published in a - periodical; I have, nevertheless, not refrained from giving the - account, which I think my readers may find interesting. - - J. G. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -WRECKERS. - - "O father! I see a gleaming light; - O say what may it be?" - But the father answered never a word-- - A frozen corpse was he. - - And ever the fitful gusts between - A sound came from the land; - It was the sound of the trampling surf - On the rocks and the hard sea-sand. - - The breakers were right beneath her bows - She drifted a dreary wreck, - And a whooping billow swept the crew - Like icicles from her deck." - - _Longfellow._ - - - "Perhaps some human kindness still - May make amends for human ill." - - _Barry Cornwall._ - - -As we have considered the growth of legislation upon the question of -wrecking and wreckage, and contrasted the more civilized, but not -perfect code, now existing, with the barbarous laws of days gone by, we -may also, perhaps, well put in contrast the present character and action -of our coast population, as a rule, with what they were in days more -remote. - -Imagine a homeward-bound vessel some two hundred and fifty years ago, -clumsy in build, awkward in rig, little fitted for battling with the -gales of our stormy coast, but yet manned with strong stouthearted men, -who made their sturdy courage compensate for deficiency of other means; -think of many perils overcome, a long weary voyage nearly ended, the -crew rejoicing in thoughts of home, of home-love and home-rest, the -headlands of dear Old England, loved by her sons no less then, than now, -lying a dark line upon the horizon, the night growing apace, the breeze -freshening, ever freshening, adding each moment a hoarser swell to the -deep murmurs of its swift-following blasts; the ship scudding on, -breasting the seas with her bluff bows, rising and pitching with the -running waves which cover her with foam! - -Look on land! keen eyes have watched the signs of the coming storm, men -more greedy than the foulest vulture, "more inhuman than mad dogs," have -cast most cruel and wistful glances seaward! yes, their eyes light up -with the very light of hell, as they see in the dim distance the white -sail of a struggling ship making towards the land! - -And now try to imagine the scene, as the night falls, and the storm -gathers, two or three ill-looking fellows drop in, say, to a low tavern -standing in a by-lane that leads from the cliff to the beach, in some -village on our south-western coast--soon muttered hints take form, and -in low whispers the men talk over the chances of a wreck this wild -night; they remember former gains, they talk over disappointments, when -on similar nights of darkness, wildness, and storm, vessels discovered -their danger too soon for them, and managed to weather the headlands of -the bay. - -The plot takes form; with many a deep and muttered curse, the murderous -decision is taken, that if a vessel can be trapped to destruction, it -shall be. - -There is an old man of the party whose brow is furrowed with dread -lines; he does not say much, but every now and then his eyes glare, and -his features work as if convulsed; his comrades look at him, twice, and -as a terrific squall shakes the house, a third time: silently he rises -and leaves the inn; his mates now look away from him, as if quite -unconscious as to what he is about; their stifled consciences cannot do -much for them, but can give to each, just one faint half-realized -sensation of shame. Now in the pitch darkness of the night, with bowed -head, and faltering steps, battling against the storm, the old man leads -a white horse along the edge of the cliff, to the top of the horse's -tail a lantern is tied, and the light sways with the movement of the -horse, and in its movements seems not unlike the mast-head light of a -vessel rocked by the motion of the sea. A whisper has gone through the -village, of a chance of something happening during the night, and most -of the men and many of the women are on the alert, lurking in the caves -beneath the cliff, or sheltered behind jutting pieces of rock. - -The vessel makes in steadily for the land; the captain grows uneasy, and -fears running into danger; he will put the vessel round, and try and -battle his way out to sea. - -The look-out man reports a dim light ahead; What kind? and Whither -away? He can make out that it is a ship's light, for it is in motion. -Yes, she must be a vessel standing on in the same course as that which -they are on. It is all safe then, the captain will stand in a little -longer; when suddenly in the lull of the storm a hoarse murmur is heard, -surely the sound of the sea beating upon rocks? yes! look, a white gleam -upon the water! Breakers ahead! Breakers ahead! Oh! a very knell of -doom; the cry rings through the ship, Down, down with helm, round her -to; too late, too late! a crash, a shudder from stem to stern of the -stout ship; the shriek of many voices in their agony, green seas -sweeping over the vessel, and soon, broken timbers, bales of cargo, and -lifeless bodies scattered along the beach, while the shattered remnant -of the hull is torn still further to pieces with each insweep of the -mighty seas, as they roll it to, and fro, among the rocks. Fearful and -crafty the smile that darkened the dark face of the willing murderer, -who was leading the horse with the false light, as he heard the crash of -the vessel, and the shrieks of the drowning crew, fearful the smiles -that darkened the faces of the men and women waiting on the beach, as -they came out from their places, ready to struggle and fight among -themselves for any spoil that might come ashore; a homeward-bound ship -from the Indies--great good fortune, rich spoil--bale after bale is -seized upon by the wreckers, and dragged high upon the beach out of the -way of the surf--but see, a sailor clinging to a bit of broken mast, -with his last conscious effort he gains a footing on the shore, staggers -forward and falls. Is he alive? not now! Why did that fearful old woman -kneel upon his chest, and cover his mouth with her cloak? Dead men tell -no tales! claim no property! - -Have such things been possible? - -They have, and have been done; traditions of such dread tragedies still -linger on the Cornish coast, and it is a matter of history that all -around our shores miscreants were to be found, who were ready to -sacrifice to their blood-thirsty avarice those whom the rage of water -had spared. - -Yes, and still many sailors find their worst enemies ashore, and know no -danger so great as that of falling into the hands of their fellow-men; -but not now in the small harbours or fishing-villages of the coast--not -now among the seafaring population of our shores, must wretches capable -of such deeds be looked for, but among the degraded quarters of our -large maritime towns--among the land-sharks, who haunt the docks, the -crimp-houses, the dens of infamy, the low taverns--there Jack may still -be wrecked, and drugged, and robbed, and perhaps murdered. But even -there darkness has not got it all its own way; for if there are many who -are ready to ruin the reckless sailor, there are many others, thank God, -who are ready to warn and aid him. Seamen's Churches, Bethels, Sailors' -Homes, Sailors' Missionaries, and all sorts of benevolent institutions, -seek to struggle with, and overcome, the bad effect of the many evils to -which the sailor on shore is exposed. - -And the sea-coasts where the Storm Warriors now gather tell a tale of -hardihood, of courage, of endurance, and of skill, no less than the -olden days could boast of. But now courage is glorified by mercy, and -hardihood by sympathy, and endurance is sustained, and skill and -enterprise are quickened into action by the noblest feelings, and -readiness for self-sacrifice, which can move the heart of man. - -If our last pages have been gloomy in the picture they have given of -what was frequently done not many generations ago, let us seek a -contrast, which shall be as light to darkness, and compare with those -scenes of old, a picture of that which happens month after month, and in -the winter season week after week, and sometimes, almost day after day, -on our own coasts in the present time. - -A homeward-bound ship is rushing along, skimming the green seas, seeming -to rejoice in the pride of her beauty, strength, and speed; there is -some fatal error or accident, and she comes suddenly to destruction. -Many men are anxiously on the look-out; they have been watching her -closely from the shore, and eagerly preparing for action at the moment -of the shipwreck, which for some time they have feared must happen. And -now guns fire, and rockets flash, and the signals quickly given are -quickly answered, and the Storm Warriors rush into action; they are not -now the Storm Pirates as was the case too often of old, they are the -Storm Warriors; their flashing lights tell of coming rescue, and do not -lure to destruction; for as the gallant life-boat men rush into all -danger, make every effort, battling with mad waves and boiling surf, -they fight under the noble banner of Mercy--THEIR MISSION IS TO SAVE. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE INVENTOR OF THE LIFE-BOAT. - - "The most eloquent speaker, the most ingenious writer, and the most - accomplished statesman cannot effect so much as the mere presence - of the man who tempers his wisdom and his vigour with humanity." - - _Lavater._ - - -What dreams had Lionel Luken, coach-builder of London, in the year 1780, -or thereabouts? The perils to machines, or coaches, in those days were -many and varied; the roads were often rough, and dangerous enough to -equal the pleasing variety and exciting accompaniments of a -cross-country gallop; the bridges were very few, and the fords very -many. - -Did Lionel Luken lose coach, or customer, or both, in a rushing flood -which overwhelmed some burdensome coach and unhappy travellers at one of -these fords? and, thinking over the disaster sorrowfully, patiently, and -profitably, as great minds and great hearts will think, did he conceive -the idea of a coach warranted against sinking, with air-tight -compartments? and then, expanding the idea, did the noble thought occur -to him of building a boat that would not merely float in the rush of a -flood, but that would defy the troubled waters of a raging sea? And was -it thus, that Lionel Luken gained unto himself the immortal honour of -being the first inventor of the Life-boat? - -In whatever manner the idea presented itself to him, and however it was -developed in the mind of the skilful and humane coach-builder, certain -it is that it seized him very thoroughly, and that he, being one of the -race of God's heroes, alike humane, brave, and earnest, was not content -to let his happy, his blessed thought die barren of result, but made -noble and persevering efforts to bring his invention to a successful -issue. He had high courage, for his courage was inspired by the great -hope that his boat might be the instrument of plucking many poor sailors -from dread peril, carrying them through threatening seas, snatching them -from the very jaws of death, and of restoring them to their loving ones -in their loved homes. With this holy ambition, Lionel Luken laboured -nobly, as, urged by a like ambition, many now labour nobly for the good -life-boat cause. But the old days were not days of quick sympathy, or of -ready enterprise, and Luken, although supported, to a certain extent, by -royalty, uselessly clamoured at official doors, and sought public -patronage in vain. - -People seemed then to have no strong objection to other people being -drowned, just as they had no strong prejudice against others suffering -the tortures of miserable prisons, the worst asylums, or any of the -many horrors which a more enlightened age has sought with some degree of -success to lessen or remove. - -In the year 1785 Luken took out a patent for a boat which, to a great -extent, embodied almost all the more needful properties possessed by the -present model life-boat; he at the same time published a pamphlet; "Upon -the invention, principle, and construction of insubmergible boats." He -suggested that such boats should be protected by bands of cork round -their gunwales, that they should be rendered buoyant by the use of -air-cases, especially at the bow and stern, and that they should be -ballasted by an iron keel. - -But even when the good man passed from theory to practice, and succeeded -at Bamborough in getting a boat converted into a life-boat on the above -principles, and when this boat proved a success, and saved many lives, -even then he could obtain no support from the authorities in carrying -out his grand object. - -The story is told of a general who blamed a soldier for ducking at the -sound of a cannon ball, saying that he had no business to be a soldier -if he had the faintest objection to being shot. On the same principle, -the first lord of the Admiralty, in his stern rejections of Luken's many -efforts, may have considered that life-boats would interfere with a -sailor's prerogative for being drowned; and drowned indeed many of the -poor fellows were--swept to destruction in sight of land, for winds were -cruel, and rocks were hard, and seas wild, and ships frail, while -benevolence slept, and the cries of the drowning did not reach official -ears, and Luken's loud appeals on behalf of humanity were disregarded, -and he, brave man, who had so long struggled, hoping against hope, -became utterly disappointed that the movement, the importance of which -he so realized, and for which he had so long laboured, did not become -general. - -Still he had the satisfaction of seeing his plan adopted in one or two -places, in Shields especially, as we shall show; and he had the great -happiness of knowing that, time after time, lives were saved by the -boats which were built after his model. He had done all that he could, -and went on building coaches, not, we may presume, on life-boat -principles; and he tried somewhat to content himself, as he looked -forward with hope for a time of greater enlightenment and sympathy, when -he trusted that the seed he sowed, almost with tears, would bring its -harvest of sheaves, and full of this faith, the good man devised an -inscription for the stone which should mark his resting-place in a quiet -country churchyard, simply stating, "That he was the Inventor of the -first life-boat." - -Honoured be the memory of Lionel Luken! - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE GROWTH OF THE LIFE-BOAT MOVEMENT. - - "What is noble? 'tis the finer - Portion of our mind and heart, - Linked to something still diviner - Than mere language can impart; - Ever prompting--ever seeing - Some improvement yet to plan; - To uplift our fellow-being, - And, like man, to feel for Man." - - _C. Swain._ - - -If the ear were only as powerful to enable the mind to realize things -heard, as the eye is powerful in enabling the mind to realize things -seen, many reforms would have been worked out promptly, instead of -having to wait year after year, sometimes almost generation after -generation, while the mind of the public has had its sympathies but -slowly awakened by the constant statement of some evil, and the -unceasing demand for its remedy. - -Thus it was, that a terrible scene of disaster and death, of which many -were the agonized eye-witnesses, did more to urge forward the life-boat -cause than had been effected by the report of many similar tragedies, -which but few lookers on had seen occur. - -It was in the year 1789, a tremendous gale of wind was raging at -Newcastle; thousands of the inhabitants were watching the wild sea as it -foamed up at the entrance of the port, and they trembled as they saw -vessel after vessel stagger on through the sweeping waves, running into -the harbour for refuge. - -One ship, the _Adventurer_, missed the entrance of the port, and was -driven on to the rocks; the seas rushed over her deck, and flew half-way -up the masts; the crew took refuge in the rigging, and the wreck was so -near to the pier, that the horrified and terror-stricken people -thronging there, could hear the cries for help, and even see the growing -shade of the death agony upon the faces of the men, as they became more -and more exhausted and faint from exposure to the heavy seas; and then -they saw one after another of the seamen torn from his hold and perish -miserably; and this within call of these thousands of spectators, who -were full of grief and sympathy, but were unable even to attempt a -rescue. - -Brave men stood powerless, and as they were frantically appealed to, to -try and save the drowning men, could only groan over the utter -impossibility of rendering them any assistance! Yes! the daring, hardy, -skilful sailors, wept with the weeping women, as they stood overwhelmed -with helpless horror watching the most heart-rending scene. - -Strong boats were there, ready to be manned, boats that had successfully -battled with many a rough sea, but they were _not life-boats_, and to -go out into such a mad boil of raging waves in any other kind of boat -than a life-boat, would have been certain death to all the crew, without -affording the faintest possibility of help to the shipwrecked; and thus, -without help, without hope, one after the other of the poor shipwrecked -sailors, exhausted and faint, fell back into the wild waves and -perished: the vessel was speedily torn to pieces, the crowd slowly and -sorrowfully went home; soon the darkness of night shadowed the wild sea -and the saddened town, but the day's work was not done--the tragedy was -not without fruit, in more senses than one, "the blood of the martyrs is -the seed of the church;" the sympathies of the people were now fully -aroused; meetings were at once held at South Shields--a committee was -formed--and premiums were offered for the best life-boat. - -William Wouldham, a painter, was one of the successful competitors; he -presented a model embracing many excellent qualities; Henry Greathead, a -boat-builder of South Shields, stood next on the list. - -The various models presented were discussed--their more excellent -qualities selected--and from the suggestions thus obtained, a model -life-boat was planned, from which, as a type, Greathead built a boat, -which, either from the fact that he improved upon the model given to -him, or because his name, as its builder, was chiefly associated with -it, became known as Greathead's life-boat, and he gained the honour of -being its inventor--not but what the claims of Wouldham were stoutly -asserted; and we may believe by many accepted, for in the parish church -of St. Hilda, South Shields, a tombstone erected to the memory of -Wouldham bears at its head a model of his life-boat, with the following -inscription:-- - - - "Heaven genius scientific gave, - Surpassing vulgar boast, yet he from soil - So rich, no golden harvest reap'd, no wreath - Of laurel gleaned. None but the sailor's heart, - Nor that ingrate, of palm unfading this, - Till shipwrecks cease, or Life-boats cease to save." - - -Within the next fifteen years, or so, Greathead built about thirty -life-boats, eight of which were sent to foreign countries. At last the -life-boat cause was wakened into life, but into no vigorous existence; -it did not actually die, but lingered on with here and there a spasm of -vitality, as some local cause or stirring advocate excited a momentary -interest in the question. - -Life-boat stations were scattered at long intervals round the coast, and -boats of various designs, some very good, were placed at a few of the -more dangerous positions on our shores. - -The public was not altogether unprepared to move, but was waiting for -the needed impulse. - -The whole cause, in spite of all its intrinsic merits and great claims -upon humanity, waited for the _coming man_, and he was found in the -person of Sir William Hillary, Baronet, one of nature's real noblemen; -his heart was great, as his arm was strong; his love for the sea was -only equalled by his love for sailors; all that concerned their -well-being excited his quick sympathy and active interest, and his -feelings were, as a matter of course, very sincere, and very earnest for -the life-boat cause. - -Sir W. Hillary lived at Douglas, in the Isle of Man. His sympathy for -the sailor proved its vitality by being active and practical: he -established Sailors' Homes, and in many ways sought their improvement -and benefit; and when the hour of danger came, when the storms raged and -lives were in peril, Sir William was the first, not only to encourage, -but also to lead the boatmen to the rescue of the shipwrecked; he shrank -from no danger, he shared all labour, and endured all hardship, and this -to such an extent, that he was personally engaged in efforts by which -more than three hundred lives were saved. - -The following are some of the occasions in which Sir William's heroic -efforts were blessed in their results to the saving of life:-- - -In the year 1825 Sir William, and the crews under him, rescued -eighty-seven persons, sixty-two of these from the steamer _City of -Glasgow_; eleven from the _Leopard_ brig; and nine from the _Fancy_ -sloop. - -In the year 1827 they saved seventeen lives. In 1830, four different -crews were rescued, forty-three lives being saved; and in 1832 no fewer -than fifty lives were saved from a passenger-ship. - -The nature of the perils Sir William Hillary so nobly encountered, and -the toils he shared, may be well illustrated by an account of the rescue -of the crew of the _St. George_. - -On the 29th of November, 1830, the mail steamer _St. George_ struck on -St. Mary's rock, not far from Douglas. The captain had no boats to which -he could trust in so violent a sea; he therefore cut away the mainmast, -and endeavoured to construct a raft from its wreck, together with the -spars which they had on board; but the seas proved too heavy for him to -be able to do so, and he signalled his distress to the shore. - -Sir William Hillary and a crew of twelve men at once manned the -life-boat, and proceeded in the direction of the wreck; they found the -steamer hard upon the rock, and surrounded by such a raging boil of surf -that any attempt to rescue the unfortunate passengers and crew seemed -almost impossible; nevertheless they were not the men to leave their -fellow-creatures to perish without making an effort for their safety, at -whatever risk that effort must be made; they therefore let the boat rush -before the gale into the heart of the surf; here she was completely at -the mercy of the wild and broken waves--her rudder was torn off, oar -after oar was broken, until scarcely half the number were left--some of -the air-tight compartments were strained and filled with water, and -rendered useless, and to add to the dismay of the crew, one of the -tremendous seas which rushed over the boat washed Sir William and three -men overboard; it was only after the greatest difficulty that they were -recovered, and, happily, without being much hurt; the life-boat was then -hurled by the waves between the steamer and the rock, here the broken -mainmast and other wreckage were being driven violently by the surf in -all directions, so that the life-boat was in a very whirlpool of danger. - -The crew and passengers of the steamer thought, however, that they would -be safer in the boat, in spite of the dread peril she was in, than on -board the steamer, which was being torn and beaten to pieces, and they -left the steamer for the boat; the boat had then more than sixty persons -on board; and hour after hour her crew struggled in vain to get her out -of the position of extreme danger, in which the force of the gale and -the rush of the waves held them as in a vice; every moment was one of -very great hardship to all on board the boat, as the surf continually -flew over them in volumes, and the danger of being crushed by the -wreckage, that was tossing and leaping in the contest of the mad sea -that raged around them, was incessant. - -After nearly three hours of the hardest struggle, they managed to get -the almost disabled boat a little clear from the rock and the wreck, but -still they were unable to make any headway against the seas, or get -beyond the circle of surf, when at length the sea, as if tired of -sporting with its shattered prey, drove the boat so far beyond the range -of the surf, that other boats were able to come to her assistance and -all lives were saved. - -Such was the nature of the perils and hardships that Sir William Hillary -often readily and nobly encountered in his efforts to save life. - -When, therefore, urged by the cruel necessities of the case, he pleaded -for the life-boat cause, and illustrated his pleading by his own -personal experience, men began at last to listen to what he urged. He -described not only that the dangers of the shipwrecked were fearfully -increased from want of due means for their rescue, in the absence of -boats properly constructed to contend against the peculiar danger -arising from the raging seas and broken water which generally surrounded -a wreck, but he showed also how, from the same cause, brave men too -often rushed to their death. - -That in answer to the cry for rescue, men put to sea, urged by the -generous impulses of sympathy and courage, went forth possessed of all -the needed bravery, the strength, the skill, the determination to perish -or to save: they did often perish, and did not save, because they needed -the boats which could alone safely contend with the dangers that they -had to encounter. - -Two members of Parliament, Mr. Thomas Wilson and Mr. George Hibbert, -were especially moved by such a tale, told by such a man, out of a -brave, loving, full heart, and illustrated by such terrible experience, -and they gave Sir William their very hearty co-operation; and these -three men became, in the year 1825, the founders of the "Royal National -Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck." - -Sir W. Hillary undertook the formation of a branch committee of the -society for the Isle of Man, and so fully succeeded that, by the year -1829, each of the four harbours of the station possessed a life-boat. - -Under the organization of this society, and with the aid of some -fourteen smaller, and local associations, and notably with the -assistance of "The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent -Society," which was instituted in the year 1839, and provided seven -life-boats on different parts of the coast, the life-boat cause went on, -doing much noble work, but leaving very much more undone; and very much -that was effected was not done in really the best way. - -Thus the life-boat cause had prospered, the work was becoming organised; -but still much was wanting; it needed some new and great stimulus--and -in a few years the stimulus came. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE INVENTION AND LAUNCHING OF THE PRIZE LIFE-BOAT. - - "In spite of rock and tempest's roar, - In spite of false lights on the shore, - Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea, - Our hearts, our hopes are all with thee; - Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, - Our faith triumphant o'er our fears, - Are all with thee--are all with thee!" - - _"The Ship of State."--Longfellow._ - - -In the year 1848, the Admiralty called for returns from the various -coastguard stations which gird the coast, as to the condition of the -life-boat service in their respective neighbourhoods; the results showed -a state of things very far from satisfactory. It appeared that the -number of life-boats was about one hundred, but out of these, only -fifty-five were reported as being in good repair, and a great many of -this number were declared to be of such heavy construction, that very -much of their usefulness was sacrificed. - -Twenty boats were reported as being only in fair repair, and twenty-one -boats were declared to be bad and unserviceable. From many stations came -the reports of great loss of life from want of a boat. From Ballycotton, -for instance, where a life-boat could be easily manned, and yet, sad to -state, that within fifteen years no fewer than sixty-seven lives had -been lost, no life-boat being there to effect a rescue. - -The evidence for the necessity for further effort was also afforded, by -the long distances which existed between many of the life-boat stations. -Twenty-seven miles, thirty-three, forty-five, ninety-four, one hundred -and forty-one, and one hundred and fifty-one miles being among such -distances; thus in various places the coast was left absolutely -unprotected for many miles together. - -Equally sad, and similar to that given by Sir W. Hillary, was the -evidence as to the faulty construction of many of the boats, inasmuch as -although they were a decided improvement upon the ordinary boat, yet -they too often proved incompetent to contend against the rush of seas -and broken water to which they were exposed; from this cause the most -painful tragedies frequently occurred, the loss of brave fellows who -went out to save others from a dreadful death, and who through no lack -of courage, of strength, or of skill, on their part, but from the faulty -construction of the boat they were in, found one common grave with those -whom they sought to rescue from the raging seas. - -Thus one life-boat gained a most sad notoriety: on one occasion she -drowned four of her crew; on another occasion twelve; and on a third, -twenty men were drowned out of her. A second, so called, life-boat lost -on one occasion two men, on a second three men, and on a third all her -crew; when she was most properly condemned as too dangerous to be of -use. - -A Scarborough life-boat lost sixteen men. At Dunbar, on the occasion of -a man-of-war being wrecked, the life-boat in two trips saved forty-five -men; on her third trip she upset, and nearly all who were in her were -drowned; she was condemned, and for many years no life-boat at all was -stationed there, although from time to time many lives were lost. - -Thus we find that in the year 1850 life-boat work was no unknown work. -Life-boat societies had done much, and were doing much. Life-boats had -been stationed in various localities during the preceding half century, -and there were at the date mentioned seventy-five life-boats in England, -eight in Scotland, and eight in Ireland; but nearly one-half of these -were, from one cause or another, more or less unserviceable; and many of -the most exposed parts of the coast were still unprovided with -life-boats. In that year, 1850, there were six hundred and eighty-one -wrecks: the loss of life was about seven hundred and eighty-four, -including a crew of eleven men, whose boat upset one stormy November -night, they having put off to the assistance of a vessel in distress. - -It was evident that the life-boat system was not sufficiently developed -or general, and there was, moreover, no universally approved model of a -boat in which all boatmen might have confidence; this latter -consideration was especially brought before the notice of the public by -an accident which occurred to the Newcastle life-boat, the sad -particulars of which are given in the following extracts from a letter -written December 14th, 1849, by the then treasurer of the life-boat -"Friend of the Ports of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and South Shields," Mr. R. -Anderson. - -"The life-boats of the Port of Newcastle, stationed at the entrance of -the Tyne in North and South Shields, have been for about sixty years -instrumental in saving the crews of those vessels which have been -unfortunately stranded at the entrance of the port. No correct account -was kept of the exact number so rescued from danger previous to the year -1841, but since then four hundred and sixty-six persons have been -brought ashore from sixty-two vessels. - -"On the morning of the fatal accident, the _Betsy_, of Littlehampton, -laden with salt, was stranded on the hard sand; and the receding tide -left her among heavy breakers, with a heavy ebb-tide running past her. - -"The life-boat was launched about 9 A.M., and being manned by -twenty-four pilots, immediately proceeded to the vessel; and, having -hailed her, and given instructions to the people on board to prepare two -ropes ready to throw to them, they waited for a little time between the -ship and the shore for the ropes to be got ready, then they again -proceeded to the vessel, and succeeded in getting alongside; the rope -from the after end of the vessel was received into the boat; the rope -from the fore end had just been received and reeved in the ring at the -stern, and a few fathoms hauled into the boat; and the shipwrecked men -were preparing to descend, when a terrific knot of sea recoiling from -the resistance it met at the vessel's bow, threw the bow of the boat up -over end, and the bow-rope not holding, the boat was driven in that -position, with all her crew thrown into the stern, astern of the vessel, -into the rapid ebb-tide, which running into her, caused the boat to -capsize, and all the men were washed into the sea; they were carried -away by the tide. - -"The accident was seen from the shore, and immediately the second -life-boat was launched from South Shields, and, with seventeen pilots on -board, proceeded with all possible despatch to the assistance of the -crew of the former boat; they found and rescued three, one had succeeded -in getting on board the brig, and thus only four out of the twenty-four -were saved. - -"Nor were the crew of the stranded vessel forgotten; the third life-boat -from North Shields was launched; and notwithstanding the appalling -accident, a crew of seventeen brave fellows manned her instantly, and -proceeded alongside the _Betsy_, and brought all her crew, and the one -pilot who succeeded in getting on board her, safely ashore. - -"The first life-boat which had turned end-over-end was washed ashore -bottom up; her great want was the self-righting principle." - -Urged by the necessities of the case, which became daily more apparent, -the Duke of Northumberland, President of the National Life-boat -Society, organized a plan by which the intellect and experience of the -world at large should be encouraged to invent a life-boat, which should -be on all points as perfect as possible. - -His Grace offered a premium of one hundred guineas for the best model of -a life-boat. The defects of the existing boats were pointed out as a -guide to inventors, they being chiefly: - -"1. They do not upright themselves in the event of being upset. - -"2. That they are too heavy to be readily launched or transported along -the coast in case of need. - -"3. That they do not free themselves from water fast enough. - -"4. That they are very expensive." - -A committee was formed to examine, and report upon the models. - -The offer of His Grace, and the conditions of the competition, were -published in October 1850, and no expense or pains were spared in making -them known. - -The interest and excitement produced by the notice were deeply and -widely felt; the challenge was accepted by great numbers of -people--amateurs, to whom to invent a life-boat seemed a laudable and -holy ambition, vied with the boat-builders who had thoughts of -professional reputation to give a spur to their humanity--speedily in -all parts of England, and in many other parts of the world, busy minds -and skilful hands were at work. - -In due time models came teeming in upon the committee in almost -overwhelming numbers. - -Not content with asking for models of life-boats, the committee also -asked for information upon certain defined points, the models sent in -numbered no fewer than two hundred and eighty, while the answers to -inquiries were sufficient to fill five folio volumes of manuscript. As -for the models, every possible form and every possible principle seemed -to find its illustration. - -There were boats designed upon the principle of Pontoons, of Catamarans, -of Rafts, Steamers, Paddle-box Boats, North Country Cobles--every -possible modification of the whaleboat, and of the ordinary boat; boats -made of wood, of tin, of galvanized corrugated iron, boats with cork -linings, with air-boxes, with water-ballast, with no ballast, tubular -boats, boats a series of tubs, a series of boxes; to be propelled by -oars, by sails, by paddle-wheels, by screws, to be worked by hand power, -by steam power, by atmospheric air. - -The Committee might well feel overwhelmed at such a perfect rush of -ideas and designs thus suggested for their consideration; and as they -began to go into details, they found it almost impossible to decide -which model was best, where the elements of excellency were so varied -and so numerous, especially as they found that so large a number of the -boats presented such excellent combinations of different good qualities. - -The committee therefore deemed it necessary to organize a regular -competitive examination, assigning marks to different necessary -qualifications, that they might thus be able to arrange the boats -presented in an order of merit, dependent upon their respective -combination of good qualities. - -The following is the list of qualities that were required in the boats, -with the number of marks apportioned to each. - - -1st Quality. Rowing boat in all weathers 20 - -2nd " Sailing boat in all weathers 18 - -3rd " Sea boat, i.e., stability, safety, buoyancy forward - for launching through surf 10 - -4th " Means of freeing boat from water readily 8 - -5th " Extra buoyancy nature, amount, distribution, - mode of application 7 - -6th " Power of self-righting 9 - -7th " Suitableness for beaching 4 - -8th " Room for, and power of carrying passengers 6 - -9th " Moderate weight for transport along shore 3 - -10th " Protection from injury to bottom 3 - -11th " Ballast, as iron 1, water 2, cork 3 6 - -12th " Access to stem and stern 3 - -13th " Tumbler heads for securing warps 2 - -14th " Fenders, life-lines, &c. 1 - - -With their mode of examination thus fully organized, the Committee -patiently and carefully set about their interesting task, and after much -labour it was decided that the model presented by Mr. James Beeching, of -Great Yarmouth, possessed the best combination of necessary -qualifications, and to it was awarded eighty-six out of the one hundred -marks; and the inventor had the gratification of receiving the following -letters from the Duke of Northumberland, and from the Chairman of the -Life-boat Committee:-- - - - _Alnwick Castle,_ _13th August, 1851._ - - SIR, - - It gives me much pleasure to send you a cheque for £105, as the - prize for the best model of a life-boat. - - And I must thank you for the assistance you have given me and the - Society for Saving Life from Shipwreck by that model, which will - enable us to establish a better life-boat on the coast than those - at present in use. - - Yours, &c., - - NORTHUMBERLAND. - - _To Mr. James Beeching._ - - * * * * * - - _Somerset House, London,_ _14th August, 1851._ - - SIR, - - I have the gratification to acquaint you that the Committee - appointed to examine the life-boat models sent to Somerset House, - to compete for the premium offered by His Grace the Duke of - Northumberland for the best model of a life-boat, have awarded the - prize to your model. - - I am therefore directed by His Grace to transmit to you the - enclosed cheque for £105, and the report of the Committee upon - which the award was founded. - - Yours, &c., - - J. WASHINGTON, R.N., - - Chairman of the Committee. - - _To Mr. James Beeching._ - - -A fine boat, called the _Northumberland_, was speedily built by Mr. -Beeching, and she immediately commenced a more memorable career than has -ever fallen to the lot of any other boat--the stormy petrel of the -sea--the pioneer of a work not more glorious than much which had been -attempted, but which crowned almost every brave effort with abundant -success, where science aided sympathy with all the fruits of her skill, -so that the double cry of agony, where on the one hand there was -lamentation for the shipwrecked and lost, and on the other a cry, if -possible, even more piteous still, for those who perished in their -efforts to save the shipwrecked--a cry that had been too often heard, -was soon almost to cease from the land. - -The early passage in the history of the _Northumberland_ seemed to -suggest that hers was to be a holiday existence, her career commenced -with a round of triumphant display and popularity. She visited various -parts of the coast, and all her properties were displayed, creating -everywhere confidence in her powers, and enthusiasm at the thought of -the stimulus to be given to the great work of saving life from -shipwreck, by the possession of such a noble and efficient boat. - -There was a great gathering at Ramsgate to witness the first public -trial the boat was to be put through; naval officers, elder brethren of -the Trinity House, scientific men of all services were interested deeply -in the series of experiments to which she was to be subjected, for they -all fully realized how the question of life or death to thousands, yea, -in the course of time, to tens of thousands, was involved in the -problem, as to whether any boat could be found competent to resist all -the fury of a raging and broken sea. - -The _Northumberland_ was manned, and first her stability was to be -tested; all her crew stood and jumped upon one gunwale, but failed to -upset her; her self-righting property was next to be tried; they brought -her under a crane, and passing a rope from her mast round her bottom, -gradually hauled her over, and she was bottom up; they let go the strain -on the rope, and in five seconds she had righted herself, and in twenty -seconds more she had emptied herself of water. Again she was to be -turned over, and this time fresh interest was to be excited in the -experiment, as Mr. Samuel Beeching, the son of the inventor and builder -of the boat, determined to show his confidence in her powers by being in -her when she was upset: slowly the strain is again put upon the rope -under-running the boat, and she gradually turns over, Mr. Beeching -clinging to the centre thwart the while; a moment's suspense, the boat -is keel up, and the brave man out of sight--scarcely time for a pang of -fear, when the boat comes round with a throb, and the man is seen -standing on the thwart, cheering in answer to the cheers with which the -success of the experiment and his re-appearance are greeted. - -Now for a trial at sea, among the bright leaping waves, which seem full -of playfulness and glee, as if ready to greet her merrily, and to -whisper no word of the many deadly conflicts she must wage with them in -coming days, ere she shall snatch the spoil of human life from their -rage and strength. - -Strong arms are at the oars, the good ash staves bend, and away she -shoots through the waves, holding her own successfully as other boats -race with her. - -Her sailing powers must be tried, and a revenue-cutter accepts her -challenge; both bowl along with a fresh breeze bellying their sails, and -the life-boat behaves well and bravely, and proves also a success under -sail. - -The breeze freshens, and there is a great bubble of leaping surf in the -broken water in the angle of the pier; an ordinary boat would speedily -be swamped there; but there the life-boat rides on the tumbling seas -like a thing of life; every experiment increases the confidence that her -crew and the lookers-on feel in the boat. - -Seaward now for a sterner trial, and on the field where her numerous -future contests are to be fought, and her numerous victories gained; out -and away where the rolling seas break in upon the Goodwin Sands, and -where they fret into surf as they are checked in their race, and make -the sea white with the foam of their falling crests; away into the -tumbling seas, running the gauntlet of the leaping waves; away, and -away, she speeds round the north end of the Sands, then steers for the -North Foreland, until all her crew are perfectly delighted with her -powers, and return to describe the trip, and how she behaved, and the -confidence they have in her, that they would not hesitate to go in her -into any broken water whatever. - -Great is the congratulation and gladness among the naval and scientific -men who are watching the experiments, and many thank God, that at last -the problem is solved--that a boat is found able to defy the broken -surf and raging waves--a fit and safe instrument in the hands of the -brave-hearted boatmen, who are ever ready to do and dare all that is -possible, in their efforts to save life from shipwreck. - -The crew that went out in the boat made the following report:-- - - - To the Harbour Commissioners. - - "This is to certify that we have this day been to sea in the - _Northumberland_ prize life-boat, and have had every opportunity of - proving her sailing qualities; she has also been through a great - deal of broken water and heavy sea, and we consider her, in the - true sense of the word, perfectly qualified to encounter any bad - weather when occasion might require her services, and we should be - quite willing to go in her to any vessel in distress at any time." - - -The prize life-boat was purchased in December, 1851, for £250, by the -Trinity Board, for the use of the Royal Harbour at Ramsgate, with the -dread Goodwin Sands for her special cruising ground. - -The trial of the life-boat became an especial feature at the various -regattas held round the coast. The interest in her became very general, -and a great move was given to the life-boat cause. - -At Teignmouth they determined that the trial should be of a very -practical and somewhat sensational nature--a capsize out at sea! At -eleven o'clock one stormy morning the signal was given to man the -life-boat. In about one quarter of an hour she was making her way out -to sea, and then her crew endeavoured to capsize her; they had tried in -vain to do so in smooth water, would she defy their efforts in a rough -tumble of sea and heavy weather? They set all her sails and manoeuvred -in every way to upset her, but without effect, when, while she was -heeling over almost on her broadside, with all her sails full, the crew, -at a given signal, jumped on her lee-gunwale, and down on her broadside -she went; her sails were let go, and she righted at once, only two of -her crew were thrown out of her, and these, with their cork jackets on, -were bobbing up and down quite happily among the waves; they were soon -picked up, and the boat speedily on her way again, the men more pleased -and confident than ever in her wonderful powers. - -But the National Life Boat Institution was not quite contented with the -prize life-boat; she had gained eighty-six marks out of the one hundred -in the competition of models; she was near perfection, but still could -be improved upon; and as the great aim of the Society was to obtain a -perfect boat, they would naturally not be content with anything less -than this desired perfection, a boat that should satisfy the judges to -the full in every particular, and thus merit the whole one hundred -marks, instead of the eighty-six. - -Mr. Peake, the then assistant master-shipwright at the Royal Dockyard at -Woolwich, was appealed to. He made the matter his especial study. He -took the prize-boat as his model, and combining with it some of the best -qualities of the other boats, constructed a boat not differing much, or -in any essential point, from the prize one, but yet sufficiently an -improvement upon it to be pronounced as far as possible perfect on all -points; and it was at once adopted by the National Life Boat Institution -as the standard model life-boat. - -The life-boat cause was now to know no further stay in its onward -course, the Committee was formed of thoroughly earnest and warm-hearted -men--men full of practical knowledge and warm sympathy. Moreover, the -Institution was blessed with as able and indefatigable a Secretary as an -Institution ever rejoiced in, this in the person of Mr. Richard Lewis, -Barrister-at-Law; the appeal to the public for sympathy and assistance -was general, and generally acknowledged. - -The Society told of dangerous headlands, of treacherous sands and tides -all round the coast, of shipwrecks frequent, and deaths often occurring -for want of a life-boat, and of life-boats, faultless in construction, -only waiting the time when the Committee should have the means to place -them where needed; the funds grew as the wants were realized, and the -heart of the nation was warmed to the noble cause; the wreck-chart still -showed a dismal circumference of casualties round the coast, marking -dangerous points where many vessels had been lost; but the inner line of -defence began also to show itself on the map, and the marks of the -life-boat stations began year by year to confront more regularly the -signs of places where danger and shipwreck were most frequent. - -But more of this, and the noble Life-boat Society, in the closing -chapter of the book. It is time that we launched our life-boat for its -real work. The waves are roaring on the Goodwin, the life-boat is at her -moorings in the harbour of Ramsgate, the brave boatmen--Storm Warriors -indeed--are on the watch, hour after hour through the stormy night -walking the Pier, and giving keen glances to where the Goodwin Sands are -white with the churning seething waves that leap high, and plunge and -foam amid the treacherous shoals and banks. Look! a flash is seen; -listen, in a few seconds, yes, there is the throb and boom of a distant -gun, a rocket cleaves the darkness; and now the cry--Man the life-boat! -Man the life-boat! Seaward Ho! Seaward Ho! But now in a boat efficient -on all points, whose only career shall be to save, and not to add victim -to victim, as she herself is overcome by the rage of the sea. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE RAMSGATE LIFE-BOAT AT WORK.--STORM WARRIORS TO THE RESCUE. - - "Ye mariners of England, - That guard our native seas; - Whose flag has braved a thousand years - The battle and the breeze! - Your glorious standard launch again - To match another foe; - And sweep through the deep, - While the stormy winds do blow, - While the battle rages loud and long - And the stormy winds do blow." - - -It was a Sunday night, in the month of February, a few years ago, the -anxious boatmen, who kept a diligent watch, shrugged their shoulders as -they cast keen glances to windward, and declared that it was going to be -a very dirty night. - -Heavy masses of cloud skirted the horizon as the sun set; and as the -night drew on, violent gusts of wind swept along, accompanied by -snow-squalls. - -It was a dangerous time for vessels in the Channel, and it proved fatal -to one at least. - -Before the light broke on Monday morning, the Margate lugger _Eclipse_ -put out to sea to cruise round the shoals and sands in the neighbourhood -of Margate, on the look out for the victims of any disasters that might -have occurred during the night. - -The crew soon discovered that a vessel was ashore on the Margate Sands, -and directly made for her. She proved to be the Spanish brig -_Samaritano_ of one hundred and seventy tons, bound from Antwerp to -Santander, and laden with a valuable and miscellaneous cargo. - -Her crew consisted of the captain, Modesto Crispo, and eleven men; it -was during a violent squall of wind and snow that the vessel was driven -on the Sands, at about half-past five in the morning; the crew attempted -to get away from the vessel in the boats, but in vain, the oars were -broken in the attempt, and the boats stove in. - -The lugger _Eclipse_, as she was running for the brig, spoke a -Whitstable fishing-smack, and borrowed two of her men and her boat. They -boarded the brig as the tide went down, and hoped to be able to get her -off the Sands at the next high water. For this purpose, six Margate -boatmen and the two Whitstable men were left on board. - -But with the rising tide, the gale came on again in all its fury, and -the boatmen had speedily to give up every hope of saving the vessel. -They hoisted their boat on board to prevent her being swamped by the -seas which were breaking heavily, and all hands began to feel that it -was becoming a question, not of saving the vessel, but of saving their -own lives. The sea rushed furiously over the wreck, lifting her, and -then letting her fall with crushing violence upon the sands. Her timbers -did not long withstand this trial of their strength; a hole was quickly -knocked in her side, she filled with water, and settled down upon the -sand. - -The waves began now to break with great force over the deck; the -lugger's boat was speedily knocked to pieces and swept overboard; the -hatches were forced up, and some of the cargo which floated on the deck -was at once washed away. The brig began to roll and labour fearfully, as -wave after wave broke against her, with a force that shook her from stem -to stern and threatened to throw her bodily upon her broadside; the men, -fearing this, cut the weather-rigging of the main mast, and the mast -soon broke off short with a great crash, and went over the side. - -All hands now took refuge in the fore-rigging; nineteen men had then no -other hope between them and a terrible death than the few shrouds of the -shaking mast. - -The wind beat against the poor fellows with hurricane force; each wave -that broke against the vessel sprang up in columns of foam and drenched -them to the skin; the air was full of spray and sleet, which froze upon -them as it fell. - -The Margate boatmen were there, but the Margate lugger could not have -lived five minutes in the sea that surrounded the vessel; the Whitstable -smack would have been wrecked at once, if she had attempted to get near -the wreck, and thus the poor fellows, caught in a trap, had to be left -by their comrades to their fate, their only chance of escape being the -possibility of a life-boat coming to their rescue, and this before their -frail support should yield to the rush of wind and sea. - -And resting in this hope they waited hour after hour, clinging to the -shrouds of the tottering mast; but no help came, until one and all -despaired of life. - -In the meanwhile, news of the wreck had spread like wildfire through -Margate. In spite of the gale, and the blinding snow squalls, many of -the inhabitants struggled to the cliff, and with spy-glasses tried to -penetrate the scud, or to gain in the breaks of the storm some glimpses -of the wreck. - -As soon as the peril the crew of the brig were in was known, the smaller -of the two Margate life-boats was manned and made to the rescue. As she -sailed out into the storm, the seas broke over her and filled her; this -her gallant crew heeded little at first, for they had every confidence -in her powers to ride safely through any storm, that her air-tight -compartments would prevent her from sinking; but to the astonishment of -the men they found that the boat was rapidly losing her buoyancy, and -fast becoming unmanageable; indeed she was filling with water, which -came up to the men's waists. The air-tight boxes had evidently filled; -and they remembered, too late, that the valves, with which each box is -provided to let out any water that may leak in, had been left unscrewed -in the excitement of starting. Their boat, with the air-tight -compartments filled with water, virtually ceased to be a life-boat, and -her crew had to struggle for their own safety. Although then within a -quarter of a mile of the brig, there was no help for it, they could make -no farther way against the storm; the boat was unmanageable, and the -only chance of life left to the boatmen themselves, was to run her -ashore on the nearest part of the coast. It was doubtful whether they -would be able to succeed even in this; and it was not until they had -battled for four hours with the sea and gale, that they were able to get -ashore in Westgate Bay. - -There the coastguard were ready to receive them, and did their best to -revive the exhausted men. As soon as it was discovered at Margate that -the first life-boat was disabled, the large life-boat, the _Friend of -all Nations_, was got ready with every speed, and with much trouble -dragged round to the lee side of the pier, where it was launched. Away -she started, her brave crew doing all they could to battle with the -gale, and force their way out to the wreck; but all their efforts were -in vain; the tremendous wind was right against them; the sea completely -overpowered them, and prevented their beating to windward; the tiller -gave way, and after a hard struggle her crew had also to give up the -attempt, and this life-boat in turn was driven ashore about one mile -from the town. With both their life-boats wrecked, the Margate men -almost gave up all hopes of saving the crew of the vessel and the men -that were left on board; but this should not be the case until every -possible effort had been made; but it was with small hope for the -shipwrecked, and with much apprehension for the boats themselves, that -the people watched two luggers--the _Nelson_ and the _Lively_--undaunted -by the fate of the life-boats, stagger out mid the sweeping seas to the -rescue. - -The fate of one lugger, the _Nelson_, was soon settled; a fearful squall -of wind caught her before she had got many hundred yards clear of the -pier; it swept her foremast out of her, and her crew had to make every -possible effort to avoid being driven on the rocks, and there wrecked. - -The _Lively_ was more fortunate; she beat her way out to sea, but found -so heavy a surf breaking over the Sands, that it was evidently -impossible to cross them, or to get near the wreck. - -The Margate people became full of despair, and many a bitter tear was -shed for sympathy and for personal loss as they watched the wreck, and -thought of the poor fellows perishing slowly before their eyes, -apparently without any possibility of being saved. - -A rumour spread among the crowd that the lieutenant of the coastguard -had sent an express off to Ramsgate, for the Ramsgate steamer and -life-boat; but this scarcely afforded any hope, as it was thought -impossible that the steamer and life-boat could make their way round the -North Foreland in the teeth of so tremendous a gale, or that, if they -did so, it was supposed impossible that either the ship could hold -together, or the crew live, exposed as they were in the rigging, during -the time it would of necessity take the steamer and boat to get to them. - -We now change the scene to Ramsgate. - -From an early hour on the Monday morning, groups of boatmen assembled -on the pier at Ramsgate; they were occasionally joined by some of the -more hardy among the townsmen, or by a stray visitor, attracted by the -wild scene that the storm presented. - -The boatmen could faintly discern, in the intervals between the -snow-squalls, a few vessels in the distance, running before the gale, -and they were keenly on the watch for signals of distress, that they -might hasten to the rescue. - -But no such signal was given. - -Every now and then, as the wind boomed by, some landsmen suggested that -it was the report of a gun from one, or other, of the three -light-vessels, which guard the dangerous Goodwin Sands; but the boatmen -shook their heads, and those who with spy-glasses kept a look-out in the -direction of the light-vessels confirmed them in their disbelief. - -About nine o'clock, tidings came to Ramsgate that a brig was ashore on -the Woolpack Sands off Margate. It was, of course, concluded that the -two Margate life-boats would go to the rescue; and although there was -much anxiety and excitement as to the result of the attempt the Margate -boatmen would certainly make, no one had the least idea that the -services of the Ramsgate life-boat would be required. But shortly after -twelve a coastguard man from Margate hastened breathless to the pier, -and to the harbour-master's office, saying, in answer to eager inquiries -as he hurried on, that the two Margate life-boats had been wrecked, and -that the Ramsgate boat was wanted. - -The harbour-master immediately gave orders, "Man the life-boat." - -No sooner had the words passed from his lips than the boatmen, who had -crowded round the door in anticipation of the order, rushed away to the -boat. - -First come, first in; not a moment's hesitation, not a thought of -further clothing; they will go as they are, rather than not go at all. -The news rapidly spreads; each boatman as he heard it, hastily snatched -up his bag of waterproof overalls, and south-wester cap, and rushed down -to the boat; and for some time boatman after boatman was to be seen -racing down the pier, hoping to find a place still vacant; if the race -had been to save their lives, rather than to risk them, it would hardly -have been more hotly contested. - -Some of those who had won the race and were in the boat, were ill -prepared with clothing for the hardships they would have to endure, for -if they had not their waterproofs at hand they did not delay to get -them, fearing that the crew might be made up before they got to the -boat. But these men were supplied by the generosity of their -disappointed friends, who had come down better prepared, but too late -for the enterprise; the famous cork jackets were thrown into the boat -and at once put on by the men. - -The powerful steam-tug, well named the _Aid_, that belongs to the -harbour, and has her steam up night and day ready for any emergency that -may arise, speedily got her steam to full power, and with her brave and -skilful master, Daniel Reading, in command, took the boat in tow, and -together they made their way out of the harbour. James Hogben, who, with -Reading, has been in many a wild scene of danger, was coxswain, and -steered and commanded the life-boat. - -It was nearly low water at the time, but the force of the gale was such -as to send a good deal of spray dashing over the pier; the snow fell in -blinding squalls, and drifted and eddied in every protected nook and -corner. It was hard work for the excited crowd of people, who had -assembled to see the life-boat start, to battle their way through the -drifts and against the wind, snow, and foam to the head of the pier; but -there at last they gathered, and many a one felt his heart fail as the -steamer and boat cleared the protection of the pier, and encountered the -first rush of wind and sea outside. "She seemed to go out under water," -said one old fellow; "I would not have gone out in her for the -universe." And those who did not know the heroism and determination that -such scenes call forth in the breasts of the boatmen, could not help -wondering much at the eagerness which had been displayed to get a place -in the boat--and this although the hardy fellows knew that the two -Margate life-boats had been wrecked in the attempt to get the short -distance which separated the wreck from Margate; while they would have -to battle their way through the gale for ten or twelve miles before they -could get even in sight of the vessel. - -It says nothing against the daring or skill of the Margate boatmen, -that they failed. In such a gale they could not get to windward against -wind and tide, success therefore was almost impossible without the aid -of steam; with a steam-boat to tow them into position for dashing in -upon the Sands, the Margate boats would in all probability have -succeeded; without such assistance the Ramsgate boat would have -certainly failed. As soon as the steamer and boat got clear of the -Ramsgate pier, they felt the full force of the storm, and it seemed -almost doubtful whether they could make any progress against it. They -slowly worked their way out of the full strength of the tide, as it -swept round the head of the pier, and then began to move ahead a little -more rapidly, and were soon ploughing their way through a perfect sea of -foam. - -The steamer with its engines working full power, plunged heavily along; -wave after wave broke over its bows, sent its spray flying over the -funnel and mast, and deluged the deck with a tide of water, which, as it -rushed aft, gave the men enough to do to hold on. - -The life-boat was towing astern with fifty fathom of five-inch hawser -out, an enormously strong rope about the thickness of a man's wrist. Her -crew already experienced the dangers and discomforts, that they were -ready to endure, perhaps, for many hours, and without a murmur, in order -to save life. - -There was anxiety and fear, but the one thought of anxiety and fear was, -as to whether they could possibly be in time to save the lives of the -poor fellows, who must, for so many hours, have been clinging to a -shattered wreck. It would be hard to give a description to enable one to -realize the position of the men in the boat, as they were being towed -along by the steamer. The use of a life-boat is, that it will float and -live, where other boats would of necessity be swamped, upset, and -founder; they are made for, and generally only used on, occasions of -extreme danger and peril, for terrible storms and wild seas. - -The water flows into the boat, and over it, and it still floats: some -huge wave will break over it, and for a moment bury it, but it rises in -its buoyancy and shakes itself free; beaten down on its broadside by the -waves and wind, it struggles hard, and soon rises again on an upright -keel, and defies them to do their worst; and even if some mighty breaker -should come rushing along, catch her in its curling arms, and bodily -upset her, only for a few seconds would the triumph last, the boat would -speedily right again, sitting like an ark of refuge in the boiling sea -of foam, while her crew, upheld by their cork jackets, would be floating -and struggling around her, until one after another would manage to -regain her sides, and clamber in over her low gunwale at the waist, and -shortly she would be speeding away again on her life errand. Such were -the qualities of the noble boat, which we are watching, while she is -urging her way through the dismal seas, while a dozen poor fellows, some -nine or ten miles off, are hanging to the shaking shrouds of a tottering -mast, the waves that are breaking over them threatening every moment to -be their tomb. - -Away! away, then, brave boat! gallant crew! God grant you good -progress! - -Since the moment of clearing the pier, the waves that broke over the -boat filled her time after time, and did everything but drown her. The -men were up to their knees in water; they bent forward as much as they -could, each with a firm hold upon the boat. - -The spray and waves rushed over them, and as they beat continuously upon -their backs, although they could not penetrate their waterproof -clothing, still they chilled them to the bone, for, as the spray fell, -it froze, indeed so bitter was the cold that the men's mittens were -frozen to their hands. - -After a tremendous struggle the steamer seemed to be making head against -the storm; they were well clear of the pier and getting on gallantly. -They made their way through the Cud Channel, and had passed between the -black and white buoys, so well known to Ramsgate visitors, when a -fearful sea came heading towards them. It met and broke over the -steamer, buried her in foam, and swept along. - -The life-boat rose to it, for a moment hung with her bows high in air, -and then as she felt the strain of the tow-rope, plunged bodily into the -wave, and was almost altogether under water; the men were nearly washed -out of her, but at that moment the tow-rope broke, the wave threw the -boat back with a jerk, and as the strain of the rope suddenly ceased, -the boat fell across the seas which swept in rapid succession over her, -and seemed completely at their mercy. Oars out! oars out! was the cry, -and the men, as soon as they could get breath, got them out, and began -to make every effort to get the boat round again, head to wind, but in -vain, the waves tossed the oars up, the wind caught the blades, and it -was as much as the men could do to keep them in their hands. The gale -was too heavy for them, and they drifted rapidly before wind and tide -towards the Brake Shoal, which was directly under their lee, and over -which the seas were rushing with great violence. But the steamer, which -throughout was handled most admirably, both as regards skill and -bravery, was put round as swiftly as possible, and very cleverly brought -within a few yards to windward of the boat, as she lay athwart the sea. - -The men on board the steamer threw a hauling line on board the boat to -which was attached a bran new hawser, and again took the boat in tow. - -The tide was still flowing, and as it rose, the wind came up in heavier -and heavier gusts, bringing with it a blinding snow and sleet, which, -with the spray, still freezing as it fell, swept over the boat, till the -men looked, as one said at the time, like a body of ice. - -The men could not look to windward for the drifting snow and blinding -seas which were continually rushing over them, they only knew that the -strong steamer was plunging along, taking all as it came, for they felt -the strain on the rope; thus they realized that each moment's suffering -and peril brought them nearer to their poor perishing fellow-sailors; -and not one heart failed, not one repented of winning the race to the -life-boat. - -Off Broadstairs, they suddenly felt the way of the boat stop. The rope -broken again, was the first thought of all; but on looking round as they -were enabled to do, as the boat was no longer being dragged through the -seas; they discovered to their utter dismay that the steamer had -stopped; they thought that her machinery had broken down, and at once -despaired of saving the lives of the shipwrecked, for with the wind as -it was, it would be long hours before they could beat up against the -gale, and get to the Sands, on which they were told the wreck lay; a -moment's suspense and they discovered, to their gladness, that the -steamer had merely stopped to let out more cable, fearful that it might -break again in the struggle that was before them, as they fought their -way round the North Foreland. - -Another hour's hard struggle, and they reached the North Foreland. There -the sea was running tremendously high--the gale was still increasing; -the snow, sleet, and spray, rushed by with hurricane speed. - -Although it was only early in the afternoon, the air was so darkened by -the storm that it seemed a dull twilight. The captain of the boat was -steering; he peered out between his collar and cap, but looked in vain -for the steamer. He knew that she was all right, for the rope kept -taught; but many times, although she was only a hundred yards ahead, he -could see nothing of her, still less able were the men on board the -steamer to see the life-boat. - -Often did they anxiously look astern, and watch for a break in the drift -and scud to see that she was all right; for although there could be no -doubt as to the strain upon the rope, she might be towing along bottom -up, or have all her men washed out of her, for all they could tell. The -master of the steamer watched the seas, which broke over the _Aid_, -making her stagger again, as they rushed towards the life-boat, and -several times the fear that she was gone came over him. But steamer and -life-boat still battled successfully against the storm. - -As soon as they were round the North Foreland, the snow squall cleared -and they sighted Margate; all anxiously looked for the wreck, but -nothing of her could they see. They saw a lugger riding just clear of -the pier, with foremast gone, and anchor down to prevent her being -driven ashore by the gale. They next sighted the Margate life-boat -driven ashore and abandoned in Westgate Bay, looking a complete wreck, -the waves beating over her. A little beyond this they caught sight of -the second life-boat, also washed ashore; and then they learnt to -realize to the full the gallant efforts that had been made to save the -shipwrecked, and the destruction that had been wrought as effort after -effort had been overcome by the fury of the storm. But where was the -wreck? Had she been beaten to pieces, all lives lost, and were they too -late? A heavy mass of cloud and snowstorm rolled on to windward of them -in the direction of the Sands off Margate, and they could not make out -any signs of the wreck there. - -There was just a chance that it was the Woolpack Sand that she was on. -They thought it the more likely, as the first intelligence of the wreck -that came to Ramsgate declared that such was the case; and accordingly -they determined to make for the Woolpack Sand, which was about three -miles farther on; they had scarcely decided upon this, when, -providentially, there was a break in the drift of the snow to windward, -and they suddenly caught sight of the wreck. But for this sudden -clearance in the storm they would, as we have said, have proceeded -farther on, and some hours must have passed before they could have found -out their mistake and got back again, and by that time every soul of the -poor shipwrecked crew must have perished. - -The master of the steamer made out the flag of distress flying in the -rigging of the vessel, the ensign union downwards; she, doubtlessly, was -the wreck of which they were in search. - -But still it was a question how they could get to her, for she was on -the other side of the Sand. To tow the boat round the Sand would take a -long time in the face of such a gale; and for the boat to make across -the Sand seemed almost impossible, so tremendous was the sea that was -running over it. - -Nevertheless there was no hesitation on the part of the life-boat crew. -It seemed a forlorn hope, a very rushing upon destruction, to attempt to -force the boat under canvas through such a surf and sea; but they looked -at the tottering wreck; they felt how any moment might be the last to -the poor fellows clinging to her, and they could not bear to think of -the delay that would be occasioned by their going round the Sands. - -Without hesitation, therefore, they cast off the tow-rope, and were -about setting sail, when they found that the tide was running so -furiously that they must be towed at least three miles to the eastward -before they would be sufficiently far to windward to make certain of -fetching the wreck. - -It was a hard struggle to get the tow-rope on board again, tossed about -as they were by the tumbling seas, and a bitter disappointment to all, -that an hour, or more, of their precious time must be consumed before -they could possibly get to the rescue of their endangered brother -seamen; but there was no help for it, and away again they went in tow of -the steamer. The snow-squall came on again, and they lost sight of the -wreck, but all kept an anxious look-out, and now and then, in a break in -the squall, they could catch a glimpse of her. They could see that she -was almost buried in the waves which broke over her in great clouds of -foam, and again many and weary were the doubts and speculations, as to -whether any on board of her could still be alive. For twenty minutes or -so they battled steadily on against wind and tide. - -The gale, which had been increasing since the morning, came on heavier -than ever, and roared like thunder over head; the sea was running so -furiously and meeting the life-boat with such tremendous force that the -men had to cling on their hardest not to be washed out of her, and at -last the new tow-rope could no longer resist the increasing strain, and -suddenly parted with a tremendous jerk; there was no thought of picking -up the cable again--they could stand no further delay, and one and all -of her crew rejoiced to hear the captain of the life-boat give orders to -set sail. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "SAMARITANO," AND THE RETURN. - - Now set the teeth, and stretch the nostril wide; - Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit - To his full height! On, on, you noble English, - Whose blood is set from fathers of war-proof! - Fathers that, like so many Alexanders, - Have, in these parts, from morn till even fought. - - "King Henry V."--_Shakespeare._ - - -Harder still the gale, and the rush of the sea and the blinding snow. -The storm was at its height. As the life-boat headed for the Sands, a -darkness, as of night, seemed to settle down upon the men; they could -scarcely see each other; but on through the raging sea and blinding -storm they drove the gallant boat. As they approached the shallow water, -the high part of the Sand, where the heaviest waves were breaking, they -could see spreading itself before them, standing out in the gloom, a -white, gleaming, barrier wall of foam; for there as the rushing waves -broke, they clashed together in their recoil, and mounted up in columns -of foam, their heavier volume falling, and their crests caught by the -wind and carried away in white streaming clouds of spray, while the -fearful roar of the beat of the waves could be heard above the gale. - -But still straight for the breakers the men made. No faltering, no -hesitation, brows knit, teeth clenched, hands ready, and hearts firm, -and into it with a cheer. - -The boat, although under the smallest sail she could carry--a double -reefed fore-sail and mizen--was driven on by the hurricane force of the -wind, on through the outer range of breakers she plunged, and then came -indeed a struggle for life. - -The waves no longer rolled on in foaming ranks, but leapt, and clashed, -and battled together in a raging boil of sea. They broke over the boat, -the surf poured in first on one side of the boat, and then on the other, -as she rolled to starboard and port, wildly tossed from side to side. -Some waves rushed bodily over the boat, threatening to sweep every man -out of her. Look out, my men! hold on! hold on! was the cry. When they -saw some huge breaker heading towards them like an advancing wall, then -the men threw themselves breast down on the thwart, curled their legs -under it, clasped it with all their force with both arms, held their -breath hard, and clung on for very life against the tear and wrestle of -the wave, while the rush of water poured over their backs and heads, and -buried them in its flood. Down, down, beneath the weight of the water, -the men and boat sank; but only for a moment; the splendid boat rose in -her buoyancy, and freed herself of the seas, which for a moment had -overcome her and buried her, and her crew breathed again; and a -struggling cry of triumph rises from them. Well done, old boat! well -done! all right! all right! Yes, all hands here, no one washed out of -her; and with a quick glance of mutual congratulation they look at each -other, and rejoice that all are safe, scarce time for a word. "Now she -goes through it, now she's forging ahead! keep a tight hold, my boys!" A -moment's lull, as she glided on the crest of some huge wave, or only -smaller ones tried their strength against her; then again the monster -fellows came heading on, again the warning cry was given; look out! hold -on! hold on! and the men crouched, and clung, and struggled for their -lives, while the wild waves rushed over the boat. - -Thus until they got clear of the Sands the fearful struggle was again -and again repeated; but at last it was for a time over, they had burst -through the belt of raging surf and got again into deep water. They had -then only the huge rolling waves and less broken tumble of sea to -contend with; this, in such a furious gale of wind, was bad enough, and -almost more than any other kind of boat could have endured, but little -in comparison to what they had just gone through, and escaped from. - -The boat was now put before the wind, and every man in her was on the -look-out for the wreck. For a time it remained so thick that there was -no possibility of finding her, when again a second time a sudden break -in the storm revealed her: she was about half a mile to leeward. - -They shifted the foresail with great difficulty, and again made in for -the Sands towards the vessel. The appearance of the wreck as they -approached her made even the stoutest among them shudder. - -She had settled down by the stern in the Sands, the uplifted bow being -the only part of the hull that was to be seen; the sea was making a -clear breach over her. - -The mainmast was gone, her foresail, and foretopsail were blown adrift, -and great columns of foam were mounting up, flying over her foremast and -bow. They saw a Margate lugger lying at anchor just clear of the Sands, -and made close to her. As they shot by they could just make out, mid the -roar of the storm, a loud hail, eight of our men on board! and on they -flew, and in a few minutes were in a sea that would instantly have -swamped the lugger, noble and powerful boat though she was. - -Approaching the wreck, it was with terrible anxiety they strained their -sight, trying to discover if there were still any men left in the -tangled mass of rigging, over which the sea was breaking so furiously. -By degrees they made them out. "I see a man's head, look! one is waving -his arm."--"I make out two! three! why the rigging is full of the poor -fellows;" and with a cheer of triumph, at being yet in time, the -life-boat crew settled to their work. - -The wreck of the mainmast, and the tremendous wash of sea over the -vessel, prevented their going to the lee of the wreck. This increased -their danger tenfold, as the result proved. - -When about forty yards from the wreck, they lowered their sails, and -cast the anchor over the side. The moment for which the boat had so -gallantly battled for four hours, and the shipwrecked had waited almost -in despair for eight hours, had at last arrived. - -No cheering! no shouting in the boat now, no whisper beyond the -necessary orders; the risk and suspense are too terrible! yard by yard, -the cable is cautiously payed out, and the great rolling seas are -allowed to carry the boat, little by little, nearer to the vessel. The -waves break over the boat, for a moment bury it, and then as the sea -rushes on, and breaks upon the wreck, the spray, flying up, hides the -men lashed to the rigging from the boatman's sight. They hoist up a -corner of the sail to let the boat sheer in; all are ready; a huge wave -lifts them. Pay out the cable! sharp, men! sharp! the coxswain shouts; -belay all! The cable was let go a few yards by the run, and the boat is -alongside the wreck. With a cry, three men jump into the boat and are -saved! All hands to the cable! haul in hand over hand, for your lives, -men, quick, the coxswain cries; for he sees a tremendous wave rushing in -swiftly upon them. They haul in the cable, draw the boat a little from -the wreck, the wave passes and breaks over the vessel; if the life-boat -had been alongside she would have been dashed against the wreck, and -perhaps capsized, or washed over, and utterly destroyed. Again the men -watch the waves, and as they see a few smaller ones approaching, let the -cable run again, and get alongside; this time they are able to remain a -little longer by the vessel; and one after another, thirteen of the -shipwrecked men unlash themselves from the rigging and jump into the -boat, when again they draw away from the vessel in all haste, and avoid -threatened destruction. - -"Are they all saved?" No! three of the vessel's crew, Spaniards, are -still left in the rigging; they seem almost dead, and scarcely able to -unlash themselves, and crawl down the shrouds and await the return of -the boat. - -Again the boat is alongside, and this time the peril is greater than -ever. They must place the boat close to the vessel, for the men are too -weak to make any spring to reach her; they must remain alongside for a -longer time, for two life-boatmen must get on to the wreck and lift the -men on board; but, as before, they go coolly, quietly, and determinedly -to work; the cable is veered out, the sail manoeuvred to make the boat -sheer, and again she is alongside; the men are seized by their arms and -clothing, and dragged into the boat. - -The last one left is the cabin-boy; he seems entangled in the rigging. -The poor little fellow had a canvas bag of trinkets and things, he was -taking as presents to the loved ones at home, and all through the -howling storm, the rush and beat of the waves, as he held on exhausted -and half dead to the shrouds, he still thought of those loved friends, -and clung to the canvas bag. - -God only knows whether the loved ones at home were thinking of, and -praying for him, and whether it was in answer to their prayers and those -of many others that the life-boat then rode alongside that wreck, an ark -of safety mid the raging seas. - -They shout, the boy lingers still, his half-dead hands cannot free the -bag from the entangled rigging. A moment and all are lost; a boatman -makes a spring, seizes the lad with a strong grasp, and tears him down -from the rigging into the boat--too late, too late; they cannot get away -from the vessel; a tremendous wave rushes on: hold hard all, hold -anchor! hold cable! give but a yard, and all are lost! The boat lifts, -is washed into the fore-rigging, the sea passes, and she settles down -again upon an even keel! Thank God! If one stray rope of all the torn -and tangled rigging of the vessel had caught the boat's rigging, or one -of her spars--if the boat's keel or cork fenders had caught in the -shattered gunwale, she would have turned over, and every man in her been -shaken into the sea to speedy and certain death. Thank God, it is not -so, and once more they are safe. - -The boat is very crowded; she has her own crew of thirteen on board, six -of the Margate boatmen and two Whitstable fishermen, who were left on -the vessel, the captain, mate, eight seamen and the boy; thus, -thirty-two souls in all form her precious freight. - -The life-boatmen at once, without a second's delay, haul in the cable as -fast as possible, and draw up to the anchor to get clear of the wreck, -for they must get some distance away before they dare let go their -cable, or with the wind and seas setting directly towards the vessel -they would be driven upon her, unless they had plenty of room to sail by -her. - -An anxious time it is, as they draw up to the anchor; at last they are -pretty clear, and hoist the sail to draw still farther away before they -let go. - -There is no thought of getting the anchor up in such a gale and sea. - -"She draws away," cries the captain of the boat, "pay out the cable; -stand by to cut it; pass the hatchet forward; cut the cable, quick, my -men, quick." There is a moment's delay, a delay by which indeed all -their lives are saved; a few strong blows with the hatchet, and the -cable would have been parted. A boatman takes out his knife, and begins -gashing away at the hawser. Already one strand out of the three, which -form the strong rope, is severed; when a fearful gust of wind sweeps by, -the boat heels over almost on her side--a crash is heard, and the mast -and sail are blown clean out of the boat. - -Never was a moment of greater peril. Away in the rush of the wave the -boat is carried straight for the wreck; the cable is payed out and is -slack; they haul it in as fast as they can, but on they are carried -swiftly, apparently to certain destruction. Let them hit the wreck full, -and the next wave must throw the boat bodily upon it, and all her crew -will be swept at once into the sea; let them but touch the wreck, and -the risk is fearful; on they are carried, the stem of the boat just -grazes the bow of the vessel, they must be capsized by the bowsprit and -entangled in the wreckage; some of the crew are ready for a spring into -the bowsprit to prolong their lives a few minutes, the others are all -steadily, eagerly, quietly, hauling in upon the cable might and main, as -the only chance of safety to the boat and crew; one moment more and all -are gone, one more haul upon the cable, a fathom or so comes in by the -run, and at that moment it mercifully taughtens and holds; all may yet -be safe, another yard or two and the boat would have been dashed to -pieces. - -They again haul in the cable, and draw the boat away as rapidly as they -can from the wreck, but they do it with a terrible dread, for they -remember the cut strand of the rope. Will the remaining two strands -hold? The strain is fearful, each time that the boat lifts to a wave, -the cable tightens and jerks, and they think it breaking; but it still -holds, and a thrill of joy passes through the heart of all, as they hear -that the cut part of the rope is safely in the boat. - -But the danger is not even yet over: all this time the mast and sail -have been dragging over the side of the boat; it is with great -difficulty that they get them on board. - -The mast had been broken short off about three feet from the heel. - -They chop a new heel to it, and rig it up as speedily as they can, but -it takes long to do so; for the boat is lying in the trough of the sea, -and the waves are constantly breaking over her; moreover, she is so -crowded that the men can scarcely move, and the gale is blowing as hard -as ever. - -For the poor Spaniards, as they cling to each other, the terrors of -death seem scarcely passed away; they know nothing of the properties of -the life-boat, and cannot believe that it will live long in such a sea. -As the waves beat over the boat and fill it, they imagine that she will -founder, and each time that the great rolling seas launch themselves at -her they cling to each other, expecting that she will capsize; besides, -the poor fellows' nerves are not in a very good state; for eight hours -they have been in great danger, for a large portion of that time in -momentary expectation of death, during the four hours they were lashed -to the rigging of the wreck, with the life nearly beaten and frozen out -of them by the constant rush of sea and of spray, and by the bitter -wind. - -One of the Spaniards seeing a life-belt lying down, which one of the -crew had thrown off in the hurry of his work, sits upon it by way of -making himself doubly safe. But the work goes on. At last the mast is -fitted and raised. No unnecessary word is spoken all this time, for the -life and death struggle is not yet over; nor, indeed, can it be before -they are well away from the neighbourhood of the wreck. Now, as they -hoist the sail, the boat gradually draws away; the cable is again payed -out little by little; as soon as they are well clear of the vessel they -cut it, and away they sail. The terrible suspense is over when each -moment was a moment of fearful risk. It had lasted from the time when -they let go the anchor to the time when they got clear of the -vessel--about one hour. The men could now breathe freely, their faces -brighten, and from one and all there arises spontaneously a pealing -cheer. They are no longer face to face with death, and thankfully and -joyfully they sail away from the sands, the breakers, and the wreck. - -The gale was still at its height, but the peril they were in then seemed -nothing to what they had gone through, and had happily left behind. In -the great reaction of feeling, the freezing cold and sleet, the driving -wind, and foam, and sea, were all forgotten; and they felt as -light-hearted as if they were out on a pleasant summer's cruize. They -could at last look round and see who they had in the boat, speak hearty -words of congratulation to the Margate and Whitstable men, some of whom -they knew, and strive by a good deal of broken English, and slaps on the -back, and shaking of hands, to cheer up the Spanish sailors, and to let -them know how glad they are to have saved them. They then proceeded in -search of the steamer, which, after casting the life-boat adrift, made -for shelter to the back of the Hook Sand, not far from the Reculvers, -and there waited, her crew anxiously on the look-out for the return of -the life-boat. - -As they were making for the steamer, the lugger _Eclipse_ came in chase -to hear whether they had succeeded in saving all hands, and especially, -whether all the men of her crew were saved. They welcomed the glad -tidings with three cheers for the life-boat crew, and made in for the -land. Soon after, the Whitstable smack made towards them upon a similar -errand, and her crew were equally rejoiced to hear that their -ship-mates with all hands were safe. It was too rough, a great deal, for -the men to be taken on board the smack; and so she, after speaking them, -tacked in for the land. - -The night was coming on apace; it was not until they had run three or -four miles that they sighted the steamer; and when they got alongside -her it was a difficult matter to get the saved crew on board. The sea -was raging, and the gale blowing as much as ever, and the steamer rolled -and pitched heavily; the poor shipwrecked fellows were too exhausted to -spring for the steamer as the opportunities occurred, and had to be -almost lifted on board, one poor fellow being hauled on board by a rope. -Again the boat was taken in tow, almost all her crew remaining in her, -and they commenced their return home. The night was very dark and clear; -the sea and gale had lost none of their force; and until the steamer and -boat had got well round the North Foreland, the struggle to get back was -just as great as it had been to get there. - -Once round the Foreland the wind was well on the quarter, and they made -easier way; light after light opened to them; Kingsgate and Broadstairs -were passed, and at last the Ramsgate pier-head light shone out with its -bright welcome, and the men began to feel that their work was nearly -over. - -A telegram had been sent from Margate in the afternoon, stating that the -Ramsgate life-boat had been seen to save the crew; but nothing more had -been heard. The boatmen had calculated the time when they thought the -steamer and life-boat might both be back; and the fearful violence of -the storm suggested some sad occasion for the delay. As hour after hour -grew on, the anxiety increased; real alarm was beginning to be felt by -all, and a keen watch was kept for the first appearance of the steamer -and boat round the edge of the cliff. - -As the tide went down, and the sea broke less heavily over the pier, the -men could venture farther along it, until, by the time of the boat's -return, they were enabled to assemble at the end of the pier, and there -a large and anxious crowd gathered. The anxiety of all was increased by -the suggestions and speculations of disasters, which always present -themselves at a time of suspense and apprehension; and so, when the -steamer was announced with the life-boat in tow, the reaction was great, -and the watchers shouted for very joy. - -And as the "Storm Warriors" entered the harbour waving the strong right -arms that had worked so well, and shouted, "All saved!" "All saved!" and -the flags of triumph were seen flying out in the gale. Cheer after cheer -broke from the crowd as they welcomed home from the dread battle-field -those who had fought and conquered, and now bore with them as trophies -of their victory, nineteen men; fellow-sailors, whose lives had been -saved from a terrible and certain death. And many cheered again as they -thought of the number who would have had life-long cause to mourn, if -these poor fellows had perished. Parents, wives, children--what a group -they would seem if they could be pictured watching the saved ones -return; what words, and looks, and tears of thanks where feelings are -too deep for words, for the Storm Warriors, and for the life-boat cause, -and for the generous English people who placed such boats at the -disposal of such brave hearts and strong hands--of men ready to dare all -and to do all that men can do to rescue the perishing from death. - -Think only of the group that may possibly welcome back the little pale, -exhausted cabin-boy, their hearts as warm as his, their love as deep as -his--as his, which made that little canvas bag full of simple presents -so dear to him that he held to it through all the many hours of the -storm; that made it his first thought when the wild seas rushed over the -vessel, and the crew had to take to the rigging; love that made him, -when grown men thought only of their own lives, rush to his chest and -seize his treasure, and all through the wild gale cling to it; cling to -it still, though the winds in their bitter cold froze him through and -through, and the seas beat over him hour after hour. Think of the faces -that may have seemed to peer at him out of the darkness of the storm. A -loving-hearted father ready to thank him for the tobacco-box; a mother -for that wonderful brooch; a little dark-eyed brother for the knife with -four blades, and a little sister for the little very blue-eyed doll with -such rosy cheeks. No, he could not let the bag go, and so it nearly cost -him his life, and by the delay his clinging to it caused, nearly cost -all the brave men their lives also; but the good God would not let so -much simple love work so much disaster, and the loving ones shall see -him again, and perhaps he will stand, and perhaps each of his -fellow-sailors will stand, in the centre of some tearful group, who -again and again will weep, and thank God, as they are told of the wreck, -and the hours of peril, and the waiting for death, and the hopeless -despair, and the strange wonderful boat that came in through the storm; -and how they were saved, when they never thought to see home again. And -often shall the brave boatmen be blessed and thanked by grateful hearts, -and the life-boat cause not forgotten. I repeat the picture that we may -learn to think much of the sailor's arrival home, as well of his being -saved from the wreck, and thus learn to appreciate the more the value -and the mercy of life-boat work. - -But to return. The Spanish sailors had, by the time they reached the -harbour, somewhat recovered under the care of the life-boat crew, and -were further well cared for, and supplied with clothes by the care of -the Spanish consul. And the hardy English boatmen did not take long to -recover from their exposure and fatigues, fearful as they had been. - -The Spanish captain, in speaking of the rescue, was almost overcome by -his feelings of gratitude and wonder. He had quite made up his mind for -death; he felt that the wreck could not by any possibility hold together -much longer; every moment he expected a final crash; and all his -experience taught him that it was impossible for any boat to come to -their rescue in such a fearful sea. His experience of the life-boat was -new, and not easily to be forgotten. - -He had a painting made of the rescue to take with him and show to the -Spanish Government. It is pleasing to be able to wind up this story with -stating, that the English Board of Control acknowledged the bravery and -exertions of the men engaged in the rescue, by presenting to each of -them 2_l._ and a medal, and that the Spanish Government also gratefully -acknowledged the heroic exertions of the men, by granting to each a -medal and 3_l._ - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -A NIGHT ON THE GOODWIN SANDS. - - "God help the poor fellows at sea!" - Far away inland, when tempests blow - Wild through the dark'ning night, - We list to the roar of the winds as they go - On their hurricane steeds to the fight; - For the hosts of the storm-king are gathering fast - Where the white-crested waters flee, - And our heart breathes this prayer, as he rushes past, - On the wings of the northern howling blast,-- - "God help the poor fellows at sea!" - - _C. T._ - - -"God have mercy upon the poor fellows at sea!" Household words these, in -English homes, however far inland the homes may be; and although near -these homes the sea may have no better representative than a sedge -choked river, or canal, along which slow barges urge a lazy way. - -For when the storm-wrack darkens the sky, and gales are abroad, seaward -fly the sympathies of English hearts, and the prayer is uttered, and in -many cases, in this sea-loving island of ours, with very special -reference to some loved and absent sailor. It is those, however, who -live near the sea-shore, and watch the warfare going on in all its -terrible reality, that learn the more truly to realize the fearful -nature of the struggles for life that go on round our coasts; and who -learn as the wild gales rave to find an answer to the murmurings of the -fierce blast, in the prayer, "God have mercy upon the poor fellows at -sea;" and this especially as they welcome ashore, as wrested from death, -some rescued sailor, or mourn over those who have found a sudden grave -almost within call of land. - -It is a pretty picture enough from Ramsgate Pier, when fifty or a -hundred sail are in sight within two or three miles of land, and the day -is sunny, and the sea bright, and a good wholesome breeze is bowling -along; but anxious withal, when the clouds are gathering, and the fleet -of vessels are seeking to make the best of their way to find shelter in -the Downs: and a south-westerly gale moans up, and the last of the fleet -are caught by it, and have to anchor in exposed places, and you watch -them riding heavily, making bad weather, the seas every now and then -flying over them. It is winter time, and the weather stormy; day after -day brings into the harbour fresh evidences of the deadly contest that -rages out at sea--vessels towed in disabled, with bulwarks washed away, -masts over the side, bows stove in, or leaky, having been in collision, -touched the ground or been struck by a sea; who at such times can -withhold their interest or sympathy? the veriest landsmen grow excited, -and make daily pilgrimages to the pier, to see how the vessels under -repairs are getting on, or what new disasters have occurred. - -But it is at night-time especially that your thoughts take a more -solemn and anxious turn. As you settle down by the fireside for a quiet -evening, you remember the ugly appearance the sky had some two or three -hours before, when you stood watching the scene from the end of the -pier. You felt that mischief was brewing, as the gusts of wind swept by -with increasing force, and you looked out upon a troubled sea that every -minute seemed to grow more white and raging. - -The Downs anchorage was full of shipping; a few vessels had parted their -cables, and had to run for it, while the luggers, heavily laden with -chains and anchors, staggered out of the harbour to supply them: other -ships made for the harbour; you almost shuddered as you looked down upon -them from the pier, and saw them in the grasp of the sea, rolling and -plunging, with the waves surging over their bows. Another minute's -battle with the tide, you heard the orders shouted out, you saw the men -rushing to obey them--the pilot steady at the wheel, and you could -scarce forbear a cheer as ship after ship shot by the pier-head and -found refuge in the harbour. - -Altogether it was a wild exciting scene, and you cannot shake off the -effect--the wind rushes and moans by, a minute before it was raging over -the sea. - -The muffled roaring sound that is heard, is that of the waves breaking -at the foot of the cliff. From the windows can be seen, gleaming out in -the darkness, the bright lights of the Goodwin light-ships, which guard -those fatal sands--sands so fatal, that when the graves give up their -dead, few churchyards will render such an account as theirs, not only -as to the number of the dead, but also that the Sands are a battle-field -which entombs the brave and strong, who go down quick to their grave, -quick from the full tide of life and strength, from the eager stern -deadly contest in which, to the last, all their strong energies were -fully engaged. - -Men who, a few hours before, were reckless and merry, anticipating no -danger and ready to laugh at the thought of death; who, if homeward -bound, were full of joy as they seemed almost to stand upon the -threshold of their homes; or by whom, if outward bound, the kisses of -their wives, which seemed still to linger on their cheeks, and the soft -clasping arms of their little ones, which seemed still to hang about -their necks, were only to be forgotten in the few hours of terrible life -struggle with the storm, and then again to be keenly remembered in the -last gasping moment, ere the Goodwin Sands should find them a grave -almost within the shadow of their homes. - -There is a sudden report; surely the firing of a gun, a wreck, a vessel -on the Sands--watch, yes, there! A rocket streams up from one of the -light-vessels, and the gun and the rocket five minutes after, form the -signal that calls to the life-boat for assistance. The breakers on the -Sands could be clearly seen from the shore during the day, as they rose -and fell like fitful volumes of white eddying smoke, breaking up the -clear line of the horizon, and tracing the Sands in broken broad leaping -outlines of foam. - -Yes! and now, amid those terrible breakers, somewhere out in the -darkness, within five or six miles, near that bright light, there are -twenty, thirty, fifty, you know not how many, of your fellow-creatures, -struggling for their lives. - -Ah! listen to the storm blast, with what dread force it rushes by, what -a dirge it seems to moan; and well it may, for if the gale lasts only a -few hours, and there is no rescue, the morning may be bright and fair -and calm, and the sea as smooth as a lake, but nothing of either ship or -crew shall any more be seen. - -But, thank God! there will be a rescue! You know that already brave -hearts have determined to attempt it; that strong ready hands are -already at work in cool, quick, preparation; that, almost before you -could urge your way against the tempest down to the head of the pier, -the steamer and life-boat will have fought their way out against the -storm and darkness upon their errand of mercy. - -"God have mercy upon the poor fellows at sea; upon the shipwrecked in -their dismal peril; upon the brave Storm Warriors speeding out in danger -and hardship!" this is the prayer that indeed often finds utterance, -when the sleeper is awakened in the dark hours of the night by the -howling of the wind or the boom of the signal gun. And at Ramsgate the -prayer may be uttered fervently indeed by those, who, when they hear the -signal of distress, know that the endangered vessel is experiencing all -the dread dangers of the Goodwin Sands, for the vessels wrecked upon -them have indeed, if the weather is bad, but a poor prospect of ever -sailing the broad seas again. - -The Goodwin is a quick-sand, and it is this, as well as the tremendous -sea that beats upon it in heavy weather, that makes it so terribly fatal -to vessels that get stranded on it. - -At low tide a portion of the sand is dry, and hard, and firm, and can be -walked on for a distance of about four or five miles; but as the water -again flows over any part of it, that part becomes, as the sailors say, -"all alive," soft and quick, and ready to suck in anything that lodges -upon it. Suppose a vessel to run on with a falling tide, where the sand -shelves, or is steep, the water leaves the bow and the sand there gets -hard; the water still flows under the stern, and the sand there remains -soft a longer time; down the stern sinks lower and lower; the vessel -soon breaks her back, or works herself deeper and deeper by the stern; -as the water rises she fills and works and still sinks deeper in the -sand every roll she gives, until at high tide she is, perhaps, -completely buried, or only her topmasts are seen above water. - -Other vessels, if the sea is heavy, begin to beat heavily, and soon -break up. - -Lifted up on the swell of a huge wave, as it breaks and flies away in -surf and foam, the vessel thumps down with all its weight upon the -sands, the timbers give and strain, the seams open; she soon ceases, as -she fills with water, to rise upon the wave; great gaps are torn from -the bulwarks; the decks burst open with the air seeking to escape from -the hold, and as the sea rushes over the vessel, each roll she gives -wrenches her more and more; the masts fall over the side; her cargo -floats and washes away, and speedily, even in a few hours, she is in a -torn and shattered condition, completely wrecked and destroyed. The -broken hull is full of water and lurches heavily to and fro with each -wave, rolls and slightly lifts and works, until it has made a deep bed -in the Sands in which it is soon completely buried--so that many vessels -have run upon the Sands in the early night, and scarcely a vestige of -them been seen in the morning. - -By way of illustration, let me tell what happened one dark stormy night -some few years back. The harbour steam-tug _Aid_ and the life-boat had -started from Ramsgate early in the day, to try and get to the _Northern -Belle_, a fine American barque, which was ashore not far from Kingsgate; -but the force of the gale and tide was so tremendous, that they could -not make way against it, and were driven back to Ramsgate--there to wait -until the tide turned, or the wind moderated. - -About two in the morning, while they were making ready for another -attempt to reach the _Northern Belle_, rockets were fired from one of -the Goodwin light-vessels, showing that some vessel was in distress on -the Sands. They hastened at once to afford assistance, and got to the -edge of the Sands shortly after three in the morning. Up and down they -cruised, but could see no signs of any vessel. - -They waited until it was daylight, and then saw the upper portion of the -lower mast of a steamer standing out of the water. They made towards it, -but found no one was left, and no signs of any wreck floating about to -which a human being could cling. - -They concluded, that almost immediately upon striking, the vessel must -have broken up, sunk, and been buried in the quick-sand. Poor fellows! -poor fellows! a sharp, sudden death: would that the vessel had held -together a little longer. Away, then, now for the _Northern Belle_. - -They had not made much way ahead when the captain of the _Aid_ sees a -large life-buoy floating near. "Ease her," he cries, and the way of the -steamer slackens. "God knows but what that life-buoy may be of use to -some of us." The helmsman steers for it; a sailor makes a hasty dart at -it with a boat-hook, misses it, and starts back appalled from a vision -of staring eyes, and matted hair, and wildly tossed arms. They shout to -the life-boat crew, and they in turn steer for the buoy; the bowman -grasps at it, catches it, but cannot lift it, his cry of horror startles -the whole crew, and some spring to his help; they lift the buoy and -bring to the surface three dead bodies that are tied to it by ropes -round their waists. Slowly and carefully, one by one, the crew lift them -on board, and lay them out under the sail. - -The _Violet_, passenger steamer, had left Ostend about eleven the -previous night; at two in the morning she struck on the Goodwin Sands; a -little after three there was no one left on board to answer the signals -of the steam-boat that had come to their rescue, and show their -position; at seven there was nothing to be seen of the steamer, crew, or -passengers, but a portion of one mast, the life-buoy, and the three -pale corpses sleeping their long last sleep under the life-boat sail. -Such are the Goodwin Sands. - -It was a storm-ridden November day, the weather was very threatening -throughout; it was blowing hard, with occasional squalls from the -east-north-east, and a heavy sea running. At high tide the sea broke -over the east pier. As the waves beat upon it and dashed over in clouds -of foam, the pier looked from the east cliff like a heavy battery of -guns in full play. The boatmen had been on the look-out all day, but -there had been no signs of their services being required; still, they -hung about the pier until long after dark. - -At last they were straggling home, leaving only those on the pier who -had determined to watch during the night, when suddenly some thought -that they saw a flash of light. A few seconds of doubt, and the report -of the gun decided the matter. - -At once there was a rush for the life-boat. She was moored in the stream -about thirty yards from the pier. In a few minutes they had unmoored -her, and got her alongside; her crew was already more than made up; some -had put off to her in small boats, others had sprung into her when she -came within a few feet of the pier. She was over-manned, and the two -last in had to turn out. - -In the meantime, a rocket had been fired from the light-vessel. Many had -been on the look-out for it, to decide beyond all doubt, which of the -three light-vessels had fired the gun. It proved to have been the North -Sands Head vessel that had signalled. The cork jackets were thrown into -the boat, the oars and ropes overhauled, all things seen to be right, -and the men in their places and ready for their start in a comparatively -few minutes. The crew of the steam-tug _Aid_ had not been less active. -Immediately upon the first signal, her shrill steam-whistle resounded -through the harbour, calling on board those of her crew who were on -shore, and her steam, which is always up, was rapidly got to full power, -and in less than half an hour from the time of the firing of the first -gun she was gallantly steaming out of the harbour with the life-boat in -tow. As she went out a rocket streamed up from the pier head. It was the -answer to the signal of the light vessel, and told that assistance was -on the way. - -Off they went, ploughing their way through a heavy cross sea, which -frequently swept completely over the boat. - -The tide was running strongly, and the wind right ahead; it was hard -work breasting both sea and wind in the face of such a gale; but they -bravely persevered, and gradually made head-way. - -They steered right for the Goodwin, and having approached it, as near as -they dare take the steamer, they worked their way through a heavy sea -along the edge of the Sands, on the look-out for the vessel in distress. - -At last they make her out, and, as they approach, find two Broadstairs -luggers riding at anchor outside the Sands. - -The Broadstairs men had heard the signal, and the wind and tide being -in their favour, they soon ran down to the neighbourhood of the wreck. -On making to the vessel, the Ramsgate men find her to be a fine-looking -brig, almost high and dry upon the Sands. - -Her masts and rigging are all right; the moon, which has broken through -the clouds, shines upon her clean new copper; and, so far, she seems to -have received but little damage. - -A grand thing for all hands, for owners, underwriters, crew and boatmen, -the men think, if they can only get her safely off when the tide rises, -and bring her into harbour; a fine vessel and perhaps valuable cargo -saved, and a pretty bit of salvage, which will be well earned and nobody -should grudge, for the boatmen have to live, as well as to save life. - -Efforts have already been made for the vessel's relief. The -_Dreadnought_ lugger had brought with her a small twenty-five feet -life-boat. The _Little Dreadnought_, and this boat with five hands, had -succeeded in getting alongside the brig. - -The steamer slips the hawser of the Ramsgate boat, and anchors almost -abreast of the vessel, with sixty fathom of chain out. - -There is a heavy rolling sea, but much less than there has been, as the -tide has fallen considerably. The life-boat makes in for the brig, -carries on through the surf and breakers, and when within forty fathoms -of the vessel, lowers the sail, throws the anchor overboard, and veers -alongside. The captain and some of the men remain in the boat, to fend -her off from the sides of the vessel, for although it is shallow water, -the tide is running over the Sands like a sluice, and it requires great -care to prevent the boat getting her side stove in. The rest of her crew -climb on board the brig. Her captain had, until then, hoped to get his -vessel off, as the tide rose, without assistance, and had refused the -aid of the Broadstairs men; but now he realizes the danger that his -vessel is in, and very gladly accepts the assistance that is offered. - -One of his crew speaks a little English, and through him the captain -employs the crew of the life-boat and the Broadstairs men, to get his -ship off the Sands. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE WRECK ABANDONED, AND THE LIFE-BOAT DESPAIRED OF. - - "Alone upon the leaping billows, lo! - What fearful image works its way? A ship! - Shapeless and wild ... - Her sails dishevell'd, and her massy form - Disfigured, yet tremendously sublime: - Prowless and helmless through the waves she rocks, - And writhes, as if in agony! Like her, - Who to the last, amid o'erwhelming foes, - Sinks with a bloody struggle into death,-- - The vessel combats with the battling waves, - Then fiercely dives below! the thunders roll - Her requiem, and whirlwinds howl for joy!" - - _Crabbe._ - - -The boatmen, as soon as they get on board the brig, find that she is in -a very perilous position, but have hopes of getting her off. - -At all events they will try very hard for it. She is a fine new and -strongly-built Portuguese brig, belonging to Lisbon, and bound from -Newcastle to Rio, with coals and iron. Her crew consists of the captain, -the mate, ten men, and a boy. - -She is head on to the Sand, but the Sand does not shelve much, and her -keel is pretty even. The wind is still blowing very strongly and right -astern. The tide is on the turn, and will flow quickly: there is no time -to be lost; the first effort must be to prevent the brig driving further -on the Sand. - -With this object in view the boatmen get an anchor out astern as quickly -as possible; they rig out tackles on the foreyard, and hoist the bower -anchor on deck; they then slew the yard round, and get the anchor as far -aft as they can; then shift the tackles to the main yard, and lift the -anchor well to the stern; shackle the chain cable on, get it all clear -for running out, try the pumps to see that they work; and then wait -until the tide makes sufficiently to enable the steamer, which draws six -feet of water, to get a little nearer. - -They hope that the steamer will be able to back close enough to them, to -get a rope on board fastened to the flukes of the brig's anchor, and to -drag the anchor out, and drop it about one hundred fathoms astern of the -vessel. All hands will then go to the windlass, keep a strain upon the -cable, and each time the vessel lifts, heave with a will--the steamer, -with a hundred and twenty fathoms of nine-inch cable out, towing hard -all the time. By these means they expect to be able, gradually, to work -the vessel off the Sands. - -But they soon lose all hope of doing this; it is about one o'clock in -the morning; the moon has gone down; heavy showers of rain fall; it is -pitch dark and very squally; the gale is evidently freshening again; a -heavy swell comes up before the wind, and as the tide flows under the -brig she begins to work very much, for now the heavy waves roll in over -the sand, and she lifts, and falls with shocks that make the masts -tremble and the decks gape open. - -The boatmen begin to fear the worst. The life-boat is alongside, with -seven hands in her; she is afloat in the basin that the brig has worked -in the sands, and it takes all the efforts of the men on board to -prevent her getting under the side of the vessel and being crushed. - -The wind increases as the tide flows, and the brig works with great -violence, now, as she rolls and careens over upon her bilge, she -threatens to fall upon, and destroy the life-boat The captain of the -boat hails the men on the brig to come on board the boat, and get away -from the side of the vessel as fast as they can. The boatmen try to -explain the danger to the Portuguese, but they cannot understand. Hail, -after hail, comes from the boat, for every moment increases the peril, -but the Portuguese captain still refuses to leave his vessel. Any moment -may be too late; the boatmen are almost ready to try and force the -Portuguese over the side, but they cannot persuade them to stir; and as -they will not desert them, they also wait on; wait on while the ship -rolls, and works, and groans, while the seas fly over her, and at any -moment she may break up. Suddenly a loud sharp crack, like a crashing of -thunder, peals through the ship. - -The boatmen jump on the gunwale, ready to spring for the life-boat, for -she may be breaking in half; no, but one of her large timbers has snapt -like a pipe-stem, and others will soon follow. - -The Portuguese sailors make a rush to get what things they can on deck; -altogether they fill eight sea-chests with their clothes. These are -quickly lowered into the life-boat. Her captain does not like having her -hampered with so much baggage, but cannot refuse the poor fellows, at -least, a chance of saving their kit. The surf flies over the brig, and -boils up all around her. The life-boat is deluged with spray, and her -lights are washed out; the vessel still lifts and thumps and rolls with -the force of the sea. Time after time the snapping and rending of her -breaking timbers are heard; at each heave she wrenches and cracks and -groans in all directions--she is breaking up fast. Make haste, make -haste! for your lives be as quick as you can! The chests are all -lowered, the boy is handed into the boat, the Portuguese sailors follow, -the boatmen spring after them, and the brig is abandoned. - -We have said that it was about one o'clock in the morning when the -squalls came on again, with heavy rain and thick darkness. The steamer -had remained at anchor, waiting for the tide to rise, when, with the -water deeper, she would be able to get nearer the brig. But as the gale -freshens there is a dangerous broken sea where she is riding, and she -begins to pitch very heavily. She paddles gently ahead to ease her -cable, but it is soon evident to the men on board her, that if they are -to get their anchor at all they must make haste about it. - -They heave it up, and lay to for the life-boat. - -The sea increases so rapidly that the _Dreadnought_ lugger is almost -swamped, and has to cut her cable without attempting to save her anchor, -and to make with all speed before the gale for Ramsgate. The _Petrel_ -lugger springs her mast, which is fished with great difficulty, and she, -too, makes the best of her way to the harbour. - -The wind continues to increase, the gale is again at its height, and a -fearful sea running. Wave after wave breaks over the steamer's decks, -but she is an excellent boat, strongly built and powerful; and her -captain and crew are well used to rough work. - -Head to wind and steaming half power, she holds her own against the -wind, and keeps, as far as her crew can judge, in the neighbourhood of -the wreck and of the life-boat. As time passes, and the crew of the -steamer can see nothing of the boat, they get anxious. The wreck must -have been abandoned long before this; has the boat been unable to get -away from her? is the boat swamped or stove? and are all lost? They -signalize again and again, but in vain; they can obtain no answer. They -cruize up and down as near the edge of the Sands as they dare, hoping to -fall in with the boat. Now they make in one direction, and now in -another, as in their eagerness and apprehension the roar of the storm -shapes itself into cries of distress, or as a darker shadow on the sea -leads them into the hope that at last they have found the lost boat. All -hands keep steadfastly on the look-out, and get greatly excited; the -storm becomes truly terrible; but they forget their own peril and -hardships in their great anxiety for the safety of the crew of the -life-boat, and of the poor fellows who were on the wreck. - -Their anxiety becomes insupportable, heightened as it is by the horrors -of the night. - -Through the thick darkness, the bright light of the Goodwin light-vessel -shines out like a star. With a faint hope the crew of the steamer -wrestle their way through the storm and speak the light-vessel. - -"Have you seen anything of the life-boat?" the captain of the steamer -shouts out. "Nothing! nothing!" is the answer. It seems to confirm all -their fears, and they hasten back again to their old cruising -ground--they will not lessen their exertions, or lose any chance of -rendering assistance to their comrades. It is still pitch-dark, and the -storm rages on--the hours creep by, O how slowly! - -How they long for the light! All hands still on the watch! and as the -first grey light of dawning comes, it is with straining eye-balls they -seek to penetrate the twilight, and find some signs of their lost -comrades. It is almost broad daylight before they can even find out the -place where the wreck was lying. - -With all speed, but little hope, they make for it; and then indeed their -great dread seems realized. The brig is completely broken up, literally -torn to pieces. They can see great masses of timber, and tangled -rigging, but no signs of life. Nearer and nearer they go and wait for -the broad daylight; but still nothing is to be seen, but shattered -pieces of wreck, moored fast by the matted rigging to the buried -remains of the hull, and tossing and heaving in the surf. - -Some of the men fancy they can see fragments of the life-boat heaving -about with the other wreckage, but whether it is so or not, the end -seems the same, and after one last careful but fruitless look around, to -see whether there are any signs of the life-boat elsewhere on the Sands, -sadly they turn the steamer's head away from the dreary fatal Goodwin, -and make for the harbour. - -They grieve for brave comrades tried in many scenes of danger, and think -with faint hearts of the melancholy report they have to give, and it is -but little consolation to them in the face of so great a loss, to -remember that they, at all events, have done all in their power, and -that they have nothing to reproach themselves with. - -To return to the life-boat men; all hands have deserted the brig, and -there are now in the life-boat thirteen Portuguese sailors, five -Broadstairs boatmen, and her ordinary crew, consisting of thirteen -Ramsgate boatmen, altogether thirty-one souls. The small _Dreadnought_ -life-boat has been swung against the brig by the force of the tide, and -is so damaged that no one dares venture in her. The tide is rising fast, -the gale blowing as hard as ever, the surf running very high and -breaking over the vessel, so that one constant torrent of spray and foam -is falling with no light weight, or small volume, upon the life-boat -which is under the lee of the brig, and the men have no protection from -the falling sheets of spray. The vessel is rolling heavily, she has -worked a bed in the sands, which the run of tide has somewhat enlarged, -and in this she half floats, rolling from side to side with fearful -rapidity and violence. - -The life-boat is afloat within the circle of the bed; the brig threatens -to roll over her. "Shove and haul off, quick! Shove and haul off," are -the orders. Some with oars, pushing against the brig, others hauling -might and main upon the brig's hawser, they manage to pull the boat two -or three yards up towards the boat's anchor, and to get her a little -farther off from the side of the brig. Now she grounds heavily upon the -edge of the basin that has been worked in the sand by the brig. "Strain -every muscle, men; now, or never! now, or never! for your lives pull!" -and pull and strain they did. No! not one inch will the life-boat stir; -she falls over on her side, the surf and seas sweep over her, the men -cling to the thwarts and gunwale; all but her own crew give up all -thoughts of hope; but they know the capabilities of the boat and do not -lose heart--Crash! the brig heaves, and crushes down upon her bilge; -again and again she half lifts upon an even keel and rolls, and lurches -from side to side; each time that she falls to leeward, she comes more -and more over and nearer to the boat. - -This is the danger that may well make the stoutest heart quail. The boat -is aground--helplessly aground; her crew can see through the darkness of -the night the yards and masts of the brig swaying over their heads; now -tossing high in the air as the brig rights, and now falling nearer and -nearer to them, sweeping down over their heads, swaying and rending in -the air, the blocks, and ropes, and torn fragments of sails, flying -wildly in all directions. Let but one of the swaying yards but hit the -boat, she must be crushed and all lost. The men crouch down closer and -closer, clinging to the thwarts as the brig falls to them; casting dread -glances at the approaching yards; all right once more; another pull at -the cable--hard, men, hard; over again comes the brig; stick to it, men, -stick to it, my men; crushed or drowned it will be soon over if we -cannot move the boat; another pull, all together; again, and again, they -make desperate efforts to stir the boat, but she will not move one inch; -they must wait, and if needs be, wait their doom; and as they wait the -danger each moment increases. - -It is a fearful time of suspense, this waiting aground on the dread -Goodwin, in the darkness and wildness of the storm, half dead with cold -and the ceaseless rush of surf over them, and watching in the shadowy -darkness the swaying masts of the rolling brig, swinging nearer and -nearer, and how will this question of life and death be decided? Which -will happen first? will the tide flow sufficiently to float them, or -will the brig crush them with her masts and yards before they can get -beyond her reach. - -The men can do nothing more in the dark wild night and terrible danger; -each minute seems an hour; they almost forget to try and protect -themselves from the wind and spray, and they watch the brig as if -spellbound, as she rolls nearer and nearer; each moment the position -gets more desperate. - -Any one hit? as the flying blocks hanging from the yard-arms rattle over -the heads of the men in the boat. No! but a few feet nearer and we -should all have been crushed--a turn or two more and we shall be -finished. There is a stir among the men; the moment seems come; they -prepare for the last struggle. Some are getting ready to spring for the -flying rigging of the brig, as it sways over their heads, hoping thus to -get on board the wreck if the life-boat is crushed up. "Stick to the -boat, men! stick to the boat, men, it's our only chance," the coxswain -cries out, "the brig must soon go to pieces, while we may yet get clear; -stick to the boat!" And the brig, which had quivered while lying on her -side as if coming bodily over, while the dark yards hovered over the -crouching men, lifted again, and once more the men breathe with a sigh -of relief; for that time they quite expected the boat to be crushed and -pinned where she lay. - -At this moment the boat trembles beneath them, lifts a little on the -swell of the tide that is beginning to reach her, and grounds again. - -It is like a word of life to the men, and instantly all are on the -alert, they get all their strength on the hawser, and as the boat lifts -again, and comes a little more on an even keel, they draw her a yard or -two nearer to her anchor, but not any farther from the brig, and over -again the brig slowly rolls; again and again they make desperate efforts -to get beyond the reach of her dark side, and swinging yards and masts, -but it is long before they can do so: at last they succeed as the water -flows still more, and now they ride to their anchor a few yards beyond -the reach of the brig, which they watch break up, and listen to the -groaning and rending of her timbers, and the flapping of her torn sail -and tangled rigging. Both the wind and tide are setting with all their -force right upon the Sands, and the captain of the boat sees what is -before them; where they are now at anchor will soon be one wild rage of -broken sea. To get away from the sand in the face of the fierce gale and -tide is impossible; and so there is no alternative, they must beat right -across the Sands, and this in the wild fearful gale, and terrible sea, -and pitch dark night, and what the danger of this is, only those who -know the Goodwin Sands, and the dread seas that sweep over them, can at -all imagine. - -They ride at anchor for some time, waiting for the tide to rise -sufficiently for them to get over the Sands. They see the lights of the -steamer shining in the distance, outside the broken and shallow water; -but there is no hope of assistance from her: their lanterns are washed -out, they cannot signalize; and if they could, the steamer could not -approach them. - -The sea is breaking furiously over them. Time after time the boat fills -as the broken waves wash clean over her, but instantly she empties -herself again, and rises to her water-line. The gale sweeps by more -fiercely than ever. The men are nearly washed out of the boat, and worse -still, the anchor begins to drag. The tide has made a little, and they -are being driven each moment nearer to the wreck; there may be water -enough to take them clear; at all events, there is no help for it, they -must risk it. "Hoist the foresail; stand by to cut the cable. All -clear."--"Ay, Ay!"--"Away then." - -And the boat quickly heads round, and then, under the power of the gale -and tide, leaps forward, flies along; but only for a few yards, when, -with a tremendous jerk, she grounds upon the Sands. The crew look up, -and their hearts almost fail them, as they find that they are again -within reach of the brig. - -Her top-gallant masts are swaying about, her yards swing within a few -feet of them, her sails which have blown loose and are in ribbons, beat -and flap like thunder over their heads. Their position seems worse than -ever; but they are not this time kept long in suspense. A huge breaker -comes foaming along; its white crest gleams out in the darkness high -above them, a moment's warning, it breaks over them and swamps them, but -all are clinging might and main to the boat. - -Another breaker comes streaming along; it swamps them again in passing, -but now the volume of the wave seizes the boat, up it seems to swing it -in its mighty arms, and to bodily hurl it forward; and then the boat -crashes down on the Sands as the wave breaks, and grounds them with a -shock that would have torn every man out of her, if they had not been -holding on. - -But one great peril is passed; the mighty swing of the huge waves has -carried them yards forward, and they are clear of the wreck; but at -that moment they are threatened with another danger almost as terrible. -The small _Dreadnought_ life-boat has been in tow all this time; it has -not been wise to have her in tow, but she belongs to the Broadstairs -boatmen, and neither they nor the Ramsgate boatmen like to abandon her. - -As the Ramsgate boat now grounds, the smaller boat comes bow on to her, -sweeps round, and gets under her side; the two boats roll and crash -together; each roll the larger one gives, each lift of the sea, she -comes heavily down on the other boat; the crash and crack of timbers are -heard; which boat is it that is breaking up? Both, if this continues, -must be very speedily destroyed. Some of the men get out the oars and -boat-hooks, and push for their very lives, thrusting and striving their -utmost to free the _Dreadnought_, which is so dangerously thumping and -crashing under the quarter of the larger boat. It is a terrible struggle -in that boiling sea, with the surf breaking over them. But all their -efforts seem in vain, the boats still crash and roll together; one of -them is breaking up fast. "Oars in," shouts the coxswain; "over the side -half-a-dozen of you--take your feet to her;" and some of the brave -fellows spring over, clinging to the rail of the deck of the high -air-boxes that are at the bow and stern of the Ramsgate life-boat. Again -and again, all together, a fierce struggle, but without success; a big -wave comes rolling on, it washes over them, but as the larger boat -lifts, the men blindly thrust out with their feet, and the -_Dreadnought_ is pushed clear. The men scramble, or are dragged back -into the Ramsgate boat; the tow-rope is cut, and the _Dreadnought_, -almost a wreck, is swept away by the tide, and is lost in the darkness, -while, most mercifully, the Ramsgate boat still remains uninjured. - -A third time they are providentially saved from what seemed almost like -certain death; and yet they have only commenced the beginning of their -troubles, for is there not before them the long range of sands, with the -broken fierce waves and raging surf, and many a fragment of wreck, like -sunken rocks studded here and there, upon any one of which, if they -strike, it must be death to them all? - -The boat is still aground upon the ridge of sand. She lifts, and is -swept round, and grounds again broadside to the sea, which makes a clean -breach over her. The Portuguese are all clinging together under the lee -of the foresail, and there is no getting them to move. The crew are -holding on where they can; sometimes buried in the water, often with -only their heads out. The captain is standing up in the stern, holding -on by the mizen-mast; sometimes he can see nothing of the men as the -surf sweeps over them. He orders the chests to be thrown overboard, but -most of them are already washed away; the rest are unlashed from their -fastenings, and lifted as the men can get at them, and the next wave -carries them away. Heavy masses of cloud darken the sky; the rain falls -in torrents; it is bitterly cold; the men can do nothing but hold on; -the tide rises gradually; suddenly the boat lifts again; it is caught -by the driving sea, and is flung forward. There is no keeping her -straight, the water is too broken; her stern frees itself before the -bow, and round she swings; her bow lifts a little; onward she goes a few -yards, and grounds again by the stern; round sweeps the bow, and with -another jerk she comes broadside on the Sands again, lurching over on -her side, with the terrible surf making a clean sweep over the waist. It -is a struggle for the men to get their breath, the spray beats over them -in such clouds. This happens time after time. The captain calls the men -aft, that the boat may be lightened in the bow, and thus be more likely -to keep straight. Most of the boatmen come to the stern, but the -Portuguese will not move, and even some of the boatmen are so exhausted -with the violent exertions they have made, and by the beating of the -waves, that they are almost unconscious, and only able to cling to the -gunwale and thwarts of the boat with an iron, nervous grasp, and are -thus just able to save themselves from being washed out of her. As the -coxswain notices their exhausted state, he expects each time as the big -waves wash over them to see some of them leave go their hold and be -carried away; and although he makes as light of it as he can, and tries -to cheer them up, he himself has very small hope of ever seeing land -again. - -The sands on the sea shore, if there has been any surf, appear at low -tide uneven with the ridges or ripples the waves have left on them. On -the Goodwins, where the force of the sea is in every way multiplied, -and the waves break and the tide rushes with tenfold power, the little -sand ripples of the smoother shore become ridges of two or three feet -high. - -It is on these ridges that the life-boat so continually grounds. As the -tide rises she is swept from one to the other by the long sweeping -waves; she is swung round and round in the swirl of the cross-seas and -rapid tide, thumping and jerking heavily each time that she strands. All -this is in the midst of darkness, of bitter cold, and of a raging wind, -surf, and sea, until the hardship and peril are almost too much to be -borne, and some of the men feel dying in the boat. - -One old boatman afterwards thus described his feelings. "Well, sir, -perhaps my friends were right when they said I hadn't ought to have gone -out--that I was too old for that sort of work"--he was then about sixty -years of age--"but, you see, when there is life to be saved, it makes -one feel young again; and I've always felt I have had a call to save -life when I could; and I wasn't going to hang back then; and I stood it -better than some of them after all. I did my work on board the brig, and -when she was so near falling over us, and when the _Dreadnought_ -life-boat seemed knocking our bottom out, I got on as well as any of -them; but when we got to beating, and grubbing over the Sands, swinging -round and round, and grounding every few yards with a jerk that bruised -us sadly, and almost tore our arms out from the sockets--no sooner -washed off one ridge, and beginning to hope that the boat was clear, -than she thumped upon another harder than ever, and all the time the -wash of the surf nearly carrying us out of the boat--it was truly almost -too much for any man to stand. There was a young fellow holding on next -to me; I saw his head begin to drop, and that he was getting faint, and -going to give over; and when the boat filled with water, and the waves -went over his head, he scarcely cared to struggle free. I tried to cheer -him a bit, and keep his spirits up. He just clung to the thwart like a -drowning man. Poor fellow, he never did a day's work after that night, -and died in a few months. - -"Well, I couldn't do anything with him, and I thought that it didn't -matter much, for I felt it must soon all be over; that it couldn't be -long before the boat would be knocked to pieces. So I took my life-belt -off, that I might have it over all the quicker; for I knew that there -would be no chance whatever of life if the boat once went, and I would -have it over all the quicker, for I didn't want to be beating about -those sands alive or dead longer than I could help; the sooner I went to -the bottom, the better, I thought. When once all hope of life was -over--and that time seemed close upon us every moment--some of us kept -shouting, just cheering ourselves and one another up, as well as we -could; but I had to give that up, and I remember hearing the captain -crying out, 'We will see Ramsgate yet again, my men, if we steer clear -of old wrecks,' And then I heard the Portuguese lad crying, and I -remember that I began to think that it was a terrible dream, and -pinched myself to see if I was really awake; and I began to feel very -strange and insensible. I didn't feel afraid of death, for, you see, I -hadn't left it to such times as that to prepare to meet my God. And if -ever I spent hours in prayer, be sure I spent them in prayer that night. -And I just seemed going off in a kind of dead faint, and felt very -dream-like, and as if I couldn't hold on any longer; and as I felt this -I thought, in a feeble sort of way, of my friends ashore, and bid them -good-bye like, for I knew that I should be soon washed out of the boat, -when I looked up, and the surf was curling up both sides of the boat, -and I was going to throw myself down on the thwart, that the seas might -beat upon my back, and I should never have lifted it up again, when I -saw a bright star. The clouds had broken a little, and there was that -blessed beautiful star shining out. Yes, truly it was a blessed -beautiful star to me; as it caught my eye it seemed, in my weak state, -to lay a strange hold upon me; to gather all my attention, and to call -me back to life again. And I began to have a little thought about seeing -my home again, and that I wasn't going to be called away just yet. And I -straightened myself up a little, and laid a firmer hold upon the boat, -and lifted my head to look for the star after each time the seas beat -over us, and I kept my eye upon it whenever I could; and I cannot -explain how it was, but looking for and watching that star kept me up, -and when I got ashore, I seemed at first not much worse than the best of -them. But for seven whole days after that I lost my speech, and lay -like a log upon my bed; and I was ill a long time--indeed, have never -been right since, and I suppose at my age I never shall get over it. But -what is more, I believe something of the same sort may be said of most -of those that were in the boat that night. One poor young fellow is -dead, another has been subject to fits ever since, and not any of us -quite the men we were before, and no wonder when you think what we -passed through. - -"I cannot describe it, and you cannot, neither can any one else; but -when you say you've beat and thumped over those sands, almost yard by -yard, in a fearful storm on a winter's night, and live to tell the tale, -why it seems to me about the next thing to saying that you've been dead, -and brought to life again." - -The coxswain of the life-boat, brave Isaac Jarman, was chosen for that -position for his fortitude, skill, and daring, and well did he sustain -his character that night, never for one moment losing his presence of -mind, and doing his utmost to cheer the men up. The crew consisted of -hardy, daring fellows, ready to face any danger, to go out in any storm, -and to do battle with the wildest seas; but the horrors of that night -were almost too much for the most iron nerves. - -The fierce freezing wind, the almost pitch darkness, the terrible surf, -and beating waves, and the men unable to do anything for their safety; -the boat driven, almost hurled, by the force of the waves from sand -ridge to sand ridge, and apparently breaking up beneath them each time -she lifted on the surf and crushed down again upon the Sands, besides -the danger of her getting foul of any old wrecks--how all this was lived -through seemed miraculous. Time after time there was a cry of "Now she -breaks up! she can't stand this! all over at last!" Another such thump, -and she is done for, and then the boat would writhe, almost on her beam -ends, while the waves beat over, until she was again lifted and thrown -forward to crash down and ground again; and all this lasted for about -two hours, as almost yard by yard they beat from ridge to ridge over the -sands. - -Suddenly the swinging and beating of the boat cease; she is in a very -heavy sea, but she answers her helm and keeps her head straight. At last -they have got over the Sands and into deep water; the danger is passed, -and they are saved. With new hopes comes new life. Some can scarcely -realize their comparative safety, and still keep their firm hold upon -the boat, expecting each second another terrible lurch and jerk upon the -Sands, and the heavy rush and wash of the seas. No: that is all over, -and the boat, in spite of her tremendous knocking about, is sound, and -sails buoyantly and well. - -The crew quickly get further sail upon her, and she makes way before the -gale to the westward. The Portuguese sailors lift their heads. They have -been clinging together and to the boat, crouching down under the lee of -the foresail during the time of beating over the Sands; they notice the -stir among the boatmen, and that the terrible jerking and thumping of -the boat and the rush of sea over her have ceased; and they also learn -that the worst is passed, and that the danger is at an end. - -Long since did they despair of life; and their surprise and joy now know -no bounds. Bravely on goes the life-boat, making for the westward. The -Portuguese are very busy in earnest consultation. The poor fellows have -lost their kit, and only possess the things they have on, and a few -pounds that they have with them. Soon it becomes evident what the -consultation has been about. "Coxswain!" one of the boatmen cries out, -"they want to give us all their money!" - -"Yes! yes!" said the interpreter, in broken English, "you have saved our -lives! Thank you! thank you! but all we have is yours; it is not much, -but you take it between you;" and he held out the money. It was about -17_l._ - -"I, for one, won't touch any of it," said the coxswain of the boat. "Nor -I!" "Nor I!" others added; "put your money up." - -The brave fellows will not take a farthing from brother sailors, whom -they know to be poor, much like themselves; and in a few words they make -them understand this, and how glad they are to have saved them. - -The life-boat makes good way, and soon runs across the Sands through the -Trinity Swatch Way, and, without further adventure, she reaches the -harbour about five o'clock in the morning. The crew of the brig are -placed under the care of the Portuguese Consul, and the boatmen go to -their homes, to feel for many a long day the effects of the fatigues -and perils of that terrible night. - -During all this time the steamer has been cruising up and down the edge -of the Sands, vainly searching for any trace of the life-boat; and soon -after daylight she made, as has been already described, for the harbour. -Her captain and crew are half broken-hearted, and scarcely know how they -shall be able to tell the tale of the terrible calamity that seems so -certainly to have happened. Suddenly, as the mouth of the harbour opens -to them, they see the life-boat. They stare with amazement, and can -scarcely believe their eyes. "Astonished," said the captain of the -steamer, describing his feelings, "that I was; never so much so in my -life, as when I stood looking at that boat. I could have shouted and -cried for very wonder and joy; you might have knocked me down with a -straw." Thus the captain of the steamer described his feelings. It was -the same with all the crew; and as the steamer shot round the pier and -heard that all were saved, and the life-boatmen all right, the good news -seemed to more than repay them for the dangers and anxieties of the -night. - -Thus did the crew of the gallant life-boat and of the steamer help to -earn that night the noble reputation that belongs to our boatmen and -sailors at large--testimony to which was given, on one occasion, by a -foreign captain, who said, "Ah! we may always know whether it is upon -the English coast that we are wrecked, by the efforts that are made for -our rescue." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -SIGNALS OF DISTRESS--OUT IN THE STORM. - - "And the coming wind did roar more loud, - And the sails did sigh like sedge; - And the rain poured down from one black cloud, - The moon was at its edge. - The thick black cloud was cleft, and still - The moon was at its side; - Like water shot from some high crag, - The lightning fell with never a jag, - A river steep and wide." - - _Coleridge._ - - -Wild weather on land! wild weather at sea! fear and trembling, and -earnest prayers, in many a quiet home, for loved ones at sea, who must -be within reach of the gale that hurries so fiercely by. - -How impressive it is to lie awake listening to the storm--to hear the -rush of the wind, now moaning in the chimney, now thundering at the -windows against which the rain beats and hurtles; to fancy or to feel -that the house trembles shaken in the rude power of the blast, or, if -near the sea-shore, to hear the waves breaking on the beach, a -half-suppressed tumultuous uproar, like the faintly heard riot of a -distant angry mob. To get farther to sea in one's thoughts, and to -picture a noble ship with close-reefed topsails running before the gale, -or beating away from the dread neighbourhood of dangerous sands or -coast, while the pilot, anxious and watchful, and the crew, eager and -alert, peer through the darkness to catch the welcome guidance of some -bright warning light, or are on the watch to detect the fainter light of -some ship that is steering her course perilously near; the passengers -all the time wistful and anxious, asking many questions, and receiving -cheering answers, but given with that unreality of tone that makes the -hearer fear the sound, more than he can believe the sense; or to imagine -a vessel at anchor, the cables swinging out at their full length, the -sails all closely furled, but the gale beating against the hull, and -masts, and yards, with a power that threatens to sweep the ship and her -living freight to a speedy destruction; to picture the ship lifting, and -pitching, and surging, in a cloud of spray, the hungry waves leaping at -it, as if to devour it before its time, the anchors yielding foot by -foot, or the cable giving, and the hungry sands waiting in a terrible -rage of foam and sea under the lee. - -In the morning to look from tall cliffs upon a golden beach, upon the -fretting surf that lines it, upon the sea bright with sunshine, smooth -browed, but like a great giant rolling his huge limbs in uneasy sleep; -quick with great billows rising and falling in restless heavy long lines -of waves. Then to look at the distant Goodwin Sands, and to watch the -white leaping surf, fangs in the jaws of death, still gnashing and -mumbling after their midnight meal, in which they ravened perhaps on a -goodly ship, and mangled many brave sailors, and weeping women and -trembling wondering children; unless their victims were snatched from -their grasp by the brave Storm Warriors who rush into their midst in the -very fiercest of their strife, and wrestle with them for their prey. - -Such pictures are often suggested by the midnight gale, and such -after-scenes are witnessed in the morning's calm at Ramsgate, as at many -another spot on the bold coast of our sea-girt island home, where each -howling wind that rushes on breathes the trumpet-blast that calls to the -struggle of life and death. - -It was a tempestuous wintry day early in December, a few years ago, when -the scenes occurred which the following will be an attempt to describe: - -During the whole of the day the wind has been blowing hard from the -west-north-west. The weather has been very unsettled for some little -time, squally with the cloud-scud low, and swiftly flying past; now the -weather is becoming worse, and the blasts are more frequent and more -fierce, rapidly growing into a heavy gale. The Fitzroy's signal hangs -ominously from the flag-staff, giving a warning of the dangerous winds -which may be expected. - -The Downs anchorage is crowded with shipping, so much so, that the -lights of the vessels anchored there throw a glare upon the darkness of -the night, such as is shed by the lights of a populous town. - -Every now and then a vessel leaves the fleet, and, running before the -gale, seeks surer refuge; or perhaps a homeward-bound ship swiftly -threads her way through the crowd of vessels, the crew half rejoicing in -the gale, which at every blast bears them nearer home. - -On Ramsgate Pier rumours of disasters at sea, bring the watchful lookers -on together in anxious gossip; many partially disabled vessels have -already found refuge in the harbour, and now a schooner is brought in by -some Broadstairs boatmen. When they boarded her in answer to her signals -of distress, they found that the mate with a woman and child alone -remained on board. The schooner had been in collision during the -previous night, and whether the rest of her crew had escaped to the -other vessel, or had been lost overboard, was left a matter of dread -uncertainty. - -As it is a stirring sight to see the vessels making through the heavy -seas for the harbour, so it is an exciting, and withal a gallant, sight -to watch the luggers heavily freighted with anchors and chains, to -supply vessels that have slipped their cables, bearing away bravely in -all the rush of the storm, upon their errands of daring enterprise. - -The afternoon creeps on; it is half-past three, a puff of smoke is seen -coming from the Gull light-ship, but the wind is too strong, and in the -wrong direction, for the report of the gun to be heard. The signal is, -however, at once accepted, and soon the steamer and the life-boat are -away in the storm. - -They make for the light-vessel to learn for what, and in which direction -their services are required. A squall of thick rain hides the Downs and -the south end of the Goodwin Sands from view. Suddenly the squall -clears away, passing rapidly to windward, and now from the pier and -cliff, although not yet from the lower level of the steamer's deck, or -from the life-boat, the vessel that is in danger is seen. - -A large light schooner has driven from her anchorage, and is now -dragging perilously near the Goodwin Sands. She is too near, with the -wind as it is, to have any chance of escaping by slipping her cable and -sailing clear of the Sands; she is driving fast, and the large flag, -that she has hoisted as a signal of distress, can be very distinctly -seen from the cliff. The watchers on shore, by taking her bearings, see -how rapidly she is dragging her anchors and nearing her doom; and the -nature of the tremendous sea she is in is also very evident. - -She is light, buoyant, and lifts to every wave; she looks like a gallant -charger taking a succession of desperate leaps, as first her bow is -thrown high in the air, and she then rides for a moment high upon the -top of the wave, and then again her stern is thrown high, and her bow is -almost buried as the huge short wave passes under her. Repeatedly those -who are watching her from the shore, have their fears aroused that her -straining cables have at last parted, and that she is in full career for -the waiting deadly Sands. It is an alarming sight. The lookers-on from -the cliff only take their eyes off her to look occasionally at the -steamer and life-boat as they are making their way to her rescue. - -The steamer rolls and plunges on--nothing daunted, nothing disturbed, -by all the buffeting she gets; the life-boat rises like a cork to every -wave, and plunges through the crests as she feels the drag of the -steamer, while the foam spreads out on either side like a fan, and the -scud and spray fly over her in a cloud. - -The steamer and life-boat make their way to the Gull Lightship, where -they learn that a schooner has been seen in distress, bearing -south-south-west, supposed to be on the South Sand Head. - -On through the giant seas and driving surf, in the very teeth of the -gale, they make gallant way, and are about to take up a position from -which the life-boat can dash in through the broken water to the rescue -of the crew. - -A large Deal lugger is beating up to windward from the neighbourhood of -the Sands, they speak her, and learn that she has rescued the crew of -the schooner. - -The lugger, one of the finest of all the noble boats that sail from Deal -beach, had, some time before the schooner got into such a dangerous -position, sheered alongside her, at no slight risk, and as she shot by, -the crew had jumped into her, forgetting in their hurry and excitement -the flag of distress which they had left flying high, pleading still, -and not in vain, for help that was no longer needed. Nothing can be done -for the schooner; driving fast, she soon begins to thump on the Sands; -darkness settles down upon her, the fierce waves have her for their -prey, and in the morning not one remaining fragment of her is to be -seen; she has been torn utterly to pieces, and what the tide has not -swept away, the Sands have completely buried. - -The steamer and life-boat, when they leave the schooner to her fate, -make for a barque, which, with main and mizen masts cut away, seems, -although she is in great danger, to have a chance of weathering the -storm. - -The wind is too heavy, and the tide too strong, for the steamer to be -able to tow her into a safer position; her crew have already made their -escape, and she is left in turn, but not, as it proves, to meet the fate -of the schooner, for she successfully rides out the gale. - -A further cruise round the Sands, to see if their services are required -by any distressed vessel, and they make again for Ramsgate, which they -reach about half-past six. The steamer and life-boat are moored, ready -for any fresh call which may be made for their services, the probability -of which seems very great, and all the men remain on the alert. - -In such a storm anxious watchers are on the look-out at all the stations -round the coast. Boatmen under the protection of boat-houses, or boats, -or grouped together at friendly corners, are keeping a steadfast watch -upon the seas. One or two every now and then take a few strides into the -open for a wider range of view, and then back again to cover. The -coastguard-men, sheltered in nooks of the cliff, or behind rocks, or -breasting the storm on the drear Sands as they walk their solitary beat, -peer out into the darkness watching for those signals from the sea--the -gun flash, or the gleam of the rocket, which while they speak hope to -the imperilled, tell to those on shore of lives in danger--of those who -must speedily be rescued, or must die. - -Or the watchers listen for the dull throb of the signal gun, the sign of -wild warfare, and struggles for life mid the charges and conflicts of -breaking waves and dashing seas, a signal that the waiting Storm -Warriors instantly accept, and rush into the contest to snatch their -dying brethren from the arms of the enemy that is too strong for them. - -Sometimes the telegraph wires speed the message of distress along the -coast, as happened one stormy New Year's Eve, when a ship was seen off -Deal beach in almost a blaze of light, burning tar-barrels, and firing -rockets to tell of her distress; an intervening fog seemed to prevent -the look-out on board the light-vessel seeing her, and some boatmen on -Deal beach, who could not possibly get their boats off the sands in the -face of the strong gale blowing straight on shore, put their halfpence -together to pay for a telegraph message--the messages were dearer then -than they are now--and sent their swiftest runner to telegraph to -Ramsgate; and after all, there was some unfortunate mistake, and fatal -delay, and a telegram at last sent for further particulars, which was -answered with a demand for urgent speed, and away then flew steamer and -life-boat, and they neared the wreck, and rounded to, to send the -life-boat in, when some of the boatmen thought they heard an agonising -shriek, and others thought it was only the wail of the storm; but they -looked, and the great green seas swept over the wreck, turned her right -over, and she was seen no more, and twenty-eight lives went to their -account. A piteous New Year's tale it was that was told next morning; a -boat's crew got away from the ship soon after she struck, and battling -through the broken seas, made way before the wind to Dover, and they -told the story, that the lost vessel had picked up a shipwrecked crew, -who were thus a second time wrecked, and at the second time lost; and -that more of the crew would have come away in the boat, and in other -boats, but it was a great risk, and there was a Deal pilot on board who -pointed out the danger; and said that the Ramsgate life-boat was certain -to be out to their rescue, they might be sure of her; and so they stayed -and lighted tar-barrel after tar-barrel, and fired rocket after rocket; -and when the sea washed their signal fires out, and swept the decks, -they took to the rigging, and waited for the life-boat; and as they -waited the poor Deal pilot could watch the light on the beach, by the -house where slept his wife and eight children, who were to call him -husband--father--no more. - -The life-boat men scarcely liked to speak of the agony and -disappointment it was to them to be thus just too late; no fault of -theirs, poor fellows; they would, if they could, have sooner swum to the -wreck, if that were of any use, than have been too late to save the poor -perishing lives. - -There was an official inquiry into the matter made by the authorities in -London, and it was decided that no one was to blame; that it was one of -those unfortunate occurrences which never would have happened, like -many others, if people could only be as wise before an event as they are -after, and which no one could regret more than those who were in any way -the unfortunate, and of course most unintentional, agents of bringing it -about. - -And now to proceed with the adventures of the life-boat on the night in -question. - -About a quarter past eight in the evening, the harbour-master of -Ramsgate receives a telegram. It tells its tale in its own short way, -and the harbour-master learns that round the stormy North Foreland, some -miles to westward of Margate, the _Prince's_ light-ship is firing guns -and rockets, and that the _Tongue_ light-ship is repeating the signals. - -The vigilant coastguard-man who had first noticed the signals hurried to -Margate with the tidings; but there the fine life-boats are powerless to -help. The wind is blowing a hurricane from west-north-west, and drives -such a tremendous sea upon the shore that no boat whatever could -possibly get off and work its way out to sea; it would merely be rolled -back upon the beach in the attempt. - -The coastguard at Margate at once saw how impossible it would be to -render the required aid from Margate, and hastened to send a telegram to -Ramsgate calling for help. The harbour-master there receives it, and now -hurried action at once takes the place of wistful anxious waiting. - -For hours the steamer and life-boat have quietly rested in the sheltered -harbour, lifting gently to the small waves that have been playing -against their sides. The men for hours have been gazing out into the -darkness, watching for signals, and listening to the roar of the gale, -and to the murmur and tumult of the tumbling waves. The expected -challenge comes. Ready! all ready! is the answer, and they rush to -action at once, without waiting for one moment to consider whether a -challenge to such strife should, or should not, be accepted. - -They know the hardships and peril of the work upon which they are -called; but they know the other side of the question also; and it would -make many comparatively useless lives as noble as are the lives of many -of these poor boatmen, if all would only consider the result of good -work, as well as the labour, and forget the trouble, or personal -hardships of the labour, in the keen hope to realize the desired result. -And these boatmen, as they have been crouching down under shelter of the -pier wall, watching the progress of the storm, have had many a memory, -and many a vision, to occupy their thoughts and stir their anxious -courage; memories of brave fellows plucked from the very grasp of death; -and visions of that which they well know how to picture; brother sailors -perhaps clinging to the spars of a shattered wreck, while the wild waves -leap around and only a few fragments of creaking yielding timber shield -the poor men from their fury, and from death. - -They know the power of the waves to tear the strongest ships to pieces -in a few hours, and are ready, all ready, for any stern deadly wrestle -with the fury of the storm, for the rescue of those who stand in such -dread need of help. - -The order is given, and the usual rush to the life-boat takes place. - -The regular Ramsgate boatmen have not, this time, the race for the boat -all to themselves; the _Adder_ revenue-cutter is in the harbour, and two -of her men get into the life-boat, and with ten boatmen and the -coxswain, the crew is made up. The men on board the steam-tug _Aid_ are -prompt as usual, and within half-an-hour from the giving of the order -the steamer and life-boat are out to the rescue, again fighting their -way through broken seas, and breasting the full fury of the gale. - -Imagine the picture that was shrouded in the thick darkness of that wild -night. - -The steamer is strong and powerfully built, and has never failed in any -of her struggles with the storm, but has in every part worked true and -well; and this when failure in crank, rod, or rivet, might have been -death to many lives. Seek to imagine this brave little steamer at her -perilous work. Thrown up and down like a plaything by the mighty sea, -now half buried in the wash of surf, or poised for a moment on the broad -crest of a huge wave, and again shooting bows under into the trough, -rolling and pitching and staggering in the storm, but still battling on -true to her purpose. Still onward and onward she goes; the beat of the -paddles, the roar of the steam-pipe, the throb of the engines, mingling -with the hoarse blast of the gale, and the lash and hiss of the surf -and fleeting spray; while to the watchers on shore, her light flitting -here and there as she rolls and tosses, alone tell of her progress. - -The life-boat is almost burrowing her way through the spray and foam. -Each man bends low on his seat, and holds fast by thwart or gunwale. The -wind has changed, and the boat is being towed in the face of the gale -and sea, and does not ride over the waves as easily as she would if she -were under canvas only, but is dragged on and on, plunging through the -crests of the seas. "It was just like as if a fire-engine was playing -upon my back, not in a steady stream, but with a great burst of water at -every pump," said one of the men whose station was in the bow. - -It is a wild sea; the waves and surf that break against the bows of the -big ships that are at anchor in the Downs send their spray flying high, -almost to the topmast heads; so it may well be imagined how the heavy -seas nearly smother the steamer and life-boat as they breast all their -force, heading against the gale. Now the waves rush over the bow, and -again a cross wave catches the side of the boat, throws her almost on -her side, sweeps bodily over her; while she pitches and rolls with a -motion quick as that of a plunging horse. But the men know her well, and -trust her thoroughly; and with a firm hold and stout hearts they -resolutely journey onwards. - -Now, the wind veers a little, and the high cliffs somewhat break its -force, and the men feel less the power of the gale; but still the wind -is almost directly ahead, and the ebb tide is running against them with -great strength. Every yard of advance is won by a struggle with the -seas, as the steamer _Aid_ pants and beats her way onward. But still it -is won, and all hands are content. At last they get round the North -Foreland, and begin to feel that they are nearing the scene of action. - -The rain ceases, and the clouds of flying scud lift a little. It is -still pitch dark, but free from mist and rain--clear dark, as they call -it. - -The men see the Margate Pier, and the town lights, which shine out -steadily and clearly; and it seems to them a strange contrast as they -look from their rough post of danger, action, and hardship, upon the -town resting in quiet peace, unconscious of the storm. - -They make for the _Tongue_ light-ship, which is stationed about nine -miles from Margate. Every five minutes the darkness of the horizon is -broken by the flash of a rocket which is thrown up by the light-ship. It -goes flying up against the gale, and bursting, gives a moment's gleam as -its stars caught by the fierce wind, pass away, floating in a short -stream of light to leeward. The steamer's crew make for the light-ship, -looking anxiously the while in all directions for any signal which may -guide them more directly to the vessel in distress; but they see none, -and so speed on towards the light-ship. - -As the steamer passes her on the lee side, as slowly and as near as -possible, the coxswain is told that signals had been seen from the high -part of the Shingle sand bank, supposed to be from a large vessel in -distress. - -The life-boat in turn sheers near the light-vessel in passing, and -hears the same report. - -Again they urge their way, struggling onward in the gale; but they can -see no sign of a vessel, and no vestige of a wreck. - -Perilous and anxious is the work as they feel their way along the very -edge of the dangerous Sands; the roar of the gale is too great for any -cries of distress to be heard. The hull of the vessel may be overrun -with the seas, and the crew, clinging to the masts or rigging, be -utterly unable to give any signals by firing guns or rockets, or by -showing lights; and the night is so dark, that from the life-boat they -can only see a few yards ahead. The men are most anxiously on the -look-out; each time that the boat rises high upon a sea, they try their -utmost to peer through the darkness by which they are surrounded. No! -the breakers gleam white, and the steamer's light is tossing to and fro -with every pitch and roll of the vessel; but nothing more can they make -out. And the anxiety of the men, both on board the steamer and the -life-boat, becomes greater and greater; they do not like to leave the -neighbourhood of the Sands without thoroughly examining it, fearing that -in doing so they may leave behind them, to a despair rendered more -terrible, and to a death rendered more bitter by the false hopes that -had been excited, some poor fellows clinging desperately to a few -fragments of trembling wreck. But still they can see nothing and can -hear nothing of either wreck or crew; either the vessel must have gone -utterly to pieces, or the men on board the _Tongue_ light-ship have -been mistaken in the position of the signals they have seen. - -As the men are listening intensely for the faintest signal or cry of -distress, they fancy that they hear the booming of a distant gun, fired -at intervals. Now in a lull in the storm they hear it more distinctly, -and see in the far distance the flashing of a rocket-light. Watching and -listening still, they soon discover that the _Prince's_ and _Girdler_ -light-ships are at the same time repeating signals of distress. They -must give up their present search, and hasten to the rescue where such -urgent demands are being made for their help. Their consolation is, that -at all events they can do nothing more in the utter darkness in -searching for the wreck, which they have been already so long looking -for in vain; and before daylight, or soon after, they can probably be -back to resume their search after having, as they hope, done good work -in the interval. At all events, they must be off; and off they go, -leaving, as it proved, a crew of storm-beaten men in as desperate a -position as it was well possible for men to be. They think it best to -make for the _Prince's_ light-ship first, and on arriving there they are -told that a large ship has been seen making signals. They think that she -is on the Girdler Sands, but she may be on the Shingles. Away again in -the darkness they speed on their noble mission. At last they plainly -discern a light on the south part of the Shingles; they make for it, but -only to be again disappointed. It is the light of the steam tug _Friend -of all Nations_, which is lying-to under the lee of the Shingles to be -protected from the rush of the seas. But here they are somewhat repaid -for their efforts, for they learn beyond doubt that the vessel in -distress is a large ship on the Girdler Sands; and more than this, that -another large ship, disabled and in great distress, had been seen -driving down the Deeps, a very narrow channel between the Shingle and -the Long Sand. It must have been signals from this latter vessel which -had been seen by the men on board the _Tongue_ light-ship. They are -unwilling to pass on their way to the Girdler without making an effort -to find the vessel which had been seen in such great distress, and -which, in every probability, had gone ashore somewhere in the -neighbourhood. So they make a cruise in the direction of the Deeps. They -search narrowly, but in vain, and at last hurry away as the Girdler -light-ship still continues to fire heavy guns. At last their long, -persevering, and hazardous search is crowned with success. Upon nearing -the Girdler light-ship, they see on the Sands the flare of blazing -tar-barrels; they know these must be the signals made by the vessel that -has run on the Sands. At once every man forgets all about his many hours -of exposure to wet, cold, and exertion, and wakens up to full strength -and vigour; and all begin at once to make preparations for going into -the rescue. - -The steamer is obliged to steer clear of the broken water, not only -because of the danger of grounding, but also because of the wildness of -the seas as they break upon the Sands, as their surf would be quite -sufficient to sweep her decks and swamp her. She skirts the breakers and -tows the life-boat well to windward. The men on board the boat watch -their opportunity; and as soon as they find themselves in the right -position for reaching the wreck, they cast off the tow-rope, and the -wind and sea at once swing the boat's head round, and she plunges into -the midst of the broken water which is rushing over the Sands. - -It is a desperate strife of waters, and into the very thick of the fray, -straight as an arrow, the boat rushes. The strength of the gale is so -great, the men only dare to hoist a close-reefed foresail; but swiftly -it bears the boat along. At times the boat is so overrun with broken -water and surf that the men can scarcely breathe. They, however, cling -resolutely to the boat, and again and again she shakes herself free of -water, and the men straighten themselves for a moment, draw a few long -breaths, when again they meet a tangle of broken waves. Down into the -trough of the troubled seas the boat plunges, and over her and her crew -the waves again rush in all directions; and thus she undauntedly works -her way to the wreck. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE EMIGRANT SHIP. - - "Borne upon the ocean's foam, - Far from native land and home, - Midnight's curtain, dense with wrath, - Brooding o'er our venturous path. - While the mountain wave is rolling, - And the ship's bell faintly tolling: - Saviour! on the boisterous sea, - Bid us rest secure in Thee." - - _L. H. Sigourney._ - - -It is one o'clock in the morning; the moon gleams out through the gulfs -in the dark deep clouds which sweep swiftly across her path. - -The men see a large ship hard and fast on the Sands and in a perfect -boil of waters. The tremendous seas surge around her, and as they wildly -leap against her shake her from stem to stern; the spray is flying over -her in great sheets, and mingles with the dark masses of smoke, which -rise in thick clouds from the flaming tar-barrels, while smoke and spray -are swept swiftly to leeward by the force of the wind. The vessel is -making all possible signals of distress; the fierce gale has driven -her, at each lift of the sea, higher and higher upon the Sands, until -she has reached the highest part, and there has grounded fast. As the -tide fell the waves could no longer lift the ship, and let her crash -down upon the sand, else long since she would have been utterly broken -to pieces. - -The boat makes in for the ship, the people on board see her, and cries -and cheers of joy greet her approach. The foresail is lowered, the -anchor thrown overboard, and the boat fast sheers in towards the vessel, -which they find to be an emigrant ship crowded with passengers. - -The cable goes out by the run, and is too soon exhausted, for with a -jerk it brings the boat up within sixty feet of the vessel. As the poor -emigrants see the boat stop short, their cries for help are frantic, and -sound dismally in the boatmen's ears, as slowly and laboriously they -haul in the cable, and with much trouble get up their anchor, before -making another attempt to get alongside the ship. In the meantime they -answer the cries of the people with shouts to encourage them, and the -moon shining out, the emigrants see that they are not deserted. The sea -is so heavy, and the boat's anchor has taken so firm a hold, that it is -a long time before they can get it up; at last they succeed, and now -sail within fifty fathoms of the vessel, before they heave the anchor -overboard again. - -It is necessary if they are to windward of a vessel to let the anchor -down as far as possible from her, that they may get plenty of sea-room -when they haul up to it again, so that when they set sail they may have -space enough to sail clear of the vessel upon which the seas would throw -the boat bodily, if they did not allow themselves room to steer a course -which shall be clear of her. - -They let the cable out gradually and drop alongside; they get a hawser -from the bow, and another from the stern of the vessel, and by these -they are enabled to keep the boat moderately well in position, the man -on board hauling and veering on the ropes, and upon the boat's cable -attached to the anchor, so as to keep the boat sufficiently near without -letting her strike against the sides of the vessel, and this, in the -broken seas and rapid tide, is a matter of no small difficulty. The ship -is the _Fusilier_, bound from London to Australia; her captain and pilot -shout out to the men on board the boat, "How many can you carry? we have -more than one hundred souls on board, more than sixty women and -children." And it is with no little dismay that the terrified passengers -look down upon the boat half buried in spray, and wonder how she could -by any possibility be the means of rescuing such a crowd of people. The -men answer from the boat that they have a steamer near, and that they -will take off the passengers and crew in parties to her. Two of the -life-boat men, as the boat lifts on the top of a sea, make a sprint, -catch hold of the man-ropes and climb on board the ship. "Who comes -here?" shouts the captain, as the two boatmen, clad in their oilskin -overalls, with their cork belts on, and pale and half exhausted with -their long battling with wind and sea, jump from the bulwarks amid the -excited passengers who crowd the deck. "Two men from the life-boat," is -the reply, and the passengers throng round them, seize them by the -hands, and some even cling to them with an energy of fear, that requires -considerable force to overcome. The light from the ship's lamps and the -faint moonlight reveal the mass of people on board, and the terrible -state of exhaustion and fear that most of them are in; some are deadly -pale and terror-stricken, their eyes wildly staring, and trembling in -every limb; some are in a fainting condition, and are supported by -friends, who half forget their own terrors in their efforts to console -the sufferers who seem to need it most; the wild shrieks of some of the -poor women pierce the gale, while others of the passengers are quiet and -resigned, but their pale and firm looks and clasped hands suggest the -depth of the emotions that they are at such pains to control. It has -been a long long night of terror and most anxious suspense, and many of -those who have held up bravely during its hours of danger and almost of -despair, now break down at the crisis of the life-boat's arrival. But -the night has not been one of unreasoning fear with all. There are those -on board who, filled with a calm heroism, have by their example of holy -faith exerted great influence for good among their -fellow-passengers--one woman especially, who has been for some time -employed by a religious society in London, visiting among the poor, -proves herself well fitted for scenes of danger and distress. Gathering -many around her, she read and prayed with them; and often as the wild -blasts shook the vessel to the keel, there mingled with the roar of the -storm the strains of hymns, and many poor creatures gathered consolation -and confidence as they were led to look, from their own perfect -helplessness and weakness, to the Almighty arm of a loving God; and -many, who had already learnt to know and to feel those truths which take -the sting from death, were encouraged to draw nearer to place their full -reliance upon the sufficient atonement of Him who has declared, "I am -the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were -dead, yet shall he live: and he that believeth in me shall never die." -Thus there was light in the darkness and songs in the night, and the -voice speaking mid the tempest said, "Peace, be still;" and many felt, -although the warring elements still raged, a calm, which recklessness -may assume, but which faith alone can give at such an hour. This is no -fancy sketch, no effort to drag in a bit of attempted pathos. One -hundred immortal souls were momentarily expecting the summons which -should launch them into eternity; and a most terrible shade in the -tragic picture it would indeed have been, had not any of that throng -been prepared for the summons by the exercise of earnest humble -faith--if by all of them the expected messenger, who seemed to linger -minute by minute upon the threshold, was dreaded only with a despairing -fear, as the King of Terrors, if not any were prepared to welcome him -calmly as the messenger of Peace. - -But now the life-boat men are upon the deck--a prospect of safety dawns -upon all--a wild scene of excitement for a moment prevails, and there is -a rush made for the gangway of the ship. Mothers shriek for their -children; husbands strive to push their wives through the throng, and -children are trodden down in the rush. - -It is a few moments before the excitement ceases, and the captain can -exercise any authority; but the emigrants, checked for a minute, regain -self-control, fall back from the side of the vessel, and await for -orders. - -"How many will the life-boat carry?" the captain asks the life-boat men. -"Between twenty and thirty at each trip," is the answer. "There is a -very nasty dangerous sea and surf over the Sands, if too crowded we may -get some washed out of her." - -It is at once decided, as a matter of course, that the women and -children shall be taken first, and the crew prepare to get them into the -boat. - -Two sailors are slung in bow-lines over the side of the vessel to help -the women down. The boat ranges to and fro in the rush of the tide, the -men do their utmost to check its sheering, hauling and easing in turn -the hawsers which are passed from the ship to the bow and stern of the -boat, but there is no keeping her for one moment steady; now she veers -right away from the vessel as far as the cable will let her, and again -comes in upon a rush of sea as if to crush herself against the wreck; up -she is lifted on the crest of a wave to almost the level of the ship's -deck, and down again plunges as the wave passes, many feet below, and -leaves a deep and dismal gulf of tumbled sea and foam between her and -the ship. - -It is a terrible scene; the crowd of helpless frightened people, and the -comparatively small boat, tossed wildly in the rage of maddened waves, -their one hope of rescue; and it is dangerous and difficult work getting -the people into the boat; it would have been quite difficult and -dangerous enough if all had been active and resolute sailors accustomed -to scenes of danger, but how much more so, when a large proportion of -those to be saved are helpless women, some aged and infirm! - -The women who are mothers are called first; one is led to the gangway, -and shrinks back from the scene before her. The boat is lifted up on a -big wave, the men stand on the thwarts with outstretched arms, ready to -catch her if she falls, but the next moment the boat drops into the wild -waste of water many feet below, and is half covered with a rush of foam. - -No wonder that the poor woman shrieks with terror, and seeks to struggle -back on to the deck of the vessel; no time for persuasion, she is urged -forcibly over the gangway, and now hangs in mid-air, held by the two men -who are suspended over the side by ropes; as the boat rises again, the -boatmen, who stand ready to catch her, cry, "Let go!" The two men do so, -but the woman, in her terror, clings to one with a frantic grasp, and -the next moment, as the boat falls away from the side of the vessel--oh! -must she not fall into the sea? for the man to whom she is clinging -cannot hold her as she is; one of the active prompt boatmen sees her -danger, makes a spring, grasps her by the heel, drags her from her hold, -catches her in his arms in her fall, and both of them roll over into the -boat, their fall broken by the men who stand ready to catch them. The -half insensible woman is quickly passed to the stern of the boat and -thus she is saved. Now, they are ready again, for all are anxious that -not a moment shall be lost; the number to be rescued, and the time that -must of necessity be occupied in going to and from the steamer, makes -every minute a question of life and death. - -Again, up the boat rises; the woman who is being urged forward makes a -half spring, and is got into the boat without much trouble. - -The next time the boat rises she does not come well alongside, she -rather falls short and sheers off. A woman is being held over the side -by the two men: "Don't let go, Jack; don't let go!" the woman struggles, -the position of the men is so awkward that they cannot hold her firmly, -and she is struggling from their grasp, while the mad waves leap below, -and if she falls she must at once be swept away by them, and down she -does fall, but at that moment the boat sheers in again, just enough to -enable one of the men to grasp the clothes of the woman and to drag her, -as she falls, on to the side of the boat, and she too is saved. - -Again to work; another woman, she is sobbing, and cries out piteously, -"Oh! don't shake me; be careful, don't hurt me!" Poor creature! she is -very near her confinement; down she falls from the hands of the men who -are holding her into the arms of the boatmen, and rolls over into the -bottom of the boat. Some of the husbands on board throw blankets down to -the poor half-dressed women in the boat; the blankets are rolled into -bundles that the wind may not carry them away. Some of the women in the -boat are crying aloud for their children; a passenger rushes frantically -to the gangway, cries, "Here, here!" and thrusts a big bundle into the -hands of one of the sailors, who supposes it to be merely a blanket -which the man intends for his wife in the boat. "Here, Bill, catch!" the -sailor shouts and throws the bundle to a boatman who is standing up in -the boat; he just succeeds in catching it, as it is in the point of -falling into the sea, and is thunderstruck to hear a baby's cry proceed -from it, while there is a shriek from a woman, "My child! my child!" as -she springs forward, and snatches it from him, which tells, indeed, of -the greatness of the danger through which the poor little thing has -passed. In spite of all the boatmen's care and labour the boat every now -and then lurches with a tremendous thump against the ship's side, and -would be stove in but for the massive cork fenders which surround her, -and still she is leaping and tossing about; now high as the main chains -of the ship, now low in the trough of a big sea, the hollow of which is -so deep that it leaves but little water between the bottom of the boat -and the sands; but with all eager haste the men work on, and at last, -after many hair-breadth escapes, and some heavy falls, thirty women and -children are got on board, and the boat is declared to be full. - -The boatmen cast off the hawsers from her bow and stern, and begin to -haul in hard upon the cable. They draw the boat up to the anchor with -much difficulty, for as the range of cable gets shorter, the boat jerks -and pitches a great deal in the rush of the short waves, and in the -swing of the tide. The anchor is up at last; the sails are hoisted; the -boat feels her helm, gathers way swiftly, and shoots clear of the ship. -A faint and half-hearted cheer greets them as they pass astern of the -vessel; the remaining passengers watch them with wistful and somewhat -anxious glances as they plunge on through sea and foam. Away the boat -bounds before the fierce gale--on through the flying surf and boiling -sea--on, although the waves leap over her and fill her with their spray. - -Buoyantly she rises and shakes herself free, staggering as a cross wave -mid the broken water dashes itself against her bows; tossing her stern -high as she climbs the waves' tall crests, then pitching almost bows -under as the rolling waves pass under her stern; and lurching heavily on -her side as she sinks into the trough of the sea. It is, in spite of -their hope, a dread time for the poor women and children on board her, -with those whom they love as themselves, left, they almost fear, to -perish on the wreck, and while to themselves death at every moment seems -very near; trembling with cold and excitement, they crowd together, and -hold on to the boat, to each other, to anything; it is hard to think of -safety while the boiling seas foam so fiercely around, ready, it seems, -at any moment to overwhelm and bury the boat in their fierce waves. And -the poor women take a more convulsive and firm grasp, as every now and -then the men see a giant cross sea heading towards them, and give a -quick warning cry--"Hold on!" and the sea comes with a clean sweep over -the boat, almost washing them out of her. - -The steamer, as has been said, towed the life-boat well to windward, -that she might have a fair wind before which to run in for the wreck, -but as soon as the life-boat left the steamer, away she speeded round to -the other side of the Sands, to leeward of the wreck, that the boat -might again have a fair wind to her as she comes from the wreck, and she -now lays to, awaiting the boat's return. - -On she comes; the broken water is now passed; the air is full of scud -and spray, but the cross seas overrun her no longer; she is in deep -water, and the exhausted emigrants begin to raise their heads and look -about them; they could not have endured that continual breaking of the -waves and rush of water over them much longer; how their hearts lift -with joy as they hear the cheering voices of the men, and have the -lights of the steamer pointed out to them, shining bright and near! - -Thus, with thirty women and children, their first sheave of the harvest -to be gathered from death, the life-boat men run their boat alongside -the _Aid_. The steamer is put athwart the seas, to form a break-water -for the boat, which comes under her lee; the roll of the steamer, the -pitching of the boat, the wild wind and sea, with the darkness of the -night only faintly broken by the light of the steamer's lanterns, render -it a somewhat difficult matter to get the women out of the boat. As the -boat rises the men lift up a woman and steady her for a moment on the -gunwale, two men on the steamer catch her by the arms as she comes up -within reach, and she is dragged up the side on to the deck. There is -here also no time for ceremony; a moment's hesitation, and the poor -creature might have a limb crushed between the steamer and the boat. As -each woman is thus got on deck, two men half lead half carry her to the -cabin below. - -One woman struggles to get back to the boat, crying for her child, the -men do not understand her in the roar of the gale, and she is gently -forced below; again the rolled-up blanket appears, it is handed into the -steamer, and is about to be dropped upon the deck, when half-a-dozen -voices shout out, "There is a baby in the blanket!" and it is carried -down into the cabin, and received by the poor weeping mother with a -great outburst of joy. - -"God bless you! God bless you!" she exclaims to the man, and then -blesses and praises God out of the abundant fulness of her heart. - -Some of the poor women are completely overcome by the reaction which -takes possession of them now that they find themselves in safety; they -had been comparatively calm and resigned during their hours of hardship -and danger; now they realise the nature of the peril to which they have -been exposed, and in which many whom they love are still placed. Some -throw themselves on the cabin floor, weeping and sobbing; some cling to -the sailors, begging and entreating them to save their husbands and -children who are on board the wreck; while others can do little else -than offer up some simple form of prayer and praise to God. - -Instantly that the boat is freed from her passengers she drops astern of -the steamer, and is towed round the sands, to get again into position to -make a second trip to the vessel; and when the straining cable is let -go, and her sail hoisted, she heads round, gathers way, and bounds in -like a greyhound through the troubled sea towards the wreck. A slant of -wind comes and drives her from her course, and she fails in reaching the -ship, and makes for the open water. The steamer speedily picks her up, -tows her into a more favourable position, and the boat soon gets again -alongside the vessel. - -There are still on board more women and children than will fill the -boat, and they have to leave some half-a-dozen behind. All the old -difficulties in getting the women down the side of the vessel into the -life-boat are repeated, although the wind has now fallen a little. They -make for the steamer, and as each new comer is handed down into the -cabin, the anxiety of those who are eagerly looking for some loved one -is great indeed, and the meetings again, after so dread a separation, -are naturally very affecting. - -For the third time the boat makes to the ship, and now brings away the -remaining passengers. The cabin of the steamer is full of women and -children in every stage of exhaustion and excitement; and they are all -very thankful to God for the full answer vouchsafed to the earnest -prayers of the previous night. - -It has taken more than three hours to get the emigrants on board the -steamer; there has been additional delay created by the boat twice -failing to reach the ship, but this very delay, which at the time seemed -so unfortunate, was, under God's providence, the means of saving further -life. - -The life-boat again makes for the _Fusilier_ to see what the crew of the -vessel will do, whether they will abandon the vessel at once, or wait to -see the result of a change in the weather which seems to promise. They -get alongside; the gale has gone down very considerably, and the tide -has been falling fast for some time. The ship being light, has not -received so much injury from the thumping on the ground as they -anticipated; and, as she is high up on the sands, the tide has left her -the sooner, so that she has settled down in shallow water, and there is -now, therefore, no immediate danger; although, should the wind get up -with the returning tide, she may be very speedily beaten to pieces. - -The captain of the ship thinks that if the wind goes down she may -possibly be got off at the next high tide, as she has not been much -knocked about; but while he is unwilling to abandon the vessel while -there is a chance of her being rescued, he feels the greatness of the -risk, and wishes the life-boat to remain alongside him. It is nearly -day-light; the night is clear, and the wind still blowing very hard, -although the fierceness of the gale seems expended. - -The life-boat makes her way to the steamer, and takes orders to be given -at Ramsgate to send luggers with anchors and cables, that every effort -may be made to get the ship off, if the weather continues to moderate. -The boat then returns and lies by the ship, while the steamer, heavily -freighted with rescued emigrants, makes the best of her way towards -Ramsgate. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "DEMERARA," AND THE EMIGRANTS' WELCOME TO -RAMSGATE. - - - "Eternal Father, strong to save, - Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, - Who bid'st the mighty ocean deep - Its own appointed limits keep; - O hear us when we cry to Thee - For those in peril on the sea." - - _Hymn._ - - - "Now we must leave our fatherland, - And wander far o'er ocean's foam; - Broken is kinship's dearest band, - Forsaken stands our ancient home. - - "But one will ever with us go, - Through busiest day and stillest night; - The heavens above, the deeps below, - Stand all unveiled before his sight." - - _Hymn._ - - -The emigrants describe their perils to the men on board the steamer, and -mention that during the previous evening, while their ship was driving, -and some time before she struck, they saw a large ship in great -distress, and drifting fast in the direction of the Sands, but that as -darkness set in, they lost sight of her. - -The crew of the steamer keep a sharp look-out for this vessel, or for -any signs of her. She is evidently the one of which they had already -heard, and of which they had been in search before they discovered the -_Fusilier_. - -After some time they discover part of a mast and other wreckage -entangled in the Sands, and can only conclude that the vessel has gone -utterly to pieces, with the loss of all hands, during the night; they -must speed on, and get the poor emigrants cared for on shore with all -possible haste. But for the delay that had been occasioned, the steamer -would have been far on its way to Ramsgate by this time, while it was -yet too dark for them to see any distance; now in the grey light that -increases rapidly they can search for any other signs of wreckage. As -they proceed down the Prince's channel, and get near to the -light-vessel, they see the small remnant of a wreck, which they think -may be the bowsprit and jib-boom of a vessel dismasted and on her beam -ends; they get nearer to her, and find that she is well over on the -north-east side of the Girdler or Shingle Sands. Some of the crew wish -to launch the steam tug's small life-boat, eighteen feet long, and make -in through the surf to the wreck, to which they think they can see some -of the crew clinging; but it is considered too great a risk to take so -small a boat through such a broken sea, and it is agreed that they had -better go back for the large life-boat. - -They put back, and passing to leeward of the _Fusilier_, strike the flag -half-mast high, as a sign that the boat is to join them. This she -speedily does, and they together make for the newly-found wreck; as they -approach her, they can see that she is a vessel on her beam ends, with -only her foremast standing. The life-boat makes in for her; the men -wonder greatly that the vessel has held together so long, for she is -broken and torn almost to pieces; the copper is peeled off her bottom, -the timbers are started, rent, and twisted; the planking is wrenched -off, almost all the cargo is washed out of the shattered hull, and here, -and there, the light is to be seen through her bottom; there remains now -little more than the skeleton of the ship that a few hours before, taut -and trim, had buoyantly bounded over the seas; and where was her gallant -crew that had so bravely sailed her then? The foremast, feebly held in -position by a remnant of the deck, lies stretched a few feet above the -water. The crew and pilot have been lashed to it for many hours, and -have, for that time, seemed to be trembling over a fearful and yawning -grave; the heavy waves foam up and beat against the hull, and the doomed -ship is, bit by bit, being torn further to pieces. The crew, as they -cling on, hear the timbers creaking and snapping; the deck was blown up -as the water covered it, by the force of the confined air, and its -fragments have been swept away in the swift tide. - -The heavy waves make a greater and greater breach over the ship; at -times the ship lifts a little from the mere force of the blows given by -the tremendous seas; at any moment the foremast may break off short, -and the wreck be rolled right over. The mast quivers at every shake and -heave of the wreck; the fierce tide rushes five feet beneath where the -trembling sailors cling, over whom the waves are continually breaking. -An hour passes, and the men are to their wonder still spared; another -and another hour, but they have no means of giving any signals of -distress, and there seems no room whatever for hope. How can there be? -they ask each other. Suddenly they make out a steamer's lights in the -distance, and watch them with a wistful curiosity; to their astonishment -the steamer seems to make directly for them, and then to cruise -backwards and forwards within a few hundred feet of them. - -A few of the trembling sailors shout out once or twice, but the rest -smile grimly at the idea of any voice being heard, even a few yards off, -in the roar of such a gale. - -They watch the steamer's lights in a very agony of suspense, but without -any hope that they themselves can be discovered in the darkness. - -They see a smaller light some distance astern of the steamer, and -imagine it to be that of a life-boat. As they hopelessly watch the -movement of the vessels, they hear the dull throb of heavy guns from the -distant light-ships. They see the faint flashes of light from the -rockets: they know that these signals are calling to the steamer and -life-boat to speed on elsewhere, to the rescue of other drowning ones; -yes, the steamer, in answer to these signals, is leaving them, and -abandoning her vain search, and with a deepening despair they watch her -lights grow fainter and fainter, and at last disappear in the distance. -So they are left alone in their desolation, while the wild winds roar -and the hungry waves rage around them. - -The moon goes down, the darkness deepens, the gale rushes by more -furiously than ever; then comes a slight lull, and a faint light streaks -the horizon. They tighten their grasp upon the trembling mast and torn -rigging, and speak a few words of hope. - -They may yet witness another sun-rise; for in the dull grey light of the -early dawn they can see faintly a steamer in the distance. She is -approaching, but her course will hardly bring her near enough to -discover them, lying as they are up on one torn mast only just out of -the water. How intensely they watch her! and many an earnest beseeching -prayer is uplifted, and from some hearts that were withal not much -accustomed to prayer. Eagerly! eagerly! they watch her! How some feebly -speak words of hope, while others will not be aroused out of their -despair! Thank God! she changes her course, and makes in directly for -the Sands, upon the edge of which their frail wreck rests. They may all -begin to hope again, and joy comes in upon them like a flood. They shout -aloud, and wave a rag of canvas, the only means of signalling that is -left to them. The steamer sees them, she dips her flag as a signal that -they are seen; and then, to the unspeakable horror of the poor men, -slowly turns round, and steams away full speed in the direction from -which she came. An agony of fear again comes over the poor fellows; -they feel that they cannot be altogether deserted. Upon reflection, -they see that no ordinary boat could live through the surf which -separates them from the steamer; and the steamer would only have been -herself wrecked if she had come any nearer the Sands. She must have gone -for a life-boat. How long will she be away? They shudder as the creaking -mast trembles beneath them; and look with heart dread at the yawning -gulf of wild waters which gapes a few feet below; and they cannot but -have a dismal fear that the steamer on her return with assistance, may -find no vestige left either of them, or of the remnant of wreck to which -they cling. - -A short time, which however seems long indeed to them in their great -suspense, and they again see the steamer, and soon they can make out, to -their great joy, that she has the life-boat in tow. Still the flying -surf beats upon them, and drives them, with its sheer weight, still -closer to the mast; still the water rages around, while they cling with -all desperate energy to the quivering shrouds; they are cold, and -drenched, and exhausted, but they are full of hope; their hearts are -lightened, their strength seems to return, the long hours during which -they have seemed hopelessly face to face with death are passed, for the -life-boat is near, and her gallant crew are speeding to their rescue. - -The life-boat comes swiftly on, running before the still heavy gale; now -rising like a cork to the mounting seas, or plunging boldly through the -surf and broken water. Her men forget the long night-struggle of -fatigue and danger through which they have passed; much noble, -self-denying, and dangerous work have they done, but they have still -noble work to do--more lives to save, by the help of God--and with cool -determination they cheerfully proceed to their new labours. - -They find the water more and more broken as they near the ship; the -waves are flying high over the lost vessel; the ebb-tide is running -strongly. From the breaking seas, and from the position of the wreck, -now on her broadside with her keel to windward, they cannot anchor on -the windward side and let the boat drop gradually in upon the wreck, -their only chance is to run with the wind abeam right in upon the -fore-rigging. It is true that there is considerable danger in this, but -at such times the life-boat men cannot stop to calculate danger, and -must be ready oftentimes to risk their own lives in their attempts to -save the lives of others. They, therefore, charge in straight amid the -floating wreckage, and the boat hits hard upon the iron windlass, which -is still hanging to the deck of the vessel. - -A rope is thrown round the fore-rigging, and the group of exhausted -sailors shout with joy as they greet the glad friendly faces of the -life-boat men coming in upon them out of the storm of desolation that -rages around. The crew, sixteen in number, including the pilot and a boy -of about eleven years of age, are to the last extent exhausted and -feeble, and slowly drop one by one from the mast into the boat, and -leave to its fate the last storm-torn fragment of the _Demerara_, which -has been for so many hours their only hope. - -"Oars out, and pull hard; let us get clear of all this wreckage before -we have a hole knocked in the boat's bottom," and every boatman strains -his hardest; soon they are clear; now a moment's delay ere they hoist -the sail, and a great shaking of hands all round, and warm greetings, -and heartfelt thanks from the saved ones, and the boat's sail is again -hoisted, and away they make through the surf. - -It is now nearly ten o'clock in the morning; they soon reach the -steamer, which is waiting to leeward. The emigrants have been watching -the movements of the boat with the keenest interest; their feelings of -sympathy are moved to their very depths, by the fact of their having -passed so lately through similar scenes of danger and rescue. - -They crowd the deck, and shout after shout greets the boat; the women -cheer at the top of their voices, and welcome, with outstretched arms, -alike the rescued and the rescuers. - -One warm-hearted Irishwoman seizes the coxswain's hands in both hers, -and shakes them with might and main, sobbing out, as the tears roll down -her cheeks, "I'll pray the Holy Father for you the longest day that I -live." - -The steamer is literally crowded with rescued people; the cabins are -given up to the women and children, and the poor people half forget -their present misery in great thankfulness for their safety; they are -wet and cold, and trembling with excitement and with the effects of -their long hours of fear and exposure; the cabin is small and crowded to -the extreme; the steamer rolls and pitches tremendously, as she makes -her way through the cross seas which still run high and broken, though -the height of the tempest is past. - -It is no unusual occurrence for a crowd of people to be grouped at the -pier-head, watching with interest for the appearance of one of the many -steamers which, with flags flying in token of goodly freight, and with -gay appearance, as fitly betokens holiday time, makes swiftly for the -harbour; but with a deeper interest than ever is excited by such holiday -scenes is the steamer waited for now. - -It is one of those bright, genial winter mornings of which Ramsgate has -so goodly a share. Many persons have been attracted to the pier to take, -on that pleasant promenade, a good instalment of the fresh breeze, and -to watch the sea, bright with sunshine, and the waves glistening and -flashing in their turmoil of unrest. - -Intelligence spreads that the steamer and life-boat have been away all -night, and are now every minute expected to round the Point and appear -in sight. - -Great is the feeling of gladness, and deep the satisfaction, as the -gallant _Aid_ appears with her flags flying, and flags flying too at the -life-boat's mast-heads, telling the glad tale of successful effort. The -crowd rejoices greatly in the good work done; and as the steamer comes -nearer it is seen that never on a summer's day did steamer bear a fuller -freight of holiday-seekers than does the _Aid_ now bear of those who -have been rescued from deadly peril. - -From the pier the crowd look down upon the multitude on board, and feel -that that throng of fellow-beings have been just snatched from death, -and a thrill of wonder and gladness passes through the on-lookers, and -combines with that half formed sense of fear, which a realization of -danger recently escaped either by ourselves, or by others, always gives. - -The crowd waves, and shouts, and hurrahs, and gives every sign of glad -welcome and hearty congratulation, and as the steamer sweeps round the -pier-head, the pale upturned faces of one hundred and twenty rescued -men, women, and children, smile back a glad acknowledgment of the -welcome so warmly given. It is a scene almost overpowering in the deep -feeling that it produces. The emigrants land; they toil weakly up the -steps to the pier, all bearing signs of the dangers and hardships -through which they have passed. - -Some are barely clothed, some have blankets wrapped round them, and all -are weary and worn and faint with cold and wet and long suspense. There -are aged women among the emigrants; some who had been unwilling to be -left behind when those most dear to them were about to seek their -fortunes abroad; others had been sent for by their friends, and to them -the thoughts of the terrors and trials of a sea-voyage had been overcome -by the longing to see, once again before they died, the faces so long -loved and so much missed; to see perhaps the grand-children upon whom, -although they had never looked, yet they had thought of until they had -become almost part of their daily life. It is piteous to see these aged -women totter from the steamer to the pier. - -And young men and young women are of the number; they, crowded in the -race at home, determined to seek in a wider field to make better way. - -Here a poor stricken woman looks wistfully upon the white face and -almost closed eyes of the baby in her husband's arms. This is the child -that was so nearly lost overboard as it was thrown into the boat wrapped -up in a blanket; the mother's fears were not realised--the baby speedily -recovered. - -It now becomes the glad office of the people of Ramsgate to bestir -themselves on behalf of those suddenly thrown upon their charity. - -The agent of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Society at once -takes charge of the sailors. Accommodation is found for the emigrants in -houses near the pier, and a plentiful meal at once supplied; many of the -residents busy themselves most heartily; clothes, dresses, coats, boots, -and all necessary garments are most liberally given; the people are -ready to _spoil_ themselves on behalf of the poor emigrants. - -And thus warmed, fed, clothed and consoled by the heartfelt sympathy -that is so evidently and practically manifested, the poor emigrants -recover in a wonderfully short space of time from the state of physical -and nervous exhaustion to which they had been reduced; but they are -never likely to forget the terrors of the night, or the debt of -gratitude they owe to the gallant Ramsgate life-boat men, who so nobly -effected their rescue. - -Subscriptions in the meantime have been raised in the town to pay all -expenses, and to put into the hands of the poor emigrants some little -ready money. - -One of the shipping agents has telegraphed to the owners of the ship, -and been empowered to provide the emigrants all needed board and -lodging; he does so, and on the next morning forwards them to London. A -crowd of Ramsgate people bid them good-bye at the station, and receive -grateful acknowledgments of the kindness and sympathy that have been -shown, and they from their hearts wish their poor friends God speed. - -The emigrants were cared for in London by the owners of the _Fusilier_. -The weather moderating the morning after the wreck, the emigrants' -things were got out of the vessel and sent on to them; and the owners of -the _Fusilier_ soon obtained another ship, in which they forwarded their -passengers, and they had a prosperous voyage to Melbourne. - -The _Fusilier_ was ultimately got off the Sands, but no vestige of the -_Demerara_ was ever again seen. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE WRECK OF THE "MARY"--GALES ABROAD. - - "Yet more! the billows and the depths have more! - High hearts and brave are gathered to thy breast! - They hear not now the booming waters roar, - The battle-thunders will not break their rest. - Keep thy red gold and gems, thou stormy grave! - Give back the true and brave!" - - _Mrs. Hemans._ - - -The year was fast dying out. Inland the wild winds did little to disturb -the progress of Christmas preparations, or the happiness of Christmas -gatherings. The blasts swept ragingly along, and the last of the dead -leaves were torn from the withering branches. The stalwart trees battled -sturdily in the woods; but many a stout veteran that had long laughed at -storms, at last was bowed in the grasp of the gale, and fell prostrate, -or, like a fainting giant, leant with arms all abroad against his -fellow-strugglers in the strife. - -In the towns there was much wondering gossip at the force of the wind, -and here and there some trivial disasters to record; but for all its -rage and bluster, the gale did not gather on shore many trophies of its -strength, and swept moaningly out to sea, to find in the yielding waters -a more ready ally, as it would visit with its wrath man and his works. - -The brave ships that were caught by the gale were prepared to accept the -accustomed challenge. It overtook the tall vessels, and then the -swelling sails garnered the force of the wind and held it captive, and -made it speed the swift ship along. - -It fell with its full strength upon the stout ships riding at anchor, -and moaned through the shaking rigging, and by the swaying masts and -yards, while the groaning cables shuddered in every link, and the strong -anchors grappled the ground with a tighter and tighter grasp, and held -the good ships safe, in spite of the raging wind and rush of sea, safe -from the greedy waiting sands, or cruel rocks. - -Thus on the tempest-lashed ocean all was life, and energy, and conflict; -and the dying year, as its closing hours sped away, had at sea the -howling winds and seething waves to sing its dirge, and storm weary -sailors, and storm-beaten ships to mark its close. - -Ships from the Thames, from the east coasts of England and Scotland, -from all northern Europe--ships sailing under every flag, and bound to -all ports, gathered day by day in the Downs anchorage, where they waited -for the strong south-westerly gales to give place to a more favourable -slant of wind, that they might pursue their way down Channel; but still -the strong adverse winds prevailed. But while the outward-bound ships -were thus obliged to halt in their course, the homeward-bound ships came -foamingly along, their masts bending like whips under the small spread -of canvas they were alone able to carry. Like white-winged gulls they -fled over the leaping seas, and threaded their way through the crowded -anchorage of the Downs. - -The careless sailors laughed at the heavy blasts of wind which in their -force only hurried the good ship on, and thus gave the crews a better -prospect of realising their hopes of being in Old England on the near -Christmas tide, to spend it with their friends on shore, and share in, -and by their presence greatly add to, all the pleasures of the season. - -But the smaller vessels at anchor in the Downs began to ride uneasily, -the force of the gale fell on them with unchecked fury, the swift tide -pressed them sore, and raging seas broke over them again and again. -Their anchors began to drag; the breakers on the Goodwin Sands leapt and -foamed dangerously near to leeward; there was also danger of collision -if their anchors continued to drag, the ships in the Downs being so -crowded together. Yes, there must be a flight from the Downs on the part -of many of the smaller craft. Some vessels make for Ramsgate harbour, -not many, as the charges are now so high and restrictive as almost to -make it cease from being a harbour of refuge. Other vessels make for an -anchorage round the North Foreland; a dangerous experiment this, as it -frequently happens that a sudden lull comes in the southerly gale, and -in a short time the wind chops right round, and begins to blow from the -northward harder than ever. It was so on the occasion of which we are -writing. If a strong fort, under which a fleet was anchored for -protection, suddenly fell into the hands of the enemy, a greater change -would not be wrought in the position, as to the safety of the vessels, -than is occasioned by this sudden shift of wind to the vessels in the -Margate Roads. The high cliffs which have been their shield now become -their deadly peril. It had been desirable to gain their shelter, it is -now a necessity to escape from their neighbourhood as soon as possible. -And so, on this occasion, as the wind chopped round all was at once -astir; some ships succeeded in regaining their anchors, others had no -time or power to do so; some were driven ashore; twenty or thirty -vessels had to slip their cables, and as, with no anchors on board, the -captains did not dare to remain in the neighbourhood of the Sands or -land, these vessels were hauled on a wind, and like a flock of weary -frightened birds went staggering out into the North Sea.[1] The -hovelling-luggers from Ramsgate, Margate, Deal, and Broadstairs are out -during the gale; they go in chase of the ships that have fled from their -anchorage; they place men on board such vessels as need them, either to -act as pilots, or to assist the weary crews. Some of the luggers receive -orders to fetch anchors and cables for such vessels as have lost theirs, -and away they go plunging and speeding through the seas, making for the -nearest port where they can find agents to supply them; and then out -again with all speed, heavily laden, with anchors and chains, in search -of the vessels which have employed them, and which have, likely enough, -been driven by the force of the gale, far from the position in which the -luggers left them. - -At midnight the gale gathers increased force; the dark heavy clouds seem -to settle lower and lower, and as the snow-squalls sweep by, the air and -sea seem one confused mass of flying foam and snow. - -The storm rages at Ramsgate Pier with all its fury; the pier stands an -advanced fortress unmoved by the fierce attack of the waves, and it is -well manned by brave boatmen, the reserved guard of the storm--Storm -Warriors ready to sally forth to rescue life at the first signal of -danger. One or two waggons, heavily laden with chains, and trucks with -anchors, are being drawn down the pier by the struggling horses, the -spray in heavy volumes washing over all. - -Luggers in the harbour, and alongside the pier, are rolling and pitching -in the rough tumble of the miniature sea that the gale arouses even -there. - -An anchor is hanging from the crane, a lugger beneath it is tossing up -and down; the men are doing their utmost to guide the anchor in its -descent into the boat as she plunges about; it is perilous work for all -hands; it seems a marvel that it can be done without staving in the -boat, or crushing the men. - -A group of boatmen are crouching under shelter of the wall of the pier, -near the life-boat; the night wears away--it is three o'clock in the -morning. - -A boatman makes his way to the pier-head; he finds the coxswain of the -life-boat on the look-out. - -"Well, Jarman, a heavy gale this." - -"A heavy gale indeed, Gorham; it is blowing great guns and no -mistake--a terrific sea, too; just the night for our work, and I shall -not be surprised if some is cut out for us, and pretty stiff too, before -the morning." - -"Likely enough, it is a sort of touch-and-go night for the Goodwin. I -noticed before dark several vessels riding in the Gulls; now the wind -has cast in so heavily from the north, it will go hard with some of -them, I fear. - -"Yes, I noticed them; they must have a bad time of it now; it is to be -hoped that the anchors will hold; it will be almost sudden death for any -poor fellows whose ships touch the Goodwin to-night; why, with the sea -that must be now raging there, it would take in a ship almost at a -mouthful." - -"True enough, coxswain; I have been very anxious about them all -night--cannot help thinking about them." And it is supposed that the -boatman's fears were very terribly justified. One vessel was wrecked in -the way we are about to tell; and very grave fears were felt as to the -fate of several others; when the morning came, not one of the vessels -that had been noticed the evening before as being anchored in such a -dangerous position was to be seen, and yet it was almost certain that -not any of them could have got away in safety. - -Fishing-smacks that had been lying-to not far from the North Foreland -saw the fleet of vessels driven from the Margate Roads, and afterwards -saw several of them flying signals of distress, and apparently in a -sinking condition; but from the extraordinary force of the gale, the -fishermen could render no assistance, and the weather was too dark and -thick for the signals for help to be seen from the light-vessels, or -from the shore; moreover, a good deal of wreckage was seen floating -about in the morning, and the mast-head of one vessel was discovered -standing out of the water upon the Goodwin, the last seen relic of some -unknown ship and crew. - -Among the vessels observed during the afternoon to be at anchor in a -very perilous position in the Gull Stream, and making very bad weather -of it, was the _Mary_, a schooner of about 170 tons; she had been a -Dutch galliott, had a cargo of coals on board, and was bound from -Shields to Dieppe. - -There was one fine young man on board, David Fullarton. Life seemed more -especially dear to him, as he was engaged to be married; the -arrangements for the wedding had been made; he had been busy in -preparing a home; and a short voyage from Shields to Dieppe and back, -would do something towards the expenses, and he would not be long away; -and so there were bright memories to look back upon, bright hopes before -him; but this terrible storm seems to cover all with its shadow. As soon -as darkness sets in, and the gale shows signs of increasing in force, -Fullarton becomes very anxious, and keenly alive to the danger the -schooner is in; time after time he entreats the captain to have the -masts cut away, that the vessel may ride more easily, and be less -exposed to the fury of the wind. "Do! captain, pray do! for the sake of -our lives let it be done! we are dragging our anchors--we are fast -driving on the Sands;" and again he begs the captain to signal for -assistance. "Why not! why not? you will do it too late, captain, too -late!" the poor fellow cries in his restlessness and distress. - -The night grows on, and its terrors multiply; the intense darkness, the -wild sea, the howling winds moaning and wailing through the rigging, the -hoarse roar and thunder of the breakers raging on the near Goodwin -Sands. - -At last, the captain feels that the schooner is in great danger, and -orders the crew to set a tar-barrel on fire; they hasten to do -so--Fullarton working with eager haste; but the wash of the sea over it -and the heavy wind will not let it burn; they fill the barrel with tow -and tar, and grease, and at last get it to flare up with a fierce flame -that resists the storm; the watch on board the Gull light-ship had -noticed before dark the danger of the vessel, and had been keenly on the -look-out in her direction for signals of distress; on Ramsgate Pier, -also, an anxious look-out had been kept for some hours, the boatmen -expecting disasters in that quarter. - -It is a little before four in the morning; the men on board the -light-vessel see the signal of distress, and fire a gun and send up a -rocket to convey to the shore the tidings that help is wanted. - -The boatmen at once commence preparations with all energy, they arouse -the men asleep in the watch-house on the pier, a man hurries to give the -harbour-master notice, the crew of the steamer _Aid_ get ready for sea, -the harbour-master hurries down the pier and gives the men orders to -start on their merciful and perilous errand. - -Away they go in the teeth of the hurricane, clearing their way through -the leaping foaming waves and the clouds of heavy spray. - -The town and harbour lights gleam out in the darkness, but there is no -looking back for them on the part of the men, and there may be none; -until by God's mercy, their work is successfully finished, and then -doubly will the lights shine out a glad welcome on their triumphant -return home. - -The lights they now look for are the beacon fires of warfare; calls to -conflict and peril; guides into the thickest of the dread battle-field. -As the life-boat lifts on the curl of a wave, the crew see the -flickering flame of the signal-fire that is burning so fiercely in the -tar-barrel on the wreck; they make in for the signal at once, pass -through the Cud channel; snow-squalls come sweeping by, adding to the -cold and darkness, and shutting out from their view all lights on the -Sands; the men are eager and excited in their quick sympathy for the -shipwrecked crew--eager to brave all the dangers of the lashing seas -which they know must be leaping and tearing about the wreck. And they -well realize the deadly peril the poor shipwrecked seamen must be in, -and think little in their struggle onward of all the hardships they -themselves are enduring. - -For about forty minutes they battle their way, and then find themselves -near the wreck; the signal flame from the burning tar-barrel leaps, and -flickers, and burns low, and is almost extinguished by the spray; the -life-boatmen watch it anxiously, for they know that if the crew of the -vessel cannot succeed in keeping it alight, it will be almost impossible -for them to find the vessel in the darkness of the night; the crew of -the schooner also feel this to be the case, and bring clothes and -bedding, and all the tar and oil they can get at, and by great exertions -manage to keep the fire burning. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] NOTE.--_Extract from Newspaper._--"Five vessels wrecked off -Margate:--On Friday evening there were about one hundred and fifty -vessels anchored in the Margate and North Foreland Roads, where they -were sheltered from a south-westerly gale. Suddenly, about one o'clock -on Saturday morning, a violent gale sprung from the north-east, and the -vessels in the Roads were compelled to slip their anchors and seek the -nearest shelter. Rockets and flares were seen displayed in all -directions from the numerous distressed vessels. The Broadstairs -life-boat and the Margate life-boat, the _Quiver_, put to sea. Four -vessels were driven ashore, three in the Main, and one in Margate Bay, -and the crews of three were saved by the Broadstairs life-boat. Another -vessel was run down off the North Foreland, and it is reported that -another has gone to pieces on the Tongue Sand, and, it is feared, with -all hands." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE WRECK OF THE "MARY"--A STRUGGLE FOR DEAR LIFE. - - "Sleep on; thy corse is far away, - But love bewails thee yet; - For thee the heart wrung sigh is breathed, - And lovely eyes are wet." - - _G. D. Prentice._ - - -"Now, my men, make ready!" the coxswain cries; "we've got our work -before us." - -The night is wild, and dark, and bitter, blinding snow, and sleet, and -storm-wrack rush along on the wings of the gale. - -The Sands are alive with the rolling breakers, the fierce dash and -seethe of the waves upon them add to the roar of the tempest; never was -a battle-field more full of raging foes than is that into the midst of -which our Storm Warriors are about to rush; never was band of men more -beset by foes, more helplessly, hopelessly beset, than are the crew of -the _Mary_; how shall they be plucked from the midst of ten thousand -raging waves? any one of which would swamp an ordinary boat; it can only -by any possibility be done by such a boat as the life-boat, and only by -such men as the life-boatmen. - -And now the men settle to their work. - -The mainsail and mizen are already close reefed, they are got ready for -instant hoisting. The steamer lashes through the seas towing the boat -farther to windward, the hawser is let go, the men hoist the sails as -fast as they can in the leaping rolling boat; she feels the force of the -blast, lays over on her side, down with the helm, she rights, her head -comes round, and in through the boiling seas she makes for the wreck. - -Each boatman has his life-belt on, and as the seas break more fiercely -over the boat, the men twist the life-lines round their arms, so that if -some huge wave, rushing over the boat, should wrench them from their -hold, and wash them out of the boat, or that the boat should upset in -the curl of a breaker, that they may have the better chance of getting -back to her. - -Each time that the boat lifts on the top of a wave they can make out the -signal-fire on board the wreck, as the boat falls in the trough of a sea -they speed swirling along, through a very gauntlet of hungry waves which -leap upon her, as wolves would leap upon a strong horse; but she throws -them off, as the horse might the wolves in the impetus of his speed and -power. - -"Ready in the bow?" - -"Ay! Ay!" - -"Ready all?" - -"All ready." - -"We are nearing the wreck," a plunge forward on a big wave, and the -dismasted vessel is seen only a few fathoms off. - -"Over with the anchor, down with the mainsail; keep up the mizen, to let -the boat sheer, and now for the wreck." - -The life-boatmen are near enough to her to see by the fitful blaze of -the tar-barrel that she is a small schooner, with a high stern, and that -she is totally dismasted, and they recognise the Dutch-looking craft -that they had watched during the afternoon; they catch the gleam of the -pale faces of the crew, who are clinging to the gunwale. - -Poor fellows! how they gaze out in the darkness; death, death, so near -from the raging storm, from their sinking ship, from the terrible Sands -on which the wreck of their vessel will be torn piecemeal by the strong -fierce waves in so short a time. - -How they cry out with hope, as they first catch sight of the lights that -are shining out in the gloom, and drawing nearer and nearer! it may be -only the lights of some vessel as badly off as they are: they will not -think so; they are on the Goodwin, the signals have been made, and -answered from Ramsgate; if the life-boat can save them, they will be -saved, and this small light dancing so wildly in the storm, and drawing -nearer out of the dread darkness of the wild night, may be the light of -the life-boat, and they will not despair. - -It _must_ be the life-boat! no other boat could come in through the seas -as that boat has done; and now as she nears, the light is reflected on -her blue-and-white sides, and they hear the men shout, and the poor -fellows pass from despair to hope, and cling harder than ever to the -gunwale of the wreck, as the seas wash over them. - -On board the life-boat they veer out the cable rapidly; many fathoms run -out, but still they seem to get no nearer the wreck, on the contrary, -the wreck is getting farther and farther from them. - -As the life-boatmen made the vessel out in the darkness, they supposed -her to be hard and fast on the Sands, and as they neared, and could see -how the waves were beating over her, this appeared still more to be the -case, but it proves not to be so; the tide is much higher than usual, -and the wreck, with two long lengths of chain-cable dragging over her -bows, is drifting over the top of the Sands, and with the force of the -gale, and in the strength of the tide, drifts faster than the men on -board the boat are able to veer out the cable. - -"Hold on the cable, the wreck is drifting, we must up anchor; to it, my -men, hard and fast as you can." - -This getting in the life-boat cable and anchor is terrible work; the -wild seas are literally raging over the boat; it was bad enough when the -boat was under weigh, running before the wind, bounding along with the -waves in their flight, and thus escaping much of their fury. - -But now the boat is head to the seas, she meets them as they rush on -with all their force, and she wrenches and jerks at the cable with a -power that threatens to tear her to pieces. - -As many men as can lay hold of the cable do so; they cling on to the -boat with their legs round the thwarts; they give the hawser a couple of -turns round the bollard--a timber head in the fore part of the boat used -for towing purposes; a huge wave passes; the boat falls in the trough of -the sea; as she falls the strain of the cable lessens; "Haul, and with a -will, my men, haul!" they get a fathom or two of cable in; the curling -crest of a broken wave falls on board, almost smothering the men, and -filling the boat; she droops and staggers under the weight of water; the -men in her as they cling to the thwarts are up to their necks, the -air-tight compartments in the boat lift her, the valves in the floor -open, she empties herself in a few seconds; a huge short wave curls on, -she rises to it, buoyant as ever; it catches her under the bows, throws -her high in the air, as if it would turn her end-over-end; the men cling -to the hawser for a breathless moment; it checks the boat, the wave -breaks over the boat in a cloud of spray and foam; the boat drops; the -men shake their heads free of the water; again a loud shout from the -coxswain; "Haul, haul, your hardest, my men, hand over hand!" they get -in a few more feet of the strong rope, and so much nearer to their -anchor; and then hold on with straining muscles for another dread -struggle with the next huge sea; hardly time for a few quick breaths, -and here the sea comes, like a terrible monster, with shaking mane and -gnashing teeth; it foams along, gleaming out of the darkness and -straightly leaps upon them; and thus amid all the wild turmoil of the -raging breakers, with the boat thrown violently here and there in the -might of the seas, with the waves breaking over her in such quick -succession that the men can scarcely find time to breathe, does the -fight go on in order to recover the anchor and cable; the men had no -thought of themselves; they had but to cut the cable and run before the -gale, and the fierce strife would be over; no! they must, at all costs, -recover the anchor and cable, or they will not be able to save the crew, -and they will fight and wrestle for it to the end. At last the cable -shortens, another pull and the boat is right over the anchor, she lifts -on a sea, the anchor is torn from its hold, and lifts with her: in with -it, make it fast, hoist the sails, the boat's head pays round, and she -is again steered for the wreck. As the boat runs before the wind and -seas, the men, who are thoroughly exhausted, have a few minutes of -comparative rest. - -The time occupied by the life-boat men in recovering their anchor has -been a dread time indeed, for the poor shipwrecked crew. - -With their shattered and slowly-sinking vessel staggering and shuddering -beneath their feet, the heavy seas thundering against her and breaking -over her, each one threatening to be the final one which shall sweep -them all to destruction; the men seemed to be each moment on the verge -of death. - -The storm howls around them, their only ray of hope proceeds from the -life-boat light, which shines feebly through the mist, and suddenly the -boat has halted short in her course towards them; why, they can scarcely -understand; but one thing they are sure of, that it is no failing -courage on the part of the men; it is impossible that they should be -left to perish in their distress. - -Their one effort now is to keep the tar-barrel in full blaze, and -cruelly the wind and seas seem to do their utmost to destroy this their -last hope, and leave them without the signal which alone can guide the -life-boat to their rescue. - -Fullarton, poor fellow, is working with an excited energy, burning in -the barrel everything that he can lay hands on, that is at all likely to -feed the flame. - -He had left home a few days before, so full of hope and joy, and glad -anticipation; they had had bad weather, and anxious watches, and -sleepless nights since they sailed, and now the poor fellow is almost -overwrought by work and watching, and broken down with dread anxiety. -"It is not for myself so much, not for myself, as for my poor girl," he -says to his mates; they, kind fellows, amid their own cares and -anxieties, and memories, and fears, do what they can to cheer him up. - -Now as the life-boat comes rushing in through the seething seas, and -breaks out from the darkness into the light of the fire which they -succeed in keeping burning on the deck of the schooner, it is -Fullarton's voice that is heard in piercing tones above the roar of the -gale. "Be as quick as you can! be as quick as you can! we are sinking -fast." - -Yes! it is very evident that the vessel must soon founder; the wild seas -are rushing over her; her deck is almost level with the surface of the -water; at any moment she may refuse to lift to the rise of the sea, and -with one plunge sink bodily down. - -The coxswain of the life-boat sees that the schooner is still drifting, -and decides upon not anchoring the boat, but tries to run alongside the -wreck, which is being kept head to the seas and wind by the drag of her -chains. The boat runs alongside within a few feet; the grappling-irons -are thrown on board, they catch in the gunwale of the wreck, the boatmen -take turns with the lines round the thwarts, and begin to haul the boat -slowly up to the wreck; it is hazardous work, for she is deeply laden -with coals, and is half full of water; she is buried in the seas, and -labouring very heavily; the men are afraid that in the rush of some -cross sea the boat will be tossed bodily on to the wreck. - -The boat lifts up on the crest of a towering wave; there is a tremendous -strain upon the stout grappling-lines, a moment's lull in the rush of -the broken water. "Haul in hard upon the lines, get her alongside, now, -my men; sharp, my men!" the coxswain shouts; and then to the vessel's -crew: "Be ready to jump directly we are near enough!" "Aye! Aye! all -right, all right!" the crew cry, excitedly, and crouch ready to spring -upon the gunwale, and over into the boat. "Be ready all! be ready all!" -the coxswain again cries, as he tries to sheer the boat near enough for -the men to jump on board. "Now! now! Stop! hold on, hold on all for your -lives!" A tremendous breaker comes gliding on like a dark snow-crowned -wall, deluges the men with the foam and spray that flies from its -crest, lifts the boat in its strong grasp, the grappling-lines snap -like threads, and the boat is swept on in the rush of the wave far away -from the wreck; the boatmen look back, and in the glare of the -signal-fire they can see the pale white faces of the despairing and -terrified sailors, and as the boat is driven on through the dark wild -seas, the cries of the poor fellows can be for some time heard -penetrating the tumult of the storm. - -Before the boat was driven away from the vessel, at the moment of the -ropes parting, the coxswain, seeing that the boat would be carried away, -shouted at the pitch of his voice, "Have ropes ready!" the crew heard -the words; and are consoled in the depth of their disappointment; they -know that they are not to be deserted, that while ship and life-boat -both last, attempt after attempt will be made for their rescue. But how -long will the wreck float under them? this is the terrible question, and -they call out, and this is the cry that the boatmen hear indistinctly: -"We are sinking fast! We are sinking fast!" - -The swirl of the sea and the tide, and the force of the gale, drive the -boat far away to leeward; the men hoist her sails again, heave her to, -and then try to stay her, and make in again directly for the wreck; but -she misses stays, as the seas come rushing over her, and they have to -wear her round. They battle on, and are speedily ready for their third -attempt, thankful to find that the poor labouring wreck is still afloat. - -They run the boat close under the schooner's port-quarter; the sailors -are all ready with the required ropes; they throw one on board the boat, -and the men in the boat succeed in throwing two strong lines on board -the wreck; once more the order is to haul in close alongside. - -And again the boatmen see the white faces of the almost drowned and -exhausted men light up with hope. Fullarton especially is full of joy in -the reaction of his feelings; he almost feels saved, and is very -excited. Cautiously the boatmen work, doing their utmost to prevent the -boat being dashed against the wreck; now they are just alongside; two -minutes more, and all are saved; no, a heavy sea comes foaming along, -and as it breaks fills the boat and rushes over the ship, which staggers -under its weight; the ropes which fasten the boat to the ship, jerk and -wrench, but still hold; the boat lifts, clears herself of water, the men -breathe again. Another tremendous wave comes rushing along, another, and -then several in quick succession; the men cling with all their force to -the thwarts; heavy volumes of water beat down upon their backs; the boat -plunges, and is wrestled here and there in the strong tumult of the -waves; the ropes seem ready to tear the masts and thwarts to which they -are fastened out of the boat; at last one rope parts; another gives the -moment after; the boat rises on the crest of a wave, she heels over, the -third rope breaks under the tremendous strain, the boat springs forward -and is torn away from the vessel, and is rapidly swept away under her -stern; a loud shriek is heard, it is from poor Fullarton; the boatmen -see him as he stands between them and the glare of the flame; he throws -up his clasped hands in despair; the next moment he wildly rushes along -the deck, for a second balances himself on the gunwale, crouches and -springs with all his force towards the boat--a heavy thud; he hits the -bow of the boat as she is driving away stern first; a cry from the -boatmen, "Man overboard!" as he sinks a huge wave rolls over him, and -bears the boat farther away; Jarman, the coxswain, seizes a life-buoy -and jumps upon a thwart ready to throw it to the man when he rises; a -blast of wind catches Jarman, nearly tumbles him overboard, and throws -him down into the bottom of the boat, wrenching the life-buoy from his -hand; the drowning sailor is again lost to sight in the trough of the -sea; he is swimming and struggling hard, but the boat, although without -sails, is being driven faster than he can swim; the men see his wild -desperate efforts, as he plunges and springs forward with outspread arms -as if to grasp at the boat; he is lifted high on the crest of a wave; it -curls him over, and with a cry he falls head first, and is buried in the -trough of the sea; once more they make out his figure as he springs up -on the top of a wave between them and the signal-fire; once again they -hear his cry of despair, and he is lost to them, and to all dear to him -on earth for ever. - -It is all over in a few seconds; the hardy boatmen shudder and feel sick -at heart: so suddenly, so terribly, so swiftly has the strong man died; -and to see their brother sailor thus perish within a few yards of them, -beaten under by the boiling waves so quickly that they were utterly -powerless to aid, is indeed, terrible to all. But not a moment is to be -lost, any one of the mad seas which rush so continually over the wreck -may founder her with its weight, or sweep the exhausted men out of her. -The wreck cannot by any possibility float much longer; how can the men -be saved? The life-boat is now right astern of the vessel, which is -drifting slowly towards them; the seas run with such violence, swaying -the wreck in one direction and the boat in another, that it is evidently -useless to attempt to fasten the boat alongside the wreck, and the -coxswain determines to adopt a new plan. The boat is right astern of the -wreck, which is slowly drifting towards them; the coxswain of the boat -will anchor the boat right in her path, and try to sheer alongside as -she drifts past, and thus get the crew out of her. "Over with the -anchor; veer out as little cable as she will ride to; hold on, stand -ready all!"--and they anxiously watch the approach of the wreck. - -On the wreck comes straight for them; the boats mizen sail is hauled -flat to help the boat sheer out of the ship's way; they must manage -skilfully or she will drive right over the life-boat; the helm is put -hard up; the mizen catches the wind; the boat sheers, the wreck just -misses her; the boat is close to her starboard quarter. Down helm, and -the boat sheers in close alongside, the men in the bow pay out the cable -quickly to let the boat float alongside the ship, "Jump when we near!" -they cry to the crew; "jump for it! be steady, but do not lose a -chance!" a sea throws the boat within a yard of the wreck, three men -spring on board; a moment, and the next rush of sea sweeps the boat away -and buries them all in foam. As the sea overruns the boat, the boatmen -cling to the sailors who have sprung on board, to prevent their being -washed out of her. "Have we got all?" "No, only three, one is left!" -"Look out, then, my men; in we go again! the lee-tide is running very -strongly--the cable is paying out fast."--"There is only about ten -fathom of cable left," the men in the bow shout to the coxswain; he -sheers the boat in, they can just make out the figure of a man at the -stern of the vessel; they cry out to him: "Be ready; 'tis your last -chance; you must jump for your life; we shall hardly have time to come -in again;" they close in alongside; a heavy sea knocks down the men in -the bow who are paying out the rope; at that moment the man on the wreck -makes a desperate leap for the boat, he falls among the men; the end of -the cable runs out into the sea. "Rope gone!" is the cry, but the man is -saved; the ship is on the point of sinking, and they at once lose sight -of her in the dark night. It is the captain who is last on board the -boat; he looks round with thankfulness upon the life-boatmen and upon -his saved crew: "But where is Fullarton?" he asks. "The man who jumped -for the boat when the ropes parted." - -"He fell short of the boat, and we could not save him," is the sad -answer. - -"Poor fellow, poor fellow! he was so terribly anxious, he could not -wait. Oh! that he had only waited with us! but he was almost in despair -before the boat came, and seeing you break away the second time was too -much for him." And afterwards he told them the drowned sailors piteous -story--what a good fellow he was, and that it was because he was to be -married upon his return home that he was so anxious, and felt life to be -doubly dear to him. - -It is about seven o'clock in the morning; the day breaks wild and cold, -and dismal as weather can well be. The faint light of the dawn scarcely -makes its way through the thick clouds of flying spray and foam and -half-frozen snow that drive fiercely along. - -A dread suggestive picture as witnessed from the cliffs on shore is that -of the Goodwin Sands in a storm--the raging mountains of white surf -springing high in the air, and breaking into clouds of spray, and the -waves racing along the Sands in foaming rollers, strong to sweep -anything before them: to watch this from the shore at a distance of six -miles is enough to make one shudder, so terrible a picture does it give -of wild, hungry, irresistible power and rage, but what must it be for -those who have to encounter this turbulent sea in the very thick of its -strife; in a boat almost buried by the waves, clinging to the thwarts, -the life half beaten out of them; and yet, hour after hour enduring all -hardship, and sternly battling with all resistance--and all this the men -in the life-boat have yet to endure. - -The boat is on the top of the south end of the Sand, and in the fiercest -strife of the wild sea, a foaming wilderness of water all around them; -the waves seem mad in the very fury of their contest; they rear up and -clash together with a roar and hiss; rush swiftly on; recoil as swiftly -back; now meet others in their full onward swoop and contend for -mastery; leap high in angry curling crests, then fall with thunder -tones, but only to form in serried ranks, and rush swiftly again into -the wild race and conflict. - -No ordinary boat could endure this for a minute, the first of these mad -curling waves would engulf her at once; the life-boat alone can contend -with such broken battling seas, and come out a victor from the strife. - -The men crowd aft that the boat may run better before the gale; they put -oars out on each quarter to help the boat steer, and to prevent her -broaching to, for if she does, the curl of the wave is so strong that -she will be rolled over, and probably many of her crew and passengers -lost, for although she would right again directly, all could not expect -to get back to her in such a sea; she is full of water; the seas break -over her in such quick succession, that she has no time to free herself, -but she bounds on, and on, and soon, but not without much danger, the -men escape from the broken water and reach the outer part of the Sand. - -The boat is now put under fore-sail and mizen, both close reefed, hauled -to the wind and pressed through the seas, to be certain of making the -land, from which the gale is blowing so strongly. - -The boat heels over under the pressure of her canvas, one gunwale is -buried in the seas; the rescued men have never been in a life-boat -before, and feel much alarmed. - -"Ah! Geordie, man," says the captain to the mate, "this is queer sort -of sailing; it's sailing under water altogether;" and the men afterwards -confessed, that not knowing what a life-boat could do, they expected -every moment that she would capsize, and felt themselves in almost as -much danger in the boat as they had been on board the wreck. It takes -the boat about an hour and a half of this hard driving through the seas -to beat up against the gale and get near to the land; the men then find -themselves not far from the South Foreland light, between Deal and -Dover. The ships in the Downs are many of them in great danger, driving -from their anchorage, and some with signals of distress flying. - -An English man-of-war is at anchor there; as the life-boat flies under -her stern, the men on deck give a hearty cheer in honour of the Warriors -of the Goodwin Sands. A large Dutch ship is next passed, all her crew -crowd aft, and with much energy they also cheer the brave boatmen. - -Some large Deal luggers are cruising about; the men on board see with -much surprise the flag flying at the life-boat mast-head, telling the -tale of triumph, that a crew had been rescued; for they declared in -speaking about it afterwards, that they thought it a mere impossibility -to get a crew off the Goodwin in such a night, and through such a -terrific sea. - -The life-boatmen begin to be uneasy about the steamer; they saw her last -about five in the morning, with the Goodwin Sands close under her lee, -and facing the full force of the gale. - -They think that she will have run down the Sands and be waiting for -them; they put the boat about, and run out a little, hoping to meet her; -after they have laid-to for about half an hour, waiting for the steamer, -a heavy squall strikes the boat, and carries away her mizen-mast; they -at once wear her head round to the land, and run into St. Margaret's -Bay. The men fear that if they leave the protection of the high cliffs, -the boat, as she is now partially disabled, may be blown over on the -French coast by the force of the gale, and they therefore run down under -the cliffs to Dover. Here they find further evidence of the terrible -nature of the gale; ships are being towed into the harbour disabled; the -sea is making a clean breach over the cross wall; part of the esplanade -has been washed away, and the mail packets have been driven back in -distress; hundreds of people, hiding in sheltered places, are watching -the fury of the sea; they have for some time seen, with much interest, -the gallant life-boat, with her flag flying, making for the harbour, and -many come down the pier to welcome her. The life-boat, as she shoots -round the head of the pier, meets the strong wind in all its force; she -has lost her mizen-mast, anchor, cables, and has scarcely a spare fathom -of rope left; she is fast being driven out again to sea, when they -manage to get a rope to her from the pier, and many willing hands clap -on, and tow her slowly along; in the meantime the harbour-master sends -the steam-tug to her help, and the boat is soon safely moored in the -inner harbour, and the men who have for so many hours encountered such -great hardship and peril are once more upon dry land. - -The shipwrecked crew are well cared for by the agent of the Shipwrecked -Mariners' Society; the life-boatmen go to the Sailors' Home, and under -the influence of a hearty welcome and substantial cheer, speedily -recover from the effects of their long exposure and fatigue. - -The coxswain hastens to telegraph to the authorities at Ramsgate the -safe arrival of the life-boat at Dover, and there is great satisfaction -felt there at the assurance of the boat's safety. - -While the life-boat was in among the breakers, battling with the seas, -and disentombing, we may almost say, the terrified sailors from the -hungry grave which yawned around them, the steamer kept her ground, as -near as possible to where the captain thought the life-boat was at work, -and just clear of the surf. - -They waited hour after hour, but no signal came from that fierce -battle-field; the hoarse blast of the storm, the many-voiced roar of -waters, overwhelmed all other sound; the darkness of the night, the -clouds of sleet and foam engulfed all in gloom. The crew of the steamer -waited on in much anxiety, and not free from great peril. - -The daylight broke, a grey flood of misty light rolled back the greater -darkness, but they could see no signs of the life-boat; they could make -out by-and-by a few spars tossing wildly among the leaping seas and a -tangled portion of wreck; they steam in as near to it as they dare, and -with their glasses watch closely every shadow, or spar, or mass of -wreckage, but see no signs of life; the sea is silent as to the fate of -the crew, and after a careful and vain search, the captain of the -steamer, feeling sure that if the life-boat has succeeded in getting -clear of the Sands, she must have been forced by the gale to run to -Dover for shelter, he determines to make the best of his way there. -Jarman, the life-boat coxswain, sees the steamer making for the harbour, -and hastens to the pierhead; one wave of his arm tells the whole story -of success and safety. - -The crew of the life-boat and of the steamer alike realize the -responsibility of their work, that it is indeed one of life and -death--that they must not be out of the way when wanted if they can help -it; for that any delay may be fatal to some dying crew, who are perhaps -straining their eyes in vain searchings for their one earthly hope, the -life-boat. - -All hands at once prepare for their return to Ramsgate; back round the -stormy South Foreland again; and home to be greeted, as such conquering -heroes should be greeted, with smiles of welcome from hundreds of faces -brightening up with hearty sympathy, and with ringing cheers that tell -alike of admiration for courage, and of gladness for their return; -cheers that know no reserve, as they welcome those who come triumphant -from the battle-field--cheers for those who come not from death-dealing, -in however good a cause, but from life-saving--leaving none to echo -their shouts of victory with the wailings of defeat. - -The following letter will prove an apt and not uninteresting conclusion -to the story, as it expresses the deep gratitude of the men who were -saved, and gives in simple heartfelt language their tribute of thanks, -and their declaration of admiration for the gallant and self-denying -efforts by which their rescue from otherwise certain death had been so -nobly effected. - - - "_119 Church St., North Shields. Capt. Shaw, Harbour-master, - Ramsgate._ - - "DEAR SIR, - - "I, the undersigned master, and likewise the crew of the _Mary_, - which were saved by the gallant coxswain, Mr. Jarman, and his crew - on the morning of the 21st inst., which I do believe to be - unrivalled, for my idea is they used every effort to save the young - man which was drowned, but it was in vain; we all beg to return a - vote of thanks to Mr. Jarman and his crew; likewise to you, dear - sir, which has everything in such order and discipline for the - rescue of life; and may the Lord bless them all, and look over - them, when trying their uttermost efforts to rescue their - fellow-men from a watery grave! - - I cannot express my feelings good enough to reward the brave - fellows' attendance. My love to them all, and I will make a letter - appear in the public press after I get myself settled, therefore I - beg to conclude." - - "From your grateful Friend, - - "WILLIAM FOREMAN, Master. - "C. H. MOORE, Mate. - "JOSEPH COLLINS, Carpenter. - "THOMAS ATCHINSON, A. B." - - -To which letter the harbour-master returned answer, stating how -gratifying it was to all connected with the life-boat and steam-tug that -such gallant and skilful exertions should have reaped such success; the -sympathy and great regret that was felt for the loss of their young -shipmate; and that there were at Ramsgate, at all times both by day and -night, gallant boatmen ready and willing to risk their lives when called -upon to perform such perilous undertakings. - -And, readers, can we do better than often, and especially when gales are -abroad, echo the prayer offered for the life-boatmen by the rescued -master of the _Mary_.--"The Lord bless them all, and look over them when -trying to rescue their fellow-men from a watery grave!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -DEAL BEACH. - - "Then courage, all brave mariners, - And never be dismay'd, - While we have bold adventurers, - We ne'er shall want a trade; - Our merchants will employ us - To fetch them wealth, we know; - Then be bold--work for gold, - When the stormy winds do blow." - - _M. Parker._ - - -Few places in the world, if any, have proved the scene of more daring -sailor-life than Deal beach. Generation after generation of boatmen have -passed away, having spent their lives, from early boyhood, in continuous -strife with the swift tide, strong seas, and rolling surf that race -through the channels off Deal, and break upon the Goodwin, or upon the -Shingle beach. - -Other antagonists the old days used to provide, and the young men's -hands grew hard with handling the bow, or spear, or javelin, or the -musket, cutlass, or boarding-pike, as well as with handling the tiller -and the ropes. - -In the days of old, the Northern Sea Kings were, to the east coast of -England, like clouds on the horizon, ever threatening a storm, but -without any indication as to where the storm would break. - -The coast of Kent was especially open to their attacks; they came down -like wolves on the fold; a bright sunny morning, a bowling northerly -breeze, a few specks on the horizon standing out darkly with the clear -dawn behind them. - -A few hours, and the Norsemen were at work; a fishing-village, wrecked -and half buried in ruins, some of its stout defenders lying gashed and -ghastly among its smoking embers; trembling fugitives still hurrying -inland with a few of their lighter and more treasured goods, and the -marauders holding swift and triumphant debauch upon the shore, as with -rude cries of mirth and victory, they prepare to start seaward again -before time can be found to gather forces to make any attack upon them, -or any efforts can be made to regain the plunder the hardy robbers have -obtained, or to revenge the slaughter they have worked. - -The Romans, when they were lords of the land, felt the necessity of -resisting these roving Sea Kings in a determined and organised manner; -they formed nine military stations along the coast, and placed all under -the command of an officer, to whom they gave the sounding title of Count -of the Saxon Shore. - -Four of these stations were in Kent--Reculver, Richborough, Dover, and -Lymne. Remains of the Roman fortifications still bear witness that they -were intended in defence from an enemy whose power was not lightly -esteemed. - -This military organisation of the Romans was afterwards developed into -the establishment of the Cinque Ports and their respective members, the -jurisdiction of which embraced a coast line from Reculver to Hastings. - -The inhabitants of the Cinque Ports well earned and fully obtained great -honour in the old days. The free men of the ports were styled barons, -and held rank among the nobility of the kingdom. They stood the vanguard -of defence against all England's continental enemies, and their service -is thus described by Mr. Boys in his 'History of Sandwich': - -"The inhabitants were always on the watch to prevent invasion; their -militia were in constant readiness for action, and their vessels stout -and warlike, so that, in Edward the First's time, they alone equipped a -fleet of one hundred sail, and gave such a blow to the maritime power of -France as to clear the Channel of those restless and insidious invaders. -The state depended upon them for the safety of its coast-line and towns, -and their services went by no means unrewarded; an encouragement they -had always been accustomed to receive, and this for commercial as well -as for warlike enterprise, as by the wisdom of our Saxon ancestors, a -merchant who had at his own expense three times freighted vessels with -home produce was entitled to the rank of thane or baron. The Barons of -the Cinque Ports walked in procession at the coronations of the kings -and queens, and at the feast of the coronation had an especial table -allotted to them in Westminster Hall at the right of the king; this -privilege was preserved up to the time of the coronation of George the -Third." - -All this is evident and sufficient testimony of the nature and extent of -the services of our coast heroes in defence of their country; and still -the enterprise and daring continue, and bold, vigilant warfare goes on, -although defence against a foreign foe has long ceased to be its first -consideration. In later times, indeed, the revenue officers -unfortunately, and to no small extent, took the place of the foreign foe -in the minds and labours of by no means a few of the boatmen and -inhabitants of these towns situated so conveniently adjacent to the -Continent; and the enterprise and labours of the boatmen were no less -daring, if less patriotic than in former days, and smuggling was -elevated into as organized a business as fishing is now: one writer -rather quaintly remarks, "Yet even this smuggling is not without its -utility, for however the revenue may suffer, it gives birth to a very -intrepid race of seamen, who are of the greatest service in relieving -others from the dangers which befall shipping on this coast in bad -weather." - -Certainly the boatmen of Deal beach are not now, and probably never have -been, surpassed for skill and daring. - -If they can by any possibility get their famous luggers out to sea, no -hurricane daunts them; their splendid boats glide over the seas, -escaping the broken water--now high on the wave, now buried in the -trough--and look like so many strong-winged gulls, as they seem almost -to play with the storm. - -Falconer, in his 'Shipwreck,' pays the following tribute to the skill -and courage of the boatmen: - - - "Where e'er in ambush lurks the fatal sands, - They claim the danger, proud of skilful bands! - For while, with darkling course, the vessels sweep - The winding shore, or plough the faithless deep; - Or bar, or shelf, the watery path they sound - With dexterous arm, sagacious of the ground. - Ceaseless they combat every hostile wind, - Wheeling in mazy track with course inclined; - Expert to moor where terrors line the road, - Or win the anchor from its dark abode." - - -Let us take a peep at Deal beach, and try to realize some of the scenes -that are there to be witnessed. - -Suppose a fine clear winter's day. A gentle south-westerly breeze has -been blowing on and off for several days; many ships have found their -way out of the Thames, or have beaten down helped by the tides from the -North Sea, and having reached the Downs there ride safely at anchor; the -ships-boats, or the galley punts, as the small Deal boats are called, -are doing the little work that is to be done, and the large luggers are -drawn high upon the beach. - -The boatmen are lounging about the beach here and there, or they are -smoothing the shingle down with shovels, where the tide has heaped it -up, to give the luggers a fair run down into the sea in the event of -their being wanted; tanned sails are spread abroad upon the shingle -drying, women hang about knitting and watching the ships at anchor for -any signal for a boat; at times there is a move down the beach to help a -boat that is coming ashore out of the surf and to drag it up high and -dry. - -The wind gets a slant to the south-east as the tide ebbs, and at once -all are alert in the fleet of ships at anchor in the Downs, that have -been waiting for a fair breeze. There is a hurry to the beach of all -officers, sailors, or passengers that may be ashore; the last supply of -fresh provisions is taken on board those ships on which the Captain can -afford to be luxurious: you can hear the orders shouted, the capstans at -work; jibs are set, topsails loosened, the anchors got up and catted, -the sails let fall, and away the ships go down Channel; a fresh -northerly breeze bowls along and lasts some days, the outward bound -ships go flying through the Downs with top-gallant sails set; and except -that they land a few pilots, there is nothing whatever for the Deal men -to do. - -At last a change of weather promises, the homeward-bound are to have a -turn; the outward-bound must anchor in the Downs and wait a while. The -French coast shows out clearly, the gulls are whirling about uttering -shrill plaintive cries; the boatmen watch the sunset, greyish white -streaky clouds are gathering in the west, the sun looks _sheer_, is the -boatmen's word for it, and as the long rays of light break through the -clouds--ah! yes, we shall have a change of wind and weather. "The sun is -setting up his backstays." "Bright _skies_ make dirty ways;" and before -daylight closes the men overhaul their luggers and see that everything -is ready for a sudden start, should their services be needed. - -A mizzling rain comes on, the wind is round to the westward and -freshening; some of the vessels which have been among the last to pass -Deal bound to the southward, give up the hope of getting down Channel in -the face of the freshening breeze, and return to find anchorage in the -Downs. - -It is a likely night for work, and the boatmen get ready for a cruise; -everything is prepared to launch one of the large luggers; she is now -drawn up high upon the beach; her crew of fifteen men hasten to get -ready for sea. It is a dark and squally winter's morning, about one -o'clock; fourteen of the men are now on board, each at his station; one -man stands ready to cut the lashing of the stop which holds the boat in -position on the ways; they wait till a squall passes; the word is given, -the lashing cut, the man springs to the gunwale of the boat, and climbs -on board. Scarcely has he tumbled over the side when the boat rushes -down the greased ways and is launched into the surf; the mizen is -already set, the foresail is hoisted with all speed, and the boat speeds -on her way seaward. - -As the day comes the breeze freshens, and many luggers are cruising -about, speaking the vessels at anchor, or the vessels running through -the Downs, ready to offer any assistance in their power; upon some of -the vessels they put men to pilot them into Ramsgate harbour, or round -the North Foreland into the Margate Roads. - -Or if the wind has blown heavily, there will be generally some vessels -that have lost their anchors and cables, and the boatmen will receive -orders to supply fresh ones. - -There is sometimes a degree of surprise expressed at the amount claimed -by a boat's crew for taking an anchor and cable off to a vessel in -distress; it requires some knowledge of the work to appreciate its -danger, and how hardly and well the money awarded is generally earned. - -Consider, as an example, the case of the _Albion_ lugger, as it happened -during the gale, some of the incidents of which we are about to relate. - -The _Albion_ during her cruise meets with a vessel which is driving -before the increasing storm; she has lost both her anchors and cables, -and the lugger receives orders to supply her from the shore; the hardy -crew receive the order gladly, put the lugger round, and beat through -the heavy seas, making for Deal. They have to force the boat against -wind and tide, and much skill is required to prevent her being filled by -the rising seas which sweep around her; now she rushes upon the beach, -the surf breaks over her and half fills her with water; with a -tremendous thump and shake, she strikes the shore with her iron keel. - -As the wave which bore the lugger in upon the beach recedes, a man -springs overboard from the bow with a rope in his hand; many catch hold -of the rope, and haul their hardest to keep the boat straight, head on -to the beach; there is a stem strap--a chain running through a hole in -the front part of the keel; a boatman watches his opportunity, and as a -wave sweeps back, rushes down and passes a rope through the loop of the -strap; the other end of this rope is fastened to a powerful capstan, -which is placed high up on the beach. "Man the capstan! Heave with a -will," and the strong men strain at the capstan bars until the capstan -creaks again. There is no starting the lugger; she is so full of water -from the surf breaking on the beach, that she is too heavy for the men -at one capstan to move her; ropes are led down from two other capstans, -and rove through a snatch block fastened to a boat on the beach; all put -out their strength, round they tramp with a "ho! heave ho!" and slowly -the lugger travels up the beach, and is safe from the roll of the -breakers. The men get the water out of her, haul her higher up on to a -swivel platform, turn her round head to the sea, and the leading hands -hurry away to inquire about an anchor and cable. The agent supplies them -with such as seem suitable for the size of the vessel, and which will -perhaps weigh together about seven tons. - -There is no small amount of labour attached to getting the anchor and -chain cable on board the lugger, but in a short time all are again ready -for sea. - -The gale has rapidly increased in force, and a frightful surf is running -on the beach; the roar of the breakers on the shingle, the howling of -the storm, the gleam of white foam, shining out of the mist and gloom, -all picture the wildness of the storm, but the undaunted boatmen do not -hesitate; all is ready, the signal given, the boat rushes down the steep -ways, and is launched into the sea. A breaking wave rolls in swiftly, -it meets the bow of the lugger in its rush, fills her; for a moment the -big boat runs under water, and then is lifted and twisted like a toy in -the grasp of the sea, and is thrown in the heave of the wave broadside -on to the beach; a cry of horror from all on shore, and a rush down to -aid the crew, who are all--there are fifteen of them--struggling in the -surf; now the men are washed up by the wave, and feel the ground, and -stagger forward; now they are caught again by a breaker and rolled over; -it is for each of them a terrible battle with the fierce seas; here, one -gets on his feet and stumbles forward, he is caught by the men on shore -and dragged up the beach; there, a man is lying struggling on the -shingle, trying in vain to rise, exhausted and confused; two men seize -his collar and pull him forward a yard or two, then get him to his feet, -and he escapes the next wave, which would have washed him out to sea -again. Now all the men seem to be saved; names are shouted--do all -answer? no! there is one missing; all rush to the water's edge, and gaze -into the darkness; eagerly watching each shadow mid the surf; there he -is! no! yes it is! there lifting on the surf; there rolling over: -"Quick, quick, form a line!" and the brave boatmen grasp each other's -hands with iron strength and form a chain, the lowest of the four or -five men at the sea end of the chain being in the water; the waves -battle with them, but sturdily they persevere; at last the body is -within the reach of the seaward man, he grasps it, the men are dragged -up the beach, and the poor insensible man is carried ashore. Alive? or -dead? they cannot say, and with a great fear in their hearts they carry -him hurriedly up the beach, and soon, to the great joy of all, he gives -signs of life, and gradually recovers. - -In the meanwhile the poor boatmen on the beach have nothing that they -can do, but watch their fine boat, which was worth five hundred pounds, -being torn, and hammered to pieces in the surf, plank after plank is -wrenched from her, now with a loud crash she is broken in half, the two -halves part, the anchor and cable fall through her, they can see part of -the fore-peak with one side torn away, floating in the breakers; soon -that also is rent to pieces, and nothing but fragments of the boat float -in the surf, or are strewn about the beach, and the boatmen, -heavy-hearted, but thankful that they have escaped with their lives, go -slowly to their homes, to rest for a few hours, and recruit their -strength, and then to be ready to form part of the crew of any other -boat, and at the first summons to rush out again to the encounter with -the stormiest seas. - -In a narrative of adventure and conflict with the seas that rage over -the Goodwin Sands, it would not be well to refrain from bearing -testimony to how readily, how gallantly, the men of Deal, of -Broadstairs, of Walmer, and of Kingsdown, as well as of Ramsgate, man -their respective life-boats, whenever the call is made for their -services, and race out to the scene of action, full of hardihood, of -skill, of courage--true Storm Warriors, ever ready to dare all and do -all that they may rescue the drowning from a watery grave. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE LOSS OF THE "LINDA," AND THE RACE TO THE RESCUE. - - "A sudden crash, the mast is gone, - And with it goes all hope; - No longer can the fated crew - With the surging waters cope. - - "Now they commit their souls to God, - As men about to die; - For vain seems all the help of man - In this extremity." - - _G. Ward._ - - -At daylight, in the morning after the destruction of the _Albion_ -lugger, the weather grows worse and worse; the grey misty gloom that -hangs over the sea is scarcely broken by the swift gleams of light that -find a faint way through the fast drifting clouds. - -And the weather continues to grow more tempestuous still as the night -grows on. Many ships come scudding northward before the gale; they make -the South Sand Head light, and steer their course for the narrow Gull -channel that runs between the Goodwin and Brake Sands. The South Sands -Head light-ship is moored at the southern extremity of the Goodwin -Sands; it is about three miles from the South Foreland light. - -In thick misty weather, which so often prevails in the Channel during -westerly gales in winter time, it is often very difficult for vessels to -make either of these lights. - -And as the edge of the Goodwin Sands is very steep at this part, and has -deep water close to it, keeping the lead going scarcely affords -sufficient protection, for between two casts of the lead a vessel -running fast may well pass out of deep water on to the Sands, and there -be lost. - -So it often happens that vessels running through the Downs in such -weather, suddenly find themselves in a position of great peril. - -On the night in question, the men on board the light-ship keep an -especially vigilant watch, as the darkness of the night adds to the -gloom which spreads its folds over the raging sea, and the direction and -force of the wind, and the many ships that are flying before the gale, -suggest the probability of disaster. - -About midnight, the men on watch make out, in the lift of the mist, a -fine brig not far from them, driving before the gale, and making -straight for the Sands; the alarm is given, and a gun at once fired to -give the unfortunate crew warning of their danger. - -The look-out men fancy, by the changing of the position of the brig's -lights, that the crew are making an effort to alter the vessel's course, -and to weather the Sands; but it is too late! nothing can save her! The -crew of the light-ship lose sight of her in the darkness, and make all -ready to signal for the life-boat to come to the rescue of her crew; -they wait a minute or two, watching, in the direction they think the -brig must strike, for the usual signals of distress, and almost -immediately see the bright flare of a tar-barrel; they fire a signal-gun -from the light-ship, and its warning voice booms loudly above the storm; -then they send up rockets; the shipwrecked are thus encouraged to hope, -while the ready boatmen on shore are called to action. - -The signals are seen at the Walmer life-boat station, one mile from -Deal; and at the Kingsdown station, three miles from Deal; at both -places the call is promptly and eagerly obeyed; the life-boats are got -ready with all haste; they are speedily manned and launched, and -struggle their way through the boiling surf, which is rolling upon the -beach. They spread all the canvas they can stagger under, and the two -boats fly before the gale straight for the light-ship; there they learn -the position in which the signals of distress were seen, and cruise -round the edge of the Goodwin in all the fierce tumble of sea, and skirt -the ring of surf which marks where the rollers are breaking with -terrible force upon the Sands; but they can obtain no guide, no clue to -where the wreck is; no signal light shines out of that drear darkness -pleading for help, and no sound can the men hear, listen as they will, -other than the ceaseless roar of the storm. Still the brave boatmen will -not abandon the search, and for some hours the boats continue their vain -efforts. - -The crew of the Kingsdown boat determine at last that further search is -useless, and as it is not possible for them to beat back to their -distant station in the teeth of the gale, they run for Ramsgate, -arriving there just before dawn. The Walmer boat continues cruising in -the neighbourhood of the Sands until after daylight, when her crew, -seeing no signs of the wreck, also determine to make for the shore. - -The seas have been steadily increasing in violence, and are now running -very high, and as they curl and break, the crest of each wave is caught -by the fierce wind, and dispersed in a cloud of spray. - -Bravely the boat sails on through the troubled seas; she is constantly -overrun by the waves, and filled with water, but each time she speedily -regains all her buoyancy, and bounds on over the seas. The men have -almost too much confidence in her, as if no amount of sea and wind could -possibly capsize her; they carry on a press of canvas, until the stout -masts bend and the ropes strain again, and they make the sheet fast; but -now a fierce huge wave comes rushing along, catches the boat broadside -on, lifts the boat high on its crest, and then completely curls her over -and passes, leaving the boat capsized, and all the men struggling in the -water. - -But it is however only a passing victory, after all, that the sea can -boast over the life-boat; at once she rights herself, gets rid of the -water that fills her, and rides upon the seas as bravely as ever. - -Happily all the men have on their cork jackets, and in them they float -breast high; never was there such a wild dance as they now seem to -dance; tossed high and poised for a moment on the cone of a leaping -wave, again engulfed in the hollow trough of a sea, with a wall of -tumbling water all around; rising and falling in quick succession, their -arms beating broken time as they struggle to swim towards the boat, -which begins to drift fast away; it is fortunate that some of the men -have retained hold of the life-lines, the ends of which are fastened to -the boat, by these they haul themselves alongside her, and all soon -succeed in getting on board. - -Away again through the Downs, across the high rolling seas, making for -the shore, but their troubles are not yet at an end; a blast of wind, -fiercer than its fellows, strikes the sail, the boat careens over; at -that moment a huge wave leaps on the boat, strikes it with such force -and so high, that it fills the sail with water and drives the boat -bodily over, and the second time she is capsized, and the men, before -they have recovered from the exhaustion caused by their former struggle, -are the second time plunged into the sea, to find themselves battling -for their lives with the waves. The cork jackets keep them afloat as -before, but the waves run over them, and they are almost smothered in -clouds of foam, until they are thoroughly worn out by the rush and beat -of the seas which break over their heads. Up and down, tumbling here and -there in the turmoil of the seas, pale and gasping for breath, almost -too faint to make any struggle to regain the boat, becoming rapidly -unconscious; this time the wild dance mid the raging seas becomes truly -too much like a dance of death. - -Happily a powerful Deal lugger is near the scene of the disaster; her -crew at once do their best to pick up and return to the life-boat those -of the men who are themselves unable to gain it. - -The life-boat, self-righted, is floating high on the waves quite ready -for action as soon as her crew can again take charge of her, and speed -her on in her course. - -The men are, at last, all once more on board, the boat is again got -under weigh, and speeds safely to the land. - -But how, all this while, fared the unfortunate crew of the vessel, in -the vain effort to render assistance to whom the life-boat men had -incurred such hardship and peril. - -The unfortunate ship was the brig _Linda_: the captain fancied the ship -was in a safe course, free from any immediate danger; the storm fog was -too thick for them to see the land, or any of the numerous signal lights -that guard the coast, but they kept the lead going, and sped on before -the gale; suddenly all hands are alike startled and terrified by the -loud report of a gun fired quite close to them, and at seeing the light -of a light-vessel very near; they at once realize their danger, for they -know that the dread Goodwin Sands must be right under their lee; with -frantic haste they attempt to wear the ship, but it is too late; as she -feels the helm she plunges in among the surf, crashes upon the Sands, -and the great seas begin to fly over her; the ship must be lost, it is -beyond all hope that she can be saved; is there any hope for the crew? -They will not despair, or be lost without making what small efforts they -are able to obtain assistance; they know, from the violence with which -the ship rises and thumps upon the Sands, that she must very speedily go -to pieces. They get a tar-barrel, fill it with canvas, grease, and rags, -light it, and have the satisfaction of seeing it flare up with a -brilliant flame; that, at all events, must sufficiently penetrate the -surrounding darkness and gloom to make known their distress to the -neighbouring light-vessel. - -Again, and almost immediately, they hear the loud boom of the gun; but -as previously it seemed to them the signal of death, so now it affords -them a faint--a very faint hope; rockets too are fired by the -light-vessel; surely the signals will be heard and seen on shore, and -the life-boat will come out in search of them; but where will they be -then? There is no time--no time; the seas are washing over the deck, the -fierce fire of the tar-barrel is at once extinguished, and the men -hasten to take refuge from the sweeping seas in the cross-trees and -shrouds of the masts. Seven men spring to the foremast shrouds, and -climb to the cross-trees, the captain and four men cling to the -mainmast; time after time the vessel lifts and falls with a crash that -wrenches her from stem to stern, and makes all her timbers groan and -rend, and nearly shakes the sailors from their hold. Now the ship begins -to work and writhe, the timbers break with loud reports, planks are -wrenched from her side in the fierce tear of the sea, stout iron bolts -are torn from their hold and twisted like so much thread--the ship is -breaking up fast; the masts sway about, the men have to hold on their -hardest to prevent being shaken into the sea, so are they tossed and -swung about in the roll of the mast and the sway of the vessel. Each -wave leaping higher than those that have gone before, seems to claim -them for its prey; everything on the deck is swept away; the deck itself -opens, the water gets down into the hold, and soon the deck breaks up, -and pieces float away in the wash of the sea; the bulwarks are torn off, -and now a piece of the side of the vessel is wrenched away; the vessel -must be torn to fragments in a few short minutes, and death seems very -near to all the crew. - -A tremendous wave rushes over the wreck, a crash louder than a thunder -peal; the foremast has broken off close to the deck, it falls over; a -few loud despairing cries, and the seven poor fellows who clung to the -mast are hurled into the sea, and are at once lost in the wild rage of -water. - -The five men on the mainmast shudder in their terror and despair, and -cling closer and closer to the mast as it sways and jerks from side to -side; there may be a few minutes yet to live; they think of home and -wife and children, and hold on the more convulsively while the seas -break over them with increasing violence; it takes but a short time, and -the wreck beneath them seems in absolute fragments; the poop-deck is -wrenched up, and a large piece of it is torn away; at the next sea the -wreck heels over, the mainmast is carried away, and the captain and the -four men are hurled from it into the sea; the captain is thrown against -a large fragment of deck with such force that both his legs are broken; -he, however, manages to hold on to the piece of wreck, the other four -men are also swept to it, and there cling; they find themselves -surrounded by the hundred fragments of wreck into which the stout brig -has been so rapidly torn. - -The tide sweeps away the piece of deck to which the five men are so -desperately clinging--away from the scene of the sad, swift, tragedy, -and, by God's mercy, into an eddy of the current away from the surf and -breakers which are thundering down in all their fury upon the Sands, and -which would have swept the poor sailors at once to destruction if their -frail raft had come within their reach. Away in the rough but not now -broken seas the men are borne, their only hope the shattered, heaving -piece of wreck that forms their raft; the horrors of the dark night are -added to by the roar of the breakers as they crash down upon the Sands, -and the poor sailors know not but that at any moment they may be met by -some fresh eddy of the swift tide, and swept into the midst of that -fatal surf. The fierce gale howls over them, the men are exhausted and -hopeless, but they manage to lash the captain to the piece of wreck, his -two broken legs make him faint and sick with agony; and on and on they -float during the long dreary hours of the night. - -They pass the Gull light-ship, watch its bright and, to them, mocking -light, then they are carried to the north-east of the Sands; there they -meet the changing tide, and it sets them to the southward, and, to their -great joy, away from the fatal Goodwin, away in the direction of Calais, -the seas still wash over them. The agony of the captain is almost -unendurable, as every wash of the sea, every heave of the frail piece of -wreck jars his broken legs; the men have their nails torn from their -fingers with the desperate energy with which they clutch the smooth -timbers of the piece of deck on which they are lying. Hour after hour -passes, and for fifteen hours they thus float about, cold and wet, and -wounded, and faint with hunger and thirst; the poor fellows become -almost unconscious, and can only just manage to hold on mechanically to -their frail support; the morning passes, and they have no energy to look -for a passing sail, and no means of signalling if they saw one. - -Suddenly a loud shout surprises them, and they lift their heads and see, -with boundless joy, a large cutter almost alongside the raft; they seem -called back from death, and begin to arouse themselves from the swoon -into which they were all so rapidly sinking. - -The cutter is a pilot-boat from Antwerp; they are got on board her not -without much difficulty, so helpless are they, and so high is the sea -still running; the kind-hearted Belgians have every pity for the most -miserable condition of the poor men, and do all they can to restore -them; as soon as possible the pilots land them at Deal, and they are -taken to the hospital and receive all possible medical care and -attention; they soon revive, the captain's broken limbs are set, and he -ultimately recovers; and while they mourn over the sad loss of their -comrades, they cannot feel too much wonder, or be too deeply thankful, -for their own most marvellous escape. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "AMOOR." - - "No wild hurrahs accompany - The deeds these men do dare; - No beat of drum, no martial strain, - No spirit stirring air. - - "But in the cold and darksome night - They combat with the blast; - And gain, by dint of hardihood, - The victory at last. - - "Then let us pay the honour due - To such devoted strife; - Where gallant men so nobly risk - For fellow men their life." - - _G. Ward._ - - -We left, in our last chapter, the Kingsdown life-boat making for -Ramsgate harbour, and the Walmer life-boat, after a couple of upsets, -making for Deal beach. The Kingsdown boat reached Ramsgate about seven -o'clock in the morning, the gale still blowing very heavily. - -Shortly after seven o'clock signals are heard from the Gull light-ship; -and the coxswain of the Ramsgate life-boat receives orders from the -harbour-master to proceed at once to sea,--the steamer as usual taking -her in tow: the sea is very heavy, and the air thick with rain and -spray. The steamer and life-boat work their way out through the storm, -and find a brig riding at anchor in the Gull stream, not far from the -light-ship; she has a flag hoisted at her peak as a signal, and they -make for her; the crew tell them, that shortly before, in a lift in the -storm, they saw a ship on the north-west spit of the Goodwin; the -life-boat cruises in the direction pointed out, but the crew can see -nothing of the wrecked vessel, so they proceed to the Gull light-ship, -hoping there to obtain further information. The men find the crew of the -light-ship anxiously watching for their approach; they crowd aft as the -steamer and life-boat passes under the stern of the vessel, and make -signals to describe the position of the wreck; the boatmen soon discover -it, and as soon as they have been towed into the right position for so -doing, slip from the steamer, and make in for the stranded vessel. - -It is now nearly low tide. As they approach, they find that the wreck is -high and dry on a ridge of sand: nearer still, and they see a man -walking towards them on the sand, waving a large shawl; the life-boat is -steered towards him, and choosing a place where the surf is breaking -with less force, they run the boat on to the sands; three of the crew -jump overboard and wade through the surf; they join the man on the -Sands, and make for the wreck; the heavy seas have driven the Sands into -high ridges, and the gullies between these are waist-deep and full of -running water, with the sand soft and quick at the bottom; through these -deep gullies the men have to wade. - -Arriving at the wreck, they find it to be that of a brigantine, named -the _Amoor_. At about eleven o'clock of the night previous, in the dark -mist and heavy gale, she had run on the Sands at nearly high tide, the -sea immediately ran over the vessel, and the crew had no time to make a -single signal of distress, but had directly to climb up into the main -rigging to prevent being washed overboard. Fortunately the ship was stem -on to the Sands, with her stern to the wind and tide, and she kept -straight--and as she was laden with coals, she kept upright on her keel. -As the tide rose, the waves in their rush lifted the wreck and carried -her gradually on and on, letting her fall after each lift with a heavy -shock that made it difficult for the men to retain their hold. Then the -seas broke over her so heavily that the men feared that they would be -washed even from their position in the main rigging, and managed to get -on to the foremast; here they found more shelter. For about four miles -did the ship thus beat over the Sands, and the men felt, with a great -and deep thankfulness, that if they had had the guidance of her -themselves, they could not have kept her more straight in her course -along the narrow high ridge of the sand than she was kept by God's -providence, for if the vessel had been carried to the right or to the -left of that narrow ridge of sand, she would have got into deep water, -and then must have sunk immediately, so much was her hull shattered, -and all her crew would of necessity have been at once drowned. - -But the agony of mind and the suspense endured this time by the men was -something terrible. They could scarcely feel any hope that the wreck -would long sustain the terrible shocks that she was receiving. They -looked down upon the mad waves as they raced by, and each one seemed a -ready grave; there was nothing to be done, no fierce struggle for life, -which in its excitement should lessen the terrors of the apparently -approaching death, only to cling on and wait in the darkness. - -And now they feel that the end must soon come, for they hear the surf -roaring near; it is roaring on the edge of the Sands, the waves rushing -in from the deep water and breaking upon the Sands, and this right in -the path along which their vessel is being driven yard by yard. A little -more and she must be plunged in this surf, and then a few yards, and she -must sink in deep water; and as thousands upon thousands have earnestly -prayed that they might be kept off these deadly sands, so these poor -sailors now earnestly seek that they may be left on them, until daylight -comes, and their pitiable position may be seen, and they have a chance -of being saved. - -They are now within a quarter of a mile of the end of the sand, but the -tide is falling rapidly, and the wreck lifts less and less; at last, to -the great joy of all her crew, she grounds heavily and ceases to lift. -She is swung round broadside to the tide, and falls over on her side, -and then works and crashes almost to pieces. The water now soon leaves -her, and she becomes high and dry, and speedily the men can leave the -wreck and stand upon the sand; the surf rages around them at a short -distance; it is only for a few hours that where they now stand will be -dry, and then the sea will rage over the sand again with all its fury. -The captain is a bold, active determined man; he will throw away no -chance of safety; something must be done before the return of tide, and -he will lose no time. The captain and crew can form no opinion as to -where they are; the vessel is an absolute wreck, beaten by this time -almost to fragments, they have no means of signalling their distress, -and it seems that their only chance will be to make a raft out of the -many shattered pieces of timber that are hanging about the wreck; the -boats have long since been destroyed and washed away. The shipwrecked -crew have only their knives to work with, but they commence with all -energy, wrenching away the broken timbers from the deck and sides of the -vessel, cutting away the ropes, lashing the timbers together. But with -their utmost efforts they can make but slow progress, and they feel that -their raft, when as hastily completed, as it must be, will be but a -frail support in the rage of waters with which it will have to contend, -as soon as the sea again beats over the Sands; but still on that dry -knoll of sand, in almost pitch darkness, with the wind howling by them, -and the roar of the breaking waves all around, the men work on and on. -The poor storm-beaten, wearied men, feel faint and exhausted, but spare -no labour, slack no energy, for the tide will turn with the dawn, and -then, as an enemy creeping up to destroy them, will, in its speedy -advance, give them short time for labour, and scant mercy, when it once -seizes them as its prey. The dawn has broken, the tide is rising, and -each man is inspired to fresh exertions. Suddenly, they are all startled -by the loud report of a gun, fired at no great distance from them. What -is it? What is it? they all cry. Soon a rocket goes whizzing up into the -grey misty clouds. Is it a signal from some unfortunate vessel in -distress similar to that which they are in? At all events that feeling -of intense and hopeless solitude which almost overcame them, seemed -disturbed, and whilst they eagerly work on, they at the same time keep a -sharp look out in the direction from which the signals have been given; -they are soon able to make out that it is a light-vessel that is -signalling; this fills them with hope; they must have been seen by the -watch on board, and it is on their account that the signal must have -been made; but still they will not abate any of their efforts, the -life-boat may not be able to reach them, or she may not be out in time -to save them; at all events, with the tide creeping up as it is, they -will not lose a chance, and go on busily constructing the raft. They -have made considerable progress, having lashed a good many spars -crosswise, and pieces of bulwark over them, when they discover a -steamer's smoke not far off, and soon after make out a boat, which must -be a life-boat, making in over the seas towards them; one man makes for -the edge of the Sands, and soon the boat grounds not far from him, and -three boatmen wade towards him. - -The boatmen, when they reach the raft, find the men getting some -provisions on to it, but all the stores have been under water during the -night, and are spoilt. The joy of the shipwrecked men at the arrival of -the boatmen is intense. "Thank God! that you have come," said the -captain; "I did not at all expect that any of us would have been alive -this morning." - -A strange meeting it seems, in that wild stormy morning, there, on the -centre of the Goodwin Sands, where the waves had raged so furiously a -few hours before, and would in a few hours rage so furiously again; -there, where the shipwrecked had expected to die a tragical death, the -sailors and the boatmen stand greeting each other; the life-boatmen -rejoicing almost as much at being there ready to save the poor sailors, -as they are at the prospect of being saved; the ship's crew look down -upon their raft, and feel indeed what a poor protection it must have -proved in the storm which they would have had to encounter. - -The crew of the wrecked vessel, now that the excitement of working with -such fierce energy at the raft is over, begin to feel the reaction, and -feel thoroughly exhausted, and look so worn and weather beaten, as if -the death shade, which had seemed to hover over them for so many hours, -had left its impress upon the countenance of each. - -A few more words of greeting and thankfulness between the castaways and -the rescuers, and all prepare to find their way across the Sands to the -life-boat. The life-boatmen first climb on board the wreck, to see if -they can find any small things which they can save for the men, but -every moveable thing seems to have been washed out of the vessel; they -find the cabin broken and crushed up, but manage to drag a few of the -captain's clothes out of it; they find a dog on board, which they save. -And now all turn their backs upon the wreck. - -The shipwrecked sailors have become very feeble, and some of them are -scarcely able to drag their limbs along, and require to be held up on -both sides as they wade through the shallow channels of water, many of -which they have to cross on their way to the boat. - -They hurry on as fast as they can, for the weather is very uncertain, -and a mist or snow-squall coming on would put them in the greatest -possible peril, for they would in that case very speedily be lost among -the gullies, which are half filled with water, and which stretch in all -directions across the Sands at low water; and the boatmen know what it -would be to be lost there; with the sand getting soft and quick beneath -their feet as the tide rose, and with the narrowing belt of surf each -moment drawing nearer and nearer, there to wander hopelessly for a short -time, then to be scarcely able to move as the sands grew quick, and then -to fall an easy prey to the fierce sweep of the first breaker that -rolled in upon them. It is no wonder that the boatmen look with dread -upon the increasing gloom of the morning, and hurry the men on as much -as possible; they make out the life-boat, and with much difficulty and -exertion they get to the edge of the Sands. - -The life-boat is at anchor with ten fathoms of chain out; the heavy -breakers are rolling in and lifting her with such violence as they sweep -on, that at each lift she drags her anchor, and beats further and -further over the spit of sand upon which the waves are expending their -first fury. The surf flies over the boat, fills her, and then rages on -in clouds of foam. The men on board are anxiously looking for the return -of their comrades with the shipwrecked crew, and greatly rejoice as they -see the groups of men struggling across the Sands to the boat. They soon -make out how exhausted the shipwrecked men are, and feel that it will be -very hard work for them to wade through the surf to the boat. Some of -the boatmen get life lines ready to throw to any that may be overpowered -and thrown down by the wind and tide, others jump overboard to go to the -assistance of the enfeebled sailors. It is bitterly cold, and the water, -as they wade through it, feels as if it would freeze them through and -through; they bring off the shipwrecked crew one by one, the more -exhausted of them being supported on both sides between two life-boat -men; at last all are on board, but they cannot yet leave the sands; they -must wait until the water is high enough to float the life-boat over the -ridge which surrounds her. All are shivering with cold and wet; they -crouch in the boat and protect themselves as well as they can from the -flying surf; a long weary hour is thus passed; the tide rises -sufficiently, sail is set, and the life-boat makes for the steam-boat, -and is greeted with cheers--cheers that are heartily answered. The -shipwrecked sailors, who had had during the night no hope of again -giving a cry of joy on earth, join in as lustily as they can, in that -cry which, sounding over the wild seas, tells of noble deeds in -struggling to save life, and of happy and most blessed results. That -although the storm still swept furiously by, and although the waves -still rushed madly around the shipwrecked, that they were now safe in -the safety afforded by the noble life-boat. So safe, indeed, that it was -not too soon for the poor sailors to rejoice in their rescue, and to -express with heartfelt cheer their gratitude to the brave men who had -rescued them from their position of deadly peril. - -The steamer does not take long in towing the boat to Ramsgate, where all -receive the usual warm greeting, and the shipwrecked the needful care. - -The crew of the wrecked vessel, the _Amoor_ of Elswick, are Germans; -their consul takes care of them, and sends them to the Sailors' Home. - -They proved so thankful for the rescue effected, that they wrote to -their home authorities, and the life-boat men soon received from the -Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin an expression of gratitude and -admiration for their conduct, accompanied by a Silver Medal, a -Certificate of Merit, and ten shillings each man. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "EFFORT"--THE DANGERS OF HOVELLING. - - "All where the eye delights, yet dreads to roam, - The breaking billows cast the flying foam - Upon the billows rising; all the deep - Is restless change; the waves so swelled and steep, - Breaking and sinking; and the sunken swells, - Not one, one moment, in its station dwells." - - _Crabbe._ - - -The famous old life-boat _Northumberland_ had done her work, and had -done it nobly and well. Staunch, and true, she had breasted the hardest -gales, stemmed the fiercest seas, and had been the means of rescuing -hundreds of perishing men, women, and children from that which, without -her, and the brave hearts and strong hands that sailed her, must have -been swift, certain, and terrible death; but at last her time had -come--weather beaten, wrenched, and worn, with her thousand battles with -the gales, she was condemned as being no longer to be intrusted with the -precious lives that she contained, as she went forth to contend with the -wild seas that rage over the Goodwin Sands. - -The _Bradford_, a very powerful and excellent boat presented to the -Life-boat Institution by the good people of Bradford, and by the -Institution appointed to Ramsgate, had not yet been sent down, and a -smaller boat called the _Little Friend_ was occupying her place for the -time. - -But it was a clear fine morning, with the waves fretting and fuming -somewhat, but dancing and gleaming brightly in the sunshine; it had been -squally during the night, and at times had blown very hard, but the -morning promised better, and the life-boat was rocking gently at her -moorings, no one thinking it likely that her services would be required -for some time. - -But the boatmen must be doing something, if only drawing their bow at a -venture, and now the _Champion_ is getting ready for sea; she is one of -the Ramsgate hovelling-luggers, a noble boat of twenty-two tons, fit for -any weather. In summer time she is fitted as a pleasure-boat, and, as -such, takes many a holiday cruise; but now she is in winter gear, and -ready for rougher scenes and harder work. - -The more threatening and heavy the weather, the greater the probability -of disaster occurring, or having occurred, then the more ready are her -crew to work their way out to the Goodwin Sands, and to cruise round -them on the look-out for vessels in distress; they dare not take the -lugger into the broken water--there a life-boat alone can live; but -still she is a grand sea-boat, one that will stagger on with a ship's -heavy anchor and chain on board, through weather bad enough for -anything--a boat that is well suited for the hard and dangerous service -which employs her during the winter months. - -Her crew consists of ten men; the men get no regular pay, but any -salvage or reward for services they may obtain is divided into fourteen -shares: the boat takes three and a half shares for her owners, one half -share goes to the provision account, as the crew when on board are -supplied by the owners with provisions, and one share is given to each -of the men--this is the ordinary arrangement. Complaints are sometimes -made of the amounts charged by these men for services rendered; but the -cases of a good hovel are few and far between; and often the luggers put -out to sea, night after night, throughout a stormy winter, hanging about -the Sands, in wind and rain, and snow and mists, the men half frozen -with the cold, and half smothered with the flying surf and spray, and -often week after week they thus suffer and endure, and do not make a -penny-piece each man; working their hardest, without any other result, -than that of getting more and more into debt at home, and almost tempted -to become disheartened with it all, hardly able to hope against hope; -then at last, perhaps, comes a chance--a big ship is on the tail of a -sand bank; they render assistance and get her off; if she had remained -there another tide she would probably have been knocked to pieces: they -have saved thousands of pounds' worth of property; and the captain, and -the owners, and the underwriters, all look aghast, and cry out with -indignation, when they ask perhaps a sum that will give them ten or -fifteen pounds a man--do something to pay the scores that have been -growing month after month, something to requite them for the weary -watching, and labour, and suffering, that they have had so many weeks in -vain. - -No! let those who grumble at the demands made on such occasions, feel -fully assured that they know many easier, more pleasant, and more -profitable ways of making money, than by hovering around the Goodwin -Sands throughout the nights of a stormy winter, on the look-out for -vessels in distress. The following tale will illustrate, in its simple -narration of actual facts, some of the dangers to which the men are -exposed when on such service. - -On the morning in question a haze floated over the Goodwin Sands, -preventing anything being made out from the shore; wherever the haze -lifted a little, the men on the look-out on the pier closely watched the -break in it with their glasses; for the channels on either side of the -Sands are so narrow and the tides so strong, that it is an easy matter -for a ship-master to lose his bearings in thick weather, and to run his -ship on the Sands. - -A squall passes over the Sands, driving the mists before it, and the men -on the pier make out that a vessel is ashore on the Goodwin; she is -completely on her broadside, and the boatmen, looking through powerful -glasses, can see that men are walking about on the side of the wreck. -The harbour-master is immediately informed; he knows that the _Champion_ -lugger is out there, but the surf may be too great for her to be able to -render assistance, and he gives directions that the life-boat shall be -at once manned. The steamer soon takes the life-boat in tow, and they -proceed through a comparatively smooth sea to the vessel. Upon arriving -there, they find that the _Champion_ lugger has succeeded in sending in -her small boat, and in taking the men off the wreck. - -But as the boat makes off to the lugger's she loses an oar, and the tide -is running with such strength that the boat's crew cannot stem it, and -are driven back in the direction of the Sands; the life-boat men see the -danger the boat will get into if she is carried into the broken water, -and at once give chase. - -The men on board the lugger's boat are, not unnaturally, anxious to have -the honour of saving the crew without the assistance of the life-boat, -and they persevere in their efforts to reach the lugger; suddenly the -wind flies round to the north-east, and a heavy squall sweeps along -accompanied with snow and sleet; it becomes very thick and dark, the -lugger's men think the squall will soon pass, and although their boat is -only sixteen feet long, and has eleven men on board, they still work -away striving to get back to the lugger. But the wind increases in -force, and the sea begins to make rapidly, the little boat gets into -shallow water and thumps heavily on the edge of the sand; then the -boatmen and the shipwrecked crew realize the danger they are in. The -wrecked sailors begin to shout to the life-boat men to come to their -help, and the boat's crew see that they cannot get away from the Sands -by themselves; in fact, that without the aid of the life-boat they must -all then and there perish, and they are glad to make for the life-boat -with all speed. The sailors and some of the boat's crew get on board the -life-boat, two or three hands remain in the small boat, which is taken -in tow by the life-boat, and they start in search of the steamer; but -the weather becomes more and more thick, and they can see nothing of -her; in fact, can only see a few yards before them. Now to their dismay -they find that they have come away without a compass, and the wind has -shifted so frequently and rapidly, that they cannot guess at its -direction, and therefore cannot tell which way to steer; they are on the -top of the Sands, and in very shallow water, and the boat often touches -the ground with a great jerk as she sails along. Now, and again, she -grounds bow on and is swung round and round by the tide. The tide as it -is low water runs through so many channels and swatch ways that its -direction does not at all help the men to tell the course they are -steering; and so, as a mere matter of guess-work, and that they may keep -the boat's head in one direction, they put her on the wind, and after -being beaten about a good deal by the broken seas, succeed in getting -into deep water; but not until they have been entangled for four hours -among the Sands. - -After sailing for about half an hour, they discover the Gull light -looming red out of the thick mist. They then soon make out the -_Champion_, and put her crew on board her. The lugger's men want the -shipwrecked crew to accompany them, but they are too content with the -life-boat, and refuse to move; the steamer comes up and takes the -life-boat in tow. Again the wrecked sailors cannot be persuaded to leave -the life-boat for her, and as soon as the boat is in tow, and they are -well under weigh, the wrecked sailors begin to tell their tale. - -"The name of our wrecked vessel is the _Effort_; it is now several days -since we sailed from the Forth, bound for Rotterdam, and ever since we -have had a a terrible time of it, nothing but gale after gale, the wind -flying about in all directions, until you can guess we were pretty well -tired of all this beating about in the North Sea; what with the wind -driving us first in one direction and then in another--what with -contrary tides and thick weather--we soon lost our reckoning, and must -have been caught in the lee drift of the tide, and thus got carried on -to the Goodwin Sands. We grounded heavily, at once felt the danger we -were in, and hoisted lamps as signals of distress, but we knew that -these could not be made out at any distance in such thick weather, and -hurried to get a tar-barrel on deck to set fire to it, and make a good -blaze; but our vessel was very light--she rolled from side to side -almost yard arms under, and suddenly capsized altogether. At once, and -with difficulty, we made for the weather-rigging, and were glad to find -that not any of the crew were lost as she fell over. We lashed ourselves -to the rigging. We knew to our great joy that the tide was falling; had -it been rising we must have very soon been overrun by it, the vessel -broken up, and every man of us lost. We were in danger enough as it was, -for the brig soon after she capsized was caught by the tide, and worked -round with her deck towards the seas; and as the heavy seas broke over -her and came rushing up the deck, they fell on us with terrible weight, -and beat us and crushed us against the ship's rail, so that we were -forced to unlash ourselves from the rigging, and what to do we did not -know, till one of us said, 'Our only chance is to lash the end of the -ropes round our waists, and let go the rigging as the waves come,' and -so we did; and terrible work it was. As the waves came we slackened the -ropes and went away a little with them, and as they passed, half -smothered as we were, hauled ourselves back to the rigging and held on a -bit; and then, when the next wave came, we let go, and were all adrift -in the wash again; our hands were almost torn to pieces with the strain -on the ropes, and grasping at the side of the vessel." And they shewed -where their hands were torn, with the nails almost drawn from the finger -ends. "You see, too, how our clothes were nearly dragged off us; it was -indeed an awful time. We encouraged each other as well as we could, but -soon became too exhausted to speak much, and just went struggling on. -The topmast heads were right down in the Sands, and every moment we -expected the masts would break off short, and then the vessel would have -rolled over, and it would have been death to us at once--but while there -was life there was hope, and so we held on, just hoping against hope, -and so we would not despair, but seemed to gather a little bit of -courage, again and again struggling to prolong, for a few minutes, the -life of which we saw so little chance of at last saving; but the tide -was still falling, and if we could only live through all the wash of the -sea, until it had gone down a bit, there was just one more chance for -us. - -"Well, we stood it for about two hours, I should think, the seas -breaking over us continually, when we began to feel that they were -getting less heavy, and ran less and less up the deck, and over the -vessel. And at last, although half dead with breathlessness and fatigue, -from the exertion and the constant rush of the waves over us, we were -able to drag ourselves up on to the broadside of the vessel, and then we -threw ourselves down full length, to try and recover our strength a -little." - -It was with no slight degree of interest and sympathy that the life-boat -men listened to the tale of the poor fellows; three of whom were married -men, and they described how the thoughts of the loved ones at home, -while it added to their agony, yet nerved them time after time to fresh -efforts to struggle free from the seas that overran them. - -One man grew very excited as they told the dismal story. His limbs and -features worked, the horrors of the past night came upon him in all -their force, and as the waves dashed over the life-boat, he fancied -himself again being washed off the side of the wreck, and springing up -he shouted, "Let me drown myself, let me drown myself, I can stand it no -longer!" and tried to throw himself into the sea. Three men seized him, -held him down and tried to pacify him, but still he struggled, -shouting,--"I cannot stand it! I cannot stand it! let me go! let me -go!" He soon became somewhat quieter, from exhaustion, but the men did -not feel it safe to let go their hold upon him, until they got into the -harbour. - -It was now about half-past four in the afternoon, and the life-boat work -for the day was done, the shipwrecked crew staggered to the Sailors' -Home; wondering much to find themselves still alive, after the dread -perils, and terrible struggles, and exhaustion, of the previous night. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE HOVELLERS, OR SALVORS, SAVED. THE "PRINCESS ALICE" HOVELLING LUGGER. - - "When they who to the sea go down, - And in the waters ply their toil, - Are lifted on the surge's crown, - And plunged where seething eddies boil, - - "Then with Thy mercies ever new, - Thy servants set from peril free; - And bring them, Pilot wise and true, - Unto the port where they would be." - - _Hymn._ - - -No sooner has the life-boat started in the morning, in answer to the -signal from the Goodwin light-vessel, than the master of the _Princess -Alice_ gathers a crew of twelve men, and follows as fast as possible in -the wake of the life-boat. - -A fine south-westerly breeze is blowing and the noble lugger bowls along -at a great speed, and reaches the neighbourhood of the Sands about a -mile and a half behind the life-boat. The lugger brings to an anchor -just outside the Sands, and her crew, finding that the weather has -somewhat moderated, and that the sea has gone down with the tide, -determine to send six of their men in their small boat into the wreck, -to see if they can save any cargo or rigging; the men get to the wreck -without much difficulty, and find her right over on her broadside, with -her yard-arms buried some feet in the Sands; the top-gallant mast is -gone; her rigging and all her top-hamper, a tangled mass, is floating -and washing about in a deep hole which the eddy of the waves, beating -against the wreck, has worked. - -The men climb on to the side of the vessel, and then lower themselves -down from the weather-rigging across the deck, which is lying almost -upright on its side, that they may look into the hold; the hatches are -off, and they find that the hold is quite empty, everything washed out; -it is difficult to get into the captain's cabin, as the vessel is -completely on her side, or there may be things there worth saving; they -will see to it by-and-by, and now they proceed at once to save what -rigging they can. The three men on the vessel get their knives and -choppers to work, and commence cutting away, when suddenly it begins to -get dark, a heavy squall threatens, and a storm of snow and hail comes -driving along before the wind. - -The men in the boat shout out, "It begins to look bad; do you not think -that we had better be leaving, and get out of this?" - -But the men busy in the rigging are somewhat excited over their work, -and answer back, "It is only a squall, a mere spoon drift, and will soon -work round;" the wind, however, rapidly increases, and sweeps by in -such violent gusts, that the men on the ship's side are nearly blinded -with the snow, and can no longer hold on against the wind; well! they -are willing to work hard and risk much, to save what they can from the -hungry Goodwin Sands, even if that which they save will give them only a -few shillings a man; but if they cannot, they cannot; it is not the -first time, by very many, that they have returned with nothing but -danger and labour for their pains. - -"Look sharp, men, look sharp; do you want to drown us all?" "Come down -at once," is the cry from the boat; and the men lower themselves down -over the slippery side of the vessel, into the small boat, which is -leaping and tossing about in the waves which begin to surge up with some -violence. - -"Now, men, oars out and away with a will; I doubt we have left it quite -long enough." "Aye! Aye! too long, I fear." "Well! time enough to think -that when we find it so." "Which way are you going?" they ask the -coxswain. "I don't suppose there is much choice, there will be less surf -running at the back of the Sand, and the lugger is sure to expect us to -come out there, now that the sea has got up; so round with her, and pull -hard." - -And away, as for their lives, the men pull, the little boat seethes -through the troubled water, urged by her powerful crew; and they soon -near the edge of the Sand, and are making for deep water. "Easy all, -men! do you hear that?" And to their dismay, they hear the surf beating -heavily, right ahead of them. "Didn't I tell you so?" "Hold your -tongue--our work is to get out of this, not to grumble while in it." -"Right enough then, and I am your man; but what next?" - -"Pull ahead a little, and let's look at them;" and doing so, they see -huge waves rolling in out of the deep water upon the shallow Sands, -mounting up, curling over, and breaking, washing back, meeting other -breakers foaming up against them; in fact, a sea of raging water -surrounding the Sands; a sea in which their little boat would be swamped -at once, and in which, indeed, no ordinary boat could float, and only a -life-boat could possibly pass through. - -As they mount on a wave they can see the lugger, riding safely just -outside the surf, only a quarter of a mile off, waiting for them; but -that quarter of a mile it is impossible for them to pass, and equally -impossible for the lugger to get any nearer to them. - -"Well, my men, there is no help for it here; we cannot get off the Sands -this way, that's certain." - -The seas begin to break heavily over the boat; the men keep her head to -the waves, or she would be at once rolled over, so rapidly is the swell -setting in; as it is, she begins to fill with water, and they have to -continue bailing her; they must let her drift back, pulling easy to keep -her head straight, and each wave carries them some distance further from -the edge of the Sand. As soon as they get clear of the rollers and the -surf, they rest on their oars, and consult what is to be done; it all -seems very hopeless, but it is no good waiting where they are; and so -they determine to return again to the wreck, as to their only place of -safety, and this indeed but for a very short time. - -They get to the wreck, and lay under shelter of her hull, not knowing -what to do; never did men seem in more terrible plight, the wreck could -afford but the scantiest shelter to the crew who hopelessly clung to her -the night before; then the tide was falling, but now the tide is rising; -each moment the great rollers that are rushing in upon the Sands break -nearer and nearer; soon they will rush over the wreck, cover her -completely, and rend and tear her to fragments. What can be done? To -remain where they are is certain death, to attempt to escape in their -small open boat seems death, equally certain. Well, it is better to die -doing than to die waiting; but never have men held consultation under -more apparently hopeless circumstances; the boat the men are in is the -boat the _Princess Alice_ generally carries on her deck, between the -masts; she is about eighteen feet long, and four broad, fine boat enough -for her size; but she seems more than sufficiently filled by the six -powerful men who are in her, and if she should be caught in the roll of -one of the big waves, she will at once be capsized, or fill with water, -and sink, leaving her crew but a few gasping moments of vain struggle -with the boiling seas. - -And the seas rage round them every moment nearer and nearer. Some of the -men think that if they can drag the boat for about a mile over the crown -of the part of the Sands that is still dry, and thus get out to windward -of the North-west Spit, that they may find more shelter there for a -time, and if they do find it somewhat smoother there, will perhaps be -able to work their way through the surf; but upon a snow-squall, which -for a time had darkened all around them, clearing away, they find that -the breakers are throwing up as much surf there as anywhere else, and -all hope of rescue in that direction is gone; and the conviction settles -down upon them all, that there seems indeed no possibility of escape; -but still they kept cool, and quiet, and undaunted, prepared to do their -utmost, calmly and skilfully, up to the last moment, letting no chance -go by; at all events, they will stop where they are no longer, as the -breaking seas are closing in upon them fast. - -The Goodwin Sands are about nine miles long; in the middle of them there -is at low water a large lake, which is called on the chart "Trinity -Bay," but which is known to the boatmen as the In-sand; the men row in -the direction of this lake, and row over the sand-banks which surround -it, as soon as the tide has flowed sufficiently to enable them to do so; -now they find themselves in completely smooth water, and are safe; but -for how long? a short hour or so, for the hungry waves are following -them up fast, still higher and higher comes the tide, and a furious surf -begins to rage over the banks that for a time protect the lake. - -Well do the men know how short a time of rest remains to them; they hear -the beat of the heavy waves thundering near, they see the gleam of the -surf, the sea begins to boil up around them, the circle of safety gets -each moment more narrow, their dread ruthless enemy is on them again, -and the men brace themselves for a life-and-death struggle, for with -such a struggle they are face to face. - -"Now, my men, to it again! look out all!" and each man grasps his oar -hard, fixes his eye upon the steersman, James Penny, watches his every -sign, and listens to his every word; for in the struggle that is before -them any mistake may be at once fatal to all. - -The big waves roll in, fast following each other, and the boat meets -each one head on, and rises to it; the surf flies over the men, and into -the boat; "Bale away, Penny! bale away! or she will swamp!"--and fast -the steersman bales; he has one hand on the tiller, and is watching the -direction of every wave, and shouting to the men, on which side to ease, -on which to pull a little harder, to keep the boat's head straight to -the waves; for if but one wave catches the boat on the side it will roll -her over at once, and all must perish; they must row sometimes harder in -a lull, sometimes gently when a high roller comes, to avoid its breaking -upon them, or to prevent their burying the boat's bow in its steep side. - -The coxswain sees a tremendous wave rolling on; a few smaller ones come -first; up the boat flies, down again, again mounts high, and again falls -down; "Steady all, look out, half a stroke hard starboard side, easy -port, now easy all--easy all;" the men stop pulling, and lay their oars -flat on the water to steady the boat; the great wave rolls on, the -boat's bow is tossed high, nearly on end, the men lean back as far as -possible, but can scarcely keep their seats, or prevent being thrown -bodily forward upon the coxswain; the boat falls with a heavy plunge; -there is a moment's lull. "Now a stroke, or two, my men;" and they -gently press the boat forward and make a little way; "Easy all, head her -to it, here she comes," and up again they mount upon the crest of a -wave, and are again nearly turned end-over-end, but, happily, fall on an -even keel as the wave passes, and at once prepare themselves to meet the -next sea, and thus meeting wave after wave, overcoming danger after -danger, they go drifting slowly with the tide. The men do not dare at -any time to pull hard for fear of rowing the boat under, they make -therefore but little way ahead, not more than half a mile, or so, an -hour, but they are carried slowly by the tide down Trinity Bay in the -direction of the Downs. - -The boat has been nearly full of water all this time, from the surf and -spray that have broken into her, but she happily has a belt of cork -round her, underneath the thwarts, or she must have long since been -swamped, but this, with the constant baling of the coxswain, has kept -her afloat. - -The men have been able to remain in the bay until the tide has risen -greatly, and it is now high water over the Sands, and the water being -deeper, the seas do not break nearly as heavily as before; they are -mounting seas, not running seas. The mounting sea swells up and comes -pushing along, like a hill of water, steep on both sides; its crest is -caught by the wind and is driven away in clouds of spray and foam, but -a boat meeting it has time to rise, and float over it; but a running sea -is much more dangerous; its base is caught and retarded by the Sands; it -comes along, its sides steep as a wall, its crest curling more and more -over until it breaks, and the upper portion of the wave falls with a -mighty crash, with perhaps tons of water in its volume; it would be -impossible for any boat but a life-boat to contend for a moment with -such a rushing breaking sea as this, and the little boat the six men are -in, with its heavy freight, would be swamped, beaten under water and -rolled over by the first such sea she met; but if the men can only steer -clear of these breakers, and keep the boat's head so as to meet the -mounting seas bow on, and manage to bale her constantly so as to keep -her a little free from water, they may live through it all yet; with -this hope they labour on steadily, bravely, and hour after hour they -thus contend with the storm; the boat is now coming to the worst of the -water--to the steep edge of the Sand--and the men feel that, for a time, -the danger must increase, and all brace themselves up again, prepared -for any further effort, or care, that may be required. - -The steersman, who has been steering and baling the boat for about four -hours, suddenly lets the bowl with which he is baling fly from his hand; -he gives a cry of horror, the men cannot help repeating it, for is not -this likely to be a death-stroke to them all? The men at once realize -the dread increase of danger this misfortune creates. - -To keep the boat afloat without baling is impossible; the surf breaks -into her continually; the men cannot bale with their southwesters, for -they must keep rowing; they require both hands, and to exert all their -strength to free their oars from the seas, and to keep the blades from -being blown up into the air, as the force of the gale catches them; -while the steersman must of necessity keep one hand on the tiller; and -all must continue labouring without one moment's cessation to keep the -boat's head straight to the seas. - -Most happily the bowl is a wooden one, and there it is floating a few -yards from them; they watch it wistfully, as they, and it, are tossed up -and down by the quick waves; back the boat down upon the bowl they -cannot, for it is on their broadside, and drifting away on the tide -faster than they are floating: it would seem, that it must be an easy -matter to pick up a bowl that is floating only a few yards from the -boat; but not so now, for every moment, racing swiftly after each other, -the waves come rushing on. It is strange as they watch the bowl to feel -that their lives depend upon their recovering it, and yet how likely -they are to perish in the attempt, and thus the men casting anxious -glances at the bowl keep steadily to their work; they allow no word of -fear or discouragement to be spoken; they must have mind, nerve, and -muscle in full play; if a word of hopelessness is let fall, "Don't speak -like that--don't speak like that, stick to your oar!" they must be words -of encouragement, or no words at all, and in grim silence, except for -the few words of direction shouted out by the coxswain, the men wait -their fate. Suddenly the coxswain cries, "Here is a lull, round with -her, sharp!" The men on the starboard side give a mighty pull; the men -on the port back their hardest; one pull all together, the bowl is -within reach; the coxswain grasps it with a hasty snatch! "Round! round, -with her quick, quick!" and the eager men get her head straight to the -seas again, before the waves have time to catch the boat broadside on -and roll it over. All breathe again; they have another chance of life. -Thank God! thank God! - -They now pass away from the Sands and get into the Gull stream, but the -wind has chopped round and continues to blow a fierce gale; the sea is -running very high and broken; and in that rough sea they are still in -extreme danger on account of the smallness of their boat, and so many -men being in her, and they have to proceed with the greatest care and -caution. - -As they get into the Gull stream they see vessel after vessel running -with close-reefed topsails before the gale; the boatmen hail them but -they get no answer: one little sloop affords them slight hope, for she -is evidently altering her course, but after a moment's apparent -hesitation, away she goes again before the gale, and abandons them to -their fate. The captain of the little vessel related afterwards, how in -the height of the storm he saw some poor fellows in a small boat, and -had a great wish to try and save them, but the sea was running so high -that he felt it was impossible to heave his vessel to, and so had to -leave them, and that they must have been driven on the Sands and lost. -This sloop was about a quarter of a mile from the boat, and the men do -not again get as near to any other ship, and as vessel after vessel -passes, and the night begins to grow dark, the position of the men -becomes more and more hopeless--and they all feel that if no vessel -picks them up, they must soon be blown in again upon the Sands, and -there perish. - -All of the men, except one, are married; the man in the bow has a wife -and five children, and it is his thoughts of them that keep him nerved -to his work, for although weak, exhausted, and almost fainting, he still -sticks to his oar and feebly paddles on; the only single man in the boat -is his brother-in-law; and his mind keeps running as much upon what his -sister will do, as a widow with five children, as it does upon the -thoughts of his own probable fate; and so although the men will not -permit themselves to lament or bemoan their almost certain fate, for -fear of weakening their own nerves or discouraging each other, each has -his solemn conviction of what must soon happen, and is in his own breast -thinking of death, and bidding "Good-bye," to the loved ones who are -resting those few miles away. - -The Downs had been full of ships at the commencement of the storm, but -as the wind increased in violence and blew right through, the anchorage -was no longer safe, and vessel after vessel slipped her cable and ran -before the gale; until at last only one vessel, a large American ship, -remains at anchor. The boatmen make her out when they are about half a -mile from her, and find, to their great joy, that she is almost -directly in the path in which they are drifting; to get alongside her is -their last hope, for although the tide is now carrying them against the -wind and from the Sands, the tide will very soon turn, and then with the -tide, and before the wind, they will be swept with terrible speed right -in upon the Sands, and must there at once perish, and it will be -impossible for them to row against the tide, as all their efforts will -still be required to keep the boat bow on to the seas. - -Whenever, after the passing of a few of the largest of the waves, there -comes a comparative lull, or smooth, and they dare press the boat, they -pull a few strokes and shoot ahead, and thus manage to get exactly in -the path of the American ship. - -As they drop slowly towards her they shout time after time, but cannot -make themselves heard; and it is getting too dusk for them to be seen at -any distance; the seas are running alongside the ship almost gunwale -high, and it is impossible to get nearer to her than within fifty yards. -Hail after hail the men give, still they get no answer; they can see a -man on the poop, but he evidently neither sees nor hears them, and their -last chance seems slipping away, for they are fast drifting past the -vessel. "Get on the thwart, Dick, and shout with all your might!" the -coxswain says to the man pulling stroke-oar; "I'll hold you," hauling in -his oar, and catching it under the seat; the man springs upon the -thwart, and balancing himself for a second, hails with all his force. - -"The man is moving, he hears us; hurrah!" is the glad cry in the boat. -They can see that he is looking about in astonishment, wondering from -where the voice from the sea came. They all shout together; he sees -them, waves his arm, and hurries along the poop; other men come -hastening up, called by him, and look with astonishment at the little -boat so full of men, being tossed about in that wild sea. The boat -drifts by the ship, they venture a pull or two and get her under the -stern of the vessel, shooting her a little across the seas; they then -pull a little harder to try and keep her position, risking a little more -to keep near the ship--indeed the vessel somewhat protects them from the -rush of the seas. - -The coxswain sees a man on the vessel throw something overboard--it is a -coil of rope with a life-buoy attached; they make it out as it floats -near, and manage to get it on board. The pilot is the man who first saw -the boat, and has got the life-buoy and thrown it over to them. The -captain of the vessel is now on deck; he orders the men to send down a -rope from each quarter of the vessel, and to try and keep the boat -directly astern of the centre of the ship, for if the boat sheers to one -side or the other, and any of the big waves which are racing by the ship -catch her on her broadside, she must go over at once. - -So they shout to the men in the boat, "Hold on--we will send you another -rope," and soon another life-buoy with a rope attached, comes floating -by; they get it on board, and seeing directly the object for which it is -sent, haul the ropes over each bow, and strive to keep the boat in -position; but still they are in great danger; their safety hitherto has -been in floating with the waves, yielding to them as they rolled on; -but now as she is moored to the ship, the little boat has to breast the -waves, and at times is tossed high with her bow in the air, and again -plunged down, smothered with spray, and in danger every moment of being -overturned; indeed it is only by the skilful manoeuvring of the captain -that the boat is kept safe at all. He has stationed six men on each -quarter of the ship; they hold the ropes to which the boat is fastened; -and as the big waves press the boat, the men slacken the rope, and let -the boat go with the seas, pulling her up again between the waves, -hauling on one rope, and slacking the other if the boat sheers too much -on one side. The difficulty now is how to get the men out of the boat, -for they dare not haul her up closer to the vessel, as she will not ride -with a shorter scope of rope. They send another rope down to the boat, -with a bowline knot made in it for the men to sit in, and then shout to -the men, "We will haul you on board, one at a time." - -There is a moment's question as to the order in which the men shall go, -for each feels that at any moment the boat may sink under them; it is -quickly decided that the men shall leave the boat in the order in which -they sit, and one after another, they plunge into the waves, and are -hauled on board through the seas. - -All safe at last! and very soon the boat fills and turns over, and hangs -there held by the ropes till the morning. As soon as the men have shaken -the water a little from their clothes, and have wiped their eyes and -faces somewhat clear, the captain says, "I suppose you have come from -the barque that was riding near at the beginning of the gale, and which -I missed after a squall, and which must have foundered." (It was -supposed that two or three ships went down with all hands that night). -"No, sir; we have come from no barque, we were blown away from a wreck -some hours ago, near the North Sands Head, and have drifted right over -the Goodwin." - -"Impossible! impossible! no boat could live in such a sea, and over the -Sands, impossible!"--"It is true, sir; we are Ramsgate boatmen and -belong to a lugger; we went in from her on to the Sands to a wreck, and -could not get back to her again." And the captain declares that their -escape has been wonderful indeed. The feelings of the men at finding -themselves safe are perfectly overwhelming; the reaction after those -long hours of almost hopeless and constant struggle; it is too much for -them, especially added, as it is, to the condition of physical -exhaustion to which they are reduced. Some of them can scarcely speak; -one of them, realizing the almost miracle by which they have been saved, -leans against the boom, repeating in a broken voice, "What, I saved! I -saved--I saved! one of the worst! one of the worst!" Another can only -think of the words he had so often repeated to one of his mates, who had -seemed almost dying during the night. "Come, cheer up! come, cheer up! -stick to your oar, keep up your heart, man," and he continues for some -time repeating these words in a strange dreamy way. - -The coxswain, upon whom the chief anxiety and greatest stress of mind -had fallen, for he had hour, after hour, to sit watching every sea as it -rolled to them and meet it with the tiller, felt more than the others -the effect of the night's work; he soon after fell very ill, was nigh to -death's door, and did not recover his strength for a twelvemonth. The -captain, officers, and crew of the American ship are full of sympathy -and kindness. - -The captain takes the men into his cabin, and gives them each a little -brandy, then offers them dry clothes, and orders beds to be made up for -them in the cabin: the clothes and the bed the men think too kind, but -the beef-steak supper and the glass of grog all round, as soon as they -have eaten a little, is not to be refused; and the hardy fellows are -soon sound asleep on the cabin-floor, with all their perils for a time -forgotten. In the morning the gale has greatly abated; the men have a -hearty breakfast provided by the hospitable captain: their boat is by -his orders hauled up, baled out, and as everything has been washed out -of her, the captain lends them oars, and they start for Ramsgate, giving -their most hearty thanks for the great skill with which they were got on -board the ship and saved, and for the kindness they have received on -board. - -When the crew of the _Champion_ lugger had put the men she had saved -from the wreck on board the life-boat, they found that they could not -well get back to Ramsgate in the then state of the wind and tide, and -they were forced to run for Dover. - -The men on board the _Princess Alice_ remained in the greatest state of -anxiety as to the fate of their comrades who went into the wreck in -their little boat, and waited on, and on, in the position in which the -boat must come to them, if she clears the Sands; hour after hour she -cruises backwards and forwards, her crew keeping most anxious watch, and -then runs down the back of the Sands, thinking it possible the boat -might get out somewhere there; the gale increases; the night comes on; -the high tide has swept over the whole of the Sands with its wild seas -long before this, and they can only conclude, which they do most -positively and sorrowfully, that their companions in many a hard -struggle--their friends since childhood--have been lost, overwhelmed in -the rage of the sea on the Goodwin. They therefore give up the search, -and now regard their own safety, and they also find that they cannot -reach Ramsgate, but must make away for Dover. - -Arriving there, they at once telegraph the sad news to Ramsgate, that -they have lost six hands; news that creates the greatest excitement in -the town. The next morning the _Princess Alice_ starts at daylight for -another cruise round the Sands, hardly with the hope of finding their -lost comrades, but possibly fragments of the boat may be found; but they -search in vain, and feeling their fears to be altogether confirmed, they -steer for Ramsgate. There the arrival of the lugger is most anxiously -awaited, and the report of the men increases the excitement, and sorrow, -and sympathy, which had been created by the telegraph sent the night -before, and now that the names of the missing men are known, there is -sad, sad, grief among their supposed widows, and orphans, and their -friends. - -In the meanwhile the boatmen, having left the American ship, row -steadily toward Ramsgate. They see a lugger making for the harbour; this -proves to be the _Champion_. The lugger takes the men on board, and the -boat in tow, her crew rejoicing over their friends whom they had -supposed to be drowned. They hoist the lugger's flag in token that they -are bearers of good news, and speed towards Ramsgate. The lugger's -approach with her flag flying excites the curiosity of the men on the -harbour, and a crowd hurries down the pier to watch her arrival. And, as -soon as the men missing from the _Princess Alice_ are recognised, the -cheers and excitement are wild in the extreme, and men speed off at -their hardest to bear the good news. One poor woman in the midst of her -agony and mourning for her husband, and surrounded by her weeping -friends, is surprised by her door being burst violently open, and at -seeing a boatman almost dropping with breathlessness, gasping, and -gesticulating, and nodding, but trying in vain to speak; and it is some -seconds before he can stammer out "All right! all right! your husband is -safe, coming now!" - -A little subscription was got up by the men and their friends, in order -to give to the captain of the American ship and the pilot a small -testimonial of the appreciation of their skill and hospitality. The men -took the borrowed oars back and presented their thankofferings, in the -shape of a silver cigar case each, to the captain and pilot. - -And as the men told the story of the despair and grief that had existed -among the wives and children at home--of the tears of sorrow that were -turned into tears of gladness--of the rejoicings that took place upon -their return, the brave and feeling American captain shared the emotion -of the men as they told their tale, and was much overcome as he thanked -them for their present, saying,--he should value it as long as he lived, -and ever be deeply grateful that he had in any way been the instrument -of saving such honest and brave fellows, and of restoring them to their -wives and families. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE SAVING OF "LA MARGUERITE"--(A HOVEL). - - "The spirit of the storm pursued - Their long and toilsome way; - At length, in ocean solitude, - He sprang upon his prey. - 'Havoc!' the shipwreck-demon cried, - Loos'd all his tempests on the tide, - Gave all his lightnings play." - - _J. Montgomery._ - - -The case of _La Marguerite_, a small French brig that was rescued from -great peril by a Margate lugger, assisted by the Ramsgate steamer and -life-boat, will perhaps convey a sufficient idea of the difficulty and -danger that frequently occur in rescuing vessels from positions of -peril, and in bringing them in their damaged condition safely into port. - -_La Marguerite_, a small French brig of 187 tons, is owned by her -captain, an honest and brave French seaman, and represents to him a -great part of the savings of many years' hard work and economy. - -She is bound from Christiana to Dieppe with a cargo of deals; her hold -is full, and her deck piled up and hampered with cargo almost to the -level of her gunwale. - -But on she goes rolling through the seas, with a fair wind and fine -weather, and her crew suffer only that amount of discomfort which must -always be the case when the deck of a vessel is so crowded with cargo. - -The fresh breeze increases in force, and threatens a storm; the men -close reef the topsails and speed on their way; they make the Orfordness -light on the Essex coast, and then, correcting their course, steer for -the Knock and Galloper lights, which are stationed to guard sands so -named, and which are situated about eighteen miles from the North -Foreland. The breeze lulls a little, and they shake out a reef in the -sails; it is now getting somewhat thick--they soon make out a couple of -lights, but they shine so dimly through the mists that the crew conclude -that they are only fishermen's lights, and shaking out another reef, -they run fast before the wind, carefully steering their course by the -compass; but all this time a strong set of tide has been carrying them -to the northward and westward; this they have not discovered, and are -quite unaware that they are getting into a dangerous neighbourhood. - -The captain is on deck; he is well-pleased at the prospect of making a -rapid voyage, and seeing that the night is likely to be wet and squally, -he gives his crew an extra glass of grog all round and goes below, -taking a last look at the compass, and feeling fully assured that they -are steering a straight course home. - -In an hour or two the men on deck have their attention aroused by a -hoarse murmur which seems right a head of them, and which sounds like -the noise of waves breaking upon the shore. They look at the compass, -their course is correct, they cannot account for it; a couple of men run -forward, and soon see distinctly a white line of foam gleaming out in -the darkness, and make out the flash of the breakers as they leap high -in the air; they are terror-stricken at the sight, and, with a loud cry -of "Breakers ahead! breakers ahead!" they rush to the hatchway and shout -to the captain to come on deck at once; he, poor man, rushes up and -hurries to the wheel, round it flies, but before he can get the brig's -head round, she mounts upon a breaker, is thrown forward and grounds -heavily upon the Sands. - -Where are they? Where can they be? What horrible mistake have they made? -they think they must have run somewhere on the mainland, on the Kent -coast; one man proposes to swim ashore with a rope, but the seas come -sweeping over them with a degree of violence, that quite does away with -any thought of making such an attempt. They hurry to the long boat to -try and get it out, but it and the only other boat which is in the brig -are speedily swept over board by the seas. The vessel is on the edge of -the sands and feels all the force of the waves as they roll in and leap -and break upon the bank; with every inrush of the seas she lifts high -and pitches, crashing her bow down on the sands, each time with a thump -that makes her timbers groan, and almost sends the men flying from the -deck. - -As the big waves recoil and leap against her in all directions she -rolls heavily, while her masts sway, and her yard-arms almost touch the -water on either side. - -The tide is rising, and as she lifts she beats each time a yard or two -over the Sands; the timbers, piled upon her decks, speedily break loose -and are washed away; the hull is writhing and working very badly--her -seams open; and so heavily does she strike, that time after time the -captain thinks that she must soon break up. This thrashing over the -Sands lasts for about twenty minutes, when they find that she is in deep -water, but completely water-logged, and torn and wrenched almost to -pieces; her rudder is knocked away, and if her cargo were anything but -deals she would sink at once, and all would be instantly drowned; as it -is, so long as her timbers will hold together her cargo will keep her -afloat, and her crew are comparatively safe. But she is by no means a -strongly-built vessel, and could not by any possibility stand much more -of the thumping and wrenching which she has just gone through, while -beating over the Sands. - -The captain is still unable to make out where they are; they get a heave -of the lead, and find that they are in thirteen fathoms of water; it -must be a sandbank in the middle of a channel that they have just beaten -over--they had better anchor at once for fear the ship should be driven -upon another bank. - -"Is the anchor clear?" - -"No," cries the mate. (It is neglect of such matters as these that loses -many a fine ship.) - -"Get the anchor and cable clear, then, as quickly as you can, or we -shall be on the sands again; for although the brig is water-logged, the -wind is driving her fast, and the tide is running with great speed." -After some delay they get the anchor overboard, and the brig rides to -it, head to wind. - -The men gather together in the stern of the vessel, and group round the -captain, and as there is no work to be done to keep up their excitement, -they the more fully realize their danger, and begin to express their -fears. - -They speak of their wives and children, and bemoan their own probable -fate. - -The captain is the greatest sufferer, and the bravest hearted of them -all. - -"Look at me!" he replies. "Have not I got a wife? Have I not got six -children? Do I want to be taken from them, any more than you do from -yours? Besides, this is my own ship, you know that, and you know that -she is all I have got--all I have worked and saved for; if I lose her, I -lose all I have, and am a poor man again; you may be sure I'll do all I -can to save the ship and our lives too." - -But the men watch how severely the brig pitches in the heavy seas. The -cable strains as if it would tear itself out of the ship, and the men -are afraid it will part, or the anchor drag, and think the ship would -ride more easily if her masts were cut away; they urge the captain to -have it done; but the ship is not insured, and he, poor man, knows how -great must be the expense of repairing her if she is saved, and -naturally does not wish to increase that expense by losing her masts, -so for some time he resists their entreaties; but at last is forced to -give an unwilling consent to have the foremast cut away. The carpenter -seizes the hatchet, a few heavy blows, and a great notch gapes in the -mast, they cut the weather shrouds, and after the ship has given two or -three heavy rolls, the mast goes over with a loud crash, falling well -over the side clear of the vessel; one man receives a nasty gash in the -cheek, from a splinter from the falling mast, but is not much hurt. They -cut the rigging of the mast from the vessel, and the mast is speedily -carried astern by the tide. - -The brig certainly now rides more easily; the night passes on, and very -long and weary the hours seem. The vessel sinks lower and lower in the -water, right down, indeed, to her deck lining. The captain and the crew -know how weak she is (like some of the small timber ships, she has no -lower hold beams), and they fear that as she is full of water, the -buoyancy of the timber cargo may break up her deck, for she is almost -all to pieces already, and if the deck bursts, she will break up at -once. - -All hands, therefore, watch eagerly for the daylight, and as soon as -they are able to see, begin to make a raft; there are a goodly number of -eleven-feet deals stowed on deck which have been jambed too tight to be -washed away by the seas, and the crew begin to lash these together as -rapidly as they can, although, from the rolling and pitching of the -vessel and from the seas washing so frequently over the deck, it is a -matter of great difficulty to do so. - -As soon as it is daylight the wreck is seen from Margate, and all is at -once astir down by the jetty and the pier; the life-boat is speedily -manned and gets under weigh, and two fine luggers race with her to get -first to the vessel. - -But it is a long beat to windward, and against a fresh gale and strong -tide, and it is doubtful whether either of the boats will be able to -reach the wreck, at all events, before the turn of the tide, or at the -least, slack water. The luggers have, as a matter of course, a -sufficient amount of ballast on board, and are in good sailing trim. The -life-boat cannot be so heavily ballasted, or she would sink when filled -with water, or beat to pieces when grounding on the Sands among the -broken seas; the luggers therefore, make to windward much better than -the life-boat can, and leave her astern, the life-boat crew soon find -that it will be impossible for them to reach the wreck, and return to -Margate; the luggers persevere, and one of them runs alongside the brig -in fine style; the men on board the other lugger think that the brig is -drifting and not at anchor, they therefore make too far to leeward, -astern of her, and cannot beat up into position again. - -The men from the first lugger spring on board the wreck; they find that -she is greatly damaged, and working very heavily as she rolls gunwale -under; they think she would ride easier with her remaining mast gone, -and try to persuade the captain to let them cut it away, but he stoutly -refuses his permission, and the Margate men make the best of it, as it -is. - -They get the anchor up, and passing a hawser on board the lugger, seek -to tow the brig away from the Sands; knowing the Sands as well as they -do, they hope to be able to get clear of them and get the brig into deep -water; but it is very difficult work, for with her rudder gone there is -no power of steering her, and the weight of the lugger is scarcely -sufficient to keep her head straight: they make a little progress, -however, the tide being somewhat in their favour, but the tide is on the -turn, and they will soon be driven back into their old position, if not -in worse, and the men begin almost to despair of saving the vessel, when -to their great satisfaction they see the Ramsgate steamboat and -life-boat making their way round the North Foreland. - -The coastguard officer at Margate, when he saw that the Margate -life-boat could not reach the brig, and knowing that if any sea got up -where the vessel was, that the luggers could be of no use, telegraphed -to Ramsgate that a vessel was on the Knock Sands. - -The steamer and life-boat get under weigh at once, and proceed as fast -as possible to the rescue; there is a nasty sea running off Ramsgate, -but it is not until they get to the North Foreland that they feel the -full force of the gale--here the sea is tremendous, and as the steamer -pitches to it, the waves that break upon her bows fly right over her -funnel--indeed she buries herself so much in the seas that they have to -ease her speed considerably to prevent her being completely overrun by -them. - -No one on board the boat knows where they are being towed; "a telegram -from Margate," was the first news "the life-boat wanted;" and then in -the hurry and excitement to get under weigh with all possible speed, no -one on board had thought of asking for further particulars. - -The life-boat plunges on, and her crew are ready for the work whatever -it is, and wherever it is. As they round the North Foreland they see a -brig, with her foremast gone, in tow of a lugger. - -The boatmen cast off the steamer's tow-rope and make for the brig; they -run in close under her lee, and venture too near to her; she is rolling -so heavily that her yard-arm comes right over the boat, and the loose -ropes swaying about catch in the boat's mast; they cannot get the mast -down, and the brig hangs so heavily they fear that she is going to -capsize right upon them; an active fellow severs the entangled rope with -a hatchet, the brig slowly rolls up again, and the life-boat drops -astern. - -The boatmen get on board the brig; there are six of the lugger's men on -board; they find that the lugger is quite unable to make any way with -the wreck, and as the tide is on the turn, the vessel is in great peril, -for the Sands are just under her lee; no time must be lost, they signal -to the steamer to come at once, the life-boatmen take a hawser on board -her, and she begins to tow the brig away from the Sands; but the brig's -rudder is gone, and she is sheering right and left, jerking the hawser -at the end of each sheer with a strain hard enough to break it, and the -foremast being cut away, the men cannot carry sail to steady her; she -must be steered by the boats. - -The life-boat and lugger drop astern, each having a rope from the -opposite quarter of the wreck. The steamer moves ahead, and as the brig -begins to sheer in one direction, both boats steer in the opposite -direction, and turning their broadsides to the vessel as much as -possible, hang with all their weight, and try and keep her stern -straight; then as the vessel sheers again in the other direction, away -the boats immediately make across her stern, to check her on the other -side. - -It is difficult and perilous work, this swiftly sheering across the -brig's stern in the heavy tumble of sea and strong gale, for the boats -can carry no sails to steady them, or they would not be able to sheer -quickly from one direction to the other; and thus they are in constant -danger of coming into violent collision with each other, and once they -strike together very heavily. - -The French crew on board the brig are utterly exhausted with fatigue and -excitement, and are quite ready to leave their vessel in the hands of -the English boatmen. The men get the anchor and cable clear and ready -for use if wanted; it is of no good attempting anything with the pumps, -for the wreck is water-logged; and away the brig goes plunging and -rolling with the seas washing over her decks, which are scarcely out of -the water, and the two boats sheering and tossing astern, all being -towed by the gallant little steamer. - -As the brig gets good way on her, it is easier to steer her by means of -the boats; but still they do not dare attempt to take her through the -narrow Cud channel, they therefore find their way through the Gull -stream, and round the small Brake-buoy, and then make up for the -entrance of Ramsgate harbour. But the tide has not been long on the -flood, and the strong northerly wind is checking it; and so they doubt -whether there is water enough to take her into the harbour, and wait -until they can see the red light showing on the west pier-head; this is -the signal that there is ten feet of water at the harbour mouth; the -weather is so thick that they cannot for some time see the light, and it -has been up for at least an hour before they can make it out. - -They regret every moment's delay, for although it is of no use -attempting to enter the harbour before there is abundance of depth of -water, yet the tide is making more and more strongly every minute, and -it will be a matter of increasing difficulty to steer the brig, in her -present helpless condition, across the strong tide, and through the -heavy seas, into the narrow entrance of the harbour. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE WRECK BROUGHT IN. - - "God keep those cheery mariners! - And temper all the gales, - That sweep against the rocky coast - To their storm-shattered sails." - - _P. Benjamin._ - - -As they tow the wreck near to the harbour they shorten the steamers -hawser to give the brig less scope for sheering; and as there is not -room for both the lugger and the life-boat to hang astern and help the -brig steer, the life-boat casts off and makes in to the harbour. - -In spite of the rough cold night, the interest in life-boat work is too -great for all sympathisers to be driven away from the pier-head; and -there is a crowd there ready to watch the boat's return, and to welcome -the men with a cheer. - -The steamer approaches cautiously, the brig's head is straight, and she -seems well under command; a couple of minutes more and all will be safe, -when suddenly the rush of tide catches the wreck on the bow; she -overpowers the lugger which is towing astern; round her head flies; she -lurches heavily forward, and strikes the east pier-head just outside the -bend; crash goes her jibboom; in vain the steamer tows its hardest, she -is in the grasp of a strong tide and leaping sea, and again she pitches -and plunges heavily against the pier: with a terrible wrench her -bowsprit breaks off short; again, and again, she strikes as she drifts -round the pier; her figurehead is crushed, her stem broken and twisted, -her forefoot torn off, and sweeping round she grounds on the Sands -almost alongside the pier, on the outer side, grinding and rubbing her -sides against the massive granite walls at each heave and work of the -sea. - -The change of scene on the pier is very sudden, and very great; at one -moment the people were cheering the crews of the life-boat and steamer -upon the apparently successful ending of their labours; the next, and -the work of the brave fellows seems almost more than undone; and there -is quick dread peril, and deadly strife, and a wild outcry of fear, and -a very wildness of excitement, in the place of apparent safety and -congratulation. The people on the pier can look down upon the men on -board the brig, can see them clinging to the wreck as the seas break -over them, can hear the brig grinding and thumping against the pier as -if she would at once break up. - -Some of the lookers-on run for the life-buoys, which are hanging upon -the parapet of the pier and on the pier-house, and throw them down to -the men on board the brig, others get ropes, and throwing one end down, -shout to the men to make themselves fast, that they will haul them up. - -The poor Frenchmen are almost paralysed by the scene and by -excitement--they cannot make it out; the harbour-master, Captain Braine, -has enough to do; he sees the danger of the men on board the brig, but -he sees more than this, he sees the danger of the crowd at the -pier-head, for the brig's mainmast is swaying backwards and forwards, -coming right over the pier as the vessel rolls, and threatens to break -and come down upon the people as the brig strikes the pier; and if it -does, it will certainly kill some, perhaps many. - -The women are shrieking, men shouting, some running about here and -there, all anxious to do something, and yet not able to render any -assistance. - -The French sailors are making themselves fast to the end of the ropes -that have been thrown on board, but the harbour-master sees the great -danger the men will be in, of being crushed between the wreck and the -pier, if they make the attempt to be hauled up, the vessel is rolling so -quickly, and the seas are so heavy, he therefore shouts to them not to -try it, and the boatmen hold them back. - -But still the French sailors struggle to get hold of the ropes, crying -out, "Much danger, much danger! What shall we do? what shall we do?" The -outcry of the people on the pier naturally adding greatly to their -excitement. - -During this time, which has occupied but very few minutes, the steamer -still keeps hold of the hawser. She has been swung against the inside of -the pier by the strain of the wreck upon her cable, and by the eddy of -the tide, while the wreck has been beating against the outside; now she -steams out again with all speed, gets her head round, brings a gradual -strain upon the hawser, and makes every effort to tow the brig away from -the pier and off the Sands; after a few seconds of hard tugging the brig -begins to move, and they get her into deep water again. - -But during this time the crew of the Margate lugger have been in equal, -if not greater, danger than the men on board the brig. - -As soon as the men on board the lugger saw the brig sweep and crash -against the pier, they cast off their tow rope, but before they could -hoist any sail, the way they had on the boat, and the rush of the tide, -carried the lugger almost between the vessel, as she swung round, and -the pier; the men, however, escaped that danger, and indeed death, but -the boat was swept to the back of the pier, and in the eddy of the tide -was carried into the broken water; there she rolls in the trough of the -sea; wave after wave catches and sweeps her up towards the pier as if to -crush her against it; but each time the rebound of the water from the -pier acts as a fender, and saves her from destruction; but she is an -open boat, and if one big wave leaps on board it will fill her, and she -must sink at once; and the seas around her are very wild, the surf from -their crests breaks into her continually; the people on the pier see her -extreme peril; some run to the life-boat men who are preparing to moor -the boat, and shout to them to hasten out--that the brig is breaking up, -and that the lugger will be swamped; before, however, the life-boat can -get out, the brig is towed clear of the pier, and the lugger having -gradually drifted to the end of the pier, the men are able to get up a -corner of the fore-sail; it cants the lugger's head round; the men get -the fore-sail well up; it fills, she draws away from the pier, and away -from the broken water, and is clear. - -The steamer has the brig in tow, but now the wreck has no boats to help -her steer, and she therefore yaws about with tremendous lurches. - -The boatmen have all this time been working their utmost; their danger -and the scene of excitement around them having no other effect upon -them, than to make them the more cool and determined to do everything -they can to save the vessel and themselves. - -They rig up a stay-sail upon the tottering mainmast, and as soon as the -steamer gets a little way on the brig, they try and steer by it, raising -and lowering the sail as the brig sheers one way or the other, and doing -their utmost to keep her head straight. - -A very heavy sea strikes her on the bow, and she lurches right across -the tide; at that moment the steamer's hawser tightens and strains, and -the whole weight of the brig as she lies broadside to the seas dragging -upon the rope, it breaks in a weak place, where it has got chafed -against the pier. - -The brig falls into the trough of the sea; the waves begin to make a -clean breach over her; water-logged and helpless as she is, with her -deck down almost to the level of the sea; the men on board can now do -but little, for time after time, as the seas sweep her decks, they have -enough to do to hold on; still the boatmen on board work when they can, -for they see that their lives depend upon getting the vessel in tow of -the steamer before she can strike the Dyke Bank, which is just under her -lee. - -They make all haste to haul in the broken end of the cable; they already -have a good part of the cable on board, which they hauled in when they -were about making for the harbour. - -They tell the French captain to get all his men to work, and have the -ship's hawser ready, but the brig rapidly drifts before the heavy gale -and with the tide towards the Dyke Bank, over which the seas are running -with fearful violence, the poor shattered wreck must indeed be very soon -broken up altogether if she once strikes amid that terrible rage of -waters, and there, too, the waves will sweep over her with a violence -sufficient to sweep the men from her decks; they must expect the -tottering mast to go at the first shock; there would be no refuge in the -rigging, and the deck would be virtually under water; it is doubtful -indeed if she strikes whether the men will be able to hold on, even -while the life-boat, which is close at hand, can reach them. - -The life-boatmen had made out to the rescue of the lugger, but when they -saw that she was out of danger, and that the brig was under tow of the -steamer, they put back, but directly the harbour-master sees that the -brig is again adrift, he hastens to order the life-boat out once more to -the rescue. Many of the excited people on the pier throng round the -harbour-master, and entreat him to order the life-boatmen to take all -the boatmen and the crew off the wreck at once. - -But the harbour-master knows the boatmen too well to think that they -will be content to leave the wreck, whatever the danger may be, while -there remains a single chance of saving her; he therefore tells the -life-boatmen to keep as near to the wreck as possible. - -The captain of the steamer, directly he sees the hawser break, realizes -the deadly peril the wreck and those on board it are in; without a -moment's delay, he orders his crew to haul in the broken end of the -hawser, and as speedily as possible to back the steamer down to the -wreck, which is now within one hundred yards of the Dyke Sand. She is -rolling heavily broadside to the seas, which are making a clean sweep -over her; the men on board are scarcely able to keep the deck for the -wash of water, a few minutes more--two or three--and she will be right -in upon the breakers; round the pier-head dashes the life-boat, leaping -the seas as she is carried swiftly before the gale, she makes for the -wreck, and is ready to plunge into the surf to the rescue of the crew -directly the unfortunate vessel touches the Sands. But the steamer may -yet be in time to save her: now she is close to her, and they throw the -end of a rope on board the wreck; the boatmen on board fasten a cable to -it, the steamer's crew haul it in with all possible speed, the steamer -moves slowly a-head, the cable gets taught, the steamer tugs and -strains, but it is with the greatest difficulty she can get the brig's -head straight; now it comes slowly round, but as the wreck faces the -tide, she sheers right and left; they see that the wreckage of her -bowsprit and jibboom are right across her bow entangled in her -cut-water; it is this that causes her to sheer so much, and to hang so -heavily that the steamer cannot make any way with her, or keep her head -straight for one moment. - -The English boatmen stand ready to hoist the stay-sail, as soon as the -steamer can move her ahead, and keep her at all to the wind. - -The poor French sailors give way to much excitement in the wildness and -peril of the scene; clasping their hands and shouting; and there is -little wonder that their fears should be so aroused. "Hold! hold, good -rope, for if you break, nothing can save the ship; in a short time she -must be torn utterly to pieces by the waves now breaking so wildly, -almost directly under her lee!" - -Each time the brig sheers heavily to one side or the other, she is -brought up with a jerk that makes the steamer tremble from stem to -stern, and tries the strength of the cable to the utmost. - -The life-boat continues to cruise round the brig, keeping as near as -possible, but taking care to avoid her, as she sheers swiftly from side -to side. - -Suddenly the wreckage clears itself from across the vessel's bow, and to -the joy of all, the vessel ceases to sheer so violently, and rests for a -minute straight in her course. - -The boatmen on board at once hoist the stay-sail; it steadies her, and -she forges ahead, and they battle their way through the waves, round the -west pier-head, and a little out of the rush of the worst of the seas; -here, five brave fellows come off in a small boat, and bring a line to -her from the pier; with this they haul the second hawser from the vessel -to the pier; they get another hawser from the pier to the wreck, and as -the tide is setting her in a direction away from the pier, they can hold -her fast by these hawsers; the steamer now moves round the wreck, and -gets a rope from her stern, but in the meantime they have made the -life-boat's cable fast to the stern of the wreck, and passed it on to -the pier; the crowd of people on the pier lay hold of it, and begin to -pull their hardest, and succeed in moving the wreck fast astern; with -such energy do they pull that the small cable breaks in their hands, but -the steamer has by this time again got hold of the vessel, and tows her -safely into the harbour, and the long hours of peril and of struggling -against the storm are at an end. - -A miserable figure the poor wreck looks, when she is hauled up on the -slip-way for repairs. Her masts are out of her, her bow crushed, her -stern twisted and broken, the oakum is streaming out of her seams, her -timbers are started, her rudder is gone, she looks truly the very wreck -she is. Indeed, it was nothing but the fact of her being timber laden -that prevented her going down immediately after striking the first time -upon the Margate Sands, or has kept her afloat during any one of the -many terrible struggles with the seas, that she has had since to endure. -The brig was ultimately repaired, and sent to sea; but to whatever -extent the general average upon the insured cargo contributed to the -bill, the balance required must have made a sad hole in the poor -brave-hearted captain's savings. - -The Margate and Ramsgate men got some few pounds each for salvage: the -ship and cargo were not very valuable, and there were many to share the -small amount awarded, so there was not much for each one. But the men -were thankful, on account of the captain, as well as on their own -account, to have saved the vessel through so much peril, and as a -result, to have anything at all to share. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE WRECK OF THE "PROVIDENTIA." - - "What dangers press'd, when seas ran mountain high, - When tempests raved, and horrors veiled the sky; - When prudence fail'd, when courage grew dismayed, - When the strong fainted, and the wicked prayed;-- - Then in the yawning gulf far down we drove, - And gazed upon the billowy mount above; - Till up that mountain swinging with the gale, - We view'd the horrors of the watery vale!" - - _Crabbe._ - - -A dark stormy December night had been followed by a gloomy morning, a -heavy gale had been blowing for some hours from the north-east, and -thick drifting snow-squalls still further threw heavy shadows over the -sea, and added greatly to the perils of the dangerous navigation around -the Goodwin. - -The men on Ramsgate pier said to each other, "It is _likely weather_." -Likely for disaster and for the need of their services; they therefore -keep a careful watch, but the snow and drifting fog-clouds shut out the -Goodwin Sands and the light-vessels from their view, and so the men can -only wait on, speculating upon the possibility of some unseen tragedy -being worked out amid the darkness and the wrath of waters that surround -the Goodwin. - -It is now after breakfast-time, about nine o'clock, the weather is too -bad for much ordinary work to be going on, and so a large number of -boatmen assemble in the look-out houses and at the head of the pier -watching the storm. - -Many are the spy-glasses which are every now and then pointed seaward, -scanning any break in the storm-drift; three or four men are at the end -of the pier by the watch-house; one of them fancies that he can make out -a dark line 'mid the grey gloom; he watches carefully, a sheet of fog -lifts for a moment; "Yes, there is! I see a ship on the Goodwin!" - -"Where? Where?" and another man looks at the direction of his spy-glass, -and points his own the same way. No; he can see nothing; and the man -himself can now see nothing; it was just a glimpse, that was all, and -the cloud closed in upon the Sands and wrapt them in darkness again. - -"But are you positive you saw anything?" they ask the man. - -"I am just as sure of it as I am that I am standing here." - -"What was she like?" - -"She seemed a large ship with only two masts standing, and high up on -the Sands." - -"Well, if you saw her once, and are certain of it, once is as good as -fifty times. Away then for the life-boat." - -Hurrying up the pier to give the alarm, they shout to some boatmen who -are at work helping to stow cargo on board a Dutch steamer--the -_Orient_: "A vessel on the Goodwin; Life-boat! Life-boat!" Immediately -the men throw down whatever they have in their hands, spring to the -gunwale, and are out of the ship, up the steps, on the pier, and running -for the life-boat in a moment; and this to the intense astonishment of -the Dutch mate, who had not heard the cry of life-boat. He runs along -the deck on to the poop, and shakes his fist at the men, shouting after -them, "You be bad men you! You be bad men! What for you run away? You -come here work no more!" - -The honest-hearted fellow was, however, more than appeased, when he was -told that it was to rush on board the life-boat; to go out in that wild -dark storm and terrible sea to the rescue of life, that the men had so -suddenly deserted their work and fled from the vessel. - -One of the pier men runs to the harbour-master, and reports that a large -ship has been seen ashore on the Goodwin; the harbour-master hurries to -the pier-head, but the lift in the storm has settled down thicker than -ever; he can see nothing; he, and all with him, listen attentively for -any report of a gun from the Goodwin light-vessels, but can hear -nothing; they cross-question the man who saw the wreck. The -harbour-master thinks he may have been mistaken--that it was probably a -ship sailing through the Gull Channel that he saw. No! the man is -positive that it was a ship on the Goodwin, and nothing else; and so -the harbour-master, although they can hear no signal from the -light-vessels, decides upon sending the life-boat, and orders the -coxswain to proceed to sea. - -Rapid preparation for the start has been going on all this time; and -very speedily steamer and life-boat are away in the dark storm speeding -their way to the Goodwin Sands. They get to the North Sand light-ship -about eleven o'clock, and find a very heavy sea running in the -neighbourhood of the Sands, with frequent snow-squalls sweeping along. - -The men on board the light-vessel say that both they, and the men on -board the Gull light-ship, have been making signals since daylight. (The -roar of the storm, and the wind not being on shore, the guns were not -heard, and the weather was too thick for any signals to be seen). They -report that they had seen a ship on shore on the South-East Spit of the -Sands. - -Away go steamer and life-boat, the crew of both alike eager to make up -for lost time, and they soon discover the vessel they are in search of -looming out in the mist. - -They see that she is a complete wreck, and that she is settled down upon -the Sands, with her bow to the seas; her mizen-mast is gone close to the -deck; the seas are running quite over her as they break upon her bow; -they mount up and fly over her fore-yard and race along her deck, -breaking again upon her deck-house, which they smother in foam. - -There are no sailors to be seen lashed to the rigging, and it is -doubtful whether they can have found shelter anywhere on deck, so great -is the rush of water over the ship. Indeed, the life-boat men think that -it is very improbable that any of the crew can be left on board. -Nevertheless, they determine to get on board the vessel, and see if they -can find any poor exhausted seaman still clinging to some portion of the -wreck. - -There is a very heavy sea running, and they have a short consultation as -to the best method of getting alongside the vessel; they determine to go -in upon the lee quarter, and make preparation for so doing. Now they -make in for the wreck; they sail in swiftly; plunge in through the -broken water; their anchor is all ready; they watch their distance. Over -with it; lower the foresail; and they are about to run the life-boat -right alongside the vessel, when the man in the bow shouts, "Up with -your helm; up with it hard; sheer off, sheer off!" Up the helm is; -swiftly the boat answers, and bears away from the vessel. - -The mizen-mast, which had been broken off short, has fallen over the -quarter of the vessel, and become entangled in the Sands, and with the -ship's side, and is standing out at right angles to the wreck, right in -the way the life-boat was steering. If it had been night-time the boat -would have been steered in right upon the wreck of the mast and yards, -when in every probability she would have been stove and rolled over by -the seas; the men would then have been washed out of her, and it would -have been impossible for them to have got back to her again, against the -rush of sea and tide and entangled as she would have been in the -wreckage of the mast, she could not have floated down to them; as it is, -this very catastrophe nearly happens, for the men hardly see the danger -in time; it is a moment of great peril, for the boat is being tossed -about violently in the broken water, and becomes somewhat entangled in -the wreckage; the men lay hold of the cable, and haul upon it with all -their strength, and do what they can to check the way of the boat, and -help her head round; now they get a good cant out, they throw out some -coils of the cable in one cast, they sheer out well, and get clear of -the wreck of the mizen-mast; the seas catch the boat and drive it astern -of the vessel, the cable runs out its full length and brings the boat up -with a strong jerk. The men, on looking at the wreck, are glad to find -that there are some of her crew still alive; they can see three men and -a boy crouching down, under the shelter of the deck-house, but they must -be but a small proportion of the original crew of the ship, for she is a -large vessel, and must have had a crew of certainly not fewer than -fifteen or sixteen men. "Thank God," say the life-boat men, "that they -are not all gone, and that we are here in time to try and save some." - -The shipwrecked men have been crouching there for some hours, and have -been getting more and more wretched, cold, wet, exhausted, and hopeless; -every now and then they heard the loud boom of a gun from one of the -light-vessels, but no life-boat came, and the wreck might at any moment -break up; they at first felt confident that a life-boat would certainly -soon come to their rescue, and had prepared for her coming by getting a -life-buoy with a long line fastened to it, ready to throw overboard. - -But the hours passed by, the seas broke over the vessel with increasing -violence, the storm grew more and more wild, they could not understand -why the life-boat did not come, but she did not, and they began to -despair of being saved. - -Suddenly, as they crouch under the deck-house in their hopeless misery, -they see the life-boat swing round on the tide, and come up to her cable -just astern of the ship; never were men more agreeably surprised; it is -as a reprieve from death; and they feel their blood course again through -their veins, their strength returns, and they start up ready for action; -the life-boat men give them a cheer, which they answer with glad cries -of welcome. - -The men on board the wreck throw the life-buoy and line to the life-boat -men; there is a tremendous tumble of sea, the life-boat is flying about -in all directions, and it is not for some time, and not until after much -trouble, that they succeed in getting the life-buoy on board the boat. - -All hands lay hold of the rope, and do their utmost to haul the -life-boat nearer to the wreck; but the heavy gale, the rush of the sea, -and the strong tide, are all directly against her, her cable is -straining to the utmost, and they cannot get her to move in the least; -they struggle on, and on, but it is all in vain. - -"Pull, men, pull! now all together, as the seas pass; now, try and get -a foot or two ahead." Not an inch, strain and pull as they will. - -"Look out! look out! let go; take care of yourselves!" - -Too late; a tremendous sea comes rushing over the vessel, right over the -life-boat, beats her back with a wrench and jerk that tears one of the -timber heads, to which the rope is fastened, right out of her, knocks -down by its great weight five or six of the men, who are holding on to -the rope, hurts two or three of them somewhat severely, and buries the -boat in its very flood of water; for a moment she is swamped, and beaten -right away from the wreck; she lifts again, in a few seconds rises to -her water-line; she frees herself of water, the men spring to their -feet. - -"Are all there? Are any washed out of her?" "All right! all right!" -"Thank God! Now at it again, my men." - -Happily the anchor still holds, and the boat's cable brings the boat up. -But what is to be done to save the poor crew? They feel that it is quite -impossible for them to haul the boat any nearer to the ship. - -To their great surprise, they see the captain spring up from the lee of -the deck-house, hurriedly take off his oilskin coat, throw it into the -water, and then jumping on the gunwale, grasp the hawser that holds the -boat, and slide down it into the boiling sea. A huge wave breaks over -him, and washes him away from the rope; he now tries to swim to the -boat, but the life-boat is not directly astern, the sheer she has to her -cable that is fastened to the anchor which was thrown over some -distance to the side of vessel, prevents her dropping right astern; and -although the captain has but to swim a few yards out of the direction of -the sweep of sea and tide, it is impossible for him to manage it. He is -perfectly overwhelmed by the boil of sea, tossed wildly up and down, -wave after wave beating over him, it is all that he can do to keep his -head above water, and cannot guide his course in the least; the boatmen -try all they can to make the boat sheer towards him, so as to reach him, -or to throw him a rope, but it is impossible, they cannot get -sufficiently near; and in a few seconds they see him swept rapidly by in -the swift tide; Jarman, the coxswain of the boat, seizes a life-buoy, -and throws it with all his force towards him; the wind catches it and -helps the throw; it falls near him; he makes a spring forward and -reaches it; the men gladly see that he has got it; they see him put his -two hands upon one side as if to get upon it; as he leans forward it -falls over his head like a hoop; he gets his arms through it, and -shouting to the boatmen "All right," he waves his hand as if to beckon -to them to follow him, and goes floating down in the strong tide and -among the raging leaping seas in a strange wild dance, that threatens -indeed to be a dance of death. - -It is with deep feelings of dismay and sorrow that the boatmen see him -thus drifting away, sea after sea breaking over him; they think it -impossible that he can live long; they watch him as far as they can see -him; he rises now and again on a sea, and waves his hand to them, but -soon disappears from their view, and they seem to have wished him for -ever good-bye, for if they go after him at once they will not be able to -get back to the ship again, perhaps for hours; and there are two men and -a boy still on board whom they must not desert; they must do what they -can for these poor fellows first, and then they will hasten away in -search of the poor captain, although they have but little hope of then -finding him alive, even if they find him at all. - -At once they are reminded of the dread peril the men on board the ship -are in; for a tremendous crash like a peal of thunder startles them all; -and looking round they see the tall mainmast of the ship fall swiftly -over on the port side of the vessel. - -The men on board give a loud cry--the terrible crash and rend and shock -of the falling mast appals them to the uttermost; it is as if the wreck -was breaking to pieces in one vast wrench beneath their feet. The chief -mate springs wildly to the starboard quarter, and seizes the end of the -mainbrace, which is hanging there; he makes it fast round his waist; and -with a rapid spring, and with arms outstretched towards the boat, he -jumps into the sea; he is a fine powerful young man, and a very good -swimmer; but what can he do in a tide and sea so tremendous that twelve -strong men cannot haul the boat one foot against them? and so a fearful -tragedy is worked out before the boatmen's eyes; they make every effort -to sheer the boat towards the man, but in vain; the tide sweeps him at -once away on the lee-bow of the boat; he struggles fearfully hard for -his life; the sea takes him and throws him away to the full extent of -the rope, which tightens round his waist; the strain of the rope draws -him back a little; he falls in the trough of the sea; he is just in the -thick of the surf, in the break of the waves, and they curl over him and -beat him down beneath their weight, and then again the next rushing wave -catches him and flings him out, till he is brought up with a jerk as the -rope tightens, that seems almost to tear him in pieces; now he is thrown -high in the air on the crest of a wave, now he is buried in a sea, -rolled over and over; sheering here and there, as the tangled waves -catch him, first on one side, then on the other, but never nearer the -life-boat; every now and then he strikes out wildly as if to make a last -effort, and cries aloud in his agony and despair. It is indeed a most -piteous sight, and it moves the boatmen to the very heart; the poor -drowning fellow so near and they unable to render him the least help. - -They cannot remain doing nothing, although they feel fully assured that -all they attempt must be in vain; they haul with all their power on the -cable to try and get nearer to the ship when they might sheer down upon -the poor fellow; but the sea is raging over them as much as ever, and -they cannot get the boat to move at all; the waves rush over the boat in -rapid succession, and as they do so the men have to crouch down and -cling with all their force to the thwarts, and struggle hard to prevent -being washed out of her. As each sea passes, up they spring and again -try to haul in the cable; the poor drowning sailor is ahead of the boat, -on the starboard bow; if the line which he has round his waist were only -a few fathoms longer he might be saved; it would be madness for any of -the boatmen to jump overboard to get at him, they would be instantly -swept astern of the boat, without a hope of saving him, and at great and -useless risk of their own lives; they try and throw the lead-line over -the rope which holds the poor fellow; hoping that if they can succeed in -doing so, that he may manage to get hold of it, and loosing himself from -the rope which fastens him to the ship, be hauled on board the boat; but -the boat is pitching and tossing so much that it is hard work attempting -to throw the line, but again and again they make the effort. "Now he -rises on a wave: now try; heave with a will, well clear of his head. Ah! -missed again; look out, hold on all;" a wave rushes over them, boat and -all; another half-minute and they make another attempt; no! all in vain, -each time it falls short; the struggle cannot last long; strong and -young as the man is, his strength cannot possibly endure long in such a -conflict; his cries grow more feeble and soon cease; they see him try -and get back to the ship, climbing up the rope, but his strength fails, -and he falls back; his arms and legs are still tossed wildly about, but -it is by the action of the waves; his head drops and sinks; yes! it is -all over!--all over! with him; and it is with intense sorrow that the -boatmen realize that all hope of saving him is at an end--that he is -dead. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -HARDLY SAVED. - - "Much would it please you sometimes to explore - The peaceful dwellings of our borough poor; - To view a sailor just returned from sea, - His wife beside, a child on either knee, - And others crowding near, that none may lose - The smallest portion of the welcome news.... - The trembling children look with steadfast eyes, - And panting, sob involuntary sighs; - And sleep awhile his torpid touch delays, - And all is joy, and piety, and praise." - - _Crabbe._ - - -The second mate and cabin-boy still remain on board the wreck; they have -watched with the greatest horror and dread the terrible death of the -chief mate, and are themselves almost in absolute despair. - -The seas continue to wash over the ship with great violence; the -deck-house, under the protection of which the sailors have been -crouching, begins to break up, and wrench, and tear, and is carried away -piecemeal; the second mate, as the wreck wrestles and writhes beneath -him, under the rush of a huge wave, fears that it is going to break up -altogether, that the ship's last moment is come, and he throws himself -upon the rope by which the life-boat is made fast to the ship, and -begins to make his way along it; it is almost level with the water, for -the wreck has so worked herself down in the Sands that her gunwale is -but four or five feet above the sea; the breakers rush over the poor -fellow as he painfully struggles on; he is again and again buried by the -waves, but he clings on; and half working his way, half carried by the -seas and tide, he reaches the high bow of the life-boat, which is -leaping, and falling, and jerking, tearing the hawser to which the -sailor is clinging, up and down through the seas, as if trying its -utmost violence to jerk him from his hold. - -But still he holds on, his hands convulsively clutching the rope as his -body is being swayed and thrown violently about; he is exhausted, and -breathless--he is half drowned; his face is pale as death, his jaw -drops, he seems about to swoon; in another moment he will be gone; he -gives a wild despairing look at the life-boat, and as the waves dash him -against it, makes an effort to grasp it; the man in the bow of the boat -has been watching his every movement, has shuddered with dismay as he -saw the seas wash over him, expecting him to be carried away in the -strong tide. No! he still grasps the rope, and at last is within reach; -in one spring, and with a cry to his mates, "Hold me! hold me!" the -boatman throws himself upon the raised foredeck of the life-boat, and -with his body half stretched over the stem, he grasps the collar of the -sailor; the drowning man throws his arm around the boatman's neck, and -clings to him convulsively, by his weight dragging the man's head down -and burying it in the water; but the brave fellow clings as hard to the -half-dead sailor as the sailor does to him; the seas wash bodily over -them and over the bow of the boat; up and down the boat plunges them -both, but he still holds on; three or four of the boatmen have hold of -his legs, and are doing their utmost to pull him back into the boat, but -they cannot do so, and so the struggle goes on; it is only as the boat -rises on a wave and throws her bow up in the air that the men can -breathe. - -Now a shout of horror, and a cry--"Look-out! look out! sheer the boat, -quick! quick! port--port your helm!" For right down upon the bow of the -boat, tossing on the huge seas, and borne swiftly by the tide comes the -wreck of one of the ship's largest and heaviest boats; it has been -entangled in the mast, which is hanging over the side of the ship, but -it has now washed free, and comes driving down as if to stave in the bow -of the boat, and crush to death the two poor fellows hanging on to the -side:--the boat sheers a little; a cross wave catches the wreckage, and -it just sweeps clear. Thank God! is the cry of every man in the boat. - -The boatmen cannot get the two men in over the high bow of the boat, and -the poor fellows are drowning fast; and so they drag the life-boatman by -his legs along the side of the boat, he still clinging to the sailor, -and get him to the waist of the boat where the gunwale is very low; some -of the men can now catch hold of the sailor, they drag him on board, and -the boatman is pulled in by his legs. The brave fellow is very -exhausted by his great and gallant exertions; but he has saved the man's -life, and that is every consolation to him; the mate of the vessel is -almost unconscious. If the boatman had not clung to him as the seas -broke over them both, he must have let go his hold and soon have been -beaten under by the waves, for he was quite incapable of any further -exertion. - -The boatmen again turn their attention to the wreck; they have been so -much engaged with the two men struggling in the water, that they have -not been able to think of the poor boy still clinging to the vessel in -loneliness and fear. - -The deck-house has by this time been completely washed away, and no -longer affords him any protection. The poor little fellow is clinging to -the gunwale, holding on to the cleats; and he is calling out in good -English, and in the most piteous tones, O save me! O save me! O do save -me! He is only thirteen years old. The boatmen answer him back; and much -as they have passed through, it affects them very deeply to see the poor -child in his fear, and misery, and danger, to hear his cries and sobs, -and not to know how to help him. Continually he is completely buried in -the seas, and it seems wonderful that he can hold on; each time the -waves rush over the wreck, the boatmen expect to find him washed away -like a cork, but he still holds on, and again and again his piteous -pleading voice is heard 'mid the roar of the storm--"O save me! O save -me! O be quick and save me!"--"What can we do? What can we do?" the -boatmen ask each other in tones of real sorrow and dismay; there is not -a man among them who is not ready to risk his own life to save the boy, -but nothing can be done. It is impossible for them to climb on board the -wreck by the rope with which the life-boat is fastened to the vessel, -for the wreck is now so overrun by the tide that the bend of the rope is -continually under water, and the wreckage of the vessel's masts is -washing over it; moreover, although it was possible for a man to come -down the rope, the sea and tide making with him, it would be impossible -for a man to work his way up the rope against such a tremendous rush of -water and breaking surf as are continually sweeping over it. The steamer -is not in sight, or they might be tempted to go to her, get towed to -windward again, and try to run in upon the wreck and grapple her closer; -but this would be almost impossible, so wild is the sea on the weather -side, and on the lee side the wreck of one of the masts is flying about -in the broken water in a way, which would at once prove fatal to the -life-boat if she got entangled with it. - -And so all they can do is to wait on, till the tide slackens, when -perhaps they will be able to haul the life-boat up to the wreck, and -save the boy. But while the tide runs so fiercely they can only wait, -and watch the poor little lad. They do not forget the captain of the -vessel, they will go in search of him by-and-by, but they conclude that -all life must have been beaten out of him long since; and they must not -leave the living to go and search for the body of one whom they think -must very certainly be by this time dead. - -A short time, and the tide rapidly slackens, an eddy comes rushing -through some channel in the Sands, and the boat begins to sheer about -wildly; and is soon in danger of being crushed against the wreckage of -the masts, which is heaving and tossing about among the very heaviest of -the seas. - -"We must make an effort soon," the coxswain cries; "make ready, my men; -try and keep the wreckage clear; haul the boat up to the ship sharp, -when I tell you: we will soon have the poor little chap." - -Scarcely are the words shouted out by the coxswain when some of the men -give a cry--"What's that! look out! yes, he is overboard, washed over by -that big sea. Where is he? where is he? There he is! No! only his cap, -there he lifts on that sea--he is coming straight for the boat."--From -the change and eddy of the tide, the rush of the sea past the boat is -not nearly as rapid as it was, and the poor boy comes floating slowly -from the ship; once or twice he has been rolled under by the waves, now -he is on the surface again, and near the boat. "Here he comes! look! on -that wave! Lost! no, he floats again; slacken the hawsers; now he is -within reach, carefully, quick; now you have got him; he is making no -effort, and floating with his head under water;" a boatman manages to -hook his jacket with a long boat-hook, and pulls him towards the -boat--gently the men lift him in, sorrowfully; and tears are in the eyes -of more than one, as they look upon the small face. "Poor little chap! -too late! too late! he is gone," they say--and think that the delicate -little face and slender childlike form suggest that he is fitted rather -for quiet home scenes, and home care, than for such scenes of hardship -and peril as he has had to endure. - -"Now, my men," shouts the coxswain; "stations all! put the poor boy down -here in the stern-sheets. If we do not look sharp we shall be driven -upon the wreck, and likely enough all lost." - -"Ay! ay! all right. Get the foresail clear! All clear,--hoist as the -boat sheers; stand by to cut the cable, and ship's ropes; hoist away! -Now she pays round; cut the cable; all gone; round the boat flies; away -she goes before the wind. Make all fast. Now come and look to the poor -lad again;" and some of the boatmen with tender fatherly pity in their -hearts, take up the little fellow. They chafe his hands and rub his back -and limbs, and his chest over his heart, with strong rum, put a little -rum to his lips, and persevering as well as they can, following the -instructions given to all life-boat men, for recovering the apparently -drowned, after about half an hour they have the joy of seeing him show -signs of life; the men who can be spared from working the boat continue -their care of him; his circulation returns, and he can drink a little -water; some of the men take off their jackets which have been kept dry -by their waterproof overalls, and wrap him up in them; they then spread -the mizen sail above him, to prevent the seas breaking over him; and the -poor lad lies quiet, gradually recovering his strength. - -During this time, the coxswain and the men have been consulting about -the poor captain, who floated away with the life-buoy round him some two -hours before; and they determine to run down the Stream-reach in search -of him, dead or alive. But alive scarcely for one moment can they hope -to find him. - -The Stream-reach or Stream-wreckage, as it is called, is where the -currents setting down on either side of the Sands meet on the highest -part. - -Most of the wreckage is washed up into it, and what remains of a lost -ship or cargo will often be kept in this stream, and float away in one -long line some miles to leeward. Along this Stream-reach, and in the -heaviest of the seas, the men steer the life-boat, all keeping a keen -look-out for the body of the lost captain. - -They look back at the wreck several times as they speed away; and they -soon see the foremast of the vessel go over the side; the hull of the -vessel seems also to heave over, and that is the last that is seen of -the _Providentia_, for by the next morning her hull is completely torn -to pieces, the lower part buried in the Sands, and the remaining portion -utterly swept away. - -They run down the Stream-reach for about two miles; when one of the men -fancies that he can see an arm waving. All look in the direction pointed -out; and to their astonishment they see the captain in the life-buoy; as -he rises on the sea, he shouts to them and again waves his arm. - -The coxswain at once steers the boat for him, but the seas are so heavy -that they knock the boat to leeward, and they just miss him. - -The brave fellow shouts, "All right!" as they pass a few yards from -him. - -The boatmen lose no time; they take the mizen-sail which covers the mate -and lad, set it with all possible haste, shake out all reefs in the -foresail, head the boat round, and sail well to windward of the captain; -almost capsizing the boat under her press of canvas, so eager are they; -they keep a good look-out for him, for the seas are leaping so violently -that it is a hard thing to keep the poor fellow in view, and at last -they lose sight of him altogether. As soon as the boat is well to -windward they make across the Stream-reach, then sail down it, and soon -catch sight of the captain again; they lower the mizen and run straight -for him; soon they down with the foresail to lessen the speed of the -boat, for fear they should over run him, and manage to drop gently down -by his side. - -They lay hold of him and drag him into the boat; the exertion of being -pulled in over the side of the boat, and the reaction after his fearful -time of suffering and suspense, is too much for his remaining strength, -and he seems dying in the men's hands; they try and get him to swallow a -little rum, but he cannot do so, and faints. - -The men now set sail and make for the Gull light-ship; they see the -steamer coming round the South Sands Head in search of them; she takes -the boat in tow, and they proceed towards Ramsgate. In the meanwhile -some of the men have been doing all they can for the captain, rubbing -his back and limbs, and doing all they possibly can to restore his -circulation; he soon gets a little better, and is able to tell them -that his ship was a Russian ship, the _Providentia_, from Finland, and -that he is a Russian Fin; this last fact enables the men to account for -his wonderful powers of endurance in his long exposure to the beating of -the waves and to the coldness of the water, for the Finlanders are the -hardiest of all sailors. He also tells the men, that the _Providentia_ -was a full rigged ship of 700 tons, bound from Newcastle to the -Mediterranean with coals. That they had run ashore about eleven or -twelve o'clock the night before, in thick weather. That they made -signals, which the light-vessels answered. That they had seen the -light-vessels signal to the shore; and as he knew that he was near -Ramsgate, he felt sure that the life-boat would come out to their -rescue; he therefore tried to persuade the crew, eleven in number, to -remain by the ship; but that they took the big boat, and left the ship -in so heavy a sea that he feared they must all be lost (they were blown -over on the French coast, and at last got into Boulogne). Upon reaching -Ramsgate the captain, mate, and the boy were carried to the Sailors' -Home, being too weak to walk, and were well cared for. - -The captain made a long statement as to the gallant services of the -life-boat men, and of his deep gratitude to them. - -We may as well add, that as some of the men, who had run away so -suddenly from their work on board the Dutch steamer, to make a rush for -the life-boat, were walking upon the pier, they saw the Dutch mate -hurrying to them, evidently in a state of excitement. Halloo! What's up -now? think the men, remembering how the mate had shouted after them as -they left the vessel. Halloo! What's up now? but the honest fellow comes -to them, and shaking them heartily by the hands, says with deep -feeling,--"Me sorry me called you bad men for running away from the -steamer. You good men! you good men! _Me give you_ more work if me can." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -SAVED AT LAST. THE FATAL GOODWIN SANDS. - - "There are to whom that ship was dear - For love and kindred's sake, - When these the voice of rumour hear, - Their inmost heart shall quake, - Shall doubt, and fear, and wish, and grieve, - Believe, and long to unbelieve, - But never cease to ache; - Still doom'd, in sad suspense, to bear - The hope that keeps alive despair." - - _J. Montgomery._ - - -Do we not often find in the winter evening that our warm rooms seem more -cosy, and the flames to lap more brightly and closely round the -half-consumed log, as a blast of wind moans in the chimney, and perhaps -the cry of some poor street hawker tells its plain tale of toiling -misery as it goes shiveringly along the streets? Do we not find our -sensations of personal comfort increased, and our sympathy for the -sufferer quickened, as the wintry gale and slashing rain beat against -our well-shuttered windows, and suggest the hardships we should have to -endure if we were less cared for and less protected? - -But if we may learn the deeper to realize our blessings, and the more to -enlarge our sympathies, as we contrast our respective positions with -such as are endured by many of the poor toilers on shore, truly still -more may we do so as we consider the trials and hardships endured by -many of the toilers at sea. Jamb down the window harder to prevent those -few drops of rain bubbling in, draw the curtain closer and check that -one breath of draught; and now think of those of your fellow-men who are -breasting the storm in its wildest rage, out in the full perils and -dense darkness of the night, where cruel winds and mad seas attack them -in all their dread force; but neither daunt their courage, check their -efforts, nor frustrate their skill; their errand is to save, and all -personal considerations are lost in the grandness and hope of their -enterprise. - -Thinking of these things, we shall not fail again and again to render -our ready and full-hearted sympathy, not only for the shipwrecked, -crying aloud in their quick peril and deep agony for rescue, but also -for the poor brave-hearted boatmen of our coasts, who never hesitate to -do all and to dare all when the prospect before them is that of saving -life. - -Let us recall again some of the features in the lives of those whom we -may well call the "Storm Warriors" of seafaring life, who not only find -their bread upon the waters, but upon the most troubled waters of the -most storm-lashed seas; who, the darker the night, the sterner the -tempest, the more blinding the snowdrift, are the more full of -expectation that their services will be required, and are therefore the -more determined to urge their way out into the storm, to be ready to -render aid at the first call for assistance, and perhaps to pluck a -harvest of saved lives off the very edge of the scythe of death. - -Yes, my readers, I would once again carry you in thought far away from -quiet home scenes and peaceful associations, from the pleasant nooks and -sunny corners of memories which you delight to recall, upon which you -love to let your thoughts half consciously ponder; but I ask you to take -the joy of your home peace--the gladness of your blessings--with you, -that you may be quickened in every chord of sympathy as you let me draw -your thoughts away into the dread darkness, which is only broken by -spectral sheens of light shed by flying foam, there to picture the -rolling sea-mountains hurling along their avalanches of white spray; to -listen to the dread discords of a howling tempest; to hover in fancy mid -a scene of fierce turmoil and strife, where the elements in their rage -seem to have cast off all bonds to their fury, and to have determined to -sweep from their path every vestige of man and his works; and now to let -your eyes centre upon a shattered wreck, to which are clinging a few -storm-beaten sailors trembling upon the very verge of a grave. - -Are you practically interested in life-boat work, then you have a -message to them in their hour of agony; you would have a message to -many a loving wife and innocent child if they could now realize the -danger of those they love, upon whom they depend. And your whisper is of -rescue and of hope. Look where a fitful light gleams in the darkness; -now rides high on the crest of a huge wave, now falls buried in the -trough of the sea, shines out again, is hidden in a cloud of spray, but -pressing on and on, getting nearer each moment to the shipwrecked. - -The light gleams from a life-boat in which a small band of men are -battling,--battling on in the teeth of the fierce storm. No terrors stay -them, no failures quell their courage and their zeal; are not fellow-men -held captive and threatened with death by fierce and cruel seas? and -shall they, the Storm Warriors, not be ready at every peril, and at -every hardship, and against all difficulties to make in to their rescue. -In such scenes we see the men actually at their work in their efforts to -save life and property; but the life-boat work does not merely consist -in doing the work at the moment of its necessity, but also in the -unwearying watch and readiness for when that time of emergency shall -come. Many a Ramsgate boatman leaves his poor, but warm and comfortable -home, his humble and loving home circle, to pace Ramsgate pier for -hours, and this, night after night, for many winter months, and for the -mere chance of being among the first to make a rush for the life-boat -when the signal is given to man her,--a chance that may not come a dozen -times in the season, and which, when it does come, may afford indeed a -grand opportunity for daring all and doing all for the saving of life, -but not for doing much in the way of refilling the half-empty cupboards -at home, or rubbing off the debts that have been gradually growing -during the winter season. - -And in this, the last tale, I propose telling of the doing of the Storm -Warriors, the Life Savers, who watch and struggle mid the fierce seas of -the Goodwin Sands, I have deeds to relate done by our brave -boatmen--acts of daring and determination--for which I claim a place -amid the records of the bravest, grandest deeds of heroism of the age; a -tale to tell which, unless I fail utterly in the telling--and this God -forbid--I reverently pray, and pray it for the sake of noble deeds done, -and for the sake of the good life-boat cause--a tale which must excite -sympathy for those in suffering and in peril from the dangers of the -sea; and sympathy and high esteem for the daring and unselfish workers -of brave works;--a tale, the echoes of which may well stir, as a trumpet -peal, stout hearts to perseverance and brave deeds, to do and dare all -in God's name, and for the right, whatever storms of opposition may -impede their onward course, and stand between them and their high and -holy aim. - -The early days of the new year were bleak and cold; strong northerly and -easterly winds swept over land and sea; people on shore spoke of the -weather as being seasonable, but shuddered over the word. - -At Ramsgate, on the 5th of January, it was a fresh breeze from the -east-south-east, and the anxious boatmen were as usual keeping a good -look-out. About half-past eight in the morning, the booming of signal -guns was heard; the signals came from both the Goodwin and the Gull -light-ships. - -The boatmen, who had been watching all night in momentary expectation of -such a signal, speedily manned the life-boat. - -The steamer, the _Aid_, was soon ready, with her brave crew full of -courage and hardihood, and full of zeal as ever to second every effort -made by the life-boat men in saving life. The steamer is steered for the -North Sands Head light-vessel. As they were making their way across the -Gull stream, they saw what proved to be a shipwrecked crew in their own -boat; they took them on board the steamer, and found that they were the -crew, eight in number, of the schooner _Mizpah_, of Brixham. The -schooner had stranded on the Goodwin in a thick fog the night -previously; the weather was still thick, and the men could give no -account of the position of their vessel, and thought that it was -hopeless to try and find her, and that it would be useless to try and -get her off if they did find her, and so the steamer took the boat in -tow and returned to Ramsgate. - -It proved afterwards that the vessel floated off the Sands at high -water. A Broadstairs hovelling-lugger, while cruising about, fell in -with her, and succeeded in bringing her into Ramsgate. The vessel and -cargo were worth £6000 or £7000; the Broadstairs men obtained £350 as -salvage. The life-boatmen were glad to take a few hours' rest after -their night's watch and morning's work, they therefore found their way -homewards, leaving, however, plenty of ready and able boatmen to watch -on the pier, eager to make up another crew should a call for their -services be made. The cold became hour by hour more intense, and the -fresh breeze steadily grew; as the tide made, the sea broke over the -pier in heavy clouds of spray, thundered down upon it, and poured over -it in foaming cascades into the harbour. - -The evening grew on, the gale became terrific; heavy snow-storms went -sweeping by, showers of freezing sleet rushed on before the wind, and -the night was as dreary and dismal, as dark and cold, as night could -well be. - -At about half-past ten the storm was in its full fury, and the sea a -very howling wilderness of raging waters. - -At that moment the boom of a signal gun made itself heard, in spite of -the roar of the wind and sea, and rockets were soon seen streaming up -from the Gull light-ship. - -"The life-boat was manned with despatch," would be the short report the -coxswain would afterwards make to the harbour-master. This means, that -directly the signal was given, all was astir at the pier-head, the -harbour-men on watch hurried themselves to lose no moment in getting the -life-boat ready for sea; that the crew of the steamer also made all -zealous speed; that the boatmen, in spite of the piercing cold and -terrific gale, rush along the pier, hurry down the harbour steps, spring -into the boat, and at once set to work in preparing her for sea, as -readily as schoolboys bound down the school stairs and out on to the -common for the joy of a summer holiday. - -It takes the steamer and life-boat about one hour and a half to urge -their way through the terrible storm into the neighbourhood of the Gull -light-ship; the crews speak her about one in the morning, and are told -that the men on board saw, some time since, a large light burning -south-east by south, but they had lost sight of it for about twenty -minutes. - -The steamer at once tows the boat in the direction described; a careful -look-out is kept; the snow-storms come down more darkly than ever, and -the men find it bitterly cold, as they are continually overrun by the -foam and spray, and by the broken crests of the waves, which are very -wild and running mountains high; still on and on the brave fellows -battle their way, but they can discover no signs of any signal-light. -The crew hold a consultation as to what is best to be done; there -appears no possibility of any of the crew of the vessel which gave the -signals of distress being still alive; she must have broken up at once, -in so tremendous a sea, and it would be impossible for any poor fellow -to float clinging to any piece of wreckage in the midst of such a -terrific turmoil of water. Still some other vessel may be in danger; the -night is wild and dark enough for disaster after disaster to occur; and -so the men determine to wait and watch for any signal of distress, and -not seeing one, to remain in the neighbourhood of the Sands at all -events until daylight, that they may feel sure before they leave the -Sands that they are not turning their backs upon any whom they might -leave to perish in the storm for want of their aid. - -And so, my readers, while most of you, if not all, were quietly in your -beds (the wakeful ones of you perchance listening wistfully to the -storm, and perhaps having your hearts moved to great pity and deep -prayer for the poor fellows at sea), these brave boatmen, from choice, -and not for the hope of money reward, but for the far dearer hope of -saving life, waited on and on, by those gloomy storm-beaten Sands, a -prey to all the fierceness of the gale, the raging seas, and deadly -cold. - -Time after time the mad rushing waves break over the boat, burying her -in clouds of spray and foam, or, coming in heavier volume still, bury -her and the men for a moment or two completely under water. It is to the -crew something more than intense discomfort; their sufferings become -very great, yet they will not give in; they do all that they can to -encourage each other, and still let the boat lay to. - -Willing as every man is to endure to the utmost, they soon find that it -is getting beyond their strength; they feel as if frozen through and -through, and are rapidly getting numbed and exhausted with the continual -wash and beating over them of the heavy seas. There is no help for it, -and unwillingly they make a signal for the steamer, and are towed back -to Ramsgate, arriving between four and five in the morning. - -The name of the vessel that was lost during that terrible night was -never known; the greedy Sands soon swallowed up every vestige of the -ship; her name may perhaps be found among the missing ships at Lloyds'. -Hope, doubtless, long lingered, may still linger, in many mournful -homes; still the story be told to wondering children, how their father -or their brother sailed on such a day from a foreign port, and has not -since been heard of; but no clue has ever yet been found as to which of -the many missing vessels it was that came to such sudden destruction in -that dread night on the Goodwin Sands. - -Shall we linger another moment or two in thought over the poor fellows -thus lost in the fierce seas. We fancy that the bronzing of a tropical -sun was still ruddy upon their cheeks; a few weeks since they were ready -to rest 'neath the shadow of the sails, and lie about the deck at night; -and then speeding north they were met in the chops of the Channel by the -rough welcome of a strong adverse wind, against which they sought, day -and night, to beat their way, while the sails and cordage grew hard and -stiff with frozen rain and spray. - -Favoured at last with a slant of wind, the vessel finds her way up -Channel; the crew already feel the hardship and dangers of their voyage -at an end, as they begin to count the hours until they shall be in dock; -night falls as they pass the South Foreland. The wind goes moaningly -back to the old direction; hour after hour it increases, a gale sweeps -along in dread force, the blinding snow bewilders the pilot, who can -now see no guiding light, and soon in the darkness of the night, the -force of the wind, and the swirl of the tide, the vessel is driven -through the raging surf on to the Sands. - -The crew make a rush for the boats; useless; they would not live a -moment in such a boil of sea. The waves fly over the vessel, now lift -her, and then let her crash with the force of all her weight down upon -the Sands; now they beat with tremendous force against her, and shake -her each moment to her keel; the captain burns a blue light, the spray -washes it out, the men hasten to get a tar-barrel on deck, knock in the -top, fill it with combustibles, and light it; it flares up, and for a -time resists the rush of spray with which the air is full; the -light-vessel sees the signal, fires a gun and a rocket; the life-boat -starts upon her mission, but the waves close in upon the doomed ship in -fierce hungry strife, lifting and crashing her down time after time; the -decks are soon swept of everything that the force of water can tear from -them, the tar-barrel is washed out; the men can no longer remain on the -deck, but have to take refuge in the rigging, where they lash themselves -to the shrouds, and they wait on in darkness and despair; a tremendous -wave comes boiling along, it lifts the vessel, and almost rolls her -over; the strong masts snap like reeds; the ship fills and sinks in the -hole she has worked by her rolling and beating in the quicksand. Another -half-hour, perhaps, and the life-boat is there; too late! only the -tangled spars and cordage and broken pieces of wreck float near--tokens -of the death and destruction that have been wrought: and a fine ship has -been thus utterly and speedily destroyed--and all living things on board -being swiftly engulfed, have found their graves in the strife of that -deadly sea. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -SAVED AT LAST. WE WILL NOT GO HOME WITHOUT THEM. - - "O, the most piteous cry of the poor souls! - Sometimes to see 'em, and not to see 'em; now - The ship boring the moon with her mainmast, - And anon swallowed with yest and froth; - How the poor souls roared, and the sea - Mocked them." - - _Winter's Tale._ - - -As soon as it is daylight the coxswain of the life-boat and others of -the boatmen feel very anxious; they fear that, when driven in by -exhaustion on the previous night, they may, after all, have left some -poor fellows clinging to a remnant of wreck; or perhaps have left a ship -on the Sands, lost in the darkness of the night, and unable to make any -signal of distress; the men cannot rest, and although the life-boat has -only been in a few hours, the coxswain of the boat and the mate of the -steamer go to the harbour-master, tell him their fears, and ask his -permission to put to sea again and to search round the Sands. - -The permission is readily given--"Go by all means," and the men are -encouraged to make their search. Ten fresh hands join the coxswain and -the bowman of the life-boat; and soon after daylight they start on their -dangerous and merciful mission. - -They are towed again by the steamer _Aid_, and make for the North Sands -Head light-vessel, keeping a good look-out for the faintest signal of -distress. The men discover nothing on the north side of the Sands, and -they determine to work their way to the back of the Sands, on the French -side, and there pursue their search. - -Soon they see in the misty distance what seems to be a large vessel on -the south-east spit of the Sands; they tow with all speed in her -direction; they are proceeding along the edge of the Sand, just outside -the broken water. - -The waves are rolling along in all their fury, and beat down upon the -Sands with tremendous force; the surf flying up in great sheets of foam, -and the roar of the breakers is like loud quivering thunder; the scene -is enough to make the stoutest heart quail; but, without one thought of -flinching from whatever lies before them, the men cling to the life-boat -as the seas break over them, and patiently bear all the cold and storm, -and wash of water, as they are towed on nearer and nearer to the wreck. - -One of the men said afterwards, in answer to questions as to what his -feelings were as he watched the tremendous seas, and knew that shortly -he would be battling for his life in the midst of them, "Well, Sir, I -think that at all such times a man must naturally have his inward -feelings; soldiers say that they have theirs, and I am very sure that -we have ours; a man can't help knowing the danger, and thinking about -it, and feeling about it too; but we are not going to be made -cold-hearted about it, or we shouldn't be out there. We can't help -seeing that we've got hard work before us, and we determine by God's -help to do it, and we won't flinch. We hope to save others, and feel -that we shall do our best to do so, but at the same time we know that we -may lose our own lives in making the attempt. We think about this -sometimes as we are sitting in the boat, holding on against the wash of -the seas, but when we get to the wreck we forget all about ourselves, -and only think about saving the others." - -The seas become still heavier and heavier as they get nearer to the -wreck and approach a more exposed part of the Sands; they now have to -encounter one great rush of water, which, urged by the hurricane of wind -and the strong tide, comes raging along in unbroken course through the -Straits of Dover. - -At last they get within a short distance of the wreck, and find her to -be a large barque. She has settled down somewhat on the Sands, has -heeled over a good deal, and huge waves are foaming over her. The men -look at the awful rage of sea, hear the tremendous roar with which the -mountainous waves break upon the Sand, and say to each other, "We have -indeed our work cut out for us." - -The boatmen can see no signs of any of the crew of the vessel being left -on board. They may have been swept from the wreck, or have been lost in -some vain effort to get to land in their own boat. The flag of distress -is still flying, and the steamer tows the boat nearer to the wreck; they -can now make out that the crew are crouching down under cover of the -deck-house; while the huge waves make a complete breach over the vessel, -and threaten every moment to wash the deck-house and the crew away. - -The steamer tows the boat up to windward. The life-boatmen feel their -turn for the battle has come, and make every preparation; they get their -sails ready to hoist, make the cable up all clear for paying out; the -coxswain sees that they are now far enough to windward, the steamer's -tow-rope is cast off; the boat lifts on a huge wave as the strain of the -rope is taken off her, they hoist the sail, round she flies in answer to -her helm, and she makes in for the wreck; they mount on the top of huge -seas, go plunging down into the trough of the waves; the spray flies -over them as the gale catches the crests of the towering breakers, and -fills the air with clouds of flying foam; a minute more and they are in -broken water; the seas rush and leap and recoil, fly high and fall in -tangled volumes over the boat; she is tossed in all directions by the -wild broken waves, and as she fills again and again with water, becomes -almost unmanageable. - -The men have to cling with all their strength to the thwarts, but still -the wind drives the boat on, and they get within about sixty yards of -the wreck; the anchor is thrown out, the cable payed out swiftly; the -sea is rushing with tremendous force over the ship; the boat sheers in -under her lee-quarter; the boatmen cheer to the poor half-dead sailors -who are crouching and clinging under shelter of the deck-house. All is -hope; "A minute or two more," they think, "and we shall have saved -them." A shout from the coxswain of the boat--"Hold on! hold on!" a -glance upwards, a huge mountain of a wave comes rolling swiftly on, its -crest curls over, breaks, falls upon the boat, the men and the boat are -carried down by the tremendous weight of water. Some of the men seem -almost crushed by the blow and pressure of the falling wave; they do not -know whether the boat is upset or not, so is she rolled about in the -whirl of the broken wave; they cling convulsively to her, she soon -floats, lifted by her air-tight compartments, and she frees herself. The -men breathe again; they find that the wave that buried them has taken -the boat in its irresistible flood, and dragging the anchor with it, has -carried it more than one hundred yards away from the ship. - -The men lift themselves up, clear their faces from the water, shake it -from their clothes, and look at the vessel; they determine that, please -God, they will yet save the crew. They give a cheer to encourage and -give hope to the poor fellows, and without further thought of the dread -danger they have but just escaped, prepare for another attempt. - -They hoist the sail quickly and get the boat's head round, and try and -sheer her into the ship; but all their efforts are in vain, wave after -wave breaks over them, the boat is tossed in all directions by the -broken seas--sometimes the coxswain feels as if he would be thrown -bodily forward on the men, as the waves lift the boat almost end on end. - -Again and again are boat and men overrun bodily by the rush of the -waves, but the boat behaves splendidly, lifts buoyantly from under the -weight of water; her undaunted crew bear up bravely, and all are once -more ready for another struggle. They labour on, but without success; -they cannot make their way back to the ship: they get the oars out, the -waves and wind take them and send them leaping from the rowlocks, and -out of the men's hands; they must give it up for this time. - -All their thoughts are for the poor shipwrecked crew, and the -bitter--bitter disappointment they must feel. Again they cheer to them, -and shout to them, to keep their hearts up--they will soon be at them -again; and they make the best of their way back to the steamer. They -have failed in their first attempt. - -The steamer again tows them into position, and they make for the second -time boldly in for the wreck; the coxswain steers as near to the stern -as possible, avoiding the danger of being washed over it on to the deck -of the vessel, and thus crushed to pieces; they get nearer to the vessel -than they did before; the shipwrecked crew begin to stir themselves, the -boatmen are about to run the boat alongside, when again they are -overwhelmed in the rush of a fearful sea, buried in its deluge of broken -water, and the boat is again hurled away by the force of the waves, and -carried many fathoms from the vessel; the anchor holds, but the tide is -running more strongly than ever, and in the direction to carry them -right away from the wreck; and so it is hopeless for them to try to get -any nearer to her from where they are. - -The tide has risen and is nearly at its height; the vessel has fallen -still more over upon her side; the lee side of the deck is completely -under water, the top of the deck-house is just above the sea; the crew -have been driven from their old place of shelter, they have lashed a -spar across the mizen shrouds, and are all clinging to it, while the -heavy waves beat continually over the poor fellows. - -It is with terrible agony that the crew on board the wreck witness the -second failure of the life-boat: "She will never come again," the -captain says, in a voice of despair; "the men cannot do it, the very -life must have been washed and beaten out of them." Great is their -astonishment to find that no sooner does the life-boat clear herself of -the water that seems almost to drown her, no sooner do the men free -themselves from the rush of the foam, which has for a time overwhelmed -them, than they begin to cheer again, as if only rendered the more -determined by their second defeat; the more courageous by the -difficulties and dangers they had already endured; and the shipwrecked -crew, encouraged by the hoarse cheers of the exhausted half-drowned -boatmen, do not lose all hope. - -The boat is again towed into position, and for the third time makes in -for the wreck. - -This time they throw the anchor overboard farther from the vessel than -before, give longer scope to the cable, sail in well under the ship's -stern, and again steer as near as possible to the vessel's lee-quarter, -and lower the foresail. - -They are within a dozen yards of the ship; the bowman heaves a rope with -all his force; it falls short of the men in the shrouds to whom he -throws it, and the boat sweeps on; they check her with the cable, and -bring her head to the ship abreast of her, but unhappily some distance -off. - -The captain of the shipwrecked vessel had despaired of the boat being -able to come in the third time; but when he saw her coming, he felt -fully convinced that it was their last opportunity of being saved, and -determined that if the boat were again swept from the wreck, that he -would jump into the sea and try and swim to her. - -The boat comes and misses, and the crew of the boat see the captain -hastily throw off his sea-boots, seize a life-buoy, and prepare to -plunge into the sea: they shout to him not to do so, and to the crew to -hold him back. "The tide in its set off the Sands would sweep him away; -the seas would beat his life out of him: they will be back again soon, -and won't go home without them." - -The steamer has followed the boat as closely as possible, running down -close to the edge of the Sands, just clear of the broken water. The -life-boat has swung out to the full length of her cable, and is in deep -water; the men upon being beaten away from the wreck for the third -time, look round for the steamer, and to their astonishment see her -making in straight towards them. - -The men on board the steamer had watched with increasing anxiety and -dismay the defeat of the successive gallant attempts made by the -life-boat crew. They had grown more and more excited each time that the -life-boat had returned to them, and feel now prepared to run almost any -risk whatever to further help the life-boatmen in their brave but as yet -unsuccessful efforts to save the crew. - -And so the steamer makes right in across the broken water, straight for -the life-boat; a rope is thrown from the steamer, and is made fast in -the life-boat; they now hope, with the steamer's help, to be able to -sheer the boat right in upon the wreck. - -The boatmen have hold of their own cable, to which their anchor is fast; -they gradually draw in upon this cable, and the steamer tries to tow the -boat nearer and nearer to the vessel, and for the fourth time the -life-boat makes in 'mid the wild raging seas for the rescue of the crew. - -The steamer ventures into the rage of the sea, and her position becomes -one of very great peril; she rolls in the trough of the tremendous waves -till her gunwales are right under water; the foam and spray dash -completely over her, and tons and tons of water deluge her deck. They -gradually approach the vessel; the life-boat sheers in; the seas and -tide and wind catch her in their full power, and whirl her away again. - -A huge wave sweeps bodily over the steamer--she is in extreme danger; -the life-boatmen watch her in the greatest alarm, fearing each moment -that a wave will swamp her--but rolling, plunging, burying herself in -the foaming seas, the steamer bravely holds her own, until to remain -longer is certain death to all on board; and sorrowfully the crew of the -steamer abandon their most gallant attempt, and make out of the rage of -broken water. - -The life-boatmen rejoice to see the steamer get clear of the deadly -peril, but they are scarcely in less peril themselves; they cut the -steamer's tow-rope, and then find that they must cut their own cable, to -avoid being dashed over the wreck; and away they go again driven on -before the gale. They look at each other, but only read courage and -determination in each other's countenances. Beaten off for the fourth -time, not one heart fails, not one speaks of giving up the attempt, not -one of the brave fellows has any such thought for an instant; their one -consideration is what next shall be attempted to save the poor fellows -from a speedy and terrible death, which indeed threatens them every -minute. Thus the only question is, what they shall try next? and weak -and exhausted, and almost frozen with cold, but determined, and full of -courage and zeal as ever, their one anxiety is for the poor shipwrecked -crew, whose peril increases each minute, and they prepare for a fifth -effort for their rescue, strong still in their old determination--"that -they will not go home without them." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -SAVED AT LAST. VICTORY OR DEATH. - - "'Tis done--despite the winds--the roll - Of that storm-maddened fearful sea; - Bravery hath snatched each shivering soul, - O greedy death! from thee. - Then the rough seamen's hands they wring, - And some, o'erpowered by bursting feeling, - Their arms around them wildly fling, - While tears down many a cheek are stealing; - They bless them for their noble deed, - True saviours sent in hour of need." - - _N. Michell._ - - -The ship's hull has now been for some time under water, and it is -evident that the wreck is breaking up fast. She has coals and iron on -board; this dead weight keeps her steady on the Sands, and prevents the -waves lifting her and crashing her down, or she would long since have -been torn and broken to fragments. As it is, the decks have burst, and -the lighter portions of her cargo are being rapidly washed out of her; -the sea in some places is black with coal-dust, and much wreckage, -pieces of her deck and forecastle are being swept away by the tide. - -Each time that the men on board the steamer and life-boat look at the -vessel, count the crew still in the rigging, and find that not any are -missing, they think it indeed a wondrous mercy that all should still be -safe, and get each moment more impressed with feelings of deep sympathy -for the poor fellows, and with the greater eagerness to dare all to save -them. - -Daniel Reading, the brave, skilful, and long-tried master of the -steamer, is ill on shore, and so she is in charge of John Simpson, the -mate; he and William Wharrier, the engineer, consult as to the -possibility of making another effort with the steamer, for the tide is -setting off the Sands with such force that they do not see how it is -possible for the life-boat to get in to the wreck and save the crew, and -they find that all the men on board the steamer are perfectly prepared -to second them in any effort that they decide upon making. - -They get the mortar-apparatus ready, and again urge the steamer through -the seas in the direction of the wreck; they hope to get near enough to -the vessel to fire a line from the mortar into the rigging, to which the -shipwrecked crew will attach a rope, and then hauling this rope on board -the steamer, they will take it to the life-boat's men, who will by it be -able to haul the boat through the seas to the wreck. Cautiously the -steamer approaches; the tide has been for some time rising fast; the -steamer does not draw much water; they are almost within firing -distance; the waves come rushing along and nearly overrun the steamer; -at last a breaker larger than the rest catches her, lifts her high upon -its crest, and letting her fall down into its trough as down the side of -a wall, she strikes the Sands heavily; the engines are instantly -reversed, she lifts with the next wave, and being a very quick and handy -boat, at once moves astern before she can thump again, and they are -saved from shipwreck; and thus the fifth effort to save the shipwrecked -crew fails. - -No time is lost; at once the steamer heads for the life-boat, and makes -ready to tow her into position. Again not a word--scarcely a -thought--about past failures, only eagerness to commence without delay a -fresh attempt; the steamer is alongside the life-boat. - -"Look out, my men, here is another rope for you." "All right!" the -boatmen answer as they catch the line, and haul the hawser into the -boat. - -"All right! tow us well to windward, give us a good position, plenty of -room, we must have them this time. All fast! away you go, hurrah!" The -men watch the wreck as they are towed past her. "Oh! the poor fellows! -to think we have not got them yet. Well, we have had a hard struggle for -it, but, please God, we will save them yet--we will save them yet!" - -"Ah! look how that wave buries them all; there they are again, let us -give them a cheer, it will help them to keep their hearts up." And as -the boat rose upon a sea, they shouted and waved to the shipwrecked -crew. - -"There, another breaker has gone right over her; how she heaves and -works to it! Yes, and do you see how her masts are swinging about, and -in different directions? they are getting unstepped and loose; she is -breaking up fast, working all over--all of a quiver and tremble! Poor -fellows! poor fellows! we have not a moment to spare. It must soon be -all over, one way or the other!" Thus the men speak to each other; they -are in a glow of eagerness and excitement, and can scarcely restrain -themselves to get quietly to work. For as they watch the poor fellows, -and time after time see the waves wash over them in quick -succession--and as each wave passes, see them still clinging on--they -almost feel as if they could jump at them to try and save them, and in -their noble and gallant sympathy and determination lose all sense of -weakness, and cold, and exhaustion. - -When describing their feelings, one of the men said, "We were thoroughly -warm at our work, and felt like lions, as if nothing could stop us." - -It is in this spirit that they now consult together, as to the plan upon -which they shall make their next effort. First one scheme is suggested, -and then another, but these seem to give no better prospect of success -than those that have been already tried in vain. - -At last one of the men proposes a plan which must indeed either prove -rescue to the shipwrecked or death to all. - -"I tell you what, my men, if we are going to save those poor fellows, -there is only one way of doing it; it must be a case of save all, or -lose all, that is just it. We must go in upon the vessel straight, hit -her between the masts, and throw our anchor over right upon her decks." - -"What a mad-brained trick!" says one. - -"Why, the boat would be smashed to pieces." - -"Likely enough; but there is one thing certain, is there not? and that -is that we are never going home to leave those poor fellows to perish, -and I do not believe that there is any other way of saving them, and so -we must just try it. And God help us, and them!" - -Not a single word against it now! - -What, charge in upon the vessel in that mad rage of sea! Victory, or -death, indeed! - -Most of the men on board the life-boat are married men with -families--loved wives, and loved little ones dependent upon them. -Thoughts of this, tender heartfelt thoughts of home, come to them. - -"Well, and so we have, and have not those poor perishing fellows also -got wives and little ones, and are they not thinking of their homes, and -loved ones, as much as we are thinking of ours; and shall we go home, -having turned back from even the greatest danger, without having tried -all it is possible to try; go home to our wives and little ones, and -leave them to perish thinking of theirs? No! please God, that shall -never be said of us." - -Such thoughts as these pass through the minds of some of the boatmen. -And what think the poor nearly drowned crew of the unfortunate vessel. - -There they are clinging to the loose and shaking rigging; a few feet -above the boil of the hungry and raging sea. They have seen effort after -effort made, and effort after effort fail; they have watched the men do -more than they ever dreamt it was possible for men to do; and they have -watched the life-boat live, and battle with seas with which they never -thought it possible a boat could for one moment contend; time after time -they have thought that the boatmen were drowned, as they saw the huge -curling waves break over the boat, swamp it, bury it in the weight of -their falling volume of water, and for some seconds hide all from view; -they have been watching the men persevere in attempt after attempt, when -they thought that from sheer exhaustion it would be impossible for them -to make another effort for their rescue. - -With equal wonder and admiration they watched the noble efforts of the -steamer, marked how nearly she was wrecked, and when she failed, gave up -all as lost; deciding in their minds that in such a rush of broken sea, -strength of tide and gale of wind, that it is impossible for the boat to -reach them, or for them to be saved, and all but one give up all hope. -When the captain says in despair, "The life-boat can never make another -effort," this man answers, "I have sailed in English ships; I have often -heard about life-boat work, and I know that they never leave any one to -perish as long as they can see them, and they will not leave us." - -"And look, here she comes again. O God help them! God help them!" - -Yes, here she comes again; the steamer had hastened to tow her well -into position, well to windward of the wreck. "And here she comes -again." - -Once more the boat heads for the wreck--this time to do, or to die; each -man knows it, each man feels it. They are crossing the stern of the -vessel; "Look at that breaker--look at that breaker--hold on, hold on, -it will be all over with us if it catches us, we shall be thrown high -into the masts of the vessel, and shaken out into the sea in a moment! -Hold on all, hold on! Now it comes! No, thank God, it breaks ahead of -us, and we have escaped. Now, men, be ready, be ready!" Thus shouts the -coxswain. Every man is at his station, some with the ropes in hand ready -to lower the sails; others by the anchor prepared to throw it overboard -at the right moment; round, past the stern of the vessel the boat flies, -round in the blast of the gale and the swell of the sea; down helm, -round she comes; down foresail; the ship's lee gunwale is under water, -the boat shoots forward straight for the wreck, and hits the lee rail -with a shock that almost throws all the men from their posts, and then, -still forward, she literally leaps on board the wreck. Over! over with -the anchor; it falls on the vessel's deck; all the crew of the vessel -are in the mizen shrouds, but they cannot get to the boat, a fearful -rush of sea is chasing over the vessel, and between them and it. Again -and again the boat thumps on the wreck as on a rock, with a shock that -almost shakes the men from their hold. - -The waves soon lift the boat off the deck, and carry her away from the -vessel. "Is even this attempt to be a failure? No, thank God! the -anchor holds; veer out the cable; steadily, my men, steadily; do not -disturb the anchor more than you can help; we shall have them now! we -shall have them, all will be well; ease her a bit, ease her, see how she -plunges, a little more cable; now for the grappling-iron; quick, throw -it over that line; there you have it;" and they haul on board a line -which had been made fast to a cork-fender, and thrown overboard from the -wreck early in the day, but which the boatmen had never before been able -to reach. - -They get the boat straight, haul in slowly upon both ropes; cheer to the -crew: "Hurrah! mates, hurrah!" All is joy and excitement, but at the -same time steady attention to orders; now the boat is abreast the mizen -rigging, opposite to where the men are clinging. "Down helm, the boat -sheers in; haul in upon the ropes, men, handsomely, handsomely;" the -boat jumps forward, hits the ship heavily with her stern, crashes off a -large piece of her fore-foot. The men are for a moment thrown down with -the shock; two of the boatmen spring on to the raised bow gunwale, and -seize hold of the captain of the vessel, who seems nearly dead, drag him -in over the bows; two of the sailors jump on board; "Hold on all, hold -on!" - -A fearful sea rolls over them, the boat is washed away from the vessel; -the anchor still holds; they sheer the boat in again; they make the -ropes fast, and lash the boat to the shrouds of the wreck, thus verily -nailing their colours to the mast. No! they will not be washed away -again until they have all the crew on board. - -A sailor jumps from the rigging, the boat sinks in the trough of the -sea, the man falls between the boat and the wreck; a second more and the -boat will be on the top of him, crushing him against the rail of the -vessel, upon which the keel of the boat strikes and grinds cruelly; two -boatmen seize him, leaning right over the gunwale to do so, they are -almost dragged into the water; they are seized in turn by the men in the -boat, and all are with difficulty got on board. - -Up the boat flies and crashes against the spar lashed to the rigging. -"Jump in, men, jump in all of you. Now! Now!" In they spring, and -tumble, falling upon the men, and all rolling over into the bottom of -the boat. All are now on board--all on board! "Hurrah! cut the lashings, -there, she falls away from the wreck; cut the cable, quick with the -hatchet; all gone! all gone! up foresail." The seas catch the boat and -bear her away from the wreck; away she goes with a bound, flying through -the broken water; the heavy wind fills the sail; they are fairly under -weigh, and with the precious freight for which they had fought so long -and so gallantly, safely on board. Thank God! thank God! all are saved -at last--_saved at last_. - -Now the boat is through the broken seas away from the terrible Sands, -out in the deep water; the men have time to look at each other; and how -gladly, and yes, how fondly, they do so. Strangers though they be, yet -at that moment their hearts are warm to each other with more than a -brother's love--all is gladness and thankfulness; they shake hands, the -rescuers and the rescued, time after time. - -The saved crew are ten in number. They are Danes, and the wreck the -Danish barque _Aurora Borealis_. - -Some of the sailors can speak a little broken English, and in such terms -as they are able the poor fellows express the depth of their gratitude, -and their wonder at being saved. - -The boat makes for the steamer, which is coming down rapidly to meet -her; the crew of the steamer greet the life-boatmen with cheers! Who can -describe the joy they all feel at the successful ending of their long -battle with terrible danger and threatened death! and great indeed is -their sympathy with the saved from death, for whom they and the boatmen -have so willingly, and to the very utmost, risked their own lives. - -They lift the captain on board the steamer; he is thoroughly exhausted; -they carry him into the engine-room, and in the warmth there, do their -best to revive him, and he soon recovers. The Danish seamen will not -leave the boat; the life-boat crew tell the mate that his men would be -much more comfortable on board the steamer, that the seas will be -washing over the boat all the way in; but no, as so frequently happens -on such occasions, and as has been before noticed, the rescued men feel -so grateful to the life-boatmen, that they are not content to leave the -boat until they get to land. And the mate replies, "No! you saved us, -you saved us; we thought you never, never do it; you had plenty trouble; -we stop with you." And they would not desert their friends, their -brothers indeed, who had done so much to save them. - -In Ramsgate the anxiety is very great. - -The steamer and life-boat have been out many hours, nothing can be seen -of them in the mist that hangs over the Goodwin Sands. - -"Can anything have happened?" is the question that is restlessly put -from one to another. - -It might well be so, in the terrific sea that must have been raging on -the Goodwin in so fearful a storm. - -At about half-past two, hundreds of people are collected on the pier; -for the news that the life-boat is out always spreads like wildfire -through the town; and if there is any cause for anxiety on her account, -the whole town soon shares the apprehension, and throngs of anxious men -crowd the pier and harbour. Now the men who are anxiously on the watch -make out something looming in the mist; and speedily the steamer and -life-boat are seen, their flags are flying, glad sign of successful -effort, of rescue effected; and great is the joy of all the lookers-on; -steamer and life-boat speed between the massive granite heads of the two -piers, and the crowd that looks down upon them as they come pitching and -rolling along, greet them with cheer after cheer. - -The saved crew land, they are many of them very weak, and worn, and -exhausted; but all around is welcome, and sympathy, and active service. - -They are taken to the Sailors' Home, where warm clothing, and beds, and -goodly fare are ready for them, and the poor fellows soon recover; some -of them before they attempt to take any rest insist upon writing to the -loved ones at home, to tell of their safety, and of their rescue from -apparently almost certain death. - -Doubtless these letters contain simple expressions of gratitude to God, -and of deep love for the dear wife, of many many kisses for the sturdy -little boy, or the laughing girl, for the children whose bright eyes -seemed so often staring at them so wistfully out of the storm, and whom -they never thought to see again; and doubtless contain also expressions -of great admiration and thankfulness for the untiring courage of the -English life-boatmen; and their full belief in the expression of one of -their number who told them in the height of their danger, and in the -very depth of their despair, "to take courage, for the life-boatmen will -never leave us while they can see us." - -The Board of Trade, in recognition of the gallant services of the men, -presented them with one pound each. The King of Denmark forwarded two -hundred rix-dollars to be divided among them. - -The boatmen are all poor men, and these presents proved very acceptable; -but the joy with all was, and will be while life lasts, that God had in -His providence and mercy so crowned their perseverance with success, and -enabled them to save their drowning brother sailors. While all who heard -of the circumstances, declared that never by land or by sea was more -gallant service rendered than was accomplished by these brave boatmen, -who in the face of all danger, and of all hardship, determined to -persevere to the death--determined that while the shipwrecked crew still -remained alive, "They would not go home without them." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -OF SOME OF THE LIFE-BOAT MEN. - - "The rank is but the guinea-stamp; - The man's the gold for a' that." - - _Burns._ - - -It may be that some of my readers who have followed the adventures of -our Storm Warriors through their varied struggles and heroic deeds, and -have felt sympathy more or less deep for the gallant life-savers, would -like to know a little of one or two of the leading men among those who, -during the last twenty years, or more, have done such good work in the -Ramsgate life-boat on the Goodwin Sands. - -Gallant men who, time after time, have plunged their boat into the -thickest of the fray, and heedless of hardship, heedless of peril, -forgetful of self, intent only upon rescuing the distressed, have -laboured on through the dark stormy nights, 'mid the rush of the waves, -the howling winds, the fierce hurricane blasts, the spray, and sleet, -and snow--encountering all dangers, and persevering through all -difficulties, and repaid for all as they have brought home in the -morning's light the brother sailors, or the passengers, whom they have -been instrumental in saving from swift and terrible deaths. - -Quiet, broad-chested, steadfast-eyed men, who, by all the scenes they -have witnessed, and by all the hardships they have suffered, and by all -the thoughts of the shipwrecked ones that they have brought safely home, -have it deeply written in upon their hearts: that (to use their own -simple and noble expression) _they have a call to save life_. - -Well indeed would it be for the world if more of those to whom talents -are given, and to whom stewardships are intrusted, and who stand -watching the many who are in danger, overrun by the dark troubled waters -of social life--wrecked in poverty, in misery, in ignorance--wrecked for -want of true teaching, true guidance, true sympathy, true love--well -would it be if more of these stewards of God's loans might have the same -noble conviction written in upon their hearts: that they have _a call to -save life_! Then would more lives grow noble by noble work, and become -happy in the consciousness of the happy results, which God grants to the -efforts of all those who humbly seek to live and labour for the good of -others; grants to those who would sooner put to sea 'mid toil and peril, -'mid self-sacrifice and opposition, rather than let the life-boats God -has given for their use rot and canker upon the banks, while the cries -of the despairing and the lost plead in vain from the dark storms and -troubled waters at their feet. - -Yes, surely; the humble boatmen of our coasts, our "Storm Warriors," -afford a lesson by which many may well profit, in the noble -self-sacrificing way in which they realize their mission--_that they -have a call to save life_. - -"Who shall be the first coxswain of our new _Northumberland_ Prize -Life-boat?" was the question asked by the Ramsgate Harbour Trustees some -two and twenty years ago; and it was an important and anxious question; -for the good boat required skilful handling to do efficient service, and -if she failed in what was required and expected of her, the life-boat -cause would receive a serious check. - -"No man better than James Hogben for the first coxswain; no man among -them all holds a higher character for cool courage, and skill, and -experience;" such was the answer. Hogben had been to sea since he was a -lad; for some years he was sailing in a small vessel that traded between -London and Ostend; then he sailed a little bit of a boat, of about -fifteen tons, between Ramsgate and Dunkirk and Boulogne, winter and -summer. Ask him about it now, and the dangers he used to run; and he -shakes his head, and with a quiet smile tells you that, "He met with a -good many very _whole_ breezes, very!" in that little craft of his. - -After that, he had nearly twenty years of hovelling; cruising about the -Goodwin Sands in open luggers in the stormiest winter weather, till he -almost knew the Sands by heart; and so James Hogben was appointed first -coxswain of the Ramsgate life-boat. - -Each time that he and his crew went out in her they gained fresh -confidence in her powers; and noble work the good boat did under his -command; indeed from the time the _Northumberland_ life-boat began her -career at Ramsgate to the time she was broken up, from December 1851 to -July 1865, no fewer than two hundred and sixty-one lives were saved by -her and the gallant Storm Warriors who sailed her, from vessels that -were utterly lost; and nineteen vessels, with their crews, were -extricated from the Goodwin Sands and brought safely into harbour. - -For nine years Hogben was coxswain of the life-boat, and then came that -dread New Year's Eve, when doubts were thrown upon the telegram that -came from Deal; and there was delay; and the life-boat got out to the -south of the Goodwin Sands only in time for her crew to see the -_Gottenburg_ overwhelmed by the waves, and to hear the last cries of the -drowning men. - -Hogben had been out in the life-boat once before that day, and was -exhausted and unwell; and he had a nasty fall in the boat, and hurt his -knee badly, and soon fell seriously ill; his nerves were, for a time, -utterly shattered, and he who had been remarkable for his dauntless -courage became too nervous to walk even down the pier for fear of -falling over. - -And although, after a while, he so far recovered as to be able to be -employed as a boatman in the harbour, and as a watchman on the pier, yet -he was never able to go to sea again; his iron constitution broken down -by some thirty years of Storm Warrior life, during the last nine years -of which he had been coxswain of the famous Ramsgate life-boat. - -Isaac Jarman was appointed coxswain in Hogben's room. - -Who among Ramsgate boatmen has been better known in his time than Isaac -Jarman--or Mr. Jarman, as I suppose I ought to call him now? for is he -not master of a thriving public-house, which he will take good care to -keep respectable? and it will not be his fault if any of his customers -wreck themselves by taking too much drink. - -But a yarn on Ramsgate pier with the life-boat coxswain, Jarman, was for -some years quite an institution with many a visitor to Ramsgate, as well -as with many an inhabitant. - -When I have known Jarman (it does not seem quite natural _Mistering_ my -old boatman friend) to be out in the life-boat, enduring all the rage of -the storm, and I have imagined the wild scenes 'mid the strife of waters -through which he has been passing, another picture, one in very vivid -contrast, has often presented itself to my mind. - -I have remembered the scene I saw one evening when I called upon him, -and found him with his family at tea. - -"Come in, sir, come in; you won't disturb us: glad to see you." - -His wife and, I think, five little daughters were there, and the baby -boy, the only son, was taken out of the cradle to be shown to me. - -And as Jarman dandled the little fellow in his strong arms he said, -"Bless the boy! Bless the boy! he will make a life-boat coxswain some -day, that he will;" and I felt that all the thoughts of the danger of -the work was lost in the joy of saving life; I glanced at the mother, -half expecting some expression of dissent; no, her smile showed that she -was proud of her husband, and that all her sympathies were with him in -his noble work, and that she was quite content that her only boy should -in his day follow in his father's steps and be, like him, one of the -gallant band of life-savers who guard our coasts. - -And I have often felt, that however much such pictures of happy -home-circles dwelt in the heart of Jarman, and of his comrades, as they -have struggled out through the dark storms, and rushed into conflict -with the wild seas, yet that they have never caused them to turn back -from any danger, or to lessen one single effort in their warfare to save -life. - -Isaac Jarman was turned out into the North Sea almost from his cradle. - -His father, a boatman, got severely hurt on board a hovelling-lugger, so -much so, that he was never fit for work again; as a matter of course, -the family became very poor. - -Many hungry children to feed, and the arms once so strong now powerless -to labour for them, no wonder that the cupboard was often empty, and the -growing lads forced to do something for themselves as soon as they were -able. - -And so Isaac Jarman, when a boy of twelve years old, was sent away to -sea on board a small fishing-smack called the _Pledge_; she was only -twenty-five tons, but used to sail long distances away to fish in the -North Sea, in all weathers, summer and winter. - -The poor lad had all the clothing his parents could supply him with, but -that was little more than he stood up in; no waterproof overalls, no -sea-boots, the almost child had to rough it hardly enough; in bad -weather wet through day and night, with no bed to lie upon, and no -change of dry clothes; he used to throw himself down on the floor of the -small cabin, and lie coiled up before the little fire that glimmered in -the stove; the spray oftentimes washing down the hatchway and surging up -against his back, so that he had to be content with being dry one side -at a time; but strangely enough it agreed with him; as that rough life, -with all its strong sea-breezes, and its abundance of good fish diet, -does agree with many a little urchin, who, for sturdiness, is not to be -surpassed by any luxury-lapped little fellow in the land. - -After Jarman had finished his apprenticeship in the fishing-smack, he -was for some years in a collier, during which time he was twice wrecked. -And after that for seven or eight years he worked as a Ramsgate boatman, -always on the look-out in rough weather, day and night, with but short -intervals for sleep, for a signal of distress from the Goodwin Sands, -and a call for the life-boat; and so all his training well fitted him -for the post of life-boat coxswain; and when the vacancy was made by -Hogben's illness, Jarman was well chosen to fill the post. For ten -years he continued coxswain of the life-boat, going out in her no fewer -than one hundred and thirty-two times, and helping to save between three -and four hundred lives. - -You may see many a medal that has been well won--and that is worthily -worn--by veteran soldier or sailor, but you will find few that have been -better won, or that are more worthily worn, than are the four medals and -a clasp that our Storm Warrior Jarman has to show as records of his -brave and self-sacrificing services; or the three medals that Hogben can -display on high days and holidays; or those given to Reading, the brave -master of the steam-tug _Aid_, and those worn by many another gallant -boatman or sailor, who, at Ramsgate, or at other stations round the -coast, have done true warrior service in saving life from shipwreck. - -After holding his post of coxswain for ten years, Jarman found the -exposure too much for him: he was out nine times in one fortnight, five -times in one week; he was seized with a very severe attack of -bronchitis, from which he never thoroughly recovered, and had shortly to -give up going to sea, and resign his position of coxswain. - -He had three brothers and a nephew brought up as sailors, all of whom -have been drowned; well do I remember the night when his last brother -was drowned. - -It had been blowing a heavy gale for three days and nights, with -continual snowstorms; the vessels at sea were in terrible peril: they -had no help for it but to drive blindly before the gale, unable to see -any of the lights or buoys which mark the sands and shoals. I had heard -that a Ramsgate collier was known to have sailed from the North some -days since, and could not be far off; and it was with a sad heart and -deep anxiety that I lingered on the pier that afternoon watching the -storm. I saw the boatmen all ready on the look-out for any signal, but I -felt, as they felt, that there could be but little hope of any vessels -being able to run the gauntlet of the many sandbanks in that dark storm, -or of being able to make any signals heard, or seen, if they got into -danger. - -It was with a deep feeling of dread and apprehension that I left Jarman -and his fellow-boatmen to their dreary and almost hopeless watch; and -they watched on through the long dark hours of the night, ready at any -moment to man the life-boat; but they could discover no signal--the roar -of the storm was too great, the fall of snow too continuous. And yet -during those sad hours while the boatmen crouched, sheltering themselves -as well as they could--watching, and listening, and waiting, but in -vain--the terrible tragedy was worked out; at daylight they saw a wreck -in Pegwell Bay. Man the life-boat! No, too late, she is bottom up, her -masts are gone; she must have been wrecked on the Brake Sand, and been -rolled over and over by the tremendous sweep of the sea, and the tide. -Yes, it is the Ramsgate collier that was expected, and that Jarman's -brother commanded; and he and all his crew have miserably -perished--perished within sight of home, and within half a mile or so of -the life-boat men who were so eagerly watching and waiting for a call to -their rescue, and to whom they could not make their danger known. - -And to this day you may see the sad record of the disaster in the -remains of the hull of the wreck, washed high up on the shore in Pegwell -Bay, and there half buried in the sand. - -A great grief to Jarman this sad loss of his brother; and the poor man -left a widow and a large family of children; and when fine weather came, -in the early summer, many a friend who had had pleasant chats with the -life-boat coxswain on Ramsgate pier, was surprised to find him -diligently cruising in and out of offices in London; he was canvassing -for votes for the Merchant Seamen's Orphan Asylum, and he laboured on -until he succeeded in getting two of his late brother's children into -that famous institution. - -Charles Fish was appointed to succeed Jarman as coxswain, and the -life-boat under his guidance continues to do good service; many times -has he been out in her, and many times has he, through much hardship and -danger, brought saved lives home. And may God in His mercy continue to -shield and bless him and the brave men who sail with him, and aid them -in their gallant efforts to pluck the shipwrecked and the drowning from -all the mighty strife of waters, that battles with such deadly fury when -the storms rage round the fatal Goodwin Sands. - -I cannot refrain from bearing my tribute of admiration to worthy Daniel -Reading, a brave, skilful, modest sailor, the master of the steam-tug -_Aid_; many and many a time has he rendered service, which for daring -and skill could not be well surpassed, threading in and out of the -Goodwin Sands 'mid terrible storms while seeking for the position of -wrecked vessels, or making short cuts to tow the life-boat into -position, that no time should be lost in her efforts to save the -drowning crews. - -Yes! Reading, and James Simpson, the mate of the _Aid_, and William -Wharrier, the engineer, who have been together more than twenty years, -and have been out on almost every occasion that the life-boat has been -called for, have all three of them done noble and gallant service time -after time, and are indeed well worthy to be ranked among the Storm -Warriors who have nobly fought in the great and good cause of saving -life. - -And many another gallant fellow might I mention, whose name stands -worthily on the Ramsgate life-boat roll-call; famous specimens of what a -British sailor should be--full of daring and determination, and skill, -and hardihood; men who are ready to encounter all danger, and to endure -any amount of hardship, in answer to the holy call: to go forth and seek -to save the shipwrecked and the perishing. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION. - - "The quality of mercy is not strain'd; - It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven - Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd; - It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes: - 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes - The throned monarch better than his crown;..." - - -Whatever interest my readers may have felt in the narrative of gallant -deeds wrought at one life-boat station on the coast, must be intensified -at the thought of the noble work that is going on all round our sea-girt -land--that, at almost all dangerous places where vessels are likely to -be in distress, or lives in peril, there are life-boats ready to be -manned, and brave fellows ever anxious promptly to launch forth 'mid the -wind and sea, and battle their way to the rescue of the perishing. Yes, -thank God, the gallant old Anglo-Saxon blood is still to the fore; the -spirit of our ancestors has not died out, and we may well believe, from -abundant evidence continually arising from very diversified fields, that -it has not even in the least degenerated; for at all times can men be -found ready to go forth either by sea or land, to dare all that men -should dare, and to do all that men can do, when duty calls them to -labours of self-sacrifice, endurance, and courage. - -And to the old bravery is now added modern science and organization, and -the British coasts are guarded by a volunteer navy, equipped and -marshalled by the Royal National Life-boat Institution. - -Two hundred and thirty-three life-boats form, at present, the great -storm fleet of the Institution; the boats are stationed at the most -dangerous places on the coast, and are kept always ready for service. - -Those who are living inland may often notice how fast the high clouds -are flying overhead, and may listen to the soughing of the rising wind -among the branches of the trees; but no dread conflict is pictured by -the swift onsweep of the clouds, and the murmur of the wind, fitful and -angry though it at times is, scarcely seems to suggest scenes of -terrible peril, and of warfare unto life or death; but watch the -direction in which the clouds are flying; consider on what part of our -coast it is that this fierce gale strikes; imagine the heavy sea that -rolls in there, the foaming breakers, the air thick with spray, the -sound of the deep-voiced waves as they thunder down upon the rocks over -which they break; yes! and fancy that you can make out through the low -flying mist that several vessels are in the distance trying to beat -their way against the growing gale, and off the dangerous lee-shore, and -then rejoice as you feel fully assured, if any of those struggling -vessels are overwhelmed by the storm, that it shall not be without a -gallant effort for their safety that the poor fellows who form their -crews shall be left to perish, for you are convinced that there are, if -a life-boat station is near, storm warriors keenly watching the scene, -and that they are ready at any moment to launch the life-boat and do -battle with the storm and seas for the lives of their brother-sailors. -Yes! and it is one of old England's many glories that it should be so. - -"It is the soul that makes us rich or poor;" the old philosopher tells -us, and we feel that it is as true of a nation as of an individual. And -we count a nation rich with a true glory, that can point to many good -works organized and carried out for great and good ends by the loving -heartedness, generosity, unselfishness, and courage of its people. And -among such works is life-boat work; there are the rich in soul who have -the means and the open hand, and there are the many who are rich in soul -and have the courageous and strong hand; and the hand generous with its -wealth, clasps the hand generous with its labour and readiness for -peril, and together they work out those noble results in which we all -rejoice, and which the records of the Life-boat Institution so fully -declare. - -And we should be less proud of our country if it were not so; indeed we -are almost inclined to think it a matter of necessity that in our island -home, where the history of our country is so interwoven with the -triumphs of our sailors, either in contests with our enemies, in pursuit -of discovery, or in the development of commerce, that our sympathies -with our sailors should indeed be deep and practical, and that while we -rejoice in the safety and the comfort afforded by their labours, that we -shall ever be prepared to help them in the hour of their distress; and -that there can be therefore little room for wonder that those who -realize the enormous traffic that is carried on around our shores, the -dangerous nature of our coasts, and the constant casualties that are -occurring, should earnestly desire the welfare of the life-boat cause, -and be ready to labour for its development. - -The history of the life-boat movement, and of the foundation and gradual -development of the Life-boat Institution, are given in the earlier pages -of this book. The present condition of the Society tells abundantly of -the success it has enjoyed, and of the sympathy it has gained, until now -it is able almost to girdle our land with life-boat stations. - -Every year there is published by the Board of Trade, a register of the -number of wrecks that have taken place in the British Isles during the -previous year; the Life-boat Institution publishes a wreck-chart -compiled from these returns; each wreck is denoted by a black dot which -marks on the map the place at which the wreck occurred; and a truly -dismal appearance the map has. See how plentifully these black dots are -sprinkled round the coast-line, here one, and there two, at other places -half-a-dozen side by side, or growing in number to ten or twelve, and -then increasing still more rapidly at the more exposed parts of the -coast, or where dangerous sands are more directly in the highway of -vessels, so that in such places there may be found twenty, thirty, or -forty such marks, and at some localities even more than these, as at the -Sands off Yarmouth, the Goodwin Sands, the Bristol Channel, and others, -where line after line is required to find room for the number of wrecks -to be thus recorded. For the past year no fewer than 1958 such marks are -necessary to complete the dismal list, for such was the number of the -wrecks that took place, within that time, in the seas that surround the -British Isles. The months of November and December were especially -fatal, heavy gales, thick weather, shifting winds, worked terrible havoc -among the shipping; the coasts were strewn with wrecks; and the -wreck-chart grew proportionally darker in its outline; and is it not a -terrible picture that it presents, as we recognise that almost every -mark speaks of a dismal scene of destruction and of peril, of ships with -wild seas breaking ruthlessly over them, and of men clinging on, being, -perhaps, beaten slowly to death by the constant rush of the heavy waves, -until, unless rescued, the shattered wreck breaks up beneath their feet, -and they are at once launched into eternity? - -But let us look again at the chart, and we find red marks on the coast -lines opposite to the black dots which stud the sea; and wherever the -sea is more dark with the signs of wrecks, there do we find the coast -line opposite to such places pencilled the more abundantly with the thin -red lines which mark the life-boat stations; and thank God that the red -marks on this wreck-chart do now so often confront the black! for if the -black colour speaks of death, the red colour speaks of life; if the one -tells of terrible danger the other tells of gallant rescue; if the one -pictures sailors clinging to a few spars, expecting death at every -moment; the other pictures the Storm Warriors ready at their various -stations to man the life-boat, and launch forth to wrestle nobly with -the cruel seas, to snatch from them their intended prey. - -And moreover, if the one set of signs tells us of the dangers incurred -by the tens of thousands of sailors who are helping to minister to the -necessities, and comfort, and luxury of the population of England, the -other tells of men and women with warm hearts and generous hands, who -let their sympathies go out towards their sailor brethren, and plant our -storm-ridden shores with life-boats that shall be for the rescue of -those in peril; and who are glad also to encourage and reward the brave -men who so often risk their own lives in their efforts to save the lives -of others. - -And so famously has its work gone on, that the Life-boat Society can now -report that the number of lives saved, either by the life-boats of the -Institution, or by especial exertions for which the Society has granted -rewards, presents the grand total of more than 22,000; and we are told -that for these services the Society has granted 91 gold medals, 842 -silver medals, and more than £40,000 in money, so that now we may well -say, that the Institution has truly become one of national importance, -as it has ever been one of national necessity. - -Well indeed was it that Lionel Luken nearly a century ago, "In the -morning sowed the seed, and in the evening withheld not his hand;" for -although it was not given him to see the results of his labours, yet he -commenced a work which has grown into its present noble proportions; -while in contrast to all the apathy he met with, we can now point to a -wide-spread and positive affection that the people of England feel for -the life-boat cause; and in evidence of the hold that the work of the -Society has now obtained upon the public mind we can point to its -meetings, when its friends assembled have been found to rank among all -classes of society, when those who are among the chief of the Royal -personages of the land have been present, and have been surrounded by -some of the first representatives of our aristocracy, of our army, of -our navy, and of our commerce. Among the most memorable of such meetings -was one held in the Mansion House in the year 1867, when the Prince of -Wales occupied the chair--and the testimony he gave in favour of the -Society found an echo, I am sure, in the hearts of all present. It was -to the following effect: "My Lord Mayor, my lords, ladies and gentlemen. -It affords me great pleasure to occupy the chair upon so interesting an -occasion as the present. Among the many benevolent and charitable -institutions of this country there are, I think, few which more demand -our sympathy and support, and in which we can feel more interest, than -the National Life-boat Institution. An institution of this kind is an -absolute necessity in a great maritime country like ours. It is wholly -different in one respect to many other institutions, because, although -lives are to be saved, they can in those cases, in which this society -operates, only be saved at the risk of the loss of other lives. I am -happy to be able to congratulate the Institution upon its high state of -efficiency at the present moment, and on the fact that by its means -nearly 1000 lives have been saved during the past year. - -"I am happy also to be able to say, that life-boats exist not only upon -our coasts, but that our example in this matter has been emulated by -many foreign maritime countries, some of which have chosen to model -their Institutions upon our own.... Half a century ago this Institution -originated in this city. In 1852, the late Duke of Northumberland became -its president. My lamented father was also the vice-president, and took -the warmest interest in its prosperity. I am happy to say that the -respected secretary, Mr. Lewis, occupied that position in 1850. He has -held it ever since, and much of the success of the Institution is owing -to his long experience; and the energetic manner in which he has -directed its working has raised the Institution to its present high -state of efficiency. - -"Before concluding my brief remarks, I call upon you once more to offer -your support to so excellent an Institution. I congratulate you that it -has arrived at so excellent a state, and I feel sure that you would be -the last to wish it to decay for the want of support to its funds." - -Thus spake His Royal Highness, in 1867, and since then the Institution -has developed more and mere, completing its organization, perfecting its -system, and yearly in its noble results increasing its hold upon the -affections of the country. - -And now, as I write the concluding lines of my book, the reality of the -work related is deeply impressed upon my mind, for this morning my two -little boys came running downstairs making the house ring with their -cries of "The life-boat! the life-boat!" they had seen it from their -nursery window. Yes, there she was, being towed by the steamer, the -rough seas lashing over her; her flag was flying in triumph. I could see -through my glass that there were about a dozen saved men on board the -steamer; and as I have since learned, seldom have men more narrowly -escaped than did those poor fellows, and seldom have men been saved by a -greater exhibition of courage and perseverance than was displayed by our -life-boat men while effecting their rescue. - -The _Scot_, a barque of 345 tons, bound from Sunderland to Algiers with -a cargo of coals, after experiencing much stormy and thick weather, ran -on the Kentish Knock Sand at five o'clock in the morning; the seas -immediately began to break over her; the carpenter sounded the well and -found two feet and a half of water in her hold, but as the waves lifted -her, and plunged her down upon the Sands, she filled at once with water. -The captain sent the steward into the cabin for the ship's papers; he -found the water up to the cabin floor; he seized the box in which the -papers were, and ran up on deck; a wave rushed over the vessel and swept -him along the deck; he caught hold of a rope with one hand, but one of -the sailors, overwhelmed by the same wave, threw his legs around his -neck and nearly tore him from his hold; the wave passed and the two men -were enabled to spring into the rigging: all hands had to take refuge -there, for within five minutes of the vessel's striking she began to -break up; the boats were washed away, the deck-house was torn to -fragments and carried away piecemeal; the deck began to twist, and -buckle, and open, and then was speedily ripped up by the force of the -seas, and torn away plank after plank. The vessel broke her back and -heeled over on the starboard side, and settled down upon the Sands; the -men could not make any signal of distress, and if they could have done -so, they were miles away from any life-boat, and at any moment the masts -might give and they be plunged into the boiling sea. If the weather -moderated some passing vessel might see them and be able to send a boat -in to their rescue, but not while the gale lasted. The day grew on; many -vessels passed the Sands, but not near enough to be able to make out the -men in the rigging of the masts, which were only just above water; the -weather grew worse and worse, the day was wearing away, and the night -coming on; it was all very, very hopeless. - -At last a brig passed nearer to them than any other vessels had come; -the mate said, "If they are looking at the wreck with a good glass, they -may, perhaps, see us," and he stood up and waved to them. At that -moment, most providentially, the pilot on board the vessel looked at the -wreck through a glass, and saw the mate waving his south-wester cap. -The brig soon after spoke a smack that was making in for the land, and -the smack proceeded to Broadstairs and reported a wreck on the Kentish -Knock, with the crew in the rigging, and that a life-boat was wanted for -their rescue, for that no ordinary boat could live through the sea that -was running over the Sands. At Broadstairs they felt that their own boat -could never get there in time without the assistance of a steamer, and -they telegraphed to Ramsgate. It was about six o'clock in the evening, -the steamer _Aid_, with Reading in command, and the life-boat -_Bradford_, with Fish as coxswain, and R. Goldsmith as second coxswain, -at once made their way out into the gale and tremendous sea to the -rescue of the shipwrecked crew. - -In the meantime the poor fellows on board the wreck waited on almost in -despair, the ship each moment yielding to the force of the storm till -the whole deck was washed away, and the masts were working more and more -loose; happily she had wire rigging, which stood the heavy swaying and -lurching of the masts better than the ordinary rope rigging would have -done. - -It was piteous in talking to the men to hear them describe the condition -of utter despair that they were in, and how little ground they could -find for any hope whatever; piteous to hear the captain say, "There were -just two planks of the deck left floating entangled in a rope, and I -kept watching them, thinking that if the mast went I would try and swim -to them, and float on them for the chance of being picked up by some -vessel;" to hear the mate answer, "But I was just watching them too, -with the same idea;" and the carpenter adds, "That was just the plan I -had in my mind." - -And thus the ten men clung to the rigging and to each other, standing on -the small crosstrees of one tottering mast, hour after hour. The day -passed, still no signs of rescue; it became quite dark; it seemed -impossible that they could ever see another day's dawn. - -They might perish at any moment! at any moment! and all ten of them. -This was the conviction of each one. They told me how endless the dark -hours of that terrible night seemed; and one man said, "That the thought -that seemed ever present with him, was the bitter way that his little -boy sobbed and cried when he bid him good-bye, and how he would cry -again when he heard that 'Dadda was gone.'" At last there was a streak -of dawn, but the mast had fallen over almost to a level with the water -and seemed still yielding rapidly; they might see the sunrise again, but -that was all; when one of the sailors cried out, "A steamer!" "What good -can that be to us?" and they watch her without interest, for there seems -little chance of her coming in their direction. "Ah! she is running down -the edge of the Sands, and comes nearer, and nearer!"--"Well she can't -help us if she does; no boat can come across the Sands to us in this -surf--No! no." Shortly, a man cries, "She has a large boat in -tow;"--"What! perhaps a life-boat! it may be that some passing vessel -made us out yesterday and has sent a life-boat;" Oh, what a thought of -hope, of joy, of life! "Can it be so? it is--it is! thank God it is--it -is! Look, she has left the steamer and is coming in through the breakers -straight towards us!" - -It is something to remember, the way in which one man said to me, as if -almost unnerved by the remembrance, "Oh, what a beauty she looked! what -a beauty she looked coming over those seas!" - -The steamer and life-boat had got out to the Sands after battling with -the storm for a distance of twenty-six miles. At about 11 o'clock the -night before, they spoke the Lightship on the Kentish Knock, and learnt -the bearings of the wreck; but they found that it was impossible to -discover her in the darkness of the night and storm, so after several -vain efforts they lay to until the morning. As soon as it was light they -went in search of the wreck, and the life-boat made in across the Sands, -and it was then truly a great matter of heartfelt congratulation to the -life-boat men that all their labour and perseverance had not been in -vain; for to their great joy they could see the crew in the rigging. -They anchored the boat as near to the wreck as they could venture, and -then let the cable veer out until the boat was under the vessel's -jib-boom. It was low-tide--the seas were not breaking over the wreck so -violently as they had been; and the men were able to work their way out -on to the bowsprit, and drop into the boat, and thus the ten men were -saved, after being twenty-six hours holding on in the maintop of the -wreck. - -The flood-tide was just making; all felt, that as soon as it rose and -the wreck began to heave and work again, the mast would speedily go, and -they realized to the full that they had only been saved just in time. - -The life-boat returned to the steamer as speedily as possible, and put -the rescued men on board her. The shipwrecked men had not tasted -anything for nearly thirty-six hours, as it was before breakfast time -that they had run ashore, and they had been in the rigging for -twenty-six hours. The life-boat got back to the harbour at 11 o'clock in -the morning; the life-boat men had been in the open boat exposed to all -the fury of the storm for nearly seventeen hours, and their exhaustion -was very great. The kindness of some friends provided the weary and -famished men with a good dinner at the house of their old comrade and -friend, Jarman, and soon after a telegram came from Mr. Lewis, of the -Life-boat Institution, to whom tidings of the rescue had been -telegraphed, that the life-boatmen were to have a sovereign each, and a -good dinner; but by that time they were all resting at home after their -long hours of fatigue. Other friends made recognition by subscription of -their noble services; and comfort was thus carried into the homes of our -Storm Warriors after their gallant and triumphant efforts in saving -life. - -The shipwrecked men were cared for in our Sailors' Home, and speedily -recovered their fatigues. The captain told me he did not think they -would have been alive one hour longer, if the life-boat had not come -just when she did; and speaking of the life-boat, said with deep -feeling, "Oh! she is a noble boat, and nobly manned; there could not be -a kinder set of men!" And with these words of the brave and grateful -sailor so recently and unexpectedly saved with all his crew, from that -which seemed most certain death, I feel inclined to finish my book. But -I will add one wish, namely, that we had a better Sailors' Home in which -to receive the poor fellows who are brought ashore; 156 wrecked men were -received into the Home at Ramsgate last year, 40 in one day; and a -little house of £25, or so, rent, and its one sitting-room for the use -of the men, only about sixteen feet by fourteen, and eighteen beds -crowded together in small rooms is, of course, quite inadequate to -afford the accommodation that we would wish to provide for the poor -fellows brought in half dead with cold, with exhaustion, and with -hunger, plucked by the Storm Warriors from the very jaws of death 'mid -the rage of waters on the Goodwin Sands. - -God speed the life-boat! God guard the Storm Warriors! - - -THE END. - - -LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING -CROSS. - - - - -ADVERTISEMENTS - -_Second Edition, Crown 8vo., price 5s._ - -THE HISTORY - -OF - -THE LIFE-BOAT AND ITS WORK. - -BY RICHARD LEWIS, - -BARRISTER-AT-LAW, SECRETARY TO THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION. - -With Illustrations, and Wreck Chart. - -"To tell the story of a noble work--the work of the Life-boat,--was -almost the privilege of Mr. Lewis, and he has told it -admirably."--_Standard._ - -"Though the book perforce contains many matters of sheer science, and a -multitude of statistics, it is not by any means dry reading, and even -the frivolously inclined will read with deep interest some of the -chapters, more especially that of the Ramsgate Life-boat above alluded -to."--_Land and Water._ - - -MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON. - - -BOOKS OF TRAVEL. - - _SIR SAMUEL W. 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