presented itself is described as follows by the highly respectable and pious author, whose modesty has prevented his putting his name to his narrative: but if any of our readers in perusing it should be surprised, that, while the merits of various other individuals on this trying occasion are so warmly eulogized, those of Major M'Gregor, which are known to have been highly praiseworthy, are wholly passed over, and should be inclined to suspect the cause, we take the liberty of informing them that their conjecture is well-founded. But to proceed with our extract:

"The upper deck was covered with between six and seven hundred human beings; many of whom, from previous seasickness, were forced, on the first alarm, to flee from below in a state of absolute nakedness, and were now running about in quest of husbands, children, or parents. While some were standing in silent resignation, or in stupid insensibility to their impending fate, others were yielding themselves up to the most frantic despair. Some on their knees were earnestly imploring, with significant gesticulations and in noisy supplications, the mercy of Him, whose arm, they exclaimed, was at length out-stretched to smite them; others were to be seen hastily crossing themselves, and performing the various external acts required by their peculiar persuasion; while a number of the older and more stouthearted soldiers and sailors, sullenly took their seats directly over the magazine, hoping, as they stated, that, by means of the explosion which they every instant expected, a speedier termination might thereby be put to their sufferings. Several of the soldiers' wives and children, who had fled for temporary shelter into the aftercabins on the upper decks, were engaged in prayer and in reading the Scriptures with the ladies, some of whom were enabled, with wonderful self-possession, to offer to others those spiritual consolations, which a firm and intelligent trust in the Redeemer of the world appeared at this awful hour to impart to their own breasts. The dignified deportment of two young ladies, in particular, formed a specimen of natural strength of mind, finely modified by Christian feeling, that failed not to attract the notice and admiration of every one who had an opportunity of witnessing it.

"One young gentleman, of whose promising talents and piety I dare not now make farther mention, having calmly asked me my opinion respecting the state of the ship, I told him that I thought we should

6

be prepared to sleep that night in eternity; and I shall never forget the peculiar fervour with which he replied, as he pressed my hand in his, My heart is filled with the peace of God;' adding, yet, though I know it is foolish, I dread exceedingly the last struggle.'

"Amongst the numerous objects that struck my observation at this period, I was much affected with the appearance and conduct of some of the dear children, who, quite unconscious in the cuddy cabins, of the perils that surrounded them, continued to play as usual with their little toys in bed, or to put the most innocent and unseasonable questions to those around them. To some of the older children, who seemed fully alive to the reality of the danger, I whispered, Now is the time to put in practice the instructions you used to receive at the Regimental School, and to think of that Saviour of whom you have heard so much: they replied, as the tears ran down their cheeks, O, sir, we are trying to remember them; and we are praying to God.'

"The passive condition to which we were all reduced, by the total failure of our most strenuous exertion, while it was well calculated, and probably designed to convince us afterwards, that our deliverance was effected, not by our own might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord,' afforded us ample room at the moment for deep and awful reflection, which, it is to be earnestly wished, may have been improved, as well by those who were eventually saved, as by those who perished." pp. 9-12.

It is not often that we have an opportunity of learning from competent sources of information, the moral and spiritual phenomena of a scene like this. Few persons in such a situation could sufficiently calm their minds, amidst their individual danger and individual duties, to notice the minute varieties of so terrific a scene. Our author's calmness clearly arose from that source which alone can give true repose in the hour of expected death, an habitual and well-grounded hope of a blessed immortality, through the merits of the Redeemer, accompanied by that " peace with God" which follows upon being "justified by faith," and proved to be solid by the scriptural fruits of a renewed and regenerate heart. Thus supported himself, it was our author's privilege at this solemn hour to have been enabled to warn and comfort

the

others; and we would humbly trust that his pious efforts, and those of others like minded among his fellow-sufferers, may have left a deep and salutary impression on minds of many-would we could hope of all!-who were mercifully permitted to survive the catastrophe. May the perusal also of these pages call to their recollection, and renew upon their hearts, those holy resolutions of dedicating themselves, should they be spared, to the service of their Almighty Deliverer; which doubtless in some, if not many, instances were formed during those awful moments of suspense. Nor will the narrative be lost upon the public at large, if, while it adds another most impressive illustration to the solemn truth, that in the midst of life we are in death," it leads its readers seriously to ask, "Of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased ?"

The experience of Major Macgregor on this fearful occasion, corresponds with what we believe is the melancholy testimony of most clergymen and others who are in the habit of visiting the beds of the sick and dying, that the vast majority of mankind live in habits of indifference or practical scepticism, which render them wholly thought less or careless respecting eternity.

afterwards had occasion to mount the mizen shrouds, I there met with a young man, who had brought me a letter of introduction from our excellent friend Dr. Gn, to whom I felt it my duty, while we were rocking on the mast, quietly to propose the great question, What must we do to be saved?' and this young gen. tleman has since informed Mr. P. that though he was at that moment fully persuaded of the certainty of immediate death, yet the subject of eternity, in any form, had not once flashed upon his mind, previously to my conversation." pp. 13, 14.

Most unexpectedly and providentially a small brig was discovered at a distance, which proved to be the Cambria, of 200 tons burden, bound for Vera Cruz, having on board twenty or thirty Cornish miners, and other agents of the Anglo-Mexican Company, commanded by Captain Cook, with a ship's company of only eleven men. The length of time. the Kent had been burning, the tremendous sea that was running, the extreme smallness of the Cambria, and the immense number of human beings to be rescued, rendered it very improbable that many could be saved; but by the great exertions and good conduct of all parties, the majority of the crew of the Kent excepted, no less than five hundred and fifty-seven persons escaped. The perilous circumstances which attended the rescue occupy the chief part of the narrative. The women and children were first put into the boats; next followed the various classes of men on board; the officers themselves remaining to the last, and preserving order to a degree not to have been hoped for, but which materially facilitated the perilous operation, and was the means of saving many lives. The rescue of the first boat-full is thus described:

"Arrangements having been considerately made by Captain Cobb for placing in the first boat, previous to letting it down, all the ladies, and as many of the soldiers' wives as it could safely contain, they hurriedly wrapt themselves up in whatever articles of clothing could be most conveniently found; and I think about two, or half-past two o'clock, a most mournful procession advanced from the 3 L

after-cabins to the starboard cuddy-port, outside of which the cutter was suspended. Scarcely a word was uttered-not a scream was heard-even the infants ceased to cry, as if conscious of the unspoken and unspeakable anguish that was at that instant rending the hearts of their parting parents-nor was the silence of voices in any way broken, except in one or two cases, where the ladies plaintively entreated permission to be left behind with their husbands. But on being assured that every moment's delay might occasion the sacrifice of a human life, they successively suffered themselves to be torn from the tender embrace, and with the fortitude which never fails to characterise and adorn their sex on occasions of overwhelming trial, were placed, without a murmur, in the boat, which was immediately lowered into a sea so tempestuous as to leave us only to hope against hope' that it should live in it for a single moment. Twice the cry was heard from those on the chains that the boat was swamping. But He who enabled the Apostle Peter to walk on the face of the deep, and was graciously attending to the silent but earnest aspirations of those on board, had decreed its safety. The tackle, after considerable difficulty, was unhooked-the boat was dexterously cleared from the ship, and after a while was seen from the poop, battling with the billows;-now raised, in its progress to the brig, like a speck on their summit, and then disappearing for several seconds, as if engulfed in the horrid vale' between them. The Cambria having prudently lain to at some distance from the Kent, lest she should be involved in her explosion, or exposed to the fire from our guns, which, being all shotted, afterwards went off as the flames successively reached them, the men had a considerable way to row; and the success of this first experiment seeming to be the measure of our future hopes, the movements of this precious boat-incalculably precious, without doubt, to the agonized husbands and fathers immediately connected with it-were watched with intense anxiety by all on board. In the course of twenty minutes, it was seen alongside the ark of refuge;' and the first human being that happened to be admitted, out of the vast assemblage that ultimately found shelter there, was the infant son of Major Macgregor, a child of only a few weeks old, who was caught from his mother's arms, and lifted into the brig by Mr. Thomson, the fourth mate of the Kent.

"I have been told by one abundantly capable of judging, that the feelings of oppressive delight, gratitude, and praise, experienced by the married officers and soldiers, on being assured of the safety of their wives and children, so entirely abstracted their minds from their own situation, as to render them for a little while

afterwards totally insensible either to the storm that beat upon them, or to the active and gathering volcano that threatened every instant to explode under their feet." pp. 17-20.

The perils of the remainder were far greater, as the boats could not again come alongside the Kent, and the women and children were obliged to be lowered by ropes from the stern, and were often plunged repeatedly under water before they could be dropped into the boat. None of the women ultimately perished under this dangerous operation; but great numbers of the younger children were drowned. Many affecting proofs occurred of parental and filial affection which shed a momentary brightness round the gloomy scene.

"Two or three soldiers, to relieve their wives of a part of their families, sprang into the water with their children, and perished in their endeavours to save them. One young lady, who had resolutely refused to quit her father, whose sense of duty kept him at his post, was near falling a sacrifice to her filial devotion, not having been picked up by those in the boats until she had sunk five or six times. Another individual, who was reduced to the frightful alternative of losing his wife or his children, hastily decided in favour of his duty to the former. His wife was accordingly saved; but his four children, alas! were left to perish. A fine fellow, a soldier, who had neither wife nor child of his own, but who evinced the greatest solicitude for the safety of those of others, insisted on having three children lashed to him, with whom he plunged into the water not being able to reach the boat, he was again drawn into the ship, with his charge, but not before two of the children had expired." pp. 21, 22.

We throw together two opposite traits of selfishness and generosity, as illustrative of the anomalies of the human heart.

"Three out of the six boats we originally possessed were either completely stove or swamped in the course of the day, one of them with men in it; some of whom were seen floating in the water for a moment before they disappeared; and it is suspected that one or two of those who went down, must have sunk under the weight of their spoils, the same individuals having been seen eagerly plundering the cuddy cabins." p. 24.

"Towards evening, when the melancholy groupes who were passively seated on the poop, exhausted by previous fatigué, anxiety, and fasting, were beginning to ex

perience the pain of intolerable thirst, a box of oranges was accidentally discovered by some of the men, who, with a degree of mingled consideration, respect, and affection, that could hardly have been expected at such a moment, refused to partake of the grateful beverage until they had offered a share of it to their officers.' p. 27.

We pass by our author's testimony to the ability and presence of mind of Colonel Fearon of the 31st regiment; who, under the complicated anxiety of a commander, a husband, and a father, inspired composure and fortitude in all around him; in order to give the following passage respecting our author's own sensations in the immediate prospect of eternity. Let our readers contrast the feelings with which this pious and "gallant" officer gazed on that setting sun which appeared about to be his last, with the cele

brated death-bed scene of Rousseau. "Open the window," said that unhappy man to his wife, in his expiring hours," that I may see the verdant meadows once more. How beautiful is nature! How wonderful is yon splendid orb! [the sun was setting at the moment in all its glory on the Lake of Geneva;] behold its glorious light! The Deity summons me! How delightful is death to a man who is unconscious of a crime! [On which point consult, passim, his own infamous "Confessions."] O God, I surrender to thee my soul, pure as it came out of thy hands; crown it with thy heavenly bliss."-Now let us see a truly Christian contrast under far more appalling external circum

stances.

"I have been the more particular in

recording my precise feelings at the period in question, because they tend to confirm an opinion which I have long entertained,

in common, I believe, with yourself and others,--that we very rarely realize even those objects that seem, in our every-day speculations, to be the most interesting to our hearts. We are so much in the habit of uttering the awful words-Almighty, heaven, hell, eternity, divine justice, holimess, &c. without attaching to them, in all their magnitude, the ideas of which such words are the symbols, that we become overwhelmed with much of the astonishment that accompanies a new and alarming discovery, if, at any time, the ideas themselves are suddenly and forcibly impressed upon us; and it is probably this vagueness of conception, experienced even by those whose minds are not altogether unexercised on the subject of religion, that enables others, devoid of all reflection whatever, to stand on the very brink of that precipice which divides the world of time from the regions of eternity, not only with apparent, but frequently, I am persuaded, with real tranquillity. How much is it to be lamented, that we do not keep in mind a truth which no one can pretend to dispute, that our indifference or blindness to danger, whether it be temporal or eternal, cannot possibly remove or diminish the extent of it." pp. 29-31.

We subjoin the following graphic delineation, for the sake of the memento which it suggests to the reader to be habitually prepared for that great and solemn change which cannot be far distant from any, and which may be much nigher than in the hour of health and vivacity usually appears probable. Whether on land or at sea, how soon may all our earthly plans and projects be effectually and for ever put an end to, when we least think it; and 3 L2

"the place that knew us, know us

no more!"

"Some time after the shades of night had enveloped us, I descended to the cuddy, in quest of a blanket to shelter me from the increasing cold; and the scene of desolation that there presented itself, was melancholy in the extreme. The place which, only a few short hours be

there were no indications of ridicule even by the most profligate among those who were the subjects of this awful visitation.

course, and of social gaiety, was now entirely deserted, save by a few miserable wretches, who were either stretched in irrecoverable intoxication on the floor, or prowling about, like beasts of prey, in search of plunder. The sofas, drawers, and other articles of furniture, the due arrangement of which had cost so much thought and pains, were now broken into a thousand pieces, and scattered in confusion around me. Some of the geese and other poultry, escaped from their confine ment, were cackling in the cuddy; while a solitary pig, wandering from its stye in the forecastle, was ranging at large in undisturbed possession of the Brussels carpet that covered one of the cabins. Glad to retire from a scene so cheerless and affecting, and rendered more dismal by the smoke which was oozing up from below, I returned to the poop, where I again found Captain Cobb, Colonel Fearon, and the few officers that remained, superintending with unabated zeal, the removal of the rapidly diminishing sufferers, as the boats successively arrived to carry them off." pp. 31, 32.

The interval of nearly three quarters of an hour which elapsed between each trip of the boat, and during which nothing could be done but to remain tranquil, and " see the salvation of God," was a truly fearful pause, especially to those who still remained on board when the shades of evening began to advance. On one of these occasions, an officer was entreated by his companions in danger to pray with them, and his prayer was frequently interrupted by exclamations of assent to some of its confessions on the part of the afflicted auditors. Similar acts of devotion seem to have been solemnly conducted during the whole of these intervals; and the effect was very striking in the order and composure which they secured in the most perilous moments. The author assures his readers, that if any persons should be disposed to despise, as unsoldierlike or contemptible, these humble exercises of devotion,

could not by the most earnest entreaties, be persuaded to risk the perilous plunge into the boat. Of these, however, fourteen were picked up by another vessel, the Caroline, Captain Bibbey, three having perished. The officers had only just preceded Captain Cobb, beginning with the juniors, the superiors remaining to the last. The vessel was seen to blow up at half-past one in the morning.

We must pass over the scene of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow, which in the mean time was occurring on board the Cambria, as the successive parties arrived; the meeting of husbands and wives, parents and children, friends and companions, or the fatal intelligence of the separation of these and all other human ties by the stroke of death. We shall only state, that after great fatigue and suffering, and no slight peril from the over-crowded state of the ship,-600 men, women, and children on board a brig of 200 tons, and several hundred miles from any accessible port,-the Cambria arrived in safety at Falmouth; where the whole party were received with a truly humane and charitable assiduity which reflects the greatest honour upon the inhabitants. No labour or expense was spared to supply their necessities and promote their comfort; and the author utters a warm effusion of gratitude in particular for the strenuous efforts made by the members of the Society of Friends on the occasion. On the first Sunday after their arrival, Colonel Fearon, and his officers and men, with Captain Cobb, his officers and private passengers, repaired to the temple of God to pour out their thanksgivings