Jan. 30, 1892.]

earthquake, forty-one thousand houses fell, and in most cases buried or imprisoned their inhabitants, who were some of them slowly burned to death in the conflagration which followed. A house made of basket-work, could such an erection be contrived, would be the ideal residence for a country subject to earthquakes. It has also been suggested, and in some cases the idea has been carried out, that the dwelling should consist of a wooden house resting upon iron balls, so that when the dreaded shock came the edifice would merely roll to and fro upon its supports without breaking up.

An excellent paper was recently read before the Shipmasters' Society, London, by Mr William Allingham, on Ocean Meteorology. Mr Allingham urged strongly the necessity of gathering together carefully all the lessons that could be read from the aspect of sky and sea, and, so to speak, codifying them for the use of navigators. It is interesting to learn that, in the matter of sea-routes, the large Liverpool lines trading to New York have agreed among themselves to run their steamers on clearly defined outward and homeward routes in order to lessen the risk of collision end on between their own ships proceeding in opposite directions, to avoid fog and ice in the vicinity of the Banks of Newfoundland, and to spare the fishermen riding at anchor

there.'

A HUNDRED AND THREE DAYS ON A DESERT ISLAND.

THE shipwrecked crew of the barque Compadre, eight hundred tons register, Captain Jones, bound from Calcutta to Talcahuano, Chili, recently arrived in New Zealand, after a series of remarkable adventures, having escaped the successive perils of fire and shipwreck, and the hardships of a prolonged sojourn on the bleak and desolate islands to the south of New Zealand, known as the Auckland Islands.

The vessel left Calcutta on the 22d of January, last year, bound for Talcahuano with a cargo of jute bags. All went well until the 16th of March, when a fire was discovered by the captain in the after-hold. The subsequent events are very well told in a clear and graphic narrative which the chief-mate, Mr F. Bates, has given of the affair. The captain, it appears, at once called all hands on deck to cope with the fire. Holes were cut in the cabin deck, and water was poured in incessantly from ten A.M. to six P.M., but without much result. Finding it impossible to extinguish the fire, the captain ordered his men to batten all down, and then shaped a course for the Benff, a harbour in the extreme south of the Middle Island of New Zealand, that being the nearest port. Before finally closing the hatches, several men tried to obtain bread from below, but were rendered insensible by the smoke, and had to be carried on deck. The attempt therefore had to be abandoned. The vessel made fair way until the night of the 18th of March, when to the peril of fire that of tempest was added. A furious westerly gale came down upon the ill-fated vessel, accompanied by terrific squalls. At seven A.M. on the 19th of March land was discovered on the

starboard bow, distant about twelve miles. It was very hazy at the time, and, owing to the fearful sea, the vessel laboured heavily. One tremendous wave swept the foresail and foretopmast staysail out of the bolt ropes, burst the forecastle ports, smashed the scuttle forehatches, and swept the decks of everything movable. Worse than this, it burst in the cabin, thus giving air to the fire, which could not be prevented from breaking out, though immense quantities of water were flooded in. The men could not man the pumps, being washed away by the seas which continually broke on board.

It is almost impossible to imagine a situation of greater peril. The carpenter sounded the well and found eight feet of water in the hold. The vessel was rapidly sinking under foot, and it was quite impossible to lower the boats in such a sea. Only one hope remained, and that of the slenderest possible character. The land which had been sighted was the Auckland Islands, and the vessel was now to the windward of the North Cape. The captain therefore ordered the mainyard to be squared, and steered for the land in the hope of saving life. It must, however, have indeed seemed a forlorn hope in such an angry sea, with a rock-bound coast backed by precipitous cliffs towering hundreds of feet above the sea-level. Still, with the indomitable pluck and resolution of British seamen, those on board determined to make the best fight they could for their lives. Just before the vessel struck, oil was poured on the waters over the stern, which greatly reduced the violence of the sea; and then all hands hastened to the bow and hung on the bowsprit, waiting for the critical moment. Their coolness and prudence were rewarded with good fortune. The vessel struck with a great crash, every one making a jump for the rocks; and all got safely to land, although some were much bruised by the violence of the concussion. ten minutes nothing of the vessel but loose wreckage was to be seen.

In

Although the men had safely reached land they were in a pitiable plight. The Auckland Islands in the winter are as drear and desolate a place as one can imagine. They are swept by furious tempests and almost incessant rain. They are the homes of such seabirds as love the storm; but except for the occasional visits of sealers or of a Government steamer searching for shipwrecked mariners, the islands see no trace of human life, save only, as in the present case, when shipwrecked seamen are cast upon their inhospitable shores. On several occasions the place has been the scene of disastrous wrecks. The Invercauld, Grafton, General Grant, and Derry Castle are the names of a few of the vessels which occur to the mind. In many cases the loss of life has been total and complete. In the case of the Invercauld, out of nineteen men who scrambled ashore, three only were rescued after twelve months of fearful suffering.

The surface of the islands for the most part is mountainous, and a great deal of it is covered either with dense bush or a wilderness of high tussock, standing in deep peat, almost equally impassable. The prospect which met the Compadre castaways therefore was by no means hopeful. They had of course been able to save nothing in the shape of food from the vessel, and

were barefooted and scantily clothed, each man having partially stripped, preparing for a swim for life. It so happened, however, that assistance in the shape of food and clothing was within their reach, although they were not aware of it, and only discovered the fact by a sad and curious accident, although it turned out fortunately for the bulk of them. After getting on the rocks, the whole ship's company climbed the cliffs, which, as already stated, were several hundred feet in height. They saw a mountain in the distance, and made straight for it, to get a better view of the island they were cast upon. They reached it with some difficulty, and looking round, saw a flagstaff close to the beach. They at once went towards it; but losing their way in the bush, and night coming on, they made for the nearest beach, where they found a few limpets and one little fish, which they divided into sixteen parts, one for each man. This scanty fare was greedily devoured, as they had only had one meal since the fire broke out, four days before. What stores were saved from the lazarette had been kept for the boats, and were therefore lost when the ship went to pieces. While the men were dividing their miserable meal, it was discovered that one of the seamen, named Peter Nelson, was missing. An attempt was made to find him; but the night was so dark that the attempt had to be given up. A miserable night was spent owing to the rain and snow, which fell incessantly. In the morning, they divided themselves into parties, and proceeded to search for Nelson, but with no success. In the course of their wanderings, however, they came upon a neatly-built hut, and on examining it, found that it contained a store of food and clothing. It was a depôt, established by the New Zealand Government for the relief and succour of shipwrecked seamen cast upon the islands. By a strange oversight, however, the existence of such a depôt is not mentioned in any of the shipping directories; and but for the fact of poor Nelson wandering away to his death in the bush, his comrades might never have hit upon the depôt, and, like him, might have perished of starva

tion.

From a record in the hut, the castaways learned that the New Zealand Government steamer Hinemoa had visited the islands only a week before on her periodical cruise, and they made up their minds that they would have to make a prolonged stay on the islands before there was any chance of being rescued. Consequently, they had to be very careful with the food in the depôt. There is scarcely any fish to be caught at the Aucklands; and the castaways found that the seabirds and seals, which were comparatively easy to approach at first, became so wild after a week or so of contact with human beings that it was impossible to get near them. The shipwrecked people, however, found some goats and sheep, which had been placed on the island, by the New Zealand Government. Of the former they caught three, and of the latter eight. The sheep never having been shorn were covered with very long fine wool, which also proved very serviceable to the men.

It is not necessary to enter into details of the life of the castaways on the islands. They suffered a good deal of pain and discomfort from

the exposure; but the Government stores preserved them from danger of absolute starvation, and they enjoyed fairly good health during their stay. On Monday the 6th of July, to their great joy, the sealing-schooner Janet Ramsay called at the islands; and the men having been there exactly one hundred and three days, were taken on board and brought to New Zealand. At the nautical inquiry which was held, the court, it is needless to say, adjudged that the wreck was entirely due to misadventure, and that the captain and crew had done all that was possible under the circumstances.

VANISHED DREAMS.
BEAUTIFUL stories, in shielings wild,

They told of the fairies when I was a child-
How with feet like the foam-bells, so light and fair,
They entered the dwellings of want and care;
And as morning dew melts off from the grass,
So the cloud of sorrow was sure to pass;
No blight on the crops which the fairies had blest,
For day they brought gladness, for night they brought

rest.

Oh heart of my childhood! what vigils vain
Were mine as I watched for the fairy train;
But the feet of the fairies came not nigh;
No glimpse of their beautiful wings flashed by;
And the peasants said: 'Ah, they know too well
Where peace and gladness and riches dwell!
Wait-and if clouds darken over your sky,
Surely then will you see them nigh.'

Alas! for the home of our childhood days-
Its weed-choked gardens, its moss-grown ways—
I heard them tell how, one autumn night,
Over heather and moor flashed the weird corpse-light;
I heard them whisper: The fairies know-
O'er the homestead they love falls the shadow of woe;
The fire will be quenched, and the hearth be lone,
Ere the winter has past, or the March winds blown.'

The fires are quenched, and the hearth is lone;
Dear names are carved on the gray headstone;
Only, I think, in my heart remains
The echo of long-ago joys and pains;
The half-believed legends have passed away;
Life grew too real-they could not stay.
The earth-lights have faded-the night is drear;
But the stars of heaven were never so clear !
MARY GORGES.

*TO CONTRIBUTORS.

1st. All communications should be addressed to the 'Editor, 339 High Street, Edinburgh.'

2d. For its return in case of ineligibility, postage stamps should accompany every manuscript.

3d. To secure their safe return if ineligible, ALL MANUSCRIPTS, whether accompanied by a letter of advice or otherwise, should have the writer's Name and Address written upon them IN FULL.

4th. Offerings of Verse should invariably be accompanied by a stamped and directed envelope.

If the above rules are complied with, the Editor will do his best to ensure the safe return of ineligible papers.

Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, Limited, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON; and EDINBURGH.