ar to be quiet, respectable men. This is fortunate, as an
incursion of fifteen rough lawless spirits on board our little vessel
would have been rather a serious matter. In their hurry and fright,
however, they left all their provisions behind them, and it is no joke
to have to provide food for fifteen extra hungry mouths for a week or
ten days, with no shops at hand from which to replenish our stores.
The sufficiency of the water supply, too, is a matter for serious
consideration. We have all been put on half-allowance, and sea-water
only is to be used for washing purposes.

[Illustration: Shipwrecked Crew coming on Board.]

Some account of the disaster, as gathered from the lips of various
members of the crew at different times, may perhaps be interesting. It
seems that, early on Monday morning, the day following that on which
the fire was discovered, another barque, the 'Robert Hinds,' of
Liverpool, was spoken. The captain of that vessel offered to stand by
them or do anything in his power to help them; but at that time they
had a fair wind for Monte Video, only 120 miles distant, and they
therefore determined to run for that port, and do their best to save
the ship, and possibly some of the cargo. In the course of the night,
however, a terrible gale sprang up, the same, no doubt, as the one of
which we had felt the effects on first leaving the River Plate. They
were driven hither and thither, the sea constantly breaking over them
and sweeping the decks, though fortunately without washing any of them
overboard. After forty-eight hours of this rough usage the men were
all exhausted, while the fire was gradually increasing in strength
beneath their feet, and they knew not at what moment it might burst
through the decks and envelope the whole ship in flames. They were
beginning to abandon all hope of a rescue, when a sail was suddenly
discovered; and as soon as the necessary flags could be found, the
same signal which attracted us was displayed. The vessel, now quite
close to them, proved to be a large American steamer, but she merely
hoisted her own ensign and code-pennant, and then coolly steamed away
to the southward. 'I think that captain deserved tarring and
feathering, anyway,' one of the men said to me. Another observed, 'I
wonder what will become of that man; for we had put all our lives in
his hand by signalling as we did; and every seaman knows that right
well.' Another said, 'When we saw that ship go away, we