earch of a rope,
those who stayed to watch the fate of their loved and respected
commander and his three companions, saw wave after wave rise higher
and higher. At one moment the sufferers disappeared in the foam and
spray; the bravest shuddered, and closed his eyes on the scene. Again,
as spell-bound, he looked; the wave had receded--they still lived, and
rose above the waters. Again and again it was thus; but hope grew
fainter and fainter. We can scarcely bring our narrative to an end;
tears moisten our page; but the painful sequel must be told. The fatal
billow came at last which bore them from time into eternity--all was
over. When the party returned from their inland search, not a vestige
of the rock, or of those devoted men, was to be seen.

And is he dead, whose glorious mind
Lifts thine on high?
To live in hearts we leave behind,
Is not to die. CAMPBELL.

We feel how inadequate have been our efforts to depict the
self-devotion of Captain Baker, and the courage and constancy of his
crew. The following letter, addressed to Lieutenant Booth, formerly an
officer of the Drake, will go farther than any panegyric we can offer,
to display the right feeling of the ship's company, and their just
appreciation of their brave and faithful commander.

'SIR,--Your being an old officer of ours in a former ship, and
being our first lieutenant in H.M. ship Drake, leads us to beg
that you will have the goodness to represent to our Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty the very high sense of gratitude
we, the surviving petty officers and crew of his Majesty's late
ship Drake, feel due to the memory of our late much lamented,
and most worthy commander, who, at the moment he saw death
staring him in the face on one side, and the certainty of escape
was pointed out to him on the other, most stanchly and
frequently refused to attempt procuring his own safety, until
every man and boy had been rescued from the impending danger.
Indeed, the manliness and fortitude displayed by the late
Captain Baker on the melancholy occasion of our wreck was such
as never before was heard of. It was not as that of a moment,
but his courage was tried for many hours, and his last
determination of not crossing from the rock, on which he was
every moment in danger of being washed away, was made with more
firmness, if possible, than the first. In fact, during the w