LOSS OF R.M.S. SERPENT

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3709, 13 January 1891, Page 4

LOSS OF R.M.S. SERPENT

A Narrative of a Survivor- J The three survivors of the —Gould, Luxon, and Burton—weH taken on board Her Majesty's shH Tyne on November 17 th, Burton ■ the most advanced towards Luxon is also pronounced to be fairjß well; but a not very favorable accouH is given of Frederick Gould. BurtoW has given the following account fl the wreck of the Serpent:—" On tbl evening of Monday, the day of thß disaster, the ship was proceeding o« her course as usual. We had left Plymouth on Saturday afternoon, and were hoping shortly to round Cape Finisterre. The ship was going about half speed. The sea was fearful, and the swell of the billows " fended *° carrv tne vessel toward the The place where the ship strnckisinabay formed by Cape Trees and Villano. It was a very dirty night. It was raining hard, and a thick mist bid the Bhore from us, The Serpent passed very close to Cape Trece, but no one on board could see the light on Cape Villano, and the ship headed straight for the middle of the bay. A few minutes later she struck with a fnghtlul shock. Owing to the bad weather the Commander was on the bridge. I was on deck myself, as it was my watch. Thirty of the men were close to me. As soon as we felt the vessel strike, Captain Ross ordered the boats to be got ready. He was perfectly calm and at the same time full of energy. By his orders we got out tbe rocket apparatus, and fired a rope off towards the shore, but it was no wind and waves were terrific, ana the rope fell short. About three-quarters of an hour passed before the Serpent went down. Meanwhile, all the crew were ordered on the bridge. Gould, Luxon, aud I were told off to man one of the boats,

Gould being in command. We went get the boat ready, but we had Spil-cely set about it when a huge sea rHJwept away all the boats' crews and boats as well. Captain Eoss then shouted out that everyone must do his best to save himself. Gould heard bim say tins before we set about getting the boats ready, ana several others had put on cork jackets. w The Serpent remained all this time >? as if balanced between the masses of rock. She was not floating. The ■waves swept over lier with awful violence, and she was soon nothing better than a bare hulk. Boats, men. and even tha topsides were carried away. Luxoiu and some of our shipmates who were swept away by the swell succeeded m gaining the lock, but Luxon was the only man of them that was abla to holdout against the force of the seas and true, in ail

.carried me away ami threw nie ashore to where Luxon was. We looked back and saw a horrible sight - a shapeless lot of men struggling for life and hurled one against the other bv the -.:re : it seas.

A G&ost-ly Gathering,

The black list of prospectivi absentees, voluntarily and ir.volun 1 taiily, at t!u op-ning of the nev Parliament is quite melanclioi; reading. 2s o less than forty oin European members vdll '"' no conn back again," to say nothing of poo: Sydnev.who has been lioaliy elevated '■ There "is a legend at home ihat 01 the night before a new Parliameiv assembles, the ghosts of thos< members of the preceding Parliament who died during its progress mevi and hold high debate in the House o: Commons, Fortunately our 11 exmembers are ail " alive and kicking" —some of them, no doubt, kicking hard against the pricks. But one would like to be in the gallery if they should meet on the eve of the nest opening. For the last time the stately and familiar figure of Sir Maurice O'Rorke—outcast of a stupid constituency—would fill the chair. For the last time Sir George Grey would lend the glamour of his presence to the floor, and move the first and last reading of the Law Practitioners Bill. MrOrmond would lecture ou the decadence of things in general and Parliament in particular; while Mr Larnach would rise to ask the Speaker " if he ever heard of a man called Earnshaw, for he was blessed if he ever did till a moytli I ago.'.' Dr Fitchetl would recite a verse of " Brief hie is here our portion," in Greek iambics ; while the Hon E. Ricliardson would iuaudibly read an old Public Works Statement. Mr Allen would- douUless deliver a lay sermon on the fickleness of popular favor; and Mr Piose would appear as ever, to be having a private view of the beatific vision. Mr Dowuie Stewart bemoans the inaccuracies and impossibilities which must characterise Acts of Parliament passed without the benefit of his industrious watchfulness, until the attention of the mournful assembly is suddenly arrested by the souml of long drawn sous, ana J. c. i>i\mn ami dear aid Vitnen. ave ai-C'»t»ed weeping neck on neck, as ho their very heart.-, \u ulcl jreak. Tnen as morning shows approach, c.jo ' whole body oi lorty one rise to tuew . feet, give one united prolungu f no>vi, j and (after the benediction from Mr i James Fulton) sonowfully disDerse i. —Uunedin Star.

The ex-King of Naples has contributed 100,000 francs to aid the development of German enterprise in Central Africa. There are 13,000 kinds of postage stamps.