A WHALEBOAT ADVENTURE.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 485, 1 April 1869, Page 3

A WHALEBOAT ADVENTURE.

A correspondent of the Southern Cross, writing from Waipu on March 5, says:—" I hear that a whaleboat, with five men, arrived at the Cove, Waiapu, within the last two days. They report that they belonged to the barque California, out of Salem, last from New York; that on Saturday 27th ult., they chased a whale, which the boat succeeded in Btriking. The monster flew through the water with them quicker than they could give him line; which rendered it impossible for the other boats (three in number) to offer them any assistance. At last the officer in charge of the boat was swept overbord by the line. He called out to the crew to cut the line —which they did; then they lost sight of him. They could not say whether he got so entangled as to be carried away in the wake of the wounded whale, or freed himself and was fortunate enough to be picked up by one of the other boats. In fact they knew nothing about him since he was snatched from among them. They were about fifteen miles from the ship, in a fog and squall; they knew nothing of their whereabouts, but that they were off the New Zealand coast. They had but a small quantity of biscuit on board, and were much exhausted before they made the land. Such is their account, which I give at second-hand. They intend to take passage with Captain M'Kenzie, of the cutter Don, to Auckland."

A gentleman who had carefully trained up his servant in the way he should go, so that when his wife was present he would not depart from it, sent him with a box ticket for the Theatre to a young lady. The servant returned when the gentleman and his wife were at dinner. He had of course been told, in giving answers to certain kinds of questions, to substitute the masculine for the feminine pronoun in speaking to a lady. " Did you see him ?" said the gentleman giving him the cue. " Yes, sir," replied the servant; "He said he'd wait for you, sir." " What was he doing?" asked his wife carelessly. "He was putting on his bonnet," was the reply.