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that it was evident to all who thought about the matter that it was next to impossible for a great many of us to hold out until the middle of the next "week . There was nothing but raw cabbage for us to eat , for after hearing Smith ' s statement about food ( which was made in perfect good faith , for Captain Ludlow had promised to leave a bag of biscuit and a barrel of pork at the cabbage-garden ,-but Avas prevented from doing so . by the gale which sprung up ) , we had thrown away the herring tins as useless lumber , and had nothing to boil the cabbage in . There were two herring tins in the new encampment , one of which belonged to the sailors , who were cooking cabbages for themselves all day , and the party with which I encamped ( comprising 22 persons ) could only once obtain ' loan of
their tin during the residue of our stay on the island . The Saturday and the Sunday ( 3 rd and 4 th of September ) passed away , and still no signs of the ship , the raw cabbage did not agree with some of the women and children , whose weak stomachs rejected it , and the surf was too high to enable us to gather limpets . Our situation on the Sunday night was indeed critical . The supply of water had just failed , and there was none to be had within less than the distance of nearly a mile , wliich was far too great for us to walk several times a day , in order to fill with water the few wine bottles or boots that we possessed . There was but a day's supply of cabbage remaining , and unless God should send us immediate aid , it was clear that two or three days would put an end to the sufferings of many .
But at daybreak on Monday morning our deliverers were at hand . A long and tremendous shout of ' Ship , ship , ' from the stentorian lungs of Smith , aroused the whole encampment , and fervent thanks were offered up to Almighty God for this renewed instance of his mercy . The Monmontli was seen standing in towards the shore , with a fair wind ; but as we could not tell when she would be able to send her boats , we again betook ourselves to our allotted occupations of collecting fuel , fetching water , gathering cabbages , &c . I myself , with Mr . Scoltock , and three or four others of onr party , went down to the seashore , and thought ourselves very fortunate—for we certainly were much more successful than anybody else—in having collected , before the tide obliged us to leave off ,
about two quarts of limpets , and fourteen small rock fish , which Mr . Scoltock , a veteran angler , caught with a crooked pin and a bit of string . This we considered a magnificent provision for the day , though it was to bo apportioned out among 22 persons , and we had just boiled and eaten the first sardine tinful , when a shout from below aroused our attention , and looking in the direction from which the noise proceeded , we saw Smith , and a tall commanding-looking man , the latter of whom liad enough to do to shake hands with the people who thronged around him . It proved to be Captain Ludlow , of the Montnoxitli , from Coldspring , in the State of " New York , who had come ashore in his own boat to bring us off at once . He was followed by the second mate of the
ship , who brought with him some biscuits and a piece of pork , which was rapidly distributed among the famishing multitude ; but Captain Ludlow allowed no one to sit down and cat it , for , telling us that not a moment ' s time was to be lost , and that it was but a quarter of a mile to the place where the boats lay , he led the way rapidly down , and was followed , but with unequal steps—for the route was very rough—by the whole of the late Meridian's company , with throe exceptions , which will be referred to hereafter . On our arrival , avc found that the spot ; selected for embarkation , the day being fine and the water remarkably smooth , was a ledge of rocks jutting out into the sea , at a point where the surface of the island watt more than usually depressed .
It proved , in fact , a natural wharf ; but so rarely is it available , owing to the nurl ' , for the purpose ; to which it ¦ was that day applied , that Captain Ludlow was the only person on board tho Monmouth who wns aware of ita existence . Mori ; biscuits and pork were distributed here , and wen ; devoured with a roli . sh wliich famine only can impart .. Never shall I forgot , the flavour of that biscuit , or the juicy savour of that bit of raw pork . It seemed to impart new strength to I lie limbs and volume to ( lie voice ; and . although , in tho course of a . tolerably long experience , I have partaken of many rechercJit dishes , I can safely say thai ; 1 never parlook of one of them ¦ w ith half ' Mio gusto with which I devoured thin first in-Klahnent of the Monmouth ' n stores . There were four
Avhale-boals employed in diking us oil" , tin ; women and children going first , and by noon all those who bad escaped from the wreck wen ; on board the Monmouth , with the exception of the chief cabin steward and a little girl , whom lie carried on hi .- ; back , ( both of whom wcn > . brought oil ' on the following day ) , and a Ht . eerage pi \ saengor named J ' ell , who severely injured his fool , among the rocks on the first day of the wreck , and who was unable lo travel . Plenty of provisions , however , had been left with him at the encampment on ( Ik ; clilf , and , to . save this man , Capluin Ludlow left ; on the island four of his own men , including Smith , with instructions to bring him oil' as noon an possible , for ho declared that unless lie wived the life of every person who had escaped shipwreck , lie should look upon his work as incomplete . And surely , when Captain . Ludlow stood upon the deck of his stanch old vessel , and
{ razed upon the grateful hut haggard countenances and emaciated bodies of more limn a hundred fellow-creatures , almost , reduced to the last extremity , he might well feel a degree of anxiety in tlxv completion of an achievement which nothing hut im indomitable resolution would have enabled him to accomplish . Another gale sprung up on the Tuesday , after wo had ciulmrkcd , and wo wore again obliged to stand out to sea , nor could we approach near enough to take the men oil" till the iViday afternoon , when the captain manned his own boat , and " brought Pell ond bis own four men on hoard . AVith Ihree hearty cheers for Captain Ludlow and his brave crow , we then ] rl't . Amsterdam ; and after a very tine , but rather nlow , pnssngo of 17 days , we arrived at the Mauril . itiN . " It would be most improper to speak of our reception here , without , adverting in the lirst place to the manner in which \ vo wore treated on board tho Monmouth , AH thut
to the shore near the cabbage-garden , and one monstrous fellow shoved his black back above the water within an ei g hth of a mile from the boat wliich carried me to the ship . But not a murmur was heard from the lips of the gallant ' Monmouths' at the loss of their whaling season , and with it a sacrifice of their means of living . We were liberally supplied with food , and the quality was such that I should like to see it emulated in English passenger ships . The best of biscuit , salt beef and pork , fresh ' rice from Java , abundance of pure water from the living rock , yams , sweet potatoes , and molasses at discretion , were placed at our disposal . "We had also two novel and unexpected luxuries , half a boatfull of St . Paul's fish , which are equal , if not superior , in flavour to the finest salmon , and a couple ,
could be done by respectful sympathy and unobtrusive kindness , was done for us , in order to make us forget the hardships which we had undergone , and that not merely on the part of Captain Ludlow , but by all hands in the whaler , down to the cook ' s mate . And it must be borne in mind that every man of the Monmouifcs crew incurred a considerable pecuniary loss by his " participation in Captain Ludlow's views . In a whale ship , no one receives any wages , but every one takes a certain share in the profits of the voyage , according to his rating in the ship . They had been out two years , and had not been very successful , the Monmouth being only half full of oil . They had come upon fishing ground where in a few days they might have filled the shipfor I myself saw several whales sporting about close
of porpoises , which even the ladies admitted , when they had overcome their prejudices against tasting it , to be excellent food . The passengers soon profited by the hospitality which was so bounteously extended to them , and gained flesh rapidly ; but the limited accommodation which the Monmouth could afford exposed all , the women especially , to severe privations of another kind . Except for two of the ladies , for whose use Captain Ludlow gave up his own state-room , sleeping himself on the floor , there was no privacy for any one , and many of the women found it imposible to take off their clothes between the date of
the wreck and then' arrival at Port Louis . The majority of the passengers slept either in the hold , where some old sails had been laid down , or on the deck ; room was foimd for a few in berths or hammocks in the chief cabin , while others were accommodated on the floor . These arrangements were certainly a great improvement upon the hard rocks or wet reed of Amsterdam , but something was still wanting to restore us to the same measure of health and strength which we formerly enjoyed . All that our kind hosts could bestow they gave cheerfully , but they could not convert a vessel of 300 tons into one oi * 600 tons , nor ceruld they supply us with separate berths , bedding , or change of linen . " - »¦¦ ' .
.. When they landed at Port Louis they were all well cared for , '' every one in office , from Mr . Bayley and Mr . Cummins downward , vying with each other in their efforts to make us forget our misfortunes . " A subscription was raised for them — probably 1200 Z . The Chamber of Commerce voted a service of plate value 1201 . to Captain Ludlow . "By the way , " says "L ., " "I must mention that , at his request , the 120 Z . subscribed by the Chamber of Commerce for a service of plate has been handed over to him in money , the captain thinking that a display of plate like that which was voted to him would be inconsistent ; wif . li
the frugal style of living to which ho has always been accustomed , I understand , however , that he does not intend to apply the money to any vulgar use , but to form an accumulating fund with it for the benefit of his children . Dr . Powell , a medical gentleman here , who practises photography for the amusement of himself and friends , lias taken a good likeness both of the captain and of Mr . Worthington , which will be sent to tho Illustrated London News . "
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LETTERS FKOM PARIS . LliTTl'Mt CI . PariH , Thursday Evening , Dec . 1 , LSS 3 . Bonaparte returned to Paris yesterday . Ho has been hurt in the shoulder by a fall out hunting , I believe , or by concussion against a trees in tho forest , I believe ; while insatiable ijabemouckes insist on his having received a pistol Bhot , the author of which , as soon as he found he had only winged his game , shot himself . All these versions are ridiculous enough . Sufficient that the Emperor has received a . severer blow than any from a pistol . The "Fusion has struck him to dentli . You ean scarcely conceive the excitement and elation of the salons in Paris . All the upper clauses are in jubilation . They go and inscribe their names at M . ' Berryer ' s , us they wont ,, in 181 /) , to Talleyrand ' s , and to Wellington ' s . Persigny , the unique
and only thorough-bred Bonapartist that ever existed , in at his wit ' s end , halting between contradictory resolutions , what course to pursue . Tho Ministers , Fould and IVouyn de l'Huys , belong to tho Legitimist conspiracy . ' Kothseliild in the banker of the Fusion . The four exiled generajs , Changnrnier , Bodeau , Lamorieiero , and Loflo are " working '" tho regiments . Not , a few colonels have hastened to place themselves at their disposal . As things are going , one , would imagine that , in a , few months , there would only bo four men in Franco not of the plot-viz ., Bonaparte , Porsigny , Wt . Arnaud , and Ma . gnan . Even Oarlicr in treated for . ( Hint fertile brain which conceived the coit / p dU . lat of UU ) s > n < l of December has been invited to furnish a plan for whisking off Bonaparte from the Tuileiie . s . The magistracy and the public functionaries have been half won over to tho
p lot by the promise of retaining | ; h ,, ; n their places . Porsigny , . 1 repeat , is distraelod between waiting and cluing ; whoihor Lo otriku a blow now , or wait till llwi
p lot ripens : the latter course seems to me the better . He received orders to arrest the Legitimist chiefs ; but he has - contented himself with a perquisition b y the police at the house of one of the party . Do not be deceived as to the serious importance of this Counter- re volution . ; The life and soul of the plot is no other than the Emperor Nicholas . With Henry V . at Paris , the Continent is Russian : it is the Continent against England , Russia at Constantinople . It is Nicholas who imposed the fusion on the Comte de Chambord and upon the Orleans branch , ( the Duchess and M . Thiers are said to hold out still , but with them holding out mean waiting ) ; he dictated the very words spoken on either side . What , say some , if some fine night Bonaparte were to disappear from the Tuileries and Paris were to wake up in the morning to find
Henry "V . king , the Anglo-French alliance broken , and England alone against the Continent ! Bonaparte has now abandoned the idea of a visit to England—for the present . A story was current in the salons yesterdaythat Comte Walewski had negociated with your Minister an interview at London between our Emperor and your Queen , to which Queen "Victoria , notwithstanding her repugnance , had consented ; that Bonaparte had then asked permission jo present his Empress , which had been declined ; that Walewski had thereupon started in post haste for Fontainebleau with the news of this terrible rebuff ; and that the news of the Fusion had reached Bonaparte about the same moment . All this may be sheer malice not very cleverly invented . Bonaparte has his troubles without any " airs" from Queen Victoria .
The financial difficulties are increasing daily . The Treasury has been at a low ebb since last September and the coffers of the Bank have been seriously invaded . More than 200 millions ( of francs ) = 8 , O 0 O , O " O 0 £ of Treasury bonds have been issued , and a loan to about the same amount is in contemplation . How , under existing circumstances , such , a loan will succed , is another question . Since the Fusion , the Bourse has been rising every day . The stock-jobbers already dream of the 3 per cents , at 100 , and discount their dreams . Alas ! these blind enthusiasts see nothing beyond , Henry V . ; they do not discern the possibility of England fighting the absolutist continental alliance with the Revolution itself !
The severities against the Republicans have not diminished . The editor of the Messarjer du Midi has lately been thrown into prison . The recent decree of the Supreme Court in the last resort , affirming the right of the police to open letters entrusted to the Post , caused little or no sensation . It fell in the midst of the news of the Fusion , and the rights of imperial despotism were felt to be short lived . The Fusion , too , renders the rumours from Turkey less and less interesting . The Constantinople question may vet have to be solved at Paris .
News has an-ived of an offensive movement of tho Russian forces in an attempt to pass the Danube at Giurgevo . They succeeded in establishing two bridges , one near Giurgevo , the other near Hirschova , on tho Lower Danube . The 5 th corps d ' armee , under General Luders , would , in the event of tho r e-inforcoments . under General Ostensaken , be disposable at that point Of attack . But then there is roason to believe that Ostensaken has been counter-ordered to the Caucasus , where the Czar can hardly hold his own . The tactics of the Russians are , you will note , precisely thoso which I indicated six months ago . While the Turks are kept opposite Giurgevo by tho demonstrations of
Gortschakof , Luders , after crossing the Danube about Hirscova , will , it seems probable , out-flank tho right wing of the Turks , and by that movement force them to abandon the banks of the Danube before Giurgevo , and to fall back upon Shumla . Then it will be Uortacliakof ' s turn to cros . s the Danube , and out-flanking the Turkish left , to ponetrato unopposed to the Balkans . It is stated that G ortschakof lias app lied to the military archives at Vienna for tho admirable topographical charts of the Balkans which wero constructed with the greatest possible care by Austrian
engineer !) , and are the most complete maps of that range in existence . Now , it appearH , that besides the three grand routes across the Balkans there are iivo other secondary roads , not , to speak of nuinberleHS byroads . It , is by one of these that W ortschakof w determined to effect tho passage of his army . While tho / m , ) i corps d'aniit-c , supported by tho J 5 rd , holds m cheek tho Turkish forces fallen back upon Sehiunla , Gortsehakof , with the 4 th corps ( Daniienberg ) , would cross tho Balkans , and thus turniiuj H chumla , render
its defence useless . Such is the plan of ( oJiniPJUtf " which competent ; military men hem aMeribo to the I « 1 H ' Hian (' oniuiaiider-in-chio ' f . I simply report ; them . All military opinions hero agree in considering Omar Pacha ' s retreat » h a mistake in this sense , Una it was not a simple , vtananivrc . . After his ret reat , no Hliouhl have recrossod the Danube at , another point , M ? Silistria for example ; from thence he might Jwivo thrown liin forces upon . Jaloniza , and by Htr'm * p occupying 1 , 1 iat ; line of operations have cut , oil (« m'IH ~ ehakoinVom Moldavia , by humming him m "j lu narrow space between Jaloniza , Bucharest , and u » o Danube . Whereas , hy his retreat , ho Juw yurrondomi tho ftdvantngo to tho JtiiHfciiaiifJ . ' '
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1156 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 3, 1853, page 1156, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2015/page/4/
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