loudly to the engineer, "ease her," "stop her; and as that attentive and skilful officer readily obeyed the order, he gave the word "a turn astern," and then ran aft to see how far the vessel had already distanced the poor fellow who had fallen from his floating home, and him who had so nobly gone to his rescue, when, to his horror, he perceived his messmate close to the ship's quarter, and making direct for her starboard paddle-wheel.

The engine had just been reversed, but had hardly had power as yet to stop the vessel's headway. To dart forward again and roar "stop her" at the very top of his stentorian voice, was hardly the work of a second, and with almost equal promptitude his injunction was complied with; but short as was the interval of time, poor Mhad almost reached the wheel, then in rapid rotation. It was indeed but just in time to save him from destruction: half a revolution more, and he had never set foot again upon the deck of the V.

As the last float fell lazily in the water Mreached it, exhausted by fear and the violent efforts he had made to regain the shelter he had so rashly deserted. He clung, panting and half insensible, to the paddle-board as his only safety:

a moment sooner and it had dashed his brains out.

M -'s strength was so completely prostrated, and his nerves so unstrung, by the awful predicament he had been placed in, that he could make no further effort for his own preservation, and it was found necessary for several men to go down inside the paddle-wheel and thus pass him on deck, a work of some hazard and no little time, for he was a heavy man and helpless as a child.

--

Once safe on deck, he was left to recover his powers, corporeal and mental, as he best could, whilst the attention of all was directed to the poor fellow for whose sake M had made his kind but ill-judged attempt to render assistance, and which had seemingly deprived him of his only chance of succour.

Darkness had now set in; objects could be descried but a little distance from the vessel, and no trace of the man could be seen. The boats were lowered immediately, however, and pulled astern of the ship and in various directions for more than an hour, when they were recalled on board, the weather becoming very dirty and squally, and with heavy hearts we pursued our voyage. Before going ahead, however, the people were called to muster, and it was found that John

Clarke, a fore-castleman, and one of the best seamen in the ship, was missing.

It was known that he had fallen from the head, and therefore must have passed under the paddlewheel, so that, although he had been seen swimming for a moment, it was concluded he must have sustained such injuries as would render protracted exertion impossible.

The life-buoy had been let go, but in the hurry of the moment whoever did so had pulled the wrong line, and released it without firing the fuse, so that it was of no service whatever, and was never seen again. A boat's mast and two or three oars had likewise been thrown into the sea, and one of the latter was picked up by the cutter, and great hopes entertained that the man would be found in its vicinity, but nothing could be seen of him; and it appeared afterwards that the oar picked up had been thrown to M before he reached the paddle-wheel.

just

We reached Lisbon without any other disaster, from thence proceeded to Gibraltar, and anchored in Plymouth Sound about a month from the time of losing poor Clarke.

more than a week

M- had gone in the sick list, and kept pretty close to his cabin for after his luckless adventure.

When he appeared

at the mess-table there was an attempt made by some of the younger and most thoughtless amongst us, to laugh at his failure as a life-preserver; but the subject was far too serious and painful for jesting upon, and the attempt was quickly discouraged by the majority of the mess.

Poor M the whole affair.

was evidently deeply grieved at Besides the chagrin and mortification he felt at the signal display he had made of want of nerve and presence of mind, so essential in a naval officer, he evidently looked upon himself as the cause of Clarke's death, as indeed he apparently was; although, if he had been struck by the paddle wheel, as was supposed, it is probable that nothing could have saved him.

M applied to be superseded soon after our arrival in England, and has never been employed since. I have heard he is reading for Holy Orders. He was an excellent fellow, and showed no want of spirit or courage on general occasions. It may be he was seized with cramp, for the water must have been cold in the extreme. It was a subject, however, on which he never chose to speak, and of course I felt a delicacy in touching upon it. He seemed, indeed, like the fisherman of Galilee, to have had a superabundance of courage in the first instance, which

prompted him to attempt that which in the end he had not fortitude to persevere in, and finding himself in danger of sinking he called loudly for help, which was mercifully accorded to him.

We had hardly anchored in the Sound before a signal was made for a midshipman to go to the flag-ship, and on the boat returning some time afterwards, we were all astonished to see John Clarke sitting in the stern sheets, looking none the worse for his mishap, and smiling good humouredly at his shipmates, who seemed to doubt the evidence of their eyes, or to imagine it was a ghost, and no real man: they gazed on. But it was John himself; and he gave me the following interesting particulars of his miraculous preservation from a watery grave.

He had been busied, he said, in some little duty on the bowsprit, and was just coming inboard again, when the vessel made a heavy plunge, the sea washing completely over him, and, as he expressed it, "driving the very breath out of his body." He missed his hold and fell into the water, and saw, as he fell, the paddle-wheel revolving quickly in front of him, and seemingly about to dash him to atoms.

There was no time for thought. In his despair he cried, "Lord, save me," scarce believing that