was once more righted, by this mishap the captain, the second mate, and two or three of the firemen were lost. Those left could not render each other any assistance, and one by one, as their strength gave way, their number became gradually less; so that at daybreak Kelley and Simmons alone were left. But, fortunately, by that time the wind had gone down, and the sea had calmed considerably. Though in an open sea, without oar, sail, or rudder, and in lack of provisions of any kind, there was a chance of being picked up by some vessel, and with this hope the two survivors cheered and stimulated each other. The carpenter had a rug, given him by the captain, which they put up on the side to keep out the swell. Kelley's sou'wester served to bale the water from the boat, and between this occupation and keeping the boat's head to the wind by means of a bottom-board for a rudder, the two alternately took 'spells.' By two o'clock in the afternoon the boat had been cleared of water. After this to the 17th nothing eventful occurred. It was one long struggle against nature. Having nothing to eat, they became gradually weaker. To quench their thirst, they at night cleansed out their mouths with salt water, and then lay upon their backs with their mouths open to catch the falling dew. About the third day of this imprisonment a shower of rain fell, and with an oilskin belonging to Simmons they managed to catch about a quart of rain, which revived them greatly for a few days. All this time a strict look-out in all directions was kept. On the morning of the 17th, the last day of their sufferings, Kelley was unable to get up, and told his friend to keep a good look-out, for he could not live another day. In not more than half an hour afterwards the carpenter sighted a sail in the westsouth-west. Upon this they managed to haul the rug, with the assistance of a bottom-board, about ten feet above water, and, tearing their clothes to make lashings, succeeded in fastening it there.

| By twelve o'clock the vessel was within four miles of them and was taking in all sail. In a short time they were alongside, and in a few minutes more they were saved. The vessel was the Spanish brigantine Encarnacion,' of Fernandina. Though unable to understand each other, those on board treated them with the greatest kindness. For about four days Kelley says he was confined to bed. They were landed at Ferrol on the 6th of January. They were brought on to Plymouth, and sent to their homes by the Agent of the SHIPWRECKED MARINERS' SOCIETY.

THE BEACON OF LAVEZZI. This beacon, which stands near the middle of the Straits of Bonifacio, between Corsica and Sardinia, has a curious history. There is here a very dangerous submarine rock reaching from about two mètres below the surface down to six mètres; its form is roughly that of a truncated cylinder. There being no tides in the Mediterranean, this rock of Lavezzi is never uncovered. (The island of Lavezzi is a little to the north.) In 1855, a frigate, 'La Semillante,' carrying troops from Toulon to the Crimea, was wrecked here in a violent storm, and not one of the 743 souls on board was saved. An obelisk on the island commemorates the event. Previously, a lighthouse had been erected by the Sardinian Government on the island of Razzoli, which is a few kilomètres E.S.E. of the rock. After the catastrophe a huge iron buoy was stationed at the rock, carrying a strong bronze bell, and a pyramid with six mirrors to reflect the rays of the sun and neighbouring lighthouses. Sometimes the roar of the waves even drowned the bell, and in one storm the buoy was wrecked on the rock which it was placed to warn against. It was resolved to raise a beacon on the rock, and this was done in 1869, a foundation of beton having been fixed in position with the aid of a caisson, and reaching a little above the surface. A system of lighting the locality, soon

after adopted by the Italian and French Governments, was of the following character:-The Razzoli lighthouse was arranged to throw a beam of red light (having an angle of 7 deg.) towards the Lavezzi beacon-i.e., westwards; while another lighthouse on the south of the island of Lavezzi threw southwards towards the beacon a sector of red light of 80 deg. (it threw at the same time a green sector northwards on rocks near Corsica.) Thus, after March, 1874, mariners knew that so long as they saw both lighthouses giving white light, they were sufficiently clear of the rock; but whenever both gave red they were in its immediate neighbourhood. Victory seemed complete, till in 1875, after a severe storm, it was seen with dismay that the beacon was gone.

A buoy was temporarily put in position, and reconstruction was soon proceeded with, but in a new way. It was decided to have a beton base strengthened with iron bars penetrating the rock. The beton was built up by divers round twelve ir on pipes placed vertically on the rock, and through these pipes the boring tools were passed into the rock, penetrating to a depth of one mètre. The mason divers generally remained down about two hours, and they were armed with a bronze poniard (steel being corroded by sea water) against sharks and gigantic cephalopods which haunt that region. The holes having been bored, thick iron bars were introduced and cemented, penetrating the rock on the one hand, and the beton on the other. The tower built on the foundation thus acquired was finished the 14th September, 1877. It rises seven mètres above the water, and is painted with horizontal bands of black and red alternately, which is understood to indicate that ships may pass on either side. It has a balustrade on the top to afford refuge in case of shipwreck, which will now, it is hoped, be rare.

THE GULF STREAM.-It is important to bear in mind the distinction between

the actual current of the Gulf Stream and the heated waters which are brought down by its agency. The range of the latter extends some hundreds of miles after what is properly termed the Gulf current has ceased. The waters of the stream often bring cocoa-nut and other tropical fruits to the shores of Europe, and some have at times been left in this manner upon our own coasts. These warm waters, bathing our western coasts, mitigate the severity of our climate to a considerable degree. While places situate in the same latitudes, both to the east and to the west, are frozen and comparatively uninhabitable during a large portion of the year, our islands, as a rule, enjoy a temperate climate, and this fact is attributed in a great measure to the beneficent influence of the warm waters brought down by the Gulf Stream. The peculiar verdure of the "Emerald Isle," and the mildness of our own seasons, when Labrador and the regions round the Baltic are locked in ice, are thus believed to be the effects of an oceanic current which sets out more than four thousand miles away. The waters of the Gulf Stream are distinctly traced by their colour, which is of a deep blue, contrasting strongly with the green of the seas with which it eventually mingles. The difference of temperature between the waters of the stream and those of the Northern Ocean, leads to the melting away of icebergs brought down from the Arctic regions on the breaking up of the winter seaThe temperature of this stream, being so much higher than that of the surrounding seas, exercises an important influence on the atmosphere above. It carries with it a warm moist air, which, coming into collision with that of colder regions, produces strong winds and frequently violent tempests. The neighbourhood of the Gulf Stream is well known to sailors as peculiarly the region of storms; and in their passage across the ocean they avoid it as much as possible for this reason. Whenever from any cause the current is of greater

son.

volume and force than usual, these storms are proportionately increased.-From "The World of Wonders."

THE EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY.-The effects, then, of the work of Christ are even to the unbeliever indisputable and historical. It expelled cruelty, it curbed passion; it branded suicide, it punished and repressed an execrable infanticide, it drove the shameless impurities of heathendom into a congenial darkness. There was hardly a class whose wrongs it did not remedy. It rescued the gladiator; it freed the slave; it protected the captive; it nursed the sick; it sheltered the orphan; it elevated the woman; it shrouded as with a halo of sacred innocence the tender years of the child. In every region of life its ameliorating influence was felt.—Farrar's "Life of Christ."

The

TYNE-SIDE REMINISCENCES.-At last, the poor old Loyal Standard Association of North Shields, at the close of a reign of over half a century, and after distributing many thousands of pounds amongst shipwrecked seamen, widows and orphans of mariners, and old tars, members of it, is wound up. residue of its property has to go to the hammer. Time works wonderful changes in districts. It has done so in ours. At the time the Loyal Standard came into existence the circumstances of the seamen of the Tyne had to go through a sad and heavy ordeal. After the close of the French wars, and the finish up of the transport service, which had made Shields shipowners extremely rich, men who had been released from French prisons, or discharged from the royal navy, crowded into our northern seaports out of employment, many of them being extremely destitute. A long and bitter strike followed, and a small fleet of war vessels had to come down to the Tyne to protect the trade and put down the riotous seamen. The sea-ports were garrisoned by horse soldiers. Little mercy was shown the seamen, or any

class of labouring people, under the then rule of the Tories. They wrought the old combination laws, and the gaols were crowded with unionist leaders. Out of this state of things came the Loyal Standard Associations of North and South Shields. Their annual dinners and processions to church at Christmas will be well remembered by old Shields men, as these processions were red-letter days with the youth of the time. The class of Tyne seamen who were members of these associations in their prosperity-and they were a gallant and noble race-have nearly all died out. Steam has superseded sail largely in the coasting trade, and with the decay and rapid disappearance of the collier brigs came the downfall of the Loyal Standard. Lately, few have been left but old men and widows. The South Shields Association holds on, but the North Shields Association now belongs to the past. Happily for the reputation of our river, the interest in the social welfare of sailors on the Tyne has not ceased. The Tyne Sailors' Home, to a large extent due to the sailor Duke Algernon, of Northumberland-a name cherished with hearty warmth by seafaring people-meets the altered condition of affairs on our river. The Tyne Sailors' Widows' and Orphans' Fund likewise affords ready aid in the sad hour of bereavement to many a hapless home. The area of distress in that direction is likely to be very considerable this winter.Newcastle Chronicle.

[Our contemporary, whilst paying a just tribute to the usefulness of the Tyne Sailors' Widows' and Orphans' Fund, appears to be ignorant of the work done by the SHIPWRECKED MARINERS' SOCIETY. The receipts from the Tyne from all sources during the years 1876, '77, and '78 were less than the amount disbursed during the same period by £2,866, while the amount expended in relief in North Shields alone, during the year 1878, amounted to £1,289 8s., of which no less than £548 13s. 9d. was distributed in annual grants to widows, all

natives of North Shields, Cullercoats, and neighbourhood.]

VALUE OF A SHIP'S LIBRARY.-Not many months ago a legal gentleman coming to our shores from a South American State for the transaction of some public business, found in the library of the ship, which had been placed there by this Society, Bonar's "Way of Peace," and the Bible. In his hours of leisure he read and re-read these books, and was led to see the truth, and to believe in Christ. While here he translated the little book (which had deeply interested him), into his own language, and secured its publication by the Tract Socicty. It is now circulated among his own countrymen, largely through his own personal effort, with wonderful evidences of its usefulness.New York Sailors' Magazine.

BRAVERY REWARDED.-On Monday evening a large number of the masters of the Lambton screw steamers and a few friends met at the offices of Mr. Henry Thomas Morton, High-street, Sunderland, for the purpose of making a presentation to the three seamen who bravely launched and manned a boat on Saturday evening, November 16, 1878, for the purpose of saving the life of Captain Reed, of the s.s. 'Druid,' of Sunderland, who was washed overboard when the vessel was just off the south entrance, with a cargo of cattle, from Tonning. At the request of those present, Mr. W. Gibson occupied the chair, and expressed the pleasure he had once more in taking part in another expression of sympathy and admiration of masters in the Lambton employ. This was not the first by many good works that he had had the pleasure of joining and assisting them in, for on many occasions, at the earnest request of some, he had commenced a subscription for the benefit of the widow and fatherless. He had ever found them eager to throw in their mite with a willing heart, and when requested by

the

Captains Richard Benson, John George Kidd, and John Todd, two days after the sad loss of their late friend, Captain Reed, to get up a testimonial to the three brave, noble-hearted tars who attempted to rescue him from the jaws of death, he found them as ready and willing as ever. They were present that evening to acknowledge in a substantial way an act of heroism on the part of the three men of Sunderland, who, when the late Captain Reed, who was almost in sight of his own home, was washed overboard, with no thought of their own safety, bravely manned and launched a boat on the dark winter night to seek the lost one. Unfortunately, effort was of no avail; the greedy sea had swallowed up its prey; yet, though the effort was fruitless, the will was there. Captain Warren, in addressing the men, said that he had great satisfaction in presenting to them a silver watch, from the establishment of Messrs. Gowland Brothers, of Sunderland, on behalf of his fellow shipmasters in the Lambton employ. The two recipients present, John Warner and James Mayne, feelingly acknowledged the testimonial they had just received. John Hunman, being now chief mate of the s.s. 'Druid,' which vessel was not in port, his watch awaits his arrival. Newcastle Daily Chronicle, March 4, 1879.

THE 'CONSTITUTION AND HER CAPTURES.-By a singular combination of circumstances, there now lies in Portsmouth Harbour, not as a captive but as a guest, a vessel which should have a great interest for Englishmen. Nelson and Trafalgar still live before our eyes in the brave old 'Victory,' and a few dismantled hulks recall other episodes of the old French wars; and near them now rides at anchor the Constitution,' the American frigate which inflicted upon us at least three of the very few naval defeats in our history. In no instance, however, were these defeats matters to be ashamed of, and a few

particulars regarding them may not be uninteresting. The 'Constitution' was originally intended for a 74-gun ship, of about 1,750 tons measurement; but it was determined to finish her as a frigate, and she was ultimately launched as such, with 1,530 tons measurement, in 1798. She was officially described as a 44-gun frigate, but her real armament was carefully concealed, and she was practically as large and as strong as the generality of British seventy-fours. When at sea she mounted fifty-six guns. On the main deck were thirty twentyfour pounders, ten feet long, and weighing 54 cwt., and on the quarter-deck and forecastle twenty-four 32-pounder carronades, and two long 18-pounders. Her crew consisted of 475 men all told, all carefully selected men. In fact, the forty-four gun frigate was a "line-ofbattle ship" in disguise. On the morning of the 19th of August, 1812, the 'Constitution' encountered the British 38-gun (18-pounder) frigate Guerrière,' Captain Dacres, which was on her way to Halifax to refit. The 'Guerrière' herself had had a remarkable history. She was originally a 40-gun frigate in the French Navy, and had been captured in 1806 by Captain (afterwards Sir Thomas) Lavie in the 'Blanche,' which had herself also been taken from the French. The Guerrière' was as usual added to the British naval force, and, as we have said, in 1812 was confronted with an American foe. Her crew, deducting seven Americans on board, was 244 men, and with these she had to engage the best vessel in the enemy's navy, with a picked crew of almost two to one. Captain Dacres, however, did not shrink from the odds, and the Guerrière commenced the action at half-past four in the morning by a broadside, which, owing to the inferiority of the powder, fell short. The Constitution,' on the contrary, was admirably equipped, and soon succeeded in breaking her antagonist's mizen-mast, which fell over the larboard quarter, and by dragging in the

water brought the ship to the wind in such a position that she was almost at the mercy of the Americans, who attempted to board, but were repulsed. The vessels fell clear of each other, when the 'Guerriere's' only remaining masts fell, and rolling heavily, she became unmanageable, and Captain Dacres, who was painfully wounded, finding further resistance useless, surrendered. The British loss amounted to twenty-· one killed and fifty-nine wounded. Amongst the latter was the master's mate, William J. Snow, father of Captain Parker Snow, who is still living, and who, in 1854, while in command of a small vessel on special service at the Cape de Verdes, was a guest on board the Constitution,' then in the same waters. A great deal was very naturally made of their victory by the Americans, though, considering the disparity in strength, it was nothing so very remarkable. The Constitution,' however, again proved her prowess in De. cember of the same year, when she captured the Java,' formerly the French frigate Renommée,' which had been taken off Madagascar. The 'Java' was deeply laden, with a wretched crew, and altogether unfit for action. It is needless to go into the details of the conflict; suffice it to say that, after four hours' action, in which the 'Java' lost twenty-one killed and 103 wounded, she became the prize of the Constitution." On examination, however, she was found to be so much injured that it was determined to destroy her, and she was burnt. Two years afterwards the "Constitution' completed her victorious career by the capture of the Cyane and the Levant,' two lightly-armed corvettes. With this exploit her stirring history ended. She is interesting now as a type of the war-vessels which have almost entirely passed away; and her retention in the American Navy in full commission is a practical proof of the extent to which that navy is inferior to those of the European Powers.Broad Arrow.