thousand-fold. An officer or a sailor may get his discharge, or do as they sometimes do, take "French leave," but not so with the shipmaster. When he takes command of a vessel, she becomes his "for better or worse," until the voyage is ended, or death separates them. He must keep in mind the owner's interests, and not lose sight of his own; he must govern the ship's company, not losing sight of their health and welfare. He has a character to sustain, and fortunate indeed is the shipmaster that fulfils all the trying and responsible duties of his station, in a manner not to sacrifice the owner's interests or his own; not to acquire the charge of being a bad master, yet maintain good discipline and authority on ship-board.

We have been led to make these remarks in consequence of looking over the private journal of a shipmaster, which has fallen under our observation. From this journal we have taken the liberty to copy the following remarks. The writer seems aware of the trials of his station, and speaks of a shipmaster's "perplexing responsibility" in language becoming and dignified. The journal everywhere abounds with passages indicating a thoughtful and even a philosophic turn of mind. The writer is a person remarkably fond of reading, and though his present voyage is not more than half completed, yet he remarked that already he had read about two hundred and fifty volumes. "2nd November, 1845.-Begins with frequent showers of rain-the weather squally-winds light and variable from the southward and eastward. Several sails in company at six a.m. steward to hasten on deck and assist the first officer in a scuffle with the It opened to me by a call from the cooper, who had refused to obey his orders, and had been very insolent in his language. While in the heat of passion, I thought to punish him severely, but after a little deliberation I concluded to give him a severe reprimand, which I did in the presence of the whole crew, and then sent him to the masthead for the forenoon, and promised him, for the next offence, that I would punish him or any one else. I have so far on the voyage found him to be a very bad man, a very poor mechanic, frequently grumbling, and guilty of many other misdemeanours."

Few situations involve a more perplexing responsibility, or require a higher combination of rare talents than the commander of a ship. To be popular, and at the same time efficient, he must be able to enforce a strict and rigid discipline, without giving to it that cast of unfeeling severity to which the despotic nature of a ship's government is extremely liable. He must be open and unreserved, and express even his sentiments of disapprobation with a freedom and frankness, which may lead the subordinate officer to the instantaneous conviction that there is no suppressed feeling of bitterness, which may in an unexpected hour reveal its nourished and terrific strength. This plain and honest dealing is infinitely preferable to a heartless hypocrisy of manner; it relieves all around from those disquieting suspicions which duplicity never fails to excite; and where it is united with a generous disposition, a well-informed mind, and a dignified demeanour, can never fail to secure affection and respect.

NOTES ON ST. PAUL'S VOYAGE.

There is one narrative of New Testament history which has been elucidated by some modern writers, and to which it may be well to give a few moments' attention-I mean St. Paul's eventful voyage. and phrases in it which have been misunderstood, and have given occasion There are several passages for objectors to find fault.

66

Sailing was

The time of this voyage, we see, was a very dangerous one. now dangerous," says St. Luke (Acts xxvii. 9), because the fast was now already past." This fast, Parkhurst says, seems to mean the fast of the

great day of Atonement, which was kept on the

10th day of the seventh

66

month, nearly answering to our September, old style. See Leviticus xvi. 29, &c." This day, in our present calendar, is our 20th of September; and after that time of year, equinoctial storms might be expected; and of this St. Paul warned them (verse 10.) "Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with much hurt and damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives." However, the expediency of wintering in a better port than that of "the Fair Havens" (near the modern Cape Lionda, in the south-east part of Candia), and the anxiety of the centurion in command to reach the end of his voyage, prevailed, and they set sail from Crete. The wind Euroclydon, which caught them between Lasea and Clauda (now called Gazo di Candia), is the same now called by seamen a Levanter; this name being a translation of the ancient one-Eurou-kludon, meaning a tempest from the East, while Levanter signifies anything from the Levant or sun-rising. We are told that it is a furious gale, blowing apparently in all directions, from N.E. round to S.E. That encountered by the unhappy "ship of Alexandria," was evidently a most severe one. They were exceedingly tossed with a tempest," and neither sun nor stars in many days appeared," so that "all hope of being saved was taken away." The expression, "after long abstinence," (verse 21,) is thus explained by Markland. "The meaning is, when almost every body neglected food, having little or no regard to meat, as expecting every moment to be their last. The natural consequence of this must be lowness of spirits and dejection of mind, against which Paul exhorts them, knowing that their appetite for food would soon return, when they were assured of their lives," and, in the 33rd verse, "Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried, and continued fasting, having taken nothing." Where some have scoffingly said it would be impossible for men to remain fourteen days without food, we have an explanation from one who but seldom elucidated Scripture—the poet Pope. In a note to the 12th book of the Odyssey, he says, "Expecting the fourteenth day, which is to-day, ye continue without eating. So the meaning is, that they had taken no food all that day; the danger was so great that they had no leisure to think upon hunger. This is the literal construction of the words, and implics that, out of expectation of the fourteenth day (which they looked upon as a critical time, when their danger would be at the highest), they had forgot to take their usual repast; not that they had fasted fourteen days." Parkhurst thinks this explanation of Pope's somewhat far-fetched, and quotes another from Markland, as follows:-"Ye have continued without sustenance all this fourteenth day, (the fourteenth since the storm began,) waiting the event." At any rate, the objection of an unnatural period of fasting is removed.

The place where they finally landed, "a creek with a shore," is explained by the same writer as a creek with a smooth shore, such an one as is convenient for landing. For have not all creeks shores?"

Horne observes, "The Romans worshipped the virtues and affections of the mind, as Justice, Fortune, &c. And the inhabitants of Malta, where St. Paul was shipwrecked, had the same superstition. When they saw a venomous serpent fasten on the hand of Paul, they concluded that he was a murderer, whom Vengeance (more correctly the Goddess Dike, or Vindictive Justice) had not permitted to live (Acts xxviii. 4.) We learn from the mythological poet, Hesiod, that the Greeks had a female deity of this name."

TOTAL LOSS OF THE "INDIAN" INDIAMAN.

It is with considerable regret we announce the loss of this fine Indiaman, 500 tons burden, on her outward voyage from England to Bombay, on a reef of rocks named the Cargados Garayos, or Narerett-bank, with a

melancholy loss of human life. The annexed narrative is from a gentleman who was a passenger on board :—

"Nothing of any note occurred until the night of the 4th of April last, when at eight o'clock the captain informed us that, if his reckoning was correct, we should either be clear or very nearly upon the Cargados reef. Being rather taken aback at the cool way in which he expressed himself, I ran forward to the forecastle, followed by the captain and one of the passengers. Twenty minutes had not elapsed before I distinctly saw breakers ahead, which I immediately pointed out to the captain, who turned to one of the seamen, standing near him at the time, (named Peter Martin,) and asked him if he thought they were breakers. He replied, "Yes, they are;' at the same time, the look-out man on the foreyard sang out, Breakers ahead.' We were then going six knots, with the starboard tacks about two points free, wind east, steering north. The captain ordered the helm to be put up, and she fell off to W.N.W., and in far less time than it has taken me to write, she struck, at first slightly, then went on with a fearful crash, starting every timber in her, pieces of wreck floating up all around us. We saw in a moment that all hopes of saving the vessel were at an end, as she heeled over to the leeward suddenly, the sea making a clear breach over her every roller. This was the work of a few minutes only. Three parts of the crew were by this time on their knees, crying and making the most frantic appeals to heaven for aid. All order and discipline were now at an end. The carpenter and two seamen attempted to cut away the masts, but owing, I suppose, to the excitement of the moment, they cut away the weather rigging only. The masts of course went by the board, but, being still attached to the vessel by the lee rigging, and falling over to seaward, they served as a battering ram, beating the vessel to pieces every successive roller. After the first burst of excitement was over, a simultaneous rush was made for the boats, but we found the only one that was available was the starboard quarter boat; the other two had been staved to pieces by the wreck. The captain was not slow in taking to our only apparent chance of escape-the remaining boat-eight of the seamen speedily following him. They shoved off, but pulled back once or twice near to the vessel, asking for water and bread, which, of course, it was out of our power to supply them with. He then pulled away altogether, which was the last we saw of him. The ship, by this time, was breaking up fast; the stern-frame burst out and was thrown upon the starboard quarter, and in a few minutes afterwards she parted amidships, leaving thirteen persons exposed to the fury of the surf on the forepart of the starboard board-side, where we remained till the morning broke. The tide turned about this time from ebb to flood, when the rollers came in with redoubled violence, and dashed the remainder of the wreck into pieces. All were immediately buffeting with the waves. Sharks innumerable surrounded us on all sides, which very much increased the terrors of our situation. Owing to my being hurled on the rocks by the surf two or three times, I lost my senses, and was perfectly unconscious as to what occurred till I found myself resting on a spar with a sailor. I found the ship had gone to pieces, and that five of our comrades had perished. Water surrounded us in every direction, with nothing in view but one or two small sandbanks, and those a long distance off. By night we had constructed a rude kind of raft, on which we slept, but as the tide ebbed we grounded, and, with the exception of our heads, we were literally sleeping in the water, cold and wretched, but still, comparatively speaking, safe. We remained on the raft in this state for two days and nights, the sun scorching us by day, and the wind, owing to our being wet, making us dreadfully cold at night. On Sunday, the third day, having found a small quantity of oat meal, we determined to start for the nearest sandbank. A sixty gallon cask of beer, two six-dozen cases of wine, a piece of bad pork, and the oatmeal, were the only things saved from the wreck. We turned the raft, and after a severe day's work reached the bank about sunset, and once more put our

feet upon dry land. We had only eaten once, and then but sparingly. Thus we lived fourteen days and nights, subsisting on sharks' flesh, and the wine and beer we saved. Not a drop of water was to be had. On the 20th of April, we saw a vessel to the leeward of us, and endeavoured to attract her attention by means of a boathook and a shirt attached; but she did not, or would not, see us. The next day, about one hour before sunset, another vessel hove in sight, and about the same spot the ship of the previous evening was seen. We again hoisted our signal, and walked about the bank, to show there were living creatures on it. We thought she did not see us, and after taking our allowance of oatmeal and shark's flesh, we lay down for the night's rest. In a short time, however, we were alarmed by the barking of our dog, and on getting on our legs discovered, to our delight, a boat close in upon the sands. She belonged to the vessel we had seen in the evening. The mate and one of the passengers went on board that night, and the rest of the survivors were taken off the next morning, when we were conveyed safely to the Mauritius.

The ship and cargo were insured for £25,000.

THE SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH BETWEEN DOVER AND CALAIS.

The interesting experiment of sinking submarinely the electric telegraph between Dover and Calais, which is destined to form the future key for instant communication with the European continent, was practically commenced on Wednesday morning, August 28th, at half-past ten o'clock, at which hour the Goliath steam-ship was brought under weigh within the harbour. There were on board Dr. Reid, Mr. J. C. Wollaston, C.E., Mr. Crampton, C.E., Mr. J. Edwards, Capt. Beer, and several scientific gentlemen. The connexion between the 30 miles of telegraphic wire, 1-10th of an inch in diameter, which was encased in a covering of gutta percha, the thickness of a little finger, and coiled round a large cylinder or drum, amidships, 15 feet by 7, was then made good to 300 yards of the same, enclosed in a leaden tube on shore, to prevent its being bruised by the shingle on the beach, and to enable the experimenters, as they proceeded out to sea, to send communications on shore. The Goliath steamed out at the rate of three or four miles an hour, in a direct track for Cape Grinez, 21 miles across channel, the nearest landmark to the English coast, and lying midway between Calais and Boulogne. The wire weighed five tons, and the cylinder two. The vessel was preceded by Capt. Bullock, R.N., in her Majesty's steam-ship Widgeon, who had caused the track to be taken to be marked out by a succession of buoys, surmounted with flags, on the whole route between the English and French coasts. The operation of paying out the 30 miles of wire commenced on a signal to "Go a-head with the wheel, and pay out the wire,' ," which was continuously streamed out over a roller at the stern of the vessel, the men at every 16th part of a mile being busily engaged in rivetting on to the wire square lenden clamps or weights of from 14lb. to 24lb., and which had the effect of sinking the wire in the bottom of the sea, which, on the English coast, commences at a depth of 30 feet, and goɛs ou varying from that to 100 and 180 feet, which latter, or 30 fathoms, is anywhere the greatest depth. The whole of the casting out and sinking was accomplished with great precision and success, owing to the favourable state of the day.

Various interesting salutations were kept up hourly during the progress of submerging the wire, between the gentlemen on board and Messrs. G. and W. Brett, the original promoters of the enterprise. The only conjectured difficulty on the route was at a point in midchannel called the Ridge, between which and another inequality, called the Varne, both well known and

dreaded by navigators, there is a deep submarine valley, surrounded by shifting sands, the one being 17 miles in length, and the other 12; and in their vortex, not unlike the voracious one of the Goodwin Sands, ships encounter danger, lose their anchors, and drift, and trolling nets of fishermen are frequently lost. Over this, however, the wire was successfully submerged, below the reach, it is believed, of either ships' anchors, sea animals, or fishing nets. The remainder of the route, though rougher on approaching the coast of France, was accomplished cleverly but slowly.

(BY SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH.)

Cape Grinez, Coast of France, half-past 8 p.m. The Goliath has just arrived in safety, and the complete connexion of the underwater wire with that left at Dover this morning, is being run up the face of the cliff; complimentary interchanges are passing between France and England, under the Strait and through it for the first time. The French mail, ut mos est, may not arrive at Dover at the time of going to press; but, in a short time, on the necessary arrangements being complete, Paris news and closing prices at the Bourse will be communicated by a mail that sets time and detention at defiance.

The following day his Grace the Duke of Wellington visited the Submarine Electric Telegraph that now connects the shores of England and France. The wires are carried in temporarily at the terminus of the SouthEastern Railway. In the absence of Mr. Reid, the telegraph engineer, who superintended laying the wires across the Channel, his foreman showed the noble Duke the working of the instruments, and explained to him how the wires were insulated, and the plan adopted for laying them across. At the Duke's request, he also furnished him with a specimen of the insulated wire. His Grace seemed highly pleased, and would no doubt appreciate this wonderful agency that could communicate in a second of time between this country and the continent.

Dover, Sept. 15th.

Since the sinking of the first wire, circumstances have occurred calculated for a short time to retard the carrying out the project to completion, seeing that, in order to the complete establishment of an integral line of telegraphic service between London, Paris, and the Continent, the promoters have to obtain a grant from the French Government of the eighteen miles of line extending from the coast to Calais, from which point to Paris the wires are erected. To secure the concession of this section, in the way of which some difficulties present themselves, Messrs. Brett, Wollaston, and Edwards, directors of the undertaking, are now at Paris, awaiting an audience of the President of the Republic, who granted the original decree, and to negotiate with the Government authorities on the subject.

In the meantime, the result of the experiments already made goes to prove that a stronger species of telegraphic tackle will be required. By the terms of contract with the French Government it was enacted, "that the Government does not reserve to itself the right of making any similar concession," but that in case the experiment shall not result in a favourable execution by the 1st September, 1850, the right conceded will revert to the French Government." Consequent on the conditions laid down in the contract, the promoters successfully submerged the wire; but, as is well known, it was subsequently cut asunder by some rocks on the French coast.

Since this happened, divers have been down, and on examination it has been found that where the rupture of the coil occurred, it had rested on a very sharp ridge of rocks, about a mile out from Cape Grinez, so that the leaden weights, hanging pannier like on either side, in conjunction with the swaying of the water, caused it to part at that point; while at another place in-shore the shingle from the beach had the effect of detaching the coil from