SHIPWRECK STIRLING OF THE CASTLE, &c. CHAPTER I. "Adieu, ye pleasures of the rural scene, With summer crown'd, the Elysium valleys smile. FALCONER. ON Thursday, the 22nd of October, 1835, the brig Stirling Castle, of 500 tons burden, cleared St. Katharine's Docks, preparatory to her voyage to Hobart Town, to which port she was destined, with a general cargo of hard and soft goods, together with 900 barrels of Hodgson's pale ale. When going down the river, near the Isle of Dogs, a brig ran foul of the vessel, and carried away her larboard cat-head, so that the captain was obliged to lay to and anchor off Greenwich, where she remained for three days, to have the damage repaired. Whether this early disaster was an omen of the melancholy catastrophe which awaited the Stirling Castle, we will not opine; but it is a well-known fact, that when an accident happens to an outward bound vessel on the day of leaving port, it is regarded by many brave seamen, (who by the bye are not the least superstitious of mankind,) as a certain foreboding of a perilous voyage. At this time the following persons were on board, viz. Mrs. Fraser, the captain's wife, came up from Scotland purposely to accompany her husband, who was in a declining state of health; and her subsequent dreadful sufferings, both mental and physical, will be noticed in their proper place as we proceed with our extraordinary narrative. There were also on board a number of passen. gers, bound for New South Wales, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Short and five children, Mr. Davis and Mr. Williams, with their children and domestics. The damage which the vessel had sustained having been thoroughly repaired, the captain weighed anchor on the 26th of October, and proceeded down the river, every one on board excepting himself being in excellent health. The crew were joyous; but the sombre hue of anxiety and regret for a time overshadowed the countenances of the passengers as their native soil receded from their view, and who were migrating from the land of their birth and all they held dear in it, with "their wives and their little ones, to sojourn in a strange land." This was natural; but after a few days their minds appeared (so say the narrators) to veer from the region of regret to that of speculative anticipation. Numerous were their inquiries of Captain Fraser, who had made several voyages to the antipodial colony to which they were bound, and they were responded to with that urbanity which is the C characteristic feature in an intelligent British sailor, and thus the tedium of the voyage was, in a great degree, neutralized. After a pleasant voyage of five months, the Stirling Castle arrived at Hobart Town on the 22nd March, 1836, when every person on board was in perfect health excepting the captain; and owing, perhaps, to the kind attentions of an affectionate wife, his health appeared to have rallied, and his spirits were more buoyant than when he left the port of London. After remaining some days at Hobart Town,* and discharging part of the * Hobart Town, or Austral-Asia, as it has been called, (hence the word Australia,) is the seat of government at Van Dieman's Land. It is regularly laid out, well-built, and is seated on a cove on the river Derwent, about 20 miles from its embrochure, or sea entrance; lat. 43° 5′ S. (42° 54′ S.) long. 147° 25′ E. (146° 28′ E.) The population is considerably above 10,000. The bay, or cove, is capable of floating any number of vessels, affords good anchorage, and is secure from every wind. The town occupies more than a square mile, stands on an agreeable eminence, and possesses several broad and handsome avenues, which intersect each other at right angles. A rivulet passes through the town, but the houses are supplied with fresh water from the works established for that purpose. The public buildings of this infant, but rapidly improving settlement, include a spacious and well-finished church, the government-house, a large irregular pile of buildings, military and prisoners' barracks, colonial hospital, gaol, police office, female house of correction or factory, male and female orphan schools, treasury and commissariat stores, ordnance stores, |