A Lecture, Or Essay On the most efficacious means of Preserving The Lives Of Shipwrecked Sailors And The Shipwreck

24 that appears in the annual report of the Royal Humane Society for the year 1814, in consequence of its having been exhibited to that institution. ‘ That the committee of that Society cannot too warmly recommend it, from the great good derived from its use in preventing- the drowning of a great number of individuals by it last winter on the Thames and Serpentine rivers.’ In addition to this pleasing testimonial, I have by me several certi- ficates of the great many persons it has been the means of rescuing from inevitable death ; and it appears that since its production not a winter has passed without several owing- their preservation to it. DIRECTIONS TO BE APPLIED DURING THE DARK. With regard to effecting communications with stranded vessels in the dark, having found it impossible to discern the situation of the unfortunate vessel, I was induced to try the means I shall here describe, in consequence of the loss of a Swedish brig, which came on shore in a dark and dismal night, on the 5th of January, 1809, at Happisburgh, and was reported to me in the following words:— ‘ Many attempts had in vain been made for seven dreadful hours, to effect the communication with a round shot, but its flight could not be observed, either by the persons on shore, or those on board, nor was it accomplished until the dawn of day favoured the in. tendon ; the vessel having, however, during this long and awful time, been much strained, just as the cot was reaching her she went to pieces, and all on board perished.’ To provide a remedy for such future evils, three requisites were found necessary : first, to devise the means of discovering precisely where the distressed vessel lies, when the crew are not able to make their situation known by luminous signals : secondly, to pro- duce a method of laying the mortar for the object with accuracy: thirdly, to render the flight of the rope perfectly distinguishable to those who project it, and to the crew on board the vessel, so that they cannot fail of seeing on what part of the rigging it lodges. To effect the first purpose, a hollow ball (of such a size as exactly to fit the mortar) was made of cartridge paper, pasted together to the thick- ness of half an inch ; it was filled with balls of a composition which the makers of fireworks call stars. The fuze, firmly and closely fixed in a hole in the upper part of this ball, was so graduated as to commu-