mussels for a fortnight, I was compelled to give them up, and
my food is now mussel-broth and the soft part of limpets.'

"July 28. Captain Gardiner writes of the party in the other
boat—'They are all extremely weak and helpless; even their
garden-seeds, used for broth, are now all out.'

"August 14. Captain Gardiner takes to his bed; but a rock-
weed is discovered, which they boil down to a jelly, and find
nourishment from.

"August 23. John Erwin dies.

"August 26. J. Bryant dies; and Mr. Maidment buries them
both in one grave.

"John Pearce, the remaining boatman, is cast down at the loss
of his comrades, and wandering in his mind; but Mr. Williams
is somewhat better."

The succeeding extracts are verbatim from Captain
Gardiner's own notes:—

" 'Sept. 3. Wishing if possible to spare him (Mr. Maidment)
the trouble of attending on me, and for the mutual comfort of
all, I purposed, if practicable, to go to the river and take up my
quarters in the boat. This was attempted on Saturday last.
Feeling that without crutches I could not possibly effect it,
Mr. Maidment most kindly cut me a pair (two forked sticks);
but it was with no slight exertion and fatigue, in his weak
state. We set out together, but soon found that I had not
strength to proceed, and was obliged to return before reaching
the brook on our own beach. Mr. Maidment was so exhausted
yesterday that he did not rise from his bed until noon, and I
have not seen him since; consequently I tasted nothing yesterday.
I cannot leave the place where I am, and know not
whether he is in the body, or enjoying the presence of the
gracious God whom he has served so faithfully.

" 'Thursday, Sept. 4. There is now no room to doubt that my
dear fellow-labourer has ceased from his earthly toils, and
joined the company of the redeemed in the presence of the Lord,
whom he served so faithfully. Under these circumstances, it
was a merciful providence that he left the boat, as I could not
have removed the body.

" 'Friday, Sept. 5. Great and marvellous are the loving
kindnesses of my gracious God unto me. He has preserved me
hitherto, and for four days, although without bodily food, without
any feelings of hunger or thirst.'"

These were the last entries of the nature of a diary—
they were weakly and indistinctly written. But a note
was found, dated the 6th, from Captain Gardiner to
Mr. Williams, the surgeon; whose body was discovered
with that of John Pearce at the other place:—

"My dear Mr. Williams,—The lord hath seen fit to call home
another of our little company. Our dear departed brother left
the boat on Tuesday afternoon, and has not since returned.
Doubtless he is in the presence of his Redeemer, whom he
served faithfully. Yet a little while, and though ....
the Almighty to sing the praises .... throne. I neither
hunger nor thirst, though .... days without food ....
Maidment's kindness to me .... heaven.
"Your affectionate brother in . . .
"Allen F. Gardiner.
"September 6th, 1851."

Captain Moorshead is of opinion that Mr. Williams and
John Pearce did not survive Captain Gardiner; and
that none of the missionaries were alive after the 6th
September. His report to Rear-Admiral Moresby, the
Commander of the Pacific station, from whom the
Admiralty has received the whole news, concludes with
these remarks:

"I will offer no opinion on the missionary labour of Captain
Gardiner and the party, beyond its being marked by an earnestness
and devotion to the cause; but, as a brother officer, I beg
to record my admiration of his conduct in the moment of peril
and danger, and his energy and resources entitle him to high
professional credit. At one time I find him surrounded by
hostile natives and dreading an attack, yet forbearing to fire,
and the savages, awed and subdued by the solemnity of his
party, kneeling down in prayer. At another, having failed to
heave off his boat when on the rocks, he digs a channel under
her, and diverts a fresh-water stream into it; and I find him
making an anchor by filling an old bread-cask with stones,
heading it up and securing wooden crosses over the heads with
chain."

The official comment on the mission itself is significant:

"Their lordships deeply deplore the fate of these devoted
missionaries; but this lesson of experience will have its effect.
The earnest application of sanguine minds for the propagation
of Christianity must, in a climate like Cape Horn, first consider
the locality where existence can be insured."

Mr. Gunning Sutton, a commander in the Royal
Navy, brother of Sir Robert Gunning, has been
Accidentally Killed at Knightsbridge. He was riding on
Saturday evening, the 1st inst., with his daughter; as
they left Hyde Park by Albert Gate, it was necessary
to draw up in the road to allow an omnibus to pass;
Mr. Sutton's horse reared, threw his rider, and
ran away. It was found that Mr. Sutton had been
hurt in the abdomen; he gradually sank, and died on
Tuesday morning. From an outward examination of
the body, the surgeons had no doubt that the pelvis had
been fractured behind the wound, most probably by a
kick from the horse. The horse was a hired one: it
had run away for some distance just before the accident.
An inquest resulted in a verdict of "Accidental death."
In running away, after having thrown Mr. Sutton, the
horse knocked down a crossing-sweeper, and hurt him
so badly, that it was necessary to take him to the
hospital.

A court-martial of admirals and captains assembled
under Rear-Admiral Prescott on board the Victory,
on the 5th inst., to investigate the conduct of certain of
the survivors from the Wreck of the Birkenhead. The
individuals presented formally for trial were Mr. R. B.
Richards, master's assistant; J. Bowen and T. Dunn,
able seamen; A. Stone, ordinary seaman; and John
Ashbolt, stoker. The witnesses called were Thomas
Coffin, who had the first middle watch on the night of
the wreck; Thomas Daly, the first watch, and look-out
man on the forecastle; Colour-Sergeant Drake, on the
poop when the ship struck; John Archbold, gunner, in
bed when the accident happened; and Mr. W. Culhane,
assistant surgeon, in his cabin at the time. All of these
witnesses were closely examined; but they did not
state anything materially altering the main incidents
already put before the public in the official reports
forwarded to the Admiralty by the civil and naval
authorities at the Cape of Good Hope. The proceedings
were closed on the 7th, when a full and honourable
acquittal was given.

The village of Alldreth, in Cambridgeshire, has
suffered from a Calamitous Fire. It is supposed that
the wadding of a gun fired at a sparrow set fire to the
thatch of a cottage; thence the flames rapidly spread
through the village. Two farm-steadings, eleven cottages,
and some out-buildings, were consumed.

At Soham, in the same county, the farm premises of
Mr. Taylor (except the dwelling-house), with much
agricultural produce, have been Burnt—altogether a
loss of £1200—in consequence of two Irish labourers
having laid their jackets, containing their pipes with
burning tobacco in them, under a straw-stack.

A man named Brooks was Burnt to Death at Walworth
during the night of the 5th. He was employed to
watch the brick-fields behind the Surrey Zoological
Gardens. He had been left at his post in the evening,
and next morning his dead body, partly consumed, was
found lying at the top of a large brick-kiln which was
burning furiously.

The schooner "Titania," the property of Robert
Stephenson, Esq., was Destroyed by Fire in Cowes
harbour on the 5th. The fire appears to have been
occasioned by the over-heating of a flue.

Several fatal Colliery Accidents have taken place this
month. A most frightful explosion occurred on the 10th
at the Duffryn pit, in the valley of Aberdare, in
Glamorganshire, and was attended with the loss of sixty-
four lives. At four o'clock on the morning of the
explosion, a careful investigation appears to have taken
place, and the mine was reported free from gas. A few
hours afterwards another fireman was sent down, who
discovered symptoms of an approaching fall in a certain
section of the mine. When the intelligence was
conveyed to the agent above, orders were immediately
given to a party to descend and use the necessary means
to prevent the anticipated fall. This was about seven
o'clock, and two hours afterwards a report was heard
which gave token of the terrible tragedy which had
occurred below. Mr. Skipley, the agent, descended by
the winding shaft, and passed some poor wretches who
had just escaped from the terrors of the explosion. At
the bottom of the shaft eight of the men who had been
despatched to prop up the roof were found dead. As he
proceeded to grope his way, he next encountered a few
half-suffocated men who were staggering to the mouth
of the pit, if it might be found. He then found a heap
of dead bodies, the one piled upon the other, scarcely at
a hundred yards' distance from the pit. In trying to