THE SENTENCED. THEY say the blessed Spring is here, With singing birds, and fountains clear, They say the earth looks new and bright The very clouds are fringed with light, They tell me nature's full of life, To me; nor can she bid me live Beyond my dismal prison-bars Ere thrice the rising moon shall spread I shall be numbered with the dead, To thee, alas! my noble son, A bleeding heart, that cannot make That ever swells, but will not break-- A world all filled with prison gloom, Thou'lt smell the dungeon in the bloom A pall will hang beside the way, I leave thee as a tender vine That felt the tempest rush, And fell, with nought whereon to twine For every foot to crush! These thoughts resistless, while I live, Will ceaseless anguish bring, And, in the last, sad moment, give T'o death a double sting. From them, O heaven! I turn to thee, The sinner's friend to seek If thou hast pard'ning grace for me, O God! my pardon speak. Thy spirit, in the still, small voice, In being sealed as Thine! Then, through the world's dark wildernes, And let thy smile her visions bless, Till life's sad journey end! Newburyport, Mass. H. F. G. John M. foot.cl THE MUTINY. FROM A SAILOR'S JOURNAL OF A CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. THE anchor was weighed, catted, and fished; top-sails sheeted home, top-gallant-sails loosed, and courses hauled aboard; and the stout whaler, Amazon, of and from N- B, David Jones, Master, was under way once more in the harbor of Valparaiso, on a fine day in November, 183—, bound for the light blue sea, and the home of John Whale. We had lain at anchor in Valparaiso just long enough. We had enjoyed ourselves to the full extent of physical felicity: spent all our money; broken our full allowance of heads and hearts; and now with light heads and heels, we were outward bound.' 6 But, although we were leaving Valparaiso, it was not in our hearts as men, (much less as sailors) to quit it without some emotions of regret. Certain it is, that when I looked at this most picturesque of the abodes of man, distance lending enchantment,' and hiding its blemishes,—as it lay before me, in all the splendor of the noon-day sun, terrace above terrace of white walls and red roofs, the lofty spires of cathedrals standing forth in bold relief from the cloudless sky, pointing the faithful to heaven, the delicious sensations caused by its surpassing beauty, were mixed with sadness at the thought that I was leaving it all for a long time, and, perhaps, forever. It was now past sun-set, and daylight and the Chilian coast were leaving us together. Point Angels,-the western cape of the Bay of Valparaiso, more angelic in name than appearance, (being a rocky, dangerous promontory,) was astern; and the matchless green of the coast, and the majestic blue and white of the Andes, grew more and more indistinct, until at length no part of them was visible, save one high peak, which proudly threw its cloud-capped crest into the heavens, as if to show the sea-worn mariner that it watched over his weal, though all earth beside left him to perish. That peak, though the mighty Pacific lashed its shores in wrath, and rolled its angry waves mountains high-far above the war of wind and wave, calmly reared its hoary head, undisturbed by the commotion of the elements,— -a majestic land-mark from the creation to the end of time. At length that also faded from our view. The bell struck eight; the watch was set, and it being my watch below, I went down into the forecastle to do the rest of my dreaming asleep. Sleep!-how delicious it is, people on shore never know. The sailor, who sleeps by the minute, liable to be roused at any time, on a second's warning-he sleeps. Land-lubbers only doze. At this time, I was a foremast-hand aboard the Amazon, having joined her in Valparaiso, for the romance of the thing-to learn how to catch whales and eat blubber; and my curiosity was in a fair way of being satisfied, for we were bound for the Pacific South Cruising-ground, where whales can be had for the catching, 'provided always,' as the statutes have it, you can find them. For the benefit of the untravelled,' I would remark, that the South Cruising-ground, is that part of the Pacific ocean off the coast of Chili and Patagonia, between 40° and 50° South latitude, which for some reason, is a favorite resort of whales, and of course, of whale-ships; for where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.' It is one of the loveliest spots in the whole South Sea: and I ask any tar, who has served there, if he ever was happier in his life than when standing off-and-on for whales on the South Cruising-ground. Life aboard a whaler, is life. There can be no harder service than catching whale, and, probably, none more dangerous. But with all its dangers and hardships, there is a fascination in it, which those only can conceive, who have felt it. There is something noble and inspiring in capturing this monster of the deep. This taming of Leviathan is a grand exemplification of the universality of the dominion of man. And when the toils of the chase are over, and John Whale is fairly tried' into oil, then, in the depths profound of the forecastle, we sailor-men take our ease, smoke cigars, drink grog, and fight our battles over again, and sometimes fight new ones among ourselves. In the Amazon, we had a good share of the comforts of nautical life. She was a stout ship of five hundred tons burthen, and carried thirty men: enough beef,' one would think, to work ship and fight her too, if need should be. Captain Jones was a good sailor, and an honest, kindhearted man; but nature never meant him for the commander of a ship, He was too easy with his men; and nothing but the fear of a flogging will keep old sailors in order. The second mate, named Field, was a wide-awake Yankee; but the first mate, Brown, was a devil incarnate. He was a large, powerful man-much more so than either the Captain or Field; and although he had been aboard but a week, (he joined us in Valparaiso), he had begun to show that he intended to rule the ship himself, and I did not like the cut of his jib at all. There were some rumors in Valparaiso that he had been a pirate, and his every look and action bore testimony to their truth; and before we had been out two days, he began to alter his conduct towards the Captain, and seemed waiting for some pretext to quarrel with him openly. He went on, growing shorter and shorter with him, 'till one day, when we were four days out, he fairly showed his colors. There were eight fellows aboard, all suspicious looking craft, who shipped aboard of us at the same time that Brown did, and all the morning of this day, he had been whispering with one and another of them. I could not help thinking that there would be the devil to pay before long; but as he was very sly about it, his conduct was not generally observed. About two bells in the first dog-watch that afternoon, Brown having the deck, Captain Jones stepped to the binnacle, and stooped to look at the compass. I was standing near at the time, and happening to look at Brown, was taken all-aback by the expression of his face. He looked at the Captain just as if he was about to kill him. So Satanic a look I never saw on the face of mortal man. When the Captain had satisfied himself that the ship was heading her course, he spoke to the first mate ; How many is she going, Mr. Brown?' 'I know,' said Brown, and that's enough.' 'Mr. Brown,' replied the Captain, 'what do you mean, Sir? I command this ship.' 'I'm d―d if you do!' said Brown, and snatching up a heaver, that lay near, he struck him on the head with all his strength. Being bareheaded, and having nothing to break the force of the blow, he fell upon the deck, and never moved a finger. He was dead! 'Come aft here, Antonio,' said Brown to one of his men, and toss this thing overboard.' Having turned his pockets inside out, Antonio very coolly did as he was commanded. Now then,' continued Brown, 'call all hands.' Mind All hands came on deck, and Brown, having his loaded pistols lying by him on the capstan, very deliberately told them, that Captain Jones had been insolent to him, and he had thrown him overboard; that he was now Master of the ship, and would kill any man who dared to say a word. Do you hear that, Mr. Field?' said he to the second mate. that you behave well, or I will serve you in the same manner.' Field was as brave as most men, and looked, for a minute, as if he would show fight; but as he did not know who he could depend upon, he merely answered, Yes, sir,' and went about his business. As he submitted, all hands did the same, and things went on as if nothing was the matter. But after dusk, in the second dog-watch, Field having the deck, I thought there was some unusual stir among five or six fellows, whom I knew were friends and townies' of his. I watched them closer, and thought they were busy with a boat which hung on the lee-quarter. One would toss something in, and then another-and I wondered what they were driving at: but in a few minutes all was quiet again, and soon after, the bell struck eight, and the first mate came on deck to stand his watch as usual. He looked pretty hard at Field as he made his report, of courses, wind, etc., but he was so very respectful that Brown's suspicions were effectually lulled. 6 Mr. Field,' said he, we shall have fine times now that that old fool is out of the way; and when we get more southing, I mean to keep her away for the Cuachos Island, and there we'll take our comfort.' That's a fact, Mr. Brown,' said Field, there will be some fun in that ;' and he coolly went below, as if he and the first mate were the best friends in the world. The first watch passed off quietly enough; but I was too busy thinking to sleep, and was wide-awake when we were called at eight bells. As soon as the wheel was relieved, and Brown had gone below, Field spoke to us : My lads, she goes well. There won't be any thing to do, this watch; and you may cork on the forecastle, if you like.' This was a common custom with the second mate, in fair weather, and all the watch went forward accordingly, leaving only himself and the man at the wheel aft. Still, I thought it meant something this time, and I lay down under the weather-bulwarks, amid-ships, to see what was coming. In about ten minutes, six fellows came along aft, one by one. They went first to the wheel and lashed it amid-ships. Putting some things into the lee-quarter boat, they slushed the tackles and lowered it, and then all getting in, they let her drop astern; and, as it was very dark, I saw no more of them, and quietly moored myself under the lee of the long-boat. I knew that the second mate and his men were safe enough now, for we were not far from the coast of Chili, and a whale-boat will live in almost any breeze. With their sail and six oars, they could run away from us at any time; and it now occurred to me what they had been about, in the evening: namely, putting provision and water aboard; and so they were right enough. But the next question was,-What would Brown do when he found it out? That remained to be seen, and I lay in very uneasy expectancy. About six bells, the first mate accidentally came on deck : How do you head there?' said he to the man who was (not) at the wheel. Receiving no reply, he damned the man as asleep; but on going aft to wake him, he found that he and the second mate were among the missing, and the wheel lashed. Nothing ever took him by surprise, and he hailed instantly :- 'Sir?' sung c out one fellow from the forecastle, who happened to be awake. Come aft here you d- -d rascal,' said Brown: Where's all the watch?' 6 Mr. Field told us to cork on the forecastle, Sir,' said the trembling sailor. The devil he did!' said Brown; and where is he?' 'Well, who does know?' continued Brown. Come aft here all of you.' We went aft, but no one could tell him where the second mate was, and, on mustering the watch, he found that six men were missing. He jumped to leeward, and sung out that the quarter boat was gone. A moment after, the man at the wheel reported that one compass was gone from the binnacle. He is off in a boat,' said Brown, but I'll catch him before morning. Call all hands-'bout ship-ready, ready!' We were standing at this time, south-cast-by-south, on a south-west |