the long boat then made for Cochin, the mate in charge of the gig, and the second mate, Mr David Webster, in charge of the pinnace, with four of the crew-viz., three men and one boy-made for the Maldive Islands. After two days Mr David Webster's boat was injured by a heavy sea, and could not keep up with the gig, and lost sight of her. From this time the pinnace was kept working to windward until the 9th of March, by which day the provisions and water had been consumed. Shortly afterwards the crew cast lots which of them should be first killed to be eaten, and the lot fell upon the ship's boy Horner, but Webster, who had been asleep, was awoke in time to save the boy's life. After dark an attempt was made to kill Webster himself, but the boy Horner awoke him in time to save himself. On the following day, Webster having fallen asleep, was awoke by the struggles of the crew for the possession of his gun, with which to shoot him. Two hours later the crew attempted to take Horner's life again, but were prevented by the determined conduct of Webster, who threatened to shoot and throw overboard the first man who laid hands on the boy. The next day one of the crew attempted to sink the boat, but Webster mastered him and prevented further mischief. Two days later the same member of the crew again tried to sink the boat, and expressed his determination to take the boy's life. For this he would have been shot by Webster had not the cap on the gun missed fire. Soon after, putting a fresh cap on his gun, a bird flew over the boat, which Webster shot; it was at once seized and devoured by the crew, even to the bones and feathers. During the next five days the crew were quieter, subsisting on barnacles which attached themselves to the bottom of the boat, and on sea blubber, for which they dived.

The following day some of the men became delirious. One of them lay down exhausted, when another struck him several blows on the head with an iron belaying pin, cutting him badly. The blood which flowed was caught in a tin and drunk by the man himself and the two other men. Afterwards they fought and bit one another, and only left off when completely exhausted, to recommence as soon as they were able, the boy Horner during the time keeping watch with Webster. On the 31st day in the boat they were picked up 600 miles from land by the ship City of Manchester, Hardie, master, by whom they were very kindly treated and brought to Calcutta. Webster, by his conduct, was the means of saving the lives of all in the boat.

From the "London Gazette" of July 10, 1874.

THE EVACUATION OF VERDUN.

AT a very early hour in the morning the town was awakened by the drums and bugles of the Prussians, and by the rumbling of the baggage waggons, which started well ahead of the troops.

At seven o'clock sharp the various Prussian corps mustered on their respective places d'armés, from which they marched up to the esplanade and the citadel, and the manner, in which in that comparatively narrow space such a large force came up by successive detachments at very short intervals, took their places and formed themselves into close columns of battalions, not only without a hitch, but without a moment's pause, was simply admirable. At a quarter to eight precisely the Brigadier General, Baron Von Linzingen, arrived, and at five minutes precisely General Von Manteuffel came up with

his staff.

There was no salute on the part of the troops when he came up. He merely walked round the outer lines, and then, placing himself right in front, he drew his sword, and gave the word of command, "Present arms. Hurrah, for God, our King and country. Hurrah." Right heartily did he utter that cheer. The troops echoed it back, the bands struck up the Prussian National Anthem, the same as our own, played rather faster; the officers waved their swords, and altogether the scene was one, which no one could witness without being deeply stirred. No one, who did witness it, could possibly ever retain the absurd belief, which still prevails in this deluded country, that the machine-like precision of Prussian drill and the strictness of Prussian discipline excludes enthusiasm. Very few of the population turned out to witness this imposing sight, but even they were deeply impressed by it. I have seen many reviews and military pageants. I have seen far larger forces assembled in France, but I never beheld a spectacle more stirring-or one better calculated to make the looker-on understand that curious combination of enthusiasm and discipline, which makes Prussia so formidable, by reconciling every able-bodied man to the hardships of military service.

The royal salute once over, the General took up his station at the head of the road down which the troops were to travel to the Porte Chaussée, out of which they were to march on their homeward route. They all marched past in that wonderful order, which no French troops seem able to attain, with their bands playing. The people looked on, but uttered no shout, word, or cry of any kind. Nothing, in short, could be more orderly or dignified than the attitude of the population. The column of march was headed by a battalion of

infantry, then came two batteries of sixteen pounders, then three companies of Vertungs artillery; these were followed by a company of engineers, then the bulk of the infantry; afterwards a squadron of Uhlans, the generals, and Manteuffel last of all bringing up the rear. General Manteuffel has acquired claims on the gratitude of the French by making the burthens of the occupation as easy to bear as his duty would allow him; but he is not a young man, nor a handsome man, and the crowd audibly whispered unpleasant remarks about his personal appearance. As he, the hindmost man of the column, passed down the street, a window opened on either side, and the moment he had gone by, a tricolour flag was stuck out of each casement, and so that by the time he had got to the Porte Chaussée, if he had turned round, he could have seen the whole of the long street, down which he and his troops had filed off, was a perfect maze of tricolours. Almost before the Prussians were out of the town, the national standard was hoisted on the main tower and on the spire of the Cathedral, and the town was "dressed up" as by magic. There is no house, no casement, without its flag; strings and festoons of tricolours decked the houses on the Meuse; many men donned tricoloured cravats; all the women stuck tricoloured cockades in their hair, or wore them on their bosom; and one enterprising poulterer in the Rue St Lambert actually exhibited in his shop a live hen fastened down in a basket, with the tricolour fastened in some mysterious way to its head.

After decorating their windows, the Verdunois hurriedly breakfasted, and flocked down en masse to the railway station, to the Porte de France, and to the ramparts looking eastward, to await the arrival of the French troops.

The train conveying the troops came in at 11.50.

The men were in third-class carriages. On an open van in front there were half a dozen of them singing. They got out and formed in the station. The 94th Regiment being formed out of the wreck of the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, may be considered a crack corps. The men are taller than the average of French linesmen, and they have many old soldiers among them. They got out of the train very smartly, considering the insanely heavy weight they had to carry on their knapsacks. It is true that they had been travelling all night, but their movements lacked that smartness and precision, which the Prussians had displayed in the morning. In exactly one hour and twenty minutes the Prussians had mustered, assembled, paraded, saluted, and marched out of the town. It took a full hour for the 734 men and 37 officers of the 94th of the French line to get out of their carriages and march up to the citadel; the men were all seasoned soldiers—it was no fault of theirs but the fault of the system, and it is very clear that the system is wrong. Many Frenchmen among the bystanders were struck by the contrast, and made no scruple of saying so, but they were a small and select minority.

A great crowd lined the rampart, and all the way, up to the citadel, was lined by all the population, which had not found room at the station or on the glacis. They gave the troops a right hearty reception, and they did not spoil it with party cries, as has been the case in other towns. It was perfectly evident that the people at Verdun, who have seen what war is, were very deeply moved at seeing the old flag and the old uniform again; and that very deep current of feeling imparted a kind of solemnity to the entry of the French, which it is hard to find words to describe. The Times, Sept. 1873.