246 An Account of the Inundation of 



holed the old workings of the abandoned pit of Martin Wrey, 

 out of which the crouin, or inflammable air, issued with a hor- 

 rible noise, and would certainly have destroyed them all, had 

 not Goffin immediately stopped the hole. The workmen seized 

 with stupor, fell upon the deille of the seam, i. e. the floor of the 

 seam, or schiste, upon which it rests ; some of them were desir- 

 ous of continuing the work in the same place, but this Goffin 

 opposed, saying, " When we have nothing further to hope for, 

 I will bring you back here, and then our work will be readily 

 finished." Their despair seemed to be at the height. All ex- 

 claimed that their death was inevitable. They uttered the sad- 

 dest cries. The boys begged their father's blessing, and those 

 who had none, implored Goffin, on their knees, to give them his. 

 The men bewailed the lot of their wives, children, and parents. 

 Their groans made them desperate ; they demanded of their 

 master what was to become of them. This brave man, who never 

 ceased to encourage them, informed them that there was still a 

 resource in the fifth board, to which he wished to conduct them ; 

 but no one rose or answered. They uttered fresh cries, and 

 seemed to refuse to undertake any new operation ; " Well," says 

 Goffin, " since you refuse to obey me, we will die." He then 

 took his son in his arms, and the most faithful of his friends 

 gathered round him, wishing to testify to those who might find 

 their dead bodies, that they had preserved their attachment to 

 him to the last. They embraced each other, and were praying 

 to God, when, O prodigy of courage ! a child of feeble being, 

 as if inspired, rose up and said with a loud voice and firm tone, 

 " You act like children ; follow the orders of my father. We 

 must persevere in our work, and shew to those who shall survive 

 us that we have had courage even in death . Has not my father 

 told you that Lambert Colson will not abandon us." This 

 youth was Mathew Goffin, the oversman's son, 1 2 years old, who 

 is of little stature, and has the bone of his leg crooked inwards, 

 as most of the miners have, who begin to work too young. 

 He advanced a step, and all, as if struck by some sudden inspi- 

 ration, felt a return of confidence, rose and followed the elder 

 Goffin, and began to undertake an opening in the fifth board. 

 They had scarcely reached the spot, when, with inexpressible 

 joy, they heard a strange noise, which they recognized to be that 



