CHAPTER XX. 

 DICK COMPELLED TO SELL HIS FOSSILS. 



AT the very time that Dick was writing the pre- 

 ceding letter to his sister, a circumstance occurred 

 which brought him almost to the verge of ruin. 



He had ordered from his flour merchants at Leith 

 twenty-three bags of fine flour. They were shipped by 

 the steamer " Prince Consort " in the month of March 

 1863. The steamers from Leith to Thurso usually call 

 at Aberdeen and Wick on their way northward. On 

 entering the harbour of Aberdeen, the " Prince Consort " 

 struck the platform, and ran along the North Pier, 

 where the passenger 5 * were taken off. It must have 

 been a lubberly affair, as there was no heavy sea on at 

 the time. It was said that the person who steered the 

 ship was half-drunk. 



When the passengers were taken off, it was 

 attempted to float away the vessel, but as the tide 

 was ebbing, that could not be done. The sea eventually 

 broke her in two. The water entered the hold; and, 

 though part of the cargo was saved, Dick's flour was 

 thoroughly drenched.* 



* The front part of the ship was floated oft some weeks after. The 

 hull was got together again. It was patched up and lengthened ; but 

 the " Prince Consort " finally came to grief, and was totally wrecked. 



