The Post Office in British Guiana. 209 



on the 3rd of February without the English Mnils, people 

 began to wonder what had become of the missing steamer. 



The " Gazette" supposed it was the Dee, " one of the 

 worst boats of the Company," and hoped that if any 

 accident had happened, neither lives nor mails had been 

 lost, but that she had been able to put back. Papers 

 received from the Islands told them that the missing 

 vessel was supposed to be the Amazon, and showed that 

 considerable anxiety was felt with regard to her fate. This 

 failure of a new steamer so soon after the disaster to the 

 Demerara was particularly distressing. 



Meanwhile the Amazon had left Southampton on the 

 2nd of January, with a crew of no men, and 50 passen- 

 gers among the latter being Mr. M'Lennan, (a Stipen- 

 diary Magistrate) with his wife and infant, Mr. ROBERT 

 Neilsom, Mr. Robert Hick, and Miss Smith, all 

 bound for Demerara. 



Some little anxiety was felt by the passengers when 

 on two or three occasions, the engines had to be stopped 

 to prevent the bearings becoming over-heated, but no 

 danger was anticipated. However, a little after mid- 

 night on the morning of the 4th, when steaming through 

 the Bay of Biscay, with half a gale of wind in her teeth, 

 the passengers were woke with a cry of " Fire ! Fire !" 



The scene of confusion was indescribable ; the pas- 

 sengers ran on deck in their night-dresses to find the 

 flames lighting up the surrounding darkness, and roaring 

 horribly as the wind rushed to feed them like the blast of 

 a furnace. Mrs. M'Lennan caught up her child and 

 ran across to her husband's berth. The door was locked, 

 and it was not until she had knocked loudly and called 

 out at the top of her voice that he woke up. They 



