CHARLES WATERTON, ESQ. cxi 



a present of this preserver some twenty years 

 ago, and I have never gone to sea without it. 

 Contrary to their usual custom, my sisters pre- 

 ferred to sleep that night on deck on account 

 of the serenity of the weather ; and as our two 

 servants followed their example, none of our 

 party went below, for my son Edmund had 

 already chosen his spot of retirement near to 

 the place where I was reposing. We had the 

 great awning above us. It had been left ex- 

 panded apparently more through neglect than 

 with an intention to accommodate the pas- 

 sengers. 



Suddenly, our sleep was broken by a tre- 

 mendous crash, which at first I took to be the 

 bursting of the boiler. But I was soon unde- 

 ceived ; for, on looking around, I saw a huge 

 steamer aboard of us, nearly amid-ships. It 

 proved to be the Monjibello, of 240 horse 

 power, from Leghorn to Civita Vecchia. She 

 had come into us a little abaft the paddle- 

 wheels, with such force that her cutwater had 

 actually penetrated into our after-cabin. In 

 all probability she would have cut us in two, 

 had not her bowsprit fortunately come in con- 

 tact with our funnel, which was smashed in 



