<3 Civ T V yov I 
The greatest mystery of the sea is, of course, the case of the Marie Celeste, which has defied all attempts 
at solution for forty years. Nevertheless, some solution there must be, and it has occurred to us to 
reprint the story (from the Nautical Magazine) and to invite eminent, writers, who are celebrated for their 
ingenuity in disentangling mysteries, to suggest solutions. We have pleasure in publishing most 
ingenious conjectures by Sir A. Conan Dovle, -Mr. Arthur Morrison, Mr. Barry Pain, Mr. Morley Roberts, 
and Mr. Horace Anneslcy Vachell. Tt is possible that the explanation of this strange mystery is really 
quite simple, and if some plausible solution should occur to any of our readers we shall be very glad to 
hear from them, and to publish and pay for anything we may decide to use. 
HAT is the greatest mystery 
of the sea ? Ask any deep- 
water sailor that question, and 
the chances are that he. will 
answer — the Marie Celeste. 
Why was she abandoned, and 
what became of her crew ? These are riddles 
which for forty years have been discussed 
without result by the seamen of the world. 
In this tragedy one looks in vain for a clue to 
a natural or supernatural explanation. 
The circumstances in which the brig 
Marie Celeste was found deserted in mid- 
ocean are matters of official record, but that 
only. No trace of any member of the ship’s 
company of thirteen souls has ever been 
found. Thirteen, that unlucky number ! 
Had that anything to do with it ? ” asks 
the superstitiously-inclined sailor. 
To-day, many years after the disaster, we 
know practically no more about it than did 
the skipper who found the deserted ship. 
There is ample room for imagination, for 
from the recorded facts no one has been able 
to construct even a tenable theory. However, 
here are the facts in the case, all that has 
been learned after forty years. 
Why was the brig Marie Celeste abandoned ? 
Not one of the thirteen souls who sailed from 
New York has ever returned to tell how or 
why they fled in haste from the vessel. YV ith 
all her boats intact, and well stocked with 
provisions, the brig was found sailing in the 
Atlantic a day after she was abandoned. 
Early in September, 1872. Captain Hen 
Griggs, a New Englander, stood on an East 
River wharf, in New York, watching the 
loading of the last article for his ship’s cabin. 
It was a sewing-machine belonging to his 
wife, for Mrs. Griggs was to go with her 
husband for the voyage on the Marie Celeste. 
of five hundred tons, bound for Genoa. As 
the machine was slung aboard, the captain’s 
wife, with their seven-vear-old daughter and 
their twelve-year-old son, and accompanied 
by the vessel's owner, appeared on the wharf. 
The boy ran up to Captain Griggs, crying : — 
“ Oh, father, do please take me for a trip as 
well as sister.” 
44 Stop there, my lad, not so fast;’ replied 
his father; “you’ve been two voyages with 
me, and now it’s proper that you stay at 
home so as to attend school.” 
“ But 1 shall be lonesome without mother 
and sister,’’ replied the boy. 
“ Aye, I dare say you will,” said the old 
man, ’ thoughtfully. Then, turning to his 
owner, “ What do you say. sir. as to the boy 
corning with his mother and sister ? ” 
The owner of the ship shook his head. 
•' 1 believe, captain, the lad should stick to 
his books.” 
That settled it. When the brig hauled off, 
the captain's son was left standing on the 
