LOSS OF THE ROTHSAY CASTLE. 105 
Leaven Sand extends a distance of from four to seven miles, 
terminated by the " Dutchman's Bank," and the " Spit," be- 
tween which is a narrow channel or " Swash." It was upon 
the Spit, which stretches out to within half a mile of Puffin 
Island, and lies about five miles from Beaumaris, where the 
wreck of the Rothsay Castle poured out her hetacomb of hu- 
man victims to the monarch of the grave. 
On this calamitous expedition above 100 passengers (some 
say 130 or 140) embarked along with the crew. These, as to 
the majority, consisted of pleasure parties from various inland 
towns, with only about ten individuals, exclusive of the crew, 
resident in Liverpool. One ill-fated to^\^l, but small in mag- 
nitude, was made to drink deep of the sorrowful cup. Of six- 
and-twenty individuals which that to\^Ti, with its neighborhood, 
sent forth in different joyous parties — it was called to lament, 
in a few brief hours, over twenty-one having passed the bourne 
from whence no traveler returns ! The weather, on this dis- 
tressful occasion, \vas not particularly stormy. It had blown 
hard, indeed, the preceding night, and a brisk gale from the 
N. N. W. with a turbulent head sea, prevailed throughout the 
day. These were the occasion of inconvenience and alarm 
to many of the passengers ; but were, in themselves, neither 
formidable nor dangerous. But, impeded by the united resis- 
tance of wind and sea, and kept back by the returning tide, 
which opposed them within an hour of their starting, the ves- 
sel made but slow progress on the contemplated voyage. Night 
had drawn in before they passed the Great Orme's Head, only 
34 nautical miles from Liverpool. The light, however, w^as 
then sufficient to exhibit this fine promontory in a bold and 
imposing outline. Mrs. Forster, one of the much-lamented 
sufferers, was heard expressing her admiration of the scene, 
and regretting it was not day, that the view, so pleasing in ob- 
scurity, might have been perfectly realized. 
The tide, having turned soon after six o'clock, had for some 
time been in their favor ; but w^hilst it helped them on the one 
hand, by its northwesterly influence, it rendered their progress 
more critical on the other, by the disturbance excited, through 
its windward action, on the previously turbulent sea. The 
vessel, in consequence, began to labor somewhat heavily. Its 
original frame, being probably weak, appears to have strained 
in its connection with recently applied fastenings,— -fastenings 
in themselves, doubtless, strong and effective. Water flowed 
in apace. The coals became wet — the steam got low — ^and, 
as they approached the hoped-for termination of their voyage, 
