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manegable in a narrow channel wiih «nountains of breakers, within I naay sayj a few 
feel of us on either side, could have placed us. 
Oor good forlune however prevailed, and after jcst escaping being engulphed in the 
tremendous surf which had sei in wiih such lerrific violente across the « Passe of Flacq, » 
we found ourselves in a clear ol'ling. 
We had hardly advanced mid channel towards Round Island before the troubled 
sea, and llie swifily flying scud warined us t hat our baven must be near and our 
landing prompt. 
The wonderful escape we had just had froui the breakers of « Flacq Passe » determined 
us at all hazards to cive tbat i-lace a wide birth, and there being no shelter to be- 
ward, we made up our minds lo risk a landing at Round Island, ihe wind being yel in a 
favorable quarter for (hat object. 
Our gallant litlle bark, half burid in the angry foam, quickly neared our haven, and 
with ihe assistance of a fine whale boat well anchored wiih a strong hawser, a deier- 
minalion to land at all hazards a sleady hand and quick eye, and above all, with 
plenty of good fortune we landed our party safely on this tremendous coast, with only 
a wetting; and the Schooner lost not a moment in making sail, as I had already di« 
rected her, to «Grand Bay, » there to await in comparatively safe shelter what Pro» 
vidence should delermine. 
Our Situation appeared forlorn enongh, thrust on a deserl Island, apparently half 
buried in the lashing bellows on all sides, with liltle or no shelter lrom sun or 
rain, a limited allowance of water, and no extensive larder. The sun shone however 
as yel, gaily, and these very circumslances appeared to produce on all of us that pe- 
cuiiar excitement, which it is the stränge taste of some people to seek andenjoy, and 
we consequently, with light hearts and a bustling gaiety, commenced our allotted 
operations to make secure for the night. 
Having rolled our water barreis so far up, the shelving rocks as to preclude all 
threatened danger, indeed so far as to cause a laugh from the idlers at our unneces- 
sary precautions, we looked to our means of personal shelter. Having entrusted this 
pari of the arrangements (traveller like) to another. we found that it eonsisted entirely 
in one larpaulin wiih ten theusand holes in it : with one consent, most friendly in- 
quiries were made after sundiy bags and cloaks hitheno left neglected below. 
Willi something like a hearty laugh at our imprudence, we set out in pursoit of 
advenlure, and quickly found, from the swarms of rabbits and the forests of palm 
trees, that there was for the moment no danger of slarving. 
The sun still shone brillantly allho ! Mauritius was entirely out of sight ; but the 
packed clouds, the sufforating heat and the du 1 1 sigh of the now light winds told us 
we must prepare for a struggle with Ihe elemenls, in which we should, most proba» 
bly, come off the worst. 
Il is not necessary here, to teil you, Sir, of all our proceedings nor of the priva» 
lions we did suffer in the lieavy Storni that came on, nor of our anxieties and hope 
during a seven days’ imprisonment on tliese inhospitable shores ; some of those days 
exposed? to the tremendous blast which at last did come, when we were without fire, 
or llie means of cooking our provisions, without any shelter but Ihe crevices in ihe 
rocks, deluged with i he lorrents of rain, and all our stock of fresh water, washed 
away by llie furious surf, allho’ we had, wiih the grealest labor, removed the barreis 
again, anoUier 200 feet up the inclined plane to be out of reach of the vvaves. 
f may only add that our kind and anxious friends in Port Louis did not forget us, 
and there were those at their post whom we love and prize ; and altho’ the ships in 
the harbour had been in the grealest confusion, and imminent danger, matters had 
been so promptly looked to, that the. moment our friends could, with safety put to 
sea, they made all haste to the rescue of the prisoners, and it is to the name sake of 
our gracious Prince llie Albert Steamer, with a crew of most gallant fellows from 
Her Majesly’s Ship Conway tliat, at the risk of their lives, we owed our liberation. 
■ During our foiced sojourn we witnessed from our half sheltered nooks such a won- 
deriul and impressive scene in the strife of the elemenls, and the indescribable magnw 
