IN PERILS BY SEA. 
149 
which had been sent from Mauritius to pick up 
an English barque wheat-laden from Adelaide 
for Liverpool, and which had been caught in the 
hurricane and left dismasted. 
Taking this vessel in tow, we stood out to sea, 
and had a fine passage and capital weather for 
several days, and we had reached to within about 
fifty miles of Port Louis. Suddenly matters 
changed with us at this point, and a strong wind 
swept down upon the steamer and the barque, 
which drove up the seas so that we were obliged 
to cast loose the hawsers, and leave the dis¬ 
masted vessel to save ourselves. We signalled 
however from time to time to the captain to 
keep in our wake as far as possible. 
The vessels remained in this position till the 
morning of the 27th, when soon after daybreak 
a large steamer was descried in the offing, stand¬ 
ing in for Eeunion. She appeared to us to be 
the mail steamship Duplex, and we telegraphed 
our name and position ; but on nearing her, 
signal guns were heard, and flags of distress 
were seen displayed in the rigging, whilst it was 
very evident that the rudder had been carried 
away, and that the ship was in a sinking condi¬ 
tion. When within hailing distance, the captain 
of the distressed ship (which proved to be a 
man-of-war belonging to the Khedive of Egypt, 
and bound to Mauritius with machinery, &c.) 
