Laurence Irving, the noted actor, son of the late Sir Henry Irving, died trying to save his wife. F. E. Abbott, of Toronto, was the last man to see Irving alive.
“I met him first in the passageway,” he said, “and he said calmly, ‘Is the boat going down?’ I said that it looked like it.
“‘Dearie,’ Irving then said to his wife, ‘hurry, there is no time to lose.’ Mrs. Irving began to cry, and, as the actor reached for a life-belt, the boat suddenly lurched forward and he was thrown against the door of his cabin. His face was bloody and Mrs. Irving became frantic. ‘Keep cool,’ he warned her, but she persisted in holding her arms around him. He forced the life-belt over her and pushed her out of the door. He then practically carried her upstairs.”
Abbott said: “Can I help you?” and Irving said, “Look after yourself first, old man, but God bless you all the same.” Abbott left the two, man and wife, struggling. Abbott went on deck and dived overboard. He caught hold of a piece of timber, and holding on tight, he looked around. Irving by this time was on the deck. He was kissing his wife. And as the ship went down they were both clasped in each other’s arms.
H. R. O’HARA DIED FOR FAMILY
H. R. O’Hara, of Toronto, died that his wife and child might live. There were two life-belts for three of them. He fixed the belts on the two, hoping that there would be buoyancy enough to hold up all three. Not one of them could swim. O’Hara bobbed in the water, resting on the belts to keep himself afloat. He saw the two sinking, and then slipping a little behind them he disappeared beneath the water. Mrs. O’Hara was found afterward hysterically clinging to the keel of an overturned boat by Henry Freeman, of Wisconsin.
CAPTAIN SAVED BELL-BOY
Charles Spencer, a bell-boy on the Empress, told of the manner in which Captain Kendall of the Empress saved him. Still hysterical from the suffering he endured, he cried as he told of his experiences.
“When the crash came I ran down to the steerage to wake up the boys there and get them to go to the bulkheads and turn them. They are closed by hand wheels. I did not have much time, because when I reached there the water was two feet deep and I could hardly get through it. I know two of the boys were drowned there. I and another, Samuel Baker, were the only bell-boys saved out of the dozen on the vessel. When I woke the boys below I ran to the boat deck where the men were trying to put the life-boats overboard. The Empress had a list to starboard and the top deck was down to the water. She was going very fast. One of the funnels toppled into the water and almost fell on a life-boat. When the boat made a final lurch I dived into the water, because I felt I could get somewhere. When I came up Captain Kendall was near me. He caught hold of me and helped me along, and we were in the water about twenty minutes when we were picked up and taken to the coal boat.”