After they had bound them in turn, they went to see what assistance could be given to Warren, when they found that a piece of the barrel of the pistol had sunk into his skull, and that he was just expiring. "You have overpowered us," said he, "and I see the hand of Heaven is in it. I was born of good, honest parents, whose steps if I had followed, would have made my conscience easy at this time; but I forsook all religion, and now, too late, I find that to dally with Heaven is fooling one's self: but yet, in this one moment of my life which is left, I heartily repent of all my past crimes." With that he crossed himself and expired.
Falconer and his companions now made sail for Jamaica, where, after a variety of adventures, and being again taken by pirates, they at length arrived. From thence they sailed for England, which they reached in safety.
CHAPTER III. UNCLE THOMAS TELLS ABOUT THE WRECK OF THE VRYHEID.
To-night, boys, I am going to give you an account of perhaps one of the most heart-rending shipwrecks with which I am acquainted; the more so that upwards of four hundred and fifty lives were lost, in all probability, entirely in consequence of the obstinacy of the captain.
Four hundred and fifty lives, Uncle Thomas! The very number is appalling.
It is indeed, John; but it is nevertheless true, that if the captain had taken the advice of those who warned him of the danger into which he was running, he and his crew might have escaped, as you shall hear. The shipwreck I refer to, is that of the Vryheid, which took place near Dover, in the beginning of the present century.
The Melville Castle, a British East Indiaman, after having performed the usual number of voyages, was sold by the East India Company to an agent of the merchants of Amsterdam, trading to the East Indies. She was carried to Amsterdam, where she underwent a tolerable repair in her upper works, and was new sheathed and coppered, but her knees and timbers remained in a very decayed state. Thus patched up, the Company tendered her to the Dutch government, which was then in want of a vessel to carry out troops and stores to Batavia. A surveyor was immediately ordered on board, who reported that the ship was in perfect repair, and wanted nothing but the necessary stores to equip her for the intended voyage. She was accordingly furnished with all the requisite stores, was painted throughout, and received the name of the Vryheid.