A MYSTERY SOLVED.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1941, 26 December 1913, Page 5

A MYSTERY SOLVED.

;.., — r* —~ ■■ < TRUE STORY OF THE MARIE .... CELESTE;

A WONDERFUL NARRATIVE.

In the December issuo of the "Strand Magazine," light is thrown upon one of the greatest mysteries of the sea. The snterprising magazine has apparently lifted the veii upon the extraordinary ease of tho brig Mario Celeste. About tho middle of this year the "Strand" invited various well-known authors of fiction to attempt to solvo tho mystery surrounding the discovery of tho Marie Celeste, which was found drifting in the Atlantic without a soul on board, and, what was still more extraordinary, from whom no ono appeared to havo been saved. These articles were published, and somo timo afterwards the "Strand" received a letter from Mr. A. Howard Linford, M.A., headmaster of the Peterborough Lodge, Hampsteau. Tho writer said:— Sir,—A friend has brought to my notice your article on the "Marie Celeste." • When I read it tho name struck a familiar chord, but Twas some days before I could remember under what circumstances I had heard it. At last, however, I recalled an old servant, Abel Fosdyk, committing to my charge, on his death-bed, a quantity of papers contained in threo boxes; amongst these, ho told mey would be found tho account of (the) Mary Celeste. I suppose ho said "the," but I had 'at tho timo no notion of what Mary Celeste meant, and imagined it was a woman. I paid, littlo heed, and merely sent tho boxes away to a safe keeping, not anticipating they -'irould. ever bo opened again; Before commenting on the matter I wouid like to emphasiso tho fact that I Do Not Vouch for the Truth of Anything Narrated. No word on the subject was ever mentioned by tho.writer to me. But tho fact that for,, thirty years ho kept not only a diary, but also a set of shrewd observations on all that passed, and wrote much and well, without our knowing anything of what ho was doing, shows him to have been a man of exceptional reticence and self-control. As for tho document, I would rather let it speak for itself; but at the same time I must confess I have been greatly | impressed by tho following facts:—A brig called Marie Celeste, sailing under Captain Griggs,, is under discussion. I find an account of a brigantine named Mary Celeste, sailing under a Captain Briggs. By your courtesy I have now seen the official report, and find in every instance tho papers in my passession aro correct. Further, the official papers mention a peculiar damage to the bows and two square cuts on the outside. This, I think, has never till now been made public, yet. here again the papers I send you enter most minutely into this alteration of the bows. Finally, I find, on inquiry, that tho autumn of 1872 was famous for its extraordinary storms in tho Atlantic, so much so that a leading article in tho "Times" likens it to tho period of dorms so well known to have prevailed at Cromwell's death. One can easily imagine a captain, working day and night in such conditions, going gradually out ,of his mind. Of course, minute errors will always creep in when relating facts a long' timo after their occurrence. It is evident to mo these facts were written down nearly twenty years after they happened.' and no one knows better than myself now easily'date,s may bo forgotten or ills sequericV of 'events 'confused:"" ! " Inow leave tho MS.' in your hands. A. HOWARD LINFORD, M.A. Magdalen College, Oxford. Peterborough Lodge, Finchley Road, N.W. How the Marie Celesta was Found. It will be recalled by those- who are jamiliar with the story that in the autumn of 1872 the .brig Mario Celeste sailed from New York bound for Genoa. Several weeks later the owner received the following notice from tho "United States Consul at Gibraltar: "Tho American brig Marie Celeste, of New York, w : as brought into this port by the British barque Dei Gratia. Marie Celeste, picked up on high seas oil December 5, abandoned. Brig in perfect condition, but was taken possession of by Admiralty Court as a derelict. Fate of crew unknown." The captain of Dei Gratia remarked to his mato as they got within hailing distance of the Marie Celeste that there seemed to bo something amiss with the vessel, and as she drifted closer they noticed that not a soul was in sight on her decks. Failing to get a reply to their signals, they both boarded tho seemingly abandoned vessel. A thorough examination was made, but not a soul was discovered. A half-finished meal was on the table. An article of apparel was lying on a sewing machine, and alongside it was a thimble. There were evidences that the crew had left hurriedly, accompanied by the wife and child of the master. Tho ship's log was written up to November 24 just ten days prior to tho vessel being met by tho Dei Gratia. _ Briefly, here is the story told by Fosdyk : "For the first few days, after leaving port tho sea was smooth, but on the fifth day, the wind increased to a gale, which lasted four clays. Tho ves-, sel was staunch and,tight, so we came through all right, the only damage being to the sails. After tho gale wo lay almost becalmed, when ono morning I. w;as coming from the galley to the :abin, when my attention was attracted by the captain, who was at the wheel. His mouth was open, and his eyes looked as if they would start out of his head. " 'Good God! Look there.' he cried. "I turned round, and tho sight I saw was warranted to bring one's heart into one's mouth, for there on the bowsprit, without holding on to anything, stood tho captain's child. Wo all called her 'Baby.' I rusher forward and, jumping on to, tho spar, soon had her down on tho main deck again. Her father, passionately fond of the child, nevertheless boxed her ears and sent her crying to tho cabin. Several days after this I noticed The Captain's Behaviour Seemed Strange. ho appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and we were all a bit upset by the old man's state of health. He paced tho deck just like a ifild animal, day by day. Once during 'ho voyage I heard him making sneering remarks to the mate about his not having on somo occasion entered tho water to save a' comrade. The remark Bcemed to rankle with the mate, who tried to explain the circumstances to the. master, but tho latter would not listen to any words from the man he accused of cowardice. The mate's explanation was that as he could not swim in. his clothes, ho did not attempt to jump into tho sea to savo the drowning man. The argument occurred just befcro breakfast on tho, fatal, day. Mrs. Briggs failed to get her husband to take his breakfast, but ho stoutly refused, Baying that ho was going to have a swim in his clothes before partaking of tho meal.. Taking no notico of tho woman's protest, the mate joined in, telling tho master that ho would spoil a good suit of clothes if ho attempted tho swim. Thereupon the master insisted on changing clothes with the mate, who was loth to acce-do to the demand, but eventually did so. "There was no doubt that tho man's mind was unhinged.. A knotted ropo was fastened to a cleat in tho bow for the caDtain to go down. .Grumbling to him-

self, tho master went over tho side. Just as he got into tho water two of the crew jumped in ■ after him, and commenced to swim alongside their skipper around tho ship. Wo were all standing in the bow on the gangway which he had erected, and saw tho swimmers- come round tho stern; suddenly A Most Unearthly Shriek rent tho air. Wo all leaned at onco to the port side, and, without the slightest shadow of warning the gangway gavo way, and tho whole ship's company, wife, and child were in the water. "After getting over the shock of immersion, I saw ono of my companions hanging on to tho platform upon which we all had been standing, and which had caught in tho jibbaom rigging in its fall. I cried out to him, asking what's happened. "His answer was, 'You fool, there's a shark between the captain and the ship!' "Presently a hugo shark came swimming towards nic, passed me, and turned. Mad with fright, I struggled rather than swam to tho platform, to which tho other seaman was clinging. I grasped it, and got into a position of security. My companion was looking ill, and commenced to moan. There was an ominous silence, which attracted my attention for the first time. I heard no voice on the ship, no orders were, given. What if everybody was overboard, and there was no ropo down to get up by I What had become of tho three swimmers puzzled me. , "I had imagined that the poor fellow sharing my position was dead, but towards evening he moved, sighed; and slipped into the water. "Not the least curious fact connected with this strango adventure is that I never have been able to this very day to tell how I was rescued. Threo blacks and a European and his wife had rescued me. I gradually recovered, but being unable to speak my rescuers' language, 'could not get any cluo as to where they found mo. I' was finally taken in a fishing boat to Algiers, and from there I worked my way to Marseilles."