Our young countryman's quarter deck was twice swept of every one on it but himself and a single trumpeter, the only survivor of four who had been forgot playing on the poop, in the beginning of the engagement, and were mowed down one after another, without offering to stir from their place, or ceasing to blow their trumpets; although entirely drowned by the thunder of artillery, and groans of the dying; till on the firing slackening a little towards the end, the survivor was fortunately perceived by the captain, bringing such dismal sounds from his trumpet as made the captain smile amidst all the horrors that surrounded him, as he afterwards told us. Two remarkable circumstances distinguished this action from all others fought during the war; the one was, that owing to the position of the ship, one side of the captain's white uniform, as well as that of his few surviving officers stationed in different parts of the vefsel, were dyed in a manner of a red colour, by the blood of their fallen companions, whilst the other was left clean, which had a singular effect, insomuch, that when he went with them on board his admiral after the engagement, the moment Greig perceived the barge drawing towards his ship, he exclaimed, "It is easy to distinguish the brave Elphiston and his officers, by their honourable livery." The other circumstance, almost equally uncommon, was the fhattered condition his fhip entered Cronstadt, to the surprise of some hundreds of British seamen, then lying in that port, who declared that the slightest breeze of wind, sufficient only to have heeled her a little, must have proved fatal; as fhe was pierced like a sieve, by some hundreds of fhot, and long lay a spectacle for the curiosity of this city, and a monument of British courage. Soon after the engagement, captain Elphiston was introduced to her majesty by count T. vice president, or first lord of the admiralty, and was graciously received and decorated with the fourth clafs of the order of military merit; but he must have been much flattered that day by the foreign ministers, and many of the great Russian nobility, desiring to be presented to him, as they politely termed it, to do honour to so brave an officer. Upon this occasion, he assured your correspondent who had every information from him, consistent with modesty, (the rest is notorious,) that if he had been a few inches taller, he must have in all probability been killed, as a number of fhot struck an object in a direct line with his head, but a very little higher. The captain was a little delicate looking figure, with much animation and fire, rather fhorter than his father, and much slenderer. In honour of little great men be it said, that captain Crown, another British officer, the Lockhart of the north, is much about the same size. His own fhip being rendered a perfect wreck, Elphiston was appointed to the command of that of the Swedish admiral,—a distinction he so well meritéd, and had got every thing ready for renewing his brilliant career, when it was stopped for ever by a malignant fever, which cut him off in the flower of youth, and gallant atchievements, in the arms of his young wife, left to deplore his lofs in the midst of thousands of mourners, if that can be any consolation in the moment of poignant grief. ARCTICUS. TO THE CROCUS. UPRIGHT as are the thoughts of her I prize, Has kill'd the flow'rs its strange impatience strove Whom heav'n has blest with children; but beware Ye much lov'd Crocuses, while mem'ry lasts, Sink to the ground, while all the blifs sublim'd, MYRA, A PASTORAL. For the Bee. O MYRA attend to the lay Which Corydon sings in the fhade; To pass the dull moments away VOL; XV. P. H. They teach him to play on the reed, His flocks, and the trifle disdain. At the bottom of yonder green hill, Stands Corydon's rural retreat : And nature delights me the most, The landscape is lovely around, Of the woodlark and nightingale's song : Such melody nought can excell. I walk by the whispering grove, Where the zephyrs sound soft through the spray, I mourn with the amorous dove, And join the sweet nightingale's lay: The pleasures that wait on the spring, I covet not jewels and gold, The rich I unenvied can see, No treasure on earth I behold, No jewel so precious as thee: With me to my cottage retire Unburden'd with treasure and wealth, Let love all our pleasures inspire And live in contentment and health. ON SINGULARITY OF RESEARCH. LITERARY OLLA. NO. VII. For the Bee. "THERE is perhaps no one principle in human nature that leads to greater consequences, than the concentration of application to singular research. But this, like every other principle, has occasionally strange and useless terminations, that may be called lusus naturæ in morals. As an instance of this, I will present you with the result of a man's labour for three years, eight or nine hours a-day, Sundays not excepted, to determine the verses, words, and letters contained in the Bible. Verses, 31,173. 773,692. 3,566,480. The middle and the least chapter is the 117th Psalm. The middle verse is the 8th verse of the 101st Psalm. Jehovah is named 6855 times. The middle one of these Jehovahs is in second Chronicles fourth chapter and sixteenth verse. The word and in the Bible is found 46,227 times. The least verse in the Old Testament is in first Chronicles first and tenth verses. The least in the New Testament, 11th chapter of John 35th verse. I look upon this to be a very curious occurrence in the history of human nature, that there fhould have existed a man who, merely from the pleasure of employment, fhould have spent three years on such a task. |