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Show The Wreck of the Royal George. The British war shin Serpent, the cable telle ns, has gone down off the ' Spanish coast with all on board. Such j a dreadful calamity has not come upon j the nation for more than 100 years. How many there uro among ns who re- member having read over and over in their school reading books Cowper's fa-"mous fa-"mous poem, "The Loaa of the Royal Oeorge." The words even now are familiar: fa-miliar: Toll for the brave, The brave that are no more; All sunk beneath the wave. Fast by their native shore. It was in August, 1782, that the great line of battle ship, the Royal George, lay off the harbor of Portsmouth. England. Eng-land. She was about to sail, with her full complement of 900 officers and men on board. A largo number of friends, wives and daughters of the sailors were also on board, these visitors being estimated esti-mated at fully 800 or 400. Just as they were ready to sail a slight leak was discovered dis-covered in the stern and a dolay was made. The ship was "hove down" so that the carpenters could reach the leak. So slightly was her balance disturbed that no one left tho ship, aud her commander. com-mander. Admiral Kempenfoldt, was in his cabiu. Suddenly a squall etruck the ship; she was thrown over on her side, the port holes admitted the sea, and almost al-most instantly the lingo vessel sank. The majority of those on board wero in the cabins or between tho decks and could not escape. More than 1,000 wore drowned, among whom was Admiral Kempenreld t. Boston Ad vertiser. |