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CHAPTER XI.

HERE is not on the seas of the world a region more thickly strewn with wrecks than the singular line of coast, neither land nor water, but compound of both, ever changing, and ever altering its boundaries, that forms the entrance of the Zuyder Zee. The coast was wholly land till the beginning of the thirteenth century, when a terrible hurricane broke in one night through the isthmus, separating the inland lake, called Flevo by the Romans and Vlies by the natives, from the North Sea, the waters of which, once admitted, made themselves an ever-widening channel. In the year 1287, the North Sea cut for herself a second gate, at the cost of a hundred thousand human lives, and ever since that time the channels connecting the ocean and the former inland lake have been multiplying and shifting, till now, at the end of five centuries, the old isthmus and the former coast line are recognizable only on the maps by a narrow chain of islands stretching in a semicircle around the entrance of the vast Zuyder Zee. Death lies in wait for the mariner who approaches the chain whenever the waves of the North Sea, uplifted by a northwesterly gale, rush through it with more than usual violence. The line of islands, the Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ame

land, and a host of smaller ones, girt by sand-banks, partly under and partly above water, are divided from each other by channels that constantly alter their course, often shifting so rapidly as to cause dismay to the very inhabitants of the amphibious districts, born fishermen and pilots. Each north-westerly gale almost brings its victims, and the sandbanks have gathered in the course of centuries a thick harvest of wrecks, made up of ships of every class and of every nation. But, of all the wrecks that lie there at the Zuyder Zee entrance, none has acquired more fame than that of the British man-of-war, the "Lutine "-a ship previously belonging to the navy of France, launched in 1785, and christened "La Lutine," but subsequently captured by Admiral Duncan-which was lost here on the night from the 9th to the 10th of October, 1799. Phlegmatic as are the natives of the Netherlands, they have woven a golden halo of romance around the wreck of the "Lutine," the bowels of which are said to hold riches "beyond the dreams of avarice." And, in Dutch eyes, the sunken treasure was not the less attractive for being the property, not of their own or any other government, but of a mere civil corporation, known semi-mystically to the world by the name of Lloyd's.

As is often the case in regard to wrecks believed to contain great treasures, that of the "Lutine" gave rise to the most fabulous accounts, not only at the outset, but repeated to this day. In the earlier reports of the disaster, the amount of bullion and money lost was given at £140,000, but it rapidly rose, in subsequent accounts, to half a million, then to a million, and ultimately to upwards of two millions sterling. Then it came to be added that "the Dutch Crown jewels" had also been on board the "Lutine," and were amidst the sunken treasure, and invention went so far as to mention that they had come from the shop of "Messrs. Rundell and Bridges on Ludgate Hill." It is curious to

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The following sensational article appeared in a leading London daily paper in March, 1869: "On the night of the 7th October, 1799,

follow the succeeding reports of the event. One of the first appeared in the "Gentleman's Magazine," which, under date of October 19th, 1799, had the following paragraph: Intelligence was this day received at the Admiralty from

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her (sic) Majesty's ship Lutine, freighted with an enormous amount of specie, varying [variously estimated?] from £1,500,000 to £3,000,000, foundered off the sand-banks on the north-west coast of Holland, and the greater bulk of that treasure still lies buried with but nine fathoms of water over it. The Lutine was bound to a port in the Zuyder Zee, and the £1,500,000 she had on board was subsidy money for the English troops who were then serving under the Prince of Holland— Holland being at war with France (!!). She had also on board large assignments of specie for merchants in the country, as well as for bullion dealers and bankers at Hamburg, to which port she was to have proceeded after landing the government subsidy money at the port in the Zuyder Zee. There were also on board the Crown jewels of Holland, which had been sent to this country by the Prince of Holland to be reset and polished, which were executed (sic) by Messrs. Rundell and Bridges, the then famous jewellers to the English Court, on Ludgate Hill. They had been placed in a strong iron case hermetically sealed, and were shipped on board the Lutine at Lowestoft, a few days before she sailed, which took place on the morning of the 6th of October, and it is alleged that the commander was so elated with his important commission from the bankers, that the night before she took her departure on the fatal trip he entertained all the élite of Lowestoft and Yarmouth to a grand ball on board. Of the circumstances of her loss very little is known, beyond this fact, that in the following night the Lutine, in making for the entrance of the Zuyder Zee, encountered a fearful storm, and was driven on a sand-bank between the islands of Terschelling and Vieland (sic) and subsequently foundered, all her officers and crew, excepting one man, perishing. The survivor, however, only lived a few hours. He was picked up by some Dutch boatmen, floating on some spars, and after stating the facts of the dreadful wreck he died. Nearly two hundred persons perished in the ill-fated vessel. After much exertion, the sunken wreck of the Lutine was discovered lying in nine fathoms of water, within three miles of the western portion of the island of Terschelling, but no attempt, we believe, was made to recover the sunken treasure for one or two years, owing in a great measure to the shifting banks and the rapidity of the tides which swept over the spot. The Dutch Government offered a reward of £8,000 for the recovery of the Crown jewels, which, with other inducements held out in England, led to a company being formed, who commenced operations, and in a few

Admiral Mitchell, communicating the total loss of La Lutine, of 32 guns, Captain Skynner, on the outward bank of the Fly Island Passage, on the night of the 9th inst., in a heavy gale at N.N.W. La Lutine had, on the same morning, sailed from Yarmouth Roads with several passengers, and an immense quantity of treasure for the Texel; but a strong lee-tide rendered every effort of Captain

years they recovered about £160,000 of the specie, of which the Dutch Government claimed £80,000 as a royalty. Subsequently, their operations were stopped by the wreck becoming embedded in sand, and in that state it continued for three or four years; the consequence was that the company became bankrupt, and the salvage operations ceased. Since then several other diving companies have been formed, and they all failed after a series of years' working. The last operations on the wreck were about three or four years since, when the divers found that the bottom of the ship, with her keel, where the bulk of the treasure is, was entire, with the skeleton of her ribs remaining. The sand may have buried her from time to time, but as certain currents set in the sand-banks shift and the wreck is exposed. It was only for an hour, or half an hour, that the divers could remain down at the slack of the tides, and only in very fine calm weather; and even then they could hardly keep a footing on account of the rapid currents. In addition to this £160,000 another £60,000 was recovered by the companies. The latter took place a few years since, and about £20,000 was paid as royalty to the government, who up to that time had repudiated all claim on the wreck of the English underwriters and marine insurance companies, who had taken lines of insurances on the specie, and had paid the £1,500,000 as a total loss. The English underwriters were prepared with better appliances to work at the wreck, but all offers were refused, and it is only lately that the Dutch Government admitted that they had no right to the wreck whatever; and, if we are correctly informed, the representatives of Lloyd's have full power to take possession of the wreck, together with its treasure." The article does not finish here, but gives more information, all very marvellous, about the underwriters, Lloyd's, and the “Prince of Holland,” whoever that may be.

It will be seen by the readers of the following narrative, based throughout on authentic documents, that the tale told in the London daily paper of 1869 is a romance almost from beginning to end, not even the date of the wreck of the frigate being given correctly. Still this has not prevented its being transferred into several so-called historical books as a thoroughly correct account of the loss of the "Lutine." It is thus history is written-and copied.

Skynner to avoid the threatened danger unavailable, and it was alike impossible during the night to receive any assistance, either from the Arrow, Captain Portlock, which was in company, or from the shore, from whence several showts were in readiness to go to her. When the dawn broke, La Lutine was in vain looked for; she had gone to pieces, and all on board unfortunately perished, except two men who were picked up, and one of whom has since died from the fatigue he had encountered. The survivor is Mr. Shabrack, a notary public. In the annals of our naval history there has scarcely ever happened a loss attended with so much calamity, both of a public as well as a private nature." The "immense quantity of treasure" was valued, rather modestly, by the reporter of the "Gentleman's Magazine" at £140,000. A writer in the "European Magazine," soon after, while quoting the account word for word, turned the figures into letters, putting it "six hundred thousand pounds in specie." From thence to the million sterling the upward movement was easy. "Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte."

In almost all the accounts of the wreck of the "Lutine" it is stated as an absolute fact that the frigate was bound for the Texel, and that the bullion and treasure she carried, and which was lost in her, was destined for the payment of the British forces in the Netherlands. Both statements are without foundation, as proved by a careful search in the archives of the Admiralty. The records here preserved show that the "Lutine" was under directions to sail, not to the Texel, but to the river Elbe, her destination being Hamburg, and that the treasure on board was not the property of the government, intended for the payment of troops, but that of a number of London merchants-without further identification, as they were connected with Lloyd's-and that the object of the despatch of the coin and bullion was purely commercial. Upon both facts the papers in the archives of the Admiralty leave no doubt, although they are far from explaining how it happened