The following incidents occurred in a frigate off Cape Horn, in a gale of wind, under close-reefed main-topsail and storm-staysails.  At half-past twelve at noon, when the people were at dinner, a young lad was washed out of the lee fore-channels.  The life-buoy was immediately let go, and the main-topsail laid to the mast.  Before the jolly-boat could be lowered down, a man jumped overboard, as he said, “promiscuously,” for he never saw the boy at all, nor was he ever within half-a-cable’s length of the spot where he was floundering about.  Although the youth could not swim, he contrived to keep his head above water till the boat reached him, just as he was beginning to sink.  The man who had jumped into the sea was right glad to give up his “promiscuous” search, and to make for the life-buoy, upon which he perched himself, and stood shivering for half-an-hour, like a shag on the Mewstone, till the boat came to his relief.

At four o’clock of the same day a man fell from the rigging; the usual alarm and rush took place; the lee-quarter boat was so crowded that one of the topping lifts gave way, the davit broke, and the cutter, now suspended by one tackle, soon knocked herself to pieces against the ship’s side.  Of course, the people in her were jerked out very quickly, so that, instead of there being only one man in the water, there were nearly a dozen swimming about.  More care was taken in hoisting out another boat, and, strange to say, all the people were picked up, except the original unfortunate man, who, but for the accident, which ought to have been prevented, would in all probability have been saved.  Neither he nor the life-buoy, however, could be discovered before the night closed.

The life-buoy at present in use on board his Majesty’s ships, and, I trust, in most merchant ships, has an admirable contrivance connected with it, which has saved many lives, when otherwise there would hardly have been a chance of the men being rescued from a watery grave.

This life-buoy, which is the invention of Lieutenant Cook of the Navy, consists of two hollow copper vessels connected together, each about as large as an ordinary-sized pillow, and of buoyancy and capacity sufficient to support one man standing upon them.  Should there be more than one person requiring support, they can lay hold of rope beckets fitted to the buoy, and so sustain themselves.  Between the two copper vessels there stands up a hollow pole, or mast, into which is inserted, from below, an iron rod, whose lower extremity is loaded with lead, in such a manner, that when the buoy is let go the iron rod slips down to a certain extent, lengthens the lever, and enables the lead at the end to act as ballast.  By this means the mast is kept upright, and the buoy prevented from upsetting.  The weight at the end of the rod is arranged so as to afford secure footing for two persons, should that number reach it; and there are also, as I said before, large rope beckets, through which others can thrust their head and shoulders, till assistance is rendered.