The owners of Lackham in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries ...

The Manor of Lackham IV : 19 th & 20 th century owners
many others. It is painful to contemplate the .scene of dismay, when the ship
struck, so unlike the presence of mind and calm deportment which we have
recorded on similar occasions. But every allowance is to be made for the panic
which followed a Catastrophe so sudden and so overwhelming. The night was dark
and tempestuous, the sea was running high, and all the elements were in a state
of uproar. The paralyzing effect of this accumulation of horrors appears in the
fact, that even after the small party of eight had so far secured their
preservation as to be in possession of the cutter, and were within sight of the
Island of Galita. two of them were found to be bereft of their reason.
The first crash, and the rapid plunge of the ship into the gulf that opened for
her. and the loss of their Captain among the first that perished, left the crew
without that guidance and control to which seamen are in the habit of looking
for support.
But though we have regret the consternation that prevailed, there was no
gross neglect or misconduct to throw a darker shade over the last hours of the
Avenger. Captain Xapier had been in consultation in his cabin with the master
and second-master, examining the charts, and had also been on deck, giving
direction to the officer of the watch but a short time- before the first alarm.
When panic was at its height, there was no act of dastardly selfishness for
personal preservation, to the disregard of the safety others. The officers are
not accused of losing their composure. Lieut, Marryat is stated to have been
‘calm and self-possessed’ and Lieut Rooke’s strenuous efforts to lower the
cutter, and his manly resolution to remain by the ship, as long as there was any
chance of saving the; lives of some of the survivors, attest his devotion to his
duty to the very last.
The French officer, Captain Bonchier Riviere, who made if a survey of the
Sorelle after the wreck, and who deliberately considered all the
circumstances, imputes no blame to the officers of the Avenger, but
generously accounts for the misfortune by referring to the dangers of the
spot, the force of the currents, the wildness of the weather, and the
darkness of the night. ' The first shock,' says he, ' must have been
dreadful.'
…Truth has required that the words dismay and : panic should be used in the
foregoing relation; but the terrible suddenness of the event, the
instantaneous shock which broke, up the Avenger in a moment, without the
preparatory warning of 'breakers ahead.' or the previous notice of rocks or
shoals in sight, will more than account for the helplessness to which the crew
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