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 be perceived, the colours of both being clearly distinguished. About 10 o'clock, the ship blew up with a shock which was felt to the very bottom of every vessel. Many of her officers and men jumped overboard, some clinging to the spars and pieces of wreck with which the sea was strewn, others swimming to escape from the destruction which they momently dreaded. Some were picked up by our boats, and some, even in the heat and fury of the action, were dragged into the lower ports of the nearest British ships, by the British sailors. The greater part of her crew, however, maintained their posts to the last; and continued to fire from the lower deck.

This tremendous explosion was followed by a silence not less awful. The firing immediately ceased on both sides, and the first sound which broke the dead calm was the dash of her shattered masts and yards falling into the water, from the vast height to which they had been projected by the explosion. About 70 of the Orient's crew, which orginally consisted of 1010 men, were saved by the English boats. Among the many hundreds who perished were the commodore, Casa Biania, and his son, a brave boy, only ten years old. They were seen floating on a shattered mast when the ship blew up. She had money on board (the plunder of Malta,) to the amount of £600,000 sterling. The masses of burning wreck which were scattered by the explosion, excited, for some moments, apprehensions in the English which they had never lélt from any other danger. Two large pieces fell into the main and foretops of the Swiftsure without injuring any person. A port-fire also fell into the main-royal of the Alexander, - the fire which it occasioned was speedily extinguished, Captain Ball having provided, as far as human