[Illustration: THE LIFE BOAT.]
THE LIFE BOAT.
Oh what a stirring scene is this! see how the brave fellows are pulling
with their oars, and endeavoring with all their might to reach the ship
in distress before it is too late! Well, I suppose you are curious to
know how an open boat like this can float in such an angry, boiling sea.
I will tell you how it is accomplished; the sides of the boat are lined
with hollow boxes of copper, which being perfectly air-tight, render her
buoyant, even when full of water, or loaded to the very water's edge.
The originator of this simple and beautiful contrivance was a London
coach maker, named Lionel Lukin, a man whose benevolent feelings flowed
towards all his fellow men, but more especially towards that portion of
them who brave the dangers of the sea. After devoting sixty years of his
life to the pursuits of his business, he retired to Hythe in Kent, where
he finished a well-spent life in peace and tranquility, dying in
February, 1834. His body was interred in the churchyard of Hythe, which
is situated on rising ground, commanding a fine view of the ocean; a fit
resting place for the remains of one whose talents had been successfully
directed to the means of rescuing from shipwreck and a watery grave many
hundreds, or perhaps we may say many thousands, of poor seamen.
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