Publisher Desc.  This composition is a response to a letter, dated Sept 21st 1880, from the engineer of the S.S. Gwendoline to the wife of Donald Thompson, the ship's Captain. The four pages contain a detailed and tender account of tragic events at sea leading to the death of Captain Thompson: a storm; a crush injury sustained as the Captain himself carried out a dangerous repair; his crew, in vain, attending to their beloved captain and trying to return him to land in time for medical assistance; the captain's stoic acceptance that his life was up and his final comforting words to his daughter, Nellie, who was on board and by his side (grade 4.5)