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"How the Mail Steamer went down in Mid Atlantic by a Survivor" is a short story that was published in the March 22, 1886, issue of the ''Pall Mall Gazette'' by writer and spiritualist William Thomas Stead. Stead was a First Class passenger on the RMS ''Titanic'', a British ocean liner which collided with an iceberg at the time of her maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, and was one of approximately 1,500 people who perished in the disaster. Many people believe that this story foreshadows the ''Titanic'' tragedy based on its plot and the themes present. ==Plot== The story centers around an unnamed mail steamer sailing the Atlantic Ocean with passengers, crew, mail and baggage aboard. The main character, a sailor named Thompson, gives an account of his ocean voyage. After a brief scrap with a British Steerage passenger, Thompson goes out on deck later that night and takes a stroll on the Boat Deck. He worries about the number of lifeboats on board and their approximate capacity; about 400 people could be saved on a ship carrying 916 people altogether. The next day, the steamer collides with a barque in a fog bank. The unnamed sailing ship sinks almost immediately, and the mail steamer begins to list sharply to starboard. Passengers begin to panic wildly, running hysterically about the deck and charging the few boats available. Panicked male passengers force their way into the lifeboats and attempt to lower them on their own, only to be thrown out at gunpoint by sailors and officers. The captain orders Thompson to organize the loading of a lifeboat, putting inside it mostly women, as well as four men to man it. The boat is charged by members of the ship's crew and carelessly lowered. At this point only one small boat remains, with about 700 people still on board and the steamer listing dangerously. It clears the ship only moments before she sinks with just a few men inside. Thompson and hundreds of others are thrown into the sea. Another boat drifts by, and a man inside cautiously pulls Thompson aboard. Thompson mentions that he and the others in the boats are rescued, and that he is safe at home (albeit, without his kit). Those in the water presumably drown. The last line of the story gives a disclaimer that the tale is merely an anecdote, employed to describe what would happen if a ship is put to sea without enough lifeboats for all her passengers, officers and crew. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid Atlantic by a Survivor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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