The most serious disaster of last week was the abandonment of schr. "Earnest" on Friday afternoon. The "Earnest" under the command of Capt. Samuel TUFTS sailed from Sackville for St. John last Sunday week with a cargo of lumber. Meeting with unfavorable winds she was obliged to put into Peck's Cove where she remained until Thursday. On that day she got as far as Grindstone Island, when heavy winds compelled her to once more seek shelter. Friday morn. the voyage was renewed... At 1 o'clock the wind was blowing a gale and seas, 20 or 30 feet high, were sweeping past the little craft. The mainsail was reefed and preparations were being made to seek refuge along the shore, when a tremendous sea struck the vessel and carried away the jib-boom and sail. The huge was swept completely over the schooner. The cabin was filled and the vessel began pitching and rolling about. The another and another sea boarded the luckless craft, leaving her in a totally unmanageable condition. The captain and crew, fearing that she might become a total wreck, decided to make the attempt to reach the shore. Their boat, an old affair, was launched and the four men, after a good deal of trouble, got into it, and headed it for shore leaving all their effects behind them. The storm was then at its height, and although only two miles from Big Salmon River, the people on land could not see the boat, so completely was it hidden by the waves. After a fatiguing and perilous row, the men succeeded in reaching the shore in safety. The names of the four men who had such a narrow escape from a watery grave were Samuel TUFTS, George SAUNDERS of Portland (St. John), Leonard GRANT and Silas BEATTY of Nova Scotia. (see original)