Beyond the Sea

Everyone has a unique gift that can be used to help others. What's yours?

​​​​Read the full story ⬇︎

Finishing the final set of the night, he shoved the violin into a leather valise. The bow was too long, preventing it from closing shut, so he abandoned it on the deck and threw the bag over his shoulders. He could always get a new bow back home—if he survives the night.


Whatever his fate, the violin was going with him. It was an engagement gift from his sweetheart, Maria Robinson, who had it engraved with these tender words: 
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“For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria.” 

With their engagement, he was hesitant to take the gig at all, but Wallace Hartley figured working as the bandmaster on the maiden voyage of the Titanic would be good for his resume and create opportunities for future lucrative contracts.


Within minutes of striking the iceberg, the 33-year-old bandmaster assembled the band for their final set of the night, serenading the departing lifeboats and the passengers left behind. 
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Ten days later, the crew of the CS Mackay-Bennett found Wallace floating in the Atlantic, with the valise strung over his shoulders providing enough buoyancy to keep his body afloat. The violin, however, never made it into the log books, and for nearly a century it was assumed lost at sea.

​Beyond a Reasonable Doubt​

​That is, until 94 years later, when an old leather valise containing a water-damaged violin was discovered in the attic of a recently deceased musician. Despite two long cracks on its body, the rosewood violin was incredibly well-preserved, and the corroded silver plate with personalized engraving provided a clue that this was no ordinary violin.
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​“When we first saw the violin we had to keep a lid on our excitement because it was almost as if it was too good to be true,” said Andrew Aldridge, of Henry Aldridge and Son, the auction house entrusted with the violin. “It was either authentic or an extremely elaborate hoax.”

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Conducting seven years of research, the team stitched together the violin’s provenance, including a telegram dated July 19, 1912 from Maria Robinson to the Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia:
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“I would be most grateful if you could convey my heartfelt thanks to all who have made possible the return of my late fiance's violin."

Maria never married, and kept the valise as a shrine to the memory of her beloved. When she died in 1939, Maria’s sister Margaret found the old leather bag and gifted it to the Bridlington Salvation Army, informing Major Renwick of the violin’s association with the Titanic.


Major Renwick later gave the valise to a fellow member of the Salvation Army, a local violin teacher, who in turn gifted it to one of her students, a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force stationed at Bridlington, along with a cover letter:

“Major Renwick thought I would be best placed to make use of the violin but I found it virtually unplayable, doubtless due to its eventful life.”

​In 2006, the most recent steward inherited the valise, finding it in his mother’s attic, along with the famed violin.

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The evidence woven together, researchers believe beyond a reasonable doubt that this is indeed the violin Wallace Hartley played that fateful night, and is deemed the most important and most valuable artifact from the Titanic to ever emerge, selling in 2013 for $1.7 million.
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​Beyond the Sea
There is something quite remarkable about Wallace playing this specific violin that fateful night. Every book and every film about the Titanic tells the story of Wallace Hartley playing until the frigid end, using his unique gifts to poke a pinprick hole of light into the darkness of that cold Atlantic night; providing comfort for his fellow travelers in the midst of life’s dangers, toils, and snares. 

“...still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to thee…"

Without ever knowing why, Maria understood that far across the distance and spaces, the gift to her beloved would ensure their love would go on—just as Wallace knew that somewhere beyond the sea (beyond a doubt), Maria stood waiting; their hearts soon leading home.

Happy they’ll be, beyond the sea—and never again go sailing.
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​Reflection
How are you using your unique gifts to help your fellow travelers?


Want More?
Jonas Cain, M.Ed. is a storyteller, magician, musician, and facilitator of fascination—helping people discover joy through curiosity and wonder. Connect with Jonas to discover more.


References
[1] Salkeld, L. (2013, March 14). “Found, violin that was played as Titanic sunk.” The Daily Mail. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2293232/amp/Water-stained-violin-proven-played-brave-bandmaster-Titanic-sank 
[2] Adams, S. F. (1841). “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”
[3] Horner, J. (1997). “My Heart Will Go On.”
[4] Lawrence, J. (1947). “Beyond the Sea.”