The Columbia Democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1837-1850, 1845-03-08
The Pilots Boy
M caARLEs J. PETERSON.

ne Storm TagPu lhui dU' " W
The winds swept wildly over the vast
OF waiers, catching The spray ~ ~
embrace and hurlIng " tu'luu'ly onward
81 that the ocean seemed vas' shprl
Of foam. The clouds hdnx low and
dark, scouting on the terrible wore
below. Il was one OF the mos awful
tempest: Thsi had for years devssied the
Atlantic coast.
On a low sandy beach, ssainst which
the waves ,hundersd unll the ground
shook b-neHh them, stood moihef
aud her daughter gatins snxlously sea-
ward regardless OF The who'd 30 pow
erful was The wind that they coull with
difficulty stand, yet they fearlessly KEEP
their watch, shading their eyes with
their hands 10 keep of the spray, spP'-
fenlly looking for some object on the
ocean. Suddenly the child cried
'Moher---lhere they are!
She pointed with trembling hoger
rs she spoke, aud following It's direction
the mother beheld a wh'e speck like a
nske of snow, amid the dark waters OF
OF The horizon. 1t rose and fell, bu'
kept constantly increasing in size, as II
approaching.
Oh! Lord, I thank thee, said the mo-
ther, clasping her hands and looking up
to Heaven.
The father of my babes yet lives,
save him for thy sake
1t would have melted the sernes'
heart to have heard the deep emotion
with which she bresthed that prayer
Then with hands clssped before her
she stood silent, watching the lItlle
bsfnue which contained her husband
and her only boy.
And bravely did that gallant Graf
struggle through the tempest. Now
il would be lost to sight in whlrlwlnd
of foam as It plugged through head
sea, and now it would re-appesr, i'e
white sail glsncng like The wing of sl
gull. At times the wind would press
with such force on The close reefed
csnvsss as 10 lay her mast nearly leve
with the pillows, so that the mother'
heart nearly sunk within her, for III
seemed then as if The brave bsrque
would never recover herself, and again
The frail spar would struggle upwards,
and The boat skim along for space, like
a spirit walking the deep
For nearly half an hour the little
barque was thus visible; and during thai
period the suspense of the mother was
worse than the most inlolerable agony,
One moment she saw herself berefl Of
those she loved, and again hope would
resume its sway 10 her bosom, on y, |
however 10 be again overihrown by |
the next surge that broke over the de.
voted craft. |, seemed a miracle thai
the boat had lived so leng and even the
ssngune hopes of a mother could moi
long pursusde her she should see her
darling boy again.
A, length one mountainous bIlow
war sen advancing, it's huge breast lift
ing itself slowly up, the masses of wa
ter piing one over another until they
seemed 10 mingls with The black clouds
above; then speck Of foam suddenly
sppeared on the extreme top OF the
wave, which spreading rapidly 10 right
and left until the crest was everywhere
crowded with il, the huge bulk of
piled waters tumbling headlong, and tn
boat, which had been seen second be.
fore laboring in the trough of the sea
beneath was lost to sight forever in theI
white chsfing whirlpool.
The mother held her breath as the
waters fell and remained like one struck
by basllisk, gazing on the fierce vor-
tex, as i: hoping even against hope ,ha
the boat would re-appesr; but momen'
after moment passed until it seemed tol
he- as if hours had passed and yet no
sign Of The bsrque was visible. Att
length the waters partially subsidedj an
other biIow swept over lhe place where
the first had broken; and thea tae mas
Of ihe lttile craft rolled upward; but the
hull was nowhere visible.
'Tksy are iosl--oh! my dear fahe
and Harry --mother can't you save
them:' said the child, in accents Of The
most heart breaking grief. O..
But the mother answered not. She
looked wildly al her daughter, and then
ran, like one distracted, 10 The edge of
the surf, ven,urlng so far down with
the undeTt0w ,hs, tappeared incredible
that she could escape the sngry breakers
Hpra aha atruinab ta,