Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1850-09-12
s ELE CT TALE.
THE OCEAN-T9LLED BELL.
A THRILLING ADVENTURE AT SEA.


the almost vertical moon poured down floot
of radiance, which seemed but more subdueo
and softer daylight. 1t had been Oppressively
warm during the day, and the passengers o
the good ship Iris, were seated on the deck en-
loving the freshness of the evening air, ant
gazing upon the star-gemmed sky of the trop
les. SO different from the northern hemisphere
in the disposition of its twinkling glories.
We had two lovers on board, or two person.
who were fast becoming such. Their name.
were Louis and Linda.
There is nothing exclaimed Linda, afte
"a long silence, which brings so wildly to m,
mind, the fact that we are many thousands o
miles from home, as ne strange appearance o
the heavens. The Southern consultations
which sheae so beautifully befece the moon be-
came so bright, Agve still no hook of home
about them; and | am aftai6 they will never
make me amends for the loss of my poor bears,
one of which is gone altogether-wlIile the
other, for the last three or four nights, can dc
little more than show us the tip of his tall
Bears, Miss Linda bears at sea never
heard of such a thing Have you actually
seen bears at seat
Yes, sir, and monkeys, too,'
The recipient of this laconic reply was our
dandy passengers, Mr.. Daisy. Not knowing
very well what to make of Miss Linda's re-
j0inder, he grinned prodigiously, looked ex-
cessively silly, and eventually stretched himself
upon a bench near the binnacle, with his back
TO the company, and his face towards the bear,
about which he had been so fruitlessly inquisi-
tive.
All were now silent for several minutes,
and the gentle ripplng of the waters at the
bow, and the occasional creaking of the tim
bers, came as soothingly upon our ears as the
summer moonlight upon our dropping eyelids.
l was watching the long line of silver light
which 'Dianas crescent threw upon the heav-
ing ocean, when our lover, Louis Allwyn,
seemed suddenly to arouse himself from the
stealthy contemplation of Miss Linda S charms.
and to assume a listening posture. After a
moments silence, he threw up his hand and
cried
Hark do YOU hear nothingt'
All listened, and replied one by one, in the
negative.
Il must have been deceived then, said Lou
is; but no, there it is again =
What what is it & exclaimed all the COM
pany in breath.
Listen again, replied Louis.
They did so for moment or two; at the
end of which time, Linda cried
4 hear it-I hear it now. 1t is the faint,
Ear off, tollng of bell. We must be near the
land
That is hardly possible, murmured Louis,
'it is very strange
The difference in the sensibility of the audi
tory apparatus is greater than is generally
supposed, and considerable length of time
had elapsed before the rest of the passengers
were able to hear what the practised organs of
Louis, and the delicate nerves of Linda, had
enab,,nd them to detect so soon.
Mr.. Dsisy, who had been indulging in a
comfortable nap--no uncommon thing with
him by the way-was awakened by the sudden
cessation of the conversation, as sleepers Ii
church are aroused at the conclusion of the
sermon.
3Aw. aw yes; very strange-very strange
indeed. he exclaimed, with brace of yawns
as he caught the last words of Louis, ant
coupled them with something he ha,
heard about bell very strange that the
aw the tea bell has not rung yet; it's-aw
its time it had, I'm sure; it is, 'pon m,
'onor'
why, Mr. Daisy said Linda, laughing
you're dreaming; you had your tea long ago
Listen, and tell us what you hear
Its the DEVILS supper bell y muttered al
old salt, who had Just taken his turn at th'
wheel Just behind us. I've never heard NJ
sich thing as that afore, in all my born days.
This old sea-dog, by the way was quite ;
character He had been man-o war s-mal
for many years, and was universally known by
the sobriquiet of Backstay Bob.
All were now silent for some time, and tn,
melancholy sound was now plainly heard By
every one, as it came booming over the moon
lit waters, and became more and more distinc
as the vessel advanced. Mr.. Daisy, who b,
this time was thoroughly awake, began to wea
an expression of countenance which might pos
sibly have been astonishment, but which looked
wonderfully like fear and, after listening TO
some time, he hastily jumped up and dive'
into the cabin, for the purpose of calling th'
captain, who was examining some charts below
AT his earnest request, the captain, after lit
tle delay, put up his maps, and went on deck
After listening some time, he seized hi
night glass, and looked long and inteutly il
the direction of the sound, whose sad. monot
onous clang was becoming every moment NOR,
distinctly audible. He then walked aft an,
taking hold of the spokes of the wheel, gav,
the glass to Backstay Bob, who was remarka
ble for his powers Of vision, and directed hin
to take look in the same direction, and repor
what he saw Bob adjusted the glass, took
'iong squint, hitched up his trowsers, shlfte
bis quid, and then took another squint, stl
longer than the first.
wehs Bob,' said the captain, what do 20
see -
Dog my grandmarmy's buttons, sir, if
can even begin to tell what see. It's kin
of craft of some sort or other; but it ill tax
more larnin' nor I've got, by Jug full, to fe