The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-10-30
WASHINGTON, ID. c.
For the National Era.
THE WIDOW AND HER CHILDREN.
BY MARTHA RUSSELL.
CHAPTER /.

No stranger who visits the lar Clty Oh r.iinS
will fail to see or hear something of that flour
ishing suburban child of hers Fair Haven,
which, pearl-like, has been, as 1t were, scoeped
from On oyster nine-tenths OF her inhabitants
being engaged in catching opening, or trans
porting that delicious biuaive. And en- pdsSdaf,
let us say, that although they well know that
occasionally, in some of our inland cities be-
whiskered exquisite curls his moustache con-
temptuously when told that the oysters in the
steaming bowl before him were taken from
their shells by the fingers of fair maidens, and
that the sentimental lady by his side holds them
next door neighbors to those Ethen dogges
the Saracenesn rich and poor, old and young
men women and children, still honor the test
acaous animal by which, in a certain sense, they
live and move: and. in the increasing rage for
beraldic distinction manifested among us, we
soon exnect to see carriages dashing along their
straets with escutcheons, where upon field
oo,a ,aari1s. shall be blazoned the osyter dor
mSk oauerI, tr JS,rases with s'ofJ' Ss9ssy OF
motto.
y -; g@erS 9r' ~ -, The nla,sT bse
called Dragon for what reason we know not,
unless in the minds of the first settlers, there
was sort of prophetic feeling that the child
would vet swallow up the mother consisted Of
a few houses, imbedded oyster-like in the steep
banks of the river. or clustered near the ends
of the bridge, so that the shippers of the small
craft that lay moored in the stream could
step, as it were from their bedrooms to their
decks
Though at this period the industry, energy,
and perseverance that have transferred the
oysters of the Chesapeake to the sandy shores
of New Haven bay and from thence to all
quarters of our wide land, was still undeyeloped,
vet, to use their characteristic expression, the
business was pretty fair and their great
covered wagons like mOnstrOus whte-winged
miers might be seen winding along the main
roads of New York and Massachusetts even to
the borders of Canada.
In the dim twilight of March morning,
some fYe-and-thirty years since, one of these
covered vehicles ratified down the marrow street
on the west side of the river and drew up before
low, brown house, half buried in the bank
that rose abruptly behind it. Scarce had the
driver reined in his horses, when two little boys
with white canvass clothes, bags over their
shoulders and faces full of eager, busting inn
pOrtance, came running out the door, and began
to Chamber into the wagon.
"Avast a bit, my ladso said the driver, good
naturally, himself rich specimen of that am
phibOus race peculiar to such maritime vii
lges-"wait till the cargo's aboard, will We :"
At the same moment, pale-faced woman,
IN deep mourning garments appeared at the
door, and called them back
Don't be in such hurry, boys" she said.
There's the bed aud the chest and the tea-box
and the cradle, besides my handbook, TO go into
the wagon first And come here Jimmy. You
have dirtied your hat against the wheel, poor
child As she lifted the shining tarpaulin
from tha IN, ,piy, fha OF fro, tbo
bit of rusty Grape that love and grief had
prompted her to sew around it she burst into
tears, saying:
He will never make you another, jimmy
never-never His hands are stil enough now
way down at the bottom of the seattle cruel
sea that takes all and gives back nothing!D
And the widow turned shudderingly away
when, as if in response to her words, the long
swell Of the incoming tide broke upon the
beach in front of the door, with solemn, mys-
ferrous murmur, sweeping with it. in its retreat
shreds, patches, bits Of broken furniture, the
refuse of the household, that in the general pack
ing up had been cast within its reach, as if in
satlate for more prey, while the youngest boy,
whom she addressed as Jimmy, shook his little
INST at the retreating waves and cried, sobbing.
as he chung to his mothers gown:
"1he wicked cruel sea ~
ono, Jimmy-no nanny" cried the elder,
a lad of eight years old, or So" the beautiful
sea lie called it so,n he continued, ear
nestIy you know he did, nanny And he
told us ali about 1.-THE fish and the birds and
the shells, and the coral that grows like trees
way down beneath the waves He loved to
hear its voice, nanny and may be he hears
it now" he added
Then, seeing that his words failed to COM
fort his mother, he turned wistfully to the dri-
yer, who all this time stood alternately dig
gIng the toe of his great boot into the wet sand,
or plunglng his hands into the seemingly I'M
fashionable depths of his trowsers pockets as
intent upon fishing up from these recesses some
remedy for the strange dampness gathering
about his eyes--as if he, in his wisdom, might
have some word that would assuage her grief.
But words were not Joe Dunnng forte. Still,
his rough bat kindly heart comprshended the
child's mute appeal, and, prompted BY the dim
remembrance OF lessons learned from moth
ers lips he laid his great hand on the lads
shoulder, and, pointing significantly to where.
upon the crest OF a swelling wave. the refuse of
the household, no recently engulphed, was riding
trlumphantly toward the shore again, said, in
Whisper that had in 1t a touch of the east
wind
Oh. yes NANNY 4" cried the bow Instant
ly catching at the truth Joe's words were in
Tended TO convey; the parson said no yester-
day - that the great sea would give us our
father back again some day, and then he said
there would be no more sea- He showed me
the very words in your Bible, nanny and
you always say that we must mind what that
saysp
Yes, yes child, know but cannot feel it
now can only feel that he is gone--the best
and truest heart in the whole world-always
ready to lend n helping hand 10 friend or foe,
II ioe he had. You know that, Joe Dunning,p
she added, turning suddenly to the driver !; "no
one knows it better, but you can never know
now kind and good he was to usn
u Aye, that's true enough Mary Farnham.
"en was as good chap to cruise with, on land
SEA as one will find twixt here and the In
tan al but he's laid up now and as crying nor
~" Hng neither won't bring him back, guess
o night as well be stirring. as we have a long
Wy 'etwxt us and Varmountn
,uuurnedly drying her tears, she bsgan TO
Ios "'n IN transferring the boxes that contained
a. ~ Jew household goods TO the wagon, saying,
70 I'm IN apology for her emotion, as she pointed
her boys tarpaulins--
co., ne finished them only the. night before he
%9T1ioi i. and the clothes-bags, oil but the
h. autk head ON Jimmy's he left that until
h Snonid come back again, for this was TO have
"'s g i's last voyage, and now -
e me poor woman's selfposserion suddenly
s .p'"%k her, and, putting her apron to her eyes
cue logan TO sob again; while 10 Dunning
VINO would much rather have weaahered out n
gaze OIL the Capcs Of the Chesapeake than a
Toman's tears, stood by looking very much
aoashed and Disconnected, until bright thought
suddenly struck him, and, striding clumsily