Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1852-11-11
THE STORY TELLER
AN EXCITING SEA SKETCH.
The Brazilian Boy.
BY G. S. RAYMOND.
BY C. S. RAYMOND.

ter had it been entirely so; for the faint, nm
steady breeze came in unfitful Puffs from all
points of the compass, rendering 1t almost i'm
possible to prevent the ship from being caught
square aback. All the light sails had been
securely fureJ, and the heavy courses were
hauled up snug, so that the noble craft lay
there like giant gladiator stripped for battle.
We were midway between the southern edge
of the vast sandy bay of San Borombom; upon
.he bosom of the mighty, oceanlike Rio de Ia
Plata. Ever since we had left Buenos Ayres
five days previously, this strange, gloomy, baf
fling weather had continued, and we had moi
made two hundred miles progress towards the
ocean.
The mate was an excellent and experienced
sailor, but this was his first voyage TO the Rv.
er Plata; and when l went on deck at ter
O'Clock, l found him pacing hurriedly TO and
fro, and utterly confounded by the unusual ap.
pearance of the weather. The night as have
said was intensely dark ; and there was indis
sinct murmuring all around us in the gloom
that sounded like the wings of monstrous birds
tanning the air in rapid flight. Far away 1T
the southern board could be heard the low and
almost constant believing of muttered thunder
while all along towards the shore of San Bo-
rombom, small, wiry threads of chain lightning
seemed to dart mp from the surface of the wa
ter, and catch the Numbered warnings of the
storm-king upon the black scroll of night in
hieroglyphics of living fire.
was bat a passenger in the ship; but had
been an old cruiser in the River Plata, and |
knew that all these appearances were but the
heralds ofa coming tempest. By my advice,
the mizEen tapsaH yard was settled away upon
the cap, the reef-tackle hauled out; and two
or three men were already in .he rigging on
their way aloft TO reef the sail, when the cap
tain came on deck, and after glance out into
the gloom, came the loud hurried orders -
Clew up that main topsail Down out of
the rigging, there, every body, and clap on 10
the clewlines and buntlnesl Let 90 the
sheets and up with him with a will Sol
Belay everything and now lay aIofl there for
gour lives, and roll him up. Up you 60, my
souls, and be handy; it'll be down here upon
as in ave mnutes; :; and thus encouraged aud
urged On 10 their duty, the ready sailors flew
ap in the main rigging, and out on the topsail
yard like cats.
Who's STALKING here!' exclaimed the
anate, az his eye encountered dusky figure
crouching among The ropes about the main
rail who's this, | say Z and he dragged the
delinquent away from the mast towards the
weather main rigging.
Me, slrl boy Dieeo' replied deep musi-
cal veice, which recognized in moment as
belonging to a beautiful Brazilian boy, per-
maps sixteen years old, who had joined the ship
the very day before she sailed, and came
aboard in company with noble looking Port
uguese sailor, to whom he appeared to be par
ticuarly attached, and who, had observed
was always the first aloft when the order was
given to take in sail.
Boy Diego yelled the excited mate
4wel, why the devil don't you go aloft and
help furl that sail =
Mao possa, Senor PilOto,' replied the
frightened boy-'Eu sou rdpaa que serde co mo
do mario Literally i am the boy that serves
the sailors
The poor lad wanted to tell the officer tha
he had shipped as boy, or ordinary seaman
and he dare not go aloft; but in his fright he
had forgotten the few words of English which
he had picked up, and so he spoke it in Portu
guese.
Be done with your jaw-breaking lingo, ane
60 aloft, or III start you with ropes end
The bow did not understand the words, bu
he knew it was threat of some kind, anc
dleading its fulfilment, he sprang towards The
rigging, and would have gone a!ofi or tried to
but laid my hand upon his arm and held hin
back, while | said to the mate
Don't send this boy aloft, sir; I'll 60 ii
his place.
Before he could reply, the captain shouted
Hold on there, Mr.. Vibert! don't sent
that boy up there. If he should fall and b,
killed or lost overheard, it would be downright
murder
% ce' pos guarde' (Heaven preserve
you y exclaimed the boy, as he bounded for
ward, and grasping the captains hands, eager
ly pressed them to his lips.
Al that moment strange lurid glare lit VI
the heavens, and every object about the shiI
was as plainly visible as though it had beer
monday. 1t was not lightning. but SCENE,
rather to proceed from the murky atmospher,
itself, and appeared to roll in from all parts O
the compass towards the ship, in undula,in,
waves, like the beautiful coruscations of a bril
liant aurora borealis. 1t was just such lioh
as one would have imagined 10 light up III
dark recesses of the Russian forests from III
midnight flames of burning Moscow
On the topsail-yard the men were strainin
every nerve to furl the sail. The yard arm
were rolled in, and the gaskets half passed
when The rushing noise like the escape {
pent up steam, arrested onr attention: an
turning our eyes in the direction from which
came, we beheld not mile astern of us. tb
whole surface of the water converted into
mass of boiling, driving foam, by the boars
breath of the coming tornado. Lono s,;r.
wreaths of mists were caught up from III
leaping waves, and came driving on, white ?
the whirling drifts from the submits of II
hills, hurried onward by the winter hurrican