The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-01-15


stuck under the steep bank, like a swallows
nest beneath the caves, originally a isherman's
shanty, but repaired and enlarged by Uncle
Steve, until it forms a nice kitchen and two
bedrooms, exclusive of the shed, the wide
curving beach stretching away on either side,
and ending in high wooded points the wet
brown sand, strewn with smooth variegated
pebbles and silver shells" or, rather golden
shells, for their color was Of beautiful am
Der, and large fat rocks, with here and there
fsh-house, with its giant reel for drying
seine, and its lazy, hstless occupants, stretched
out upon the rocks, in the sun the broad ex-
panse of water, bounded by the dim, distant
outline of Long Island; the restless, foam
crowned waves that came leaping in upon the
beach, sending their spray mockingly in our
very faces as we sat on the bench beside the
IN iaRGaenRg III its v 9gg l9w gndertone
goes up from the heart of old ocean-weird,
low notes, caught up by the tall dark pines that
stood on the bank above the hut and sent far
inland to the ears of dreaming poet and maid
en- the fresh, glad breeze, symbol of the spirit
OF God that moveth on the face of the waters.
bringing health and healing upon it's wings
and, best of all, the simple, homely, loving
hearts and faces that met me there Tears
We'll, let them come 1t is much that the
child of the almshouse has memories which
can bring them forth
Uncle Steve had been a mariner in his youth
and early manhood, and | think he must have
garnered into his heart large share of the
sunshine and warmth of those furrin ports
under the line," Of which be used to tell little
AdIlne and me so much about; for his fund
seemed inexhaustible. It could thaw even the
hard vlsage OF Mrs. Sally, and penetrate the
black, melancholy husk in which Polly Maria
chose to ensconce herself; for | soon learned
it was but the husk of the sternest but most
consistent of all forms of Calvinism-the close
communion Baptists-that gave such gloomy
tlnge to her manner and used to often won
der, before | knew her well, why Uncle Steve
never sent her on a "v'yage across the line"
But underneath the husk there was fund of
real kindness, which neither the hard dsci-
pline of life nor the tenets of her creed could
petrify; and though, theoretically, she looked
upon US as "children of the flesh, still in the
bonds of iniquity," practically che took rs ten.
der care of that flesh as if it had been a piece
of her own heart.
They were such contrast-the inmates of
that cabin; and my childish imagination was
never weary of watching them. One day. as
Polly Marin sat grum and silent, stitching away
at new flannel shirt for Uncle Steve, (he
always wore red flannel, summer and winter,
and used to think that the high color had some,
7
could hardly tell where the one ended and the
other begun,) l asked him what made her
always so sober.
He paused moment over his work-he was
weaving Gsh-car, from smooth, little, white
/ splinters-and glancing at where she sat, in
| the inner-room, said
Disap'inted"
Disappointed !" 1 repeated and, after
maturely considering the meaning of the word,
! | said
g You wasn't ever disappointed, were you,
/ Uncle Steve?" =
Bless the child, mol" he said, with hearty
laugh never took to sech ways j s,pose,
howsomeVer, tcomes kinder material to women.
Give me another-splinter, blackbirdl".
What's kinder natural? / asked, 80
Bein' disap'inted. I've known lots on EN-
to be so, though they pretty ginerally picked
up arter while; but you see Polly Maria, then.
has had trouble"
! "Troublel"
/ Yes, when she broke off with Jem Dean, or
he broke off with her, never rightly knowed
! which, for | was in the Aurory at that time
! but it don't much matter which after peakin'
about awhile, she up and married Bill Stevens
all ter once, as one may say. I've no particu-
/ Ter grudge toward Bill, as | knowed no great
deal about him, and don't want to say hard
/
to drink, and bused her-a woman An then,
you see, she has had trouble with me and blue
bird
:" With you-oh, Uncle Stevel"
Il Yes, it's so. Somehow, haint been used
to wimmenfo!ks' ways = I've got q notion of
tiinging things about an claterin up the room.
II worrits her, know 1t does; and then | take
bluebird off with me, sometimes, when it gets
bit rough, and that worrits her These here
winds amt tie trades, an body can't alters
. tell when they'll chop about, as tell ael, black
bird ~
What's become Of her husband p
" hes dead. After he died, she took ter
meetns and doctrines, and : hoped she'd
brighten up bit; but l can't see as she has.
poor womanl"
Oh, what kindly affectionate glance was
that which for a second rested or the darl,, ST.
lent woman
| watched his stiff fingers, as they wove with
geometrical precision the octagon-shaped holes
IN the car, until he had finished two or three
rows, when again resumed the conversation
Ad'line-whose girl is she?"
" Brother Joe's."
Where's he %
Dead-knocked overheard in hurricane,
off st. Kits"
Were you with him, Uncle Steve?"
:" No; was on the Norwes Coast, on a wha-
lin wage. When we came inter port, his wife
was dead, and birdie, yonder" (his eye glanced
fondly toward the steep bank behind the hut, /
where little Ad'line sat, perched beneath the
pines, tossing the dry cones down at us) " was
leetle teenty baby, not bigger than a good
sized lobster, and Almost as red as one Billed. /
Joe's wife's mother had little ones enough to
look arter, so got woman to take her. and /
went on short wage up the Straits. When |
| came home, she began to run alone. Polly !
Maria's husband was dead, and SO l concluded I
ter give up goin' ter sea for SPELL and make I
berth for 'em here. l used to lobster and .
fish here when | was shaver no bigger n
you, and | know'd / could make both ends
meet somehow; and so have" He set the .
car up, and, retreating few steps. shut up one
eye, and stood for a second, taking in the gen
eral effect.
"She's a little lop-sided, birdie, but wen
fetch her up with the next round, wont we?"
he said.
Yes. So you never have been to sea since,
Uncle Steve?"
mo; think about goin', and talk about it
but somehow, when it comes to- | don't get
away. Birdie d be so lonesome; for she," Che
nodded his head toward his sister, though
mighty good in the main-worth a dozen o.
me-could not be to her Just what I've been
teachin her to swim, and playin' st porpoises
and whales and bears and kangaroos 1t Amt
to be expected she should you know"
l said, "Of course not" though, upon rehec.
ton, did not why F.; for, sitting there at her
work. so unbending and upright, she bore far
more resemblance 20 kangaroo, as delineated
in little Ad'line's book, than could possibly
conceive of Uncle Steve's attaining, with his
best efort-and knew he never stopped short
of that.