Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1859-12-31
Railg Sirsiaiau.
W0LFGANG;
THE wREcKEk.s BEACON.
CHAPTER !.
...a.n xna aArS

-. ,nod shin PArnrsDss Of New York, an,
honua 60 Copenhareu, had catered the North Sea
having lefs the Streets Of Dover two days behind.
The commander of the ship was young man, no
over systematically, and his name was Maurice
Lester. He stood by the tafrail casing of upon th'
horizon 70 the eastward, and anon raising M
hand above his head 70 feel II there was any wind
stirring, and oen casting his eye aloit to see nov
the canvass hung. As he stood thus his mate ap'
prcached, and spoke TO him;
awhai Dire think Of this, Captain 7
al think were In for storm, SIR the master re-
uaied aAnd tell you what IL is, Griffin, he added
afer sweeping the horizon again with his eye, when
il comes Il viii be an earnest 0ne None OF your
broad Ocean pufs, with nothing but water to hatch
wind from but we'll have IL right fresh from some
of those places where they know how to make things
blow"
"Then you think we'll have hard one ?" said
Griffin.
AYE" answered the captain, with almost a shud-
der, al feel IL in my bones"
In the meantime. Captain Lester had been watch
ing the sea and sky before, and he fancied that
the signs of the storm were growing more and more
palpable every moment The sun was going down
in thick bank giving to the whole western horizon
A dull purple red bloody hue, with here and there
spots Of darker tinge, like openings, through the
fiery cloud, looking upon fearful blackness behind
Do you see how strangely IL looks off there r
said the captain, raising his finger towards the point
where the sun was sitting
AYE, returned Orimh, nave occh watching
those dark places
And others noticed the same thing aud spoke of
II, too.
Seven o'clock came and went. Eight o'clock came
and the frst watch was set.
Don't go below" said the captain as the men Of
the last dog-watch left their stations This calm
can't last q great while. You had better hattcn
down the matches now, while there is nothing else to
do; for am sure there will be need of having them
close before the coming Of another day
The men had no thoughts of going below, for they
could see and feel and they were not wholly igno-
rant Of what coming; SO they went at work and
secured the matches with thick tarpaalins aud when
This was done those who had no particular station
collected about the wheel. Another hour passed
away-snd another. Ten O'Clock came, and still
not a breath. The ship lay upon the water like
dead thing, with the ropes and blocks, and sails,
rafting and tapping as she was swayed to and fro
by the lazy swcs Of the sea.
"What does 1t mean| cried Griffin, the boy
struck five bells.
"Harkr said the captain, almost instantly 81
guess you'll soon see. Did you feel that 2--lla!-
and that?
1t was puff of wind, and ligh, flying of spray
or, perhaps it was spit OF rain At all events, the
puff felt; and the drops of water fell upon other
cheeks than Maurice Testers; and other ears than
his heard the dull moaning which came over the
dark waters. So other ears heard the which
followed, and other bodies quivcred beneath the
shock OF the stofmgiant when he came in his might
Aye-the storm had come. II with wind
and rain, and with an angry heaving of the sea. II
with darkness like Erebus, and with the voice
of thunder. The gale continued to increase in fury
as the long night passed away. When the morning
came the scene OF awful grandeur. The
wind WAS bowling with terrific fury and the broad
sea was dashed into huge mountains, that foamed
and ,umbed, and leapcd along the bosom of the
deep seeming every moment ready to whclm and
guilt the frai bark that struggled within the demon
grasp
When Captain Lester had observed the signs Of
the morning he feared that the would continue
through the day, and SO he told his men The sky
wore hue Of horror, and rain driving
down, mingling with the flashing sea. AT noon il
still worse.
AT length night shut in again, and not a sign yet
of the passing away of the storm The frghtu
bowling Of the tempest seemed rather to have iu-
creased than abated The men gathered upon the
quarter deck clingng for support to the racks and
were afraid Of them-gathered as near to the light
of the binnacle-lamp as they could as though even
from such feeble beams they might find some com
fort But not ali there. No--not all Four
stout true-hearted men had been swept away by the
storm. Near score were left but how many shall
the light Of another day
At nine O'Clock Captain Lester went below. He
took down a chart Of the North Sea, and having
spread 1t upon the table, he sat down to examine it,
He thus engaged when Mr.. Griffin came down !;
but he did not look up until he had finished the cal
culation.
How is itr, the mate asked, as he saw his com
mander lay down the dviders.
:" have been making a reckoning, and find that
we have but little more sea-room left. The course
we have made since wore, has been, as near ~ !
can calculate north west-by west so that we must
have been driving towards the coast of Northumber-
land think we have plenty of room to stand on
until midnight; but we cannot stand on much lon
ger. If the gale does not abate by that time know
not what We shall do"
The captain started up from his chair and would
probably have walked across the cabin but at that
moment heavy sea caught the ship and gave her a
pitch forward which caused him to catch his seat as
quickly a. possible As the food had gone
from the deck, and the vessel had struggled up from
the shock, be looked into his companions face, and
said, in voice made tremulous by deeper emotion
than he had before manifested:
"Grifhn, have something upon my mind more
than you know and am anxious to communicate
it, too. must tell now for have a strange fore
boding Of coming Ill. Something Is TO happen tina,
VIII pear great calamity to some of US am no,
croaking-l am only reading what the Unseen has
written in my soul. However, you shall hear INV
story. You have heard that my parents were both
lost at scar" '
ayes" said the mate
this sea 7" '' u
~ have heard so, sir"
"Aye-so it was. l was boy then They we r.
on their way to Copenhagen, as we should be now
Ny father commanded the ship-she was called IN
'C7ors Jane She was named for my mother; an,
she was . staunch noble craft was at school then
ia Troy and when knew that my parents wer
dead was well nigh mad with grief fanced then
In my first hours Of orphanage, that my heart wou
break; and think such would have been the case
they had kept me at school, But some of those wi
cared for me came 10 see me- and it was finally ar
ranged that should 60 to sea. And prospered--
prospered so well that when was twenty years old
they gave me command of 0 ship.
The who owned the shin which first com
manded was named Thornton. He had q daughte
named Carrie-one of the sweetest purest and ovli
est creatures that grsced this poor life of earth