The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1861-10-23
THE ICE-VOYAGER,


"A blue-eye boy, of it may be, twelve years, ella
l. IN the humble garb of poverty, ainging wild
1t open the door and bounding into small, CON
TO fortless apartment, on the third floor ola ding
a looking old wooden building, near the canal, i
| the then village Of Cleveland. "Come, hurral
y mother, put away that slave work and go an
e get you nice dinner right off," continued th
. little follow. approaching pale, delicate wo
O man, scantily clad in a thin dress, her fac
b pinched with hunger, and her hands even thel
blue with cold.
J "Why, what do you meas, my child?" sale
the woman, ooking wonderingly up from he
work. ado you know have no money to bul
any thing to eat, and must finish this vest be
fore can got even stick Of weod for our fire
which is almost out?"
Nonsense, mother! let the old vest go t
some poor woman that has no stout boy to carr
money Tor her. You shan't work this way any
longer, mother. Look here" And the little
fellow flung down on the table his two hands
full of half dollars, while roguish smile lit up
his handsome face as he beheld his mothers
look OF wonder.
"Why, Frank! Frank my son, where have
did you"
"All right, mother!" Interrupted the boy
And down went another handful Of bright silver.
"Pll tell you all about it, mother. You see |
went down to get my pay OF Mr.. Dennison to-
day. for two months cooking on board the Au-
rora Well he paid me twenty dollars in all
these pieces, and then he asked me if would
60 for a month, in his new schooner, for fifteen
dollars. told him wou.d--and when he
heard me tell how hard you had to work, and
how poor and almost sick you are, he gave me
ten dollars more, and said you must get anoth.
er room and stop working so hard; besides, he
says if 1'll stay all winter in the schooner and
take care of her, shall have twelve dollars ev
cry month, to be paid weekly to you So, hur.
rah, mother; we'll have big fire and nice
dinner, and--wel, Mr. Dennison is a good
man, after all, If he is rich old batch, as that
crab apple old maid, Aunt Hetty johnson, calls
him."
"HeaveD bless you, my noble foy!' sobbed
out the widow, as she clasped her arms about
her child's neck, bowed her head upon his shoul
ders, and wept like very child herself for joy
joy, not so much for the timely aid her son had |
brought her, although her heart was full of
thank 'uness for that, as for the noble qualfica-
tons displayed by the brave little fellow in re /
membering her and bringing home every sbill-
ing Of his hard earned wages. instead of spend
ing it foolishIy, as too many boys of his age
would have done.
A month passed away, and again the hand
some sailor boy, Frank Merrill, stood beside his
mother, in a comfortably furnished room, in
most respectable part OF the town, while the
widow, as she gazed proudly on her boy, look
ID full ten years younger and much happier
han she had done only four short weeks pre-
'iously.
A cheerful baze was in the CRATE, everything
bout the room was neat and eloquent of COM
ort, and the widow Merrill was really beauti-
ul in her brown merno dress with her dark,
,rown hair, like that Of Carol Dolce's St. Cecilia
parted on her classic brow, and falling in wavy
masses upon her shoulders.
Frank thought his mother very beautiful, and :
o did another person present. That person
vas Mr.. Joseph Dennison, the boys employer, ,
bluff, good .natured, money making bachelor
f forty five, who, at the boys request, accom-
'aped him home.
"Mrs Merrill" SAID Mr. Dennison, 'your .
on has been in my employ for the last three .
lonths, and | am so we'll pleased with his pru.
ence and general good qualities, that, with =
our permission, should be pleased to keep
i'm all winter on board one OF my vessels,
yhich sails to morrow for Buffalo. 1t is so late
the season that she may not be able to return G
mis- winter in which case you can have Franks q
ages paid monthly or weekly, in advance, for
uch is his wish and should you need anything
lrther your order on me will be honored al i
,ays"
The widow could only murmur her thanks, II
tranger whom she had never seen before, and
ho, bidding her good night left her alone with v
er darling boy. On the following day the r
,hooner Vistern Trader left Cleveland with I r
III cargo OF oats and corn, bound for Buffalo e
hat very night there came on cold north r
ast snow storm, which finally closed the navi
alton OF Lake Erie for the winter. !,
A whole month passed without any news T
ON the schooner; and that, when everybody -
ad given her up for lost, her captain and crew S
lme back TO Cleveland, with the report that D
ne bad frozen last in the ice, seme thirty miles
the eastward, and full half that distance. from #
le lind. They had lett her and escaped to /
ie shore on the ice. but all they could say to a
lduce the boy Frank Merrill to abandon her a
as Of no avail. il
"No, will never leave her." he said. II L
romised Mr.. Deunison te stand by and take Il
ire OF her through the winter, and will il h
ve." n
"God bless the noble boy" exclaimed Mr.
ennison, as the captain told Of the little el. y
e fellows fidelity. And the exclamation was n
,hoed back by dozen men at Cleveland, who I,
appened to be in the Office at the time. a,
Within two hours more efficient comman. b
or, with eight fearless fellows, who agreed to 2
Iay by the vessel till they got her into port "
set out from Cleveland to board a
er; but when they arrived abreast of whore n
10 had been fi zen in, the ice was broken ur Il
within five miles oi the land, and the sehoon. 81