The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1865-08-24

Francisco remained quietly at home
| until he had attained the age of fifteen.
| when he was sent to Bilboa, to learn
| the handicraft of Il carpenter. The
town is not very far removed from
| Santander, and has always enjoyed IL
hieh*repuration for the excellence of
its sword and steu manufacture.
| AS might have been anticipated, tho
young apprentice showed no greater
| love Of work at Bilboa than lie had
/ previously displayed under the mater
! nal roof. He was constantly wasting
his time in the river, neglecting his
fduties, and, consequently, causing
great dissatisfaction to his master.
In this manner he continued to live
for q couple Of years, until one after
noon he went out with some cOmpa-
nicns to bathe. 1t WIS on II mid-sllln-
mer day, a. ID. 1914, say e." chroni-
clelS, when this event occurred. After
enjoying the. luxury Of 4 somewhat
prolonged bath, his companions came
on shore and dressed themselves. and
were rather surprised not to SEQ Fran
cisco among their number.
They waited a. considerable time for
returned to the town, leaving. his
clothes on the bank where he had de-
posted them. The unusual absence
of his apprentice now began to alarm,
the honest mechanic, who caused in.
q1!lrles 10 be instituted regarding him;
but all that could he gathered was that
he had been seen swimming down the
river at a great distance from Bilboa:
and as nothing further was heard of
the unfortunate youth, tlc natural in
ference WIS that he had either become
exhausted or had been seized with
cramp, and SO had fallen 81 victim to
his passion for the water.
The carpenter took the earliest o,-
portunity Of informing poor Maria of
the prob;.Me fate OF her son: and the
good folks, her neighbors, shook their
heads, and said that the mothers curse
had been fulfilled. Maria de Ia Vega,
III her atliiction, now denied that she.
had ever made Use of the dreadful
words ascribed to her, and some OF her
friends colroborated this statement.
BE this ;;s it may, the honest woman
gradually recovered from tho shock
she had sustained; and convinced of
t'ranc;sco's death, people ceased to
talk about i, and all recollection of
the wayw;sru boy was rapidly fading
away.
Five years had elapsed, when Il SIN
gular occurrence happened on the ou-
poSlte coast of Spain. One morning
IN the year 1879. some lishcrine.n from
Cae.lz were pursrin" their usual :lvu-
cations. and had already cast their
nets, when they perceived q strange
object Ill the distance. The figure
moved, appeared ON the s,ufnc>, then
dlved under the watcr. whore it rc-
manned for considerable period In
appearance it strongly vcseTnblcd Il
human being; and the boatmen p,,llcd
Iarther out to sea, in order to take IL
more minute survey OF their new ac-
Quaintance, and, ii possible. to catch
slim; but as hc did not appear again.
tiley returned to the shore at their
usual hour. Having mentioned their
adventure over night. they were &c
companled next morning by several Of
their acqualntances, all anxious to
have q look at this strange being. In
TINS they were not disappointed. for
~ "ool1 owed 1tSel1 IN the Water-
now approaching, now retreating--
then plunsing underneath, then re-
appearing; and after going through IL
vallety OF these ganlbols, as if in pas
linr, 1t finally vanished from view.
Wnen the fishermen again returned
with tins news, the public curiosity
w;ls raised to the highest pitch, and all
sorts OF means were devised TO catch
the monster. At length it was anani-
mously agreed that the larger and
sJouter nets should be taken out, and
that other boats, standing across the
bay from the opposite side, should
endeavor to drlve the animal into
them. Already mad the water-ghost,
as he was called. formed the main
topic of conversation in the surround