Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1868-08-22
From the N. o. Sunday Times.
THE FATAL CARDS.
A %FORECASTLE YARN.

It was evening the days work was
over. and the hands had assembled as
usual on the forecastle to pass away the
time till eight bells : SOM talking, some
playing cards, while one or two OF the
more careful employed the time in mend
ing their clothes. "Have a game with
us, jack" said one, addressing an old
seaman, who sat quietly alone, droning
over one of those interminable sailor
songs which seem to have neither begin
ming nor end "No," replied the old
man, " l have never touched a pack OF
cards since l was a boy, and | don't sup,
pose l ever shall now as long as | live"
"Why, how is that ~ said the other.
Are you afraid of them !?
"WelI, no." said the old man, II amt
afraid of them exactly, but saw a game
played once when l was a boy which had
a bad end. and l have never touched a
card since"
swell, tell US all about it," said the
other 1; we know you can spin a good
yarn"
There was a general demand for the
"yarn," and old Jack seeing that he was
fairly in for it took a fresh & quid by
way refreshing his memory and COM
menccd.
"Well, mates, most of You know that
l served my apprenticeship to the fishing
trade in a Barking vessel /; but perhaps
you don't exactly know where Barking
is? Well, I'll tell you. Barking is a
fishing town on the river Thames, about
forty miles below London, and a great
many fishing sloops or smacks, as they
call them, are owned there !; in fact, the
largest and finest vessels of the North
Sea fishing feet are those hailing from
Barking. Well, that's where l was born
and when l was about thirteen years old,
an old mar came there to live, who went
by the name of Capt. Golf. He was
about sixty years old. but as straight as
a dart and as active as young fellow Of
twenty. He bought a fine smack called
the Nancy, and commenced RAINING her
as a carrier.
A carrier, you must know, is a vessel
employed in carrying fish from the feet
which are fishing or the banks in the
North Sea, to market, sometimes to Lon
don, sometimes to Yarmouth or Lowe
stoff. They are all fast vessels, and the
Nancy was one of the fastest, and he
knew how to handle her, did Capt. Golf.
He always steered her himself when it
blew hard, and he was an awful fellow to
carry sail. It was his boast that he
could make Der do anything hut speak.
It was rumored among the fishermen that
Capt. Golf had made a good deal of mon-
ey fighting the Dons, as they called the
Spaniards, and very likely this was SO,
as be bought q little house besides the
Nancy. In this house he lived all alone
when on shore, aud when he got drunk,
which was often the case, we could hear
him shouting and swearing in a strange
language, which l found afterwards was
Spanish. Well, when l was about four.
teen, my father, finding be could do moth.
ing else with me, bound me apprentice
to Capt. Golf, who was a first-rate sea-
man, and l was put on board the Nancy
to serve my time. l had been in her
about a year, when one Saturday night
we lay at anchor in Yarmouth Roads,
waiting for the skipper, who wa on shore.
There was another boy on board, called
Tom, and we were on deck together,
keeping Q lookout for the skipper, who
was to come of in q shore boat.
We sat for some time talking, till the
sun went down behind the sand hills of
Yarmouth, when Tom said It is get
ting cold here, let US 60 down in the cab
in. There is . pack of cards there and
We can have . game. We shall hear the
boat coming, and We can jump on deck
before the skipper gets aboard"
Well, We went dows, and Tom, who
was cabin boy, 500 got . light and Ne
sat down to play at cards with the Cap
tain's pack. We had played two games
and were just commencing the third,
when we beard the distant sound of the
Yarmouth clocks striking twelve. l
threw down the cards, saying that l
would play no more. "Why not p said
Tom. "Why," said ], sit is Sunday
now, and those that play cards on Sun
day will see old Scratch on Monday ; at
least 90 they say" well" said Tom,
II amt afraid ; l would play if there was
any one to play with me-" just as be
said this, the cards which l had thrown
down began to move and arrange them.
selves in the same manner as . player