The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-01-08

meant the puir sowl to gang Ony bad
gate! Ma, ma! I wad cut off my haun
sooner than do that But l wished
him, We see, tae ken beyond a dispute
or doot, that [ was in doonrich earn
est, or and jokin or palaverin when |
cam to sweer Ainst | yoked on him
in that langage. i faith he believed
me, and did his wark Sac, [ consid-
er that [ m obligated, as it waur, for
the sake O. my employers, to get the
wark done, and no to speer at mysel
whether or no it's pleasant to my ain
feelin's. A man, | consider, should do
his duty, sweer or no sWeer.
Apart from this evil, so defended
by sailor casuistry, Wauchope was
one of the best CAPTAINS from the
Clyde, and immensely liked by his
men. He may seem to my readers to
have been rather rough sort of man
for a gentle lady to trust herself TO SO
implicitly. But his own wife at home
once said to me, He's an awfu guild
cratur, my John. His heart is as saft
as a spunge, and he's jist daft ABBOTT
me and the bairns, and [ never heard
a rough word frae his mouth, tho
[ m sair pit ABBOTT WI what he has
teli'd me, when gaun tae the kirk, o
hoo he whites speaks tae thae sailors.
He's aye ruein't but aye doin't. He
can help it weel eneuch, | tell him,
and it's jist thochtless clavers, aye,
and great wickedness, as | tell him,
for a guild man like him tae be takin
holy things in vain, and tae be sweer-
Ia :"
The mate ofthe ship was Peter Mac
intyre, whose voice no one ever heard
except when giving orders. He
chewed, smoked, spoke gutterally, did
his duty, and, all apparently without
sleep or rest He crept about the
deck muffied up in one rig for the
day, and another for the night, each
differing from the other in the num-
Der of strata Of coats which envel
oned him and kept up his internal
heat. He wore sof thick slippers, so
that his presence was no more noted
than that of a bucket or rope. He
was the sort of man who, had he fall
en- overheard, would have taken it as
a matter of course, like reefng top
sails, and would have drowned quietly.
The crew were of the mixed kind
found in most vessels. To the COM
mon eye they were a set Of machines
made for hurrying a ship across the
ocean, and employed only because
they could not be superseded by any
better machinery in the present state
of mechanical invention. They
emitted the usual gfunts and groans
when turning out of their hammocks
on squally night; the common wild
agonizing cries when pulling hard at
some lift or brace in the midst of the
storm; and they sprang aloft and lay
out on the yard to reef, and battle
utter indifference to being Drained or
drowned. They drank their coffee,
smothered themselves up in their
swinging hammocks, chafed each
other, abused everything, and longed
for port. They quarreled in calm !;
forgot, forgave, and were jolly in a
gale; spent days and nights saturated
like sponges with salt water, and did
their duty according to the ships ar
ticles-and what more could be ex-
peeted of them?
But to our story. The good ship
Clyde sailed for her destination, hav-
Tag on board the lady passenger, who
gave no name, and the Captain deem
cd it necessary to ask it. She got an
excellent berth in a private cabin,
which, [ believe, the Captain gave up
for her use. She had been told there
was no stewardess-no luxuries on
board-and scarcely any comforts.
Everything was done to disuade her
from embarking in this ship. But
she pleaded life and death business,
and her utter Indifference to all such
things in comparison with getting to
Scotland by the first possible oppor-
tunity, that she was accepted.
1t was an odd sort of place for a
lady to be in all alone, this ship
| Clyde. The poor captain and his
mate felt indeed a sense of awkward
ness, especially at table. 1t Is true
they were very particular in washing
| their rough hands, and even went SO
far as to brush their hair; while Tom
Watson, the cook, had never been
so careful about his manipu-
lations in the caboose. But yet when
the unknown lady entered the cabin
at meal time with a sweet smile, cOur-
teous words, and unobtrusive demean-
| or, full of thanks for all her comforts
and of expressions of her pleasure il
the ship as home, the Captain and
Macintyre could not feel at their ease.
and in spite Of all the Captains at
tempts to tell stories, and to prove
himself not unworthy of his guest, he
was not at home, and often wondered
what tempted him to ship such cargo
on board
To the crew, the lady was for some
days the subject of great speculation
! Ihau saemed to think or snaak o.