The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-10-08
THE CAPrAIN,s RETuRN.

by the receding sea-waves, as they crept
softly and insidiously upward, or sung in
the summer sun their monotonous chant,
tossing their white, crisp waves joyously in
the morning sunshine, or dashing with re-
sistless fury, when hunted by the sweeping
hurricane, up, up, till they dashed them
selves into snowy foam on the rocky pro-
lection of Eagle Crag, which stood, when
the water was at low tide, mile ana
half from shore.
Upon the top of this point, known to
the villagers by the name OF Eagle Crag,
stood cottage, a veritable ilt.ie nest, In
fairy-like proportions, around Wnich
garden bloomed and blossomed like q par
adise in o desert.
@Where shall build little cage to hold
Won till come back?" asked brown and
resolute John Danforth, the sailor, as he
looked on the bright face of the newly
made Mrs. Danforth, with all a lovers
fondness shining in his honest face and
fearless eyes, Transforming the hard lines
of his weather-bronzed face into positive
tenderness.
At the Eagle Crag," answered Robina
Danforth. usually known among her &C
quaintances by the pet name of Robin"
In that bleak place" said John, in his
establishment "Why, birdie, you would
die of home sickness in a week"
90 joint please" coaxed the little
woman, who, practical and housewifely to
the last degree, hid beneath it all a vein
of romance, none the less strong for being
hidden. "In my lonely life before you
found me, John, silly little thing as L
am"-here the lustrous eyes grew brighter
-"before you, with your experience, and
wisdom, and noble manliness, took me to
be your foolish little wife, and actually
stooped to fall in love with me, mere
schoolgirl, used to long so for home,
dear. Next to the longing for father
and mother and sister to love and care for
me, this other longing for home was the
strongest; and after l saw you, John -
here bright flush stained the clear brow
of her sunburnt cheek-"I used to think
if the longing should ever grow to be a
reality, and the little home, whose picture
grew brighter every time unused upon it,
should ever be mine-ours, mean" with
another little blush 30 how happy, how
very happy should be. / saw the place
where it should stand, this little home OF
ours, on a high point overlooking the
ocean, where we could watch the white
ships sail along the CLASSY water or ride
fearlessly upon the bounding waves l
saw the roses and jasmine Irvine tenderly
their wealth of bloom around the little
porch, and / have heard thousand times
the hum of bees and song of birds, that
darted in and out among the vines and
blossoms"
"Vines and blossoms p burst forth hon.
est John, in his amazement; Little
woman, are you crazy? l should like TO
see the vine or blossom that would flour
ish within half league of Eagle Crag,
the most arid, barren waste conceivable"
40 John is this true?" was all she said
but the smothered sigh attested the depth
of her disappointment.
John made no reply; but, stimulated by
the sound of that half-smothered sigh, and
the glimpse of glistening tears twinkling
hastily from the curling, brown lashes
fell to studying ways and means; and the
result was the pretty cottage, set on the
topmost point of Eagle Crag, while vines
and flowers flourished and grew in the ar
tificial soil spread over the small Enclosure
which defined the boundary of his pur-
chase.
Perched up there, like mountain-bird's
nest, one could see from the porch, which
was on the north side, the village, with
the fishermen's cottages; the long, wind
ing, steep road, whose tortuous descent Of
two miles must be traversed ere one could
gain the village; while from the west and
south, one looked upon the sea from a
height which almost made the gazeI
giddy.
Roses and climbing plants adorned the
trellises; beds of crimson verbenas, pur
pie pansies, and snow-white daisies made
the little garden redolent of perfume.
fl.a cann,,1 tra11 =
Gated had the flowers become that they
fairly ran wild and defied all boundaries
purple pansies and golden nasturtiums
escaped by the underground passage they
had found together, nodded boldly from
the walk, and looked with disdain upon
their meek sisters, who tamely submitted
to be hemmed in by borders of green box
and trailing convoluvus ran perfectly law
less, Haunting their scentless blossoms be
fore YOU, in the most unlocked for places
peeping through the garden palings, clasp
ing with their clinging tendrils the ston'
doorstep, running races with the jasmine
which quietly plodded on toward the toI
of the porch-in fact, setting all law anC
order at defiance in the most rebellion
manner, but also in way that would hav'
done Johns heart good to see.
But, alas John had been gone thes
many days on voyage to the China Sea
bearing with him, to keep his heart warm
the memory of a sunny face, which smile,
good-by with fearful eyes one bright sum
mer morning, standing at the gardel
gate.
Meanwhile, inside the cottage all wen
on with the order, and neatness, and regu
larity which rivaled that of the clock o.
the mantel, which seemed to take deligh
i'm ticking the minutes and striking tn
hours, TO such busting, cheerful littl
mistress. Tf
Little Hans, the poor, halfstarved, fol
lorn German boy, whom Robin had take
to milk the cow and hoe the flower garden
and run of errands to the village, gre,
bright and cheerful under the influence c
her smile; while his face, grown wide
and fuller every day, till it resemble
nothing so much as one of his own care
fully teI.ded sun-flowers, bore witness {
her marvellous skill in cooking.
Mother Danforth-a good sort OF VIC
man in melancholy way, who was muc
given to frequent sighings and complain
ings, whose most cheerful recreation wa
funeral now and then, and to walk II
to Eagle Crag to inspect, after the time
honored fashion of mothcrs-in-law, the dc
ings of its little mistress-was fain to col
fess that even to her critical eye the house
hold management was perfect.
"Her cookery is faultless, and every
thing is sumptuously neat" she acknow
edged to her next-door neigbbOr, Mr.
Gray. "But she doesn't seem to pin
after John bit But then, what els
could one expect from such child? 'Ou
of sight out of mindl' suppose if job
is pleased, ought to be. But I'm sure
was never my way, when Danforth was o
voyage. Many's the night i have erie
all night, and the house was more like
funeral than any thing else all the time b
was gone"
Mrs Gray, wise woman that she wa
carefully abstained from limiting that tn
might be the reason of Johns preferenc
for merry, cheerful Robin, whose unfailin
good spirits were TO him Constant sourc
of wonder and delight.
az thought she always seemed vtry fon
of John" she contented herself with say
ing, as Mrs. Danforth rose to take h.
leave.
Seemed" echoed Widow Danfortl
with her deepest sigh: "let me tell yo1
Mrs. Gray, when you have lived in tn
wicked world as long as l have, you Wi
find that things are not by any means a
that they SEEM"
And with this unintentional parody I
the sublime song of the poet, Mrs. Dal
forth went her lugubrious way homewar
So the summers came and went in fr'
GRANGE and song TO the little cottage Q
the Crag; and the white ships sale
stately and grand or flew like frightenl