The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-10-13
UNDER THE SEA.

They were scrambling down the
rocks, gay, chattering procession
| pretty Kate with her Captain; DIR.
supporting his invalid wife, Helen,
Isabel. Tom, and their midshipman
cousin; last of all, Esther Vane-
alone. It seemed to her morbid fan
cy that it was right that it should be
so. HencefoFwRrd she must be alone
always.
The little guide trotted on in ad-
vance-his round, ten-year old face
wearing the vacant look so strangely
common to that part of the Maine
coast, with its glorious scenery
There the ocean is considered simply
vast depot of herrings and ''pOrgy
oil, }" and the mountains as untOward
obstacles in the way OF a primitive
husbandry. "Blast 'em I wish they
were fat" the natives say as their
ploughs encounter the boUiders at the
case; and if they look at all, it is to
calculate the perches of "medder
land" which might be made to occu.
py the same area, if they were out of
the way.
The party felt on the eve of great
things. Having arrived only the
day before, Mount Newport, with its
wonderful reach of sapphire sea, the
bluffs, the lakes, in their settings of
dark-blue hills, were still to them the
images of things not seen. This, their
first excursion, they had dedicated to
the "GrOtto," or 'tDevil's Oven" as
the coast people term it-a sort of sub
marine cave unveiled and accessible
at low tide only, and a great wonder
in its way.
The path grew sleeper. Carefully
they followed its windings, step by
step, sure footed Kate accepting the
help she didn't need, for that pleas
ure in being guided, and watched
And now the little guide pauses, and
with a freckled fOrefnger points
round a projection ofrock. All crowd
to the spot. Ahl there it is. The
cave of the mermsids A shrek of
mingled surprise and enchantment
bursts from the party at the sight.
Beneath the lOw-bOwed arch the
rocky floor rises terrace after
terrace, till in its, highest re-
cess it meets the roof above
A floor for the nereids 70 dance upon;
a floor of pink eorralline, cleaning
here and there through pools of emer-
aid water left by the retreating tide.
And each of these tiny lakelets SEEM
ed brimming with flowers-the fiow-
ers of Oeean-green whorls, like chest
nut-burs anemOnes, with their dah-
liza bloom brown and rosy moses,
among whose tendrils bright fish
darted and played, and snails of vivid
orange clustered; broad leaves of
brilliant dye swaying and undulating
with the motion of the pool--minute
specks Of life flashing every irrides-
cent hue. No earthly garden was
ever so gorgeous. The rocky shelves
were dimpled with softly.
exquisitely curved. No fancy of the
old classic days seemed TOO fantastic
or too fair for the spot. The imagin-
alton instinctively kindled into pic
lures, and saw the sea.nymphs sport
ing the iOam bold tritons winding
their shells; mermaids playing at
hide-and-seek T; mikes and mOcking
water-sprites peeping from the basins
all dream-land and wonderland OPEN
ing, and the common earth put aside
and far away.
With cries of delight the party
made their way down, and scattered
through the cave. There was room
for an army. 1t was hard to realize
that with the returning tide the space
must fill, the gateway close, and
leave no resting place for human
foot.
you said the tide was going down,
didn't you, little boy?"
tGYa-ab ~.
"You're sure?'
"That faee,D cried Isabel. 'rThen
we can stay as long as we like. Oh
do somebody come here and see
this"
She was sitting with her face al
body responded to her call-each had
found some other point of interest,"
Tom had fished up some urchin and
was exhibiting it. Kate and the cap
tain at safe whispering distance, were
absorbed in each other. Esther had
to the topmost ledge and was
sitting there alone. For the first time
in six weary months, a sensation of
pleasure had come to her, and she
was conscious of but one longing
that they would all goaYay and leave
her to realize it. With some vague
hope she got out color box and port !
folio and began to sketch. At least it !
kept people off and furnished an eX- /
cuse for silence.
And so an hour or more passed by. |
She heard, as in a dream, the clatter /
of the others, their questions TO the |
little guide, his short jerky replies
The pools were all explored, the ur-
ehins and anemOnes had been tickled /
with pebbles and made to shut again
the young people began to wish for /
further worlds to conquer, and Mrs. |
Gray to consider it very damp.
HLittle boy, isn't there something /
else near by which we would like to
see ?n
HGuess So"
"Well, what is it? Tell US, please"
''There's the Heads, 1 guess"
"Oh, how far offs that A mile I
did you say? That's not far. Papa,
the boy says there's place called the |
Heads only mile away, and we
want to go and see it. Can't we go? |
You know the way, don't you little I
boyTi
yeah
'I think this place is very damp"
sighed Mrs. Gray. 81 should really /
be glad TO 20 somewhere and feel the
sunshine again. begin to have /
creeping ehills. Suppose we let the |
little boy show us the way to this
place, fathef.n