, 1870-05-08
TIE "FRlsIAK VROWF


youne, rose into full activity with mop End
broom Floors snd stairs, windows and deoEs,
poschcs and sidewalks Weto deluscd WITH
water, and husbands and brothers sought
refuge in the warehouse or beer shop till the
time OF tho evening meal. "Hods meal"
t11ey called i, that Saturday night supper,
when the weekly Thanksgiving Of burghers
snd burgonnsters was offered for tho losses
Gods wages-of the Six working days since
Sunday.
The year WIS 1703. The street Shippers
lane. The house Antony Van Stra1en's. The
day May 29d. at 8 o'clock in the evening. The
patlor with its embossed leather walls, where
sand could make them. WAS Lighted with 4
single wax candle, and around the stove, where
2 tire OF wood had been lighted to Kill the
damp, sat Antopy, his three daughters, Kar1 !
Aoo1dt, h,a partner IN more prosperous aaya,
younger sister. An aged aunt was more than
ha!f asleep IN her chair in the chimney corner,
ano standing behind the table, spread in ]
nap6eIy n,,Iney 81 p spo.less white, preparing the
supper OF buttered bread, toasted cheese,
whom neither gray hairs nor poverty
bad altered the cheerful look, or dannped
the hopeful heart Dame Van St1a1en, the
" "fflsian vrow," as the neighbors called her,
gin from FHealaod- Antony had married
without dow1y. He WIS deemed rich at that
day-the misfortunea which broke the firm of
Stralen, Hoofdt d Co, coming from the loes
Of tie a fraulein' at son long afterward-but |
Peter T1heuaann's daughter, whom he might
have had for the aehng, hor fortune would |
have saved the old house from coming to grief.
But Karl's'eoul was purblind. The money
trusting nan did no. understand the wisdom
il which the good Ft1siau YroW had brought [
up Antony's children, nor the sunshine which,
ii spite Of losses and failures, her presence
had mals in his homo for more than thirty
Jeazs- -
Tie feast waited for Antony's son, 4uke |
Stralen. His vessel had dropped anchor that
morning in the Amstel after sx mouths
voyage. Sailors wives and children know
what makes red letter day in the calendar
Dame StraIen's heart was large enough to care I
for all her children, but her thoughts we're
most with tho boy who brared the pe1,is Of TIE /
deep She knew, too, that her Love was y
uaturedly, used to wager that Aukss first
question to the plot would be, "1s my mother
wel1?" He had been seven years at Sea, ever
since he WAS fifteen. His eatnings bad been
| the support of the family. He had clinlbed
| through every grade Of seamansllp, ison
| and ns he nov entered the par1ot, sl1sking the
! h.pds of the Seniors saluting each Of bis SIS
! te1s and the g1anaannt With q Ass, and bash
fully greeting the pretty ueishbos, his long
and hearty embrace was giren to his mother.
! SIT is Gods meal tonight, ny boy" SAID
the r7ow, with her hand in both Of his, and
1 her blue eyes beautiful in their expression OF
J natsonly pride and love. You have not for
I gotten :"
Il Mitherkn! Dear Mithe1kin r. replied the
| boy, raising her hand to his lips and bending
| his head over hers, " I have never forgotten,
not once, that Gods work pays sure wages"
Auke waa etll " boy to her, whom he sd
dressed by that tenderest name, Mitherkin--a
word for which We have no synonym but his
bronzed face and sturdy frame gave him almost
SAILORS garb OF canvas, with his Danish pipe in
full p1sS, he might have been taken for ono Of
those old-time seamen for whom Skipper 8
lime had been named
There WAS a time when Karl Hoof1t had
spccuIated on match between his partners
aon and his own and only daughter, and the
young folk t1id not think that event impossi'
ble get. But Karl YVES thinking otherwise,
Auke made good wages to be snre. He was
; temperate and Industrious. II it were not fol
bis fathers 1arge family he might lay by some
Thing but as it was he would never be worth
3 silver. Joan must do better than that, :
| vas the conclusion to which he WAS coming
when the news Auke wss telling his mother
, over the beer turned his musings to another
/ channel
J; The Captain and owner OF the Il Znyde,
Zee, in which craft Auks had always sailed
WdS JAEQQ GtEtEI1hQNt WHQr C1f1y1uE CQtGss
: ! and gin to the Baltic town, and salt fish bach
to Amsterdam, had realized sufficient gains tt
i open trade with England. It's late King hBd
: been Hollands Stakeholder, and London had .
! market fo1 tea ana Chinese Eikr, OF which
, Amsterdam VAS the emporiqsa But the
md be had offered to sell her to Auke, to be
paid for in yearly instalneuss, With Interest
"fake her !" said Karl, and will pse al
my interest with the Schneidams and cheese
! buyers to get up the first cargo"
; "But she is Glow sailor, and rough In ths
| ! cautious e1de.
"shen go well enough before the wind
: won't Ahes and then she LADIES' better thzu sns
; bargain with Jacob, gire her cozt Of paint,
and call ler Zimmerman van Harderlold, ri
after our East Irdia Director. I'll 50 the first
trip with you Auke."
a. H1het's 1, s 81 zeg vel, replied Auko, "I1l
Mynheer Eari, may freight her. Bnt sha is
my chip, and as long as I eal her she gocs
only hy one name. and that is the Ftisiaa
Frow, for my mother"
For mhur weeks Auke and Earl, the oaa at
the ship and the other at the cargo, waro busy
Ii getting ready Everything sped. Neigh
hnrs furnished ventures Of linen. Country
! folk brought in their cheeses. Schnapps in
bottles, Hollands in deltt, and gin in barrels
and hoEsbeadH, were carefully stored away in
Tic good ships hold. Her bottom WAS newly
Jason Reef for good luck, sat gracefully under
her bow, End she bore in largo lettera on her
rte1n "Fn1s1As Vnow." b the middle Of
July she was ready to sail
tsFare thee well, my boy!" said his good
mother as ahe took leave Of him at the doc,
get ua not at home, and, IN all thy goings
remember that Gods work hath srre wages
~ viii remember that, and al tho good
things you havo taught me, mother; but keer
I brave heart and take no disquiet for ne
go9SSye fSe Senr ssa The ,5 sGa1s spRe: and Nth
WAS sailing down the Amstel
The newly-painted chip was bigh-pooped
bload-sided bark, Of heavy build, but fail
wind carried her down the Zuyder Zee. over
the North Sea. and up the Sound 50 sure1y and
steadily that Kall got the length OF remasking
Their destination YVES the port of Revel, where
the Dutch traders had found market ever
since their sails we're first seen in the Baltic.
At this time Potter. afterwa1d called The
Great, vas home from his three years travels.
He had worked az a sbip-ca1pentsr at the
xaandsm dock yards; be had worn the dress
Of workman, made his own fire, boiled his
Eot, swept his lodgings, carried timber on lis
| ahouldcrs, and conformed in every respect to
the customs Of the yard; and he vas now
cs1ry1ng out results in Rueaa such as IN any
other way ten centuries never would have &C.
complained He had created fleet, dis
ciplined an amy. established university, and
was now enEaged in laying the foundation OF I
city TO be called after his OWL name. Fixing
| upon Cronstadt, as the location for the fort
| TO protect the mouth of the rirer upon which
| tho capital Of all the Russias was to stand,
and preparing the drawings with his own hand,
he left it's execution to one Of his
engineer otacers while he returned to St.
Petersburg to push forward those almost
superhnnan works, which, at the cost Of near
| y haH million lives, have made it what it it,
The eastern coast Of the Baltic, formerly d.
vided between Sweden and Poland, hai also
| fallen into Peters bands almost to the wa1la
] of nevel.
,All this The slipper Of the F5iaian y1ow knew
! little Of. Dutch cheese found market ct Re-
! yeli nAtrow strnits Ind to be threaded, sand
| banks and sunken bars made the passaRe peril
QUE, and Auka understood tho masters eyes
must ncyeI be closed until sea-room became
plenty. The solst'ce weatheE, too. grew thick;
squally winds knocked the old ship rneaalt
about. Narrow channels kept the sailors On
I the lookout And after several days of shift
ing gales and darkeued skies, Karl begun to
| get impatient Scrambling one morning to the
deck, lie found Auke ss usual at the helm.
"Are We far from ReEel now 2" he inquired
| of the sturdy skipper
aH the wind hold fair,r replied Auke, "we
shall mako its harbor before noon. Yonder
| ia the guilt away to leewntd."
Karl could See nothing in tho direction in-
dicated but weste Of foamy waveR, and on
tho right tho distant outline Of high and
rocky coast. There was roaring spund
Of winds and waters al about them !; bit
through it came the deep boom OF an alarm
bell.
ssTlat's ship in Distress" said Auke.
"Hans, take glaas and Try If you can make
her,"
His mate, q grny-haited. but active and fear
when he shouted, /" Captain, she's q fishing
smack ashore on Divers Shoals, and her crew
arn Rim I n n her rippinp