The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1871-07-28
FgE JOURNAL.

A Ddagdalen's Death-A Thrilling
Scene on Fsn River 6teamooat'
eFisk's is the Fall River line, is 1t
not?
ayes. And the way he tries to
beat everybody else and make MS
the only line to Boston is astonlsh-
inc. Why, III tell you something
about Fisk. One day just as we were
starting from New York. q trim little
0irl steDped aboard and took state
room saving she was going through
to Boston. She wasn't dressed loud,
Int mighty neat and rich, wearing a
Turkish hat, velvet sack trimmed
with lace, a dress with a lot of seal
lops and trimming around it. and
about the most bewildering foot I
ever saw on a human. She was pret
ty, saucy, and called me old father at
supper, and carried on in way that
soon showed what she was, though
she deceived me at first with her ba-
BY face and girlish manners.
~She was standing on deck about
Z O'Clock, after having hOrifed the
ladies and amused the gentlemen by
her rollicking manner, and became
quiet for a few minutes, when she
looked far out at sea, she turned
round to the captain, and, putting
up her small white hands and taking
him on his whiskers on each side OF
his face, she looked up to him, and
said. very solemnly, did you ever
want to die, Captaing We'll, no.
says he, don't think / ever did
And if you did, says she, what
would you do?
We'll, in that case, said the Cap
tain, Ioosing her hands and turning
away, 4 think, as 1 have plenty Of
opportunity, should jump into the
sound and drown myself.'
"The word was hardly out of his
mouth before she turned round like
a flash, and putting one hand on the
railing, leaped overheard. She was
gone before a person could stir to
cateh her, and a terrible scream arose
from the passengers who saw it. I
was standing aft when heard the
shouts, and looked out and saw her
come to the surface. She had taken
eff her hat, and her splendid brown
hair, which she wore loose down her
back, loated in a mass on the water.
I fancied she looked straight at me
with her childish face as she came
up, and there was nothing wild or
struggling about her, but she seemed
to smile in the same jaunty, way
that she did when she was plagueing
NE half an hour before. In another
moment she was swept rapidly asterB
and disappeared. We put about and
lowered the boats, but we never found
her. It is strange how the women,
who had been SO shocked at her con-
duct before, now pitied and even
wept for the little girl when they
found what load there must have
been in the foolish baby's heart |
while she was laughing the loudest. |
She had left a small reticule in the |
cabin, and when We opened it we
found some verses, written in little |
cramped hand on folded sheet of
note paper. They ran about this way,
and were headed:
-r A MAGDALEN's DEATH.
1 can no longer endure this polluting,
This fostering breath;
Gladly ] fly to the refuge that's left me,
Merciful death.
Not sadly, tearfally,
But gladly, cheerfnlly,
Go to my death.
Priests may refuse to grant sanotiied burial
There unto me.
Father, thank thee! blessing is always held
Over the sea.
Aye, in the widest foam,
Aye, in its tickest gloom,
Blessed is the sea.
Welcome, o seal with thy breaking and dash
That never shall cease;
Down In thy angriest, stormiest waters
Oh, hide me In peace.
Say to the weary face,
Come to thy resting place,
Slumber IN peace.
Capital, Dom PiatfS paper.