The Portland daily press., 1872-11-30
UNDER THE BEAM.

Even wanderer at heart, 1 am as fond to
this day, at the age of siXty-three, OF tramp
ing about from place to place as when l first
began to feel my legs, and when certain in
dependence gave me the freedom to use them
as / pleased. Not as a mere pedestrian did
take my walks abroad Though / have done
my thirty-five miles day when necessarily
but because have been of an inquiring turn
of mind, liking to see for myself as much as
possible, at home and abroad, the ways of
men and cities. Not as a mere superficial
observer either (if may say it myself have
tramped these many years up and down the
world. l have always watched with as mnch
Interest the workings of social, commercial
and political institutions as have the outer
aspect of people, things and places, making
thorough acquaintance with The varied con-
dition OF my kind, as circumstances or the
country's laws may beget them.
The churches, museums, picture galleries.
and the rest of the hackneyed sights of a
capital or district, never quite satisfy my in
quisitive disposition. 1, forsooth, must push
my personal experiences into courts of JUS
tice, national assemblies, parliaments, and so
forth the interior of dock-yards, manufacto-
ries, prisons, lunatic asylums, hospitals,
warehouses, institutions for the blind
deaf and dumb-in a word, like the oft quoted
French sapeur, nothing to me was sacred
Equally attractive, too, have ever been
the beauties of nature. These, under every
phase and aspect, have employed as fair a
share of my attention and enthusiasm as
have the abodes OF men. The soltudes of
mountains, forests or the sea shore have had
equal charms, in their turn, with the hum
and hustle of commercial centres; and l be-
lieve have appreciated, with the enthusiasm
of a painter, all the glories of form and color
which nature displays with such prodigal
hands to those who have the eye to appre-
ciate and the heart to feel them.
But l must stay my pen it is not, fortu-
nately for the reader, to give an account of
my personal predictions that have taken
it up; only this much about myself it has
been necessary to say, for the understanding
of what is TO follow. Naturally, some
amount of adventure must have resulted
from such life; some episodes, serious and
comic, that may be more or less worth the
telling. To tell of the most serious, however,
of all that ever befell me is the purpose of
this present writing-so serious, indeed, that
there was well nigh chance of it's having
brought my nomadic existence to a prema-
ture and ignoble close. Very horrible was
that time, and shall never cease to look
back at it with shudder, though nearly
thirty years have passed since then.
Well, it was the merry month of July, and
upou SoiSo anu u! "ihuic-eotoi0 oinihoHCe
overhanglng certain retlred little hshlng WI
hard at work upon his easel. Sheltered by
his white umbrella from the rays of the fierce
but declining sun, absorbed in the portrayal
of the lovely landscape before him, he failed
to observe the noiseless approach OF a stroll
ing pedestrian. This latter, however. did
not las he at first inclined) 60 up and boldly
examine the sketch, but threw himself down
at little distance, and thence contemplated,
as MS strong eyeslsht enabled him to do, the
aspect OF tho painter hlmseif; Tor there was
something peculiar about him, at once fascin-
ating and disagreeable. Fascinating, because
he was young, good looking, wild and enthu-
slastlc; dlsagreeable, because his appearance
conjured up some unpleasant and at the same
time untraceabe "reminiscences. Where had
seen MIN before9
Inns was the questlon mat interested me so
soon as came close enough to see his face,
and to Its solution devoted myself unsuc-
cessiuily 1or nearly quarter OF an hour, as
iay mere waIchng MN. ne dld NOT notice
me an .ne wnie, ous az iast, rising from ms
S;np s.oo, ane PIE s;eppins oach 70 taks more
uis.ane Wow VI Lis VOTE, NC glanced ~ my
oirection, anu apparently annoyed At tne I'M
s.PecIeu presence Vi stranger, seowleu Ior-
plua:ney, I anu ~ lsse.tnns 70 ms Morh SO
readJ uslea nls u.liprena a. 70 snieiu MIN rom
TURNER observation. taxing the hint' L I'M
.neula'eH ai1se anu uepartGI toWaro tne
!. oWn, wneIe was staying ne, 'oo, was ev-
.U: =. 'ne so!ne piaoe, ioi, ai.eI
Inn MS I Evening , nee.ins'L c1nstahIiy came
a1ioe' ~ ~ enI ne Snooinoou' was
s snsIe, % ~Ln any "lels IN my Mahu .al;'
ioI ny o%n penooi anu pressure, shglonins,
o. &, al, se;,ow 7 .omebow soanod 70
wish sSe en WAS somewhere eIsa ,or assnn;ata W
with him was ALWAYS the same nnnleasant
"Reminiscences. which could not Account for
One day. reluctantly on his mart deter
minedly on mine. we cot into conversstion
I had been sketching dewn on the shore. he
arrived there. apparatus in hand. and seemed
casting about in doubt al to where he shonld
settle himself for sketch. Very ciyiIIv ven
tured a suggestion al to po.ition. He tbank-
ed me curtly in a grating voice. and with
strong. north-country accent. I took adyan-
tage of this introduction to see if I could by
little talk with him discover the canse of the
curious effect his presence ALWAYS had mon
me. and find an answer to tbe f3rever nndnly
recurring Question ssVVbere bavo r soar, III
before ?''
~ am amere amateur Won know >, r want
on to saw. "but am very fond of art: 7 hay.
seen GREAT deal OF II and know verv NEW
artists. can't help thinking 7 must have
met you some time or other. but for the life
of me cannot remember where"
SIT may be,' he replied, abstractedly. as
he gazed round at sea and sky. cliff an d rock.
81 don't remember you. On that ledge.
there, do you say there is good subieet?'
he added, pointing to spot / had indicated.