Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-10-12

I 1
, oor anchored or becalmed (yOur lines tanf
sirn or similarly or otherwise at my IelsuLe u
4 49, a fair sauint inwards at the town, Out
wonder what it may be like to go STARK, si9ii-
mad II You'll haul in mite faster now Il a. "
better for you, and just as "eil loi tn' ''9i
, That's about it. ~ ,--o,-
Pc noticed it about our cod, they know
,-hon 7 rake gentlemen out as well as ! know
rovssIf Tbey'll take ADVANTAGE OF you II tne,
can most any day. May 2e 1t 1 eoaIdn't
ia he willing to grant GlouoestSV w
S Sis otoioe of either, and then ADMIT lhat ne
hls ~ have a Fixed motive TO the potion OF H.
: It's natural enough, brought up as they are
from infancy on the fishery question, with views
more OF less decided and distinct.
A little blue you are about the mouth, SIT, .
| lay down If | was you. It's better for you, and
quite as well for the fish, as | said before, and
I'm quite used to it, bless you! When it is too
rough for gentleman outside, and it very often
| is, | always say: Just lay down and take il
easy, and leave the cod TO me-" He takes as
many pound home TO his wife come night, ]
reckon, and nobody the wiser for it, and who'll
| ask questions? Not me, nor yet the cod How
| does that COZ There! When there's a mite
| less embarrassment between yourself, sir, and
| your stomach, III explain to you the feeling
| had occasion to mention about the harbor mouth
| and looking inwards at the town.
| Well-and vet it amt so easy to explain.
Most things amt Pve told it times enough,
and yet not the whole of it either. There are
| folks, you know, you can talk TO, and again
there are folks you can't. There are boarders
| 10 the little hall chamber, not TO mention names,
| | wouldn't tell Jib Hancko's story to- not for a
weeks board outright, but a pleasant way, sir,
| and an honest as between man and man, and
| no complaining of the coffee, and not stayng
the dories in regardless, because they amt your
own, and kind of forethought for the cab
bages if the garden lays between you and the
bathing house, why, that's a different thing
You'll remember of hearing of the great gale
| of 1889. mol You don't say sol It's a Surpris-
inc thing TO me how ignorant folks are IN the
| country. There are some smart men VINO come
| from the country too. We were booked for
| Boston when the great gale OF 80 came up. 1t
was the last VOYAGE took TO Boston. Fact is, !
may as well own it, was the last voyage took
| ANYWHERE | wasn't born with reef knot be-
| tween my fingers, never boarded fishing
smack that didn't feel I'd as lief's be boarding
| nv coffin, and that gale made a landlubber of
me once for all. We cleared for Wiscassett,
along about the first week, if recollect, the
| first week in December in the schooner Pansie,
with a cargo of lath and piles. We had about
fifty thousand feet of laths aboard. Griggs was
our cap'n. He belonged in Wiscassett. He had
| his mother aboard. She was an old lady, over
seventy years old. He was taking her to Boston
TO spend the winter with her daughter.
"The old lady enjoys it, having these fair
blows" says he one day to Hancko, standin Q
| aft "She isn't much of a sailor"
| did you ever see a woman that WASP asked
| Hancko. Jib Haneko was mate.
"Well, don't know" saws the cap'n.
| $50 have" said l. And so | had. But she
wasn't aboard the Pansie that trip, thank
heaveni and it wasn't necessary to specify
where she was, as l remarked TO Jib when he
made the enquiry. She went to the Banks with
me once along with her father, who was skipper
of the smack. You wouldn't believe, SO see her
| turning over griddle cake or cruller now,
what saier she was. She hauled a catch as
| big as mine right along any day. the only thing
| she failed upon was taking out the vitals 1t
was while was to work on the vitas of her
mackerel TO spare her tender eyes that first
| began TO think Of her. She was down to Calais
| visiting cousin of hers, when took that trip
| to Boston. The shippers mother was kind of
| cute old lady to see round. She sat on deck
| most ev'Ty day, mendng up Griggs shirts
| She sat the world by Griggs. She used TO stop
me most every time happened round, and say
| my sons taking me to Boston to spend the
winter with my daughter. He said it shouldn't
cost me nothing. My daughters children have
| got the whooping cough, and she thought she'd
| like TO have me come.
Then the next time came along she had lit
over-"My sons taking me to Boston; be said
it shouldn't cost me nothing My daughters
| children have got the whooping cough"-just
| the same. Some of the boys laughed at the
| old lady; but couldn't, some way; she looked
| so cute sitting up there on deck, mending
| Grigg's shirts.
Jib Hancko used to play backgammon with
| her (not that the old woman could play back
| CANNON more'n monk-fsh; but she thought
| she could, and that amounted to the same thing,
| as it does with most of us in most things) and
find her knitting needles for her, and set her up
| easy with her Shawls in the sunny spots among
| the piles. Jib set almost as much by the skip.
| per as the old lady did herself. He and Griges
| had run this coast together as master and mate,
| some half a dozen Yeas; they always were
| 70 70 af 1on-
| Griggs would have been, no doubt, but Jh
| hadn't any himself-not a living woman. He
| courted a girl once down our way, up to Squam
she was washed off the rocks at Little Good
| Harbor, at picnic one day; | never heard OF
| any other. Before the trip was over, | was GLAD
| of it, too. Eve heard that's where Griggs got
| the name Of that schooner, but can't say, All
! know is, that was the given name of the young
| woman-Pansie; and she was painted about
the time of the funeral, Grggs was a polite
| fellow about such things.
don't believe you'll ever see a nicer day, sir,
this side ofheaven, than saw aboard the PAN
sic on Saturday, the 14th day of December, 1889.
| 1t blew from sou -sou'weSt as softly as a woman
singing TO a baby. There were clouds, a few
| of them, of color like mother of pearl, curling
at the edges like shell, and the noon warmed
| up warm as a May day overhead, Some of the
| boys went IN for a swim, it looked so warm
| The old lady sat on deck without her extra
shawls, and the skipper was afraid she'd take
cold.
"fou'n be in Boston tomorrow, God willing,
mother" says the skipper 1.-THE skipper was a
| pious man at times, a Methodist) and I'd be
| sorry to take you in all hoarsed up; Keziah
would think hadn't taken good care of you"
Upon this the old lady pipes up again: "My
| son will take me into Boston tomorrow. Ke-
ziah's children have got the whooping cough,
and she thought she'd like TO see me"
| noticed Griggs putting on her shawl for her
aud putting on her shawl for her, half the af
ternoon; the old lady dropped it off, and
| dropped it off; finally Jib Hancko got little
| single nail and pinned it together for her
| through the fringe.
1t was on toward five o'clock that | saw the
mate stand talking in a confidential way alone
| in the stern of the skipper Except when under
| orders, he was on very confidential terms with
| Griggs. He mods, and Griggs mods, and
Ilancko points 10 the sou east, AMI the skipper
mods again, and walks the deck a bit, and stops
TO ask the old lady how she feels, and back
again TO the mate; but | couldn't make head
| nor tail of them until six O'Clock, when we got
an order TO tack and put into Gloucester over
night.
The cap'n didn't like the looks of the SOU.
| east; thought there was an ugliness, more or
| less, in il; maybe there was mischief ahead
and maybe there wasn't; having his mother
| aboard, he thought he'd be on the safe side.
| any way, there was the order: Into Gloucester,
| over night, We got it around among US, BY
| degrees, as we rounded Eastern POlnt-lts
never any nonsense rounding Eastern Point
and sulky enough we were about it, too One
| OF the lads had young one with the Group in
| Boston, he'd counted on seeing by Sunday night
Couple of 'em had tickets to a dance in mari
neps tavern. Most of 'em wanted liquor. One
| of 'em, his name was Ben Bumper, said: "D-u
the old lady,"
Next minute he lay on deck for it, fat as a
| griddle-cake. He didn't count on the mates
| being round when be made the observation. Jb
| Hancko was a little man with a squint eye, but
when bis blood was up he looked more like a
| likeness I've seen Of Giant Despair, in a book
| called the Pilgrims Progress, than any other
man alive ever came across. Well, so we put
| into port and anchored-just above there; no,
little further to your right; just beyond that red
| buoy where you see the young eentleman's dory
| tied TO fish, and the young lady in the red iacket
| screechng at the bait. That was about half-past
| six. 1t had freshened up a little, but no more
than you'd expect Of any high-spirlted December
| evening. Halt dozen of the lads wanted to
| put over into Fresh Water Cove for lark; but
| Griggs was obstinate as a mule; he kept all
hands aboard, and mad as hornets.
| We had neighbors plenty by nine o'clock but
none too many There's always shipping enough
runs in Tor nights lodging TO Gloucester, al
ways was even in those days, Griggs brought
the old lady up TO see the lights of the harbor-
by which we meant the town there, same as we
mean it now-and the twinkle Of the shipping.
red as blood and green as grass, TO starboard
and 10 port, while sailing in and the pale fame
! color of the lanterns swinging on the anchored