Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1873-07-17

"' Not she,' said 1.
"Then that boys genius for mischief
come in straight, and says hes
niTom, wouldn't it be jolly lark to
answer that letter?
"As now, says I /; I'VE amt Polly,
for couldn't see what the deuce he was
drivin' at.
"No,' says he, but can write a
letter and sign her name, and put IT IN
the ships bag, and we'll go to New York
about the same time that he will, and
we'll see how he'll take on when he gets
the letter !; it will be great sell, and
the young sarnint actually danced for
"tGo ahead, my bo' says I, for I
didn't see no great harm in it at the
time; and Billy he gets pen and paper
and fires away. ..--,i
Well, Jim's letter was soft, sure
enough, tellin' Polly how much he
loved her, and how he'd never stop
ped a thinkin' on her since last he
clapped his eyes on her, and promisin',
if she was willin', to come right on
straight and splice h"r cut of hand, and
SO on, it was soft and no mistake but
it wern't nothing to the one which this
boy writ in reply. He read it off to me,
when ned got it all done, and it was
gusher, I can tell you. He didn't stick
at nothing, didn't that boy, but telled
Jim as how Polly was on the very verge
of the tomb for love of him, and if he
wanted to see her alive he'd better make
all sail in her direction and carry on
hard. 1t was writ regular small, like a
woman's writing, and that boy claps
Polly Jones at the bottom OF 1t and
slows it away snug in a cover and di-
rects it to Jim to his clearinghouse IN
Franklin square, New York, and the
boys mind was at ease. &c.,.
"Of course, didn't tell Polly any
thing about this, and in good time our
sailin' day come, and away We went and
arrived here at the foot OF Beekman
street in due course. O.
"The bark what Jim Williams was
second mate of, got in two days after
lis, and Jim came up to the house where
Billy and was boardin' and he got the
letter, and was just as pleased as dog
with two tails. Billy and was keepIn'
our weather eyes open all the while,
and we was tickled Almost to death to
see the way that chap went on. About
every fifteen minutes he'd get away by
himself and pull out the letter and read
it all through, and then he'd come up
to me or to some of the other chaps IN
the house and insist on standing treat,
SO that by bedtime what with freshenin'
the. nip so often Jim was more'n half
seas over.
Gas soon as he was paid off Jim
leaves his bark and ships afore the
mast in the John R. Skiddy, and away
he goes to Liverpool to get spliced, as
he thought and Billy and ], having
swayed on all taut ropes till our money
was gone, we ships in the New York,
and away we goes, too ; and it 40 hap
pened that all three of us got to Liver
pool together. Jim got there, as ii
might be Monday, and we got in two
days after, and the first night ashore /,
of course, calls in to see Poly and have
a mug of ale. Well, Polly, arter sayin
'how de do and 80 on, goes on to tell
me as how she really believed that jim
was adrift in his top.hamper. He's
crazy, sure, says she /; he will have il
that I writ him letter and told him II
come on, and that I would marry him
whereas, you know Tom, I never did
ANYTHING of the kind She said he
really took on awful when she told him
she never wrote to him, and she was
unite SIRE he was crazy.
"Well, when 1 told Billy all this
thought that boy would 60 into convul
sions with laughter Tom, said he, .
amt quite done with him yet, and ht
writes him another letter, signing Polly
name, of course, and makes an appoint
ment to meet him by the Nelson mOnu
ment, in the Exchange, the next nigh
ut seven o'clock. Billy aud I wen'
through there about eight, and he wa'
walking back and forward as industri
Gus as if he had been standin' watch a
sea, and I don't believe he left thu
blessed square afore midnight.
"Well, the next night arter this h
goes up to Polly, and they had q reg'la
row. He produces the letters, and ask
. Polly if she will deny her own hand
writin'. She got rs mad as blazes, ant
wouldn't look at the letters at first, bu
after q while she oyerhauls them, ant
then she see that somebody had been
hoaxing of Jim, and she told him so
and then they made up, and parte'
good friends. She made him under
stand that he must sheer off that sh
couldn't keep company with him TO
r the long voyage, and he took so man.
mugs of the tenpenny on the strengtl
of it that he lost his way going dow
to the docks, and found himself in tn
lookup in the morning and was fined 10
and costs for being drunk and disorder
: ly.
"I am afeared, sir, You find this rathe
tedious, but I had to tell You all this t
) get in the fair way for the yarn l &c
: ont to spin you at the first, which wa
to tell you how come to get spliced.
"When we got back to New Yor
, after that trip, Billy had got the ide
8 into his head that nothing but tall
r water voyage would ever make sailo
of him. 1T was no use,' he said, 'goin
r these coasting voyages, want to g
: around the cape and all l could 80
n wern't no use, go he would, and tw
. days arter we arrived he shipped aboar
the Sea Witch, with Bully Waterman
. for the East Indies, and rs l heard afte'
e wards he came mighty near losing th
s number of his mess in gale of wint
\ Just afore they got mp with the cape.
eff you don't mind my going off, o
o short board, after him, I'll tell 20
e how it was, and then I'll resume I'll
r,,n I'yo haan q spiniD'