Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-01-24

Wnen i aW0ke, there was no VlDr9t1On, |
no din of revolving paddles. Had slept
through the passage. and were we at our
journeys endp Hardly, for in that case
we should be in still water, not swaying
TO this side and that, bending backwards,
pitching forwards, and bringing ourselves
up with jerk, like sleepy man during
long sermon, rs we were doing. l sat
up and looked over the side of my berth,
which was on the upper tier, and saw the
head Of my rescued old man peering out
from the sleeping.place below.
"Do you think there is anything the
matterP" he asked. "Why are we not
going on9 Why does that bell keep on
ringing ?"
Reused by this unpleasant suggestion
of peril, wriggled offmy shelf, managed,
after several bad shots, to get my feet in
to giddy boots and my arms into intoxi
eating coat-sleeves, reeled up to the deck,
and found fog.
1t was one Of the densest l have ever
been in; you could not see across the
deck, and a man sanding couple of
wards off resembled figure in one of
Turner's later pictures The effect was
the more confusing from the mist not be-
ing stationary for stifflsh breeze sent
rolling masses of it sweeping over us.
The waves of fog mingled with the waves
of water, and the eve could not distin.
guish which was which, while the large
bell forward kept up continual tinkle,
tinkle, in muffled tones, as though the fog
were composed of wood, pulled out very
fine, particles of which had clogged the
clapper.
am happy to be able to boast that
did not worry the Captain, as passengers
are so foolishly apt to do when things look
n lfft1a oxu1y Rnt II hipa
and listened and observed, and made out
by degrees that we were somewhere in
the channels about the More, and In mo-
mentary expectation of being run into, or
grounding on the sands, and that, when
we revolved our paddles, which we did at
intervals, the chance of running into some
body else was added. The lead was con.
stantly being heaved, and at one time
when the water shoaled very much, the
mate suggested anchoring, but the Captain
ruled that this would increase our risk of
being run down, and preferred keeping
loose and able to dodge about--of course,
using nautical expressions, which can
not pretend to repeat.
Directly the state of affairs became OBJ
vious to me, went below and brought
up my old man. for in case of some other
ships beak suddenly crushing into our
sides, the prospect of those who were
under water mark seemed-if you will
pardon slang tel m in consideration of
its extraordinary aptness-very fishy.
And he was grateful, for the danger of a
collision was very real. Probably the
mouth OF the Thames is familiar to you,
but if not, know that vessels enter it by a
number of roads, duly buoyed out and
lighthoused. These roads or channels
being narrow, and the number of out
ward and homeward bound ships very
great, thick fog or a snow-storm is
serious peril.
About noon the wind increased in vio-
lence, and blew the fog away, so that we
were able to go on fearlessly; and by and
by, when the excitement had calmed
down, my old man grew pleasant and
chatIy.
The sea ran rather high; but as neither
of us suffered from sea-sickness, this tend
ed to raise our spirits, as the strong air
sharpened our appetites; and though
every now and then a big wave would
shiver itself against our weather-bo and
send a shower of its fragments sweeping
across the deck, we got well under the
shelter of the paddle-box, and enjoyed it.
To my surprise, on one occasion when
he wanted to draw my attention TO some
thing, happening to be looking another
way, my companion spoke to me by
name.
"You know me?" asked
Certainly" he replied; ''you sold me
sore jewels five years ago. 1 even re-
member the circumstances. A property
had to be divided among the various
members of your family, and the dia-
monds were too valuable to be allotted to
any individual, so that it was necessary
to turn them into money; and you had
the management of the transaction, which
was carried out through my agency"
He was perfectly accurate in the ac-
count which he gave me, even recalling
to my mind certain minuti9 which | had
forgotten, though surely they ought TO
have impressed me more strongly than
him. presently remembered his face,
however; indeed, it had struck me as IA
miliar when the lamp. light first fell upon
it the night before. But his hair had
turned from black to white, and the loss
of his teeth had caused his cheeks to fall
in-cbanges that alter the physiognomy
more radically than any other which
leave the eyes untouched. l suppose
that he had made inquiries about me at
the time when the business alluded to
was transacted; and that their result was
such as to inspire him with confidence,
for he talked to me about his present af-
fairs with freedom which surprised me,
though had done him good turn. For,
in truth, he had that on him which it
was not we'll to blab about. He carried
in an inner pocket of his waistcoat no
fewer than twenty-five rough diamonds,
emeralds, and sapphires, which he was
taking to Holland to be cut 81 am too
old for such business now" he said. "If
you had not come to my rescue last night,
and those rascals. had got hold of the
stones, should have been ruined, ruin.
edp
Whether they were his own, or he had
but share in them, or whether they
were merely intrusted to him, l cannot
say; he did not tell me; but from the
! hints he threw out of their value, which,
If the diamonds were at all worthy of the
expense he was prepared to incur for cut
ting them, must have been enormous
enormous in the ordinary, not the Monte
Cristo or Lothair sense-it is not proba
BILE that they were entirely the property
of one man.
While we were conversing, the vino
| was growing in violence, till at length we
! could not make ourselves heard without
difficulty, and the paddle,boxes no Longer
afforded much protection against the
/ spray, which searched the whole deck.
I Inc skipper Vi pdssaBO-DoaI amayt
takes the freedom of passenger from
4 sickness at dinnertime as personal com
] pliment and as our present captain had
helped each of us to the everlasting
, boiled mutton twice, we had a right tC
. his good opinion. So he came up to us
, and told the diamond-merchant that hG
| thought there was going to be little
wind, and he would be more comfortable
below. On the old man acquiescing, he
took him in tow, and guided him safely
to the cabin.stairs, TO my great relief, foI
. / feared that duty would devolve on me
= and my legs not being so nautical as my
I stomach, we should infallibly have rolled
!. together in the lee,scuppers (whatevel
: they may be) or overheard. The captain
4 came back presently; and as he passet
me, he shouted in my ear "Pd go, too
a IL I were Won ~