Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-07-31
SD
A Singular Story.
The Revelation. OF an old Secretary.
DISCOVERY OF A LIFE INSURANCE PoLIt

ChN VA III thi lCtt lHtIS
from Boston for China a ship which ha,
been rechristcned the 4Etna. Former
ly known by another name, this vessel
new volcanic title was the gift of hel
commander, Captain Knight, who, hav
ing, after many Asiatic voyages, ac
quired controlling proprietorship il
the craft, changed her designation 'fo
luck, as he said. That he had any othe
reason therefor than freak of fancy no
even his own family supposed, though
long afterwards his wife remembered h,
seemed strangely nervous about tn,
voyage, which he intended should b,
his last, and pretaccd every intimatiol
ofplans for the future with tie words
fmy life should be spared Whateve
his prcmonitiOns were he took fiua
leave OF Mrs. Knight and his children
without informing them thereof, and de
parted i'll apparently good spirits.
From thencetorth no tidings were
ever received ofship or captain. Othei
vessels went aud came on the sam,
journey without sight or hearing of tht
4Etna; two years rolled on in alternate
hope and despair for the wife and chill
dren in New England, and there was nC
longer \ chance to dou BIT that some far
ful ocean-storm had overwhelmed tn,
China trader and all on board in a com.
mon destruction.
As Captain Knight had invested all
his means, save few hundred dollars
IN his ship, the widow and her sou and
daughters were left with but brief,
temporary support, to which the mother
wa ultimately compelled to contribute
/ by labor sofcly everlasting her year.
and strength. She toilcd noblv, how
ever, to that end, encouraged BY the be.
1 lici that her boy, who was already verg-
\ ing upon manhood, would presently
/ take much OF her burden from her
I shoulders
Completing their education, and be-
Y ing sustained in eligible social position
by material cNertion and sacrifice, the
/ daughters soon married. The son, hu
Tor time had shown some disposition
10 repay The dept of filial gratitude
married also, though plcdging a good
home to his mother 80 long rs she lived
In TACT, all the children were profuse in
promises oi home and welcome lOr the
worn-out woman IN their new house
holds at first, but promise, like these are
too often made only to be broken
For little while the widow lived
with her son and his wife, and then the
unGraclOu-nc.. OF the latter led to a sep
arauon. By that time the filial alice
ton OF the daughters, in their Cstranged
. cIrrum> >tancc-, had grown 80 cold that
It proficred no refuge for a burdcnsome
parent, aud Mrs. Knight found herself
deserted III her helpless old age, with
only the antiquatcd and shabby turni-
ture OF her earlier estate 10 show that
she ever had a home. Known. that
she must sell thi. same furniture for
immediate means OF living, her son pre- =
tended "A virtue in Offering to purchase
portion Of it at a low valuation; vet
even here hr Wa roa14nui To every de-
cent sentiment.
Amongst the article, was Il VERY old
and clumsy enclosed desk, or secretary,
which was too poor To keep, vet She
wouldialu have sacrcdly retained it in the
family because her husband had valued
it highly. When importuned to take thi,
piece OF furniture, particularly, Young
Knight jcercd at the odd woman. : no.
ton of having such litter Of lumber
In his house, and absolutely refused to
take il even as gift. This circun-
stance becoming public, the whole town
in which they lived wa, ,caudalizcd
thereby, and benevolent person gen
crously bought the old secretary for him
self, with the pledge that it should never
pass from his hands save to the owner
ship Of some mem ber of the family
BY the small sum OF money coming
from the general sale, the unfortunate
old lady managed To retain shelter and
food tor herself "a while longer; and
when that was gonc-w hat then?
There i nothing pleasant in either
writing OF reading about such i sin
against the very first principle of all di-
vine and human feeling and duty aS
thankIessncs To parents, vet the com
mon story humanity cannot be told
without 1t, and the present narrative i'll
wolves It's further revelation.
When the poor price OF her huu4 lie
household goods was exhausted, the
| aged widow of the 4Etna's captain had
no resource but 10 forget that she pos
sessed children who could help her, and
appeal To public charity as pauper !,
Thi, she was hcartlessly allowed to do
and was sold at auction by the county
! authorities to the bidder contracting to
| support her Tor the smallest SUN.
In knitting coarse stockings, attend
| ing children, and other feeble drudgerv
| the widowed mother passed several
years of fheartbroken pauperism; living
thus, i'll tact, until last spring.
| Early in the latter season slight fire
! in the house OF the kind stranger who
| had bought the secretary caused some
rough handling of the furniture, during
which the venerable article i'll question
was accidentally broken. True to his
promise OF preserving it, the owner un-
dertook to repair the damaged affair,
and i'll so doing discovered a secret
drawer in which was policy Of insur-
ance upon the life of the captain of the
lost Etna for $4,000. Premium there.
upon had been paid in advance for the
average term ola CHA voyage-lhe of
fee was the Etna, OF Hartford-and
| there could be no doubt that the docu.
ment was good for the full sum to Mrs
Knight, i'll whose favor it had been made
out.
Marvelling at the benignant provi
dence that had been reserved for sucf
finally benevolent revelation, the dis
coverer, without pausing to continu,
his repairs OF the old desk, fastened Of
with the paper to find the poor widow
and explain to her the good fortune j
assured. Her incredulitv at first, ant
subsequent ecstacy and thanksgiving
might have been those of mind les
stepped in hopelessness than hers b,
tears of woe and want.
To complete his excellent work, tn
finder of the paper, who is but poo
himself in this worlds goods, escorted
her forthwith to Hartford, where, upol
proper Identification, her claim in ful
was acknowledged by the insurance com
pany. 1t appeared upon the books o
the latter that Captain Knight had paic
over 800 advance premium upon thu
policy; and there can be little doub
that his concealment of the paper ant
rechristening of his vessel were the ef
fects at once of some vague present.
ment of peril and half-superstitiou
inclination to make his, ship, rathe
than himself, seem the object insured.
When, upon the return from Hartford
Mrs. Knights sudden riches were mad