American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-05-10
VOL. XXIII.

| nun men, before we passed tne oppOSlt
Palisades, had grown as warm and parnes
AS the talk of old friends.
What q delightful ride that is up til
Hudson River railroad by six or six
thirty train, of summers afternoon
There WnRbut little dust that day 1t ha,
been S56ing one in the city. Befor
Sing Sin hi seven O'Clock the hot SUI
sank down behind the Nyack hills. Thel
; we were able to push up the blinds ant
enjoy the full breeze and view.
EN- moment we plunge from light
BE, and freedom into the damp obscu
ffity of short tunnel, then rush witt
changing reverberations past the high
Swallowed, white walls pierced with hun
dreds of narrow, grated window Sits You
put your face close to the car side, ant
peer up with sad curiosity at the prison
sides; perhaps catch fiash-Iike pictur,
in one of those iron barred frames of
face-merely bare face seen but for al
instant-but perhaps you fancy it hard
desperate countenance marked by
misery and revenge. But few seconds fol
your gloom. 1t travels not beyond the
massive, dreary walls and the last sentry
box. A harsh, prolonged whistle of the
engine, and we are by the pleasant open
shore again Some faint pink lines over
the Rockland hills, the river cheerfully
rippled, few sails, away ahead steam
boat just passing Croton Point With in.
creasing speed we flash by Sing Sing,
screaming as though our monster locomo-
| tive craved some victim to wet its rails
| Now Brandreth's pretty little pill-box and
| factory close under our right; a marshy
shore and outstretched nets on the left
| We cross the drawbridge of the Croton-
the beautiful river flowing out of a but
| partially revealed valley, and spreading
into bay that looks the picture spot for
hunts and f1OckS Of duckS
just there, near the south shore of Gro
ton Point, and about quarter of a mile
| from the rails, was sloOp swinging on a
new tack as we saw it. In the softening
light, a little in the shadow of the land,
gently touched by reflection of the west
ern sky, and caught but for a glance as
| she turned to a new course, and we ran
| between the gravel banks that open with a
| dry yawn right at the base of the Point,
she seemed as shape seen in the clouds,
as fading mirage mysterious unreal
ty and faintness accomplishing her as the
atmosphere of some phantom craft
What pretty illusionr' exclaimed
my companion with a sigh, as if the sight
was too quickly shut out
Yes" answered, like a brief dream
a shadow in the water, reflection from
some river of the spirit world" and l
gave half laugh as sort of apology for
my romance.
Heretofore in this narrative 1 have not
given our conversation, but only suggest
ed its character and fervor Now, how
ever, write the words exactly as spoken J
Then my companion, turning himself to
me and throwing his arm along the back
of the seat behind mean unconscious
gesture that seemed to take me into his
minds embrace-said with a sweet, ner-
vOus smile, and tone of some hesitancy,
lowering his voice and slowly, carefully
uttering his words:
That little picture impresses you ex
actly as it does mc-your words are Just
what mine would be. But much more
than this something so strangely sympa-
thetic between you, good sir, and me-
strangers, it would seem, ever before this
afternoon, moves me to narrate an Incl
dent which the sight of that phantom-like
boat recalls The-epi-yes, will call it
episode-remains with me an ineffaceable
impression, and yet this is the first time l
have mentioned it. Some dOubt-sOme
instructive sentiment that cannot analyZe
some involuntary check that has come
upon me whenever l have been on the
point of uttering it-has hitherto prevent
ed me from repeating the facts l was a
witness to, actor in, may say. This re-
pugnance, if l may call it so, was not at
all superstitiOus, for the incident had
nothing in it ghOstly to me, nothing OPP
pressive or fearful, only very strange; un-
accountable, certainly, according to our
present lights, but suggesting only Wig
Orous train of speculation to my Thoughts
However, to give you my little story: 1
was invited year ago this summer-by
the way, in this same month of July-to
join young friend of mine, my nephew,
in coasting voyage in his yacht. l glad
ly accepted, and became one of small
but very pleasant party for a fortnight's
cruise. We ran down the Chesapeake,
had some charming trips in its waters,
stopped at Fortress Monroe, entirely es-
capped bad weather, and in every way en-
joyed ourselves fully. My nephew is
something much better than a mere idle
young man of wealth. He follows as an
artist his profession of literature, is a man
of much information, education, and con
versational power, and as his life is pure
and his manners are dignified, he makes
delightful host To balance the sweetness
of three ladies and beau of society, he
brought on the trip E, one Mr.. c.,
whose wife was one of our ladies, and this
old fogy myself. However, my short story
has nothing to do with any of those. Our
sailing-master, though paid by the month,
and one of the best yacht sailors in New
York harbOr, was a gentleman equal So
cially to the best of us. He comes of one
of the first families in the country, but is
sailing many yachts in summer he joins
boat building in winter, and sea painting
at all times. He is gentlemanly original,
a mixture of Tom Cringle's Log The
Green Hand and The Cruise of the
Midge' in flavor, and overfiows with the
pest kind of dry humOr in action and
talk. With all appreciation of my ncph-
ew and his guests, l must say that
l most enjoyed our sailing master
On that trip. often beside him, helm in
hand and pipe in mouth, learned some
lessons in life from him, my jul
Nor, and the fun he seasoned them with
was a cure for heartachc or dyspepsia.
This Archie c., our sailing master,
had a brother, his elder, captain in the
merchant service. If ever one man was
proud of and devoted to another, it was |
Archie and his brother. He spun yarns |
OF him through many a nights watch, and |
grew to know the merchant captain so |
well that l believe l should have rccog-
niZed him anywhere in crowd at sea or |
on shore.
"And now l am brought to the real |
story, as | may say.
"Our pleasure trip nearly finished, we |
laZily dipped and rolled one moonlight |
night off Barnegat. All had turned i'm |
except Archibald by the helm, the watch |
and /, who, was my custom |
enjoyed an 0nte-sOmnum stroll and smok C |
on deck. | had planned for a chat with |
our master, but could not get many words |
from him that night. From sleepiness or
other cause he was in his shell. In the
of my pacing astern, | threw out
bats for him to rise to, but at
but at length discovered that my friend