Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1874-03-14

NJ
\ My, ONE, SISTERS-Eva and Ella,
% come on board of my ship, and
.GSslL,3 Well have jolly sail this morn
~" ing. I'll be captain, like faith
er, and show you how he sails that great
ship across the big ocean. Come, girls
get ln-Eva, you shall be my mate, and
little sis shall be my steward
The speaker was a handsome, fair
haired, rosy-eheeked boy, with bright.
laughing, blue eyes, about nine years
old, who, during his address, was busily
engaged in rigging the mast and sail to
| a ships boat, which was made fast to
| the beach in one of those secluded, pic
| turesque, little coves, or inlets, with
which the southern shore of Long Is
land is SO plentifully indented.
The boys companions were two little
girls of seven and five years, beautiful
as angels. and so exactly like their bro
ther in every feature, that they seemed
as perfect copies-all but the long sunny
ringlets-of his exquisite features.
Eva, ti'e elder girl, jumped lightly
into the boat at her brothers first invi-
| tation, and began assisting him with
| the sail. But little Ella, who was tug
! ging along a basket filled with pies,
| cakes, and fruit, which they had brought
from beautiful cottage not far off, for
a little picnic dinner, hesitated and held
back in silence till her brother urged
| her again to get into the boat, when She
began to argue with him thus:-
'Oh, Walter, don't let us go in the
boat to-day. There is so much wind,
and we might be-
You are little coward, to be afraid
interrupted the captain, impatiently. 1T
| is the pleasartest day we've had i'm a
month; and it's so late in the season,
| that if we don't 60 today, I'm sure we
shall not get another chance this year.
Come, Ella, don't be frightened, jump
in;'
oh, l am not at all afraid, brother.'
And child as she was, her cheek glowed
for few moments with a deeper tint,
at the implied question of her courage
by her brother. I'm not in the least
| afraid Walter. But you know what
| mother told. us. We must not go in the
boat when it blows hard; all I'm afraid
of is disobeying her.
'Then you may come into the boat
without fear, sister; for mother told me
| | might sail to-day, not five minutes be-
| fore we left the house,
'Yes. l know that, Walter; but that
was three hours ago, when it was quite
calm. 1t blows great deal harder now,
and I'm sure mother would not like to
have us go away from the shore in the
boat when there is such a high wind
oh, nonsense, Ella; l have been all
about the cove when it blew great
deal harder than this. Mother, you
know, says l am the best sailor along
the coast, and just as well able to judge
when the weather is ct to go on a voy-
age as she is. Come, sister, we can't get
drowned. for the water is so shallow now
at ebb-tide, and with this west wind,
| that we could wade anywhere about the
| cove.'
Thus persuaded, she passed the basket
to her brother, and then clambering
into the boat herself, she took seat by
the side of Eva, i'm the stern sheets. and
soon the boat was underway.
! 1t was great clumsy thing--as all
boats of her class usually are-with a
single lug sail of heavy canvas; alto
| gether lily calculated for a pleasure
craft. But little Walter Howard man.
aged her with consummate skill for so
young commander, and they had
made several stretches across the cove,
when, as they were passing the inlet
that opened out seaward, Eva's eyes
rested upon the bright, blue waves of
the ocean far out beyond the discolored
/ water along the coast, and clapping her
hands with Il sudden ecstacy of infan-
tile JOY, she exclaimed:
oh. Walter, let us go out there and
sail on that beautiful blue ocean! Won't
1t be grand? So much prettier than this
dirty little cove with the bare sand
banks all around u.s.