Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-05-07

own her own folly and seek a reconcilia-
| ton before he went. Patiencel it would
be only six weeks, or at the most eight,
and then he would be back, and she would
be goOd-so good and meek. He must
forgive her then.
Eight weeks had passed-eight weeks
all but two days-when the sun went
down in stormy grandeur, one cold even
ing, on the Irish sea. 1t had been blow
ing great guns all day, and for many
nights before, and the waves had wrestled
terribly with a crazy bark which, with
creaking timbers and leaking pores, with
strained and naked masts bending beneath
the gale, till at every lurch they seemed
like to bury themselves in the foam
crested waves tumbling mountain-high
around them, had striven like living
thing to weather the cruel storm.
Where was she now? The huge break
ers, crested still with foam, turbid and
purple-stained, dashed themselves, moan
ing and roaring, against the gray and
irCn-bound cliffs of the Welsh coast, fling
ing up great fragments of timber, torn
and twisted scraps of sail-cloth, and bat
tered, shapeless things, too awful in their
piteous mutilation for any human name,
against the pitiless rocks, only to suck
them back again into the black and boil.
ing gulf below. Above, great stormrent
clouds, black too, but fringed with fire,
were gathering thickly over the threaten
ing vault; and low on the horizon the
sun, like blood-red hand, pointed from
between them to something black and
broken, over which the sea was breaking
IN unresisted fury-the stem Of a vessel,
with the broken bowsprit and foremost
Just visible among the foam and spray.
Greatly as the wind had lessened, that
sail, looking red now before the angry
sun, was all the Captain of the pilot,cCt-
Ter cared to show, even now, to its tender
mercies. 1t had been a work Of danger
to get near the wreck at all, hanging as
she did in nest Of rocks; and there was
look Of relief on more than one hardy,
sunburnt face when the order was given
to tack and bout ship again. Suddenly
the Captain caught up his spy-glass,
which was lying beside him, and after a
hasty glance through it roared to the
men to "hold all hard"
there's summat living arter all, he
said, pointing to ridge of low, outlying
rocks where some object was plainly dis
cernible even by the naked eye. "There!
just above the line O high water. Can't
none o. ye see?"
GA man down on all-foursn cried one
Of the crew. "LOok, he's moved a bit
higher. Poor fellow! he must be rare
plucked I'm surely to ha' KEEP life in him
so long"
Lower the boat" said the Captain,
sharply. Now, my lads, ready all. jim"
Ito an old pilot, "gIve us a coil of that
line. We mayn't be able to get over-near
him; an, | say, one o you lubbers, chuck
bottle o. rum inter the sternsheets-
quickn'
They are brave, kindly men, those
Welsh pilots; have owed my life to
them, and know; but | am afraid they
thought their courage and kindness vast
ed when they found the object of it was
only dog! They hauled him into the
boat none the less, almost too much spent,
poor fellow, to second their efforts; and
then, while he was trying very feebly to
lick the hands that had saved him, his
beautiful eyes full of dogs gratitude,
they saw he had tin flask tied to his
collar.
The Captain opened it. "To Miss Faith
Morgan, Almwch," he said, reading some
thing within; and then, not being a per-
son of refined delicacy, he took the paper
out and opened and read that. This was
what it said:
"Boat just left with the crew and
Philip Denbigh. No room for me; but
no wish for it. Remember that. [ give
mine on board with willing heart to him
you gave it to ashore. God bless you,
sweetheart. Forgive my rude words as I
forgive your falsehood. There's a Savior
more merciful than we are, an to Him I
pray to care for you an make you happy
as l would ha' tried to had He been willed
to let me-"
They gave that paper, with the dog-a
beautiful black retriever-to Faith Nor
gan. 1t was all that ever came to port of
the Inflated Pride of the West, the ram
8hackle old bark, which had been
hastily patched up and thought good
enough for one last voyage more. Boat
and crew were never heard of again.
They must have persisted with their fine
young owner in the vain attempt to reach
land, that stormy night; and there was no
tongue left to tell of those bitter eight
weeks when the sweet-spoken" gentle
man strOve, by every vulgar boast and
innuendO, to torture the man whom he con-
sidered his successful rival-the man who
was no gentleman, but who had the grand
O1N n1IS1lIl lCClluSS Ondb "OuIO nave
made him bear ANYTHING rather than, by
word or retort, drag the name of the
woman he loved into an unSeemlY dis
pute-the man whose answering dis
cipline and tireless energy had alone pre-
served them even so long-the man who,
when the ship had struck, and the coward
ly scoundrel who owned it was clinging
in frantic, helpless terror to his knees,
when the men were shouting for the Cap
tain to join them and cast of, lifted in
the miserable wretch first with his own
strong arms; and then, seeing there was
no room for more, cut the rope that held
the boat to the sinking ship, and stayed
alOne-tO diet
AMI Faith? Faith is living still. I
met her Yesterday, coming up the high
street at Amlwch, with her married
daughter, each holding hand Of a wee,
toddling, brown-eyed thing between them.
a bright, bonny old woman she is, too,
with as comely face as if the eyes had
never been washed in salt tears, the brow
never wrinkled under cloud of care
" l must be goin' home to my old man,
she said, stopping at the corner. Kiss
grannie, sweetums," and then turned just
at the churchyard- where stands a
rough stone cross: "To the memory Of
the Captain and crew of the Pride of the
West"
Kyle's prayer has been granted-per-
haps better by his death than if he had
lived to carry it out. AS Faith says
He was rare good man, but hard,
over hard and stern, for ordinary folk" p
Corn7SU Magazine.
Kr>Crr-cr-v ,oo,>o- +o11. chic. Ono