Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1875-10-08

| dreds of times when we may preserve it,
| and we never know whether we can save
| it till we try. Gives drink of that
water.'
| He held the glass TO my lips and / took
| big draught and went ON, he seeming
all the time to be stopping to humor me
in my madness.
"That's better DOCTOR I says. "Now
| look here, sir; speaking as one who has
sailed the seas, it's a terrible stormy time
with me; there's lee shore close att hand,
the fires are drowned out, and unless we
can get up bit of sail there's no chance
for me. Now, then, doctor, can you get
up bit of sail?"
-"I'll go and send you something that
will quiet you," he said, rising.
"Thanky, DOCTOR" I says, smiling to
myself. "And now look here,'' says
"I'm not going to give up till the last;
and when that last comes and the ships
going down, why, shall have try if
can't swim to safety. If that fails and
can really feel that it is to be, why, hope
| shall go down into the great deep calm
ly, like a hopeful man, praying that Some
body above will forgive me all I've done
amiss and stretch out His fatherly hand
to my little ones.''
He went away, and I dropped asleep,
worn out with my exertion.
When / woke Polly was standing by the
bedside watching me, with bottle and a
| glass on the little table.
| As soon as she saw my eyes open she
shook up the stuff and poured it into a
wine glass.
| els that what the doctor sent?" I says.
| Eyes, dear; you were to take it direct
| ly."
"Then [ shan't take it," says. He's
| give me up, and that stuff's only to keep
me quiet. Polly, you 60 and make me
some beef-tea, and make it strong"
She looked Mortified, poor old girl, and
was about to beg me to take hold of the
rotten life-belt which he'd sent me, when
| I held out my shaking hand for it, took
the glass and let it tilt over-there were
only about couple of tablespoonful in
it-and the stuff fell on the carpet.
/ saw the tears come in her eyes, but
she said nothing-only put down the glass
and ran out to make the beeftea.
The doctor didn't come till late next
day, and I was lying very still and drowsy,
half-asleep like, but I was awake enough
to hear him whisper to Polly: Sinking
FAST" and I heard her give such heart
broken sob that as the next great wave
came on the sea where I was floating [
struck out with all my might, rose over
it and floated gently down the other side.
For the next four days-putting it as a
drowning man striving for his life like a
true-hearted fellow-it was like great
foaming waves coming to wash over me,
but the shore still in sight, and me trying
hard to reach it.
And it was grim, hard fight; dozen
| ~ 6od
arms, and said good-by to the dear old
watching face safe on Shore but look at
that ALWAYS cheered me, and fought on
again and again, till at last the sea SEEM
ed to go down, and, in utter WEAKNESS, /
turned on my back to float restfully with
the tide bearing me shoreward, till
| touched the sands, crept up them, and fell
down worn out to sleep in the warm sun
safe!
That's curious way of putting it, you
may say, but it seems natural to me to
mix it up with the things of sea-goin o.
| life, and the manner in which I've see
so many men fight hard for their lives.
1t was Just like striving in the midst of a
storm to me, and when at last did fall
into deep sleep felt surprised-like to
find myself lying in my own bed, with
Polly watching by me; and when I
stretched out my hand and took hers she
let loose that which she had kept hidden
| from me before, and, falling on her
knees by my bedside, she sobbed for very
joy:
:" AS much beef-tea and brandy as you
can get him to take" the doctor says, that
afternoon; and it wasn't long before [ got
from Stops to solids, and then was sent, as
| told you, into the country to get strong,
while the doctor got no end of praise for
the cure he had made.
| Inever said word, though, even to Pol
ly, for he did his best; but [ don't think
any medicine would have cured me
| then.
was saying a little while back that [
pulled my wife regularly out of the hands
| of death, and of course that was when
we were both quite young, though, for
ferent and can't we'll see the change. That
was in one of the Cape steamers when |
first took to stocking. They were little,
ramshackle sort of boats in those days,
and how it was more weren't lost puzzles
me. 1t was more due to the weather than
the make or finding of the ships, can
| tell you, that they used to find their way
safe to port; and yet the passengers, poor
things, knowing no better, used to take
passage, aye, and make voyage too, from
which they never got back.
Well, I was working ON board a steamer
as they used to call the Equator, and
| heavy laden and with about twenty pas
sengers on board we started down chan
mel with all we'll, till we got down right
| off the coast of Africa, when there came
one of the heaviest storms was ever in.
Even for well-found steamer, such as
they can build to-day, it would have been
hard fight; but with our poor, shaky
wooden tub it was hopeless case from
the first
Our skipper made brave fight of it,
| though, and tried hard to make for one OF
| the ports; but, bless you! what can man
do when, after ten days knocking about,
| the Goals run out and the fires that have been
kept going with wood and oil and every
| thing that can be thrust into the furnaces
are drowned; when the paddle-wheels are
only in the way, every bit of sail set
| is blown clean out of the boltropes, and
at last the ship begins to drift fast tor
| lee shore?
That was our case, and every hour the
sea seemed to get higher and the wind
more fierce, while / heard, from more than
one man, how fast the water was gaining
! below
NY mate and / didn't want any telling
though. We'd been driven up out OF the
stoke-hole like pair of drowned rats,
| and came on deck to find the bulwarks
ripped away and the sea every now and
then leaping aboard and washing the lum-
| Der about in all directions.
The skipper was behaving very well
and he kept us all at the pumps, turn and
turn, in spells; but we might as well have
tried to pump the sea dry; and when, with