The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-10-07

| who has sailed the seas, ats a terribly
stormy time with me. There's a lee
shore close at hand, the fires are drown
ed out, and unless we can get up a bit
of sail, there's no chance for me. Now
then, doctor, can you get up a bit of
sail?"
81 will 90 and send you something
that will quiet yOu,n he said, rising.
"Thanky, DOCTOR says, smiling to
myself. "And now look here, I'm not
going to give up till the last, and when
that last comes, and the ships going
down, why, l shall have a try if | can't
swim to safety. If that fails, and | can
really feel that it is to be, gwhy, [ hope
Ishall 20 downs into the great deep
calmly, like a hopeful man, praying that
Somebody above will forgive me all I've
| done amiss, and stretch out His fatherly
hand to my little ones"
He went away and dropped to sleep,
worn out with my exertion.
When / woke, Polly was standing by
the bedside watching me, with bottle
and 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.
"Is that what the doctor sent?" l
says. ~ ~ - -
i.Yes, dear; you were to take it di-
rectly."
"Then l shan't take it," I says.
"He's give me up, and that stuff's only
to keep me quiet Pollyr you 90 and
make me some beef tea, and make 1t
strong - - kk 4 ss.-- sr &c.. 81
She looked Mortified, poor girl, and
was about to beg me to take hold of the
rotten life-belt he'd sent me, when
held out my shaking hand for it, took
| the glass, and let it tilt verthere was
only about a couple of teaspOOnfulS 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 beef tea.
The doctor didn't come till late the
next day, and was lying very still and
/ drowsy, half asleep like, but | was
awake enough to hear him whisper to
Polly, % Sinking FAST" and heard her
give such heart-broken sob that as the
next great wave came on the sea where
| was floating, l struck out with all my
might, rose over it and floated gently
down the other side.
For the next four days ii was a grim,
hard fight; dozen times | could have
given up, folded my arms, and said
goodbye to the dear old watching face
safe on shore; but a look at that al
WAYS cheered me, and fought on again
and again, till at last the sea seemed to
90 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 sun
safe! r -..'-.
That's a curious way of putting it, you
may say, but it seems natural to me to
mix it up with the things of sea-going
| fife, and the manner in which I've seen
so many fight hard for their lives. 1t
was just like striving in the midst of Il
storm to me, and when at last did fall
into a deep sleep felt surprised like to
find myself lying in my own bed, with
Polly watching by me; and when |
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 slops 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
made.
l never said word, though, even to
Polly, for he did his best; but | don't
think any medicine could have cured
me then.
| was saving 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 the matter of that, don't feel much
different and can't well see the change.
! That was in one of the Cape steamers
when | first took to stoking. They
were little ramshackle sort of boats in
those days, and how it was that more
weren't lost puzzles me. 1t was more
due to the weather than the make or
finding of the ships, l can tell you, that
they used to find their way safe toport /;
and vet the passengers, poor things,
! knowing no better, used to take passage,
av, and make voyage, too, from which
they never got back.
| Well / was working on board a
steamer as they used to call the Equa-
tor. and heavy laden and with about
twenty passengers on board, we started
down Channel with all well till we got
right down off the west coast of Africa,
when there came one of the heaviest
storms | was ever in. Even for a well
found steamer, such as they can build
to-day, it would have been a 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 a
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 bolt-ropes, and at last the
ship begins to drift fast for a lee shore:
That was our case, and every houl
the sea seemed to get higher and the
wind more fierce, while l heard from
more than one man how fast the water
was gaining below. - ..-r.
NV mate and | didn't want any tell
ING, though. We'd been driven up Our
of the stoke-hole like pair of drowned
rats, and came on deck to find the bul
warks ripped away, and the sea every
now and then leaping aboard, ant
washing the lumber about in all direc
tions. ........
The skipper was behaving very well
and he kept us all at the pumps, turn
and turn in spells, but we might as wei
havet1ied to pump the seadry, and when
with the water gaining fast, we told hin
what we thought, he owned it was n,
use, andwe gave up, ~ - - q
4 We'd All been at it, crew and passen
gers, about forty on * @altogether. in
Guiding the women-fye of them the
were, and they were all on deck, lasheC
in sheltered place, close to the poop
And very pitiful it was to see them fight