Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1876-11-16
Under the Sea and What Came Of ii.
From Susan Colleges Summer Afternoons"

From Susan Colleges Summer Afternoons
They are scrambling down the
rocks, a gay, chattering procession
pretty Kate with her Captain, DR..
Gray supporting his invalid wife
Helen, Isabel, Tom and their mid.
shipman cousin; last of all Esther
ane-alone. 1t seemed right to
her morbid fancy that it shout be
so. Henceforth she must be alone
always.
The little guide trotted on in al
vance-his round, ten-year-old face
wearing the vacant look so strangely
common to that part of the Maine
coast with its glorious scenery. There
the ocean is considered simply vi st
depot of behring's and "porgy-oil,"
and the mountains as outward obsta-
cles in the way of primitive hus.
bandry. "Blast 'em, wish they
was fat" the natives say, as their
plows encounter the boulders at the
base and if they Look aloft at al it
is to calculate the perches of "med-
der land" which might be made to
occupy the same area, if the heights
were out Of the way.
Our party felt on the eve of great
things. Having arrived only the
day before, Mount Newport, with its
wonderful reach of sapphire sea, the
bluffs, the lakes in their settings of
dark blue hill, were still to them
things not seen. This, their first ex
cursion, they had dedicated to the
"Grotto" or Devils Oven" as the
coast people term it; sort of sub
marine cave, unveiled and accessible
at low tide only. and great wonder
in It's way.
The path grew sleeper. Carefully
they followed its windings, step by
step, sure-fo )ted Kate accepting the
help she didn't need, f,r the pleasure
of being guided and watched. And
now the little guide pauses, and with
a freckled forefinger poins round
projection of rock. All crowd to the
spot. All there it is, the cave of
the mermads. A shrek of mingled
surprise an enchantment burst from
the party at sight.
| Beneath the Iow-browed arch the
rocky floor rose, terrace after terrace,
till in its highest recess it met the
| rock above. A floor for the nereids
to dance upon; floor OF pink coral
line, cleaning here and there through
pools of emerald water left by the
retreating tide. And each of those
| tiny lakelets seemed trimming with
| fioWers-the flowers of Ocean-gr green
whorls, like chestnut burs; anemones
with cher dahlia bloom brown and
rosy MOSES about whose tendrils
bright flashes darted and played,
and snails of vivid orange clustered /;
broad leaves of brilliant dye swaying
and unduIating with the motion of
the pool-minuto specks of Ii git
flashing every irridescent hue; earth
ly garden was never so gorgeous.
The shelves were dimpled with hol-
lows-softly, exqusitely curved. No
fancy Of the old classic days seem d
too fantastic or too fair for the spot
The Imagination instinctiVely kim
died into pictures, and saw the sea-
nymphs sporting in the foam; bold
trito9s winding their shells; mer-
maids playing at hide-and seek !;
mikes and m )cking water sprites
peeping from the basins-all dream
land and wonderland opening, and
the common earth put aside and far
away.
With cries of delight tho party
made their way down, and scattered
through the cave. There was room
for an army. 1t was hard to realize
that with the returning tide the
place must fill, the gateway close.
and leave no place for human foot.
"You said the tide was going
down, didn't you, little boy ?'
"Ye-ah."
you're sure 2"
yeah"
"Tbat's NICE" cried Isabel, "Then
we can stay as long as we like. Oh !
do somebody come and see this"
She was lying with her face al
most touching the snemOnes. Nc
body responded to her call-each
had found some other spot of inter-
est. Tom bad fished up a sea urchin.
and was exhibiting it. Kate and the
Captain 10 niche of their own, at
safe whispering distance, were alb
sorbed IN each other. Esther had
climbed to the topmost ledge and
was sitting there alone. For the first
time in six weary months sensa-
ton OF pleasure had come to her,
and she was conscious of but one
longing-that they would all go
away and leave her to realize it.
With SON vague hope she got out
color-hox and portfolio, and began
to sketch. Sketching, she had found,
kept people off, and furnished an ex-
cuse for silence.
And so an hour or more passed by.
She heard, as in dream, the chat
ter of the others, their questions TO
the little guide, his short, jerky re-
plies. The pools were all explored ;
the sea-urchins and anemones had
been tickled with parasols, and made
to shut and open and shut again ;
the young people began to sigh for
further worlds to conquer, and Mrs.
Gray to consider it very damp.
Little boy, isn't there something
else near by we would like to see p
Guess So"
"Well, what is it? Tell us please. y
"There's the Heads, | guess"
allow far off is that? A mile. did
you say That's not far. Papa, the
boy says there's place called The
Heads only a mile away, and We
want to go and see it. Can't we goi
You know the way, don't you, little
boy?
yeah"
II think this place is very damp,
said Mrs. Gray. 81 should be really
glad to go somewhere and feel the
sunshine again. l begin to have