Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-01-05

divers small trinkets, knickshaws and
new-fangled trifes, and even forced
some of them upon his host. It is fur
Their alleged that under the malign in
fuence OF Peleg and several, glasses of
a. uardient the commander lost some
what of his decorum, aud behaved in a
manner unseemingly for one in his
position, reciting high-fewn Span
ish poetry, and piping in thin.
high tone, divers madrigals and
heather canzonets of an amorous COM
ple1ion-chiefy in regard to a little
one who was his commanders "soul t"
These allegations, perhaps unworthy
the notice of a serious chronicler,
should be received with great caution,
and are introduced here as simple here
say. That the commander took a
handkerchief and attempted to show
his guest the mysteries of sembi Ca
Gus, capering in an agile butindecorous
manner about the apartment, has been
denied. Enough for the purpose of
this narrative, that at moonlight Peleg
assisted his host to bed with many pro-
LESSONS of undying friendship. And
then, as the gale had abated, took his
leave of the Preside, and hurried aboard
of the General Court. When the day
broke the ship was gone.
know not if Peleg kept his word
with the host. It is said that the holy
fathers at the mission that night heard
loud chanting in the plaza, as of the
heathens singing psalms through their
noses; that for many days after an odor
of salt Goldfish prevailed in the settle
ment; that dozen hard nutmegs, which
we're unfit for spice or seed, were found
In the possession of the wife of the baker,
and several bushels of shoe-pegs, which
bore pleasant resemblance to oats,
but quite inadequate to the purposes
of provender, were discovered in the
stable of the blacksmith. But when
the reader reflects upon the sacredness
of a Yankee traders word, the stringent
discipline of the Spanish port regula
tons and the proverbial indispositior
of my countrymen to impose upon the
confidence of simple couple, he will
at once reject this part of the story.
A roll of drums, ushering in the year
1877, awoke the commander. The sun
was shining brightly, and the storm had
ceased. He sat up in bed and through
the force of habit rubbed his left eye.
As the remembrance of the previous
night came back to him, he jumped
from his couch and ran to the window.
There was no ship In the bay. A sud
den thought seemed to strike him, and
he rubbed both his eyes. Not contented
with this, he consulted a metallic mir
ror which hung beside his crucifx.
There was no mistake; the commander
had visible second eye--a right one,
as good, save for the purpose of vision,
as the left!
Whatever might have been the true
secrect of the transformation, but one
opinion prevailed at San Carlos. It
was one of those rare miracles vouch-
safed pious Catholic community as
an evidence to the heather, through the
intercession of the blessed San Carlos
himself. That their beloved command
er, the temporal defender f the faith,
should be the recipient of his miracu-
lous manifestation, was most fit and
seemly. The commander inns elf was
reticent; he could not tell a falsehood
he dared not tell the truth After all.
if the good folk of San Caros believed
the power of his right eye vas actually
restored, was it wise and discreet for
him to underceive them /? For the first
time in his life the commander thought
of policy-for the first time he quoted
the text which has been the lure of so
many well-meanins but easy christians,
of being ''all things to all men," In
feliz Hermeneglide Salvatierra.
For by degrees an ominous whisper
crept through the little settlement. The
right eye of the commander, although
miraculous, seemed to exercise baleful
effect upoa the beholder. No one could
look at it without winkine. It was cold,
hard, relentless and unfilching. More
than that, it seemed to be endowed with
dreadful prescience-a faculty. of see
ing through and into the inarticulate
thoughts of those it looked upon. The
soldiers of the garrison obeyed the eye
rather than the voice of their command
er, and answered his glance rather than
his lips in questioning. The servants
could not evade the not watchful but
cold attention that seemed to pursue
them. The children of the Pre- sidio
school smirched their copybooks under
the awful supervision, and poor Paquita.