The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1877-02-08

white sails OF the Hesperus as she
stood out tosea.
Her heart sank as she thought Of
the long days and longer nights that
would elapse before the Hesperous
would again anchor in the bay; Of
the long night hours when she would
again lie awake Listening to the
wild storms that would sweep the
lonely coast within hearing of her
little cottage,
Her fancypictpred the Hesperus
scudding along before terrific gales;
tossing over whirlpools whose treach-
.erous ealms overlaid the swirling
sasptlrsbelqg, or flung by ferop.Einds
upon rocky reefs-or last and most
vivid horror of all, lying wrecked.and
still upon some lonely ilse whose lap
ping tides crawled up the Shiny hull
and the shadows of the palm upon a
white, dead face with stony lifeless
eyes.
But she did not allow these morbid
fancies to tempt her to idlensss, and
while her thoughts followed the mas
ter of the Hcsperus upon his lonely
cruisihgs, her willing feet and hands
wrought miracles of neatness and
cosiness about the cottage of which
she was mistress,
Roses clambered over the low trel'
Used porch, and mignonettc and
pinks filled all the Summer air with
spicy odorous breath, till the red and
green parrot swinging in the cage
hung in the porch, shut his eyes
lazily and dreamed of Brazilian
woods, lush and fragrant, and heard
the call of his mate across the burn
ing tropic sands.
But through all the tangled wealth
of trailing convolvulus, and poppies
nodding royalty to beds of asters, gor-
geous with every hue, Agatha kept
clear little space for foreign plant
with lichen.like stem strung with
scarlet berries.
This she carefully tended despite
the assurance of old weather-beated
sailors, retired from active seafaring
life, and who looking. over the gard
en- palings occasionally on their way
to the village, tried to convince her
that the plant only grew inflow latt1
tudes and loved best thin and rocky
soil. -
And so skillful did'she coax its re-
luctant growth with sand brought
from the beach, and showers of sea-
water, that Ayesha's charm strove
apace, and when Autumn winds
whistled through the bare rose
branches and leahess stalks, the plant
carefully tended, still hung from a
rustic basket in the low window
where Agatha, in her little rocking
chair, sat and sewed and dreamed
her dreams as she looked out upon
the sea.
1t was Spring again-the sun,
shine was weaving her miracle Of
bloom on hill and plain, and Agatha
held to her bosom a fairer flower than
the violets she loved, and whose brown
baby hair showed a CLINT of the Gre
Gus gold.
Then the news eame-"Wrecked
off the English coast with all on
board-not a life saved" Stunned
and shocked as she was by the dread
ful words, she yet wore in her dulled
brain picture of the awful scene,
the booming of the signal gun not
mile from the rocky shore, the beach
lined with people whose agony at
the sight of such suffering was scarce
ly less than that of the sufferers
themselves, the appeal of those white
faces tossing in the surf and, livid
the glare of the signal lights on the
shore.
She pictured his death agony; the
cruel waves choking and binding
him, dashing in stormy spray with a
deafening roar; the mingled din ol
wind and waters; the shrieks, the
groans, and the speechless despair
that was more awful still.
Gradually, from day to day, there
grew upon her hatred of the sea,
loathing at the sight of it that took
possession of her and would not be
controlled.
And one morning, some sailors