The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-08-28

sons, up TO the sea- ibis is why we are all
three of us captains-I, Horace, who am
fifty-two; Captain Paul, your servant, who is
fifty, and Captain Desire, who is just now
entering on his fortieth year. .fr
paul and l were very young men-he
eighteen, / twenty-when in the year '46
Desire, by the death Of our good mother, was
left under our guardianship. We were both
of us then serving the state-I as an asplrznt
on board frigate; he as an eleve, or cadet at
Brest. We knew that until we were at least
thirty years old there would be no chance of
gaining a grade which would warrant ou1
Sc tting up a home for ourselves in Marseilles.
The great question was to know what to do
with Desire during the long term of years
which must necessarily elapse before we
could think of going to housekeeping You
may smile at the notion of q sailor going into
housekeeping at all; but must explain to
you that, according to our father behests,
we were all, after attaining the grade OF
| lieutenant in the service OF la chose publique
to join the mercantile marine. Now, man.
of wars man needs no other home than the
successive ships to which be is appointed;
whereas a merchant captain should have
comfortable pied-a-lerre in his native port,
| to which he can from time to time repair be-
tween his voyages He must have plate and
| linen and some bottles of old wine where
with to entertain his comrades and neigh
bors. He should have cat, and, is possible,
.
femme de menage to look after things and
| keep all orderly and ship-shspe.
"Our father had sent us in cur boyhood TO
| the public Lycee at Marseilles, whence we
returned in the evening to our home on the
Chemin de la Corniche, hard by the old res
taurant of La Reserve, where the bouilla-
baisse used to be so good. There is still a
Reserve where you may eat bouillahaisse,
| but it has deteriorated. 1t is now thought
questionable to add dash of tallow tn the
| lavoring. Our father had horror of private
boarding schools where boys only learn TO be
| selfish and gluttonous. bullies or parasites,
| cynics or hypOcrites, and where they forget
| all the quiet teachings and gentle discipline
| OF home. So we pondered and pondered as
to how we should bestow our Desire, until,
| by a happy inspiration, we thought OF
Madame Veuve Babeuf, an excellent woman
/ whose husband had been drowned long years
before IN storm In the Black sea. He and
all the crew of the brig of which he was mas
| ter went down one terrible night of Narna
The widow enjoyed but very modest pen
| sion from the commercial firm who owned
| the ill fated brig and in whose service her
husband had lost his life, and am afraid
that she had been fain to exc out her narrow
| income by needle work. 1t was thus mat
| ter Of great Joy and comfort when she con-
sented to take Desire en- pension, sending
HIM to the Lycee, when he became old
| enough, every day for his education, but
| boarding, tending and indeed taking entire
charge of the boy. We knew that we could
/ trust her, for she had been one of the dearest
| friends of our mother, and it was pleasant to
think that the poor widow woman would
now be made quite comfortable in her cir
cumstances by The 20 francs month which
our tuteur (for, as none of us were yet legal
| ly OF age, our money matters were managed
/ by guardian, our good uncle, M. lie Pasteur
Blot, of Avigon.l agreed to pay her for the
| child's maintenance. And, to crown the
| pleasantness of the arrangement, Madame
| Veuve Babnuf had a charming little seraph
| of child, fair haired girl full four years
| younger than Desire, and who we predicted,
| would prove delightful playfell for him.
/ The little girls name was Angelique, and
you will hear more about her during this
| radotage.
"Well, Paul and went in due course to
i sea and were tossed about in all parts of the
| world, and worked hard to achieve the rank
which should entitle us to take command of
/ a merchant ship. Ii was no fault of my
| good brother Paul that got my lieuteuanty
| first. L had the luck which did not fall to
his share. Jeus de la chance voyez-vous,
Monsieur was serving in a corvette In
| the Chinese archipelago. We had a brush
with pirates, and had the fortune to be in
boat which captured one of the rascals'
| junks. was additionally favored by being
wounded in the left shoulder by poisoned
arrow; and, enfin, l got my grade and the
| cross to boot
Here Captain Horace's voice slightly
trembled; and so full and clear was thelight
/ of the moon that / almost fancied / could
see q blush mantling on his features.
My wound" went on the captain, kept
| me in hospital at Macao for a long time;
and then was sent back to France ON sick
leave. When i got well and strong again,
my discharge from the navy was granted to
\ - -
| 1--WE were then under the empire) of the
Messageeries MaritImes. have been on all
the lines, lieutenant en- trosieme, lieuten-
| ant en- second and commandant. 1 have
tried TO do my du y and to win the approba-
ton of my chiefs; and while have been in
command have always endeavored to earn
the respect and esteem of my officers and
men. Here. my individual history comes
to an end-if the captain of a Messageries
steamer can be said to have any history be-
I yond going out of the port of Marseilles and
returning to it, if he does not happen to
get drowned between whiles.
There remains, however, something to be
said about Desire. The little lad was never
strong-he would be stronger, we hoped,
when he went to sea; still Madame Veuve
Baboeuf had taken scrupulous care of him,
and there were some roses in his cheeks
when at 13 years Of age the state with Our
consent, bien entendul, claimed him, and
he was entered as an eleve on board the
| fregate-ecola at Rochefort. Otherwise the
conscription maritime could not take him
until be was 16 He had made wonderful
progress in mathematics while at the lycee
at Marseilles, and rapidly rose to the rating
of aspirant. But the exact and somewhat
mechanical discipline of a man-of-war did
not suit Desires studious and docile, but
somewhat dreamy and romantic tempera-
ment He quilted the service early, to take
quite subordinate rank in the mercantile
marine, and was long time in China
(where / got my grade) first mate OF an
opium clipper. Then he returned to the
Mediterranean; but it was q long time be.
fore we could persuade him to enter the
service of the Messageries. 1t was too mill
tary, too mechanical. be urged. AT length,
when Desire was bordering on 80. Paul and
/. who by this time were be n captains, in.
sisted that he. who was cleverer navigator
than either of us, should put himself in the
way of being captain too. So he went sec
ond in command on the Legborn Civits,
Vecchia and Naples line. Speedily he rose
to be commandant, and that rank he has
retained for ten wears We are az / nave