The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-02-26
OUR PASSENGER.
THE CAPTAINS STORY.

u1I WdS 1OVcly duIulhu d1lCiuOOA IT,
ward the close Of September, when we
weighed anchor, and sailed out of the
river Mersey, bound for Melbourne. We
had good ship-Janet's Pride-loadod
with miscellaneous articles. On board
we're fourteen passengers, and take them
all in all, pleasanter lot never steered
across the stormy seas.
There were three old gentlemen, who
were going out to share their fortunes,
come what might, and which, poor old
souls, they seemed to think fashioned in
. the brightest colors, long before the
English coast was out of sight.
Then there was a solitary old getle-
man, who, judging from the general tone
of his conversation, was seeking the new
world for the the ostensible purpose OF
finding fault with it.
There were two young married couples,
all full of hope and activity, bent pom
making new home far away from their
native land.
There were also a very jolly elderly
brother and sister, neither of whom had
ever entered into the bends of matrl-
mony, but instead, had stuck by each
other through life.
There were three old Australian set
tiers, who had been over to have a peep
at the old country, and who were now re-
turning to the land which to them,
through long communion, had become
the dearest Of all others-"Home, sweet
home!'
Lastly, though not least, there was
solitary passenger, who soon became the
pet Of all on board, He was man of
about eight-and-twenty years of age,
possessing very clear complexion, q
very handsome, longdow1ng beard, and
a very silky mustache.
His name was Reginald Moore. His
r given reason for taking this sea voyage
was the delicate state of his health.
poor fellows chest was considerably af-
fected, though his voice, charmingly
sweet, was one of the weakest ever re-
member hearing; and it had a certain
hollowness in its sound that in my mind
is invariably associated with that terrible
disease commonly termed consumption
He always wore a thick muller round
his neck to protect his throat and chest.
In all my experimental and it has been
pretty wide-I never knew any one with
so many friends, and such undivided es-
TEEN, in so short space of time, as Regi-
nald Moore. There was not, believe, a
sailor on board who did not entertain the
warmest possible liking for him.
AS for the passengers, they never
seemed so happy as when listening to
his amusing anecdotes, of which he seemed
to possess an inexhaustible store. And
this delicate young English paragon of
passengers had made his conquest over
all our hearts before we had been three
weeks at sea.
he was, too, such clever fellow with
his hands. He could cut and shape you
anything out of piece Of wood, from an
oyster to elephant; and at making mod
els of shi ps, I never met his equal. He
was, besides, such kind and considerate
fellow toward his fellow-passengers.
When the three elderly gentlemen, who
imagined their fortunes made, were af-
ficted with sea-sickness, he was the first
to come forward and help them about
while they slowly recovered. He would
insist upon their taking his arm, weak as
he was himself, and he would lead them
about on the deck with frmness that
spoke volumes in favor of his ''sea legs
do not remember any voyage passing
so quickly as the one when the pleasant
passenger was on board. could, with
infinite pleasure, make long pause at
this juncture in the thread of my story,
to dwell upon the pleasant memories 1
still retain of Reginald Moore.
We were within weeks sail of Mel
bourne Reginald Moore had all but
completed model of the Janet's Pride,
which he proposed presenting to me the
night before we landed.
Now the work at this model princi-
pally on deck, and strangely enough, he
had chosen for work table one of the
empty water-casks that stood on deck,
abaft, and under the shelter of the bull
warks,
While he worked through the day, you
were sure to see him surrounded by some
of the passengers or sailors. The amount
of industry he displayed was TRULY won
derful, for he was invariably at work in
the early morning, long before eny of the
other passengers dreamt of turning out
of their snug berths.
As have already stated, we we're but
six days sail from Melbourne. For the first