New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1880-03-10
BQrdette Seasick,


ences. Before We were well outside
the port made up my mind that the
best thing I could do for my unhappy
country was to lay her little serene
highness away in her peaceful berth.
thai might have the hours Of the
gathering twilight to undistarbod 10
Election. I think laid her away with
some haste. I will confess, indeed,
that the customary devotional exer-
cises were dispensed with. owing to
the pressure of business. remember
that I was glad when she was snu9ly
slowed away for the night, and can
recall the peaceful look that played
over her face Is she remarked, re.
ferring to the rolling and pitching OF
the vessel, "Isn't it nicep" For her
little serene highness is . good sailor.
and was rather disposed to make merry
over the eager but somewhatspasmodic
haste with which tucked her away.
Isn't this nice3" she repeated, with
ridiculous feminine emphasis.
It was rather nice, I believe. but
hadn't time to observe il just then. I
wanted 10 think about something.
And then, to my great annoyance,
couldn't remember what it was
wanted to think about. It was some-
thing beautiful and sad, l know, but
l couldn't exactly catch on. Somehow
or other it seemed to run by.
The sea grew r0ugher, and - tho
pitching and rolling Of the steamer in
creased, my spirits did not rise. Your
spirits are not apt to rise, find. They
are the only things about you that
don't rise. however.
My subject of reflection having
eluded my rather inactive mind, BE-
came sensible of q kind of sort Of
languor, that suggested repose. I
did not feel like standing up and sing.
ing. l wanted repose. wasn't par.
ticular what kind of repose. The re-
pose Of the grave would have suited
me perfectly well.
But there was no grave handy. And
when went out and looked out to sea.
ward and gazed at the endless expanse
OF angry, tossing waters, I didn't see
any material to make grave. And
then, when I returned to the state.
room, it began to dawn upon me, dim
~. that the repose was about as sell
dom as the grave.
Robbie" placidly spate her little
serene highness, in tones marked with
shade of affectionate apprehension.
Robbie, are you feeling quite wellP''
said that was somewhat oppressed
by the grand magnificence ofthe bound
less ocean: And I mopped the icy per-
SEPARATION from my marble brow.
"Does an intense appreciation of tho
magnificent in nature usually excite
profuse perspiration in your" she
asked, innOcently. "The ocean doesn't
make me feel So"
replied that just at present th.
ocean made me feel as though I :.
swallowed it whole, and I was afrai.
would have to spread little to hold~
believed l would retire and aban.
don the struggle with my feelings, for
felt that was on the verge of quot
ing poetry.
stood on my feet and took of some
of my things. Then leaned up against
the door and took off q few. Then I
stood on my head and got off one or
two. Then lay down on my back and
kicked off the rest of them.
AAVA L AOOACO up ~ NY USXtUs
1t was six hundred feet from the
door. end still going.
cast an anxious. despairlng glance
at it, reached out and dragged . travel
ing-shawl over me, and tried to MARBLE
merry stave of q rollicking sea-s0ng.
"What are you crying forl" asked
her little serene highness. care you
homesick, or are you sorry you were
SO cross?'
ceased my song, and started to say
something in reply, but it was too much
exertion to talk, SO I LAY still and looked
at my rapidly-disappearing berth,
climbing away like balloon.
"Aren't you going to bede" came .
cheerful voice from the lower berth.
said that when bought my passage
Of the International Steamship Com
pany did not contract to sleep in .
skyrocket, and that l should not get
into my berth until it came down close
enough for me to grab at it. And then
l relapsed into state of comparative
apathy, as it were.
IL never saw you lie down 80 fat,"
came the cheerful voice again; "you
are closer to the floor than the carpet.
How do you DO it, Robbie.'
There was really nothing remarkable
in it. Nrequired no effort Whatever to
get down. The only trouble was toget
down fiat enough, and the next great
est trouble was to get up.
am willing to ecmit that my Ian
guage was not polished, nor, in every
instance, refined. 1t was even, in ono
or two cases, ungrammatical, and In
one particular instance, when WAS
looking over the side of the vessel for
pin l had dropped, my remarks may
have been offensive, and were. I con-
Tess, positively rude. But last Wednes-
day night was not conducting rhe-
torical exercise.
The sense of utter forlornness, the
feeling of desolation and goneness; the
impression, generally correct, that
every well person in the ship is laugh
ing Of you; the saddening thought that
there is no chance of dying; the de-
pressing knowledge that there is no
help for il, anyhow; the confidence that
nobody is going to do anything for you,
and the philosophical resolution that
you don't care constitutional red
cent if they don't; the hope that you
will be over it by morning; the fear
that it will last q week; the forlorn
hope, now and then. that the pilot viii
get frightened and tie the ship up to
tree some place, if only for little
while; the despairing sense Of disap-
pointment that steals over you % il
becomes evident that the pilot hasn't
the remotest thought Of doing anything
of the kind; and at last the fervent,
earnest. despairing wish that the boiler
will blow up, the ship strike . rock.
catch on fire, capsize, be rnn down BY
an iron steamship, get struck BY light
ming, and sink in six hundred fathoms
of water, and do it all most powerful
quick, too.
This 10 the final spasm. When you
get 90 that You can earnestly aud sin-
cerely wish that, then you arc Ill right
The berth makes . turn and comes
down within easy reach: half frQzQn.