The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-03-31

I
'.Of course he was believed to be lost
and remorse bit hard at Mr.. Hastings
heart for having discarded the young
sailor as his daughters lover; her pale
sad face was ever a reproach to him
for it was to keep her from seeing Nor
man that he had remained abroad long
er than he had anticipated.
''True to his promise, the German
baron arrived to claim his bride, for ht
was anxious to uphold his title with the
bankers money; but Flora told he1
father plainly she would not marry him
until year after Norman's supposed
death, and the baron was compelled to
abide by her decision, though his
cramped circumstances made him anx-
ious to handle the gold of the heiress.
eat length the year went by; the
wedding day was fixed, and Flora was
resigned to her fate, until one morning
she saw her father spring up from the
breakfast table. crush his newspaper in
to his pocket, and, with troubled face,
leave the house.
'Instantly knowing that it was some
thing he had read that SO moved him,
Flora sent a servant out for a paper,
and a glad cry bry broke from her lips,
for she read of the rescue from wreck
of the brig-of-war Greyhound, that had
been caught by a gale on a lee shore,
and would have been lost had not a
young man, dwelling upon the coast,
put out alone in small boat and pilot
her into a haven of safety.
The paper furthermore stated that the
daring pilot was none other than Nor
man Ernescliffe, who had been supposed
lost over year before, but who had re-
.,f ,oth nr1c w ha
day previous 1t also said petition
was to be sent to the Admiralty, asking
for a commission in the navy for Nor
man. he being a man of education, and
already having proved himself 4 skillful
officer in the merchant service.
''That day, when Mr.. Hastings re-
turned to dinner, he was confronted by
his daughter, who coolly informed him
that she had written to the baron, and
broken her engagement with him.
1.-The banker pleaded, and then storm
ed, but Flora was firm, and her father
swore he would discard her if she mar
ried penniless, common sailor; but to
his surprise Norman Ernescliffe sud-
denly appeared before him. from an
adjoining room, and said firmly, but
with respect:
"'Mr. Hastings, 1 am not penniless,
nor am l common sailor, for have a
fortune that will match your own, and
my pareuts gave me good education
and taught me to be gentleman
1T was the word fortune that caught
the bankers ears, and he said, eagerly:
You have fortune, you sayP
-'.Yes, SIR
land where did you get your
money!
81 will tell you. sir. The vessel that
was left upon that night of the storm
did not go down. but was wrecked upon
a small, uninhabited island, and l es-
capped with my life.
".Upon that island found the grave
of n poor seaman, rs / believed, and
near it made my home, expecting that
my fate would be his, for, believing that
the boats had been lost, and not caring
to live were Flora dead, l was despond-
ent, and made no effort to save myself.
''1 am not a somnambulist, Mr.. Has
tings, and yet one night L awoke,
through pain in my fingers, and to my
horror discovered myself in an open
grave, the earth of which 1 had dug out
with my clasp knife and hands, until
my nails were torn to the quick.
"'The moon was shining brightly,
and beneath me 1 saw, not a coffin, but
several small boxes, one of which-af-
ter l recovered my nerve, for / was un-
nerved at thus waking and finding my
self there, l opened.
"'The boxes contained gems. jewelry,
and gold, and l knew that l was rich
man, for the treasure had lain buried
there for many long years, and was the
booty, doubtless, of pirates, who had
never returned for their ill-gotten
riches.
"'Hope coming to my heart once
more, l set to work in the morning to
build me a boat from the pieces of the
wreck, and after long weary months of
toll succeeded in building a craft, with
which set sail from the island, and l
reached my home just in time to save
vessel OF war;
''Such was Norman Ernescliffe's sto-
i.y, gentlemen, and the sequel is soon
told, for his treasure was discovered to
be worth quarter of million, and
the baron went back home disap-
pointed man, while good luck still
dogged Ernescliffe's footsteps, for he
was commissioned a junior lieutenant
in the navy, and two years ago married
Flora Hastings; but here he comes, and
I'll introduce you;' and Charlie Beau
champ presented the hero of the quar-
ter-deck yarn to the young officers, all
of whom gave him the welcome he de-
served, and Norman Ernescliffe became
the ''sea-lion" of the sloop-of-war.