The Republican journal., 1881-08-18
Bewitched in Mid-Ocean.
Thrice the brinded cat hath mewet

deity of Egypt, and the gaunt grimalkin
of the witches, to the tame tabby of Dul
tiresde. 1t is difficult, however, to be-
lieve that in this quarter of the nineteenth
| century, and among sane Englishmen,
pussy should ever be an object of feaI
and foreboding. Yet hear the story iot
my friend, the captain of the Seamew
recently come into port after an unusual
y stormy and strange passage from Bal
timore:
We had Il capital run for several days.
After dropping down the river, we gave
her sheet ;cross the cold belt of water
that lies along the coast, and out we
'swished' into the Stream and away along
t.
Jack" says to my mate who has
sailed with me in the Seamew Il many
years, 'home in thirty days. Eli ,"
"Humph," said Jack, 'maybe. Jack
was a Scotchman, and cautious about an
opinion.
Wen, on March l4th Il have reason to
remember the date) little after -
o'clock, in latitude 4 deg. north and
longitude 55 deg, west Il had Just taken
our bearings and remember 'em,) ! was
like, when | sighted a Ship on our star
board bow. | had good look she was
Il barque, and was flying signals Of dis
tress. called Jack.
Jack" said | when he had looked,
what do You think We must bear down
on her. | suppose" ,"
''l1umph,' said Jack. "Ay, suppose"
We shortened sail and bore down. We
came within hail, but nobody answered
| from the barque Presently, though, a
boat was launched and pulled toward us
but their pulling was weak and "dippy.
Then Il man stood up in the middle OF
the boat, tugged his coat off and waved
it, and sang out "Ahoy Ahoy.' in Il hall
cracked kind Of voice This was odd,
and tramped up and down, impatient
to hear what they wanted.
eve are starving" That's what the
captain that stood up in the middle said.
eve are starving, says he. "The Lily
Of Plymouth. outward bound for Balti-
more"
We got EN- up the side. took the
master into the cabin and sent the men
tOr'ard. Lord to see that man drink
and eat, With a delirious eagerness. as
You might say, and Yet afraid to eat too
fast, or too much. He knew he must
keep in his awful appetite and still it
would keep a breaking from him. He
told us their story in scraps between :
They had been provisioned for three
months, and that was their l25th day
out The weather they had experienced
had been most peculiar: not stormy. but
playful and perverse like: sometimes
blowing this way, sometimes that, often
not blowing at all. Near eleven weeks
had gone 10y before they sighted Cape
Henry, and when they did, down came a
furious, sprawlng nor'wester and drove
em out to sea again. And so they had
beaten about in adverse winds, of course,
ever since. Their last drop of water and
their last scrap of biscuit went five days
ago. Then they came to cooking theil
boots, and sucking the oil from the lamps
even from the pinnacle.
ave ate my dog last " And the poor
fellow burst into tears. "As sure as
fate said he, looking oddly at me, ''we
have been bewitched"
"Bewitched, said l. "What, now,
makes you think of such a thing?'
"Ah, WE'LL" said he, III don't know
But We'll see."
After that he was in hurry to return
to his ship. We filled their boat and a
boat of our own with all the provisions
we thought we could spare (and there
were thirteen of 'em, an awkward mum
Der to ieed.) Jack went with our boat,
and when he came back says he to me:
"That shippers not bad sort, though
he he a Cardiff man. He's sent We this
keg O spirits and it's maybe as well out
o theil way now-and, what dye think
four bottles O champagne in that basket
here. They had thought O saving them
for land sight, but he's sent them to you
We looked in the basket of champagne
at once. The bottles lay sloped in with
! their heads out. Underneath was lit
tie packing straw, and underneath that
Oh Jacks face and language when he
saw it "a tabby, brinded cat, lying
curled up asleep.
"Oh." cried Jack. "Oh, the sly, un-
grateful devil, This is your Welshman,
your Tatfy This is what he thought he
was bewitched wi. And he's been afraid
to make away wi it SO he sends the
witchcratt here The coward he is But
we'll play Jonah's trick, and chance the
whale"
SO he seized the eat and swung out his
arm to toss it overheard, when my little
Maggie, that sailed with me this voyage
and that scarce understood his words
but understood his action, caught his
wrist and cried:
"Oh, no, please Jack. Give it to me ?
Now Jack was very fond of her, so he
arrested his act at her bidding at once
but he said, "It's bewtched, though
Maggie lass. If | don't believe in that
sort O thing, there's them here that do,
with a glance at the men for'ard.
"Ay, sir, there be-" said Dick Sandys
an old seaman who had been standing by
all the while helping to haul up the boat
by the davit line, and keeping, as | had
observed, a sidelong eye on the basket
"There's them aboard this here Seamew
and don't say as what | amt one 'en
myself, as'll straight Oft begin to think the
rare luck OF this here present v'yage is
gone. But they'll dread worser luck, sir
if ye throw overheard brinded cat as
has been carried abroad across water"
as that SO ?" asked Jack.
"Ies," said ! in a low voice. sFvC
heard of that before. ''But," said aloud
and looking at Dick, and trying to work
off my uneasiness in Il joke, chow can you
have a 'sea" or any other ''mew" with
out cat ?"
"This cat" said Jack, scarcely looks
as if she would NEW again. just look at
her-skn and bone"
My little Maggie had walked her up
with stroking, and the wretched creature
tried to stand and to walk, rubbing
against Maggies leg. But she fell ovel
again and again. Jack caught the animal
up, and shifted her breath, while she gave