The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1882-09-23

and threatening crowd surging to and
fro before the DOORS Men with haggard
faces were talking and gesticulating
/ wildly. Women were weeping and wiring
ing their hands. a sudden faintness
came over him. What could it all mean ?
mastering courage to put the question to
a by Stander. he was told to look and see
for himself. Two ominous words, Bank
closed" were posted on the front of the
building.
For moment the poor fellow could
hot seem to take in the full meaning of
! the calamity that had fallen like thun-
| derbolt from clear sky; but as it dawn
ed upon HIM that his little fortune was
swept away forever, and with it the hopes
that had opened to his delighted fancy,
| the blood rushed to h S brain. and his
face grew purple. Then he fell back in
4 fit, deprived of sense or motion.
The first word he articulated when he
came to himself was, Home" Some
kind souls paid his passage to San Fran
| cisco, where the sight of blue water. and
OF the big ships CALAMITY riding at their
anchors, seemed to revive him little.
Wholly possessed by his one idea of get
ting home, he shipped on board the next
home-bound steamer, going about his
duty like man half stunned, and who
sees without comprehending what is pass
ing around him.
The sailing of a homeward- bound
steamship was one Of the events of those
days. To say that the whole city turned
out to witness, or rather to assist at, her
departure, would hardly be an exaggera-
ton. On board, all was hustle and hill
arity. On shore, jests and good byes
popped like champagne corks. Those
who were going were the secret envy of
those who were left behind, in whom
this scene aroused that passionate, that
uncomfortable yearning for the old home
beyond the mountain. peaks, beyond the
the seas.
My own knowledge of the chief actor
i'll this history began at four o'clock in
the morning Of the third day out from
port. The CalJornia' engines were sud
denly stopped. There was hurried
trampling of feet, rafting of blocks on
the decks, succeeded by IA dead silence
silence that could be felt. l jumped
out of my birth and ran on deck. How
well can recall that scene.
The morning. cold, damp. and toggy,
was an utterly dismal one. 4 pale light
struggled through the heavy mist, but it
was too thick to see cable s-lenyth from
the ship, although we distinctly heard
the rattle of oars at some distance, with
now and then Il quick shout that sent our
hearts up into our mouths. We listened
intently. No one spoke. No one needed
to be told what those shouts meant.
The huge black hulk lay silent and mo
tionless. Although the gloom hid it from
us, the near vicinity Of the coast was an
nounced by the roaring Of the surf, dis
tinctly audible in that death-lke stiffness.
We could not even make out the mast
heads for the og in which they seemed
dissOlving. But in the vessels wake
stretched a half-luminous streak of phos-
phoreScent foam, until it mingled with
and was lost in the colorous vapor ov ~
hanging the black and torpid tropic sea.
Down this luminous track, and into the
gloom beyond, our eyes were strained to
discover the secret of the hour
How long it was can not tell. for min
utes seemed hours then; but at last we
heard the dip of oars, and the boat shot
out of the fog within biscuits toss of
the slip. | remember that, as they came
alongside, the upturned faces of the men
were CHASTITY and pinched. One glance
showed that tue search had been in vain.
The boat was secured, the huge pad
dies struck the water like clods, the
heavy floating mass swung slowly round
to her helm. But at the instant when
we were turning away. awed by the mys-
terry of this death scene: a cry came out
Of the darkness-a yell of agony and
deepest horror-that nailed us to the
deck. May never hear the like again,
Save ma. for Gods sake save me.'
pierced through and through the silence
till a hundred frantic voices seemed re
peating it. The cry was so near that
every eye instinctively turned to the spot
whence it proceeded-so near that it held
all who heard it in breathless, in sicken-
ing suspense. Had the sea really given
up its dead9
Before one might count ten, the boat
was again manned and clear of the ship.
| recollect the figure of the first officer
as he stood erect in the stern sheets, with
the tiller-ropes in his hand. peerng into
the fog. | can see the men springing
like tigers to their work, and the cutter
tossing on the seething brine astern like
"A chip. Then the fog shut them from
view again. But never more was that
voice heard on land or sea. 1t was the
last agoniZed shrek of returning con-
seriousness. no doubt. as the Pacific clos
ed over lankee Jim's head.
At eight bells we assembled around the
capstan ut our captains call, when the
few poor effects of the lost man were
produced. His kit contained one OF two
soiled letters. dasuerreotype of two
blooming children hand in hand, piece
of crumpled paper, and few articles of
clothing | noticed that while smooth
ing out the creases in this scrap of paper
the captain became deeply attentive, then
thoughtful. then very red. Clearing his
throat, he began AS follows:
It's an old sea custom to sell by auc-
ton the kit of shipmate who dies on
blue water. You all know it s custom
of the land to search for the last will of
deceased friend as soon as the funeral
is over. The man we lost this morning
shipped by his castle or sea name-a
very common thing among sailers; but
I've Just found out his true one since
stoud on this spot; and what's more. I've
found out that he had been in trouble.
An idea strikes me right here that he
found it too heavy for him. God knows.
But it's more to the point that he left
wife and two children, whose sole de-