Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-12-02

| seen no more. waiter CllSDy W6
in that boat. The rest, after gres
| suffering, reached land and wer
| picked up by passing vessels, 8
making their way home.
BY this time every one had give
up hearing from that lost boat
Every one but Walters mother AM
Eunice. Eunice lived in Edgar
town, SO they did not often meet o
weep like this i'm each others arms
They had slowly learned to bur,
| their anguish, and set stone at the
| door of the sepulchre till an ange
should roll it away.
But though Eunlce went abou
with patient sweetness, helping he
father mount birds, passion witt
him In the intervals of leisure be
tween the long rides of an islanC
physician, and smiling on everyone
no lover could win any favor from
her, and here and there in the
waves of her dark hair tiny silver
thread showed the only sign of the
nights of watching and tears
Love, the mother, did as mothers
do, hid her trouble and grew more
tender than ever to all that were
left, and every night after the rest
were asleep she stole down and
lifted the latch string, for she whis.
pered to herself, "Who knows but
my boy may come ashore to-
night.
A beautiful picture they made
this Thanksgiving eve as they
clung to each other and the tide of
love and mourning swept over
them. But as they talked and
kissed the picture, the ft,g-horn
sounded loud and long from the
church tower, warning of thesteam-
er.
"This will not do" said Mrs.
Clisby, and they brushed away the
tears, hastily making ready to well
"What is the crier saying ?" ex-
claimed Eunice, turning toward the
window. Large vessel sighted off
Great Point? ?" and her heart bound
ed as it had done for every incom-
ing ship all these years. "Who
knows?" but she only said that to
herself and went down stairs.
In few moments all was hustle
and cheer. Nathan Clisby was pros
porous in all his ways, nothing was
spared to keep the family feast roy
ally. To all outward seeming the
ghosts of the past were laid. To
watch Nathan Clisby as he sat at
the head of the table telling stories,
joking with the children, no one
would guess that behind the twinkle
of his gray eyes what unvailing re-
gret was drawing dark cloud down
between his heart and all the joy !;
how he wished he had let Walter
have his way. Walter was the
youngest one, and from a child in
clined to be moody and restless, al
ways seeming to want something
he could not quite get at. The fa-
ther was through and through prac-
tical, and froWned on what seemed
to him Walters silly notions of try
ing to paint pictures instead of go
ing to sea and making money as all
his race had done before him.
81 tell you," he would say, ''I
knew another fellow who went
crazy on this business of pictures.
He was James Fogler's soma
ne'er-do-weel. I'll have
no boy of mine walk in Timothy
Fogler's steps," So it went on, till
at. last the boy was desperate and
to ship on a whaling
and give up.
otis no use," he said to Eunice,
when he went to bid her goodbye;
Sits no use. L can't do what |
want to, so Pm going off; that will
suit father, and who knows-per-
haps the ship may go down, and
none of you will be plagued any
more" and he went, and this was
the end. -... .s.,-.--...-..
But sad or glad, the hours hurry
On. The supper ended with glass
0fold wine that Uncle Jabez brought
home from his last voyage to the
Horn, and rising from the table,
hey all gathered round the great
in the parlor again.
"Grandpa," said little Sue, put
ing her arms c0axingling round
MS neck, "tell us the story OF the
you were caught in his
mouth and he didn't eat you up"
So he began, with one curly pate
n his lap and Martha's wee hand |
n his own, Just as he used to tell !
he same stories to their father and |
mother and to Walter. The thought |
If Walter crowded out all Others |
,o-night; if he could only know, if
he could only hear, but there was
10 chance. How perfect this would
Ill be if the boy were only here
lis boy, to whom he had been
larsh. Lost, drowned, starved
9od knows what on that southern
no word, no message
lothing till the sea should give up
is dead.
"Grandpa! grandpa! tell the
est; that isn't ALL" cried Sue, pull
ng the grizzed whiskers just lit
lie. What makes you stop ?"
Just then the big brass knocker
ave loud rap-tWo or three raps.
"Rachel, will thee open the
Ioor ?" said Mrs. Clisby, startled
nto the Quaker speech of her
Who can it be to-
light ?''
"Do you know me ?" were the
irst words they heard, in tone
LONS O1LSOy anu ~ =" %
Ter arms that were first round her
)oy's neck.
"Walter, my son."
Nobody knew how anybody got
t him, or how they knew that it
vas he, he was so chahged-grOwn
tout and brown, nothing the same
ut the curl of his hair and that
one of his voice. Nobody knew
7hat kind of a look his father gave
i'm when he tried to say in a
luff-sailor fashion, "How ye do
ny hearty?" and broke down, with
ears rolling down his face for the
rst time in fifty years. They all
ried, then they all laughed, and
Iunice shrank away little behind
he rest, till he caught her in his
rms and kissed her before them
IL. They tugged at his coat and
lung to his sleeve, and tried to ask
i'm something. Hector reused him
elf with a loud bark from his nap
q the corner and sprang at him,
My to end in yawning and wag-
ing his tail in delight.
Everyone looked at each other,
rying and laughing all at once
gain, till Simeon and Anna, hear
1g the confusion, appeared at the
oOr, and Simeon said, "God bless
ou Master Walter! Welcome
o,>,, ,c.o;o - olI No1fuolzot -