The Worthington advance., 1882-07-13

gray: His nose and chin sharpened, his
appeared about his eyes and cheeks, and
underneath the former the skin assumed
dull, lead-colored Look. In a word the
cadence of life, falling upon his soul, af-
fected his body, and, though only two
and-t4irty, he bore more marks Of age
than healthy man should at two-and-
fifty.
The brandy that he took, nevertheless,
did its work upon his physicel system.
The point of his nose became livid and
minute purple veins meandered Just bt-
meath the surface Of the skim His eyes
lost the humidity that gives those organs
their brightness and glitter. Always
clean shaveu and scrupulously elegant
in his attire, he still hadthe air of Il de-
scending man; going swiftly and surely
to ruin worse than death.
After play he dineu-:,inlost always
a:one-fn the restaurant Of the Cvnve,>:l-
ton Haus, and in the evening loitered
about the lobbies ct the theatres. A.
though, as have said, every M,c hncw
him, it was rather to Avoid THAN to Seek
his companionshfp: This, however, pro-
duced no more effect upon his spirits
than any other outward circumstance
Haying~no belief in, or love for, huuuni-
ty human sympathy was as much mat
ter Of Indifference as human hate.
This extraordinary and fcarfully ub-
normal condition is, happily rare. Few
spirits arc SO organized as to sui-
ier u blight which may be termed, per
haps, a spiritual death, except through
longer and more persistent asony than
most men ever have to Undergo. Boston.
fOweyer, was Of the sensitive kind:
He had placed his whole life in one
passion, and sa% everything through
the medium Of that passion. Hence.
when cruelty dissillusiOnne, he decided
as once that all women were like Maggie
Lowell. TO tlippult nature, suclf a
thorough dlsenehantment seems equal
'yS2:,
Wish q less evenly balanced intellect,
H:ston would undoubtedly have fhkcn
his own life; but where tle>soul'sVitaljty
isalready gone, there is little temrtatien
to self-murder. So he lived on, mecllan=
ically, aud his weary hours were ONLY
marked by the evil Mnl rmwlolesonlc
nc'cdnts Of the gambling tab}S
\ heavy, dun toy Jay upon the b.som
u the Hudson, yelling its shore, from
sight a1d making the vessels that lay
motnnhes lA the stream look yl,ostly
and distorted. The sopnds of the city
and the polsc Of s'ilp,s'at work, seem1u
contusedly and intistiuct over the water,
I1lc swift, smooth tide flowed down past
the piers and slips were deep, dark c1r-
rents eudlcd round and round among
the spiles, bearing fragments Of DRIFT
straw, wood, bottles and other b,ioyant
rubbish that went boblnny about in
circles for awhile, until, gaining the
stream, they hurried, fast and Silent,
down the river TO the bay and out to-
ward the broad ocean
\ light breeze occasionally waited tho
heavY mist hithcr and thithcr, disclos-
ing for moment the gray sail Of a
schooner or the high. black hulk Of fri
gate. Which faded away again on the in-
slant, like the plulntom ships Of old trl~
ditions
From tho western shore ofthe harbor
the multted and distant sound Of oars
rattling in the row-bcks and splashing
i'll the water, initiated the course Of a
row-b boat. An old and delapidated seine
skltt, rusty aid greasy, speckled with
flsll-se; les and worn by rough usage,
crcpt slowly out from Communipaw and
threaded its way among the countless
stakes OF the shad-nets that bristle above
the surface Of that portion OF the bay 1t
was rowed by !, father and SON, lankv,
tow-headcd, brown-faced men, with
hairy arms and hands mishaptn from
constant pulling at oars and net-ropcs
Rough Of manner, uncouth of gesture,
low Of Ambition and slow of cOmprehen-
sion, these fishermen, nevertheless,
had u full share Of the natural kindness
Of heart and human sympathy that
characterize the humble everywhere.
They worked together in storm and
slime, and shared their gains and their
bread, without the chickering's that 50
frequently mar the relations between
more cultivated men.
Rowing from stake to stake, they
!lltched up the net, ring by ring, and rs
soon rs fish appeared above water,
hanging by Its gilfs in the wido 1ncshes'
removed it and placed It IN u led of eel
grass on the bottom Of the boat.
'Tautcn up that line u little more,
Jenny" said the father in rough but
good.humored voice; *'the net says
here"
Hold on by that stake, then, till I
get for'ard. Seems to me it's darned
heavy this morn.."
rCan't YOU hist it? Here, gi' me a
holt onto it."
Jenny had, in fact, been pulling With
all his strength Of thew and sinew to
raise tho net where it sagged down b,
the stake. but in vain. His fathers
strong arm was brought to bear also, and
alter tug or two and a 'Now them" the
n:t begun to arise, but slowly and he;,y-
''Ther's Il big ketcl,,I guess. It's time
we had some luck, anyhow"
The old man did not reply. His
I'racticed eye, piercing the green trans
Iucency of the water, detected a dark
mass sorne feet below, which came uD
with the net. As it approached the
surface Jimmy saw it too.
"1t's corp, father"
'.Don't let's take that in the boat"
"WGll git sometllin' from the Coroner
fur it. boy. Bear a hand"
In truth the finders of floating bodies
are entitled to Il fee from the Coroners
office, and the old fisherman was not
averse to receiving a few dollars, even
though the duty to be performed was a
disaereeable one.
water and placed in the stern 81 tie skin
with that simple reverence that death
inspires among the lowly It was the
''. Va - AAA1A npPttAC4l 1uViICcu IN
years. Removing the shiny seawoed and
sand that had shrowded the features, the
fisherman saw a sharp-cut, int6lligen mt
face, strongly marked with lines of care
or suffering, and bearing traces Of dissi-
l'ation. The garments WHICH remained
entire upon the body, were fine and
Fashionable, and a diamond ornamenteI
the delicate calnbric shirt-front.
"tle was Il gentleman" said tho Old
man; .'inclh his friends will give us
| somethin' harn'some."
Jenny, unused to such incidents.
cared little to talk about it, and the row
to shore was silent and expeditions.
The coroner's examination resulted in
a verdict OF death by drowning" Pa.
pers found on the body showed that it
was that of Lee Baston.
An investigation made by the authori-
tie,, explained his death. Coming home
from Europe, weary Of life and shattered
in health, he had devoted himself en-
trel ly to the brandy bottle. The deliri-
UNI tremens-that awful avengcr Of ou.
ragged nature had attacked him on the
passage, while the steamer lay at her
dock IL Jersey City he had fallen over