The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1882-07-13

gray. His nose and chin sharpened, his
hands grew tremulous, deep wrinkles
appeared about his eyes and cheeks, and
underneath the former the skin assumed
Il dull, lead-colored look. In word the
cadence of life, falling upon his soul, af-
fected his body, and, though only two
anu-thlrty, he bore more marks of age
than a 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 meandcrcd Just be-
meath the surface of the skin. His eyes
lost the humidity that gives those organs
their brightness, and glitter. Always
clean shaven and scrupulously elegant
in his attire, he still hadthe air of de-
scending man, going swiftly and surely
to a ruin worse than death.
After play he dined-almost always
a!one-in the restaurant Of the Conversa
ton Haus, and in the evening loitcrc Il
about the Hobbies Of the theatres. Al
though, as have said, every one knew
his companionship. This, however, pro.
than any other outward circumstance
Having no belief in, or love for, HUMANE
ty human sympathy was as much mat
ter Of indifference us human hate.
This extraordinary and fearfully all
normal condition is, happily rare. Few
spirits are SO organized as to suf-
fer Il blight which may be termed, per-
haps, a spiritual death, except through
longer and more persistent agony than
most men ever have to undergo Boston,
however, was Of the sensitive kind.
He had placed his whole life in one
passion, and saw everything through
the medium of that passion. Hence,
when cruelty dissillusionne, he decided
at once that all women were like Maggie
Lowell. 10 tlippant nature, such a
thorough disenchantment seems equal
" so.
With less evenly balanced intellect,
BastOn would undoubtedly have taken
his own life; but where the souls vitality
isa(ready gone, there is little temptation
to self-murder. So he lived on, mcchan-
zeal y, and his weary hours were only
'ncie e of the gambling table:
\ heavy, dun fog lay upon the bosom
Of the Hudson, yelling its shores from
sight and making the vessels that lay
motionless in the stream look ghostly
and distorted. The sounds of the city
and the noise Of sailors at work, seemed
confusedly and indiStinct over the water.
The swift, smooth tide flowed down past
the piers and slips were deep, dark cur
rents cddicu round and round among
the spiles, bearing fragments of drift
straw, wood, bottles and other buoyant
circles for awhile, until, gaining the
CT fha1y h,,r,inI fact and S1lor,f
down the river to the bay and out to-
ward the broad ocean.
A light breeze occasionally waited the
heavy mist hithcr and thither, disclos-
ing for moment the gray sail of a
schooner or the high. black hulk of fri
gate. which faded away again OH the in
slant, like the phantom ships of old ira
ditiOns.
From the western shore ofthe harbor
the muttled and distant sound of oars
rattling in the row-locksand splashiny
in the water, indicated the course of a
row boat. An old and delapilated seine
skif, rusty and greasy, speckled with
tish-scales and worn by rough usage,
crept slowly out from Communipaw and
threaded its way among the countless
stakes Of the sha1-nets that bristle above
the surface of that portion Of the bay. II
WAS rowed by a father and son, lanky,
tow-headed, brown-faced men, with
hairy arms and hands lnishapen from
constant pulling at oars and net-ropes
low Of ambition and slow of comprehcn-
sion, these fishermen, nevertheless,
had 4 full share Of the natural kindness
of heart and human sympathy that
characterize the humble everywhere
they worked together in storm and
shine, and shared their gains and their
bread, without the chickering's that Sc
frequently mar the relations between
more cultivated men.
Rowing from stake to stake, they
hitched up the net, ring by ring, and as
soon as a fish appeared above water
hanging by its gills in the wide meshes,
removed it and placed it in bed of eel
grass on the bottom Of the boat.
"Tauten up that line little more.
Jenny" said the father in a rough but
good-humored voice; ''the net says
here.''
'Hold on by that stake, then, till !
get for'ard. Seems to me it's darned
heavy this NORM
"Can'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 tc
raise the net where it sagged down by
the stake, but in vain. His fathers
strong arm was brought to bear also, anG
after tug or two and "Now them" the
net began to arise, but slowly and heav.
others big ketch,I guess. It's time
we had some luck, anyhow"
The old man did not reply. His
practiced eye, piercing the green trans
lucency of the water, detected dark
| mass some feet below, which came up
with the. net. AS it approached the
surface Jimmy saw it too.
ITS corp, father"
eyes"
"Don't let's take that in the boat"
"We'll git somethin' from the Coroner
fur it, boy. Bear hand"
In truth the finders of floating bodies
are entitled to a fee from the Coroner's
office, and the old fisherman was not
averse to receiving few dollars, ever
though the duty to be performed was &
disagreeable one.
The corpse, then, was lifted from the
water and placed in the stern of the skif
with that simple reverence that death
inspires among the lowly. 1t was the
body of a man apparently advanced il
years. Removing the Shiny seaweed anc
sand that had shrowded the features, the
fisherman saw sharp-cut, intelligent
face, strongly marked with lines of care
or suffering, and bearing traces of dissi
patton. The garments which remained
entire upon the body, were fine and
fashionable, and a diamond ornamentec
the delicate cambria shirt-front.
"He was a gentleman" said the ole
! man; "mebbe his friends will give u:
somethin' handsome"
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 i
was that Of Lee Baston. .
An investigation made by the authori
tie,, explained his death. Coming hom.
from Europe, weary of life and shattered
in health, he had devoted himself en-
tirely to the brandy bottle. The deliri
um tremens-that awful avenger of out
ragged nature had attacked him on the
passage, while the steamer lay at hel
dock in Jersey City he had fallen over