The bee., 1883-05-12

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with Just cause for sincerity in my thankful
ness and belief. / will also spin my yarn
anent my China cruise, and altogether, ex-
pect to entertain as well as be entertained
by you. With best wishes,
Sincerely yours,
Rear Admiral q. 8. Navy.
Hon. GEORGE WENDELL,
Sinclair Place, Boston.
An autumnal afternoon in the year 1SS-
found the taut flagship Romad rounding
the treacheroue and dangerous extremity of
South America. And this day certainly in
tended to place Itself on record with those of
its predecessors marked stormy, its nasti
ness in wind and weather giving all hands
on board the flagship their fill in hard work
and discomforts. The record of the NomGd
on this cruise, which she was nov complet-
ing on her hem5ward bound passage to Bos-
ton, had been most disagreeable. when con-
sidered in the light of heavy weather work.
From Suez to Alden, then on TO Bombay,
Point de Gale, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, NagasaM and Yokohama, the
balance sheet stood largely in favor of old
Neptun s rough characteristics, but with
remarkable evenness the health and original
roster of the ships company st9od this day
as it did nearly three years ago-with one
exception, Throughout the diverse and
varied exposures Incidental to cruising over
the Asiatic station, where cholera, fevers,
liver complaints, malaria, and colds OF all
degrees reign in full force, none of the crew
had suffered more than temporary incon-
yenieRce and thus 1T seemed very hard that
now, i'll the closing days of the cruise. thee
stood nine chances for, to one agaIIist, VIC
tory being at last scored for the destroying
angel Death. When the ROniad reached
Shanghai in the early portion of her cruise
her admiral was the healthest man aboard.
A grand specimen Of manhood was he. Over
six feet in height, weighing two hundred
pounds, broad in chest and strong Ill limb,
he rightly claimed for himself a full share of
NATURES blessings. While returning late one
night from a diplomatic reception at the
Consulate Mt ShanghaI, through overhead
ing and insufficient protection from the dan
gerous effects of the peculiar damp and
sea~ching night air, he caught cold. "Only
a cold," remarked the admiral to the doctors
of his ship, land easy to cure" So thought
the medical officers, but with n quiet though
insidious progression, tins cold clung to the
lmiral in spite of their best efforts to erad-
icate it, and when the time came for leaving
Yokohama, humeward bound, the admiral re-
allied that his lungs and throat were decid-
edly out of order. The doctors advised re-
turning home by mail steamer to San Fran
cisco, so that greater means for curing this
DcESlSltuI 10 il tA4S
Naval Hospital there; but the admiral pre-
ferred to stick to his ship, still imagining
that his trouble would eventually be over
come by the doctors treatment
No one who lookel at the admiral even IN
those days imagined that he would fall n
victim to lung trouble. But 1T was the old
story again typified in this case. Only
cold at first; and In spite. of orthodox treat
ment the peculiar climatic effects OF CHINA
nursed it, and FASTENED the sure result of
such deep-seated trouble. Time passed after
leaving Yokohama for Boston, bringing
varying symptoms in the admIrafs case. anu
the doctors imagined that they held the dis
ease in check at least. But with the foruIa-
ton of tubercles. night-sweats and the now
RAPID consumption of lung tissues, which
had set in with alarming symptoms, the pa
tient realized that his cold had laid the seeds
of that fell agent Of Death, consumption.
The hacking cou h Of the admin al had in
itself been suffic, ent food for serious consid-
Grafton. and now, as in the warm autumn
days the flagship calamity rode over the
blue waters of the Pacific, bound for Cape
Horn, the doctors hoped much for success.
But this boisterous afternoon found the good
ship struggling with gigantic seas set OF
from the Cape by fierce northerly wind.
Leaden were the heavens and sad the
hearts of all aboard, for that morning the
usual bulletin of the medical officers had set
forth this intelligence: "1he admiral is in
same condition as reported last night. A
burning fe,er has been slightly reduced,
while other symptoms are as heretofore an
nounced." All understood these words
without questioning. The beloved admiral
had during the past two weeks sunk very low.
The symptoms of blood-poisoning, torpid
liver, intense pains throughout the body.
eyeslght and mental faculties affected, appe-
tlte gone, through inaction of that great reg
ulator-the liver. These were the means
which had reduced the admiral from the
pinnacle of health to the valley and shadow of
death. Consumption held full sway now,
and the well-known skill of naval doctors
was in this instance at least completely
foiled.
The admiral had issued orders for the flag
ship to touch at Montevdeo for coal, and it
was the intention of the doctors to land the
admiral there for treatment. But one man
In the ship was wrapped in the gloom of de-
spair, as standing by the weather rigging on
the poop deck he gazed absently over the
seething waste of waters. This was the ad-
his fathers staff. He feared that the wear
and tear of ship life would sap his fathers
strength beyond endurance. and before. the
ship could reach MonteYideo. Among a
group of sailors gathered around one of the
great guns on the spar deck stood the captain
OF the foretop, Brown, slight but healthy
looking man. His companions were listen
ing to a recital of his sufferings from con-
sumption, which had developed while he was
attached to the sloop-of-war Ranger, lying
in the harbor of Yokohama year ago. this
yarn" having been started by a discussion
about the admiral's condition. The men hId
Just returned from some work around the
deck, an order for which hal interrupted
Browns story few moments previously.
: ga year ago this day was hove to in the
pill mans sick bay in the Ranger, then OF
Yokohama, an tell you, pards, twas no
use pipin' my number, cause was nigh On
passin' in my enlistment papers for long
cruise aloft," continued Brown. "Con-
sumption had me fiat aback, and the doctor
says it was no use to stow away his lush i'll
my hold seein' that my bellows was con-
demned by a higher power than he could
wrastle with"
, "How did you pucker out of it2" asked n
gunner's mate.
"Wa'all," replied Brown, "my Chinee
washman came to me one mornin' an be
saws tn mo Hrno hoh eyot aliaa capoo Maliooro