The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-22

Care for my house ana me,
| And the little children that we shall havef"
| "Yes, fisherman" said she.
| So the fisherman had his way,
| Aud seven years of life
| Passed by him like one happy day;
Bur, as for his sea wife,
She sOrrowed Tor the sea Away,
| And loved not her land life.
Morning and evening and all day
| She would say
| To herself, ''The sea! the seal"
| And at night, when, dreaming,
| She stretched her arms about her, seeming
| To seek lIrule Willie,
| 1t was the sea
She would have olasped, not he
| The great seas purple water,
| Bearer TO her than little son or daughter.
| Yet she was kind
| To her children three,
Harry, fair Alice and baby Willie;
Ana set her mind
To keep things orderly.
''Only," Thought she,
"If cou but find
| That little sealskin lost one day"
She didn't know
That her husband had hidden it away;
That she ionged for it so.
| One evening as he climbed the hill,
| The fisherman found her amongst the whin,
Sobbing, saying, MY little seal-skin;
Who has stolen my skin from met
| How shall find It and get in
And hurry away to the sea2'
Then, "5he shall have her WILL"
Said he.
Next morning when he rose to go
Afishing, and his wife still slept,
He stole
The sea-skin from that secret hole
Where he had kept
1t, and flung 1t on a chair,
Saying, "She will he glad to find 1t there
To-day
When am gone,
Aud yet
Perhaps she will not put it on"
He ssd ''nOr go away"
In sleeping his wife went;
Then the fisherman took his net,
And crept
Into the chill air.
The night drew on, the air was still;
Homeward the fisher climbed the mill:
All day he'd thought, ''She will not co.
And now, "She has not" pondered he,
"She is not gone" he sand. "Iknow
There is a lamp IN our WINDOW,
Put ready on the sill
To guide me home, and shall see
The dear light glimmerng presently,
lust as round the hill"
But when he turned there was no light
To guide him homewsrd through the night.
Then 81 am late" he said,
'And, maybe. she was weary
Looking so long for me.
She lays the little ones in bed
Well cGntent
In the inner room where shall find her,
And where she went,
Forgetting to leave the light behind her,"
So he came to his cottage door
And threw iJ open wide;
But stood breathing space, before
Hedared to look inside.
No fire was In rhe fireplace, nor
A light on any side;
But little heap lay on the foor,
And the voice OF the baby cried.
The older children, tired OF crying,
Were half asleep.
Then, "Wife! wifei' said the fisherman,
''COme from the inner room"
There was no answer and he ran
Searching into the gloom.
''Wife! wife! why don't you come?
The children want you, and I've come homen
"Mammy's gone daddy" said Harry.
"Gone into the sea.
She'll never come back to carry
Tired Willie.
It's no use, daddy, looking about,
IN tell you how il all fell out.
There was ssal-skin
In the kitchen
little crump)ed thing
I can't think how IL came there;
But this morning
NANNY found II on a chair.
she dropped
1t on the floor,
But snatched 1t up again and ran
Straight out the door
And never stopped
TIL she reached the shore.
''Then we three, daddy.
| Ran after her, crying:
| Wait for us, nanny, we are coming, too!
Wait for us, can't keep up with y"ti!
Nanny. stnp! jnst for a minute or two!
| But Alice said: Maybe
SHE'S making US u boat
| Ont of the seal-skln, ceverly,
And by aud by she'll float -
| 1t on the water by the sands
| For us, Then Willie capped his hands
! And shouted. Run on, NANNY, to the sea,
! And we are coming: Willie understands
| At last we came to where the hill
Slopes straight down TO the beach,
! And there we stood, all 5reathless, still,
! Fast olin glug unto each.