The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1883-08-30
PEMBROKE's sECOND-sIGHT.
A True Story of the Inexplicable.

'
such things happenin' myself more
than onct. Why | remember, as wells
if 'twant no longer than Yesterday, the
curious thing that happened the v'y'ge
| first sailed captain, and took my
brother Pembroke along with me. He
warn't no more than n lad, Pembroke
warn't; II year old, or Whereabouts,
and dyin' of quick consumption; not
the old-fashioned kind, that racks We
soul and body for fifty or sixty wears,
but the sort that strikes with chill, and
takes We off in no time. So saws,
mother, We'll try a sea v'y'ge.' So we
shipped together in the barque Pauliny,
about three hundred and ninety tons
burden, bound for the Chincha Islands,
up on South American coast. We had
a quick passage out with favorin' winds,
tickled with common thinos as Penn
broke was; he was always talking about
sea-birds, and the sharks, and the por-
poises, and once when he see whale
blow, off to the starboard, he was as
pleased as q baby.
"When we struck the Islands and be-
gan to load | noticed a change in him.
They were putting guano in the hold,
and Pembroke couldn't seem to stand
the noise and the outlandish cries of the
coolies, and he'd stay below out of the
fresh air; then he lost his appetite and
by the time we left the Chinchas he
was worse off than when we left home.
He began not to sleep,and his hands
was so thin ye could see daylight right
through 'em. Seems as if never closed
my eyes them nights. as we went down
along the coast, but just lay in my bunk
listening TO the boy coughin', coughin',
coughin', till ye'd think he'd part soul
and body in sunders.
'sHe took to thinkin' sight of home,
Pembroke did, and he cal ate as to what
they'd be doin'; how twas milkin' time
now and then how twas Sunday. and
he heerd the bells ringin' for meetin';
and he sickened SO formother and home
that my mind misgive me to think that
| ever took him away.
WAL, one day-it was Sunday and
we'd rounded the Horn-Pembroke was
lyin' in his bunk with his great eyes
wide open and starin'; he lay that way
tor hours, Just us if he was lOokin' into
another world All of sudden he says
to me, says he: why, jason says he,
'mOther's 5 married again! She was mar
ried over to the Head this morning, and
ROW they are all comm over home in a
cat-rigged boatn
..Of course [ thought he was getting
light in his head and wanderin', and L
knew what he said was the onlikeliest
thing to happen in all creation, mother
being well to do, and 60 years old If she
was day besides our sister Maria being
so set against her marrying agin. How
ever, | knowed that sick folks has to
be humored, so just to please the boy l
says:
"'Who's comm in the boat?'
g They're landin' now,' says Penn
broke. There's mother and Maria, and
girl about as old as me, going on two
crutches, and there's the man that has
married mother!
" How does he look?' says |.
Very tall and thin. says the lad;
and his hair is long and red, and he has
had the smallpox
"At that | laughed, and said that !
guessed that mother didn't marry the
man for his beauty, anyhow; and then
Pembroke fell asleep, and | thought no
more about it. About week later l
heard the lad on deck. / well remem-
ber that day, because it was the last
time that he ever came on deck till the
day he lay there in his weighted canvas,
poor lad, waiting to be shot from the
plank.
"He grew more fretful toward the
last, and everything 'pearcd to wrong
him; so he called out to me in a COM
plainin' sort of way: He is spoilin' ev-
erything, says he, 'he is changin' ev-
erything all round. I'm glad now that
l shall not live to get home, for l
shouldn't know the old place, he's spoil
in it.
" What's he a-doin' on?' says I.
" Why says Pembroke, 'he's been
an moved the big barn clean over to
the other side of the orchard, an he's
cut down the big ellum by the well, an
now he's a-paintin' of the house star
in yellow, with white trimmings. 1t
isn't home no longer. Maria is sot agin
it all, but mother gives in to every
thing; and the lame girl, she sets on
the front door stone and knits all the
time
''Of course, [ thought the boy was
wanderin' as l had before, SO just hui
mored him, and after while stopped
talkin' about it altogether. He grew
worse SO fast after that, that it warn't
many days that the poor lad talked
about anything. He died and was bur-
led off the coast of Brazil, near Cape
st. Rogue, and don't know to this day
whether done right or wrong in takin'
of him away from home"
For some moments the old captain
meditated seriously, with his knife rest
ing idly on one knee.
Boston was our port" continued the
captain, 'tand after l was free of the
barque, l had to go to Bath to see about
chance was hopin' to get to goto Liv-
erpool and Calcutta, SO altogether it was
late in October before l sighted Harp
swell Neck. Mothers house wasn't on
the main road, but the stage left me at
the lane, and walked in to the farm,