Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-05-19
The VIGIL BY THE SEA.
b. l.. e.

ing. The beach rocked under the tre-
mendous surges that still broke upon it.
Lefty Trevor had been married only
! three months; and this was the first
| serious anxiety she had experienced.
Her husband was the handSomest,
bravest and hardest young fisherman
| on the coast. With three or four other
| boats, he had sailed the morning before;
but his companions, foreseeing storm,
had put back shortly after high noon.
! lie. however, had refused to return.
"He hadn't had much luck this sea-
son," he said, land he mad made up
| his mind to stick to it till luck came"
The other fishermen had hardly made
| the shore before the gale set in. AS
! evening drew on several OF the older
women and wives came to comfort
Lefty. But their well-meant words
only increased the young wite's anxiety.
NJ last, TO her relief, she was left
alone. But she could not sleep. She
sat rocking herself in q chair. Finally,
she could remain in doors no longer,
but went out into the rain and tempest.
She sought the seashorc, and there, all
through the night, she remained, with
the half.crazed hope that She might see
the sail OF her husband flying before the
gale or rescue him from the hungry
surf.
Yesterday the first pettish words she
had ever spoken TO her husband had
passed her lips. She had asked him for
a new dress, and he had answered that
Lie could not afford it, the fishing this
season having been so bad. She had
retOrted she hardly knew what, but it
had been something like a reprOach,
and he had turned away, hurt. Soon
afle-, when he rose to go, he approached
to kiss her, a. usual, but she turned pet
ulently away. All this she remembered
now.
''Oh - she cried, wringng her hands,
"if he should aever come back. If he
has died before | beg forgiveness! Yes,
he staid to earn enough to buy the dress
the dress | was so wicked as to re-
prOach him for not being able to give
me, If could only see him alive for
one instant and be forgiven, then [
would I've willing to die"
Suddenly she thought she saw, far
out at sea, white speck, as of a boat or
sail. Was that it flashing up again?
No; il was only the foam of 4 far Off
roller, or the wing ola low flying gull.
The reaction was terrible. Her knees
gave way beneath her and she fell, and
graSping the sand, the unspOken prayer
going M: Father, let this cup but pass
from mew
After a while she rose. But she was
Soothed and Gained by her petition. AS
she looked out once more, she saw that
it was really a boat, bottom upward, and
with human figure clinging to it.
"Oh, Father in heaven she cried;
| grant it may he him. Spare me this
| once"
On and on came the boat, driven be-
/ fore the wind and tide, the human
! figure still ciinging to it.
At last the wreck was so near i'll shore
I that she ia ncied She could recognize the
clinging figure.
at is he-it is hep she cried. willie!
/ Williem
! Her voice rose to a hoarse cry. The
! sullen surf, the wailing wind, and the
/ shriehimg gullS echoed it back, but no
| answer came.
"He does not hear me. | must shout
| louder. Willie! Oh, my Willie"
She ran up and down the shOIe wiring
/ ing her hands piteOusly; but no reply
was returned. The figure on the wreck
was more mOtiOnless than ever.
! "He is dead!-he is Drowned" she
/ sobbed. "Oh, Willie, my darling!'
/ The boat was now swiftly approach
| ing the beach in front Of Lefty. Now
| the surges swept it in toward her; now
they bore it away; now the boat tlOated
shoreward, and now again it receded.
At last came a tremendous roller. 1t
seized the wreck, bore it alift, swept it
with indescribable rapidity toward the
! shore, and breaking, left the boat and
| its burden, for one moment, almost at
| the feet of Lefty. Then the water began
! TO recedc, dragging them back to the
! ocean. 1t would have swept the inani-
mate form Off with it if Lefty had not
| rushed into the under-tOw, caugh her
| husband in her arms, and tlinging her
self almost upon her face shoreward,
| managed thus to resist the quickly re-
/ Cedlng waters.
Another wave came laundering in;
| but, with superhumau strength, Lefty
rose and rushed up the beach with her
/ husbands form still clasped in her
/ arms.
The village was now beginning to
awake \ few early fishermen were
| slowly lettering ShOreward to see what
/ damage had been done 10y the gale. One
/ of them turning to the corner OF sand
bank, came upon the two figures lying
| locked in each others arms.
! "BleSs my sOulr' he cried; what IS
this%' Lefty Trevor and Willie. Both
| dead, too He stopped and narrowly
examined them, NO, there are signs
! Of life in her-She is only in faint; aud
and-wby, surely he breathes little
| his flesh is warm. Hellow an dhe raised
| his voice to shout. "COme here, boys!
I Quick, quick it's for life or death"
That afternoon Lefty sat with fearful
ewes, holding her husbands hand in
| hers, for he was still to weak to rise.
"Oh, Williew she said, show happy
I am. You have forgiven me, too. |
! nevel, never thought to feel so glad
| againW
"Folgive you?" he said, ~ owe, my
life to you, dearest. If you had not
been on the watch for me, should have
! been carried out to sea again, and then
| should have sunk forever. L was al
most gone as il was. You see, when
the boat capsized, i managed to swim
back to her and hold on by the keel; it
was terrible hard work, with every
wave washing over me; and before day
break was nearly worn out. / was
about giving up, when l saw q woman
far off on the beach, and my hesrt told
me it was you. That gave me new
strength, and managed to keep up un-
til was within half 3 mile from shore.
Then everything swan before me, and
/ lost my senses. The next thing was
waking here"
She fondgy kissed him and she said:
"For he that is lost was found. He that
was dead, is alive again. Oh! thank
God, thank Godo'
Then she broke into fit Of weeping
of thankfuiness and JOY.
Years have passed since then. Lefty
has never spoken a pettish word to her
husband again. If ever she is tempted
to be unjust to him, she thinks of the
past, of that dreadful night, and OF