Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1883-05-12

front rank of his fellow workers-uneduaied
by any in my own opinion. That |, who
heretofore have ever boon the most orthodox
believer in the cid school of medicine, its
application and results, should thus recant
in favor of that which is sneered at by old
practitioners, may startle you, but "seeing is
believing" and when l recount the attack
made on my old hulk, how near / came IL
lowering my colors, and the anal volley
which, through the agency above mentioned,
gave me victory, you will at least credit me
with just cause for sincerity in my thankful.
ness and belief. l will also spin my yarn
anent my China cruise, and eltoge eEer, ex.
pect to entertain as well as DO entertained
by you. With besu wishes,
Sincerely yours,
Rear Admiral U. s, Navy.
Hon. GEORGE WENDELL,
Sinclair Place, Boston,
An autumnal afternoon In the year i8s-
found the taut flagship Nomad rounding
the treacherous 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 al hands
on board the flagship their fill in hard work
and discomforts. The record of ia . Mona
on this cruise, VIII ca sho was now complet-
ing on her homewald bound paa7age to Bes-
ton, had been most di 5reeable, when to1i-
sIdered In the light Of heavy weather work
From Suez to Alden, then on to Bombay,
Point de Gale, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Nagasaki and Yokohama, the
balance sheet stood largely in favor of old
Neptun IS rough Characteristics, but with
remarkable evenness the health and original
roster of the ships company stood this day
as 1t did nearly three years ago-with one
exception. Throughout the diverse and
varied exposures incidental to cruising over
the Asiatic station, where cholera, fevets,
liver complaints, malaria, and colds of all
degrees reign in full foree, none of the crew
had suffered more than temporary incon-
venience, and thus it seemed very hard that
now, in the closing days of the cruise, the g
stood nine chances for, to one against, vic
tory being at last scored for the destroying
angel Death. When the Nondd reached
Shanghai in the early portion Of her cruise
her admiral was the healthiest man aboard.
A grand specimen of mani ODD was he, Over
six feet in height, weighing two hundred
pounds, broad in chest and strong in limb,
he rightly claimed for himself full share of
Natures blessings. While returning late one
night from a diplomatic reception at the
Consulate at Shanghai, through overhead
ing and insufficient protection from the dan
gerous effects of the peculiar damp and
searching night air, he caught cold. "Only
cold" remarked the admiral to the doctors
of his ship, "and easy to cure" So though.
the medical officers, but with quiet though
insidious progression, this cold chung to the
admiral in spite of their best efforts to Grad
icate it, and when the time came for leaving
Yokohama, homeward bound, the admiral re-
allied that his lungs and throat were decid-
eddy out of order. The doctors advised re-
turning home by mail steamer to San Fran
cisco, SO that greater means for curing this
persistent cough might be found in the
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 looked at the admiral even in
those days imagined that he would fall
story again typifed 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 admiral's case, and
the doctors imagined that they held the dis
ease in check at least. But with the forma-
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 cough Of the admiral had in
itself been sufficient 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 off
from the Cape by a 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: 1.-THE admiral is in
same condition as reported last night A
burning fever 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
cyes1ght 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 Montevideo for coal, and it
was the intention of the doctors to land the
in the ship was wrapped in the gloom of de-
spalr, as standing by the weather rigging on
the poop deck he gazed absently over the
seething waste of waters This was the adj
mirals son, lieutenant, and alta he to
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 Montevideo. Among
group of sailors gathered around one of the
great guns on the spar deck stool 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 discussion
about the admiral's conditi IN. The men had
just returned from some work around the
deck, an order for which q | interrupted
Browns story few moments previously.
ga year ago this dav was hove to in the
mill mans sick bay in the Ranger, then oil
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 flat aback, and the doctor
says it was no use TO stow away his lush i'll
my hold SEEM that my bellows was con-
demned by a higher power than he could
wrastle with"
"How did you pucker out of it9' asked
gunner's mate.
"Wa'all," replied Brown, "my Chinee
washman came to me one mornin' an he
lays to me, "me hab got alice same Mclean
man medikin, do you heap good l says,
bring it off, Chang; L buy all the same
hat afternoon Chang hove up with fourteen
bottles of a lush, enough to kill or cure the
whole ships crew, an that looked fresh in
their nice wrappers. Says Ching, China
man doctor hab got plentee more, he make
heap good well with any sick, this number
one mediken alice same through Yokohama