The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-11-01

anu SIODeS Iull OF gOlu USn swinging 10
the roll of the vessel as she swung
stately, with her stunsails hanging out
over the long blue swell wrnkled by
the wind. The ship is still ahoat.
Where are the people she carried? The
crews who. have worked her? The
captains who have commanded her?
There is nothing that should be fuller
Of ghosts than an old ship; and | very
well remember that when first visited
the Victory, at Portsmouth, and de-
seconded into her cockpit, what | saw
was not well preserved and clearly
length of massive deck, but groups of
wounded and bleeding and dying men
littering the dark floor, and the hatch
way Swallowed by grooming figures
handed below, while the smell of En-
glish, French, and Spanish gunpowder,
even down there, was so strong-phew!
l could have spat the flavor out.
"Well, the old Ocean King had once
upon time been said to be haunted
She had certainly been long enough
a1oat to own hundred stories, and she
was so staunch and true that if ever q
superstition got into her there was no
chance of its getting out again. only
remember one of these yarns; it was
told to me by the dockmaster, who had
been at sea for many years; was an old
man, and knew the history of all such
craft as the Ocean King. He said that,
in '5l, think it was, there had been a
row among the crew; an Italian sailor
stabbed an EngIishman, who bled to
death. To avenge the Englishman S
death the rest of the crew, who were
chiefly English, thrust the Italian into
the forepeak and let him lie there in
darkness. When he was asked for they
reported that he had fallen overheard.
and this seemed to have been believed.
Whether the crew meant to starve him
or not is not certain; but after he had
been in the forepeak three or four days
a fellow going behind the galley out of
the way of the wind to light his pipe
it being then four bells in the first watch
came running into the forecastle with
his hair on end, and the sweat pouring
off his face, swearing he had seen the
Italians ghost. This frightened the
men prettily; some of them went down
into the forepeak, and found the Italian
lying there dead, with q score of rats
upon him, which bundled off when the
men dropped below, During all the
rest of the voyage his ghost was CON
stantlv seen, sometimes astride of the
flying jbboom. What was the end of
i'll mean, whether the men confessed
the murder, and, if so, what became of
them-the dockmaster said he didn't
know. Be that as it may, discovered
shortly after we had begun our voyage
that the crew had got to hear of this
story, and the chief mate said it had
been brought aboard by the carpenter,
who had picked it up from some of the
dockyard laborers.
Il well recollect two uncomfortable
circumstances: we sailed on a Friday,
and the able and ordinary searnen were
thirteen in number, the idlerS and our
selves aft bringing up the ships COM
panY to nineteen souls-nineteen souls
when, | suppose, in her prime the
Ocean King never left port short of
seventy or eighty seamen, not to men
ton stewards, cooks, cooks mates,
butcher, butchers mate, baker and the
rest of them. But double topsail-vards
were now in; besides, understood that
the vessels masts had been reduced
and her yards shortened, and we car
ried stump fore and mizzen topgallant-
masts. All being ready, tug got hold
of our tow-rope, and away we went
down the river and out to sea. don't
b.lieve myself that any stories which
had been told the men about the ship
impressed them much. Sailors are very
superstitious, but they are not to be
scared till something has happened to
brighten them. Your merely telling
them that there is u ghost aboard the
ship they re in won't alarm them till
they've caught sight of the ghost. But
once let a man say to the others,
There's a bloomin sperrit in this ship.
Lay your head agin the forehatch and
you'll here him crashing his teeth and
rattlin' his chains, and then let another
man 90 and listen, aud swear, and per-
haps very honestly, that he 'heerd the
noises plain, and you'll have all hands
IN funk, talking in whispers, and
going alOft in the dark nervously. In
our ship nothing happened for some
days. Wewere deep and slow, and rolled
'tAOllS JtlC std ldlllup AWAY
from the vessels powerfulround bows as
from a rock. Pile what we could upon
her, with tacks aboard, staysails draw
ing, and the wind hitting her best sail
ing point, we could seldom manage to
get more than seven knots out of her.
One night had the first watch 1t was
about two bells. There was a nice
wind the sea smooth, and red moon
crawling up over our starboard beam.
We were under all plain sail, leaning
away from the wind trihe, and the
water washed along under the bends in
lines through which the starlight ran
glimmering. | was thinking over the
five or six months voyages which old
wagons after the pattern of this ship
took in getting to India when, seeing
a squall coming along, | sung out for
hands to stand by the main royal and
mizzen topgallant halliards. 1t drove
down dark, and not knowing what was
behind ordered the main royal to be
clewed up and furled. Two Youngsters
went aloft. By the time they were on
the yard the squat thinned, but |
fancied there was another bearing
down, and thought it best to let the |
ordinary seamen roll the sail up. On |
a sudden down they both trotted hand |
over hand, leaving the sail tapping in
4 nn galtt tab gf IL