The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-09-26
/ STORY y sglAeE MEETINGS.

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i sTeaI u NglleE MEETINGS.
BY Gordon Stables, NJ D.. R. N.
.sThe world is not so very wide, after
all!n
This exclamation, or somewhat akin
TO il, We are constantly hearing in these
times Of rapid travelling. For my own
part, / am never in the slightest degree
astonished at meeting an old friend
anywhere,for nowadays there seems but
little to prevent anybody from going
everywhere.
= space were not SC valuable. I could
instance scores Of cases of strange un-
expected meetings from the diary of
my own life, some 81 them amusing
3 enough.
When I first went from home to join
the service I Lett ueordie M-pIough-
ing in mi Of my fathers fields, with an
Ok and the aorra" beast. / specially
mention the OF and the CORA" beast, by
way Of showing that Geordie was by no
means ven u frst-class ploughman.
HesMss an Ora ((of all work. man him
self. and couldn't be trusted with q
team Of the best horses. He was slow
in his motions. and slow in his notions
he wore q corduroy coat, his boots
weighed pounds, he never lifted his feet,
hut trailed them such was Geordie.
just two years after this, I was one
day sitting forward in the sick bay, ex-
amining and taking the I'M of q
batch Of marines, who had come to join
us from another ship. I was at Bonn
bay, and the weather wasshot, and l
was drowsy, saI seldom looked twice
at my man, and was not in the best Of
tempers; but there was one marine in
the lot, and a right smart clean footed
fellow he was, who attracted my atten-
ton, because he laughed when I spoke
TO him. He talked in the broadcast of
Scotch, and the very sound of his voice
recalled to my memory Highland hills
clad i n blooming heather. / rubbed
my eyes and looked ut him again. AS
snre as / live it was Geordie!
I bnde goodbye to a medical friend
of mflfesspnce inSSpho,S Square. He was
going away to the conntryto get mar
riedandsNattle downh a mining district
among The. Welsh hills. Years few by.
IwAsout On the eastern shores of Africa.
WeWefeku hunting sinvers. Dne4ascally
old dhow gave us much trouble and d
long chase. We ran her at last down to
shooting distance, and as she would not
stop we brought our big guns to bear on
her still she flew on and on, fair and
square before the wind, till a lnckv shot
knocked the main mast ont Of her. When
We boarded her the very first person
een On deck was the medical friend I
had hidden q final adieu to-as L thought
lin Soho Square. There was not much
mystery about the matter after all. He
Ind not got married. He had not settled
down among theSWelsh mountains. He
was on his wayto ZANZIBAR to Join o mis-
sion, andhad taken passagein this dhow
for cheapness sake.
Peter Middleton-this isSnot his real
name-was q blacksmith apprentice in
my village. He was clever-too clever,
for he often got into trouble for requisi-
tioning hares. rabbits and such small.
cattle of the hills. When he took ut
last to paying midnight visits to the
farmers fowl runs, the farmers waxed
wroth. andSPeter had to run himself,
and no more was heard Of him in that
place. M ship was lying some time;
after at q town in South Australia, and
I received q polite but badly spelled
note from q resident medical man, re-
Auestingsme to come on shore for con-
sultation on q difficult case. Tho house
was q smart one and we'll finished, but
Judge Of my surprise to find that the
doctor hin,seH was no other than
Peter Middleton, ex-poaeher and poul-
Try fancier. TITS q strange world!
Butt my tale. ] seldom travel any
where. by land OF sea. without taking
as acompanion . we'll -trained and hand
some dog. It is nearly alwaysa pure
black Newfoundland, o breed for which
have attained some celebrity. These
anirnals1Are ofSsueh extreme beauty and
80 progressing in manners, and SO
noblay vithafs.ss that they never fail to
make friends wherever they 60. It
may seem curious thing to say, but it
is strickly true nevertheless, that my
dogs have introduced me to many OF,
those whom, at the present moment I
rankTainong my most valued acquaint-
ance8.
About two years before the tremen-
deus war broke out between Germany
andSfrance, happening to have earned
a spell OF leave" as sailors call it, I
wasfvery naturally spending it in tour
ing through4ti b Scottish Highlands, my
only companion beinga q usual q noble
Newfoundland, that not only performed
the duties Of body-guard andsentry over
my person, but also those Of light Dor
ter for he carried my p~ortmanteau.
Had possessed and desire for exclu.
siyeness on this journey, I should have
bean quite miserable, for wherever I
went, on, steamboat, IN trains, or walk
ING. ON footsIny pSincsly companionswas
the subject Of conversation aud admlra-
ton. y I had tied slate about my
neck and pretended to be deaf and
dumb, i might have been allowed to
hold my tongue, but / should have had
ia write.
Who that, has travelled in sum-
nler among the Wstern Isles of Scot
land. does not know the grand steam
ships ~ the with their splendid
decks ana paiatial saloons? One beau
titnllaysSmy dog andI yer on board
one Of these boats "a y way to Port