The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-12
A FELLOW-V0YAGER.



There was a fresh color on his long, yet square
chinned face, the expression of the lower part of
which was that of alert resolution, bnt in the
high narrow brow, hollow at the temples, and i'll
the full blue eyes suffused with moisture, over
which fell the shadow of the long brown eye
lashes, there was a suggestion of emotional
dreaminess. 1 remembe how, as looked at
him, there required to me the memory of some
of Bret Harte's Observation-Disclosures,
for instance, or ''Tennessee's Partner"
The face, as a whole, expressed manli-
ness, quaintness, humor, and sensibility.
My own seat at the table in the saloon of the
good steamer Tasmanian, of the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres Connecting Link Line,
one day out from her Australian port of depart
ure, was at IA side table near the door; but as
dinner was being finished, l moved to one of the
central tables, for a chat with a friend and his
wife. 1t was opposite to the latter that the tall,
lean man with a dropping head and the moist
eye was seated.
1 noticed that he raised his head and glanced
somewhat shyly, as it seemed, across the table
at the lady. She had whispered to me that the
face had interest for her, and 1 supposed the
glance revealed to him some expression of that
and perhaps also some suggestiveness of sym
pathy. He looked across once or twice more,
just sweeping us men with that slow, limpid
glance; and at length, OTTER a preliminary cough
or two, he nervously addressed the lady. After
the little stammer over the first word, he was
fluent enough, although very deliberate, as Is
the manner of Western men.
''M-madam," said he, Il guess when you look
across the table you see a mighty soft fool. Yes,
madam (rehectively), 81 left Frisco in the last
outgoing steamer, proposing to make a SIX
months tower in Australia for behoof of my
health; ] he'd been sick with dyspepsy. Well, [
got down there to Sydney, and admired to see
what u fine location it had, and concluded to
strike inland, after spending a day in taking
i'll the city. But that same night. madam, as |
lay in my lone bed down in that there city. l fell
athinking on my little wife tohome up in Frisco.
My heart began for to yurn on the poor woman,
as he'd been left lonely for the first time sin /
took her from her mother, seven years back.
Guess you'll start out a laughin' right in my face
when l tell you as | never slepd Il wink of sleep
for longing to be consoling her and remOrse for
having quit her. Bright and airly next morning.
madam, this ere great soft galoot was in the
steamboat Office. buying a ticket home to the little
woman by the next steamer. My Australian
tower was through i'll six days, madam, and the
outside edge of it was Paramatta, fourteen miles
inland from Sydney. / don't mind yer laughin'
at ne, strangers, if yer so minded. / spend the.
balance of the time when I'm not thinkin' about
her, softly cussin' myself for the darnedest fz-
zle as ever left the port of San Francisco. But
| don't go back on it-not a nickel; no, sir fix
ing me rather with that wonderfully eloquent
blue eye(, mo, sir. l don weaken on it. not one
continental. Fac" with a little burst of shy ra-
dance that somehow reminded me of a rainbow
I'm kinder proud on it,"
Then his eyelids fell, the head went down on
the breast, and he slid into a reverie, the wistful
sweetness of which was to be discovered in the
face. Our lady murmured a few words of inter
est and sympathy-a little incoherent, perhaps.
and sadly conventional for che iG u tiynIA ltt1p
woman, who does not quite know what to do
with herself when moved. But the moist-eyed
man seemingly neither heard nor needed. Her
husband, Il blunt colonist, threw out a
vaguelymalicious hint that the little woman in
Frisco might not welcome with eXuberant rap
ture this precipitate and premature return of
her lord, who indeed might find her very much
not at home 1.-THE gentleman is of Irish extrac-
ton. But as little did or vis-a-vis heed the
jibe. He sat the very presentment of happy
abstraction.
The man interested me, and l did not lose him
in the general ruck of passengers. Later the
same evening he gave me "a surprise. L found
him in the smOking-room, a glass of grog on the
table in front of him, a little circle of eager dis
putants around him; he himself voluble, argu-
mentative, and, indeed, vociferous. He was on
professionalism politics. A Republican, of
course, to the core of the marrow. Yes, he had
been an office-holder; had held a position in the
San Francisco customs during Garfield's admin
i%stration, and had got fired out when Ar
OhulL . pIOeAoSlhCf ldN I've III Nul " blC 0ld
warts. But this was mere incident.
What he wanted to discuss was
general principles. 10 believe for a
moment, forsooth, that the Democratic
ticket would carry the next presidential election!
Why, he'd take the stump himself to burst the
head of that bar1 in! He'd been on the stump
beforehand so on usque ad nauseam. He was
constituting himself a nuisance, especially to the
British and Australian section of the smoking
room, which numerically was greatly in the as
cendant; and so we hooted him down, with
threats that he would be turned out if he didn't
quit those COMPOUNDED American politics."
He subsidized and drank his grog in silence
thenceforth. Noticed a little Chicago drummer
with a yellow moustache deliberately taking
in the gentleman with the moist eye-it was
moister now, as the two sat confronting each
other, and at length the drummer moved across
and took a place next to my luxurious friend.
The drummer politics in a low
tone, praising the other highly for his prin-
ciples and the eloquence with which he
fattery--a Chicago drummer always works
with "a trowel-by having the 9th
er's glass replenished. The moist eye
grew yet more moist, its owner seemed to
easy divergence, abandoned the topic of politics,
and significantly observed that he had noticed
his friend had spoken of having been an officer
in the San Francisco customs. A nod was the
response. Then the RUNNER voice waned
lower, and 1 caught but the vagrom words, such
as ''dutiable articles" and a mysterious phrase
which | may have overheard enormously, but
which sounded like '~'twirling the elephants
tail"
For several days, except at meal times, 1 saw
nothing of the moist-eyed gentleman; but once,
when was looking down through a grating into
the baggage-room, noticed him pottering around
in d curiously DISQUALIFICATION among the trunks,
If 1 gave the matter a thought at all, I have
no doubt l believed him, in his own deliberate
sententious way, engaged in searching for his
own baggage.
One evening in the smoking-room our friend,
who, since his previous Encouragement in
that peculiarly frank-spoken Tabaks-P arlia-
ment, had been very quiet and retiring,
broke out again into eloquence. This time he
lifted up his voice to pronounce a glowing
eulogium on the British nationality. He avowed
himself born a Welshman, and, although expatri-