The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1884-03-22
GOING ASHORE.

"There she is, sir; that's she Just OF
the pint there. She's a-coming stem
on; and in arf an hour, If she amt on
Bunk Sands, Pm Dutchman.
My companion was no native of dam
land, for there vas Briton written in
every feature OF his bronzed-red face,
as he stood by me in Baythrope shore,
in his canvass trowsers. heavy fisher's
boots. blue Jersey shirt, and tarpauhn
lat, tied on with bit of oakum band,
while i1e flap behind beat about in the
trependous wind that was raging in
or faces.
k"Bangl" went the dull, smothered
rfport Of heavy gun, and in the shade
or the TIE coming night 1 just caught
sight of a faint flash 81 Light Where
we stood, the spray came rushing In
like a heavy storm Of rain; while the
whistling of the wind, and the thunder
ing in of the huge rollers they curled
over and over upon the sands, tearing
it out from among the clays, and
scraping it away by tons, made standing
in the face Of such storm extremely
confusing; and yet hundreds were out
upon the shore close under the great
sand. bank, drenched to the skin with
the spray, for the news had spread
through the village that three-master
was going ashore.
Going ashorel Simple words to a
andsman's ears; but what do they
meanP The noble vessel tearing and
plunging through the broken water
now down in the trough of the
waves, now rising like a cork upon the
white crests, and then a shock as she
strikes upon the sand, and seems Inn
movable; a shuddering quiver through
plank and beam; and then crash, crash,
crash-mast after mast gone by the
board-snapped like brittle twigs on a
dead stem; while huge ropes part like
burnt twine; then the rising Of the
apparently immovable vessel, as she is
lifted by the waves to fall crashing
again upon the sands, parting in the
middle; rushing pillows pouring tons
upon tons Of water over the deck; q
wild, wild cry for help; and then the
shore strewed with fragments, casks,
bodies, as the merciless waves sport
with them, tossing them on to the
sands, and then curling over to drag
them back. Going ashore; not safety
from wild storm, but death.
"Ah," said the old salt by my side
shouting at me with his hand to his
mouth, did yer hear that gunp"
i nodded.
"There goes another" he continued
stretching out his hand and pointing u
where the flash could be seen, whil'
directly after came another dull heavy
report. "Can't yer see her now, sirp'
Mine were not sea-going eyes; and i
was no easy task to make out distan'
object through the binding storm o
spray which beat dead in my face; bu
1 Just managed to make out a darl
mass right among the boiling waves
and l shuddered as l thought Of tn
fate of those OH board.
''She must come to it," said tn
man; she'll come in just there;' and h
pointed to a spot among the wave
where they seemed roughesti ''she'llb
there in less time than 1 said; and then
Lord have mercy upon 'eml Amenl"
As he said this the old man reyerent
ly took off his tarpaulin sou'westeI
and stood with the storm tearin
through the remains of his grizzly haii
bald, rugged and weather-beate tn
coarseness of his features seemed fo
the moment subdue6-softened by tn
feeling within his breath-as he stoo
there no inapt representation of a see
of old.
SIS there no chance for theml''
shouted.
The old man shook his head an
shrugged his shoulders. "Preciou
little" he said, "unless them char
come down with the life-boat; br
who'd go outp"
1t did look a desperate ventur
indeed, to attempt to launch bo;
with such a sea on, and having I
reply, 1 stood shading my eyes and ga
ing out to see.
"Bangl"
There was another flash, and anoth'
dull, echoless report, aid as the We
of spray seemed to clear during a lu
in the storm; 1 could perceive lari
three-masted vessel about five hundrt
yards from the shore; and once, as 81
keeled over and showed her deck,
could see that it was crowded wi
people.
''God help theml'' muttered.
"Amenl" said the old man; and ju
then, away to our left, we saw the lii
boat carriage coming down at trt
drawn by two stout horses; while
loud and prolonged ''hurraNl" welcom
its arrival-as another flash, and
following heavy report, seemed to col
from the doomed vessel like groau
pain in its hour of sore distress.
"They1l never go out to her" ss
the old man, shouting in my ear,
after the lull the storm came do'
with redoubled furY--the wind shrit