The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-01-10
~ OCEAN WAIF.

4 was second mate at the time, :"
began Mr.. Humphrey Roland, who re-
lated TO me the following story, land
our vessel was a barque, named the
Earle. We were bound from New
port, in Monmouthshire to Cape Town,
with a cargo of iron. and then we were
TO 90 on 10 Melbourne, and thence to
Callao. Besides me there was Captain
BIackett. the master, and Mr.. Josiah
Biting, the chief mate, along with fif-
teen or sixteen hands forward, includ-
inc the idlerS: and, taking us allrOund,
| don't think that ever better ships
company sailed ont of an English port.
There wasn't a foreigner among us;
there was no growing, no loafing:
everything was done cIi xiv and with
n will. and ii was not only 4 pleasure to
give an order, but a happiness to
watch the execution OF it. Well, we
lett Newport on Monday afternoon
and went away down the Bristol Chan
mel, into the Atlantic Ocean. under all
plain sail. in the finest OF weathers.
For near upon fortnight there was
nothing but brightness overhead, and
blue waters under Us, made feathery by
the whipping of the breeZeS which blew.
sometimes nor west, coming now and
again n tribe fresh, but never so strong
as to cause us once to furl the main
roval dav or night. We saw nothing
of the trade wind till we were in about
latituds twenty degrees north, and
then, after blowing ms along for spell,
it failed us one morning, with a slowly
falling GLASS. and a long, ugly gray
swell coming ont of the southwest, and
a sort of dirty blue sky, filmed over
with haze that might have passed for
the drai lings from smelters' chimneys.
Amid this, the sun hung like huge
ielly-fSh. a shape!eSs oozing of bright
ness, with scarce enough OF power in
him to put streak of light into the
brow of the swell that swung, heaving
up tall out of the near horizon, with
SUBMITS that seemed to be irving to
wash the yellow stain he had made,
out of the vault of the sky.
There was queer smell of decayed
marine vegetable matter about. which
came up in whiilS, when the rolling of
the baruue made white water along
side, and, spite of the skv being thin
enough TO let the ghosE of the sun
through, there was look overhead
that made You think that, if it was
night, you'd see green lightning play
ing about over the mastheads, like the
dsrtings of the phosphorus from the
ships side in black water. when you re
in the tropics, and the night lies dead
upon the breathleSS bosom of the ocean.
"Well. what these plain signs beto.
kened came to pass right enough. The
glass went on dropping and the swell
came along in a wilder and angriel
roll. until at three o'clock that after
noon there was scarce more daylight
visible than you II find in the last lin
gerings of twilight ashore. We were
snugged down to lower top-sails, the
yards square, for there was no call K
brace them one way or another wheT
for hours there hadn't been n breath o
wind; no, sir, not so much as to give ;
flutter to the vane at the royal masthead
saving what the ba-que gave herself by
the sweep of her spars. Allhands wer,
on deck, standing by, knowing
that something was bound t
happen, but incapable of know
ing from what quarter itmeant to come
1t was as much as we could do to Sc
one another's faces. The strain on tn
spars and rigging was something fear
full, with the rolling. and in the gloon
overhead ySa could hear thu creakini
p and complaining, the squealing o
sheaves. the grooming of parrals an
trusses. At four o'clock or Whereabouts
the wind swept down upon us in a body