Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-03-28

| spOhcu vi nuNluS Deeu an Ol1CeT Ill tnp
San Francisco Customs A nod was the
response. Then the drummer's voice
waned lower, and | caught but vague
words, such MS "dutiable articles, and n
mysterious phrase which | may have
heard enormously, but which sounded
like 'twirling the elephants tail.
For several days, except at meal times,
| saw nothing of the moist-eyed gentle
man; but once, when | was looking down
through grating into the baggage room,
| noticed him pottering around in n curl
Gus leisurely fashion among the trunks.
If gave the matter thought at all,
have no doubt | 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 discour-
agement had been very quiet aud retiring.
broke out into eloquence. This time he
lifted up his voice INTO Il glowing culo-
GUM on the British nationality. lie
avowed himself born n Welshman, and.
although expatriated in tender years and
admitted to American citizenship ms soon
as he had obtained the statutory age. he
was not the man, like Stanley, to dony
the land of his nativity. ] own that !
found difficulty in rcconciling this claim
to Welsh extraction with statement he
had made In the course of his condolences
to madame" TO the effect that ha Ind
been born and raised in Kookuk, Iowa, -
but these little discrepancies, was duiy
sensible, may occur in nutobiooquial OBJ
| servetions without seriously affecting tLn
yeraclty OF the average human animal.
| The eloquenCe of the moist-cycd man if
| al W 4.
| stirred the enthusiasm Of tho Britane an1
Australians. They are iocund. friendly
creatures III the smoking room after the
steward has answered the bell a few times :;
and Mt the close Of cheer for Queen
Victoria, in which the Americans Joined
with ''tiger," an Australian ieweler,
kindled into hospitality by bis LOYALTY,
called for champagne round. The cham
payne inspired quite q spasm of intcrna
tlonal rapprochement Patriotic songs
Britannia Rules the Waves
of the Britons had been deadly sicl, for
the first two 1avs-"Hail Columbia. ="
| ''The Red, White and Blue, "The Star
Spangled Banner" The attempt Mt Yam
keo Doodle" was scarcely a flowing tri
Ilmph since no one present appeared to
know any words to that air which COM
pied with the requirements of the strict
proprlety always maintained III the smok-
lng-room or an ocean steamer. ms indeed
IN every part of such vessel. and the
lmpromptu concert fifty concluded with
God Save the Queen" Presently the
smoking-room thinned The American
gentleman with the moist eve remained
! leaning back in seeming siumber. The
Australian leweler was still on hand.
hdgetlnS about as if there was something
on his mind. l sat smoking silently in
my own dark corner. Presently the lew
| eler awoke the American with touch on
the shoulder and sat down beside him.
The cautious Australian murmurad some
words, OF which | caught ''fulsc bottom"
ARE they very SHARPE The American
spoke out like man, "Gues8 / know
some OF the boys--see yeu right through.
partner ard then followed hot toddv.
Two days after this episode the usual
spectacle was afforded ri the moist.cved
man having afternoon tea tetc-a-tete with
lady III the most retired corner of the
great saloon. Madame and | had both
disseminated the quaint tale We had been
told at the beginning Of the VOYAGE. and
the olue-eyed man with the far-off OK
preston SO often in his face was regarded
with no little kindly interest. Then it
became pretty well known that he Ind
Deen IN the Frisco custom employ, and
that he was civil, pleasant-natured
soitlsh sort OF fellow generally. His en-.
tertalncr at the 4 o'clock tea reelection WAS
a. gaunt, withered little grig of Scoto-
New Zealand woman, who called herself
MIS-. Lorne, and professed to be q widow,
both OF which pretensions were considcrn
bly inaccurate. She had "corraled" the
molst-eyed man on the subject of hey
luggage, about which, ever since she ioin-
ed the ship at Auckland. aho had been
oetfayln9 nervousness among her init
mates AT least ! gathered this had been
her llttie game from the frank remark the
| lnoist-eyed man made as he stood up from
the tea-table. Don't you skear worth
cent, madame, don't ye. Colonel o.
Drlscoll, the boss on the lefty, is an old
time crony of mine. I'll say one word
TO the colonel and you're through as slick
| rs an eel whcreat the bogus widow
Lorne blushed and looked half-pleasod,
| half-confused.
~ Among the passena ers WHO joined the
| iasmanlan at Auckland was droll little
American from Fiji, hard-hitten beach
| comoer style OF old reprobate. with a
Eeen zest for 'lquor The old fellow pro-
lesScd hghtnoss of purse, and arranged
WIN the people of the ship that he should
| occupy one of the state rooms in the scc-
ohd CABIN department, which was nuite
| empty, having the run Of the first-clasg
saloon Tor his raticns Fiji had good
thing of 1t with that six bertbcl Stale
room al to himself; and he improved his
opportunity by having all his baggage.
OF Whlch he had no considerable duanti-
~, and some OF which looked suspicious.
y unlike personal effects" ttawcd in
the stateroom to keep him company
FROM his first day lie went at the drink
put even N advance state of cocktail fine
queer 8narled old stick maintained curi.
ously saturnine demeanor. The Amer
can gentleman with the moist Cvo ,lran,;
WIN MN lndustriously, stanIinc treat
WIN quite n reckless frcehandedness. and
6c'lluS, TO al appearance, himself mt, a
lloIo mixed temperament than .I1iii''
ever exhibited. But tie American C,sn
.iGiilau mad q marvellous faculty of swift
scH-recupGratlon. | spoke to him once
1t 'r'ce When he seemed very far gone .
nc urG" long breath, shook himself
looked at me out of thosewondercu hlnn
yes, whose llmpldness no alcohol SEEM;
~ "lSct, with the original quaint Cow
templatiye gaze, and replied with 6elih-
crate c9herency. And. stranger still mo
sooner mad we passed than he had visihiy
lapsed again into hiccoughs, ipcohernrry
ana other ugl testimonials of iu,obriet,
one afternoon, while both the gentleman
were hquoring mp as usual, the moist
eFeu man complained vehementlv to tho
assistant purser Of the heat of his bertJ,
WINCH 1t seemed, was adjacent to dc en- n
8lnes; lie explained in rroof Of this
complaint that he always kept battle 81
gtoS on tap in bis stateroom for his
friends who, when they came down f."
purtake OF convivial glass with him ~
Bro"ied because the liquor he gave Them
WIS lukewarm. ''Why don't Won coma
ull, my way?' cried ,Eiiin Mi .E-iIe