The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-02-28
An OCEAN WAIF.

a. 4 was second mate at the time. -
began Mr.. Humphrey Roland, who re-
lated to me the following story. land
our vessel was a barIue, named the
EARLE. We were bound from New
port, IN Monmouthshire, TO Cape Town.
with cargo of iron. and then we were
TO 90 on 20 Melbourne, and thence to
Callao. Besides me there was Captain
Bla tkett. the master, and Mr.. Josiah
Biting, the chief mate, along with fif-
teen or sixteen hands forward, fnclud-
inc the idlorS: and, taking us allround.
| don't think that ever a better shin :
COMPANY sailed ont of IN English port.
There wasn't foreigner among us:
there was no growing. no loafnr:
evervi hing was done qui xiv and with
VIII. and il va, not only pleasure to
give an order, but Il happiness to
watch the execution OF it. Well. we
left Newport on a Monday afternoon
and went away down the Bristol Chan
mel, into the AtlaHti; Ocean. under all
plain sail, in the finest OF weathers.
For near upon a fortnight there was
nothing but brightness overhead, and
blue waters under us. made featherv by
NllN " Il 'IALz VI NAtC oANIsGS " ulGH DltH.
sOmetimes nor west, coming now and
again triAe fresh, but never so strong
as To cause us once to furl the main
royal day or night. We saw nothing
of the trade wind till we were in about
lstitudS twenty degrees north, and
then, after blowing US along for spell,
it failed US one morning, with slowly
falling glass. and long. ugly gray
swell coming out of the southwest, and
a sort of dirty blue sky, filmed over
with haze that might have passed for
the DRAWINGS from Smelters' chimnevs.
Amid this, the sun hung like huge
jeliy-fish, shapeiess 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 trying to
wash the yellow stain he had made.
2 out of the vault of the sky. r.s
''There was 4 queer smell of decayed
marine vegetable matter about. which
came UP in whiffs, when the rolling of
the barCUe made white water along
side, and, spite of the Sky being thin
enough 10 let the ghost of the sun
through, there was a look overhead
that made you think that. if it was
night, you'd see green lightning play
ing about over the maStheads, ike the
dartings 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 plsfn SIGNS beto-
kened came to pass right enough. The
glass went on dropping and the swell
came along in q wilder and angrier
roll, until at.three o clock that after
noon there was scarce more DAYLIGHT
visible than You Il find in the last lin
gerings of twilight ashore. We were
snugged down to lower top-Sails. the
yards seuare.-for there was no call to
brace them one way or another when
for hours there hadn't been q breath of
wind; no, sir, not so much as to give a
hutter tothe vane stthe royal mas head,
saving what the ba-qre gave herself by
the sweep of her spars. All hands were
on deck, standing by, knowing
that something was bound to
happen, but incapable of know
ing from whatquarter it meant to come.
1t was as much as we could do to see
one another's faces. The strain on the
spars and rigging was something fear
ful, with the rolling. and in the gloom
overhead yca could hear. the creaking
and complaining, the squealing of
sheaves, the groaning of parrals and
tusses. At four o'clock or whereabouts,
tbs wind swept down upon US in body,
= So 81 ~ ~ ~ ~ 50