News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-07-16
The Last Man.
BY W. CLARKE RUSSELL,

A small iron, full-rigged ship was in
latitude ten degrees north of the equa-
tor, outward bound for a New Zealand
port. The sun would be setting in an
hour; already his disk was rayless and
of q dark and angry gold, and his refec-
tiou lay in broad and waving dazzle
uPo0 tho western swell A pleasant
drasIgh of air, blowing softly over the
sleeping all the afternoon; but the |
lower sails hung up and down, and, as
the ship leaned upon the gentle undu-
lations, the tender swinging of their
folds waited cool currents over the
tevered deck, as though some gigantic
punkah-wallah, perched aloft, were fam
ming the ship, The deep blue of the
sea, scarcely wrinkled by the breeze,
stretched around, and the water-line
was like an azure cincture, clasped,
where the glory of the sun hung, by a
plate of gold; but over the sideSthe
water was like an exquisite transparent
green, in which you could see the metal
hull of the vessel wavering until the
bend hid it; and it was enough to pos
sess a man, half-blinded with the heat
that came off the brassy glare under the
sun, with calenture to look into the
glass-like emerald profound, and to
think of the cOOlness and sweetness to
be got by lazy floating on the serene
surface of that fathomless depth.
1t was the second dog-watch; no work
was doing and the heat was too great for
any kind of diversion. One saw num-
Der of open-breasted, mossy-bosomed
seamen overhanging the forecastle rail,
pipe in mouth, with drowsy eyes sleepily
looking away into the blue distance,
while low throaty murmur of voices
fioated aft from forward, where the black
cook, standing in the galley door, was
arguing with Dutch sailor. There was
farm-yard noise too of muttering hens,
mixed with the routing and the grub
blng grunt of a pig or two; and a strange
eastern bird, secured by the leg, was
clawing with beak and talons up and
down fathom or two of forestry, while
in a hoarse sea note he'd sing out now
and again, ''Sail hoi my precious eyes,
sir! bear hand sail hor' Right aft
on the quarterback, visible from the
weather side of the forecastle under the
lifted clew of the mainsail, stood the
helmsman, gripping the wheel, and
gnawing upon a quid in his cheek, with
many roll of his cleaning eyes aloft
and then into the compass bowl and then
upon the sea the brig ightness came off the
water in ascarlet tremble upon his figure,
and often he'd tip his Scotch cap on the
back of his head to pass the length of
his arm from the wrist to the elbow
over his streaming brow. The captain, a
red-faced man in straw hat, and a
Manila cheroot in his mouth, paced the
deck from the mizzen rigging to the taft
rail the chief mate, who had charge of
the watch, walked in the gangway :; and the
second mate, seated on the main hatch.
was emptying his third and last sooty
pipe.
Slowly the sun sank, Frightening out
the heavens to far beyond the zenith into
an amazing glory of scarlet and red and
orange, melting into sulphurous tinge
that died out into delicate green sky,
which in its turn deepened into blue and
violet and indigo where the ocean
met it in the east, with star or two
glistening where the lovely hue was
deepest.
Two bells-nine o'clock-were struck
one heard the ringing chimes hollowly
thrown downward out of the sails. A
dead calm had fallen, the ship lay in a
deep slumber upon the gently breathing
bosom of the ocean, and nothing seemed
awake but the throbbing stars. Not
above four miles had been measured since
the darkness came down, and now that
the night was breathless, with threat
OF catspaws-on no account to be
neglected-on either bow or all around,
the captain gave instructions for the
stunsails to be taken in and stored away
out of the road of such boxhauling of the
yards as might be necessary. This made
the ship lively for a while with the run
ming about and the racing aloft of naked
footed mariners; but presently all was
silence again, the captain below taking a
glass of grog, the second mate quietly
pacing the deck aft, the watch coiled
up anywhere for a snoose, a single figure
erect on the forecastle, and the sea like a
mirror full of starlight, yet so dark that
it was like looking through a haze at the
luminaries over the water-line
Three bells were struck, and scarcely
had the last vibration died when the
second mate hailed the forcastle: 'For-
ward there is there anybody singing
I 4Nobbdy singing here, SIR" came
back the answer promptly.