The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-05-30
A TALE OF THE SEA.

A TALE OF HI SEA.
 We were sitting one sunny morning on the esplauade at Weymouth, my dear old friend Colonel Ramsey and |, watch ing with interest the movements of an unusually large vessel at some distance from the land. Accustomed to see yes. sels of all sizes and builds, knew at once that she was no mere merchantman and for some time, as she approached little by little, and showed lofty side and forest of spars, both the colonel and l were inclined to think her large iron clad, probably detached from the Chan nel fleet. But as her distance lessenrd and we saw that her lofty sides were painted white, and were scored along their whole length with small square ports, we knew that she was one ot those great Indian troop-ships employed by the ad- miralty for the special purpose of carry ing our soldiers in safety and comfort to or from our eastern dependency. Pres ently she rounded the break water, headed for the anchorage in Portland, and in do- ing so passed behind the Nothe Fort and out of sight.
 An, my dear madam" said the colo nel, as he removed and wiped his glasses, they .ake more care of the British subal- tern nowadays than they did when joined the service. Nobody had ever heard of troop.ship in those days; we just took passage in any vessel that was available, no matter if she was fit for the work or not and where these ships take weeks we used to take months, and re- gard 1t as matter of course"
 0Vac D cold h,uA oC.o- difficulties, and even dangers, incurred by our troops on their Indian voyages :; but l used to think them probably greatly exaggerated"
 Exaggerated, madam |" quoth the colonel, hotly. "Say, rather, not tenth part was told. once, on my first voy- age, ouutered perhaps the most blood. thirsty pirate that then sailed the seas"
 How terrible " cried. "A pirate! 1 thought vessel carrying troops would be certainly safe from such an attack"
 "Ssay "sinterrupted the colonel "I have not said that the ship was full of armed troops though even in that case she might be unequal to the task of driv- ing of determined pirate. But the case am speaking of was very different, and If you care to hear 1t l will tell it to you"
 I should like it very much," said "the attraction of story of real life is too great to be resisted"
 "Very well," said the old colonel. Then you shall have it, whether it is worthy of your interest or not. You must know" he continued, "that when joined the army-more than fifty years aeo-l. was gazetted to a regiment then guar tered in the West Indies l; and on making inquiries as to my passage, l was in- formed that vessel would shortly sail for that station, and that some other of hcers, belonging to my own and other regiments, would take passage in her She was bark of about seven hundred tons, called the Alfred, and joined her at Gravesend. A smart, trim little craft she was, and her captain prided himself on her appearance, and inspired his men with the same feeling. foun6 two or three young fellows going out, like my self, to join their iegimeuts-a married major with his wife and child and his sister-in-law, and two other ladies going to join their husbands abroad. As usual, we were short-handed enough as regards the crew, who barely numbered twenty, all told.
 dust before went down to join the ship terrible tale of outrage upon the high seas had occupied the minds of all in England, for the papers were full of the horrible story of the discovery of the Morning Star, and of the tragedy that was revealed when that unhappy vessel was boarded as a derelict. If 1 remem- Der aright, they who were told of to board and examine the apparently de- serted ship, on entering the saloon, found her ill-fated officers and passengers sit- ting back to back around the long table, closely lashed in pairs, each with his throat gashed from ear to earl And here were fair and delicate girls among them, too-none spared-not onei And he 6ends who had done this deed had attempted to scuttle the ship, that she might sink and carry all evidence of the awful crime down to the bottom of the sea, to join the sad list of vessels that are posted as 'missing,' none knew how or where. But Providence willed it other wise.
 "Well, as say, it was this story that was in the minds and mouths of us all as we gathered first around the table in the Alfred's saloon, and the weaker expressed