The Irish standard., 1886-10-09
THE SMUGGLER'S YARN.
How a Bold Seaman Won His
Beautiful Bride.
The Romance in an Old Mariners Life
His Mysterious Passenger-A Pack
age and Its Rather Disappoint.
ing Contents.
IN. Y. Mail and Express.1


wide upon the sidewalk. and look up a
the crayon portrait of beautiful woman!
face. Most people suppose it an advertise
ment fer some brand of cigarettes but i
is not Express involuntary admitation
that will be natural, and offer to buy it
You can safely do this, for the gray
haired gentleman behind the count will
courtecusly but firmly say you nay, even
while he produces a private box, un.
stamped, but containing al article which
you will smoke'with delight. Then, if you
are COOL listener and appear sociable, he
will, OF at least he did the other evening,
remark that every MANS life has its
romance, and that he is not as old a; he
! looks. He looks at least fifty years, bu,
his dark eyes are BRIGHT and his strong,
| shapely hands are white and smooth as a
! boys.
Twenty years ago, just after tue wal"
he said, putting that unstasnped cigar box
out of sight the custom house was get
ting down to work trying to make I'D fer
| years of decentralization. was captain of
! the Carmen, 81 three-masted schooner, trad
/ ing between this port and Havana. 1t was
! just such a cool II ght us this that the Car
men lay becalmed off Barneget on her trip
south. We lay about mile from the Jer-
sew coast. It was almost dark when ]
heard a mans voice hail us. Suddenly a
row boat bumped our side and q batless
individual scrambled aboard with wild
glare in his eyes and big diamond i'll his
shirt front He unhitched the diamond
and handed it to me with the remark :
Will this pay for my passage to the port
! cp23 "a
one thousand dollars if it was worth any
l called it a bargain.
/ II landed the fugitive in Havana and
| lost sight of him for nearly year. One
day, however he came aboard the Carmen
just as [ was making ready for New York.
He introduced himself as Don Escoaces.
lie said he was getting rich as a tobacco
grower and felt he owed every thing to
me. told him that our accounts were
squared and asked after the sweetheart he
said he had left behind him.
-.';ThaJ was what he wished to see me
about. Would take parcel and deliver
it into her hands at the Brunswick Hotel!
ltcontained a present Of great value, and
he begged that none but the lady herself
Fopen it. The name Mrs. Agnes Anstrutll-
or, was on the wrapper. Having presented
me with a richly carved rosewood box con-
tanning fifty cigars at least seven inches
long and Of the choicest leaf in the market,
.Alr. Don Escoaces left me with the my steri-
Gus package. The trip north was stormy.
I had been wondering all during the voy-
age how should contrive to smuggle the
package unopened through the custom
oir,o y II
it was pride rather than u spirit of daring
that prompted me to take a desperate
chance.
Leaving the Carmen i'll command of
the first mate with orders not to await my
return. had the small BOAT lowered and
pulled ashore, determined to run the block
ade Of the revenue patrol. had the pack.
age belted under my shirt No sooner had
1 hauled up on the beach than I was
hailed by four uniformed picl1ets. Iscaled
the cliff and escaped pistol bullet by
accidentally stumbling headiong. Two Of
the patrol gave chase and the other two
seized the boat and rowed for the Carmen.
[ learned afterwards that breeze sprang
up just in time for her to escape them,
ran as never ran before or since through
the woods along an occasional piece of
road. Once in the moonlight they sue.
ceeded in hitting me. See tina scar on my
neck? But eluded them before midnight
and reached Jersey City shortly after day
break to be arrested for an escaped burg
lar, for whose capture a reward was Of
fered.
II got out of that scrape by acknowledge
ing that I was only tramp who had got
bulet-bitten in a hen-roost and lay in the
hospital a whole week. On being released
got new suit of clothes, Turkish bath.
and fattered myself on my pale and inter-
esting appearance. The clerk in the
Brunswick Hotel sent up to my lady the
trembling hand She would see me, and
opened the door herself. What a vision of
loveliness she was! Mutely 1 gave
her the package, but she courteously
insisted that l take some refresh
ment and little courage before
gratifying her curiosity. told my story
and her SOFT, white hand tenderly touched
the livid scar, that testified to it's veracity.
So in torested became she in my advent ture
that I had turned to go before the seal
upon the smuggled souvenir had been
broken She opened it with her back to-
wards me. Suddenly she utter low cry,
half turned and fell in a swoon. The
package, for the sanctity of which I had
risked my life, contained, not diamonds,
only number of old letters. One was not
so old. 1t read:
a"'DEAR MADAM-As have just been married
TO Cuban maiden. whose love may enable
me to forget my dishonorable past l fee!
compelled to return these leaves from the
book of memory, and TO free you from the
allegiance they protest. I can not ask your
because can not forgive my
SELF"
There was the noise of carriage wheels
at the curb in front of the little store, and
the prema aturely old smuggler and tobac-
conist stopped talking and began to close
up for the night. His auditor, srill in'sus
pense, saw beautiful face at the carriage
window.
'sWho is she?" he was asked.
''Oh. that is my wife. She always comes
after me. There is her portrait Her name |
IS Agnes"
An Editors Farewell Shot.
r.. n. Carruth, in Estelline ID. T.) Bell.l
OF course we thank our friends in Estel- |
ine-and there are lot of them-for any
hing that they have ever done that they |
,ught to be thanked for And the enemies |