The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-07-03
A ROMANCE.
BY oREsrEs CLEVELAND.

Silas Proctor sat alone by his table, In
the light which appeared barely to Greer
from slngIe candle, and seemed to be
buried dee in studying the columns Of
the Cape Ann Chronicle; be had beer
sitting there or sin ,e sunset, and the
clock in the S tport town hall was now
striking pine. lie was 10 the habit Of
spending his evenings alone, with nc
other visible means of pastime than read
ing the Cape Ann Chronicle, and sing
ular picture he made. Dressed in a suit
no two parts Of which had ever been in
tended to go together, but SO worn and
faded that it presented but an incongru
GUS whole, patched all over with stout
duck; his broad chest barred to sight
through the opening in his blue shirt
which rolled back free from his great
neck; his bronzed face and short, ,urly
brown hair and massive head browning
the whole; he sat there, one of natures
kings The newspaper had curiously
mellow and well preserved appearance, land
bore the evidence of having been careful
ly kept for long time. 1t was of date
five years back, and in one place the
printing was blurred SO much that it was
illegible. Singularly, too, Silas never
once moved his finger from the blurred
place during all the time that he sat
there-perhaps his finger had blurred it..
Strange, he could not need all the evening
to read one paragraph-let us peep over
his shoulder, and see what he is pointing
to. 1t is in the records of deaths, and is
the first one-it must be the first, for the
second is within the blurred spot and
can not be read at all:
PROCTOR - Mary Frances, wife of Silas
Proctor, of Saltport, aged twenty-one years.
Lost at sea on Thursday, June 1.
That was all the notice said, and how
little it told to any one who did not know
the story. How little, indeed, did any
one but Silas know of that lossl Twenty
one years odd How happy had they not
been during the short two months of
their union! Alas, but too happy! The
void in the mans life was SO vast, SO
monotono1s, SO deep! Had she but
lived there would have been no bounds
to their blessedness. He was the brayest
fisherman in ali Essex county, and, withal,
the most fortunate, all his mates said,
and they said it as if it we're an honor to
themselves even to follow the same craft.
Mary was the very flower OF New En-
glands daughters, SO straight and SO
fair was she, SO light of step and SO
blithe of look, and yet at the same time
the most loving woman and tender in all
the world. Truly. there was no one
jealous of her in Saltport, save perhaps
old Sally Martin, and whoever knew her
to love aught, unless it be her old black
cat. And as Mary and Silas grew up and
went to school together, it was but nat
ural that they should love each other,
albeit Silas was great boy and Mary
but little girl, and that Silas should
carry Mary's books for Ter morning and
night. Then, when Sias first went off
on the Flyi Dart to the Grand Banks,
who wept SO hard, and who prayed so
fervently for his safe return as Mary, and
who rejoiced so deeply as Mary when the
Flying Dart came back, well laden with
Goldfish? How merrily did they plan ont
the future, and how sweet were their
youthful dreams, who can say? From
childhood they said they should be mar
ried when Silas was skipper Of some boat;
and when, one day, Silas went to Mary's
house and told her that he had fifteen
hundred dollars in the savings bank, and
that some Of the older men of the town
had promised to furnish all the money
that was needed to build him a vessel,
Mary turned rosy red, and sail that she
must be looking out for her linen. SO
Silas went to Bath and ordered bis yes
sci to be built, and the builder soon sent
the model to Saltpori, and great was the
admiration Of the fishermen over it; and
the work was begun Immediately, in or