The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1886-07-07
"The .Ribp ofHDteth.
(Fb'o1l Belgravia.)


squall within sight of homo and Of my
motEcr, who, with the rest Of tho fisher
little fleet.
Ferhaps this WAS the reason L hud such
an 1nstinctive horror and dread Of. tho
sea, even While 1t fascinated and drew
me 10 1t in its storlpiest moods. It was
aqueer feeling that possessed mo. When
away from the sight and sound Of the
breakers l was restless and unquiet,
near them was awed and melancholy,
but somo craving of my nature was
satisfied, and was comparatively calm.
ibej1eve many Of our people, who arc
intensely superstitious, looked upon
me ss doomed in consequence of this.
The sea always swallows what it gets
hold or" they said among themselves
with sorrowful fatalism, We can hardly
help being superstitious and gloomy
'wewhe are born and reared in Caller
mouth. Nature is so storm in her moods
and SO cruel in her way Of expressing
them.
Callermouth is only cluster of cot.
1eIeS Ground little harbor, with pier
10 Tho north III the ugly sharp ridge Of
rocks which bears tho signtticant name
OF the "Ribs Of Death" Many a tine
vessel has struck and ground her tim.
ne1s 10 matGhwood, many poor cling
Ing life has been washed of thosb fatal
ribs. They do say that In the old time5
many ship was lured thore TO it's des-
truction, too; but ] can scarce believe the
Rrandfathers of our bravo fellows who
nVeo by and on the waters Just as now,
could he inbuman enough to trado upon
the e'dapger and deaths Of follow mari
ners. Only 1 Imustsay that even yet, while
any ono of our mon would risk his life
without thinking twice about it to save
another, he wouldn't have any very dc.
finite ideas on the laws Of salvage.
was not q comoly lass In the estima-
ton Of the Village critics. In fact, when
saw my litNe white face, with its big
dark eyes, in the dim old looking. glass
front room, and compared it with that
of Bell Carr, our biggest and best look
jDg girl, used 10 feel worry small and
lnsiGni ficant She was true fisher ,ss,
toll and strongly made, with a swinging
walk aid saucy smile, and ready word
for every ono, gentle or simple. The
artists who came here sometimes to
paint MS in our characteristic blue Ha,l-
nels always selected her, and passed. me
oyer. oyer. Tas not type and she was,
We'll, WAS glad of it, for Willie
wonldn't have liked me to act as Il
Spite Of my want Of beauty. had two
jaCs came cOurting me, and Willie Lisle
was the one ! favored. Edam (Adam)
Carr was too much of my own temper
for me, too gloomy; L was afraid OF him,
had the some sort Of n,istrust of him that
had OF tho sea, and perhaps little OF
tie san g idea Of his possible. power .oYor
ne.
But While, with his bonnie yellow
curls and his blue eyes, and his sunny
smile, what girl could have resisted him?
He brought his brightness into my life,
and 1T seemed to go ont like the sun be-
meath q cloud on the day he sailed in tho
R69ceHd, bound for China and tho East
1ndies, from the Tyne.
III our most energetic end enterpris-
l.
do cot feel satisfied to be fishermen as
their fathers before thon. 1t mover seems
to enter into any Of their heads that til ore
are other means Of livelihood than these
two callings. They cannot tear them
selves away from the sea altogether,
however thoy may abuse it. They In
hale It's salt breeze with their earliest
breast, 1ta foam and spray beat on them,
until 1t becomes part Of them, as 1t wero,
and they are as much creatures Of the
waves as the nSbes that swim beneath
or the eu]ls that float above. so it. was
that when Willie grew discontented with
his earnings as fisherman he went to
sea 70 make moro money, in the hope Of
wedding me the sooner.
II was not strong enough for n fisher
mans wife," he said. land he hoped to
be able to koop mo like ladyr" Just as
if cared!
Though was small was not delicate,
and could. and indeed did, carry the
my mothor married again, and when
she died there were more little mouths
to fill, and no one but mo to do 1t; for
their father was lazy. drunken good
for-nothing, who fell over the cliff one
night when he was rolling home from the
"Old Ship Inn," and did no good after.
Lucky for them and for mo, though 1t
sounds queer TO say 1t, he did not live
long to be burden; but we had some
hard times now and then, when tho
hoy IL, q
to soil. Only for tive BARNS I would
have beon housemaid at the vicarage,
for which Miss Ashford had had mo
trained before mother died, but could
earn moro money doing as the rest did,
and look after the little ones nt the Same
time.
The mon favored mo In tho matter Of
t1sh, because they thought had stiflish
hill to climb, and will say that nobody
was Aindor than Edam Carr. believe
reproached myself that could not hoip
shrinking from him. But L was not
alone in that dread. They called him
BLACK IGdam" for q nickname, because
she looked so grim and dour. Mono Of
the men exchanged greetings with him
when be stalk cd alone past their friendly
groups; nor did any of the girls laugh
and jok with him. With one consent
ho was left alone.
Well, you see, hero was a bond Of union
pet"eell us III N)s ey 81. EneY looked on
mo rs ON one doomed. and on him rs ono
un]ucky or unhappy, which means tho
same TO them. otis no uso fightln' fato,
Elsie!" he would say, looking down at
mo With his great gloomy eyos; "wo
were made for one another, we two"
But used TO shake my hoad and run
away, though dared not offend him by
contradictipg him otherwise. He got
Rrimmer and blackor as time won't on,
and did not forget my Willie, as por.
baps Edam hoped / should.
The weather was uncertain that all-
tumn, and there was little dependence
| on the fish. Some days tho boats were
not off Mt all, some days they had no fish
when they landed. I got work where 1
could, but those three mouths Mt homo