Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-03-29

tue caD1n to find 1t vacant, to be freed rom Ine scare of the sight of the two silent figures. drew my breath more easily and stopped to glance around. It was the barest cabin was ever in-uncarpeted, with no other seats than the little benches looked at the cru cifix, and guessed from the sight of it that, whatever might be tho vessels nation, she had not been sailed by Englishmen. peeped into poor Poliys cage-if . parrot it was and the sight of the rich plumage carried my imagination to skies of brass, to the myste- rlous green solitude of tropic forests, to islands fringed with silver surf, ill whose sunny flashing sported nude girls of fsa;lt- less forms, showing their teeth of pearl i,l merry laughter, winding alnorously with the blue pillow, and filling the aromatic breeze with the melody of their language of the sun. Ha! thought l, sailors see some changes ill their time; and with hearty sigh 1 stepped into the cook room.
 I started, stopped, and fell back pace with cry. When I had put the figure be- fore the fire he was in the same posture in which he had sat at the table-that is, lean- ing forward with his face hid in his arms; I had laid him on his side with his face to the furnace, and in that attitude you would have supposed him man sound asleep with his arms over his face to shield it from the heat. But now, to my unspeakable astonishment, he lay on his back, with his arms sunk to his side, and resting on the deck and his face upturned
 l stared at him from the door as if he was the fend himself. could scarcely credit my senses; and my consternation was so great that cannot conceive of any man ever Eav ing labored under a greater fright. l faintly ejaculated "Good God!" several times. and could hardly prevent my legs from running ,1~.~~ he must have moved of his own accord to get upon his back. I was prepared for the fire to thaw him into limberness, and had I found him strengthened somewhat should not have been surprised But there was no power in fire to stretch him to his full length and turn him over on his back. What living or ghostly hand had done this thing? Did spirits walk this schooner after all? Had 1 missed of something more terrible than any number of dead men in searching the vessel:
 I had made great fire, and it's light was strong, and there was also the light of the lantern; but the furnace flames played very lively, completely overmastering the steady illumination of the candle, and the mans fig ure was all a-twitch with moving shadows, and a hundred fantastic shades seemed to steal out of the side and bulkheads and disap- pear upon my terrified gaze. Then, thought l, suppose after all that man should be alive, the vitality in him set flowing by the heat! minded myself of my own sinile of the current checked by frost, yet retaining unim- paired the principle of motion and, getting my agitation under some small control, ap- preached the body on tiptoe and held the lan- tern to it's face.
 He looked a man of 60 years of age; his beard was gray and very long, and lay upon his breast like a cloud of smoke. His eyes were closed; the brows shaggy, and the dark scar of a sword wound ran across his fore head from tho corner of the left eye to the top of the right brow. His nose was long and hooked; but the repose in his countenance, backed by the vague character of the light in which 1 inspected him, left his face almost expressionlesS. l was too much alarmed to put my ear to his mouth to mark if he breathed, if indeed the noise of the burning fire would have permitted me to distinguish his respiration. I drew back from him, and put down the lantern and watched him.
 Presently his left leg, that was slightly bent toward the furnace, stretched itself out to its full length, and my ear caught faint sound, as of weak and melancholy sigh. Gracious heaven, thought l, he is alive! and with less of terror than of profound awe, now that I saw there was nothing of ghostly or preternatural character in this business, approached and bent over him. His eyes were still shut, and could not hear that he breathed; there was not the faintest motion of respiration in his breast nor stir III the hair, that was now soft, about his mouth. Yet, so far as the light would suffer me to judge, there was complexion in his face such as could only come with flowing blood, however languid its circulation; and putting this and the sigh and the movement of the leg together, felt convinced that the man was alive, and forthwith fell to work, very full of awe and anlazement, to be sure, to help nature, that was struggling in him.
 My first step was to heat some brandy, and while this was doing pulled open his coat and freed his neck, fetching coat from the cabin to serve as pillow for his head. next removed his boots and laid bare his feet (which were incased in no less than four pairs of thick woo]en stockings, so that thought when I came to the third pair I should find his legs made of stockings), and after bathing his feet in hot water, of which there was a kettleful, rubbed them with hot brandy as hard as could chafe I then dealt with his hands in the like manner, having once been shipmate with seaman who told me he had seen a sailor brought to by severe rubbing of his extremities after he had been carried below supposed to be frozen to death, and continued this exercise till could rub no longer. Next opened his lips, and finding he wanted some of his front teeth, very easily poured dram of brandy into his mouth. Though I preserved my astonish- ment all this while, soon discovered myself working with enthusiasm, with most pas sionate longing indeed to recover the man, ! not only because it pleased mo to think of my being an instrument under God of calling 1 human being, so to speak, out of his grave, but because I yearned for a acompanion-some one to address, to tighten the hideous solitude l of my condition, and to assist me ill planning | our deliverance.
 I built up great fire, and with much trouble, for he was very heavy. disposed him l in such manner before it that the heat was reflected all over the front of him from his head to his feet. I likewise continued to chafe his extremities, remtting this work only to rest; and finding that the brandy had stolen down his throat I poured another dram in, and then another, till think he had swallowed a pint. This went on for an hour, during which time he never exhibited the least signs of life; but on sudden he sighed deep; a tremor ran through him; he sighed again, and partly raised his right hand, which | fell to the deck with blow; his lips twitched,