The Savannah tribune. [volume] (Savannah [Ga.]) 1876-1960, 1888-05-19


to call on the little woman who sits at
the head of this table. To tell the
truth, | was walking trihe zigzaggy,
and this soda water bottle was in the
pocket of my ulster. don't know how
it got there, but probably some of the
boys stuck it in my pocket, knowing
where was going. Well, when ar
rived at the house and pulled the bell
was not the most refined looking young
man you could scare up. The bow of
my white necktie was shifted around
under my ear and my speech was not as
clear as it is tonight When the little
woman let me in she was Mortified at
my appearance, but she got me into the
parlor and took the bottle away from
me- Let's see, Julia, what did l say to
you on that occasions"
"You asked me to marry you three
times in as many minutes, and you acted
in disgraceful manner"
I'm afraid your right" continued
Henry. "But the upshot of the matter
was that I left the house about II
o'clock and when 1 awoke the next
morning and realized what an ass had
made of myself l was as much broken
up as clam she'll under trip hammer
OF course thought 1t was all up with
me and the little woman yonder, and so
in a fit of desperation | went down to
New Bedford and shipped aboard of
whaler for a three years cruise. left
note for Julia saying that l was sorry
and telling her what | had done. We
hadn't been three weeks in blue water,
before / was sick Of my bargain. But
there was no use in repining, and so l
buckled to-, and as Twas stout, able
bodied young man | soon found favor
with the vessels crew. But all through
that dreary voyage the memory
of the look with which
the little woman used to greet
me came to my recollection. On moon
light nights when it was my watch on
deck, l got as blue as indigo, thinking
that perhaps some other chap would
get her before got back. Then again
thought she would forget me, and if
she did not, surely she must hate me
after what had happened at our last
meeting But found out afterward
that she did not; that she cried a little
when she learned that l had gone, and
went to reading sentimental stories
about knights and fair ladies to comfort
herself while | was away. She has
solemnly assured me that she knew |
would be back again. Well, after she
had been reading the love stories for a
month she got curious notion in her
head; She
ooh, Henry; stop. wouldn't tell
any more if l were you" cried his wife,
her face crimsoning.
ooh, yes, must tell the folks how
you wrote that letter and put it in the
bottle, and dropped the bottle from a
Jersey City ferryboat. You see, the
letter was directed to me and was
thousands of miles away in the Arctic
regions after whales. How that bottle
got out to sea Of course Will never be
known. How it escaped the wheels Of
steamboats,; how it survived all the
storms of two long years and bobbed
along serenely through the Gulf stream
and across the equator, I cannot say;
but, dear old bottIc-hand it over to
me, Bob, thiak almost as much Of it
as do Of the little woman sitting over
there
He took the bottle and held it up in
the gaslight. There was nothing par
ticuIarly attractive about it; yet every
one at the table looked at it with a fas-
ciuated interest, and an impatient young
lady said:
FOR mercy's sake, tell US why you
think so much Of that Old sola-wate
bottlcw
'WclI continued Henry "wo were
on our return voyage with 200 barrels Of
oil on board. The crew was overjoyed
at the prospect Of soon reaching port,
when one night just after my watch
turned in, some one shouted, Fire.
When got on deck. sm oko was pour