Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-06-14

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 hundred fantastic shades seemed to
steal out of the side and bulkheads and disap-
pear upon my terrified gaze. Then, thought
|, suppose after all that man should be alive,
the vitality in him set flowing by the heat.
minded myself of my own smile Of the
current checked by frost, yet retaining unim-
paired the principle of motion; and, getting
my agitation under some small control | APP
preached the body on tiptoe and held the Ian
tern to its face.
He looked man of go years Of age; his
beard Yves gray and very long, and lay upon
his breast like a cloud of smoke His eyes
We're closed; the brows shaggy, and the dark
scar Of sword wound ran across his fore
head from the 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 | inspected him. left his face almost
expressionless. I was too much alarmed to
put my ear to his mouth to mark if no
breathed, if indeed the noise of the burning
fire would have permitted me to distinguish
his respiration / 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 a faint
sound as of weak and melancholy sigh.
Gracious heaven, thought /, he is alive! and
with less of terror than of profound awe,
now that | saw there was nothing Of a
ghostly or preternatural character in this
business, | approached and bent over him.
His eyes were still shut, and / could not hear
that he breathcd; there was not the faintest
motion Of respiration III 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 u complexion in his face
such as could only come with flowing blood,
however languid its circulation; and putting
this and tho sigh and the movement of tho
leg together, felt convinced that the man
was alive, and forthwith fell to work, very
full Of awe and amazGnent, to be sure, to
help nature, that was struggling in him.
Ny first step was to heat some brandy, and
while this was doing pulled open his coat
and freed his neck, fetching coat from tho
cabin to servo rs pillow for his head.
next removed his boots and laid bare his feet
(Which were incased in no less than four pairs
Of thick wooden stockings, so that Thought
when | came to tho third pair | 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. l then dealt with his
hands in the like manner, having once been
with q seaman who told me he had
seen a sailor brought to by severe rubbing of
10
below supposed to bc 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 a dram of brandy into his
mouth Though / preserved my astonish-
ment all this while, / soon discovered myself
working with enthusiasm, with a most pas
sionate longing indeed to recover the man,
not only because it pleased me to think Of my
being an instrument under God Of calling
a human being, 50 TO speak, ont Of Ills grave
but because yearned for eompanion-some
one to address. 70 tighten the hidcous solitude
OF mr condition, and to assist me in planning
our Geljyerance.
| bulls up a great fire, and with much
trouble, for ha was very heavy disposed him
in such q manner before it that the heat was
reflected ell over the front of him from his
head to his foat. / likewise continued TO
chafe his e,strcmities, remitting this work
only to rest; and finding that the brandy had
stolen down his throat, | poured another
dram in, and then another, till ! think he had
swallowed a pint. This went on for an ho,ir.
during which time he never exhibited the
least signs of life; but on a sudden he SIGHED
deep; a tremor ran through him; he siohcd
again, and partly raised his right hand, which
fell to the deck with blow; his lips twitched.
and a small CONFUSION Of his face compelled
the features into the similitude Of a grin
that instantly faded: then he fetched sue
cession Of sighs and opened his eyes full upon
me.
| was warm enough with my work; but
when | observed him looking at me l turned
of a death like cold, and felt the dew of an
emotion wet in the palms of my
hands. There was no speculation in his stare
at 1irst-his eyes lay as coldly upon me as
those of fish; but as life quickencd in him
SO his understanding awoke; he slightly knit
ted his brows, and very slowly rolled his gaze
off me to the furnace, and so over as much of
the cook room as was before HIM He then
started rs if to sit up, but fell back with
slight groan and looked at ne again.
What is this said he, in French, in
very hollow, feeble voice
| knew enough Of his language to enable
me to know he spoke French, but that was
all. | could not speak a syllable 1T that
tongue.
"Youll be feeling better presently: YOU
must not expect your strength to come in
minute, said |, taking my chance Of his I'M
a Il
not think me a ghost, for | doRbt not / was
as white as on1-since, to be plain, the mere
talking to a figure that had got TO consider
as sheerly dead as anybody in grave yard,
was alarming enough: and then, again, there
was the sound of my own voice, which l had
not exerted in speech for ages, as it seemed
to me.
lie family nodded his head, by which I
perceived he understood me, and said very
family in English, bat with true French
accent, This is q hard bed, SIR
'I'il speedily mend that, said [, and at
once fetched a mattress from the cabin next
mine; this placed beside him, and dragged
hm on to it ho very weakly assisting.
then brought clothes and rags to cover him
with. and made him high pillow; and as he
lay close t. tao furnace ID could not have
been snuggor had hc had a wife TO tuck him
up in his oaa bed.
| MAS v15 much excited; my former ter
rog@ latl vanished, bus my awe continued
great; for flt as II ! had wrought a mir
acle, and | tramalel as q man would who
surveys some prodigy of his own creation. 1t
was yet to be learned how long he had
been in this condition: but 1 vas perfectly
sure Ire had formed one Of The schooner's peo-
pie; and as had guessed her to have been
here upward Of fifty years, the notion Of that
man having lain torpid for half a century
held me under a perpetual spell OF astonish-
ment; but there was 20 more horror in me
nor fright He followed me about with his
eyes, hut did not offer to speak; perhaps he
could not. | put a lump of ice
into the kettle, ana whom tic water
boiled nlade him a pint Of stcaming
brandy punch, which / hold to his lips in a
pannikin, while supported his back with my
knee; he suppel it slowly and painfully, but
with lnmiatakable relish, and fetched a sigh
of contentn eut as he lay back. But he would
need something more sustaining than brandy
and water. and as I guessed his stomach,
after So prodigious a fast, would be too weak