Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1890-02-26

human face, desiccated, mummied
brown, wrinkled, CHASTITY. The eye
half closed, had shrivcled into tn,
head and were fixed in a dull, idiot,
stare. The parched, dry lips, con
tracing with the flesh, had receded
from the teeth, and gave to the face
if such it may be called, the ghastly
grin of a skeleton. An old tattereC
fur cap scarcely restrained the few
struggling gray hairs still attached
to the shrunken scalp; and all this
stood out in startling relief as dried
up hand clutched the side of the boat
nearest to me, and the figure leaned
over and looked at me. A feeling OF
sickening repulsion came over me as
the teeth unclinched themselves with
an effort apparently and a hollow
grisly voice croaked the words:
"Who are you that have disturbed
my watch for the first time in a hall
a century 7"
81 saw you up there" said, "and
felt that l must know who and what
you are, who sit there day after day
and night after night in one ceaseless
continuing of wakeful vigilance"
a." said he, "am poor damned
soul, CONDEMNED for my sins to sit up
here, through the centuries maybe,
until | have expiated the crime of
which reach the eternal punishment"
"And what is that ?" said l.
$50 hence" replied he; 81 will not
tell you"
In moment had climbed upon
the lower boat, and hoisted myself by
means of the chairs and davits into
the upper one, and there | sat, the
specter-shall | call him facing me
in grim Capitalization with this num-
mied relic of humanity.
"You say" said |, that | am the
first to have disturbed your watch
since it began; by the same authority
with which ! woke you to speak, !
command you now to tell me what it
is that brings you here"
Listen" said he, 81 sit here through
everlasting cycles in expiation of a
crime so CHASTITY that even the grisly
relics of my poor living self, which
you see, are fair to think upon beside
its hideous atrocity.
"This boat, new painted though it
be, recalked and rendered seaworthy
as it has been, inscribed with the
name Etruria, as you see it, was one
of the ship Fingal which foundered in
these waters on the Sd of July, 1880
The ship canght fire at sunset, and |
was put at the helm of the first boat
that abandoned her, filled with women
and children, with few men to keep
her afoat and in the right direction
until we should fall in with passing
vessel.
Among the passengers was beau
tiful French woman, the countess of
g., who had come up OH deck almost
first amid the confusion, had flung
herself into the boat as l took my seat
in the stern sheets to direct the en-
barkment of the rest of her passengers,
and putting box into the space be-
tween me and the helm, crowded down
by my side and whispered"
This case contains jewels worth
10,O00,00O of francs. / must save
them, and the captain has ordered
that nothing but necessaries shall be
put into the boats. Help me save
these jewels and | will give you 900,
600 of francs as soon rs we are picked
up" "lpromised to do so ; it was over
in flash. As they lowered some
provisions into the boat, | seized hasti-
ly two or three cases of preserved
food of various kinds and placed them
in the stern sheets by the side of the
countess jewel case. The whole,
ranged side by side, looked in the
darkness nearly like projecting COM
partment of the air cases of the boat,
and the bulk of the provisions for the
passengers and crew were placed
along the bottom.
"All night long we kept afoat, and
in the morning, having eagerly scan
ned the horizon, and scanned it in
vain in search Of a passing vessel, one
of the cases of food was opened, and
short rations were served out to all of
us. This went on three days, the pro-
visions getting lower and lower, star
walton staring us in the face. Peri
odically, however, would put my
hand behind me where could feel
my own private store, which had es-
capped the notice Of the rest it was
this knowledge that my store was
there which think prevented my
feeling the pangs of hunger as much
as the rest of them. The beautiful
countess suffered horribly.
One night | suddenly conceived
the grisly notion of letting this boat
Il