Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-06-20

He closed the door behind him and guessed
he would walk step with me through the
woods. Our conversation. at first deSultory.
gradually led up to the subject OF his own past
life and the history of his queer surroundings.
lie told it briefly. He had run away from
home-a New England home-some forty years
ago, and shipped on a whaler bound 70 the
southern seas. He had served on her three
years and over as the vessel, rounding the Horn.
came slowly toward the cruising grounds OF
the northern Pacific. Things had gone from
bad TO worse between the captain and himself
for many mOnths-particularly after they had
rescued the crew of a south sea trader, among
them young woman. the daughter of the
traders drowned captain. With this girl he
fell in love and her treatment by the captain
made his soul boil with rage. So, what with the
beatings he got and the insulting of her. two
took-we two-the yawl. and one night, when
the Mary Clyde came In for water at Port Lloyd
pulled ashore and took to the woods" They
built the little house / had seen and for over
thirty years had lived there. She had been
dead these fifteen years. leaving behind her he
boy now grown to manhood. They had
lived all this time on what their little garden
had brought them. on what fish he could catch
in the bay. or on the meat Of some turtles he
had now and then captured. The hard expert
ences of the past sea life of his wife had
affected little her thinking powers (as he
put it, and she never again came down to the
ocean or in sight of it, nor had she ever allowed
her son to approach its shores After her
death her son had become SO long used to the
habit of obedience that, though living on an
island, ocean bound, he had never seen it or
heard the roar of its mighty waves. They had
no books of any kind, and she was mot very
much. sir, on education and the like, noway y
he said, so his son had "sorter growed I'D with
the hills and trees and knew nothing else be-
sides them"
SLOWLY FADING AWAY.
1t was followed by daily ones thereafter. ] had
consulted the doctor of our ship with reference
to the case and had greater difficulty in pre-.
venting him from visiting the patient himself
In fact he did once, believe. but was SC
roughly met by the surly old man as never
again TO attempt it. But he gave me medicines
and much good advice. So over the woody
hills each day tramped to the little wretched
cottage in the valley. And was glad to see
the happy look Of recognition in the CLASSY
eyes. or the wave of the weak, bony hand above
the coarse sheet about him. That he was fad.
ing. day by day.I saw; that death was but wait
ing. hour by hour. to knock upon the lonely
door, knew full we'll. But in my heart there
grew for him-this man so utterly outside my
world-a real. tender affection.
Yet in our daily. quiet talks-and we had
these ALWAYS at our meetings-l never met OF
wish to meet again. a mind SO absolutely blank
| so devoid of the slightest knowledge or concep-
ton of other men; the history of his own OF
| any other age, or the triumphs Of art science
| war, astronomy or religion. 1t was as if babe
had sprung to srcoen maturity and been
thrown into the society of mankind. long used
| TO ali the benefits of years of education and
civilization. / used TO recall often the story Of
| the child born in a French prison, who was
reared in solitude and darkness for twent,
years: this was even worse, perhaps, than the
case of nv strange dying friend. For at leas
| the latter knew language when he heard it
knew color when he saw it; knew the trees, the
| rocks, the animal life about him. but of the
causes for-the reasons why-nothing.
| Sometimes when was deep in the rela.i Of
some great historical event. some wonderful
discovery, some astounding invention, hs
would turn his pale face TO me and half whisper
in placid way some simple childlike question
that all my philosophy could not answer. i
was as if one who had never seen fire had asked
of another who had seen it and in all the ma
| jesty of some roaring confagration, "What i,
| fire? What does it look hke?''
Day by day he grew weaker and both hi
/ father and myself knew the end was nigh Lit
| tie by little l changed the topic Of our talk
from earthly things TO those beyond.
But l saw that that, too. was even more ut
terly blank and incomprehensible than the for
mer. He listened gently with often a fain
smile upon his lips, but, alas, . dark void
knew in his soul.