The Portland daily press., 1891-01-03
ALETTER THAT CAME.
1t Cast a Gloom over a Navy Off
GERS whole Life.
New York SUM-

New York Sun.
The officers of the mess were sitting
around the wardroom table. It was Just
after dinner. They were telling stories
of shipwreck and disaster. Each one, it
appeared. had had more terrifying ex-
perience than the one who spoke imme-
diately before him. All had spun their
yarns but one. He smoked reflectively
in silence for few minutes Then he
said:
well, gentlemen, you have all had
many unpleasant, some frightful, expert
ences. The story am about to relate to
you, however, will prove, as you will all
admit when you hear it, far more terri
BILE than any yet told. The events hap
pened number of years ago, but they
have cast gloom over my whole life."
The officer stopped and pulled upon
his cigar in silence for while. The 9TH
ers settled into attitudes of attention.
The officer went on:
Some here are young in the service,
and will not remember when it was the
invariable custom for man -o'-war to
take a pilot aboard upon leaving port.
AT this time was on the Pacific station.
Our home port was San Francisco, so
hlred a house there and settled my wife
IN 1t. At that period the pilot letter
was an institution among the officers of
the ship. After we weighed anchor and
began steaming down the bay all hands
would hurry to their rooms and write
farewell letters to their wives, sweet
hearts and mothers.
THE LETTER.
"These letters We're taken ashore by the
pilot when he left us outside. One day
we were ordered to the South Pacific for
long cruise. | bid farewell to my
weeping wife, who was sure she would
never see me again, and promised her
most faithfully would send her long
pilot letter That was at night, and we
expected to weigh anchor the next morn.
ing. spent the night aboard, and got
up early. had some time on my hands
That letter was a burden on my mind,
SO concluded to write it then and get it
out of the way. | did SO. | wrote at
length, for my heart was full. To be
sure, we did not expect to weigh anchor
for several hours, but as | wanted to be
realistic, described how we did it, and
then proceeded to describe our passage
out through the Golden Gate. | had
gone out many times before, and knew
the whole scene perfectly. depicted it
in graphic colors.
II told of the beauties of the city,
growing smaller and smaller and finally
disappearing; of the harbor fortifica-
tons as they doomed up by turns and
by turns faded away; of the glo-
rious effect of the late afternoon sun
upon the receding Californian shores; of
my feelings as | reflected that might
never see those lessening shores or my
dear wife again. 1t was an affecting
letter, and you will pardon the vanity
well written one. 1t bore upon it the
stamp of sincerity. Finally | told her
that the pilot was now about to leave us
alone upon the bottomless deep, and that
must close. ended with something
incoherent, and signed my name hur-
riedly. Then directed and stamped it
and dropped it into the ships letter box
for the pilot to take ashore when he left
us in the evening.
HOW THE LETTER MIscARRIED.
"Well, the pilot came aboard about 8
o'clock, and we began to weigh anchor.
Of course everything was confusion
there. About II o'clock it was suddenly
discovered that there was trouble with
the steering gear which had been over
looked. | was detailed to direct the
repairing. About noon reported to the
captain that the difficulty of getting at
the trouble was such that we would not
be able to start before night. 1t appeared
afterward that the captain Immediately
sent the pilot off, deciding not to start
before morning. About shutdown | re-
ported everything as ship shape, and
that we were ready for an early start.
The captain was pleased, and readily
granted the request made by half a
dozen of us to go ashore overnight. We
were rowed ashore, jolly crowd, and
as hurried home pictured to myself
my wife's glad surprise.
''But / cannot describe to you the eu
tent of my wife's surprise when she saw
me. 1t surprised me, and her curious
bearing for the next two hours, some
times merry-almost to the point of hys-
terra, and then apparently depressed and
even sad-puzzled me very much. After
supper she settled down in calm mood,
which, however, seemed onlya covering
for suppressed feelings of some sort.
stretched myself at ease on The lounge,
and she seated herself beside'me Pres
emily, without warning, she began to
read to me aloud. At the end of the
first sentence ! bounced up as if had
been slapped in the face.
'At the end of the second sentence |
reached out for the paper she was read
ing. But she made gesture of COM
mand, and actually compelled me TO sit
still and listen to every word Of that
wretched pilot letter which had writ
ten her that morning. Yes, notwith-
standing our decision to remain at
anchor overnight, that wretched pilot
had actually brought my letter ashore at
noon and mailed it. l have wished many
times since that i had choked him the
next morning