Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-01-01
THE WRECK.

It was the 31st Of December. ha,
breakfasted with my old friend Georg
Garin. The servant brought him a let
ter covered with foreign stamps.
"You allow meT' George asked.
Certainly"
And he began to read the eight page
closely covered with an English hand
He read slowly and with serious atten
tion; with the interest you take in thai
which touches you Then he placed thu
letter upon Che nsrtel and said:
That is a strange adventure Of which
I newer told you; sentimental. however
and which happened 10 me. That was
Singular Now Years day. It was
twenty years age. was 80 then, and
am 80 now. Twas Inspector of the in.
surance company Of which I am now
president. was preparing to spend
New Years day in Paris, as it is the
custom 10 mako holiday Of it, when
received a letter from one Of the direct
orS ordering me 10 leave immediately
for Vhs hinnd Of Re, where three deck
ef from st. FAzaire, insured by us, was
wfecAed.
ID was 8 o'clock IN the morning. By
10 I was at the Office for instructions,
and Sh&t might took the train and
reached La Rochelle next morning, the
81st Of December. I had two hours in
which TO visit the city before sailing for
Re, and spent them admiring the odd,
severe architecture, its crooked streets,
the sidewalks covered with arcades, not
unlike the Rue Rivoh, but lower, darker
and moro mysterious, that seem built for
q seone of conspirators; the old and
striking scenery of the religious wars,
wars both savage and heroic.
When left La Rochelle it was one Of
those dark, oppressive days, crushing
thought, depressing the heart; a cold,
gray day, darkened by heavy fog,
wet as rain, cold as ice, noisome as the
smell Of sewer. Under this ceiling of
low snd sinister fog the yellow sea was
without movement, without life, sea
Of nruddy, greasy, stagnant water. The
jean Clinton slid upon it, rolling slightly
from habit, cutting the thick, smooth
sheet and leaving behind few waves
which quickly subided.
began talking to the captain, small
man, as round and well balanced as his
boat wanted to learn the details Of
the accident was going b investigate,
and which correctly inferred he would
be able to furnish me. We were in the
meWRttme SAILING along the island of Re.
Extending his hand he pointed out
snsn spsek in the midst of the sea and
said, "There is the vessel" 1.-THE Marie
Joseph l asked. "Yes." / was as
founded. The speck was fully three
miles from shore. resumed, "But,
captain, there must be twenty feet of
water there" He laughed. "Not two
feet, / tell you. It is high tide now at 8
O'Clock. Go along the beach after break
fasting and I promise that at 8 o'clock
you will reach the wreck with dry feet;
you will have two hours to spend there,
but no more, by the way, or you would
be caught by the tide. The further the
tide recedes the faster it returns. This
coast is as fiat as a bedbug."
! I thanked the captain and went for
ward to watch the little city of St. Mar
tin, which we were rapidly approaching.
The city resembles all those miniature
ports which serve as capitals for the
small islands fringing the continent. 1t
is large fishing village with one foot
on water and one on land; supporting
life on fish and chickens, vegetables and
shell fish, radishes and mussels 1t is
low, but little cultivated, though thickly
populated.
I After breakfasting I crossed small
promontory; then, as the tide was going
out, l continued across the sands in the
direction of large black spot, far away.
I walked fast on this yellow plain, as
elastic as flesh and seeming to sweat un-
der my feet. A minute ago the sea was
here; now I could no longer distinguish
the line separating the sand from the
ocean.
The Atlantic had disappeared like a
scene down the trap door Of theatre,
and now walked in the midst of a des.
ert. Only the salt smell remained; the
smell of sea weed, the smell of the wave,
the good and pungent smell of the coast.
I walked fast and looked at the wreck,
which increased in size as approached
and now appeared like an immense whale.