Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1892-02-24
HELEN BENTONs. STORY.

tie Clifford for Australia, ! went,
like the boys in the story book, to
seek my fortune.
1t was a comical thing for girl
to do, but | was alone in the world
and the prospects of being a COVER
ness, or n companion to a lady,
which was all | could be in England,
made me desperate.
There in the new world, | said to
myself, could set to work to make
my fortune.
could, perhaps, with what money
| had, buy little land and cultivate
it. | had a talent for that sort of
thing, | believe, and, with the help
of few laborers, | could have a
model farm, a beautiful dairy, raise
fruit, and live amongst the green
things growing to the end of my
days.
Oddly enough, the thought that
| might marry never entered my
mind.
At twenty-five | considered my
self settled, "and expected to be II
spinster.
Of course OIL shipboard one always
makes acquaintance with some of
the other passengers, and the cap
tain, seeing me alone, introduced me
to good many.
There was one gentleman, an
Australian, Mr.. Chester, whom |
liked very much.
He was man of forty, we'll
dressed, and handsome.
Somehow he got me to talk of my
plans, which he thought very sensi-
BILE indeed, and then told me his own
story.
He had been a poor boy, whose
widowed mother found it hard to
earn bread for her family. Now he
was a manufacturer, whose name
was known throughout Victoria.
He was little proud of his sue
cess, and it seemed to me that he
had reason to be so.
If | desired to live in that part of
the country, he told me he would
give me valuable information, and
save me money and trouble.
1t was very pleasant to have some
one with whom totalk my ideas over,
and who saw nothing odd in wom-
an striking out for herself, as an
Englishman would have done.
Oh, those plans. How little |
thought | should never attempt to
realize them.
After the days Of sunshine, clear
night skys, and a brilliant moon,
came heavy fog. One evening we
were wrapped in it, and it seemed as
thick ;md palpable as though it had
been wet wool; not passenger re-
NAMED on deck. In the saloon we
were all rather dull, and | heard one
or two men say we were going at too
great speed for such weather, when
another steamer could not be seen
until it was upon us.
But | think none of us felt any
terror until suddenly there was a
crash that sounded as though the
end of the earth had come.
The shrieking of the whistles, and
the screams of many voices. That
which was prophesied had happened;
and ! can tell you nothing more
about it than that, shortly, |
found myself in boat with many
others, that Mr.. Chester had helped
me to escape from the sinking
steamer, and that he was still beside
me.
We were upon the ocean in that
boat five or six hours, and eventual
ly were cast upon some bit of land,
of which we knew nothing. When
the fog lifted, and we could see
about us, we counted our number.
There were five of us still living
the rest were lost-Mr. Chester, an
old sailor called jim Pell, a clergy
man of the Church of England, an
elderly woman who was going to
Australia to join her son, and my
self.
We were all wet to the skin,
hungry, and Mortified at the prospect
before us; but the clergyman had
suffered most sadly. His wife and
child, who had been i'm the boat with
us, had been drowned. I'm the dark
ness which prevailed when we were
cast upon the land, he had felt the
waves tear them from him. He had
been severely injured, and was UNI
able to stand; but when we had
helped him as we'll as we could to a
sheltered spot under tree, he babe
us forget him and do what we could
for ourselves.
MIR. Chester and the sailor went
l n