The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-15

J y
those small limbs that were never to
tremble again, she whispered, sob, l
am SO glad-bells, dearest nanny
bells-and people-you will have food
tomorrow - and drink so glad - so
gladr and as The mother stified the
sweet rawlings of her dying babe with
hot, fearless kisses neither she nor any
yone of us guessed that Elsie was right
Elsie had indeed heard bells, and food
and succor were coming with the morn
ing!
The long hours of the night passed
somehow; the wind fell away until
heavy calm settled down in its place, and
as we lay with the dead among us we
were conscious presently that the stars
were shining overhead and the sea fog
was slowly drifting off for the first time
since our sorrows began. But small
difference it would make to us, we
thought. We lay about at the tent door
that dawning with famine in our hearts
and our swollen tongues rafting in our
mouths like dry nuts in their husks.
Overhead, as the light frightened and
the east broadened, the mist grew thin
ner until it was faint opal shroud
about us waiting but for touch of
blessed, mercifSl hand to lift completely.
And behind that pale curtain I was
/ presently aware the great sun was rising,
and | staggered to my feet in my sea
rotten rags and my agony to welcome
the coming of my death day-tottered
and leaned against the tent edge, and
looked around at the blacaened faces of
the dead and the dying at my feet and
then overhead and about. AS looked,
all the east flushed red, and behind the
thin screen of the curtain the sunrise be-
gan, and the color and the light went
climbing up into the sky-green and
golden and crimson and saffron-behind
a delicate drapery of vapor that yelled
without lessening their splendor! Higher
and higher they climbed until the whole
| wide vault of the heaven was splendidly,
softly prismatic from edge to edge.
| Brighter and brighter came the blessed
light, creeping through the strands of
the mist until every blade of grass on
the rocks about flashed like jeweled
weapons in it's golden sheen; lighter and
lighter stretched the sea haze until I'm
der its lifting foot came the long fash
and glitter of the sun on the water,
spangling the rim of that lifting curtain
with glittering fringe of silver and
yellow. It was so wonderful, so hopeful
all about, SO like great rainbow ante
room to the courts of heaven, that
laughed a horrible dry rattle of pleasure
1oruy, II, ~, I, b,,r,1i,,o Throat and hid rov
bloodshot eyes from the brightness fog
moment.
And when looked up the mist in the
east was spun out SO thin that it was
but a fine something in the air, and
through it was shining the outline Of
hills and trees, and-was mad?--of ga
bles and spires few poor hundred
yards awayl l glared and rubbed my
eyes, and tottered out upon a hillock. A
soft southern breath rolled up the last
of that thin screen, and out of the sea,
not quarter of mile away, grew a
pleasant green coast, with fields and
homesteads, and yonder-homely, white
and red and gray-lay a waterside town,
SO near that could see the men at work
upon the quays, and the color of the
tavern sign down by the road, and the
flap Of the linen on the drying lines, and
the glitter of pail as a woman dipped
water at the green tide steps.
With dreadful cry of wonder and
hope and fear startled the souls back
into those gray, contorted bundles down
by the tent, the living came at my call.
painfully crawling out from among the
dead and saw what ! saw, and tossed
their arms and laughed and wept and
grinned and staggered to their feet, and
fell about upon each other, and muttered
incoherent things down in the dry cav
erns of their hollow chests, and pointed
thin, trembling fingers, and at last, as
the full truth dawned upon them all,
went mad together it seemed, and
prayed and wept, and cried about me in
the strangest, grimmest parody of joy
ever man looked upon.
What need to ten more! Soon some
of those jolly Plump loungers on the
quay caughtsigh Of us upon the islet at
the entrance of their harbor mouth, and
clustered in knots and pointed a
boat was launched and men came off,
hailed us and guessed what had hap
pened even before they could understand
a word Of the incoherent sounds of our
frantic delight, and so we were rescued!
We had been days and nights starv-
ing within the very smell of plenty. A
scanty ell or two of southwark drift |
when we had come out of the storm |
through the sea fog and had landed upon |
that accused rock would have taken |
us straight down into the harbor and |
blessed food and shelter; one common |
shout when we found it was but an |
island we were upon would have trav-
eled to those friendly ears; a dozen more
strokes of those oars we had pulled de- |
spairingly day and night through the
dreadful wastes of the storm, one effort
of strong swimmer, would have got us
shelter and comfort, and we had not
known it! We had landed and despaired |
and died on the very threshold of album
dance, and it was this which made the
wreck Of the Golden Verify a story al
S,,oc+ ,,,;o,,a IF SIC bind ayoy, in tho