St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-09-09
A STORY OF THE SEA.
a. Told by Crazy Nell to q Sum.
mer-Day Visitor.

~OAs~> Oy NIoZy Neu 70 y 6U01'
mer-Day Visitor.
Inc steamer timetable said: "Pas-
eengers can land and have one hour te
suspect this typical New England fish.
hng village, with its queer. rambling
streets, its ancient houses. its old
wnarfs, once the scene of activity, now
silent and deserted" etc.
l stood at the end of the landing
place and looked down the long stree,
with the walk on one side and the har
Dor on the other, then turned to watch
the crowd rush past to take the town
oy storm, staring in at the windows oi
the houses, overrunning the quiet little
graveyard. intruding everywhere; il
fact. doing everything that rude, van
Gal excursionists do the world over.
"Desecratcrs:' l thought, show shall
l avoid you? Here take what 1 sup
pose to he an out-of-the-way trip to an
out-of-the-way place to get little rest,
and, If possible, new ideas, but instead
of quiet boat and lcisurely sail. you.
the great uncouth, ovcrflowing with
animal spirits and lunch baskets, are
before me. yea, your crumbs are upon
me. and the marks of your childrcn's
ciammy hands and the sound of thcil
anguished sobs are even yet mine"
After which elegant apostrophe
desperately struck into struggling
side street. and in a few short moments,
to my astonishment, they were lett far
behind
stopped and looked about.
Behind me the town lay. . Earrow
fringe Of gray, colorlcss houses
bordering the inner harbor. Here
and there a thin pcncilcd COLUMN OF
smoke rose straight up rs from . fire
in desert, the air WAS so still and ho<.
Before me a stretch of blindil ),
yellow sand, sparkling with glints o!
amethyst and pearl from the dis
intcgratcd sea shells which formed
rart of the drift that lay hcaped up in
odd, monstrous, angular dunes, tufted
with occasional brnches of vivid green
lair; n domain Of desolation-
Beyond, a sea SO calm. SO translucent
that the horizon line is lost, melted
away into the sky.
A monotonous droning filled tho ear,
reminding one Of the cicadas OF Prov.
encc. From some shipyard came the
dull-measured stroke Of a caulkcr's
hammer, sounding like the tapping of a
woodpecker; again the peep. peep!''
of sand bird; these are the only evil
dences of life. The spell of sleep is
over everything. and I stand looking
unconsciously right ahead TIL tho sud-
den noise of the excursion boat blc;y-
ing off steam arouscs me, and I s1& =
low cottage, tlrv< aast on the lane, s1r-
rounded by a mcagcr yard fenced with
driftwood held together by pieces of
rigging.
Before the door is a prctcntious porch
or arbcr constructed of the gray. blcachs
ing ribs of q whale. An cnterprising
morning-glory vine is cndcavoring to
envclop and clothc its ghastlincss, bnt
it protrudcs and stands out from the
1iabby, sun-killcd wreaths like whitcd
sepulchcr. A cobblc-stone walk edged
with pink conch shells completes tho
dreary ensemble.
am about to turn back to the town.
for ii is not very pleasant padding about
in the shifting sands under the broi,ing
sun. when ] sec little crouched-up
figure sitting On block of wood in the
shadow Of an old dory, and SO much the
color of the surroundings rs to be Al
most unncticed.
1t is woman, gray and bent with
years, looking fixcdly at me with queer,
canny eyes, her lips moving rs she
counts the stitches of the knitting in
her hands.
push open the gate on its rope hinges
and enter. asking politely for drink
of water. Never stopping she mods
toward the well. ] help myself and
then sit down near her, rcmarking:
'This is beautiful day."
"Sun draw water in the mornin'
Sailors take warnin',N
she answers, never taking her eyes of
me. It was so unexpected I started,
but rallying said:
"Wcll, q nice fresh breeze wouldn't
hurt us"
In sad. monotonous tone, she re-
piled: -..-
"When wiuds blow fresh1csoss the main
and mist scuds up from the lea,
There's apt to be some rain
And . chorry sou'cast sea"
.Wen. well," I laughed. pleasantly,
though I didn't feel a mite that way;
you're quite a rhymstcr. mother: got
verses for all kinds of weather"
The laugh seemed to please the old
sybil for an instant, then the small eyes
grew sad again and she said. nodding
toward the village:
'Stayin' bclow?"
mo, I just came down and going right
back"
"Then nobody sent you herc?' lean
ing forward.
sNo; just straycd this way to avoid
the crowd Why do you ssk?"
.'They send people here to bother me.
They say Ira crazy, crazy Nell, you
know; ever hear tell of herr
mo; but tell me, mother. how do
you live in this wilderness"
IAN the day knit stockin's an mits
an lots Of uippers for the fishermen to
wear when they're fishin'. They're not
all bad. They give nc food and things
for them. sometimes little tea; but
it's . poor lif>, lad, a poor an sorrow-
full life for old crazy Nell, with only her
thoughts and the seas moans for COM
nanv; an death passes me. that only
iones to 20. and takes the young an
strong. that wants to live; but the day
h nirh at hand now; soon I will see my
my bcnny boy. my husband
rome. lad, gone. gone, and only married
one day; think of it, me all alone.
.lone for forty weary winters and forty
weericr summers, waitin' to die an 60