The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-11-19
tits. fortunately. not enough to say. II will

fore. A place was got. 1t was lost In the old
style; from the long suffering ofthe keepers oil
restaurants he fell to more omen charity upon
the wayside; as time went on good nature be-
came weary. and. after repuse or two. Her
rick became shy. There were women enough
who would have supported far worse and a
far uglier man; Herrick never met or knew
them: or II he did both, some manlier feeling
would revolt. and he preferred starvation.
Drenched with rains. broiling by day. SILVER
ing by night a disused and ruinous prison
for a bedroom. his diet begged or pilfered
| out OF rubbish heaps. his associates two
creatures equally outcast with himself he had
| drained for months the cup OF patience. He
| had known what 1t was to be resigned. what 1t
was to break forth in a childish fury OF rebel
lion against fate. and what 1t was to sink into
| the coma OF d pair. The time had changed him.
He told himself no lonfer tales of an easy and
perhaps agreeable declension: he read his
nature other wise: he had proved himself in
capable OF rising and he now learned by OK
perience that he could not stoop to fall Some
thing that was scarcely pride or strength. that
| was perhaps only refinement. withheld him
from equalization: but he looked on upon his
| own misfortune with n growing rage. and
sometimes wondered at his patience.
TWAS now the fourth month completed and
| still therA was no change or sign OF change
| The m DON. racing through world OF flying
| clouds OF every size and shape and density.
| some black as ink stains. some delicate as
| lawn. threw the marvel OF her southern bright
| ness over the same lovely and detested scene
| the island mountains crowned with tho peren-
NAL island cloud. the embowered city studded
| with rare lamps. tho masts in tho harbor, tho
smooth mirror OF the lagoon, and the mole
! OF the barrier reef on which the breakers
whitened The moon shone. too. with bulls
| eve swept, on his companions: on the stall
| wart frame Of the American who called him
| self Brown. and was known to be master
mariner in some disgrace: and on the dwarf
ish person. the pale eyes. and toothless smile OF
| vulgar and bad hearted cockney clerk. Here
| was society for Robert Herrick The Yankee
| skipper was a man at least; he had sterling
| qualities of tenderness and resolution: he was
ono whose hand you could take without q
blush. But there was no redeeming grace
about the other. who called himself sometimes
Hay and sometimes Tomkins. and laughed at
| tho discrepancy; who had been employed in
! every store In Papeete. for the creature was
| able in its way: who had been discharged from
| zach in turn. for he was wholly vile: who had
! alienated all his old employers 80 that they
passed him in the streets as II he were dog
| and all his old comrades so that they Stunned
him as they would G creditor
| Not long before ship from Peru had brought
| an Influenza, and it now ragged In the island
| and particularly in Papeete. From all round
| the purao rose and fell dismal sound OF men
| coughing and strangling as they coughed
| The sick natives. with the islanders impa-
| tience of touch Of fever had crawled from
| their houses to be cool. and sIuatting on the
! shore or on the beached canoes painfully ex-
pected the new day. Even as the growing OF
| cocks goes about the country in the night
| from farm to farm. accesses OF coughing arose
| and spread and died in the distance and
| sprang up again. Each miserable shiverer
| caught the suggestion from his neiGhbor. was
| torn for some minutes by that cruel ecstacy
| and left spent and without voice or cour-
age when it passed If man had
pity to spend. Papaete beach in that cold
night and in that infected season. was place
| to spond it on. And OF all the sufferers. per-
haps tho least deserving but surely the most
pitable was the London clerk. He was used
| to another life. to houses. beds. nursing. and
| the danties OF the sick ROOM he lay here now.
| in the cold open. exposed to the gushing OF the
wind and with an empty belly. lie was. be-
| sides. nfrm: the disease shook him to the
| vitals. and his companions watched his en-
| durance with surprise. A profound commits
Grafton filed them and contended with
and conquered their adherence. The dis
| gust attendant Oh bO ugly d blChuoeS
| fled this dislike; at the same time. and with
more than compenEating strength. shame for
q sentiment SO inhuman bound them the more
| straightly to his servics and even the evil
| they knew OF him swelled their solicitude. for
| the thought OF death Is always the least sup
| portable when it draws near to the merely
| sensual and selfish. Sometimes they held
| him up: sometimes. with mistaken helpful
ness they beat him between the shoulders:
| and when the poor wretch lay back ghastly
| and spent after a paroXysm OF coughing they
| would sometimes peer into his face. doubtfully
| exploring 1t for any mark Of life There is no
| one but has some virtue; that OF the clerk was
| courage and he would make haste to reassure
them in pleasantly not always decent.
I'm all right pals" he gasped. this Is the
thing to strengthen the m uscles OF tho larynx."
| We'll. you take the cake!" cried the Captain.
| "Oh. Pm good plucked enough" pursued
the sufferer. with broken utterance. But
| 1t do seem boomin' hard to me that / should
be the only party to be down with this form OF
vice. and the only one to do the funny bust
ness. Think one OF your other parties might
walk up. Tell fellow something"
| "The trouble is we've nothing to tell. my
son." returned the Captain.
I'm tell you II you like. what was think
| ing" said Herrick.
Tell us anything" said the clerk. Il only
want to be reminded that amt dead"
Herrick took up his parable. lying on his
face and speaking slowly and scarce above his
breath. not like man who has anything to
say. but like one talking against time.
well. was thinking this" he began. Il
was thinking lay on Papeete beach one night
| all moon and squalls and follows coughing
and / was cold and hungry and down in the
mouth. and was almost 90 years Of age and
had spent about 22O OF them on Papeete beach
And l was thinking wished had ring to
rub. or had a fairy godmother. or would raise
Deezebub. And l was trying to remember
how you did it. l knew you made ring
OF skulls. for l had seen that In the
"FreschntZ:" and that you took off your coat
and turned up your sleeves for | had seen
| Formes do that when he was playing Kdspdr.
| and you could see Thy the way he went about
| IT. 1t was a business he had studied; and that
| you ought to have something to kick up a
| smoke and bad smell-I darssay a cigar
might do and that you oughtto say the Lords