The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1893-09-16

''e~sAA wi Aio"lhS up
from the southwest. A prudent man
would have accepted the warnings
hung out in the sky and turned back,
but kept on hoping against the signs
OF the weather, until when half way
the heavens uttered low, moaning
sob, and gale from the southwest
broke upon the coast, bringing with it
first heavy, penetrating mist, and
then driving, Kissing sheets OF rain,
which made my face and hands smart,
half blinded me and wet me to the
skin. a
When l was thoroughly soaked
came to cross roads, and lo quiet,
respectable little Inn. The landlord
was very civil and obliging. He found
me a set of flannels, a large, warm
dressing gown, and a pair of roomy
slippers. He also supplied the sugges-
ton that glass of rum punch by the
fire in the bar was the best preventive
medicine | could swallow.
l got off my wet things, and got on
the things warm and dry, and sat down
by the fire. The buxom landlady set a
steaming tumbler by my elbow. I lit
my pipe, and began to feel grateful to
the storm which had driven me into
such snug quarters. My comfort was
made complete when the landlord, a
burly, middle-aged man of ruddy face
and genial manner, sat down opposite
me, with o steaming tumbler of rum at
his elbow, and a long churchwarden
between his thumb and finger.
"That's a stiff gale said |.
st will be worse presently" said he,
crossing his legs luxuriously, and look
ing gravely into the smoke which he
blew from his lips into shaggy cloud
toward the high wide fireplace.
"There will be a heavy sea on outside
II it grows any worse, and keeps at it?'
said, interrogatively. .EfI
"There will be as much sea on before
morning as ever we have here; but
bless you, that's not much"
"Do you never have much sea here?'
mo; not to speak Of Why, there
isn't water enough inshore for it. It'
all sand and sand and sand-out pretty
nigh as far as you can see. At low wa
ter man can walk out mile.-' A very
different coast from the one was
brought up on"
Where was that?'
"Mynhinbay, Cornwall. That's where
you have chance Of getting look a
the sou'wester and what it can do. All
cliffs and rocks and huge powders
with the green water mounting fift,
feet up the rocks, and the spray flyine
a hundred oven the land. You dom
know South CornwallP'
~ can't say that do"
"And never heard of the loss OF The
Unicorn in Mynhinbay?"
mo. Perhaps you would be goot
enough to tell me-" said l, perceivine
he had story in his mind. l was JUS
in the humor to listen.
| He settled himself in his big Windsor
easy chair, took pull at his glass
blew few slow whiffs from his pipe tt
compose himself and began:
"Mynhinbay faces souwest. Fol
miles the coast is bold, ironbound will
no other break. Mynhin isn't more
than half mile wide at the opening
but it expands inside. A mile from TIN
mouth it stops at q sandy strand. Thu
full force of the Atlantic wallows int
it in heavy Southwestern, and no shiT
has a chance once she gets inside it,
jaws. :
"You may ask what business shil
has inside its jaws. Well, none at all
for II is not port, nor is there an.
port near for which it can be mis-
taken. But accidents happen ane
once in fifty years or SO an unfortunate
craft gets swept in, and then II