The morning call., 1893-03-26

| other parts, the whole strange shadow of it
| thi'kened and jumbled by the scarcely
| determinable shapes of men sitting, stand
Ing. moving, the clank of irons coming from
| them and the low grOwl OF speech.
| went about my work as usual. helped as
| the luncheon table, exchanged sentences
| with Frank, cleaned and polished as was
now my business, but all the while | was
| secretly raging with sorrow and temper L
! was asking myself, is it not in my power to
release Tom from his horrible he'll? Have
| not the wit TO devise q scheme for giving
him his libertyP They may fog me, they
may hang me If they will let me but enable
| Tom to get away from that lOathsome jail
below and they may do what they will.
| Twenty faneles occurred to me. thought
| OF my Cousin WIN assisting me to secrete
my sweetheart in some part Of the ship,
as l had lain hidden where l should
| be able to feed him aud where he
would lie until the ships arrival. Then l
| thought Of his escaping in a quarter boat
| which would secretly provision for him
But why pursue the catalogue OF these
| ridiculous dreams? They we're a girls pas
sionate, ignorant fancies, born of despair
| and wrath. In some of my fauceS | was as
| wicked as the worst Of the wretches below.
| would have sacrificed every life on board.
| Including my own, to procure TOMS liberty,
TO Tree him from the horrors the unjust hand
| OF the law had heLped upon him. | would
! have set fire to the ship, l would have
| gnawed a hole in her bottom as patiently as
| a rats tooth penetrates plank if by burn
| Ing, II by sinking the vessel | could have
| liberated my sweetheart.
But cooled down by degrees; indeed,
| THIS morning the steward kept me running
| about and | could only think in snatches;
| so that meditation was thin and brief and
| IS lntfue nee light and passing.
During the afternoon, some considerable
| time before sunset, the wind shifted, the
sky cleared and we had fine weather. Sail
was made on the ship; the sea ran in
strong dark blue swell which shouldered
| the sunshine from brow to brow and filed
| the ocean in the southwest with rowing
| sDlendOr. Two or three white sails of
ships showed upon the horizon. | supposed
| that By this time we had been blown some
| distance out of the Bay of Biscay: GER
| tainly our course has been straight and our
| speed thunderOus during the past dark
| days of storm.
Shortly after the weather cleared the con-
victs were ordered on deck. l stood in the
| cuddy door to see them assemble. They
came up one by one and were massed in
| lines close to the barTicade with their faces
turned toward the poop. l supposed they
had been disciplined aboard the hulk; the
| convict captains" and felon overseers
| found no difficulty in marshaling them !;
the men fell IN as though they had been
soldiers, wheeling about and taking up their
| positions while the decks rang with short,
sharp cries of command and the tramp of
| iTOned feet. l took Il step on TO the quarter
| deck and looked up at the break of the
| poor, and there saw the doctor with Cap
tain Sutherland by mis- side; the officers of
| the guard were at the rail- and behind stood
| a number of the guard under arms.
As the barricade obstructed my sight, and
| as ! was determined to see what was going
on, | picked up tray and went down the
| port gangway alley as though | had busi-
ness at the galley. The yards were braced
| somewhat forward and stood close to the
! great maintack which sheltered ME from the
sight Of the poop. Here | could observe
| without being seen. Unhappily, my posi-
| tiun brought the backs of the cOnYicts upon
me; Tom was not to be distinguished among
that thTong OF closely packed felons. A few
were in the hospital two or three in the
! prison; there might be 220 men gathered to-
gether behind the barricade, all facing aft,
| their faces upturned to the doctor.
| His purpose in assembling them was to
deliver q lecture. He spoke loudly and
with earneStness, but seemed to have no
| sense whatever of irony. 1t was strange
that person of his experience should not
! guess that the greater part Of his discourse
| would be listened to with the tongue in the
| cheek H talked to the cOnvicts as though
| they had been q congregation of respectable
| worshipers-peOpl who led au honest life
| In their trades aud houses on six days and
| on the seventh attended church-instead of
a body of men of whom Two thirds were
| hardened sc0undrels, seasoned, stewed,
sated down in crime; miscreants who
| would return TO their old vllainles and to
vller villainies yet the instant they were
| ~ large IL the country they found them
selves in provided them with the chances
| they wanted.
l remember he told them they were one
large family and that the opportunities dur
! inc the voyage of exercising the best and
| kindliest feelings would be ample Every
one was TO prefer his brother to himself.
| They were not only to be careful OF each
others comforts. but to be kindly waichful
over each others speech and behavior. 81
saEA ha Z all frrf+ -
| provoking speech or gestures in YOUR Inter-
| course with each other, the employment Of
! all vulgar epithets and unmaniy nlcknames,
| the use of which always indicates low and
| undsciplined mind" l listened for gem
eral langh when he pointed out the neces-
! sitv for convicts cutiyating a humble,
| meek and gentle spirit, submissive. con-
tented and thankful, of their ever remem-'
berng the injury they had inflicted on their
| country, and particularly the expense 10
! which they had put the Government.
The prisoners swayed with the move
| ments of the deck. They all seemed to lis
ten with attention to the doctors discourse,
| but then any man will appear to listen with
| attention TO the speech of another who has
it in his power to fog him for not doing so.
| 1t was strange scene, familiar enough in
| those days, never more by any possibility
| to be beheld again, On high spread the
| canvas In cloud upon cloud, swelling to the
western brightness; soft masses of vapor
! rolled stately under a sky OF deep. liquid
| blue; the swaying mass of conyicts in the
sicky hue of their prison dress, their irons
| like a chain cable stretching the length
| OF the planks. hslf filed the barricade
| lnclosure AT the brass rail above stood the
| doctor, flOurIshng his hand while he ad-
| dressed them, and the listeners beside him
| were thrown out strong upon the eye by
| the red line Of soldiers standing close be-
| hind. \ pause seemed to fall upon the
| ship The sailors dropped their work to
| stare and harken; the second mate and
the apprentices strained their gaze at the
| rows OF faces from the lee sidesof the DOop;
far aft was the helmsman, stretching his
| neck and turning his head on one side and
| then on the otner, as though to hear what
the doctor said.
THE youngest among you now." contin-
| ued the doctor, Tin some measure under
stand that it is in the strictest sense
| moral discipline which l desire to see in
operation on board this transport. In fur
| ther proof Of which shall give orders that
those irons-the badges of your disgrace
| with which you are at present fettered, be
| removed from the whole of you; and | dc
most ardently hope that when | have once
caused them to be struck OF, you will not by
| your conduct demand of their being again
| replaced; for what can be more diSgraceful
| TO you and painful to me than the clan king
| of those irons as you walk along the decks"
The address lasted about three-quarters
of an hour. Captain Barrett replaced and
| let fall his eyeglass with impatience. A
| number OF the cnnvicts wcro now sent be-
| low to return suddenly as | supposed when
the others should have taken their allow
ance of exercise. / dared not linger, and
walked slowly aft sending searching looks
at the prisoners, though did not see Tom.
How was l to deliver my letter? But it
| chauced that had sight of many strange
faces; gang of prisoners passed close as
l went toward the cuddy; few we're gray
haired men, bowed and wrinked; some
were young, and l marked that all these
| had defiant looks One counteDance,
| quickly as it passed. impressed me strongly :
the man had fine, large, black, flashing eyes,
and was a handsome. dark person, half a
header taller than those who trudged near
| him; he held himself erect, and | seemed TO
notice a theatrical air in strides spite of the
| irons. ! had heard some one say there was
an actor among the felons, and guessed