Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-03-17
A GHOSTLY ADMONITION.

poor, he was said TO be descended
from very old Scotch family. This
may or may not have been the fact,
in view of the well-known anxiety OF
everybody of the name of Bruce to
claim connectiOd with the family of
the great Robert. In any case, the
Robert Bruce we have now to deal
with showed an early inclination for
seafaring life, and adopted it. His
natural intelligence stood him in
good stead, and Bruce's promotion
was rapid; so rapid, indeed. that he
was barely thirty years of age when
he became first mate of bark trad
ing between Liverpool and st. John,
N. b., OF which ship he was subse-
quently captain. 1t is with his ex-
periences on one of his voyages as
mate, in the year 1928, that this mar
rative deals.
The vessel had by some means got
rather nOrthward of its proper course,
and now. being six weeks on its voy-
age, was somewhere (roughly speak
ing) about latitude so north, and
Longitude ~ west; that is to say,
somewhere off the northeast coast of
Newfoundland. Much broken ice had
been encountered, and in the morning
both captain and mate took an OBJ
servation with a view of working out
the exact position of the ship.
The observation having been taken,
Bruce descended TO his cabin in order
to make the reckoning. Now Bruce's
cabin was at the foot of, and directly
facing, the companion ladder, the
captains cabin adjoining it, the door.
however, being at right angles to that
Of the mates cabin. so that in de-
scending or ascending the steps to
leave or to reach the latter, the door
of the captains cabin must be passed.
The mate experienced some consid-
cradle difficulty with his figures, the
result Away varying unaccountably
largely from the dead reckoning. At
length, looking up and seeing through
the door, as he supposed, the back of
the captain as he leaned over small
table in his cabin, Bruce said:
Il can't make it anything but 40. 80
latitude by 4S.17 longitude. Can't
be right, can it? What do you make
it, sirP"
There was no reply.
Surprising the other to be deep in
his calculations, the mate rose, and
looking in at the captains door,
where the figure was still bending
over the table and apparently writing
upon the slate which the captain
used for reckoning, he began again
to address it, when ii rose and turned
slowly round, and gazing sternly at
him, disclosed the face and form of a
perfect stranger
Bruce was not naturally timid man,
but the appearance of a silent
stranger on board an isolated ship of
which he knew every living occupant
so alarmed him that he Immediately
ran up on deck and sought the cap
tain"
"Who is the stranger in your
cabinP"
"A stranger in my cabin. l don't
understand you. What stranger?"
II don't know, except that as
passed the door just now a perfect
stranger was standing there writing
on a slate. took him for yourself
at first, but when ne turned and
looked me full in the face he-he-
we'll. he was stranger"
"But the things impossible; we're
six weeks out. Where's a stranger
to come fromp" asked the captain who
began to suspect his mates sobriety
or sanity. why didn't you speak to
himp"
ITO tell the truth, sir, was too
scared. ] scarcely know why, but
was; and I'd rather not go back to
the cabin alone, and that's fact"
The captain Immediately strobe
across the deck, followed by the
mate. They descended the companion
ladder, looked into the captains cabin
and there found-nobody.
Now, Mr.. Bruce" said the cap
tain, "where's your stranger"
Bruce was dumbfounded. Since
leaving the ladder he had never taken
his eyes off the companion which sur
mounted it, and it was impossible for
anybody ta leave the cabin any other
way. He could only repeat what he
had previously said, abiding, of
course, to the incident OF the slate.
The slate was lying upon the table.
The captain picked it up. and there,
in distinct but very peculiar and
strongly characterized handwriting,
were the words: "Steer to the north
west"
"Mr. Bruce" said the captain, 'are
you playing the foolP"
al can only say, sir, that I know
nothing about what is written on
that slate beyond what have told
YOU"
"Mr. Bruce, said the captain, look
ing at him searchingly, take the
pencil and write those words again
below the place they were already
written"
The mate did so and handed the
slate to the captain. The closest
scrutiny failed to detect the faintest
resemblance between the two hand
writings e.
"Mr Bruce" said the captain.