Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-10-13

and anon over the deck Of the ship,
making it almost impossible for those
passengers who were fortunate enough
to escape the miseries Of NAL de mer
to indulge in those daily promenades
that are so invigorating a portion Of an
ocean voyage. The few who We're able
to be about were naturally thrown
more OF less in each others society, and
| by the time clear weather called the
| invalids from below the coterie of
good sailors We're pretty thoroughly
acquainted.
| l had crossed many times, and a cy-
clone or a calm made no difference to
me, and though l should have preferred
good weather, owing to the pleasant
social atmosphere contingent upon ma
| lures caprices, 1 was still not altogeth-
| er in the dumps when our first four
days were such as to give me an OPP
portunity to revel in the treasures Of
| the very very complete library 1 found
on board the Teutonic.
During my many trips to and from
the book cases / came in constant
contact with a pleasant-faced man
| whom, from the cut of his clothes,
| judged to be a minister. Nor was
| mistaken in my surmise, for later on
! in one of our moments of acrobatic
agility caused by a sudden lurch of the
ship he entered into conversation about
| the weather, and after a few moments
talk presented me with his card, which
| bore the name of ''Lucius Boswell, D.
D." l gave him mine in exchange and
| found that it was a lucky lurch of the
| ship that had thus thrown us together,
for he proved a most delightful compan-
ion, whose views were broad, whose
intelligence was far above the average
and whose opinion Of men and affairs
was based upon a rare knowledge of
! human nature and u more than ordin-
airy keenness of perception.
| He had read much, and in our daily
talks ! was constantly charmed by the
clear and incisive criticisms that he
brought to bear upon the products of
master minds, and whether it were
prose or poetry, abstruse treatises or
] the latest airy bit of fiction, he appear
ed to be conversant with them all, and
| in his gentle, unassuming way, he led
me daily into unaccustomed paths of
literature and opened my eyes to the
! depth and richness of mind that was
/ a veritable storehouse of learning.
Little by little he told me of himself,
saying that he had charge in q far
away country town and that in that
little hamlet he had left his motherleSs
son, a boy Of II. When he mentioned
| the lads name a light came into his
eyes and 4 tremor into his voice that
proved to me the wealth of affection
conferred in his heart for this one
| treasure whom every revolution of the
giant paddles was being separated
farther and farther from him.
Though surprised to hear that his
was small church, and congregation
composed largely of plain farmers and
their wives, | knew that sooner Oh
later he would tell me why his wealth
of intellect was, as it seemed to me
wasted upon those so little able to ap
spreciate it. The confidence came before
l expected it, for seeing, perhaps, the
open question in my eyes, with the
frankness that was part of his ma
ture he answered it at once.
Il know you wonder why / accepted
a charge in that wild unsettled section
of the west, but it was matter o:
conscience, and L have never regretted
the step l took but once and that wa:
when my wife Sickened and died
Here his voice broke, and though M.
heart was full Of sympathy, manlik
l could do nothing but grasp his hant
and in voice gruffer that usual say
go on" Somehow my touch seemed
to do him good for he braced himsel
up and with a forced calm went OF
with his recital.
1T is all very well for me out there
i'm a man, aud I don't mind roughin
| it Il bit, but my wife used to pine TO
the civilization we had left behind
knew, though she never said a wore
but bore all the hardships with almos
divine submission. The people ar
honest, well-meaning folks, but the
don't know how to show what the
feel, and we were more or less isolated
and though a man f1atterS himself tha
he can fill 2, womans life, he can't d
it, for she yearns for womanly syn
pathy and womanly intercourse, thong
she may love him with her whol
heart Of course, in such regio
- skillful physicians are scarce, and afte
the baby came, whether from negle'
ie or through ignorance, something wron
was done, and in two short days
was left that most helpless of helples
beings-a widower with a tiny child
Is bring up.
when I looked around me at Il
care-ined faces and work-hardene
hands l pressed the little form to n
breast, and in my anguish thanked CT
that the child given to my keeping W;
not a girl Since then I have workt
10 for my people and my son. He is Il
IT one bit of brightness in my life. Y
Id are companions in every sense of Il
Id word. and the greatest grief of Il
ID life, next to parting with his mothe
was the parting from him, but I d
it for the best, and hope to be 1
warded for the sacrifice"
nix 1 did not pry into the meaning
IN these last words and in the exciteme
d. of the next twenty-four hours forg
u. all about them. Just off the Banks
le- Newfoundland the fog thickened al
N, then broke only to throw us into t,
rife cyclone that tossed the giant v,