The Cook County herald., 1893-09-16
Do you think he

I said, gently, rather touched by her
plaintipeness. - .~.%
MY story? aye; and what Joy
would ye find in the vagaries and
mumhlin's of an old crazy woman
like me, I Gamma tell'' -. -: :
HE built this house for me, his
bride. Oh, but was happy. girl
then; yes. an one of the tidiest and
prettiest of the village, and often
was told of it, and he Was the smart
est and bravest. of all the fisher lads
that went out to the banks; every
one loved him, myself most of all,
tho was q bit pert and liked my
own way; we'll, we'll, the day of rest
| Us nigh to me now. Haarken then,
sir, an TIL tell ye tale ,of the sad,
| sad sea; a tale of it's cruelty to one I
aoved; a tale that's brimful with pain,
an woes an griefs; an. God, that he
should go! wild an awful the tenn
pest ragged when he dared an per-
! lshed!" After few moments of
weeping and muttering ito herself she
began her disjointed narrative anew.
''Softly the gray 'mists hung far
DER the smiling bay, an the sun
sparkled on the little ripples that
were SO weak they hardly broke on
the shore that fair September morn
we two were married. But as night
came'on, great, dark, towerin' storm
| clouds, leaden hued, scurried across
the heavens, 1.-THE fierce red light
nings glowed an flashed on a roar
he
up the gale, drivin' before it straight
unbroken rows of mountainous bill
lows, crowned on top same as with
| white yeast; then, like a fend turned
loose with shriekin' yells an below
| ms, down ~swooped the storm an
whipped big clots of foam from off
the waves, an hurled the heavy
swell far up the groanin' shore.
| Truly, the earth seemed frightened
! with the madness of the seas. :.
'''But in the house here we were
havin' a merry TINA We had a lot
of1the women and children from town
and "a couple of the young men who
were just in from trip and stopped
over to see us married. Old Cap'n
Thomas and the minister had each
just said a grace, and we were about
ito fall to and eat when suddenly some
one heard a faint signal gun. In a
minute feast;and everything was for
gotten; off rushed theIwhole comp pany,
men, women and children, Malcolm
And me with them, toszthez beach.
What did we see in the darkenihg
evening light? A vessel way out sea-
ward, pounding on the bar! Not a
| stick nor spar did she have standing
shorn of'everything by the force OF
| the shock when she struck, and the
big waves dashin' and lashin' clean
lover her.
''Not:a minute do we waste, but all
hands help drag the life boat down
to the edge of the surf and then quick
call for volunteers, brave fellows who
count themselves nothing if they can
| only save some one ,else's life. NV
Malcolm felt no fear;,he was the first
to spring forward and, though l clung
to him and beseeched and sobbed.
would not. heed me. He gave one
| last embrace ITO me, his new-made
wife, and turned ITO the boat.
"Vainly l begged him to remain
with me that first day, of our welded
life, but no, he counted his duty be-
fore all else. Oh, that | had died
then! My heart was filed with a
dark terror; twas torn and rent
apart with <anguishthat he would 90:
my head WAS swimmin' and reelin,
and ,crazed with the cruel smart of
his first refusal Knocked and cursed
him there. Aye. Cursed him for
what was only right, for the boat
WAS but poorly manned, there were
SO few men at the beach, and of
them, some were old and almost
crippled; but in my selfish rawlings l
1eit no pity for the poor ship in dis
tress, screaming again; and again
that wished it would ibreak up be-
fore they got started, and; that if
they went hoped newer to see any
of them again.
-'Saowly my Malcolm left his place
at the bow of the boat; if / live till
lm a hundred, WHICH God; pity me. 7
hope | won't. never can j forget the
| look / saw on his face ia the wan
light. e-.->-.."
'.tNell, darling, kiss me goodby.
Won't? All well, God bless you!' and
he was gone! 49, *~.t:
Down On the sand I fell in a dead
faint. What then? All, yes. I.lav
there but a moment; the wet sand on
my face brought me to- I stared
about me; none were left but a little
knot Of women and children huddled
together,crying and peering through
the gloom at the struggling boat and
a couple OF old men. still standing
waist deep in the water where they
had helped shove off. - -
..Now the surf is passed; they are
tossed on the great waves; down.
down they go far from sight in the
mad sea; then they come again up,
| up, 'gainst wind and tide, now
toppling on the point of some mon
ster billow, only to go plunging down
to meet the next, and pulling with
might and main to reach the wreck
that labored and strained on the bar
and threatened to go to pieces every
second. .sz5 i =.=55 !: ...sss