Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1894-08-09


timbers and strips of sail. Poor Sem
illante! The sea had crushed her into
crumbs with one blow. Palombo with
difficulty got enough wood to build q
fence around his hut. As for the men,
nearly all Of them were horribly dis
figured and mutilated. 1t was pitiful
to see them clinging together in
punches. We found the captain in
gala uniform; the chaplain with his
stole. In corner, between two rocks,
there was little cabin boy, with his
eyes open. One might have thought
him alive; but, no, it had been decreed
that not one should escape" Here he
stopped.
Careful Nardi," said he, "the fire is
going out"
Sardi threw two or three tarred logs
on the tmbers, which quickly blazed
again.
Lionetti continued: 1.-THE saddest
part of the story is yet to come. Three
weeks before the disaster little cut
ter, which was going to the Crimea
like the Semillante, was wrecked in
the same way, nearly in the same
place, only this time we managed to
save the crew and twenty soldiers who
were on board. We took them to Boni-
facio, and kept them there at the sta
ton with us for two days. Once
thoroughly dry and on foot again, it
was good-by, good luck. They re-
turned to Toulon, from which port
they embarked again several days later
for the Cr;mea. And imagine on what
ship! On the Semillante. We found
them all twenty, lying among the
dead jus .s-here we are now. 1picked
up mys : . handsome brigadier, with
long i,ustaohe. strapling from
Paris whom had taken to my own
house and who made us laugh all the
time ', tn his stories. To see him there
crushed me. Oh, Holy Mother!"
Thereupon the good Lionetti, much
moved, shook the cinders from his
pipe, and rolling himself in his cape,
wished me goodnight.
Still under the influence Of the 1ugu-
brious tale which had heard, tried
to rebuild In my fancy the poor, de-
parted ship, and the story of this agony
Of which the seagulls were the only
witnesses. Several details which had
struck me, the captain in gala dress,
the chaplain's stole, the twenty SOL
diers, helped me to imagine all the
scenes of the drama. / saw the frigate
leaving Toulon in the night. She
loses sight of the port. The sea is bad,
the wind high. The captain is val
liant officer, and everyone on board is
undisturbed. In the morning mist
rises from the sea. They commence to
be uneasy. All the crew are on deck
The captain does not leave the bridge.
Between decks, where the soldiers are
shut up. it is dark, the air is close.
Some are ill, lying on their knapsacks.
The ship pitches horribly. 1t is impos-
slble to stand up. Sitting on the floor,
talking in groups, they cling to the
benches. 1t is necessary to shout to
be heard. Some begin to be fright
ened. Listen then: wrecks are fire.
quent in these waters; the sailors are
there to say SO, and what they say is
not reassuring. Their brigadier, too,
Partisan who always talks wildly,
"A wreck! Oh, wreck is amusing,
very. We will be well out of it after
our iced bath. Then they will take us
to Bonifacio, to eat black birds Witk old
Lionetti."
Suddenly crash! What is it? What
can it be?
1.-THE helm is gone," cries dripping
sailor, who goes running between
decks. Ron voyagew shouts that
mailman, the brigadier-but no one
laughs now. A great tumult on the
bridge The fog prevents their seeing
one another. The sailors go and come,
cropping along frightened. The helm
is gone. 1t is impossible to guide the
ship. The Semillante adrift, flies be-
fore the wind
1t is at this moment that the douanier
Just ahead, they hear, like the roar of
a cannon, the breakers! The breakers!
1t is finished. There is no hope. They
are going straight on the rocks. The
captain goes down to his cabin. He
comes up in moment to take his place
on the bridge in his full uniform. He
wishes to meet death in brave attire.
Between decks, the soldiers, in NOR
tai terror, gaze at one another without
word. The sick try to sit up, the lit
tie brigadier laughs no longer. Then
the door opens, and the chaplain with
his stole appears on the threshold.
ITO your knees, my children All
obey. In ringing voice the priest
begins the prayer for the dying.
cry, upstretched arms, clinging hands,
wild eyes, before which the vision of
death has flashed. Miserere
1t was thus that passed the night
dreaming, bringing back through ten
years the souls who had persisted in
the poor ship whose debris surrounded
me. Far away in the strait the tenn
pest ragged. The flame of the fire bent
under the blast, and heard our bark
thrashing and straining at her moor
ings at the foot Of the rocks.-Alphonse
Daudet, in Romance.
Association of Ideas.
Mr.. Barker, who claims to be at
nome In all that pertains TO good COOK
ing, was sitting on the hotel piazza
one evening lately, explaining to his
friends, Lawyer Thompson and Col.
Robb, the manner of preparing the lat
est fad in delicacies-the snail-for the
breakfast table.
Thompson was interested. but Robb
was quiet and seemed drowsy. Sud-
denly he frightened up.
II saw three of them playing mar
bles in front of the post office this
he remarked.
why, what's the matter with you,
colonel?" asked Mr.. Barker. Sim
talking about snails."
"Well, I'm talking about messenger
boys" said the colonel. go on with
your conversation. Golden Days.
Optimistic.
The turn Of mind which makes one
see beauty in everything is happy
possession. A gentleman OF poetic
disposition in passing with friend
<hrounh q nar1o on fxuhoyo nh orrx, <raoo