The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1894-02-09
MY FISHER LASS.

LuGEC was Il blllO hliOh l. hobS0 ohop
word "hunchback, " when, if people look
ed at me in the street, I felt desire I'M
comfortable almost to throttle them. But
do not feel that way now, thank God and
my little fisher lass.
This woman without soul made me
love her. She was as beautiful as dream
of Cupid when he lies asleep in the anna
ranth, for God had put into this poor,
weak, ugly distorted shell a passionate
soul, and one night when the music of the
orchestra made harmony with the throb-
bling of my soul | told her that Iloved her.
Ehe-she laughed in my face, and my
soul sickened almost unto death, and
hated the name woman.
was galloping my horse along the road
that leads by the Rocks that glorious o.
tober day, for hunchback as l was rode
well, and loved a horse.
Coming up the rocks with an oar in each
hand was girl.
Hearing the sound of my horse's hoofs,
she looked. Scarlet Tipped, with glorious
eyes and complexion Drowned by salt
winds and as glorious as the October day,
hated her for her beauty and without
second look dashed on by her, for in her
glorious dark eyes | saw the pity had
learned to hate.
The next. day while walking up and
down the beach cursing the fisherman who
was to take me out and who had failed to
come at the appointed time, saw her
coming down the rocks.
She was singing some foolish lovesick
ditty about lass whose sailor lad was
drowned at sea.
She came up to me and said, "My uncle,
sir, is sick, and SO | came to take you
out"
started to tell her roughly that did
not care to go and then concluded to
20. | climbed into the boat, and she
cast off the painter and took her seat
at the oars. How strong she wasl AS
watched her pull that boat so easily and
remarked her noble figure | could not but
compare myself with her. l. weak, mis-
shapen, dissatisfied with everything. l
had the wisdom of the schools She COM
muned with nature face to face. ] had the
wealth of mine and market; hers the
boundless wealth of sea and sky. looked
at her. Why not make her mine? Why
not take from her what lacked? 1t would
be fair eXchange-for her poverty my
wealth, for her ignorance my intelligence,
for her straight, strong, active form my
poor weak misshapen figure. | would do
| it. My strong soul should have strong
| body. My whole being throbbed with the
thought. l, who went out hating the fish
err lass for her beauty and her strength,
was rowed into the Rocks firmly resolved
to make her mine.
That woman without a soul had passed
out of my life.
As yet | was not loving the soul of my
fisher lass. How could | know that the
strong, beautiful body housed so match
less Il soulY
Every day afterward she rowed me out
to sea. saw in my fisher lass more than
outward beauty. Thank God, after awhile
the look of pity passed out of her glorious
dark eyes, and they panied me no more
when she turned them upon me.
She was rowing me in one day when I,
seated in the stern of the boat looking into
her face, saw the light that belongs to nei-
ther sea nor land. l crawled my poor
crooked body up to her, took the oars from
her strong brown hands with my weak
white ones, kissed her and asked her if she
could forget my twisted body and love me
| for my soul.
My fisher lass, oh, so gently, took my
head, so large in proportion to my body,
ran her fingers through the dark luxuri-
ant locks, with which nature had crowned
me as if in mockery, like England's crown
upon the head of the deformed Richard,
turned her great glowing dark eyes into
my gray ones and pressed her full scarlet
lips upon my thin, pinched, colorless ones
and-gave her soul to me.
She told me as | rested there that weeks
ago my soul had come to her bed as she
slept, and that she saw that my soul was
strong and tall and beautiful, and that
from that night she had never seen my
body She always saw my soul, strong
and beautiful.
had dreamed shat l had gone to the
little fisher CT bin out there where the creek
comes down into the sea and had stood by
her bed as she slept. 1t was no dream
then. My soul had gone to her that she
might behold me as | really was.
How happy wasl The sea, the sky,
the land-love made all the world so beau
tiful! loved her now for her beautiful
soul. My faith in mankind came back and
with it my faith in God.
One day-oh, my God, see the white
capped waves tossing the shell of boat
about nowl
She had gone out alone, and l had crept
down to the shore to meet her when she
came in, my fisher lass.
Away out there, tossing about like a
cork was her boat. | watched with a
glass. She was coming in, and how impa-
tient | wasl
A shadow suddenly spread over the sur
face of the water, as though an enormous
bird with outspread wings were lowering
between sun and sea. The swells began
to whiten and to toss themselves. A ter
ror took possession of me. | screamed
aloud. She heard me and waved her hand
her strong brown hand that looked white
against the black sky.
Higher and higher rolled the waves.
But she was coming. Nearer and nearer
came the boat, CALAMITY riding the waves.
They began to assault the rocks with a
roar. They leaped up at the boat out there
as hungry, white fanged wolves leap up at
a sleigh. l shrieked aloud, but the roar
of the storm beat back my cry. Suddenly
one huge, hungry wave leaped into the
boat. She was struggling in the water,
and stood there on the rocks, with puny
arms stretched out, while she was drown
ing, saw her glorious hair rise and fall
on the angry, cruel waves and her dark
eyes, so near was she. plunged in, but