Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-06-25
LOOK IN FIFTY"

"A good many years ago was in
| Cape Town, having been forced by ILL
| ness 70 quit my post as second mato Of
n large ship bound to Bombay. a fort
night after the ship sailed recovered
my health and was fit for work.
Il remember one of those mornings
while 1 was hunting for berth. 1 was
watching Malay fishing boat sliding
through the water, with an occasional
burst of spray off her weather bow,
which archcd little rainbow for her
to rush through, when l was accosted.
turned. 1t was the port captain or
harbor master. l cannot remember the
term by which his office was distin-
guishcd. He had sailed with my father
some years earlier, and l had met him
on two occasions in England. He had
done me some kindness while lay in
lodgings in Cape Town and had assured
me of his willingness TO help me find n
ship when l should be we'll enough to
go to sea. He was a Scotchman, with
a hard. weather colored face and of a
dry. arch expression OF eye.
Dye see anything to fit yea said he
Aye, said l, a plenty
"'Wcll. now said he, you're the
very mon l was thinking of not half an
hour ago. was in Adderley street and
met captain who was here last year.
His names Huddersfield. He's in
charge of a colonial trader from n South
American port, with a small consign-
mCnt for this place, and is bound for
Sydney, New South Wales, where his
little ships owned, chiefly, l believe.
by himself.
HE pointed to u large three masted
schooner that was lying within 100
strokes of IN oar, almost abreast of us
She looked an exceedingly fine craft. A
large Dutch Indiaman was rolling upon
the swell of the sea within a few cables
length aStern of her, and just ahead rode
Z Russian auxiliary frigatc very heavily
SPARED, with great cleaning windows
in her stern and network of gliding
on either quarter, so that the blue brine
under her counter flashed as to the dart
of 4 Sunbeam Whenever she lightly sway
ed Yet the schooner held her own in
all points as picture of beauty and
was not 10 I've dwarfcd The gilded but
tons of her trucks ShOne high in the
azure of that afternoon. She was paint
ed white, and CLEAN of dark red, like
some cold wet flash of sunset, broke
from her nletalcd bends whenever she
was moved by the imflOwiug hcave of
the wa;g-.
when -,it on board, 1 found the lit
tie ship 4 very noble, flush dcckcd YES
sci, with a clear sweep of sand bright,
yachtliko pink running from the taffrail
TO the eyes The brasswork was full
Of the stars of the western sunshine
The glass of her Skylights was dark and
shining. Hcr ropes were Flemish coiled,
As though indeed she had been a man.
of-war Everything was clean and neat.
| guessed She was about 800 tons bur
den. Her crew had knocked off for the
day and were lounging about the wind
lass. two or three of them stripped TO
the waist, washing themselves They
had a colonial air. This might have
been Owin; Ia their dress of check shirt,
open at the breast. no braces, here and
there mo!cSkins and here and there
cabbage trCC hat.
Tho second mate. Il man whose namo
aftcrwari a>ccrtaincd was Curzon,
was walking in tho gangway, smoking
4 pipe. | inquired if Captain Hudders-
field was on board He asked me what
my business waS, rs though suspicious
of visit from stranger after working
hours. l WAS about To explain the reason
that had brought me to the schooner,
when Captain Huddersfield himself
emerged through the little companion
way and stepped on deck, pausing Il mo-
III . ..1,.,r,, Of hic h,nI 10 III
brow. To gaze in the direction of Cape
Town
He was tall, geutlemanly looking
person, thickly bearded, the hair of a
rich auburn. The skin of his face was
much burnt by the sun. His eyes were
of = liquid blue. and when he approach
cd and directed them at me l seemed
to find something glowing and tender
in them, rs though he We're an enthusi-
asst. man of strange, perhaps high,
but always honest, imaginings, n dream
er. His age seemed about 40.
That's the captain, said the sec,
ond mate
Il lifted my cap and walked up to
him. In n few words l told him my
business, adding that ! held not only o
chief mates, but masters certificate
of competency. He eyed me critically,
but with kindness, and nodded, with
something of gravity, ON my mention
ing the name of the port captain. After
we had exchanged few sentences he
took me into the cabin, a bright, breezy
little interior, aromatic with guam
tity of plants, which had evidently been
recently brought aboard, and cheerful
with mirrors and pictures, as though,
in short, this gentleman was in the
habit, when he went to sea, of carrying
his parlor with him, and bidding me
be seated he asked q number of ques-
tions, all of which I saw with much
pleasure, by the expression of his face,
answered to his satisfaction.
1.-The interview ended in his offer
ing me the post of mate of the schooner
IN a lump wage for the run to Sydney,
and early next morning went aboard
with my chest and took up quarters in
the cabin
''It breezed up ahead after we had
been at sea a few days. The Cambrian
looked we'll to windward, bat she was
still points off her course. Then again
the great Agulhas stream set Us to lee
ward, and our progress was slow. On
the 22d day of the month, we then be-
ing four days out from Table bay, the
weather blackened on a sudden In an
afternoon in the north, the lightning
streamed like cataracts of violet flame
ON those sooty sierras Of storm. the
thunder rolled continuously, but 1t was
not till the edge Of the electric stuff,
black "a TniduiOhk was over our mast
heads, with sea and sky dim and fright
full as though beheld in the deep shadow
Of q total eclipse Of the sun, that the
hurricane took rs
'"The schooner lay over till her star