Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1895-08-17

ana perhaps 1mprudent pair, who, with
their darling between them, were all
in all to each other, and needless of ali
beside.
The old Hindoo had formerly lived
several years at Prone, whittier he
had gone in the capacity of bearer to
an English commissioner; he therefore
knew the Burmese character well, and
could speak the language with toler-
able 1uency.
There were many friendly" Bur-
mese at Rangoon at this time, deserters
from Dallah, shrewd fellows who had
foreseen safety in British ascendancy,
and, being mostly fishermen, , had offered
themselves for "Inglee" muslSets for
the noncc, with a sharp eye to profit
able nets thereafter. Indeed not few
of these calculating traitors had taken
to their old trade already, md were
busy plying their poles and hooks from
crazy canoes at the mouth of Kemmen-
dine creek. 1t was not long before
some of them, nailed by old Buxsoo,
the bearer, came alongside with, as he
said, fish for the Mem Sahib, his mis-
tress. On these occasions he conversed
with them in Burmese, and whoever
watched narrowly the astonished and
anxious faces of the fishermen must
have observed that neither the fresh
ness nor the price of their finny prizes
formed any part of the discussion.
1t was dark night, no moon and n
cloudy sky; all hands had gone below
and turned in" some hours since The
officer of the deck, night-glass in hand,
paced the bridge" or leaned over the
rail and watched the lights ashore,
while the quartermaster patrolled tho
rangways. But these were not alone
on deck; on the bullring of the after
gun the pale and fearless widow sat,
still as shadow, and peered through
the darkness shoreward towards where
the Eighteenth's lights cleaned from
the Golden Dragon. Such was her
nightly wont, and officers and men had
become so accustomed to it that she
sometimessat there till after midnight,
unhee6ed and forgotten.
The young officer still chased with
his eyes the restless lights, and
dreamed dreams the while of homo
and of sweetheart; the gruff old
quartermaster paced up and down, and
thought of prize-money and the "old
woman" Neither had eye nor thought
for the poor lady, they were so used to
her lonesome ways, dye see, else they
might have found something unusual
in the anxiety with which she watched
singular object in the water astern-
only an empty canoe drifting toward
the ship! Not drifting, either; for now
that point them out to you, you can
see two black heads, with long hair
twisted in barbaric knot behind,
peering warily above the water in
front of the boat, which seems to fol-
low them.
The lovc-lorn youngster, or the gruff
old quartermaster on prize money in
tent, did look toward the bullring a
little later, and saw - nothing: the
lady was gone. Whittier? To her
cabin? No; she could not have passed
them unobserved. But that was easy
to decide; her light still burned; her
state room was open and unoccupied.
| Where then was she? Good heavensl
1t could not be; and yet it must-poor
lady! Poor baby! They gave the alarm;
they reused the ship; a gun was fred;
q search was made, in vain; alas it
must be So She has gone to join her
husband"
True! but not that way, gruff old
quarterm rmastcr's mate. Stop thinking
about her; have ears and brains for
your duty. What was that shot on
shore? And, bark, now! another, and
another, and another! the alarm is
given in the British lines; the sentries
have discharged their pieces and run
in! See! the place is all ablaze with
lights; every poonghee house is illum-
mated; you can discern the great
porch of the Golden Dragon, with it's
griffin wardcrs, from here. They are
beating to arms; the trumpet sounds
the assembly" What could that first
and solitary shot have been?
All! my nautical friends, while your
sapient pates were busy guessing, that
pair of barbaric black heads have
drifted uuder the stern again, and the
same canoe has drifted with them-nor
empty this time; for, look again, and
you will see that her light is no longer
burning, and her stateroom door is
closed, though the window is open;
apd-yes, you do hear her breathing.
Wait! spare your heads the guessing;
it will all be cleared up for you one
day. Wait till you dare to ask Norah
Fallon why she makes SO much of that
withered white rose.
Gen. Godwin's next dispatch to the
governor general contained curiou,
passage: "On the night of the 18th
the environments were thrown into dis
order by false alarm, caused by the
mysterious discharge of pistol in the
talipot grove, which inclosed the grave
of the late Adjt Fallon, who fell
gloriously in the attack of the Dragon
pagoda; the spot is close to the Sepoy
lines of II. NJ. Eightieth. My men
maintained good order, answering the
assembly call with remarkable celebrity,
ano in complete equipment.
"At daybreala Sepoy of Maj. Ainslie's
picket found dead boa of great size,
and evidently just killed, lying across