Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-07-18
LOST AT SEA.
By Georgiana ". Craik.

A.ILEE ND l..N 49, L-LH sunshine. ri EIE1I
black. noble animal, with his work in
this world done. ! was stauang at his
side looking at him when my friend
came mp and Joined me.
Are YOU trying 10 make friends with
our Old Bruus?" he said 70 me. All,
he doesn't care much for making new
friends now. He would only like to
ind the old friends again that he
buried long ago i'm chat mysterious past
OF his
My friend stopped as he spoke. and
s,rol5ed the great, soft head Poor
Bruus," he said poor, old faithful
dog"
70 wAs not much of q story, yet 1t
was rather curious. About five years
ago my friend and his family We're
staying during the summer at little
seaside town on the north coast Of
France. u was a quiet and rather dull
place. except that It's harbOr was al
WAYS lively with the coming and going
of fisher boats and collier brigs, and
such Ike craft, the watching Of which
was quite an endless delight TO the chill
dreu. who. indeed. spent every moment
they could steal from morning 10 nishs
down az the quay. staring with all their
miglt and as often as they could doing
more than staring. al all that went on
there.
I, was q fine. great open sea, that
even in the summer was rough al times,
coming mmbling often in great waves
over The beach and covering the pier
with showers Of spray. Charlie and
Willie were always In state OF huge
delight whenever those big waves
came rolling landWard. They used,
every morning. as soon aS they went
out OF bed 70 run TO their bedroom
window with little shoeless feet and
bare LEGS. 70 see whether the white
crests were there.
OF course they never thought Of any4
thing-for they were very small crea-
tDres-but of the fun that il was to see
The leapng and rolling water, and Of
The delight Of being sent scemperius on
the beach when some bigger wave tha1
an the rest would run after them as it
br'Dlyo uD0n the sands, as if il were re-
solved 10 catch them and wet their
stockings and shoes, at least, let their
f,tle less fly as fast as they would. 1T
mus. De- rough az sea, their father and
mother used 20 say sometimes IN their
hearing. especially during one week.
when the north wind blew with q
strange wild roaring, and down abou,
the pier the fishermen stood looking
through their glasses out 70 sea, anX-
i0usly shaking their heads now and
then. bur Willie and Charlie only
crew meruier as the wind blew strong
or they thought that 10 be ont upon
the beach when they could not keep
their footing and when the very air
was white with spray. was the finest
fun that they ever had in al their
lives.
Il wish =, would blow like this for
ever, Charlie would say
And then While. who was the young
est. and who never liked to be Outd0ne.
would cap Charles speech. and cry
with enthusiasm, Il wish IL would blow
ten times harder
One bright, warm summer morning,
with just wind enough to make a little
curl upon tbe waves, and % fill the sails
"a the fisher boats put out There. were
vessels coming IN this morning, as we'll
Us leaving the harbor Several brigs
that had been expected for some days.
and that the storm had delayed got
into port to-day. But there was one
especially that among all the rest at
tractad the BOYS attention. 10 was an
English collier, standing on whose
deck as she came near, they saw
great. black. noble Newfoundland dog.
The creature was standing upon his
four feet. taking no notice Of any one.
but slowly moved his head from side
90 side. as iii hewere vainly looking for
something that he could not find
standing quite still, so passive that
even when the boat touched the quay,
and people came up and s,rOked and
spoke 70 him, he merely let them do IL,
and never moved so much as the tip or
his tail in answer 10 them.
The children had caught sight of him
with a shout Of delight. "Oh, see what
a big dOgw Willie had cried, and, clap
ping their joyful little hands, they
started forward 70 get as near TO the
brig as they could. They saw several
people gathered around the cdeaJure
presently. and upon that they pushed
their way into the boat. too, squeezing
In cleverly between the sailors legs,
aim they got quite close 20 where the
dog was. with the master OF the brig
standing by his side, and telling THIS
sad little story.
In the gray Of the summer morning,
ne was saving, almost as the French
coast was coming into sight, one OF the
crew Of the brig had seen q little blacA
dancing on the water faw away. they
could not tell what It vast was too
indistinct for that-but they knew it
might be a drowning man, 50 they low
erred their little boat al once and made
for him as hard as they could pull But
II was no man When they came near
-bav found nothing but this poor lost
dog. floating on a bit Of wreck, the spar
of some vessel that had probably foun-
7pred i'm the storm. and gone silently
down with her crew. They took him
into their boat and brought him back
with them. This wass all his story.
Here he stood now-dazed, hall
starved bewildered, looking with
strange ewes at each strange face about
lim-dumb through il all. As the
master of the collier told the little story
more than one pitying hand was put
forward 10 stroke the big, black head,
rut the creature'to0k no notice OF any
one of them. only stood quite still,