Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-05-14

!. !. J. J. !. !. !. !. |.
/ N
fs, W. VaIp araiso. A
week before that
ltaEDD bright windy
March DAY when
MN she spread her
IN broad wings and
1s caught the ocean
swell Of Sandy Hook, nothing had
been farther from my thoughts
than voyage round the Horn.
A trip by balloon, an exploration
Of African wilds, or or n raid on the
north pole would have seemed propo-
sition as feasible as this venture to the
southwark, 10 a young physician strug-
Cling Intellectually to prove that the
community had need of him and that
the years Of preparation for his profess
sion had not been thrown away.
1T was chance the first that Capt ABB
ner Peck should come back from a
voyage to the west coast to find the
wife of his bosom in failing health, and
tc resolve to take her with him on his
next run to the farther side of the sis
ter continent. 1t was chance the sec
ond that, in his anxiety for his spouse,
the skipper should decide TO ship a sur
geon; rs part owner of the Mary Peck
he was entitled to some Injuries. 1t
vas chance the third that the captain
and |, Alfred Morris, NJ. D., should meet
at the house of a friend in the New Eng
land city in which was striving to arm
mig daily bread; ard it may have been
chance the fourth that we fraternized
with uncommon cordiality. The sea-
man told me something OF his plans;
| confided to him the story of few
skirmishes Of my uphill fight. The talk
ended in his making definite PROPOSE
ton. | asked As hours to consider it.
and accepted it in -. In going TO sea
! gave up little. A few patients, chronic
as to maiadies and uncertain as to pay
ments, would he forced TO seek d new
medical adviser, in exchange for them,
| bargained for passage on a fine ship,
forgetfutness of the landlord bugbear.
and pay sufficient TO supply spending
money at the POI is we might touch at
and TO bring me home with a little
loose silver in my pockets.
Once the die was cast. the thought of
the voyage flied me with glee; for it
offered irst prospect Of adventure,
though from boyhood mine had been an
existence of vicissitudes. Leftan orphan
in childhood, had grown up into my
teens under the care Of an uncle, an
elderly bachelor, who treated me with
mixture Of the fondusss he felt for
kinsfolk and tie distrust he manifested
toward those debarred from the suf-
frage by circumstances 81 age or sex.
He did not understand children, and he
feared women. lie owned a small fac
tory IN Rodneytown, a village on tho
New England coast which had closed
its days Of progress about the middle
OF the century, but which still mann
tanned activity enough to keep it alive
My une'e seldom attempted to inter-
tere with my amusements, which, as il
happened, generally took me out of his
sight and hearing, thereby, no doubt,
gaining his tacit approval. | was a
rather solitary little follow in those
days, with liking for prowling about
the fields and along the beach or pad
ding crazy raft up and down the
shallow tidal streams in which the
neighborhood abounded, and on the
banks of the largest Of which Rodney
town was buflt. Behind the village
rose long low ridge. and beyond that
ii turn was rolling country, well
wooded and fai9ly fertile. Between the
ridge and the beach stretched lowlands
fringed on the seward side with salt
marshes, and penetrated in many places
hy the tidal creeks of which mention
has been made For farming purposes
the lowlands were OF littlevalue, and at
no time had they many dwellcrs. In
fact, to this day there is scarcely a habi-
tation To be found from one end OF the
plain TO the other, though a little way
up the slope of the ridge " hieh bounds
il are several clusters OF farmhouses.
| found fascination o. kind. in this
waste region, which seemed to belong
hardly more to the land than to the sea,
and spent many happy days exploring
it. Here and there. rising from the
marsh, were rocky hillocks, steep
sided, and dotted with dwarfed trees
and bushes wherever, by accident, suf-
ticicnt soil had collected to give the
roots covering. On one of these islands
las they may be called for want of
better term-I discovered house. old,
and long untenanted, but not dilapi-
dated. Why its builder had chosen its
site as he had was not TO be explained,
f.Nx. 1entr l,.No., sfna,1 a,,l