Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1896-07-16

In the year 1853 he was returning
from Australia. He did not tell me
what had taken him there, but sus-
pect he went in search Of health. He
was in a sailing vessel-the BLACK
Swan" was her name. There were
other passengers-men, women and
children. One night there was crash,
a horrible grinding sound, recoil, and
the BLACK Swan" quietly settled down
to the bottom Of the ocean. Whether
the disaster was due to a collision or to
a sunken rock was never known. All
was over in five minutes, and Julian
Lorraine found himself swimming for
life, yet without hope Of saving 1t.
In swimming, as indeed In every
manly exercise, Lorraine was all but I'M
into small boat, which, 1t appeared,
was gone when he felt hand on his
collar and was pulled all but insensible
into a small boat, which, 1t appeared,
was the only one lowered, or, at any,
rate, was the only one that had sue
ceeded in getting away from the wreck.
The sea, fortunately, was compare
lively smooth or the tiny boat could not
have outlived the night. When the
morning broke Julian Lorraine saw all
that survived of the ship and her
freight
Himself, four sailors, three women,
and baby IN arms!
The sailors were pulling, not from
the hope of reaching land, but to keep
the boats head to the waves. The
mother, with her child clasped to her
breast, and the two other women, were
crouching in the stern sheets.
In the boat were dozen biscuits and
small key Of water
With the light all turned to Lorraine
for advice and aid. He was man Of
commanding presence, to whom people
Of lower organization would natur-
ally turn in difficulties. He assumed
the responsibility.
He told the men to step the mast and
hoist what sail they thought safe, and
then to steer as close to the wind as
possible. He assured them that land
was not far off. His only reason, he
informed me, for taking this courEO, was
that he hated the labor of rowing. Any
hope Of their lives being saved he
secuted.
However, before night-fall, they die
reach land-a bare rock, but land.
BY this time one of the women was
lying in the bottom OF the boat, moan
ing, like one in agony. Her COM
panlons Of the same sex were exchang-
ing frightened glances. The poor thing
was carried ashore, and the true state
of affairs communicated to the men. A
tent or screen was by the aid Of the sail
and the oars hastily rugged up, and in
an hours time there were ten human
beings instead of nine on that barren
rock. But not for long. Before morn
ing the number was the same as when
they landed, only that the place Of one
| VI luC WOLhCu was lhhCh w q Va Ah6l
prematurely born infant.
The rough men and women did what
they could for the poor little wretch.
The woman with nursing baby gave
1t portion of what was rightfully her
own child's.
This, in Julian Loraine's opinion, was
the most rash and misplaced expression
Of false sentiment he had ever met
with.
Toward the evening Of that day they
scraped a grave for the mother. They
did not fill it up at once, thinking that
bye and bye the child must be laid in
her arms.
At one time It seemed that 1t must
be so. The sailors and the women, no
doubt, thinking that gentleman is
nearer heaven than themselves,
brought the poor little waillng atom
to Lorraine. and asked him to chris
ten 1t.
With death so close at hand to all,
1t was not worth while making any
demur; but l can fancy the mans syn
ical smile, as he sprinkled water from
a large shell on the child's head. He,
Julian Lorraine, doing a priests duty,
and doing it for the pleasure Of other
people.
However, so far as he knew how, he
baptized the child, and thinking that
name was indispensable, with kind
Of grim humor, christened him, for 1t
was a boy, Julian.
After all, no one else died, not even
the strangely born baby. The next day
a sail hove in sight. Such signals as
the shipwrecked party could make were
seen, and men, women and babies were
soon in safety on board homeward-
bound ship.
No one, not even her fellow passen-
gers, knew the name or anything about
the woman who had died. Her clothes,
such as she wore, bore no mark. Her
husband, II on board, had gone down
in the "Black Swan" What was to be-
come Of the child?
Lorraine settled this. Perhaps he
thought the child had certain ridicu-
lous claim upon him. He was no mig
gard with his money. He told some
one-he would not have taken the
trouble to see about It hlmself-to find
e. g. NJ