The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1897-11-02
LOST IN HARBOR.

running toward the land, bound for tn,
little port OF Fordham on the southern
coast. A steady breeze coming over the
water filled her sails and sent her slip
ping along at quite record pace. The
rich, warm sunlight turned her gray
and patched canvas into gossamer, gave
an airy lightness to her clumsy spars
flashed from the pinnacle cover anc
cabin skylight, frightened up the bit Of
green paint on her deckhouse and spar
killed. in the spray that shot up from un
der her bow as she rose and fell with
the motion of the waves till it looked
like showers Of diamonds Shorewaro
the faint outline of the land was just
discernibie through a veil of purple
haze Overhead the sky was flecked
with clouds that were ever changing in
their shape and tints, and as for the
surface of the sea, the hues Of it that
September afternoon would have defied
the brush of the finest artist that ever
lived.
1t was an ideal sailors day, and the
mate of the Alice seemed to think so al
he stood at the wheel, bringing his
eyes every now and again off the COM
pass case to glance aloft at the swelling
canvas or away over the iridescent sea.
He was young fellow of some seven OF
eight and twenty, keen of eye and
strong of limb, with no traces of gold
lace or fine broadcloth about him-his
dress being an old pair of check trou.
sers. a blue jersey and cloth cap Be-
side him stood the skipper, 30 years
older, with a fiery face and moist eyes
an ugly customer if you put him out,
but on the whole kindly natured man,
who knew every headland and every
sand bank round the British coast
Now and then you caught sight of a
shaggy figure In shirt and trousers NOV
ing about the deck forward, and the
sound of voices came aft from the fore
castle
The Alice had never sailed better
Already the little port was in sight,
and pretty enough it looked as they APP
preached 1t. with the spars of the ship
ping peeping up above the breakwater
behind them the red tiled roofs of the
houses on the quayside, and behind
these again the great square tower of
Fordham church. landmark to mari
ners tor many century, and all set in
frame OF chalk cliffs, green hills and
woodland and lighted up with the gold
en- sunshine that caught every scrap of
color that was anywhere about, from
the bit of bunting on a ships masthead
to the white houses upon the hillside at
the back OF the town To enter the har-
Dor today was child's play.
'If you keep yonder church about
eight points on your port bow, it'll
take you straight in, said the skipper
II dare say you could find your way
in blindfolded. remarked the mate.
The old man grunted and shrugged
his shoulders. Il ought to-" he an
swered. 81 We known it as man and
boy these 90 years. and many's the
time I've had to feel my way in, as you
say Only last winter l brought up off
here IN fog that thick you couldn' t
see halt a mile ahead of you, slack
tide and a light wind But l got in
without scrape.
Another time | was in charge of a
topsal schooner. got caught in a gale
in the channel and lost our topmast. A
heavy sea was running across the bar,
and thick snow squalls hid the land
every now and again put two men
at the wheel. kept the lead going, told
all hands TO hold on like grim death
and got IN without parting a rope yarn.
But | wouldn care to do it again. It's
all right when You get inside; but, as
you can see for yourself. when you get
strong sou wester and a heavy sea it's
dangerous port to make. The timbers
OF many a stout craft are scattered
along this coast In winter time. Have
ever been ashore hereP Yes; twice
The first time made mistake in the
tides and grounded outside the bar, but
luckily it was fair weather, and she
came of safely next tide The next
time | thought it was all up with us
We were being towed out In the teeth
Of half gale, when the hawser parted,
and we fouled the pier, carrying away
all the headgear and went ashore Just
inside the breakwater If it had been
outside she have been smashed into
match wood before morning But, though
I've been In and out of Fordham some
times two OF three times year for the
last 30 years. | never see that church
without being reminded of my first voy-
age and Its ending
II was slip OF a lad, barely 10 at
the time, and l d shipped aboard ketch
called the Pride OF Rochester, for want
Of better craft You know what that
means little food and plenty of ropes
end. that was my fare The skipper was
savage ana drunken one, too, and |
believe ii 1t hadn been for the mate, a
man named Tucker | should have been
pitched overheard before the voyage was
over Wewere bound here with cargo
of states The weather was fine, and we
had a good passage AS soon as we'd
the cargo we hauled out into
the river TO wait for orders The skip
per he goes ashore and right glad was
to see the back of him, leaving me and
Bob Tucker - that was the mate =
aboard.
"He was decent sort of chap. and !
think I'd have done pretty well anything
for him for saving me from the captain.
He tried his best to persuade me to give
up seafaring and settle down to some
trade ashore and used to tell me some
of the things he'd gone through since
he'd been to sea. / don't know how
many times he hadn t been shipwrecked,
but though | was pretty sick of 1t my
self, wouldn own up to it and used
to think it would be grand to be able to
tell such yarns as he could All, l don't
suppose he ever thought that was to be
his last voyage, but it was. 1t happened
like this: We'd been lying out in the
river for over a week, when there came
a change in the weather and after
cloudy and unsettled day or two the
wind got away to the sou west and began
to pipe up strong and in few hours it
was blowing heavy gale Craft caught
i'll the channel ran for the nearest shell
ter. Briggs and schooners came in with
torn sails and splintered spars, and one
or two of the fishing boats came to grief
OH the bar Before long there was
pretty lively sea all round the coast and
it was washing clean over the pierheads
yonder So you may guess that even in
side we felt it The ketch, being light,
pitched and rolled at her anchorage like
a cork, but we rode with good bit Of
cable. and there was no other craft near
us
1.-The next night the gale was at its
height Heavy gusts of wind swept
across the harbor. whistling and Shrek
ing wildly among the rigging, and bring