The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-21

I
ms life in the island OF Ceylon to which
ne was returning. and as a stranger, like
myself, In Melbourne, we had no one to
snake hands with at the parting. there
fore we could afford to be amused AT the
representations of the people around us.
Also as we expected, Mr.. Norman or
LaIIranc, Kept to his bunk until we were
Wen clear of Port Philip Head; then he
came up, with the Welshman, and Joined
IN our promenade, making feeble puns and
Jokes IN a feverish and excited manner
put II ever L saw man glad to get away
from Melbourne, this fourth party was the
man.
CHAPTER 1.-THE MYSTERY STILL
UNSOLVED.
MY friend Mr. Wyllie was a terrible fell
low for making jokes, telling stories. pun
nus ~ ana selling his listeners with catches
ne was a born genius in this way and
could split joke up into two or three
parts, which, perhaps, he had read in
some comic paper, richening it and pre-
sentlng each part so up to date and apro-
pos to the occasion that it became un-
recognizable and almost as good as if it
mad been original He would give US one
portion at breakfast, the other perhaps i'm
the AFTERNOON, and then when we were
IalllnS asleep, he would lean on his bunk
ana genlally give US the full end taking
awake we tried to be- 1t is ASTONISHING
now easily man can be taken-in by a
comic plt out OF one of the papers when it
is adroitly divided, and how even an old
and fresh " "ppe'i young
l was the innocent fish that swallowed
az each bait that was presented to me
IaHy, the Welshman, had been worked
once, and ever afterwards he fought shy
OF the Wyllie flies; he would not ask q
question, no matter how patiently he was
Mr. Norman also tried his hand at these
JESUS, but ne had clumsy touch and did
not succeed well. He recovered his
spirits however, wonderfully as soon as
- a 1fcn 4
very soon, had gone the round of the pas
sengers, giving to each his secret and
salh5lnng some sympathy as well as help in
The first evening he came up to the deck
WIN new oVercoat likewise a new pipe
ana cake OF Ruby Twist tobacco The
who was forced to go without one. al
though the night was stormy and cold. 1
also saw that he used this borrowed ar
tcle pretty freely, not in the least mind
ing where he leaned or sat much to the
lenders silent disgust He also pitched
II, when he retired to his bunk graceless-
~ on the wet pIanks, leaving the owner to
smooth out the sleeves which he did with
gloomy discomfort. The next morning he
was up early, and as the weather was
milder, he carefully hung his own short
coat and vest on nail so that they might
De fresh on his landing, as he pleasantly
remarked, while he took formal possession
OF the oVercoat, which the poor Welshman
nae also purchased for the purpose of
landing in England, and only worn once
1t was impossible to keep from admiring
the politeness of the lender under this trial
this cool infection.
The tobacco and pipe this shipwrecked
mariner had borrowed from Mr.. Wyllie
and like the oVercoat, he used them az
freely as if he had an unlimited store to
draw upon, matches also which were
rather scarce and jealously-guarded
commodity, he used up recklessly for he
was a greedy and awkward smoker. SO
that his pipe required refilling and reliPht-
ing constantly.
II was this wholesale borrowing and
ruthless emptying Of matchboXes that
made the male passengers first turn cold
towards Mr.. Norman, for, when a long
voyage IS before one, and only a limited
passenger, it makes man feel murder
Gus to watch wanton waste of this kind
although 1t MAJ appear a trifling cause
OF annoyance shore.
Another weakness of Mr.. Norman's
winch did not tend to make him popular
was his love of argument and cock-sure-
ness on all subjects This slammed him
Australians generally are prepared to ar
que their heads off on any topic and, like
the German emperor, feel qualified to
The first night he showed himself to be
a denizen of the cities by his intimate
knowledge. of the Australian stage, and
al the performances which had been given
there during the past decade on this
point / let him lead, but when he began
70 disparage the London stage and from
that wide topic proceeded to critcise the
literature Of the age, / was forced to
point out one or two palpable mistakes:
then, he lost his temper, and made per-
sonal and nasty remarks about my igno- |
rance also Colonial habit. For a sea- |
man who had spent so much of his time |
on blue water, his range of city ways was |
somewhat astonishing.
Next morning, when | appeared on deck |
l round him in the center of an excited |
crowd who were angrly disputing his eff |
forts to teach them the duties of a sailor |
with the details of steam-engines ashore |
ana ahoat. There were several certif- |
Gated sailors amongst the audience and |
they were unanimous In treating his au- |
thoritauve statements with rude CON |
tempt. He grew once more angry and |
personal when they proved his errors. and |
shifted his subject to habits and customs |
or American fremen. Here again he was |
unfortunate, Tor one lanky and pale-faced |
individual, with a decided Yankee accent |
said calmly
II was fireman for ten years. both on |
The rail and on coastin' steamers all round |
them parts, and l guess you are speaking |
blank nonsense, and know no more about |
my business than you do about a ship"
we had nothing else to do except to tell |
stories, make bets on the days run, or |
oin in these discussions. and Mr.. Norman |
had decided talent for making his fell |
oW passengers wild when he began a fresh /
theme. He argued theology with a par |
son who CHANGED to be on board, and |
proved to his own satisfaction that The |
clergyman was altogether wrong In hts /
statements, for his opponent was too we'll /
pred TO continue the discussion past the 1
limit or good nature.
1 was amused also to hear him disputlng |
me laws or grammar with an ex-schoOl- |
master who CHANGED to correct him when |
ng on the deck.
II would say lie not lay" observed the
lchooimaster on this occasion.
can prove "