The Virginia enterprise., 1898-04-08

an irregular course might eImbarrass the
boy But eventually / went, and am
sure TINT he was ns lonely us I, and as
grateful for companionship. So there in
the damp brown evening, shut in by the
rows Of coal and storage-sheds and the
more distant weaving Of masts, yards
aud smokestacks, we talked for hours. as
sometimes people will talk who never
spoke together before or will not speak
again. 4z ...-. J:
He told the story of his twenty years,
Of his birthplace on the shore Of big
river. How he always felt the river urg-
Ing him to the sea, while his mother held
nm back. OF a childish escape from her,
when, embarking in tub. he made his
nrst voyage down the rushing river, only
e be rescued by chance from the hand
tnat death on the waters stretched to-
wards him then. And. at last, of his
night from ship in Copenhagen to es-
eape lmpressment to military service.
Return to his own country then meant
Imprisonment, followed by service in the
navy. He had been away four years.
and must wait six more before he could
return to the widowed mother and his
nlne young brothers and sisters.
On an English ship he went to Calcut-
"a, and there were few countries that
ne had not seen since. After experience
on American ships, his ruling ambition
ana desire was to enter the United States
lowed, he had investigated the matter,
and his plan of action, formed to be
followed upon his next return to New
York, showed how deeply he had delib-
| Grated upon it. But he wanted confrma
ton and advice, and as he questioned for
this there gradually grew in his face that
which was an assurance that in the end
ne would accomplish whatever he set out
Tor. whether outside help came or not.
Some months later we came into New
York. Jan had so risen in favor that a
! regular berth and promotion on the ship
was in store for him if he wished to re-
main. Some time before, to the great
satisfaction of my own interfering sense
Of the fitness of things. the ordinary
seaman" that had marked his name diff
fercntly from the others of the crew list
on the articles had been changed to able
seaman, with the slight advance in wages
that that alteration of title implies. But
before leaving the ship was pleased to
hear that the determination he had con-
hdcd remained. A word to the kindly
mate secured little aid as to his course
in applying at the Brooklyn navy-yard,
and not long afterwards Jan Nelson was
| seaman i'll our navy.
In his routine there and my own alb
him for a time, and scarcely realized how
the passing years had furthered his steady
little course, until that morning that
thrilled us all not many weeks ago, and
found myself waiting, with that curious
certainty that accompanies some horrors.
for the published list of the dead of the
battleship Maine With it came the name
that knew was printed there
Yet, even now, it is hard to realize that
that enduring little figure lies under the
yellow waters of Havana harbor. | have
seen again so many pictures in which he
stands-often at the wheel, sometimes in
We sang on deck and told stories in his
hearing and he held the big wheel so care
fully, lest it's sudden jar break the peace
of it all and the flow of the narrative;
sometimes, in winter gales, dashed at the
wheel, muff1ed against the frozen spray
that swept on the steep, washed deck.
Some show him as he used to be. awed
and conscious, when the captain loomed
near and let his keen gaze sweep wheel
and compass; always anxious but un-
tiinching then, and with his own eyes,
ing rapidly from pinnacle to overhanging
sails. Others paint him barefooted, with
his old straw hat pushed from his drip
ping forehead. pattering busily about our
decks, or as he modestly waited in the
cabin on Saturday nights, when the
sailors came aft for slops; and some
times, as on bright Sunday mornings in
port, when he came aft in clean shirt.
dark trousers and carpet slippers. Often
hear his ready "South 'vestly' vest
sir" and more often than all. borne aft
cheerful "All is Vell!''-New York Even