The Virginia enterprise., 1898-04-08
ONE Of THE NAMES DEAD.
BY NJ, X BREWSTER

By NJ. X. BREWSTER.
He was the boy of the miscellaneous
crew of merchantmen sailing from
New York in the fall of 1898.
In the early days of that voyage, when
! the mammoth blue wall of sea came roll
ing from northward, and the last little
birds, swept off shore by the gale and,
exhausted beyond fear, lighted about a
deck-chair that held burden of reawak-
ening personality, Jan Nelson's was the
first face to impress itself among the
many strange ones of those who came
and went in turn from the wheel.
heavy little body always clothed in blue
"dungarees,' save when the squalls
| came; then his wet, red cheeks glistened
above yellow oilskins and under Il drip
ping sou'wester. Soon all the men were
familiar, but he remained marked among
the others in the general duties of haul
ing. slowing, oiling, tarring, scraping,
polishing and painting of. that voyage.
"A boys life Oh shipboard is not an easy
one, and besides that Jan carried su-
perhcial appearance of stupidity. His
sluggish Northern movement and his
dumpy stature denied him the alert and
picturesque attraction that some boyish
scamen have.
He came into prominence one day in
the South Atlantic-one of those intense
blue days that seem born off Brazil,
ripples. the air hot, but livened by the
sweetest of all breezes that come when
the "trade' is caught and the tranquil
mind is centcred on the log-registered
progress southeastward that each hour
shows.
We-the cabin trio-sat on the house in
an atmosphere of teadrinking, sewing,
| and saimaking. Jan was at the wheel,
| motionless, with eyes fixed, alas! not on
the compass, but on the far-off horizon be-
yond which they were trying to follow
thoughts that had gone to home in Den
mark. Or, perhaps, still farther, into that
region where his destiny now has carried
him. But a rough 'tHoW's she head -
brought a rude restoration, and we were
discovered enough points off our course
to be merrily making homeward, which
| is !, Turing direction, but Numerically op-
posed to that of Australia. Jan stood at
the wheel long time after that, and my
heart ached for the something pathetic
that there was about his poor little pres
ence, the paleness that grew on his round
tanned cheeks, and the droop to his pa
tient young figure as the day waned and
the sun grew more and more trying.
l do not remember just when l was
surprised by the discovery that Jan was
! really sweet-looking Perhaps it was a
sunny morning in Newcastle when the
heat sizzled in the deck planks, and l
came upon him polishing brasses that al
ready We'd with the sun. In the relaxed
discipline of a crewdeserted ship, l
stopped to speak with him, and noticed
| then how steady his eyes were and the
goodness of his expression in the shy,
pleased brightness that warmed his face
| at being directly addressed.
After that always noticed him, though
| another long passage with no opportunity
for speech followed. But it was the
kCenest pleasure to hear certain state
| ments made OH his behalf in the cabin,
the decks. He was constantly in demand
and always cheerful: He ran and fetched
| and carried from the beginning to the
| end of his watch as the boy must, and
| then was at all the mems work. Always
| unobtrusive, but always learning steadily
and well. The time came when in the
toughest seas he was sent for to take the
WheeEa fine atonement for his bitter
days of learning-and no man watched
for and carried us over the staggering
| seas more steadily and better than he.
| He always was a quiet man, and that
| was greatly in his favor among crew of
| this kind. and he slowly won the respect
OF every grade on board.
When the mates interest at last be-
came almost fatherly, we learned more
about Jan. He kept soDer in port-an-
ether rare virtue-and from his scant
! earnings portion was sent to the poor
mother in Denmark. His honest, placid
| face reflected the pleasure of the rest of
us the day we left, the bleak Atlantic
waters behind, and, towing up the
Thames in the sweet breath Of the haw-
thorn he'd ges, passed, off Gravesend, the
white cruiser Chicago and two American
flags dipped just at sunset on foreign
waters.
We docked in the dingy regions of
Greenwich. The sailors. dressed in their
best and dragging their boxes, were swal-
lowed up ashore. Jan preferring, and
this time chosen, to stay by, became sole
occupant of the forecastle. He kept
watch at night and slept by day, and liv-
ing on cabin fare grew stOuter and more
comfortable-looking than ever. Again he
resisted the taverns and passed evening
after evening of those lonely, smoke
stained twilights of a London summer,
in solitude, with an accordion that he
never produced before the crew, but from
the homesick strains of which when by
himself, 1!s ne seemed to gather solace
the electric-lighted wharf his round head
bobbed above the rail to investigate, after
which he appeared at the gangway, Ian
tern in one hand and the other lifted to
receive wraps and parcels. Night after
night his steady tramp went at intervals
past our windows, until the early morn
ing hour when he was relieved.
From | do not know just what time
there had strengthened in me the desire
to know and tell JAMS story 1t is sur
prising now in looking over old journals
to see the number Of notes made all along
to that effect. for 1 could not have
short course in hand and would perfect
it's ending. Masters and mates are not
given to detecting the romance Of their
men. That is left to the woman passen-
gers conjecture, and my opportunity
came unexpectedly. J.. ~.E.~.r:. 4. Il I. ee2
1t was the August evening, that ended
a London bank holiday, day of rollick-
ing that naturally extended even to the
city's dock fringes. The scant ship
population had decreased until lastly,
"a fter tea, the steward and stewardess, in
the blissful incompetency of n honey
moon period, drifted out for peep at
the excitement that existed beyond the.
dock gates. and a great loneliness set
tied over the ship. Each trip to the
forward doorway showed me Jan either;
on his beat or putting at his pipe, rest
ing against the rail and gazing, as sailors.
do when off duty, to the horizons edge.
which here in London was smoke-veiled
brassy Even to- our isolated berth came
faint shouts. singing, and laughing now.
and then.
hesitated about going out rs Jan hss-s3
cause i tie light of shin etiouette d such lil