The Newtown bee., 1898-03-04

describes this winter vision of wreck and
sorrow ia the phrase of our text; 1.-THE
sea gave up the dead which were in it."
They belonged to the land, these hardy
heroes of the storms misfortune, and to
the land the cruel breakers bear them.
The tempest has done with them what of
mischief and hurt it could, and now that
it is through with it's evil and destructive
play i5 losses their wet bodies ashore,
the desolate relics OF wind and wave, for
a strangers hands to bury, if no beloved
inmate of the home or companion OF
the love of the heart appears to claim
Fellowship with the frozen form. Oh!
the sea is terrible, and when the wind is
up in desperate fashion from the north
east, and blows the spray and the falling
snow into one solid mass and pounds the
vessel and the cordage with it until they
are rigid, the rudder chain immovable,
the rudder itself set rigidly fast in its
socket, the mercury at zero or below, the
sails stiffened into sheets OF steel, retus-
ing to be either hoisted Or lowered,
EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING AT THE MER-
CY OF THE GALE.
Mercy Mercy! There is no such thing /;
it is banished from the winter sea-every
lhi4g at the wrath and pitiless clamor of
The storm, then it is We begin to under,
stand what is meant by the power Of the
forces Of the sea, why it lie that neither
ship nor man can live them down, that
Rreckage marks the waves and shore, land
human bodies stripped of half their
clothing and cut by the knives of the
savage rocks are thrown ashore ON the
lodges of Magnolia or the beaches of
Cape Ann.
1t is dreary memory, but l mind it
we'll of seeing three such hapless men
lying stark and rigid or Delivers Neck.
This stood thrust out into the sea half
way between Gloucester and Manchei-
ter. Away there, perhaps three miles
off, is the open throat of the harbor. Be
yond is Cape Ann ligh. and then the
open sea. In fair weather a good port
and not hard to make, plenty of water
and sea 70 om, and the lines of coast well
marked. Beyond the light, no great
danger If far enough out so that the wild
cavortings of the storm as they strike
the vessel and turn her hither and
thither will bring her into no collision
with another or dash her on ledge.
NOTHING A SAILOR LIKES so MUCH
as an open sea. He will catch the gale
in the fury of its power, but he will
trust to the wilderness of the ocean and
the strength of the oaken spine and the
stout ribs the shipbuilder down in Maine
has ransacked the forests about Katah-
din for. But once the vessel is caught
in the teeth of the gale and driven on be-
fore it with no chance to use the sails
because they are frozen and likely
enough with only q spar for RAIDER be-
cause that Is locked also in the ice, a
northeast storm would hurl him on the
sunken lodges or break him to pieces
against some other equally imperilled
boat. So it was with this coaster. The
day before we had watched her from the
schoolhouse yard, well set at the top of
the hill, and saw her through the spy
glass Of the master as she was driven
laudward with wind and sea. Old cap.
tains said she can escape only by mira.
Gle. No help from land because no life
boat can be launched. The sea is run
ming up into the Eastern avenue and
flooding the cellars there and leaving
the salt crust on the ports and
door steps for days afterward. Next
day Saturday, holiday -and the boys
take tramp for the spectacle of diaas
ter. The snow had ceased, but the winds
were still mad though not at their worst
Over the old causeway the waves were
breaking. Beyond is the Neck as we
called it--almost an island. And there
on the outside, driven in among the
rocks, a little narrow bed Of sea gravel