The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-08-18


! As groNneth one who trlvnileth.
| Not rpare th3u gavest. but sword
| To us, thy ranks.
| For what we have received Lord.
| We offer thanks!
| Julie NJ Lippmann In the Atlantic.
| -
BRAND0N'S DAUGHTER.
No, I've never been shipwrecked, nor
been in collision all the time I've been to
sea-a matter now of over forty Years.
But lye carried sunlu queer pAssengprs
in my timr. I'll tell you about two who
exercised Il powerful influence over me;
but whether for guud or evil you shall
hehr presently.
1t was in the fail of -, just when Oh
the eve of sai'iiig, that all did gentleman
stepped Oh board; and hurriediy ap-
preached me. He was tall, spare man,
with iron-gray hair, and had slight
stoop at the shoulders.
Good day, captain,' said he. Il only
heard this morning that you were sailing
for England, and fastened down to as
certain IT you could tnd accommodation
for myself and daughter ut 50 short no.
| tice''
"Ccrtainly.' l replied in my hearty
way; Il shall only be too pleased to take
YOU. AS it happens there are only three
passengers booked this trip and they arc
secon.i-ciass, so YOU can have the saloon
pretty much to yourselves
lie thanked me etfusively and aisap-
ptareu into the saloon. | marvtlrd ut
his prrcipitancy. aud wondered where
the daughter WAS I" CONT from, fbr she
| WAS not visible anywhere.
| gave Instructions tothe apprentices to
! nave their luggage conveyed Oh board.
and myself superintendent the slowing
away OF their trunks III the two Best
engaged, | hratrtl Il light football beiihd
me, and. turning arouhd, l beheld the
fairest vision OF loneliness that ever
frightened my salon.
My uaushtpr--Cai't iiarhott;" said
Mr.. kr"ndun; introducing us.
| WAS ny taken ;back by her exceeding
beauty that l awkwardly touched my
cap, and, with the wind clean out Of my
sails, stamnlcreu:
! Glad to see YOU, miss
She placed her soft little white hand
into my big, sun-browned paw, and look
| ing me suuarcly in the face out of her
laughing blue eyes, said:
I'm sure we shall he good friends,
captain. during the voyage
She spoke with IL charming colonial he
cent. and from that monteMt | was her
most devoted, humble servant, slave any
| thing you like. | Went head over ears in
love with her ut sight. You may smile,
but rvcollect was Il comparatively
| young man then.
Leaving them to arrange their cabins
to their own satisfaction, assembled the
companion steps and went TN duck. 1t
certainly occupied them Il considerable
time. for neither father nor daughter APP
prared Oh deck until the ship was we'll
outside the "Heads' and the tug had
returned to port.
That voyage hook back Upon lis the
happiest and sadtltst | ever made. Miss
Brandon was Il splendid sailor. In fair
weather Or foul she'd be on deck, delight
ing me with the admiration she expressed
for my handsome thrcc-maS tcd clipper,
and the childlikc naivcte of her uueS-
tons. | used to pace the quarterback
in the morning. impatient for her first
day it WAS like Il ray Of sunshine sud
denly bursting forth from Il lowering
sky. to see her emerge from the COM
panion hatch, looking as fresh as Il daisy
and Il thousand times more lovely.
Of course it was only natural that my
mates should fall in love With her also,
but she treated them with marked indif-
ference, if not absolute coldness Her
Smiles were all reserved for me- and she
laviShed them upon me in no niggardly
| manner.
There was /; piano in the saloon aud
often in the long evenings she would siMg
and play for my sole dclectutioh, while
would sit on the settee alongside and gaze
rapturouSly into her pretty face. The
song | liked best was Tom Bowling
and she infused such an amount of pa
thoS into her expression that the tears
would sometimes trickle down my wealth
erbeaten cheeks as she sang. An; those
were happy days; it Was hraveh while it
lasted.
! l have scarcely mentioned her father
yet. The fnct il, Was SO cngrossed with
so much attention to him Us perhaps |
| ought. At the best he was il saturnne,
uiasociable sort of person, who seemed
| to prefer his own company to other peo-
| pies, When not in his own cabin, where
he spent most Of his time. he WAS walk
ing. with his hands behind him. apparent
iy in deep thought, in the waist OF the
ship. Sometimes. when standing idly at
| tho break Of the poop, have caught my
self wondering if he had ever committed
Il crime, the remembrance Of which was
weighing heavily on his conscience. I
was destined soon to learn mort. about
! him.
One evening, when about nine weeks
out, was sitting in the chart house alone
with my idol. The second mat,, was Step
ping the plankS outside, old j johnson was
at the wheel away behind us, and the
watch on deck were lounging about for
| ward. Some days previous to this | had
! had the trmerity to confess my love to
her, and asked her to be my wife. She
had made me inexpressibly happy by
promising, subject to my obtaining her
| fathers consent This, after some de-
| mu:, he had granted, and that night the
| future appeared very bright for me.
We had been sitting silent for some
time, too happy for words, gazing on
the setting sun as it Disappeared INTO a
glowing mass Of golden trimmed clouds on
| the horizon, when, to my infinite amaze
! ment, she suddenly burst into tears.
darling, what is the matter!' l OK
! claimed in an agony of apprehension.
''Oh. Alfred, | have just heard such a
| dreadful story from my father. shall
never be happy again. We can never
Never be married. calculated,
! aghast "N'hyw
Because my father is IA criminal:
| Oh, I feel so miserable. l think l shall
throw myself overboard."
Alice. for heavens sake don't talk
! like that or you'll drive me mad What
something dreadful Oh. don't speak
| to me any more she Sobbed violently.
At that moment | was so mad that
felt half inclined to go down and tear
th, old scarccrow out of his berth by
| the cuff of the neck and demand what
| the deuce he had done to cause my dar
| ling such poignant grief. But | didn't
! Instead, drew her to my side, and
| kissed her tears away.
TELL me all about it, l said, sooth-
ingly.
well, my father, as you are aware,
! was an agent in one of tho banks in
| Arlington. Victoria, and it seems he en-
bczzled large sums of money belonging
F! to the bank to speculate with. OF course,
| he meant to replace it before the audit,
when the deficit would have been dis
covered. But he lost it, and that is why
| he fled the country"
rs that ALP said I, with a sigh of re-