Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1899-02-24

bas they ,:diculed the story of the poor
man. chiefly. thought. because lit was
the yarn OF a Hollander."
Though | am Scotchman." began
Hislop-
And come of people naturally su-
perstitiGus," suggested Weston, paren
thetically-
AS all Drained races are" re-
torted the mate. while filling his clay
pipe with tobacco.
We'll. what were you about to say?'
asked Weston. But first fill your glass
and pass over the tobacco bag"
Il was simply about to reiterate that
| don't believe in ghosts, or value
them any more than / do the Yankee
sea serpent, ropes end, or piece Of
old junk; | never saw one. Or knew
man who had seen one; but every one
has heard of a man that knew another
man ~ho saw, or believed he saw,
ghost. 1t is at variance with the laws
of nature, which are so ordered that
no such erratic spirit can be"
Il don't know about that" replied
Weston; earth and water have their
inhabitants, so why not the air also?"
And why not the fire.
There you go, right before the wind,
into the troubled sea OF argument
you Scotchmen are all alike"
Ghosts are at variance with the
workings of Divine wisdom. and we all
know what Jones Of Maryland says
thereupon.'
No, we don't" said Weston; who
the deuce was he-what port did he
hail FROM"
He who cannot see the workings
of Divine wisdom in the order Of the
heavens, the change of the seasons, the
flowing Of the tides, the operation Of
the wind and other elements, the struc-
ture of the human body, the circulation
of the blood, the instincts of beasts,
and the growth of plants, is sottishly
blind and unworthy the name of man."
You hear him. Mr.. Rodney" said
Weston: now he has got both his an
Choir and topsails a-trip; he can pay
out whole speeches in this fashion, all
at a breath, as fast as the chain-cable
running through the hawse-pipe.'
Being fresh from Elton, | was not
going to let our learned Scotch mate
have it all his own way, when Wes-
ton resumed
If you will listen you shall hear a
strange story in which | bore prom
inent part"
LAS the ghost?" said |.
No; but YOU will soon acknowledge
whether or not | had cause for fear"
And after he had replenished his
glass and pipe. Capt. Sam Weston be-
gan in this manner:
About fifteen years ago 1 found
myself at MatanZas, in Cuba, the same
port we are bound for nOw-adrift.
without ship, and almost without a
penny in my pocket. among foreigners.
Spaniards and mulattoes. mestees and
QuadroonS, black, white and yellow. |
had gone there as second mate of shin
from Boston, but the tyranny of our
skipper wellnigh drove me mad. Dur
ing the voyage he had nearly killed
sending down the tOp-gallant yards on
a squally night. He beat them until
they were black and blue with hand
spike, and kept them for forty-eight
hours, dashed to ringbolts in the lee
scupppers, that the sea might break
over them, as he said, and cure their
sores.
when I interfered to save a poor
cabin boy, wnOm he had hung up by
the heels from the main-boom, and was
scourging with heavy colt till his
back was covered with blood, he pro-
duced bowie knife and revolver,
threading to shoot or rip me up
Just at that moment We were pass
ing a Spanish ship of war which was
at anchor in the bay, about half mile
from us, and had the red and yellow
lack of CASTLE and Leon flying at his
gaff peak. One of the poor fellows who
had been so severely beaten was then
in the fOretOp so | hailed him to make
a signal of distress to the Spaniard."
Ito be continued)