El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-10
The Sea Restitution.

| ii was difficult to believe, in spite of the
| log. that the ship was making any head
4 way at all. 1t seemed almost as if the
| world had ceased to be. or il it exist
| ed but in n state of fink. and as if we.
| enchan ones. nccursed with an i'm
| munity from the common destruction.
| were left to contemplate the nothingness.
| Then, 10 add to our sense of doom, a
| young bnby was said TO have died on
| shipboard- At first every one took il for
| granted that its mother must have been
| steeragc, or, at the least, a second abin
passenger. II seemed unlikely that dea tn
would he :" impertinent to enter the
first cabin. But il was learned that the
destroyer had been even more insolent
than that--it had taken child much IA
vored of fortune, the heir to great
wealth.
went to visit Mrs. MoreIl, the childs
mother. She was tall aud white, with
wide eyes. which must have been beauti-
full when she was happy. Now n sort of
Darkness, like that of the air and the
sea. had come into them.
! could not see her soul for her sorrow.
She offered confidence; indeed my
sympathy could not reach to her dulled
sense. Her grief WAS between us. impen-
etrable as the fog through which the
ship crept cautiously.
''rhc captain asked me IL I would be
willing to have my baby buried at sea-"
she said to me in voice which reminded
me of a mournful bell. land I told him ]
had no objection whatever"
NO ! calculated in amazed surprise.
Nothing is more peaceful than the
deeps of the sea-" she responded, and il
being night she asked me to walk upon
the deck with her under cover of the
darkness.
More in sympathy than from curiosity
I inquired:
"Your husband is awaiting you in
America 2"
Yes. she replied, her voice strangely
colorlesS. He will be at the wharf. He
viii expect to see the baby in my arms.
He has never seen the baby. you know.
l have been with my mother. who lives
in Paris. and the day that baby was 3
months old l started for home
We paused 10y the bulwark. and she
looked down into the shadowy trough Of
the wave
1T will make n soft cradle" she said
Her courage wrung my heart
Where do you find the strength to en-
dure such crieff'' cried.
Indeed" she responded, with the
mournful shadow Of a smile. that i can
not tell 1t does not seem as il it were
renIlyI who has met with this great mis-
been altered and whose homes have
been so dashed. surely ! wrI-ii not be
fearless like this. 1t is Adcl.. '.,y nurse.
who weeps."
The next morning the captain read the
burial service with solemn accent. and
into the colorless sea. through the white
vacancy of the fog. the little one was
lowered reverently. I stood beside the
mother. and I would have sustained her
with my arm but that she gently repulsed
me- She swayed little from side to
side. but there were no tears on the face
that looked out of the quaint pointed
hood of her sea cloak. Sh" stared ahead
OF her ut tn" stupid foG-she looked haf-
fed. into ohSCurity.
Suddenly. an hour after the funeral,
the mist lifted. 1t rolled up as curtain
rolls up. and il was a saffron color.
cleaning and splendid. When il had
lifted. sparkling sea was revealed and n
clouIlcSS sky. The world became ra-
diant. II seemed to exult in its beauty.
Mrs Morcll cast look of reproach ut
thi. vauntinG OF natures youth and joy
and went To her cabin.
Through the day messages We're sent
her AMI delicate evidences of sympathy.
bur l"r mail alone returned thanks. The
next E,nv:.in. found her still in secluSon.
More than one of u~ thought of invading
that sacred solitude. but ut the last
forborc.
1t was the afternoon of that day that
the man on the bridge espied an object
upon the horizon at the south. 1t was a
black speck. visible in n short time to all
of us
ITS n ships longboat." was the YER
diet NJ last 1T is manned and flying 4
flag of distress"
The course OF our ship was changed.
We went racing through the green water.
- III
action. the event.
Presently we were standing off eau
tiously from a longboat manned with
haggard men.
"NVho are you?" shouted the captain |
rs the companion ladder was being low
cred.
"AIl that are left of the crew and the |
passengers of the Nina Celeste. SIR"
''IIow lost:'
"By fire. sir. two nights ago. The first |
boat lowered capsized. The women
there were two-were lowered into it. |
But the men were frightened, the flames |
made such Roadway, so they jumped. |
We arc all who remain. Three of us |
were picked up from the overturned boat |
but the others were dragged down in the |
swirl of the boat; it got to going round |
and round"
''Was the Nina Celeste n freighter?"
"a freiGhter. sir. bound from Bermuda |
to New York. carrying n cargo of lilies |
and hemp. 1t was out OF its course ow- |
ing to fog"
The boats load came on board-15 |
pale men-and one of them carried some
thing in his arms.
What do you carry?" asked the cap
tain. rs it q child:'
''Ycs. sir. 1t is the babe of one OF the |
women who were lost. l was just about |
to hand it down to her.
There was n sharr cry from among the |