The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-04-21
cOasa Not sssea. Gassroag 35 Pounds.

Z co., Rochester N. z.
journey full of happiness at the prospect
of seeing her husband and was all gay
ETY. on the voyage to Colon, counting
every mile that the steamer made as
bringing her so much nearer the object
of her love. She expected to meet the
LackaWanna at Callao She Travelled
under the care of the English representa-
tive of the Peruvian bondholders and
! his wife, who were on their way to the
Peruvian port, and no shadow of hel
impending fate came to cloud her happi-
ness. Crossing the Isthmus of Panama
she took a steamer down the coast and
arrived at CalIao.
When the coaster steamed into Callac
Mrs. Roper stood on deck and scanned
the harbor with anxious eyes, looking
vainly for a sight of the towering masts
of the Lackawanna- The ship was not
there, but was expected, they told her
on shore. She was disappointed. OF
course, but she could wait. 1t would
not be many days before her husband s
ship would come steaming in and the
gallant sailor find his waiting bride
Mrs. Roper took leave of the friends
with whom she had Travelled, they being
bound up to Lima, and was alone in a
strange land. The country had not got
over the effects of the war with Chile,
living was poor and the place was I'M
healthful. But Mrs. Roper could wait.
PASSED ON THE SEA AND KNEW 1T
NOT.
Finally news came that the Lacka>
wanna was at Valparaiso Mrs. Roper
took the first steamer down the coast,
confident that she would find her hus-
band in the Chilean port. But she was
doomed to bitter disappointment. When
she reached Valparaiso she learned that
the Lackawanna had sailed only a few
days before for Callac. Somewhere on
the sea the husband and wife who
never more were to meet in life had
passed each other, going in opposite
directions.
AT Valparaiso Mrs. Roper learned Of
the order OF the secretary of the navy
forbidding wives to follow their hus-
bands to foreign stations She was worn
with travelling and disappointments now.
and the Journey upon which she had set
out with such light heart had become
an anxious pilgrimage to the fraI and
lonely woman. The order of the secre-
tary added to her distress AS soon as
she could get steamer she returned to
Callao, hoping that at last she would
find the object of her long search.
Imagine her despair when, upon ar
irving at the Peruvian port, she learned
that the Lackawanna had been ordered
to Hawaii, and had left CaIlao a day
or two before. But the devoted wife
determined rot to give up her search.
She had gone on so far, she would go
on to the end.
HER LETTER OF PROTEST.
Before resuming her journey Mrs. Rop-
er wrote an open, letter to the secretary
Of the navy, which she sent to New
York for publication She protested
against the order regarding the wives of
naval officers, and said that she had
Travelled 10000 miles to meet her hus-
band, and that she would travel 10000
more if necessary, in spite of the pro-
h1bltion of the secretary. She closed her
letter with Whom God has Joined to-
gether let no man put asunder'
Mrs. Roper had good deal of her
mothers literary ability, and the letter
was at once singing rebuke to the
mead OF the department and a piteous
appeal from the sorely tried woman It
caused sensation not only in the navy,
but IN the minds of the public generally,
ana ehc1ted a general protest against the
Objectionable order of the secretary.
Mrs. Roper's health was failing, but
she would not give up and return to
New York. She calculated when the
Iackawanna would probably arrive at
Hawaii and determined to meet the shin
there. Taking a steamer to Panama,
Mrs. Roper caught a Pacific Mail steamer
bound up the coast and finally arrived
In San francisco. In those days the
navy was made up of obsolete ships like
the Lackawanna, and in going from port
to port they used to proceed a large
part of the way under sail. unless the
run was a short one, for their coal ca
pacfty was limited, and besides con.
gresS was inclined to look upon the hIIrn.
ing of coal by a man-of war as a wantor
and sinful waste. So the Lackawanns
was sure to make long voyage of il
from Callao to Honolulu, and Mrs Rona,
thought she would have plenty of TIM
to get to the Hawaiian port before he1
husband left there.
HER LAST JOURNEY.
Steamers did not run so frequently be
tween Honolulu and San Francisco I,
those days as they do now, and mrs
ROPER, instead Of waiting for the regu
| lar mail boat, took passage on a sailin,
vessel for the islands This was the las
stage OF her long and weary iournev
| and the last of her earthly pilgrima ee
Her frail body was worn out. On III,
voyage she was stricken with blindness
! and then with a disease from which sh,
|
cisco and Honolulu the object of he
hearts desire still unattained
her death caused a profound imDres
| slon' ana nothing more was heard of thu
! order regarding married officers AM
| their wives. The Lackawanna had no
| been ordered from port to port as sh
had been because Mrs Roper was fol
lowing her husband, but the effect wa
the same and the obnoxious order wa
| killed by public sentiment
IN trying to meet her husband tn,
! young bride had travelled $4,000 miles be
| fore death overlook her The fact tina
an older and more experienced woman
would not have undertaken the tasl
which Mrs. Roper assumed does not de
tract from the pathos of that fruities
pilgrimage and its tragic end
1t is a mournful story of navy life. an,
now 1t is all revived again by the heroi
death of Jesse Roper on the Petrol in a,
attempt to rescue one of his men from
! death by fire.
DeIicacies.
| INDIANAPOLIS Press