The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-17
T Asst CRUISE
l. OF THE MARY ANN.
An Account Of How Capt. Hope.
we'll o! Salem Traded
Ships at Sea.

cart Elisha Hopewell of the brig Mary
An, If salem had been repairing and re-
n,;u,inp and making his craft ready for a
,oyore 10 London and return. The year
ga. 1856 and boy and man he had been
sailing for over thirty years.
Although he had owned and commanded
l tho MARY Ann for ten years, she was by no
mesu, a new craft when he got her. In
/ naLinr repairs he had found many signs Of
i x,aLness. and as he finished his days work
o,d TAR ID for home his knees were stiff
and his hack ached.
He reached his house to find his wife
Nancy. and supper waiting for him, and as
critically and for the first time noticed that
there were gray hairs among the brown
on her head
Elisha have you lost your jack-knife
NJ heard that your brother was dead?'
quietly asked Nancy after awhile
No" he answered, and followed the
word with sigh.
"Mchbc We are comm down with measles
Your mother says We never had EN- as a
l boy
Mshbe am" he gloomily replied.
Nancy waited for three minutes to see
II he had an explanation, but as none came
1 sne hriskIv said:
Now look here. Elisha. know all about
Il, and I've bin sort o spectin' this thing
would happen any time. You've been
overhaulin' the Mary Ann. and you've
found she's growing old. You've found
out the same thing of yourself, and you've
suddenly seen it III me. 1t has struck you
all in heap, and you feel glum over it,
Then. by Josh, you've hit it," exclaimed
the captain, glad to have an opportunity
10 talk it over.
Wall. there amt no call to cry over it,
She continued Ever since you got this
charter. I've made up my mind that it
would be our last voyage"
But how can it he. Nancy"
Il won't be so hard. We are purity we'll
on fur common folks, Elisha. That n,
we've got enough money to start you in
ship chandlery, and we own our own house
and lot No fear but what we'll come out
alright We must give up the sea to younger
iniks"
They talked 1t over for couple Of hours
and i, was fully decided that when the
Mary Ann returned to Salem her last voy-
age under Capt. Hopewel would he ended.
Perhaps an astrologer might have warned
them that there would be no homecoming
for the brig which had borne them safely
over so many leagues oil ocean. hut there
was no reader Of the future al hand.
j. got to be known over Salem that Capt
Hopewell was making his last voyage and
when the Mary Ann cast of from the wharf
there was a big crowd at hand to cheer her
departure. and wish her a safe return, She
headed out into the Atlantic on a summer s
afternoon. and as the Massachusetts, shores
faded behind them Capt. Elisha said to
Nancy
BY Josh, then, Nancy, but it seems as if
A piece Of that beef We had fur breakfast
had got stuck in my throat
ITS a sort O. weakness of our feelips'
Elisha" she replied as she turned away
to wipe her eyes. shut I guess we've de-
cided fur the best
For a thousand miles, headed toward
the rising sun, the Mary Ann was driven
as she had never been driven before. There
was a piping breeze. and 1t scarcely varied
q point, and a third of the run had been
marked of when there fell fiat calm.
II was noon when the wind died out
and the man sent aloft reported the ocean
clear Of sail As shutdown came the sea
was like glass and it was the same state of
affairs at midnight when the watch was
changed.
The mate went of and the captain came
OF, ard he had been only on deck half an
hour when Nancy appeared She de-
clared ii to be too hot below to sleep.
In a calm midocean at night there are
strange and uncanny sounds from the
hold Of ship as she lazily heaves up on
ba i
In the hold rub each other ,,,bulkheads creak
and timbers Sroan, and now and then there
are -hrilI squeaks from ne fighting rats.
Men who sleep during calm breathe stem
'oriously and sigh and groan now and
then, ard the wakeful ores move about
ureasiiy and cast apprehcnsive glances
over the sea.
Nancy walked aimlessly about for a while
ara hen rested her arms on the rail and
gazed Of into the darkness and let her
thoughts wander back home. She had
been silent for quarter Of an hour when
ehe gave sudden start ard bent her ear
70 listen. Capt. Elisha happened to note
her attitude and he crossed over to her
side and asked:
Wall, Nancy. dye think anybody will
steal the woodplie while we're gone on this
TRIP,
I'm listesnin'. Elisha" she replied as she
lsld hand on his arm. Cant you catch
the sound Of oar locks on here to the north?-
II ; some noise in the hold. he answered,
after listening a minute.
No. It's not. There-there- you
ca'chit:
Rv Josh do, Yes. il sounds like oars
work, but how on earth can a beat be
Out thorc."
dunno. bu, there is one Now You
gu The sounds palmer It's boat, tell
You, and she's pulling AT least four Ioars
On" must he from wreck. and you'd better
nehf a lantern and lash ii in the riggin
Ia guide en-
lantern was procured and placed as
suggested. and II had scarcely thrown it's
,'sh' over the waters when there was A
hal from half a dozen throats at once
1alh H"peWei answered il. and within
I'VE minutes every one of the crew Of the
May Ann was on deck and wide awake
with CURIOSITY
4, 10" halls were repeated at intervals,
r. sound "f the oars came nearer and al
w "nd Of half an hour a big yawl with
NWeIr" men ard their dnnnage In it drew
alongside the Mary Ann.
ny Josh, then, hut it's a crew of Dutch
men exclaimed Capt. Hopewell as he
F"nr"d down in the boat.
"" wa, right. They were big and sturdy
in"h who had sailed out Of the Texel and
" was quickly discovered that not one Of
mem could speak English. Each one
Drought his bag Of clothing over the rail
N.h ann, but water and provisions were
Iet' behind