Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-10-04

IA the lighthouse, slung to stout
beam projecting seward be-
g. Eeath the outer platform, had
tolled Its warning through the fog.
The monotonous ticking of the clock
work attachment that governed it, the
sharp and livelier click Of the occult
Ing hoods machinery, were the only
sounds which olternated with its deep
boom. The tremendous clang sent a
thrill through the giant column itself
and pealed away into the murky void
with n tremolo OF profound diminu
tons.
Overhead the magnificent lantern, its
eight ringed circle Of fame burning at
full pressure, illumined the drifting
vapor with an intensity that seemed to
be born of the sturdy granite pillar of
which II was the fitting diadem. Hard
and strong externally as the evera t
Ing rock on which it stood. replete
within with FURNISHED steel and polish
cd brass, great cylinders and powerful
pumps. the lighthouse thrust its glow
Ing torch beyond the reach of the most
daring wave. Cold, dour, defiant it
looked. Yet its superhuman eye
sought to pierce the very heart Of the
fog, and the furnace white glare con-
centrated ten thousand fold by the en-
circling hive Of the dioptric lens, flung
far into the gloom a slvery cloak of
moonlike majesty.
| At last an irresistible ally sprang to
the assistance of the unconquerablc
light. About the close of the middle
watch a gentle breeze from the Allan
tic followed the tide and swept the
shivering wrath landward to the north
east, while the first beams Of a June
sun completed the destruction Of the
routed specter.
So once more, as on the dawn of the
third day. the waters under the heaven
were gathered into one place and the
| dry land appeared, and, behold, 1t was
good.
On the horizon the turquoise rim of
the sea lay with the sheen of folded
| silk against the softer canopy of the
sky. Toward the west a group of is
lands, to which drifting banks of mist
chung in melting despair, We're etched
In shadows OF dreamy purple. over
the nearcr sea floor the quickly dying
vapor spread huzy pail of opal tlnts.
Across the face of the waters glisten-
| ing bands of emerald green and serene
| blue quvered in fairy lights. The
| slanting rays Of the sun threw broad
last golden mirage and gilded all
things with the dumb gladness Of an
| English summers day.
A man, pacing the narrow gallery be-
Meath the lantern. halted for mo-
nent to food his soul afresh with a
| Beauty made enhancing by the knowl-
,dge that few brief minutes would
resolve 1t into maturer and more ia
miliar charms.
| He was engaged, IT Is true. In the
unromantic action Of filling his pipe,
simple thing, beloved alike of poets
and navvies, yet his eyes drank in the
mute glory OF the scene, and, captive
to the spell Of the hour, he murmured
aloud:
| Floating on waves OF music and of light,
Behold the chariot of the fairy queen.
| Celestial coursers paw the unyielding air;
Their fllmy pennons at her word they furl
And stop obedient to the reins of light"
The small door beneath the glass
fame was open. The worker within,
pusily cleaning an eight inch burner,
ceased for an instant and popped his
nead out.
Did you hail me?" he inquired.
The matter OF fact words awoke the
! dreamer. He turned with pleasant
smile.
ITO be exact, Jim, l did hail some
body, hut it was Aurora, Spirit Of the
Dawn, not hard bitten sailorman
like you
"Oh, that's all right, cap'n. l thought
heard you slngin' out for light
The other man bent his head to shield
4 match from puff Of wind. thus con-
ealing from his companion the CLEAN
IF amusement in his eyes. His mate
shifted the fragrant odor Of the tobacco
ongingly, but the Elder Brethren of
he Trinity maintain strict discipline.
md he vanished to his task without
thought of broken rules.
He left piece Of good advice be-
hind him.
"If l was you, cap'n," he said, I'D
urn In. Jones is feelin' Al this morn
n. FIe comes on at 8. You ought to
We dead beat after your double spell
" the last two days. I'll keep break
last back until three bells (9;30 a. m),
IN there's fresh eggs an haddick."
"Just couple Of whffs, Jim. Then
ri 90 below"
Both men wore the uniform Of assist
int keepers, yet it needed not their
manner of speech to reveal that one
was a gentleman born and bred and
The other bluff, good natnred, horny
handed A. b., to whom new laid eggs
md recently cured fish appealed far
more potently than Shelley and sum-
Oer dawn at sea.
He who had involuntarily quoted
Queen Nab" turned his gaze seward
again. Each moment the scene was be-
eoming more brilliant, yet nearer to
earth. The faroff islands sent splashes
II gray, brown and green through the
purple. Tho rose eush on the horizon
was assuming q Follower tinge, and the
blue Of sky and water was deepening
twenty miles away to the southwest
he smoke Of steamer heralded the
advent of an Atlantic liner, and the last
shreds Of white mist were curling for