Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-05-01
DEAD MEMS BAGGAGE
cHaTTELs OF LOST seAmEn.

""s~s ""~ ths oeson0snas OF
Thess Who Have soene Over ths
Side az sss Are Kept Until Claimed.
Messages from the sea-" There are
200 or 800 waiting delivery In London
Mt this moment. and the gray romance
ciingfng about them Is heightened by
the knowledge that the greater part
VIII never be called for. Down by the
docks. amid the mud and lumber of
that wonderful place, Is an unpreten-
tious building. aud In the vaults be-
low, IN catacomb OF old clothes and
queer baggage. are stocked the be-
longings OF those who have gone down
TO the sea In ships and never returned.
Now and then. but not often. a pale
woman 1t may be troubles the serenity
or that cloak room OF the dead and. be-
Ing conducted below. Is guided through
the maze OF owneress baggage until
presently. with a start she csiss out:
That's Bits lag. inister-tbe one
Just over your cad, knows IL by the
patch scwed In afore hc s;arlel."
And while the woman waits. wide
eyed. her guide rends from the white
government label tied to the sailors
sack: William Smith. l. H.. ss..p
Southern Star. Washed overheard
Desolation strait"
That's 'ir.." says tac wife. gulninx
down her sor-sw. end the great bag Is
pulled from It's resting place IsnKi1a
like bally packed christmas stock.
Ing. wary and hu,glng In odd corners
with the dead seainau-s belongings.
And ~on top are lashed hir worn sea
boots and rough parcel ia thin for
eign paper which they found under
the pillow In his bunk. Hard usage
and sea spray have played havoc with
the thin rice paper, and the secret that
Bill WAS guarding SO jealousy appears
IN the form OF n dainty taken haired
doll, with mild blue eyes. calculated to
fascinate the heart OF any little maid
ut sight.
All" cries the woman. proud for the
moment OF her husbands remem-
brance. that's for Minnie. He said he
would bring it-or send IT." she adds.
with unconscious pathos. IF he could
not come himself" And she hides the
doll In her shawl and I'm an outburst OF
emotion goes of with her find, and Bill
disappears forever from history.
There they lie In neatly ordered
rows. those old canvas bags. each with
its terse official label dangling from II.
fine, faint odor OF foreign cIimes per-
yading the gray dusk of the passages.
Yet what a storehouse OF romance they
represent. what an inspira lion for some
Teufeidrokh OF the salt water! There
Is an individuality about every homely
package. What. for instance. was the
fate or the poor prentice lad who
owned that duck bolster and where is
the mother whose gentle fingers stitch
ed his initials on IL so lovingly? The
grim simplicity Of the oficial details
merely describes him as missing" and
that's the end OF Il Poor motheri In
the next recess lie the worldly goods
OF North sea whaier. You can still
smell the sperm oil distinctly when
you come within three yards OF them.
There Is an accordion on top OF the
pile, with all the music long since out
OF IL, and half carved walrus tusk
beside II, with picture OF the dead
mans ship on one side and on the 9TH
er a symbolic sketch OF himself ut
home. one hand round his wife's waist
and joyously large tankard of beer
held aloft In the other.
A little farther on Is a sea stained
bag. n fute and IN opium pipe. crossed
satire on top-that s.. the escutchecn.
All Sing-and his epitaph says lie fell
overheard somewhere I'm the roaring
forties. Luckless heatheni Ii Will be a
long swim home thence 10 the ances-
trail burial place by the Yellow river.
And still a little farther on. amid the
tumble or pathos and poverty, OF com.
monplace and high romance. OF seq
chests and bags and baskets. in a cor
ner where those things are put which
have waited longest unclaimed, Is an
old portmanteau, gray with dust, vet
obviously OF better class than its CON-
panions III misfortune. You turn its
creaking hinges gently. expecting tar.
paulins and sou'westers, and there.
spoiled and yellow. hut arranged with
feminine race. Is a brides outfit ev-
erything unused down to the modestly
folded white gloves. rusty as their bat
tons. and on the bosom OF the dress Is
photograph faded beyond recoyni-
ton, with Il prayer book by Ii and a
rose leaf still marking the marriage
service.
AS strange storehouse OF strange
things as any IN the big city is this I'M
claimed property Office OF the docks,
and II few go to its gray corridors TO
search for ira es OF the missing still
fewer come away in a talkative mood.
Pail Mall Gazette.