The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-03-25
y coryrtaht'A'c. AcClurR Z ~. lSal
CHAPTER XVII.

fIslStlH WINCH .Wc bury fOuT Dedu.
IS Black smoke was already trailing
from out our funnel In ever increasing
volume the steadily revolving screw
was driving the yacht forward with
llneswsi power, and the only bit OF can
i|yass showing was the close'reefed ]!b
illeft as an aid to the wheelsmen.
searched the after-cabins thorough
sily2tor q copy Of the Scriptures, Or any
book containing the burial service
Zone might possibly have been dlscoy'
4 cred hidden away in the locked chests,
ilbuts Il did not feel authorized to break
these open on such quest, and SO re-
turned to the deck with nothing to
i gnlde me in the services to be con-
9ducted. The boatswain. assisted by
two 5seamen, had prepared the bodies
sfori their last long voyage. and while
the crew gathered Ia body on the
1 snow.covered deck, the dead, shroudcd
beneath white sheets, were silently
borne forth from cabin and forecastle
and placed reyerently upon planks
balanced across the rail.
Sshould greatly have preferred
Lady Darlington to remain below dur
ling the ceremonies. There is much de-
preston about such burial scenes at
Jsea, especially so in our circumstances
land surroundings. But she insisted
upon being present. and so at the last
moment l returned to the cabin and
Escorted both her and Celeste to the
deck. It was q dismal. melancholy
scene, and II did not wonder at the
3lslight SILVER with which her ladyship
glanced about. The swiftly descending
Isnnw, the iwhitened decks. trampled
beneath the feet Of the men. the bare
ispars overhead; the low.aylng- dun
]colored clouds: the gray, tnmbing
winters; the low growl Of the Ice as
THE waves battered It's front; the ST.
.Elent gsemiclrcle Of men standing mo-
,ltlonless except for their shufillng feet;
land those two white.draped figures ly,
ling extended across the rail-all conf
abined to form a grim sea.nicture the
memory OF which can never dissolve.
III Protected somewhat from the sharp
wind by the cabin the men had flung
aside their mufflers, so that their
9weather-beaten faces, most OF them
heavily bearded. were plainly revealed.
u could not but be impressed with the
motley crowd, Us the llnenments Of
negro, Kanaka. and every variety OF
white degenerate were thus exposed
Their uneasy, shufling feet, and the
4impatience depicted on their faces,
aroused me to the requirements Of the
moment. / advanced to the rail, stand.
ling beside the corpse of the mate.
" Lads ~ said, soberly. when we
Sbury shipmates at sen there Is a
Ssolemnity about tho simple ceremony
unknown to the land. Far away from
friends and home we give the body up
to the great ocean to keep for eterni'
HI. Yet we are sailors, long accus'
lltomed to the vicissltudes and perils Of
the $deep;iwe have parted with ship
mates before in many seas. and not a
View among you look forward to the
time when comrades will be called
.tuponS to perform a similar service Of
respect over your bodies. Even now
i've sail forward into great danger,
land none among us can prophesy what
the morrow may bring Of either life
,:or death. Yet the sea is the sailors
3sepuleher, the roar Of the great waves
Ibis requiem. am no sea preacher,
able TO address YOU upon the here
after, or fitted to euloglze the spirits
$ofy those whose bodies we are about TO
bury You desire nothing OF the kind.
Neither can ! read over these forms
the usual burial service. for can find
Enot book containing 1t on board. Is