New-York tribune., 1911-01-01

ast;,tel, Then marched up the neat shell path,
assembled the steps of the porch and caught sight OF the
believer. ,...
and ornnng over the spectacle presented by the flying
grocer's bow He was towering man, inches above SIX
eet though bowed at the shoulders. Those shoulders,
thought must in the gone years have been close ic
CONC tbrongh anv sort of door. Under his blue cap,
vth GLAZED peak his head covered with mass OF the
most wonderful hair of silver, looked MASSIVE; MS
deeplv scanned bronzed face full OF humor and charac,
fer was still positively handsome HIS eyes, big ana
h,o and -watery behind the gold trimmed spectacles
had twinkle in them He looked at the outside about
sixty-fve. ,,, ;5
ITO nvsef regarding him. And so spoke to him upon
this presumption. .,yI.,. -: -to,,.
1ttIe t;n,oroyslv remembering that great believing
voice had heard He turned ana studied me as i.oou
at the top of the steps His idea as could see ater
was to nerceiye whether meant to jest with hn lhen
he threw back his great head and leu OUT huge nun
hing roaring laugh which it was delight TO listen To-
II was big unctuous, happy spontaneous, fu OF the
low Of life laugh it was so infectious that hearing 1t,
Stood there and laughed with him like a fool.
"My father, eh, young mater" he broke out up
roariousy between explosions M Aa boi H@s
been in Davy Joness locker these hundred years gomez
Now, that might have sounded uncanny, eery, sort
Of had it not been uttered between GaIgantuan laughs
by this fine, bronzed silver haired Wioie5ot ol eo %
II dawned upon me at once OF course, that ne hseH
was my old man-whch again, was pretty DrighV o me-
onedernq that his father a deep skipper actually
had gone down with his last ship trie more than
hundred wears before And this massive, wonderful
laughing old boy standing there by the porch with the
sunshine checkerng his scanned face through the atCe
work had been nearly years Old When ms latcl
had gone to Davy Jones's locker hundred years
before! . - ,1
But my mistaking him for his fathers son pleased
him Of course He extended his huge, hamlike hand
and can feel the voltage of that grip yet. l..
"A noggin here, Sweetheart" he called out IN MS
great booming voice; and presently pretty young
matron in close fitting print housegown Drought out
on tray decanter of old rum glasses not wafer III d
pitcher, and sugar. The pretty young matron, soon
found was the old boys great-granddaughter Dy Ills
third wife! He mixed two bountu decoctionS OF rum rum
and hot water and sugar and drank his own OH rapidly
with fine oldtime snacking of the lips; tor IL was d
nippy, eager day in mid spring. Then ne nlled Dis
bowled meerschaum pipe from box OF excessively DlCh
looking tobacco in box on the table beside him.
ghted it. blew enormous rings at the bars OF sunshine
streaming through the lattice, and SAID he: E.
Turn to, m hearty What sort OF yarn IS 1t you
want me to spin"
You see he had only left off going up and down the
world in ships-his own ships always-at the age OF
eighty; so his deep talk as natural to MN as te
wnking of his eyes, Seventy full years he had spent on
the oceans of the world; four times he had been cast
away clinging once rail thing as chckencoop
in the torrd Indian Ocean for four days before being
picked ND. and the ports Of the Seven Seas to him were
as familiar as any scroll unroled upon wall Now for
twenty-seven years he had been settled down IN the
town of his nativty-and dull work he'd found 1t too
as he told me in his great, rumbling voice.
Crog and Smoking
TT seemed imbecile to submit this happy bury giant
of hundred and seven tn list OF lnterrogatorleS
customarily tossed at CentenarianS. But pointed
foolish finger at his noggin.
How long have you been at ths?" | asked him.