The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1912-12-06
M GRa1zY c&z0 aEREEzR0 HAzg'

down to the sea in ships2 VIII he not rather
give an ear TO the tales of strange things seen
and believed by sailor.folk?
II is the writer's pleasure to waste time sailing
the sea In a small craft, usually alone. Upon one
9f these voyages, having anchored upon the edge
OF the More Sands he awoke In the middle of the
night to find himself enshrouded by thick fog
eere enough the uninitiated reader will doubtless
think Upon looking out at the black woolly
wall OF fog that surrounded him, he distinctly
heard his own name hailed across the water.
No other craft was near. This struck him as be.
ing peculiar that he mentioned II TO friend
when he arrived at one OF the little anchorages,
and the skipper OF barge, CHANGING to oyerhear,
said: That's the oil gentleman OF the Nore
Often OF foggy nights ye may ear i'm a-yellins
aht in kind O 'elpess way, but sometimes Is
language is something horful. They say e
was first mate wot dropped overheard and
swan to the sands. where e walked about until
the tide rose an drownded i'm"
Upon another occasion | was sailing along the
coast Of France, under the cliffs upon which
stands Girls Nez lighthouse. which is about the
most powerful light in the world. II was very
dark night and the revolving rays of the light
house kept flashing upon the sails OF my boat,
lighting them like powerful searchlight, until
proceeding along the course | got out &C their
range The strange effect had been forgotten.
only to be remembered in time to prevent me
from becoming firm believer In ghosts. There
out at sea a ghostly ship was sailing; she was
rather too modern, perhaps TO be real ghost,
for every sail set like gloye-ghost ships were
never particular in this respect--indeed, she was
one OF those hne ships out OF Glasgow which are
the last words In sailing craft
From apparently nowhere a ship had come
a ship uncannily glowing with an unnatural light
Her sails were surely cobwebs and her ropes
were spider stringsl
Strange sights and sounds frequently come the
way of seafarers.
ha urovpliiur hfRstnu sen breaking through
the night Its appearance is CHASTITY gray; IL
comes from nowhere, il fades away soon after
! What could not the imagination weave it into?
shape or sound OF spirits chased by the Evil One,
4 the dying wife with arms ontstrctched, or sound
OF mothers voice. Moreover, such messages
1 sea sounds give have frequently come from the
4 dead: the howl OF the raging gale, the muir
/ MUIR OF the gentle breeze through the halysrds
/ have borne the departing message in words that
\ were exactly those the lost one whispered last
/ To the mind OF one who knows the sea. II
would seem strange that sailors not more
sdperstitlous than they are and there are Ger.
\ tainy many reasonable excuses for their belief
/ In such stories that OF the Flying Dutchman
| patch OF swirling vapor through the rigging OF
his ship upon a dark night Imagination does
\ the rest; he has seen the Flying Dutchman.
| Cornelius vanderdecken, a Dutch navigator Of
i long ago making passage from Batavia,
! For days and days he encountered heavy gales
and baffiIng head winds while trying 10 round the
| Cape OF Good Hope. Struggle against the winds
4 ais he would he lost SIS much on one tack ms he
| gained upon the other Struggling yainiy for
nine hopeless weeks he ultimately found himself
In the same position he was In AZ nrst the
\ ship having made no progress. Vanaerdecken.
IA ut OF wrath threw himself on bis knees