The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1915-06-17
THE EVIL
EYE
A Tale of the Sea
By DWIGHT NORWOOD

By DWIGHT NORWOOD


/ i j. /. !. : s.s-s-.s.i
Jim Butterworth, a sailor, while
ashore with a liberty party at Tangier
got into row with a Mohammedan
snake charmer and had an eye gouged
out. Jim was not overparticular about
his looks, but tired of answering ques
tions about how he lost his eye. The
orlfice left after the eye had been
eliminated was certainly shocking to
behold and caused every one who
came near him to shudder. He wore
a green patch over it for awhile, but
found it very troublesome to keep in
position. One day a shipmate said to
him:
"Jim, why don't you get an artificial
eye put in your face?"
whats that?" asked JIM.
"Why, an eye made Of glass painted
to look just like real eye. They make
'em so fine you can't tell 'em from the
real thing"
where do you get 'em?
"Oh, at any respectable port They
sell 'em in the shops"
The next port the vessel Jim had
signed with stopped at was Naples.
AS soon as Jim was permitted to go
ashore he took two or three o5 his ship.
mates with him. went to one of the
shopping streets, and the party stopped
at an opticians. The shopkeeper
brought out tray full Of artificial eyes
and set It before the sailors for selec-
ton.
Jim's single natural eye was dark
brown, but 1t did not seem to occur to
any Of the party that the artificial eye
should be Of the same color as the real
one. One recommended blue, another
q steel gray, another black with su-
perfuity Of red In 1t. Doubtless the
artist who had painted In the coiors
had done his best to make the glass ne
semble real eyes, but the best was by
no means good. Indeed, some Of them
were soullees, some wild, and num-
Der were well fitted to express insanity.
The shopkeeper, realizing that. the
sailors were about to make mistake
In the selection. picked up brown eye,
the nearest match to Jim's remaining
eye, and offered it as the one best suit
ed to the case. But Jim's mates scoffed
att.
"Wotg' cried one Of them. "Put that
thing into his head? You might as
well give him an eye from a dead
man."
'There's dandy" said another, TAX
ing one of greenish hue with tinge
of red from the tray and holding it up
beside Jim's natural eye. There's some
expression In that eye. You'd clean out
the 'sultan's harem with 1t, Jim. No
woman could resist you.'
Jim took it and stood before mirror,
holding it In position to see how It
would look In its proper place.
Mates" he said, IF you all agrees
that it's wot's wanted I'll take 1t, but
] don't believe any of you would stand
your ground at meetin' me wearin' 1t
on the fo'c'sle on a dark night with the
nghtnin' playin' round"
"1t's Jim dandy" replied one.
"a beaurw cried another.
'fIt reminds me Of the eyes Of gal
fell in with at Madeira" said another.
"Well," said Jim, "since you all
agrees that it's becomin' and 1 brought
you ERE for your opinions l reckon
all I've got to do is to plank down the
price"
The shopkeeper was willing to part
with the artistic production for the
sum Of 10 lire, which Jim produced;
the vender adjusted it in Jim's eye,
and the party departed to enjoy them
selves In neighboring wine shop.
When the men returned to the ship
Jim found that his artificial eye at
tracted more attention than the empty
socket. But when he asked his ship
mates their opinion as to the looks OF
his new eye" they all pronounced 1t
zone O. the finest blinkers afloat."
The eye not having been put into the
socket by a skilled surgeon was not
very comfortable, and Jim soon sought
relief in wearing it In his pocket in
stead Of in his face. Then he fell to
alternating between the glass eye, the
patch and the empty socket. The
crew gradually became accustomed to
the "blinker," but the time never
came when it ceased to excite COM
ment. And whenever Jim went ashore,
no matter at what port, his eye ex-
cited the astonishment and often the
terror Of the inhabitants. Children
especially would fee from him, bawl-
ing. AS to the girls, Jim never found
q sweetheart in any land while wear
ing it, except on the African coast
But day came when all this was
changed; when. Jim's eye was an OBJ
ject Of worship by both the officers
Of the ship and his messmates; when
Jim was as proud Of his glass eye as
II It had been a decoration.
One day the Mary Robinson was
sailing under four knot breeze in the