Year: 1877




fare OF the elements against man, but
which was fortunately half concealed from
the seaman;s wife by q mountain Of
thick waves, which only allowed her to
surmise the danger to which the craft was
exposed.


And now the sea rose higher aud high
er, and kept surging round the vessel.
The waves rose above the sides of the
boat aud showered down their foam, that
was caught midway by the guests Of wind.
till at length billow, taller and blacker
than all the others, ovcrspread the deck
like black PAIL, aud the death.cry Of
six men was heard amid the triumphant
din chorused by the waves and the
winds.


Then, by ono Of those strange effects Of
chance, the waves seemed to grow ap-
peased by this human sacrifice. The wind
fell, and in q short time the sea became
as smooth and as polished as sheet OF
silver.


The seamans wife had remained on
shore until she had lost sight Of the YES.
sci, and then returned home, little think
ing that the boat had been upset so short
. time after. On the contrary, her heart
felt lightencd at the sight of the stars now
pceping forth from the sky, and she
waited more patiently for her husbands
return.


The landlord waited also.


A week after bill was stuck up on the
house near the harbor, bearing the words,
" Te hueren terstond" Ito be let with i'm
mediate posscssion.) A lifeless infant,
wrapped in towel, lay exposed near the
door amid small lot of furniture ex-
posed for sale-tenant's death not having
discharged the debt; while mad woman
sat on the jetty at the very spot where the
seaman's nc had seen the vessel for the
last time.


And every day, at the same hour,
this poor desolate creature would come
and take her seat at the same place. in
spite of the rain or tho cutting winds
that blew in her face, with her head
bare, and hor eyes fixed on the horizon,
scanning each billow that rolled toward
the shore, as though it would bring her
the beloved object that was missing


Then, as soon as the weather bright
ened up she would return to her lonely
home; for the cottage, by just feeling
of revenge on the part Of the people,
had never been hired by new tenant
She therfore went into it prepared for
her husbands return.


She would lay on the table the bread
received from her neighbors' charity,
and serve up the soup to him who was
never more to eat, while she kept wait
ing constantly for him who would never
return again.


At other times when this modern Nina
happened to descry a vcsscl, and she stood
watching on the shore, would she brighten
up, and seem to be busily searching for
her husband among the crew; she would
then wave her handkerchief, shout aloud,
run after the vessel till it put into the
harbor. There she would look out for
her missing ono, ana pitch on one Of the
crew whom she mistcok for him, and take
him home with her.


1t would be impossible to describe the
extreme respect Of these poor seamen for
the unhappy madwoman, and the rclig-
ious complaisance with which they foster
ed her illusion, by going to sup with her,
and paying for their meal.


The police, however, thought it so llig gh-
ly immoral that the poor woman should
choose living husband every day to rep
resent the dead one, that orders were
given to put her into confinement. She
was near dying of burning fever in her
prison.


Some time after she was set at liberty,
and the first use she made of it was to 60
and take her usual seat on the jetty, and
to gaze at the ocean.


1t was evening; the sea was rough and
the clouds as threatening as on the fatal
day that made her widow. Presently
she espied vessel at anchor in the same
direction in which she had ceased to see
the boat that formerly bore her husband :;
the hallucination she always experienced
at such a sight seized itself upon her
more violently than ever; while the SIM
ilarity of the weather still further aggra-
vated her chronic illusion.


Her eyes became dilated, her lips were
parted and her arms extended; but as
the vessel rode at anchor, and did not
approach, q nervous crisis shook her
whole frame.


She thought she heard voice calling
to her, and saw the phantom hold out his
arms to her; she screamed aloud, rushed
into the sea, hurried toward the vessel.


1t was late, the night was dark, the
weather tempestuous, and the shore
deserted. On she went without let or
hindrancc, and walked into the midst of
the waves, until she disappeared!
The madwoman's house may still be
seen at Ostend, near the Hotel des Bains.
The walters of the hotel often point it out
<o frovo1oro II 10 ctil1 fn lof