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I j^orlni.
THE SNOWDKOP.
\\. i- .m to earth, white snowdrop, once again ;
Welcome below the budding hedge :
Welcome in woods that overledge
p.. rooky streamlet murmuring down the glen :
Welcome to gardens and abodes of men.
Tliv maiden leaflets, tone-lied with spots of green,
Like tiptoe-prints of timid Spring,
Upon snow new fallen, bring
Refreshing pleasure t:> the eyes, I ween,
That weary of the winter's cold white sheen.
T; .n wast the first in Nature's mind to lie,
!!, for, sin wrought the gorgeous flowers
i"olden Summer's garden bowers,
! Lr. ■tune disclosed to view earth's canopy
Oi iight and azure mixed in harmony.
\s if she chose thee for the New-Year's brow,
j , t, uTpt her maids to imitate,
And learn how comely simple state
I pon the virgin's slender form doth show,
And lead to ripened woman's statelier glow.
(aim-lipped, ambrosia-breathing Charity,
Whom in the unseen homes above.
The clear-eved angels greet as Lore,
Whoe'er may guard thy sisterhood, must be
Do- -ister bidden t" keep watch o'er thee :
For we discern those airy forms, that tend
The fragrant lives of boll and bud
tin bill or dale, or green-edged flood,
By the peculiar thought which each doth send
fnto our hearts, as o'er the leaves we bend.
|
THE GOOD SHIP SHOOTING STAR.
l.
• t'aptaiu Ilitson, allow me to introduce
to you Mr. Pennant, your new purser. Mr.
Pennant, pray take a chair, while 1 have a
little talk on brsiness with Captain liit-
Mr. Blizzard, of the firm of David and
p,'. ...ani, 72 Limehouse Street, Liverpool,
Tituiued ;
t'aptaiu Kitson, we want to make the
first trip of the Shooti g Star an auspicious
trip ; we want to have our vessel toe first
ii: o Quebec this year. We save the dues;
i y they always return the dues to the first
vessel that arrives from England ; but it
.s not so much for the sake of the value of
the dues as the eclat of the thing. Our
ti.ide with Canada is large, and we want
t ■ get our name up. \\ edo not, of course,
want you to run any danger. No, that is
ty no means the wish of the firm ; but we
< wish ynu to skirt the ice. and run in on
the very iirst opening. You will get off
Labrador just in time for the frost to have
ihawed, and, with care, there need be no
v.-k whatever."
' Mi Blizzard said all lliis leaning againt
lis railed fii-.-k, and nestled in among the
'iU -ol invoices and bills of lading. He
war i hearty, fresh-colored, portly man,
iy i-. a in Ins dress, and remarkable for
white wm tcoat, t at seemed as hard
' iiid .stainless as enamel. He played with
i wateb-cliaiii as he spoke, and eyed the
cap rain, the purser, and the first mate, who
;t in -n uncomfortable half-circle. With
aa-il-piilislied boots planted on the iin
val.'c ruck ola large capital, Mr. Bliz
. | si , n/cd to look boldly seaward met
el. ;li ill v. aml consider wrecks and such
'.-unities"ns .mere well-devised fictions,
i .mi Kit-o.'i was a big Xorth-country
ii oi, wrli a broad sen-age of chest, clear
.ivi vi s and large, fed bands, —a sturdy,
st, M'll-reiiant mail, without a fear in
world. The niaie, Mr. Cardew, by no
" n- so pleasant to look on, being a little
-pare, thin-legged, cadaverous person, with
•:! iwish eyes, sat in sullen subserviency
tiie vi ry edge of bis chair just behind
captain. The purser, a brisk, cheery,
- v.t young fellow, sat deprecatingly (as
; i.c thought lie ought to stand) a trifle
tether hack still.
] flight it is, Mister Blizzard," said the
1 •'!' Tin, buttoning bis pilot-coat across bis
as if preparing for an immediate
ml about to order everything to be
Ttte:. I down. "Kiglit it is, and a better
V' -sel than the Shooting Star 1 don't hope
#/.e. She's sound, Mr. Blizzard, Ido be
vt, Horn main truck to keel, —sound, it 1
y u.-j- J.he expression, as a pious man s
iii.scieuce. The only thing that wexes
uf, howsoiuever, is that, having been sent
; ;to my native place, down Allonby way,
a very sad business" there the captain
i>ld up sorrowfully an enormous hat cov
d with black crape,) "I couldn't see to
Ac lading of this ere wessel as 1 generally
likes to do with wessels I am called upon
in command."
'That is of no consequence at all, Cap
tain Kitston," said Mr. Blizzard, pouring
'•lit three glasses of sherry all in a ow
hmi a decanter on an inky mantel-piece
u him. "1 have been away at Mancbes
-4' i, and my partner, Mr. David, lias been
v, tj ill with a touch of pleurisy, but our
first mate here, Mr. Cardew, lias seen to it
all"
Ihe mate nodded assent.
" The cargo is—?"
Agricultural implements, machinery,
and cloth ;o< ids."
Bbzzard referred to a ledger for this
formation, as he spoke, as if lie scarcely
Knew, in his multiplicity of business, wlietli
the shooting Star might not be ladi-n
w 'th frankincense, pearls, gold-dust, ami
H pai rots—but he would see.
Having ascertained the fact, Mr Bliz
ziird carefully replaced tlio ledger, and,
turning his 1 tck on his company, poket
he tire, and consulted a large sheet alma
-11 no uvi-r the mantel-piece, as a sign the
fotcrvie was over.
AVe sail to-morrow morning, Sunday,'
E- <3. GOODRICH,
VOLUME XXVI.
said Captain Kitston, who was a Wesley
aii, to the purser, aB they left the office of
Messrs. David and Blizzard ; "1 likes to
hear the blessed Sabbath bells calling to
one another as I go out of the Mersey, and
the men like it ; and, what's more, it's
lucky. It's like the land taking leave of
us, as I always say, giving a sort of bless
ing on the ship ; at least, I'm a plain man,
and that's how I take it. Its the day I
always start, Sunday is."
The purser expressed his hope that he
should succeed in doing his duty, and pleas
ing the captain and s*H his employers.
" 0, you'll do, young man, I can see ;
don't you be afraid. Won't he, Mr. Car
dew ? Clear, straight-forward eyes, and all
j aboveboard."
Mr. Cardew thought he would do, but he
did not look on the purser at all. His
mind was running on very different things.
11.
| " Joe," said the purser's wife, when
Pennant returned to his little cottage at
j Birkenhead, and announced his new ap
j pointiueut, " I don't know how it is, but I
j have got a strong presentment, and I wish
you would'nt go in this ship. I never did
j like ships with those sort of names. The
! best run you ever had was in the Jane
j Parker, and the worse one in the Morning
I Star. Stick to the plain names. Besides,
j it's too early in the season. Now, do ob
lige nie, Joe, and give it up. Stay for a j
fortnight later ; get an Australian ship.
It's too early tor Canada. It is, indeed.
Mrs. Thompson says so."
" Jenny, my love, you're a silly little wo
man. A pretty sailor's wife you make.
! Come, pack up my kit, for I'm going, that j
is the long and short of it. Nonsense about I
! sentiments. And who is Mrs. Thompson, I j
j should like to kno * ? Who wants her
poking her nose here ? Why did she drive
her husband away with her nagging, and
j temper, and botheration? Tell her to mind
j her own business. Pretty thing, indeed !
■ Come, dear, no nonsense ; pack up my
• kit."
" But, Joe dear, there was your photo
graph fell off the nail on Tuesday, that
night 1 saw a shooting star fall, close to
the docks, and it wasn't sent for nothing.
: Don't go, Joe ; don't go."
"Go I must, Jenny dear, and go 1 shall,
i so don't make it painful, there's a good lit
tle woman. Come, I'll go up with you
now, and kiss George and Lizzy. 1 won't
wake them ; then we'll go and look out the
shirts and things for the chest. Keep a
; good heart ; you know I shall soon be
back. I've got a nice captain, and a smart
j first mate."
U J
" \\ by, Captain Ihornpson, who ever
thought to have found you here, and only
j quartermaster ?" said the purser, as lie
| stood at the gangway of the Shooting Star,
j watching tue fresh provisions brought in.
| " Well, I am sorry to see you so reduced,
j sir, I am, indeed. How was it ?"
The quartermaster drew liirn on oue side
with a rueful look. He was a purple, jol
ly, sottish-looking man, with swollen fea
| tores.
" It was the grog, Joe, as did it, —all the
infernal grog," he said. "I lost my last
ship, the Red Star, and then everything
j went wrong ; but I've struck off drinking
: now, Joe : I wasn't fit to have a ship, that's
i about it,---lost myself, too, Joe ; and here
I am w : tli my hands in the tar-bucket
I again, trying to do 1113' doot3' in that station
j of life, as the Catechism used to say."
" And how do you like our captain and
crew, sir ?" Pennant said, under his breath.
! " Captain's as good a man as ever trod
jin shoe-leather—upright man, though he
i will have Ihe work done, but the crew ain't
I much, b tween ourselves. Four of them
first-class, the rest loafers and skulkers,
! wanting to emigrate, picked up on the
qua3'B, hall thieve, half deserters, not worth
i their suit. They'll all run when they get
! to Quebec. Then tiier'es the first mate,he's
a nice nigger-driver, he is, bound for a bad
port, I tiiink. 1 wouldn't trust him with a
| ship, that's all I can say, unless it was a
| pirate ship, that he might get on with; but
! lie is smooth enough before the captain,—
! lie takes care of that, —curse liiin."
; .lust at that moment there came a shrill
! voice screaming curses from the shore.
" Look alive, you skulkers, there," it
| cried—it was the mate's voice—"or I'll let
I you know. We shan't be ready Tues
day. if you don't hurry. Not a drop of I
grog before the work's done, mind that, j
j I'll have 110 infernal grumbling while I'm
mate ; and what are you doiug there quar-
I termaster, idling ? Mr. Purser, see at once
j if the stores are all in, and hand in the bills
j to me to give to Captain Kitson."
The men, ragged, sullen fellows, worked
harder, but cursed in an underbreath.
The moment the captain came on board,
! the mate's manner entirety altered. He
| crouched and whispered, and asked for or
ders, and spoke to the men with punctilious
1 quietude.
Cardt-w had some strange hold over the
j captain, as the purser soon discovered —
i some mout'3' matters--some threat, which
1 lie held over Ritson's head, about his fath
-1 ; er's farm in Cumberland, some power that
the captain dreaded, though he tried to ap
, ; pear cheerful, trusting, and indifferent. At
1 first tyrannical to the men, Cardew had
-1 now begun to conciliate them in every pos
j sible wa3 - , especially when Captain Kitson
' ' was not on deck.
1 The purser was in his cabin, the twen
tieth day after the Shooting Star had star
- ted. lie was head down ai hit} accounts,
r and the luminous green shade over the
1 lamp threw a golden light upon rows of
• 1 figures and the red lines that divided them.
-1 He was working silently, honest, zealous
1 fellow that he was, when a low tap came
r; at the cabin-door. He leaped off bis seat
t and opened the door ; it was old Thoinp
■ sou, the quartermaster, who shut it after
him with a suspicious care.
" Well, Thompson," said the purser, look
, | ing up with an overworked and troubled ex
pression, "what is it ?"
s The quartermaster sat down with a hand
y 011 either knee " I teil you what it is, Mr.
1- Pennant, between you aed rue, there's mis
n 1 ehiel brewing."
d ' Thompson, 3 - ou've been at the rum
I again," the amazed purser, in a re
z- i proachful voice.
I, j " No, Mr. Pennant, I haven't ; no, I am
d j sober as the day I was born. Never you
i- ; mind how I learned what I am going to
e tell 3011. There was a time when no one
dared accuse Jack Thompson of eaves
dropping, without getting an auswer
straight between the eyes, and quick too ; j
but now I'm a poor rascal no one ; only fit
to mend old rope and patch sails, and I can
stoop now to do things I should have been |
ashamed of once, even if I had done them, !
as 1 did this, for good."
There came at this moment a pert rap at j
the door, and Harrison, the ship's boy, j
thrust in ltis head.
•' Well, what do you want?" said the pur
ser, in his sharp, honest way.
"If you please, sir, there's an ice-fog
coming on, and Mr. Cardew sa3's the men j
are to have an extra glass of grog round, I
as there will be extra watches."
" Did Captain Kitson himself give the or- i
der ?"
"No, sir; Mr. Cardew. Captain's been
up all night, and is gone to lie down."
"Tell Mr. Cardew, with my compliments,
that the captain told me yesterday never
to serve out rum without his special or
ders."
" Yes, sir." The boy left.
" Now, Mr. Quartermaster, let us know
the worst. 1 think—l suspect—it is some-!
thing about our iirst mate. This is going
to be an unlucky voyage, I can see. Let us
hear the worst quick, that we may do some
thing to stop the leak."
The quartermaster, a stolid man, of Dutch
temperament, and by no means to be hur
ried, proceeded as calmly as is he were
spinning a yarn over the galley fire. "What
1 heard the first mate and the carpenter
talk about only two hours ago was this.
The ice-fog's come on, and the men (a bad
lot in any weather, all but Davis and two
or three more) are beginning to think we're !
running dangerously near the ice, and that'
we shall get nipped. The mate, when the !
captain is away, encourages thetn in this i
idea, and the worst of them talk now of I
forcing the captain to steer more south- I
ward, so as to keep clear of the ice-packs
off Labrador."
The purser started, and uttered an ex- j
clamation of surprise and indignation.
"Belay there, Mr. Pennant," said the'
quartermaster, forcing his sou'wester firm- 1
er on his head to express hatred for the ■
mate; "that was only the first entry in
their log. Then they went on to propose '
sinking the ship, lashing down the captain !
and those wh > wouldn't join them, destroy- [
ing all evidence, and taking to the boats j
as soon as there was a sight of land."
" But what for ?"
" What for ? Why, for this. The fiist ;
mate, as be let out, has had the lading of!
the vessel. Well, what did he do, with !
the help of some scoundrel friend of his, a :
shipping agent, but remove two thirds of!
the machinery from the cases, unknown, j
of course, to Mr Blizzard, and pile them up j
with old iron, unknown to the captain, who
was away because his father was dying,
and now they want to sink the vessel, and
then go home and sell the plunder. That's
about the size of it."
" Come this moment and tell the captain
of this scoundrel," said the purser, leaping
up and locking his desk resolutely.
" Now, avast heaving there, not just yet, 1
Mr. Purser, by your leave ; let tie thing 1
ripen a little; let me pick up what I cat) i
in the fo'kasal, they don't mind a poor old
beast like me."
" What's all this ?" cried a shrill, spite- j
ful voice, as the door was thrust violently |
open. " Where is this purser fellow ? - j
Who is it dares to disobey my orders ? j
What do you mean, purser, by not serv j
ing out this rum? No skulking here.- - j
Thompson, go on deck, see all made taut i
for the night, and the fog-bell rigged, or ;
we shall be run down in this cursed fog." j
Thompson slunk out of the cabin.
The purser did not flinch ; he took his ;
cap quietly from its peg. " Mr. Cardew," |
he said, " I only obeyed the captain's or- j
ders, and 1 shall continue to do so till j'ou
take command of the vessel. I'm going on
deck for a smoke before I turn in. Good
night, sir."
The mate's eyes became all at once blood
shot and phosphorescent with a cruel light.
" I tell you what it is, Pennant," he said;
"if I wax your captain, I'd maroon you on
an icaberg before you were five hours older,
and I'd let you know first, with a good bit
of pickled rope, what it was to disobey
your superior officer"
"Good night, sir ; threatened men live
long. And perhaps you will allow me to lock
up my cabin ? Thank you."
With this good-humored defiance the
purser ran, laughing and singing, up the
cabin stairs.
It was Sunday morning, and the ice-fog
had lifted. The vessel had met with mere
pancake ice, loose sheets thin as tinsel,
but nothing more ; the wind blew intense
ly cold as if from ice-fields of enormous
size, but no bergs had been seen, and the
captain, judging from the ship's reckoning,
hoped still to make a swift and successful
voyage, and to be the first to reach Que
bec that season.
The men were mustered for prayers in
the state cabin. It was a pleasant sight
to see them file in, two and two, so trim,
with their blue shirts turned back from
their big brown necks, their jaunty-knotted
black silk neckerchiefs and their snowy
white trousers, the petty officers in their
best bluejackets, and all so decorous and
disciplined, as they took their prescribed
seats.
Pleasant, too, it was to see the hardy
captain in that wild and remote sea so
calmly and gravely reading the chapter
from the Bible relating to Paul's voyage,
with an unconscious commanding-officer j
air }f the ship-boy dared to cough, that j
stern, gray eye nailed him to his seat ; if j
the boatswain shuffled his feet, there was a !
reproving pause between the verses ; if I
even the spray broke over the hatchway, j
the captain was down upon it.
The purser was the last *o leave the cab-1
in when the service was over. As he col-;
lected the Bibles, the captain touched him
on the shoulder.
" 1 want a word with you, Mr. Pennant,"
lie said, sitting sorrowfully down at the
table with his hand on his telescope, and
his large prayer-book still open before him.
" You are an honest, faithful fellow, and I
want to ask you a simple question. Have
you seen or heard anything lately that
makes you think the first mate is playing
double, and exciting the men to mutiny ?
Yes or no ?"
" Yes, captain."
The captain did not lift his eyes from the
table at this answer, but giving a slight,
half-disdainful sigh, poured out a glass of
watpr and drank it. then rose, shook the
REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER.
TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., APRIL 12, 1866.
purser by the hand, and looked steadily in
his face.
" Come up with nie, purser, on deck," he
said, "and we will settle this matter at
once. Some one has been altering the
vessel's course,l feel sure, since the morn
ing. If it is the mate, I will put him in
irons. If it cost nie my right arm, I'll keep
him in irons. I'm a fool not to have seen it
all before. I was warned about that man
in Liverpool."
When the captain stood upon the deck,
the chill, white ice-fog was again bearing
down fast on the Shooting Star. It was
bearing down with a spectral gloom that
was depressing in a sea known to be still
half blocked with ice-packs. A Sabbath
calm reigned over the vessel. The men
were lying down by the trim rope coils,
eome reading, some conversing ; not a
bolt-head or brass but shone as well as
anything could shiue in that lurid light.
The mate and carpenter were sitting near
the wheel, looking at the advancing fog ;
at the entrance to the fo'ksal were some
men stretched out half asleep.
The captain said not a word, but walked
straight up to the man at the wheel, and
looked at the compass.
" Why, you're steering south," he said,
quietly, "and I told uor'-uor'-west an hour
ago."
" I am steering as the first mate told me,"
said the fellow, sullenly. " I can't steer as
every one wants me. If it was ni3' way,
I'd 'steer home.'"
The first mate, as the man said this,
came up anil took the wheel from him in
solently, as il in defiance of the captain.
" Jackson's steering riglit," he said.
" Right 3'ou call it," said the captain,
storming. " I'm a plain man, and I like
plain dealing Mr. Cardew, I've had enough
of your ty'ing tricks ; let go the wheel, sir,
and go to your cabin. Consider 3-ourselt
under arrest for mutinous conduct. Purser,
you are witness ; take this man down."
Cardew still refused to let go the wheel.
With the quickness of thought, the captain
felled him with a blow ; in a moment the
deck seemed alive with shouting and leap
ing men. Five sailors threw themselves
011 the captain, three on the purser. The
mutiii3' had had broken out at last. A cruel
yell rang from stem to stern. All who fa
vored the captain were in a moment, with
curses and threats, overpowered and bound
to the mast and rigging.
" Now, Captain Kitson," said Cardew, as
he rose with a yellow face, down which
the blood streamed, and advanced to where
the captain stood bound and pale with
rage, "3'ou see I am stronger than you
thought. If I choose, I could at once let
you overboard with a rope and freeze you
to death ; I could have you pelted with
bottles, or put an end to in some other
agreeable way ; but I shall spare 3'os now,
to pa 3' you out better for that blow and
other indignities. Last night you refused
to join me in ni3 r sensible scheme for baffl
ing the rascals who expose us to danger
and then underpay us. Now I will not ac
cept your partnership. O, you're a rash,
violent man, though you are so pious ;
where's your Providence now ? Come, rn3 T
boys, leave these fools, and get out the
wine ; we'll have a spree to-night, for to
morrow we shall be on shore, and perhaps
starting again for England. Come, get
out this mail's brandy. U r e'll have a night
of it. It's cold enough for these fellows,
ain't it ? But it'll make them warm seeing
us drinking.''
That night, as the liquor went round,
and the songs circulated among the mutin
eers to the doleful accompaniment of the
monotonous and funeral fog-bell, the cap
tain and seven friends lying bound against
the frozen shrouds, the vapor lifted for a
moment eastward and disclosed an aurora
borealis that lit up all the horizon with a
majestic fan of crimson anil phosphorescent
light that darted upward its keen rays, and
throbbed and quivered with almost super
natural splendor. The electric lustre lit
the pale faces of the captain and his fellow
prisoners.
"Why, here are the meny dancers," said
the first mate, now somewhat excited by
drinking, as he walked up to the captain,
and waved a smoking hot glass of grog be
fore bis face. "Why, I'll be hanged if tliey
ain't the blessed angels dancing for joy be
cause 3on and your brother saints will so
soon join them. What do you think of
Providence by this time, Kitson, eh ?"
The mutineers put their glasses together,
and laughed hideousty* at this.
"Just as I always did. God watches us
at sea as well as ty land," was the cap
tain's calm reply. " I'd rather even now
be bouud here, than change my conscience
with yours Cardew. I'm a plain man, and
I mean it when 1 sa3 T that it's no worse
dying here than at home in a feather-bed.
It is less hard to part with the world here."
"O, if you're satisfied, I am. Here, glas
ses round to drink to the Pious Captain.
All his gang are here but that boy, that
little devil Harrison ; search for him every
where, men ; he mus'ntbe left ; if he is in
the hold, smoke him out with brimstone ;
never mind if he does'nt come out, he'll
have his gruel if you keep the hatches well
down."
" A3', ay, sir," was the reply, with a bru
tal and disgusting laugh ; and away the
men went on their search, eager as boys
for a rat-hunt.
All hour after, all but the watch to toll
the fog-bell, the mutineers on board tin-
Shooting Star were sunk into a drunken
and wallowing sleep. That night, from
time to time, Captain Kitston kept his men's
hearts up with cheerful words ; the cold
was hard to bear, but they survived it.—
When da 3' broke, tliey all united in pra3'er
that God would allow them to die soon aud
together. They had suuk into a torpid
semi-sleep, when the sound of a gun through
the fog, in the distance, aroused them. At
the same moment, the loud taunting voice
of the mate awoke the bound men to a sense
of their misery and despair.
" Good morning, Captain Kitson," said
the mate. " Lord, lads, how chopfallen
that smart fellow the purser is, aud look at
those A. B. sailors, who used to sneer at
you, and call you skulkers, loafers, and
Liverpool dregs. How our fat friend the
quartermaster must miss iiis grog ; hard,
isn't it ? Captain Kitston, it is 1113- painful
dut3 r to inform you (lower the two boats
there, quick, meu, and stave the third)that
we are about to leave this ship, which will
Bink, as I am informed b3' my excellent
Iriend the carpenter here, almost exactly
three hours after our departure. A more
pliant disposi ion and a more graceful con
cession to those business arrangements, in
which I solicited your co-operatiou, would
have led to very diflerent results ; gentle
men, that gun is from a vessel lying oft the
ice-field which we are now skirting ; that
vessel will take us up. How about that
blow now ? We Lave moDey enough to pay
for our passage. Farewell. Lower the
boats there. Captain Ritson, I have the
honor of wishing 3 r ou a pleasant voyage to
heaven."
Captain Ritsou made no answer till the
boats were lowered. "God will avenge us
if it seemeth good to him," was the only
malediction he uttered. " Men, I thank
God that I still trust in his mercy, and,
worse come to worst, I am ready to die."
"So am I," said the purser, "if I could
only first look up and see that 3'ellow ras
cal dangling at the yard-arm."
" It's all up with us," said the quarter
master. " I only wish the black villians 1
had given us oue noggin round before they
left."
An hour passed, the last sound of the re
ceding boats bad passed awa3 r . The sai
lors began to groan and lament their fate.
" Have you aty hope left, Captain Rit
son, now ?" said the purser, in a melanc.ioly
voice. " 0 Jemy, Jeuny, my dear wife, I
shall never see you again."
"As for ny wife," said the quartermas
ter, "it's no great loss. I'm thinking more
of nyself. Oh, those villians."
" I have to hope," said the captain, brave
ly, " but lam ready to die. I trust in the
mercy of God. He will do the best for us,
and he will guard my poor chi dren."
Just then, like a direct answer from
Heaven, the fog grew thinner, and the sun
slione through with a cold 3'ellow luster,
showing the line of land for miles ; alas ! it
was not laud, but ice-pack, miles of it, ris
ing into mountainous bergs, green as emer
ald, blue as sapphire, golden as cysolite,
and stretching away into snow plains and
valle3'B. The nearest cliffs were semi
transparent, and glistened with prismatic
colors, but in the distance they merged
again into cold clinging fog. The nearest 1
ice was about two miles oft'.
The captain looked at his companions, !
and tlicy at him, but the 3' did not speak, j
their hearts were so full, for the water
could be now heard gurgling and bubbling
upward in the hold.
"We have two hours more to live, and j
let us spend it," said the captain, bravely,
"in preparing for death. After all, it is 1
better than dying of cold and hunger, and j
it is only the death us sailors have been j
taught to expect at any moment."
" I shouldn't care il it was not lor ny |
poor old mother," said one of the sailors, j
"but now she'll have to go 011 the parish, j
0, it's hard, bitter hard."
" Fie, man," said the captain, with his un
quenchable courage, "have I not ny chil
dren, and the purser his wife. What must
be must be, must be, —bear it like a man."
At that moment a shrewd boyish face
showed itself round the corner of the cabin
stairs, and the next instant up leaped and
danced Harrison, the ship's boy, with a
sharp carving knife in his hand. He ca
pered for joy round the captain, and was
hailed with a tremendous shout of delight
and welcome as he released the men one b3* j
one, beginning with his master.
" They thought 1 was in the hold, " he
said, "diden't they ? but I was hiding un
der the captain's sola all the time,and there
I la3 r till I was sure they were gone. The
vessel's filling fast, Captain Ritsou ; there
is no time to lose. Hurrah !"
"It is quite true," said the purser, as he
returned from below with the captain. "We
have one hour, 110 more, to rig a raft in, so
to it my lads,with a will. The leak's too far
gone, and we've not hands enough to make
the pumps tell 011 it."
The nn u were shaking hands all round,
intoxicated with joy at their escape.
"Come, men, enough of that. I'm a plain
man, and what I say I mean," said the cap
tain, alread3' himself. "We're not out of
the wood yet, so don't holler. Come, set to
at the raft, and get all the biscuts and junk
those villains have left. I shall be the last
man to leave the wessel. I sha'nt leave
her at all till she begins to settle down.—
Purser, get some sails for tents Quar
termaster, 3'ou look to the grub. Harrison,
you collect the spars for the men ; Davis,
you see the work is sfi'oug and sure. It
isn't the coast I should choose to laud on ;
but au3' port in a storm, you know ; and,
purser, you get two or three muskets and
some powder and shot. We may have to
live on sea-birds for a day or two, till God
sends us deliverance,death, or a ship ; that
is our alternative. Come, to work."
The raft was made in no time. But the
stores proved scant3 r . The scoundrel mate
had thrown overboard, spoiled, or carried
off all but three da3's' provision of meat,
biscut, and rum. The captain had almost
to be forced from the vessel. They had not
got half a mile awa3' when the great ice
pack closed upon it, just as she was sink
ing. As the Shooting Star slowly settled
down, Captain Kitson took oft' his cap and
stood for a moment bareheaded.
"There," said he, "goes as good a wessel
as ever passed tiie Merse3" lights ; as long
as she floated she'd have done Messrs Da
vid and Blizzard credit."
"Good by, old Shooting Star," said the
men. "If ever a man deserved the gallows,
it's that first mate of ours."
The raft reached the shore safety'.
"I take possession of this 'ere floating
pack," said the captain, good-humordly, to
keep up the men'< 4 spirits, as he leaped 011
the ice, "in the name of her blessed Majes
t3', and I beg to christen it Ritson's Island,
it it is joined on to the mainland, we'll wait
aud see what the mainland is. I wonder
if there are many bears, or puffins, or white
foxes, on it. And now let's rig the tents,
and then we'll measure out the food."
The next day brought no hope. The pack
proved to be of enormous size, and a deep
[ ice-fog prevented its complete exploration.
\ The food was fast decreasing. The few
j penguins on the pack would not come with
!in shot. Once the3 r saw a white bear, but
;it dived, and appeared no more. The men's
hearts began to sink ; half the spars had
! been used up for the fires ; one day more
and the fuel would be gone ; the rum gone ;
I the meat gone Frost and starvation await
ed them. There were now murmurs Once
! the captain came on two of the sailors who
v. i re crying like children ; another time he
observed the men's fierce and hungry looks
as they watched the quartermaster cower
ing under the tent, aud he knew too well
$3 per Annum, in Advance.
what those savage fires in their hollow eyes
indicated.
"It must come to the casting of lots for
one of us," he heard them whisper. "Eve
ry hour we can pull on gets us more chance
of a ship."
The next day the purser shot two pen
guins, and ate greedily of the nauseous
flesh. The fourth day the provisions were
exhausted at the first meal. Then Captain
Ritson stood up, his musket in his hand, for
he had all this time kept watch at night
like the other men, and shared every labor
and privation. The quartermaster was la
menting his fate.
"If this voyage had only turned out well,"
he said, "I might have got a ship again ;
for the firm promised me a ship again if I
only kept from drink and did my duty ; and j
this time I have done it by tuem, and 1
should have saved the vessel if it hadn't
been for this mutiny."
Captain Ritson hegan,—
"Mr. Quartermaster, silence. This is no ,
time for crying over spilt milk. I dont wish
to hurt your feelings, for you're an honest
man, though you sometimes rather overdid
the grog. I'm a plain man, and I mean ,
what I say, and what I say is this, —here
we are, and we don't know whether it is
berg or mainland, and no food left, —not a
crumb. Now what is to be done ! We j
hear the bear growl, and the fox yelp ; but
if we can't shoot them, that won't help us I
much. We must spend all to-day in trying '
for the mainlaud ; if we find the sea to the
eastward, we must then turn back, commit
ourselves to God, who directs all things in
the heavens above and the earth beneath
(you all heard me read that on Sunday,and
I needn't repeat it), and take to the raft,
whatever happens. But there's one thing 1
have to say, as a plain man, and that is,—
if any coward here dares even whisper the
word "caunibalish,"l'll shoot him dead with
this gun I hold in my hand, and mean to
hold day and night. We are Christien men,
mind ; and no misery shall make wild
beasts of us, while I arn a live captain—so
mind that."
The exploration destroyed the men's last
hope. The mile's painful march only served
to prove that wild tracts of sea, lull of
shaking ice, lay between the pack and the
shore.
"I see something ahead like a man's bod
dy," said the pursuer, who had volunteered
to climb an eminence, and report if any
vessel could be discerned.
"It is partly covered with snow, and it
lies on the edge of a deep hole in the ice "
The party instantly made for it. Harri
son, being light of foot, was the first to
reach it, and to shout, —
"O captain ! captain ! come here ! it's
Philips, the carpenter, that went away with
the mate."
And so it was. They all recognized the
hard bad face. An empty bottle lay by tin;
body.
"I see it all," said the captain. "He gut
drunk, lie lagged behind, and they lost him
in the fog. Some vessel has taken them
off,"
"I wish it had been the mate," said the
purser
As he spoke, a huge black head emerged
for a moment from the water, and all the
men fell back and cried it was the Devil
come for the carpenter.
"Nonsense, you flock of geese," said the !
captain ; it was only a black seal. 1 only
wish he'd show again, and we'd have a shot
at him ; he'd keep us for two days. Now
then, push on, for we must get on the raft
and into the open sea before dark, and the
Lord guide and help us."
Slowly and silently the melancholy band,
with only two sound-hearted men left among
them, the captain and the purser, ascen
ded the last snow hill leading to the shore,
where the raft and the tents had been left
six hours before. The sun, a globe of crim
som fire, was setting behind banks of gray
and ominous mist. Two of the men were
now frostbitten in the cheeks,and lay down
to be rubbed with snow by their compan-;
ions.
The captain strode forward alone to the !
top of the hill to reconnoitre. He was seen
by them all striding forward till he reached
the summit, but slowly now, for that giant
of a man was faint with hunger and fatigue.
The men sat down waiting for him to re
turn, aud rubbing themselves with snow. ;
He returned slower than he had ascended,
feeble and silent. He did not look liis com
panions straight in the face, but wrung bis
hands, pulled his sou'wester over his eyes,
and sat down by the tired men. Then he j
rose gravely, with his old impregnable
courage, and said, —
"Men I bring you bad news ; but bear it
like Christians. It's all sent for a good
purpose. Our raft has been carried off by 1
a flow of drift ice. We have only a few
hours to live. I'm a plain man, and mean
what I say. Let us (lie with a good heart,
and without repining. It is not our own j
fault as to this."
Two of the men uttered yells of despair,
and threw themselves on the ground ; the !
rest seemed to actually grow smaller, and
shrink together in their hopeless despair.
The purser rocked to and fro, holding his
hands. The quartermaster shook with the
cold, and turned purple with fear. The
boy burst into an agony of tears.
"Come, men, let us light a fire," aud Cap
tain Ritson. "We are not women. Let us
collect any remaining wood, and, having
prayed together and committed ourselves
into liis hands (the captain took off his hat
aud looked upwards), let us sleep and in
that sleep, if it is His will, death will take
us."
But nothing could rouse them now. The
purser, and the purser only, had strength
enough left to collect the few pieces of
driftwood outside the tents. It was like
digging one's own grave, as the uight be
gan to fall,and shut out the white cliffs and
desolate tracts of ice.
"Light it, Pennant," said the captain,
"while we kneel round and commit our
selves to Him who never leaves the helm,
though he may seem to some times when
the storm hides Him."
The fire crackeled and spluttered ; then
it rose a thin wavering flame.
"Before this is burnt out, messmate we
shall have started on another voyage, and
pray God we get safely to port. Now, then,
load all the uiuskets, and fire them at the
third signal I give. If there is a vessel
within two miles of the pack, they may
perhaps hear us. One, two, three."
The discharge of the five guns broke tin?
ghastly stillness with a crash explosion.
which seemed to rebound and spread from
cliff to clig till it faded far away in the
northern solitudes, where death only reign
ed in eternal silence,and amid eternal snow
"There goes our last hope," said the
captain ; "but 1 am thankful I can still say,
llis will be done ; and I trust my children
to Llis mercy."
"My wife don't need much praying for,"
said the quartermaster. "She'll fight her
way, I bet."
Just then the purser, who had been
staring at the horizon, trying to pierce the
gloom to the riirht, leaped on his feet,
shouted, screamed, cried, embraced the
captain, and danced and flung up his hat.
Every one turned round and looked where
he was looking. There the saw a light
sparkle, and then a red light blazed up, and
then a rocket mount in a*long tail of fire
till it discharged a nosegay of colored
stars. It was a ship answering their light
j Then came the booming sound of a ship's
gun. It was a vessel lying off the pack,
and they were saved.
An hour's walk (they were all strong
enough now) brought the captain and his
men to the ship's side. The ship was only
three miles oft' along the shore, but the
log had bidden it lroin them when they had
returned to lay down and die.
As honest rough hands pressed theirs,
and helped them up the vessel's side, and
honest brown faces smiled welcome, and
food was held out, and thirty sailors at
once broke into a cheer that scared the
wolves on the opposite shore, Captain Rit-
I son said : " Thank Cod, friends, for this
: kindness. I'm a plain man, and I mean
! what 1 say ; but my heart's too full now to
tell you all I fed. "Purser, 1 did loser hope
just now, when I saw the raft carried oft".
One autumn afternoon, four months la
| tor, three inen entered Mr. Blizzard's office
and inquired for that person,
j " lie is engaged just now," said a new
; clerk (the rest had left ;,|and pointing to an
| inner glass door that stood ajar. "Engaged
| with Captain Cardew, of the Morning Star;
| he sails to-morrow for Belize. Take seats.'
The rauffled-up sailor-looking men took
seats near the half-open door, through
j which came low words of talk,
j " Kiston was too reckless," said a disa
greeable voice, "and quite lost his head in
i danger."
"No doubt," said another voice. "Take
; another glass of sherry, captain."
i '• The purser, too, was not very honest, 1
fear, and very careless about the stores
| By the by, did 1 ever tell you about that
drunken quartermaster, Thompson, losing
- that ship ot yours, the Red Star, oft' the
Malabar coast. He had just returned from
Quebec, so Seuuant told me, who sailed
| witn him. lie had been sotting at Quebec,
i and wheu the vessel returned, be said he
wouldn't go. They found him obstinately
drunk. Will you believe it, lie remained
drunk the whole voyage till they came and
I told him he was near Glasgow. Then he,
, leaped up, shaved hinodf, put < n his last
coat and a white tie, and went on shore t>>
i see our agents, old Falconer and Johnson,
fresh as paint. 11a ! ha !"
The other voice laughed too. It was Mr.
Blizzard,f rorn his throne of large capital ;
he was probably about to replace a ledger,
and consult the almanac, as he had done
that afternoon four mouths before,
i " You must make a better voyage with
, the Morning Star than Captain Ritsou did
with his unfortunate vessel," said Mr. Bliz
zard. "Don't be afuid of the sherry."
But Cardew never drank that glass of
sherry, for'the <i r just then bursting ope i
dashed the glass to pi. cos in liis hand, ar d
Captain Ritson seized him by the throat.
" I'm a plain man, Mr. Blizzard, sir," lie
, said, " and I mean what 1 say ; but if ever
j there was a mutinous, thieving, lying,false,
1 shark-hearted scoundrel, it is this man who
| sunk the Shooting Star, and left me, and
the purser, and six more of us, to die off
Labrador on the ic< -pack. Purser, bring
in that policeman, and we'll have justice
dune !"
! At the next assizes, Cardew was sentenced
to nine years' transportation for frauds on
! the house of David and Blizzard, and for
j conspiring to sink the Shooting Star, and
: part of her crew, off the coast of Labrador
j A Liverpool paper, a few months ago, men
tioned that a bushranger of the same name
had been shot in an encounter with the
! mounted police. As the name is not a
I common one, the busiirangei and the mate
| were probably the same persons.
The firm tried the quartermaster with an-
I other vessel, and lie acquitt- d himself well;
and as for Ritson, he is now the most re
\ spected captain in their service.
For the Reporter.
EDUCATIONAL
No. 1. COMMON SCHOOLS. — Our present system
' of Common Schools is based upon the idea that
1 Education should be the common inheritance of all
| the youth of the State. The State undertakes to
educate its own children : and truly, it can In -
queath no richer legacy than Education. Its ben
efits can not be over estimated. The school sy -
j tern affords the iiieons to accomplish this noble ob
' ject, and places them within the reach of all—th
; poor as well as the rich. It does not offer educa
tion as a gift, affords to all alike the opportunity of
■ '"•qnirutij it. If any remain in ignorance it is bc
i cause they do not accept the benefits within their
i reach. And it is a lamentoblc faet that all do
: not aooept—that many in our own County
i are growing up in comparitive ignorance, not
| withstanding all the pains taken to educate
I them. A large number entitled to school benefits
j attend only in the Winter term many of these so
! irregularly as to scarcely 'hold their own" while
; others do not even have their names enrolled upon
I the Report book. There is a wrong somewht r.
We believe i owing more to the fault of the parents
| than of the children. The latter are often kept at
1 home, or in the streets, because, at school, they
I are required to submit to some kind of restraint,
and their parents encourage them in so doing. The
remedy to this ceil must be applied to society, i o
j do this there must be a stronger public sentiment in
! favor of intelligence. Do you ask how this is to
jbe awakened? By agitatatiou, by calling the at-
I tentiou of the people to their oic/i interests} by dis
| cussing educational matters, by holding edueation
;al meetings, and Teacher's Associations. Scatter
I the school-law, and c ducutionel reading, among the
I people. Ask of your law-makers that inteUiijenc
,be made a requisite to franchisement. Let the
1 Pres reiterate the truth that the future happiness
of our country depends upon the proper education
jof the young. Yes! "Keep it before the people
that ignorance is synouymoys with •ri• . M hat a
| vast improvement in public sentiment might be
brought about, if every newspaper in the State
would devote one column to educational intcrc -ts.
The "leven would then come in contact with the
■ "whole lump. Our (Vmmon Schools, the li, s,
j and the Pulpit, are the three great levers upon
1 which we must rely for the elevation of Society.
These le\ers should work in perfect harmony. Let
there be unity of effort Although our school sys
tem is accomplishing much, there is much to ac
complish. Let the friends of this system strive
i o remove every "hindering cause" to its full effiei
i eney. Now that "this cruel war is over," let us
1 trv to impart to our educational machinery, an or
celernM motion. "Move direct upon the enemie's
j works" and ignorance must begin to capitulate.
ALPHA BETA .
"BRIDE goeth before a fall. It trequeiit
i ly goeth before a waterfall.
NUMBER 46.