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VOL. XI.
ISnSAV BLOOMirilSLD, JAA... TUKBDA-Y, Bm'TJSMHlCU 1877.
NO. 38.
jr J II It WW I 1 II .'' I I
THE TIMES.1
An Independent Family Newspaper,
IS rUnUBIIED RVBHT TUE91UT BT
T. MORTIMER & (X),
Subscription Prioe.
Within the Comity 1 21
" " " HII lnilllh,...i in
Out ot tho Cmmty, tiirliiilliiu pustatse.
al v liiiint Itu "
1 W
8
Invariably In Advance I
1- AdvoitlsliiK lilies (mulshed upon appli
cation. PASSING AWAY.
Passing away pnsslng away
Tlic ewect Bummer rosea are panning nwny I
Their beauty is wanted, their fragrance lian
tied,
And wlth'rlng they llo In their damp, lowly
bed.
TUo fair, dewy morns In their splendor will
rise,
Tbepalo stars grow soft In evening's clear
ekles ;
The cooling dew full, and tho musical rain
Buttheso roses will brighten, all I never
again 1
Passing away passing nwny ;
Bright hopes of my youth bow they're passing
nwny
With tho beautiful visions that gladdened my
eyes
Byday-tlnio and night-time, as sun-light tho
ekles!
Oh, hope may como back to my sorrowful
heart ,
Bright dreams from their long-silent chambers
. may start,
But those of my youth I may woo all In vain,
For they ne'er will return In their benuty
again !
Passing away ( passing away j
Friends I havo loved bow they're passing
awny 1
I havo watched them go down to Unit cold
solemn tide,
While tho pale, silent boatman kept closo to
their side )
I've caught tho dull dip of their deep, muflled
oar, r
As bo bore them away to that ccIioIcbs shoro t
And my heart cryctb out In its desolate pain,
But tbey no'cr will return to bless mo again !
Passing awny ( passing awny
Tet I know of a land whoro there Is no decay,
Where tho balmy air's filled with tho richest
perfume
From sweet, fragrant flowers, and fadeless
their bloom )
Whore the soul never grieves, as It doth hero
1 bolow,
O'er fair, vanished dreams, o'er hope's fitful
glow j
Where linked and forever Is love's golden
' chain,
And parting words chill us, O, never again I
THE SEA CAPTAIN'S YARN
cm
A PAIR OF BROGANS.
MY NIEGHBOU, old Captain Crosby
has in the attic of his house a mot
ley array of curious things, mostly col
lected by himself during his numerous
voyages to sea. He took me one day up
into his museum, as he called it, where
I spent an hour Ju examining, with
much interest, such curiosities as shells,
marine birds stuffed and embalmed with
skill worthy of a professional, miniature
canoes and paddles from various islands
in the Pacific, and barbarlo costumes,
weapons in great variety. But one thing
which specially excited my curiosity
was a half-worn pair of shoes, which
had a special place assigned to them at
one end of a long shelf. They wero
brogans of Immense size, indicating tuat
the wearer, whoever be was, must have
been a iman of large understanding.
They were apparently made of coarse,
half-tanned hide, and had very heavy
.soles, thickly studded with nails.
"What's the history of those shoes V"
I Inquired. " Surely you never wore
them yourself V"
;"'No,,notI," answered the jolly old
salt. " I have had them among my col
lection these thirty years and more, but
I shouldn't .care to lug such a clumsy
load about on .my feet. They look very
strange to you, -of course, but they are
the sort-of shoes that are worn, or were
formerly worn, by the convicts In Aus
tralia, who worked in the stone quar
ries. There's a story connected with
those brogans, which I will ti ll you If
you euro to list en to It."
-Of course I did, mid Cnptnln Crosby,
Mho was nlwnys rendy with a story, pro
ceeded to relate how the queer shoes
en me Into his possession.
AY lien I .wns mute of tho Ambuscade,
wc made our Inst port nt Sydney, before
starting for homo. It wns rather nn un
common thing nt that duto for Ameri
can winders to visit tlittt pluee, ns tho
port ehnrgon ntid other expenses were
high, and ours wns the only American
ship In the port. Nenrly till our crew,
being men who had shipped with us by
the cruise, took their discharge here, mid
went ashore to squander their hard earn
ings us rnpldly ns might be. The third
mate was the only ollleer bestdo myself
belonging to the ship, and he and 1 hud
the whole euro upon us, one of us going
n.shorc every night, while tho other
stnld on board, thus attending to tho
duty alternately, nud doing what little
was to be done with the help of the four
or live voyagers who had stuck by the
ship and meant to go home in her. - Tho
captain of course took a roving commis
sion as soon as tho anchor was down,
and went and came as he chose, spend
ing most of ills time on shoro.
There were several large English ves
sels lying at anchor in the port, lnndln;;
wool anil hides, and of course I formed
acquaintance with the olllcers of these
ships, for want of any sullabio compan
ions from my own country. One eve
ning, when it was my turn on shore, 1
fell in with Broughton, tho male of the
St. (ieorgo, nnd we went to take n drink
together nt n little public house near tho
landing.
This, like all English public houses,
hnd n sign, representing in this instance
n sailor throwing his hut nloft, nnd kick
ing up his heels in a highly enviable
state of merriment, nnd wns known iih
" The Jolly Tar." It was kept by one
Hiram Levy, a lean nud hungry-looking
Jew, who bore ns much resemblance to
tho regular typical or ideal landlord ns
he did to the Jolly mariner painted on
his sign. However tho stand was a
good one, and, from its situation nt tho
head of -navigation, the houso appeared
to do a good business.
Wo wero received with a grinning wel
come by the obsequious Hiram, and, as
neither oi us cared to indulge much in
fiery liquors, wo ordered a bottle of light
wine, which was brought to us in a lit
tle npnrtment Just off tho bur-room. Tho
door of this side room stood open, but
curiosity wns unfiled by a hanging screen
of cloth, to be easily pushed nsldo in
passing through, nnd which hung down
to within about two feet of the floor.
While we sut at the little table, chatting
and drinking our wine, some one cumo
into the bar, and called for a glass of
rum In a grufF voice. I glanced toward
the screened door, and saw below the
screen this pair of brogans, and a few
inches of legs clothed In thick woolen
trousers, such as any sailor might bo
likely to wear. , But the brogans were
something quite out of the - common
course. Their size was remarkable, and
their build peculiar. Then, too, the bro
gans themselves were the picture which
nearly filled the frame. Hud I seen the
whole man, I might not have noticed
any one part In particular.
" Good stuff that," said the owner of
the gruff voice, as he threw the coin on
the counter In payment.
" Yes," assented Hiram. " We calls
it preety goot."
" I want a bit of tobaccy," said the
rough voice again.
" Here you, are very nice. I s'pose
you bo good Judge. Come from Amerl
can ship?"
" No, I belong to the wool-droughter,
the St. George."
"He lies," whispered Broughton to
me. " There's no such voice as that
among my crew."'
He took a step from his chair, and
pulled aside the screen with his hand,
but the brogans were clumping across
the floor, and we had only a rear view of
the stranger ,going out at the street door.
" Hiram, who is that chap 1"' he ask
ed, abruptly.
" I don't know," answered the land
lord. " He says he belongs to the St.
George."
" Well he doesen't, for I ought to
know my own crew, I suppose."
" Veil, I don't know. It's none of
initio pIznesH. He took his drink, nnd
paid his mnnlsh like n man."
We returned to our wine, but Brough
ton declared that he thought he hud
seen the sumo man once beforo nt work
quarrying stone, dressed In tho regular
convict's uniform. But ho now had on
the woolen troupers, as before mention
ed, a blue flannel shirt such ns most
British sailors Wore, and n Scotch cup.
But the brogans 1 there they were, nnd
they spoiled his whole muke-up.
" lie's a runaway convict," said tho
Kngllsh mate, summing tip the case,
"and tho Jew behind tho bar knows
him, too. But he won't let on ; ho snys
it's none of ids business, and really I
think It's nono or ours, either. It was
not good manners perhaps, to pull nway
the curtain as I did, but I couldn't help
It when 1 heard hint claim to he a ship
mate of mine, for I knew ho was sailing
under false colors."
A back door was opened nt this mo
ment, and two police olllcers, with their
weapons nnd badges of authority, en
tered the room where we were sitting,
with the nlr of men who hud a right
anywhere, nnd stood not upon ceremony
They scrutinized us closely, but, saying
nothing, passed on into the bar.
" Why, Broughton," said I, " I've al
ways heard your countrymen boast that
every Englishman's house Is hlsetistle."
" Well, wo do boast that," ho returned,
"but 1 suppose we refer to private
dwellings only. It would seem that
this Is not tho caso when ono keeps a
public 'otise."
" Landlord," said tho taller ollleer of
tho two, "you'vo hnd a customer in
here within tho last five minutes V"
"N no, sir. I don't remember,"
&ald tho Jew. "There's two zhcutlc
mens in tho sldo room, drinking vine."
" Yes, yes," returned the policeman,
impatiently, " but there has been unoth
cr man here, I think, within a few min
utes. Conn;, sharpen your memory, or
you may get into trouble yourself."
" There nxis a man hero Just now, jind
took a drink," interposed Broughton,
pushing aside tho screen. " Ho has Just
gono from hero not two minutes ngo."
" Which way did ho go ?"
" I did not see him after ho passed tho
door, nnd I only had a glimpse of him
for a single Instant, und then his back
was towards inc."
" Well, what was he liko'i"' inquired
tho shorter ollleer, in a sharp tone. "It's
useless to ask this Jew publican, but I
can tell him his house is spotted, and
we shall soon find a way to make him
speak tho truth, or break up his busi
ness." "Well, sir," said Broughton, "Idld
not see the strange man's fuce ut all, but
he was a stout fellow in a common Eng
lish sailor's dress. I should say the
principal feature . about him wns his
shoes."
" That's our man 1 tho very point we
want to get at. He's probably on board
one of the ships in tho harbor by this
time, and our game is up for the night."
" But who is he?" asked the English
mate.
"Who to he t Why, Dick Dyer, alius
Joe Johnson, the greatest cut-throat In
this colony, and that's saying a great
deal. He escaped from the guard day
beforo yesterday. Nobody knows how
or where he got the change of clothing.
But he couldn't change his shoes, for no
ordinary size will fit him ; they always
had to be made on purpose for him. He
killed a native Australian this morning,
out back here on the Paramatta road, to
get a little money. We have the full
evidence of this from a man who saw
the deed, but we are Just too late to catch
our man to-night. To-morrow morning
we shall begin a regular system, and if
he is In Sydney harbor we'll have him."
All this time the Jew had stood 'scrap
ing his lantern jaws, and looking as stu
pid as If he did not even understand what
was being said. I had followed my Eng
lish friend into the bar, but I now step
ped back to the table to finish my glass
of wine. At this moment the back
door, by which the officers had entered,
opened softly a little way, and one of
those brogans stepped in upon the
threshold. Then a bead was thrust in, a
close-cropped bead with the Scotch cap
topping It, with a villainous, ugly
mouth, and a square, ponderous jaw,
and a pair of small, evil eyes looked di
rectly into mine. v
" Here he is I here, at the back door 1"
These words weemed to escape me invol
untarily. I was answered with a look
of the most deadly hatred and malice,
and a long knife was raised and mndo a
fierce stab In the nlr, then the knife,
head, nnd brognn all vanished.' The po
liceman dashed through the room at my
outcry, nnd Broughton nnd I, without
even waiting to pny our bill, joined In
the hunt. We heard the heavy iron. clad
shoes go clumping down (ho pier ahead
of us, but on reaching tho water-side all
was h( 111, nnd in tho profound darkness
nothing was to be seen. A single wherry
wns rowing out, having pulled only a
few strokes on her way, but it seemed
hardly possible that the convict could
havo had time to get Into her.
" Boat ahoy I" ' hailed ono of tho offi
cers. " Who's your passenger '("'
" The second mnto of tho Orpheus,"
answered a clear, manly voice, but the
boat did not stop, she kept on rowing
tho faster.
The policemen seemed satisfied with
the answer, and nuked no more ques
tions. We nil looked about, up nnd down tho
wharf, und peered Into every wherry
that was lying Idle, but wero compelled
to admit to each other that wc had lost
the scent nnd were all astray. Brough
ton and I went back to tho Jolly Tar
and paid our scot, much to tho relief of
lllnim. We tried to pump a little con
cerning his acquaintance with tho
strange man, but ho declined nil such
knowledge, and his stolid face revealed
no more expression than n turnip. I
must confess that I felt a little uneasy in
my mind about our adventure with this
desperado, who seemed to have a mania
for crime, and would us soon murder n
man ns look at him. I recalled that
strange, vindictive look which ho had
given mo when he flushed tho long
kiill'o beforo my eyes, and felt that I was
especially marked ns a victim for his
vengeance. When Brougton nnd I left
tho Jolly Tur, I pretended that it wns
necessary to go on board early, nnd thus
wo parted. I called n water-man, and
stepping into his boat, wns rowed off
Into tho darkness.
I don't know why I had such a dread
nay, I must call it downright fear of
that particular man, for I was not usu
ally timid, but still I could not get his
terrible look out of my mind, do what I
would. I did not believe that he had
left the pier in the boat that we had
hailed, but rather believed that ho was
still lurking somewhere on shoro. And
I felt so anxious that I resolved to bo
very careful about going ashore nt night,
until I should hear that he hud been re
captured nnd secured. I should be snfe
enough on board tho Ambuscade, for it
was lxurdly likely that this man knew
what ship I belonged to. But then I
thought ngain, if Hiram the Jew wns
In his confidence, as I feared, he could
find my track easily enough. All this
may have been very foolish, but I am
telling you truly Just what my feelings
were, and I resolved from that time to
go constantly armed, and not to suffer
myself to be taken unawares.
Just before I arrived alongside my
ship, I saw a wherry drop out from un
der her quarter, with no one In her but
the man who was rowing. But she
passed swiftly away into the gloom, nnd
my own water-man soon followed, as I
paid him and climbed on board. All was
still, and our own boat, which was
usually hauled out to the 'swinging
boom end at night, was now absent. I
concluded, as I saw no one, that Mr.
lUndull, the third mate, had gone to
yarn with some crony on board one of
the English ships, and, going forward,
found there was only one of the boys on
board, and he was nodding in the fore
castle, and didn't know of my coming
until I woke nim.
I walked aft again, Intending to d.
scend into the cabin, where there was a
hanging lamp lighted, and its rays
streaming up through the skylight
threw some light upon the objects in
the other end of the ship. My heart
came up Into my throat as my eyes
rested upon the brogans 1
.Like most ships of her class, the Am
buscadehad a round-house built over
the rudder-port, close up to the taffrall,
with lockers on each side.
The front of the round-house was
necessarily cut away at the bottom to
allow the tiller to play clear from side
to side. And there at the bottom of the
paint-locker I gazed upon those ever
lasting brogans, exactly as I bad seen
them looking under the screen In the
bar-room of the Jolly Tar I
I gathered my thoughts In an Instant,
and the convict's being so lienr me must
be pure accidental. ' lie wns dodging his
pursuers, nnd had come off In a wherry,
had seen thitt nil was quiet on board our
ship, nnd had returned to take refuge
where ho wns for the present, Intending
to shift his qunrters when he snw the
right opportunity.' lie felt safe enough
from observation for the present, but ho
hnd forgotten the opening nt the bottom
nnd his omimmn brtifnns I
Tho door wns closed, and ho was
probably holding it, ns thero was no
fastening on thft Inside. I passed care
lessly aft, whistling ns I went really to
keep my courage up nnd stood looking
out nstern, Uniting my body ngnlnst tho
door ns I did so, nnd took tho opportuni
ty to slip the llltlo hasji softly into the
staple, thus securing the door on the
outer side.
I hnd ul ready decided upon my plan
of action, for I wns determined to make,
n desperato attempt to capture the fel
low, and I was actually nlono In the
ship with him, If I accept tho sleepy
boy In tho forecastle. It was quite un
certain how long before Mr. Ilundallnnd
the others would return, nnd I did not
dare to wait. If by nny chance tho out
law should see and recognize me, there
must bo a death-struggle nt once, nnd I
meant to net while I had him at a dls
ndvuntnge. I went round to tho other"
closet on the slurbonrd sldo of tho round
house where I kept some miscellaneous
articles on a shelf, and took down a
pnlr of handcuffs, which I put .'n my
pocket. At the same time I silently cut
the seizing of the lashing which held
the houso in its place. Thus having tho
way, I went forward and roused tho boy
Juke, glvljig him In a few words some
idea of what I mennt to do, nnd thus re
inforced, returned to mako the final
movement. As I cnine nft ngnln, with
my gaze riveted by a sort of fascination
upon the brogans, I saw a brawny hand
pulling off ono of them, while the other
lay empty on the deck.
My friend was taking off his shoes, I n
tending to come out nnd move about
without betraying himself by the noise
of the hob-nnlls.
No nioro timo was to be lost. I rushed
to the starboard side of the little house,
nnd bracing my shoulder firmly ogninst
it, signaled Juke to take his stand at
my sldo and do the same,
"Now I" I whispered; and a our
combined strength was brought to bear,
tho round-house tipped a little.
"Now, Jake I" I crlcdj this time
aloud, and away went the whole struc
ture with a crash over upon Its
broadside I"
" Here, boy, help I" We seized those
immense feet and dragged the crippled
desperado out from among the wreck,
about as wretched looking a specimen
of rough humanity as we could hope to
see in a day's sail. He was nearly
smothered with the contents of the
locker, while lead, lampblack, and
verdigris being the principal component
parts, for we had lately been painting
the ship, and had set all the remnants
away on the shelves, while the full of
one heavy paint keg upon him had
broken his right arm. He was com
pletely at our mercy, and meaning to
keep him so, I had the handcuff upon
him before we went to work to clear the
poisonous paint from his head and eyes.
" Ah 1 it's you, is it 'f " he said, grind
ing his teeth with rage as soon as he rec
ognized nie. " You re the man I want
to be even with some thne or other, but
I little thought I was so near to you. I
see bow it was. Curse on those infernal
brogans 1"
As soon as Mr. Randall returned, we
sent word to the chief of police, and
before we slept we had thu satisfaction
of knowing that the notorious felon
Dick Dyer, alias Joe Johnson, was safe
inside of stone wails.
We had a bit of general average next
mornlng,clearing up the messes of paint
and repairing the uamuges of our bat
tered round-house, but all that was a
trifle.
The smeared brogans were left behind,
and as nobody ever called for them, I
have taken good care of them ever since
as a kind of trophy.
Dick Dyer, as I learned at a later visit
to Sydney, was goon executed after he
had been thus captured through my
means.
Hiram Levy, for harboring him and
other runaway convicts, was set to work
in the stone quarries, but the Jolly Tar
still swung over the door and kicked up
his heels for the benefit of a new land
lord, who looked as jolly as the sign
itself.