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Article THE OLD BOATMAN. Page 1 of 3 →
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The Old Boatman.
THE OLD BOATMAN .
BY BROTHER DOUGLAS JERROLD . " I HAD the legend from a grey-haired captain , who had it from his grandfather . " " And we have two hours good of the watch : tell the tale—tell it , and stint no word . Peace , JabezY and Miguel will tell us of the thing last night . " " What thing ?"
" Why , the thing that hailed us last night . " " I would I had seen it / ' cried Jabez , with an incredulous sneer . " Thou wert sleeping , fast as a tortoise . " " Ha ! ha ! ha ! and we need not sleep to dream , eh , shipmates ?" " By the blessed Virgin , there were twenty of us who heard it—saw it "
" Peace—peace , Jabez ! thou hast no more religion than a dog-fish , " spake another . " And I , " said he who was urged to tell the tale , "have been an unbeliever . Until last night I would have laughed with Jabez : but now—Christ be with us !—what is that ? " A low , long groan , as from a dying creature , came through the air . The sailors—rugged as they were—huddled closer together , and looked anxiouslin ch other
y ea ' s face . Again , the groan was heard . " Ha ! ha ! " laughed Jabez—Is ' t a mermaid ' s song , that you look so white at it ? Did ye never before hear black flesh bellow in the hold of the Santa Maria ? 'Tis the woman whose husband we gave to the white shark this morning . So , since it must be , let us have your story , Miguel . But stay ; first , what was this grandfather , with ' whom the tale began ? " "As ourselves—a sailor . "
" And carried the like cargo ?" " Of the same hell-born traffic . Thou mayest gape , Jabez ; I pray the Virgin , I were once more on Christian earth ! Well ; he had been forty years a sailor , when he heard and beheld the thing we last night heard and looked upon . He came home—discharged his crew—gave his vessel to the flames , and cued a holy brother of St , Francis . Thou shalt have the legend in his words . "
very The sailors closed around the speaker . The night was beautiful : the gentle wind brought odours from the neighbouring shores—millions of stars glittered in the heavens—and the broad green sea lay without a wave .
" Now , Miguel—now . " " Aye , thou shalt have the legend in his very words . " " Sold ! all sold ! Now will I hie me home—live at mine ease—hang a lamp of silver at the shrine of St . Francis , and when I die—pah !—death is many a mile away from the wealthy Pedro . Fellow !—yonder !" Thus ruminated—thus spake Pedro Xibecq he stepped from the
, as beach into a skiff j and pointed out to the plying boatmen a fine , trimbuilt vessel in the bay . Pedro might well triumph : he had made his last voyage—bore about him a heavy weight of wealth , the produce of his freight , some ten score healthy blacks . " They are snatched from their heathen idols , and will be blest with the true faith . " Thus thought Pedro ; and with the thought ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Old Boatman.
THE OLD BOATMAN .
BY BROTHER DOUGLAS JERROLD . " I HAD the legend from a grey-haired captain , who had it from his grandfather . " " And we have two hours good of the watch : tell the tale—tell it , and stint no word . Peace , JabezY and Miguel will tell us of the thing last night . " " What thing ?"
" Why , the thing that hailed us last night . " " I would I had seen it / ' cried Jabez , with an incredulous sneer . " Thou wert sleeping , fast as a tortoise . " " Ha ! ha ! ha ! and we need not sleep to dream , eh , shipmates ?" " By the blessed Virgin , there were twenty of us who heard it—saw it "
" Peace—peace , Jabez ! thou hast no more religion than a dog-fish , " spake another . " And I , " said he who was urged to tell the tale , "have been an unbeliever . Until last night I would have laughed with Jabez : but now—Christ be with us !—what is that ? " A low , long groan , as from a dying creature , came through the air . The sailors—rugged as they were—huddled closer together , and looked anxiouslin ch other
y ea ' s face . Again , the groan was heard . " Ha ! ha ! " laughed Jabez—Is ' t a mermaid ' s song , that you look so white at it ? Did ye never before hear black flesh bellow in the hold of the Santa Maria ? 'Tis the woman whose husband we gave to the white shark this morning . So , since it must be , let us have your story , Miguel . But stay ; first , what was this grandfather , with ' whom the tale began ? " "As ourselves—a sailor . "
" And carried the like cargo ?" " Of the same hell-born traffic . Thou mayest gape , Jabez ; I pray the Virgin , I were once more on Christian earth ! Well ; he had been forty years a sailor , when he heard and beheld the thing we last night heard and looked upon . He came home—discharged his crew—gave his vessel to the flames , and cued a holy brother of St , Francis . Thou shalt have the legend in his words . "
very The sailors closed around the speaker . The night was beautiful : the gentle wind brought odours from the neighbouring shores—millions of stars glittered in the heavens—and the broad green sea lay without a wave .
" Now , Miguel—now . " " Aye , thou shalt have the legend in his very words . " " Sold ! all sold ! Now will I hie me home—live at mine ease—hang a lamp of silver at the shrine of St . Francis , and when I die—pah !—death is many a mile away from the wealthy Pedro . Fellow !—yonder !" Thus ruminated—thus spake Pedro Xibecq he stepped from the
, as beach into a skiff j and pointed out to the plying boatmen a fine , trimbuilt vessel in the bay . Pedro might well triumph : he had made his last voyage—bore about him a heavy weight of wealth , the produce of his freight , some ten score healthy blacks . " They are snatched from their heathen idols , and will be blest with the true faith . " Thus thought Pedro ; and with the thought ,