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 OP.KKT^OISI 
 
 S OKKAI^'^T^T?^^^-- 
 
 n 
 
 ViiVVLKM KEADINO AT I'OPULAK PIIICES- 
 
 THE 
 
 CREW OF THE ' SAM WELLER 
 
 1)V 
 
 TOHN H^33l3ERTON' 
 
 '' . .... ..,W, .. .' other People. Chiiaren." Etc.. Etc.. Eto. 
 
 AUTUOU OF " Helen's Babies 
 
 CnUPLElf-^ 
 
 TORONTO •. 
 R0S« R0BEUTa0>'. 67 YONOE St. 
 
 1878. 
 
THE CREW OF THE "SAM WELLER." 
 
 [n days which are called old times, iil- 
 TliotiKh Imlf (if thu pcciitle who lived then wtill 
 live, lliLMc were no railways west of the Allc- 
 KlianicH IDT liny ti'lfKravih.-s anywhere, yel there 
 were ev<'ry where mysterious ehaiineis through 
 which [dissed I'rotM the Kasl to lh(3 West ncjarly 
 ev(M-y;liin:r l)y which tlio lii'art of one man 
 iniKlit ^lailden tijat of another. And so it came 
 to pi'i^i^ ll''i' many years ajjjo there was wafted 
 from the larther .-^iiore of the Atlantic, across 
 the monniiiins, alontf the lonesome rivers, 
 tliro i;;ii deriM,' loreslsin which even wild Ijeasts 
 miKh' lose themselves, and over roat' stret. hes 
 of praii ie in whose trackless wastes men were 
 often lost, the Kn^iisli si >ry which has caused 
 more li«'arly merriment than all other humour- 
 ous lales ever written. It pass, d unharmed Oy 
 in ny a fever-haunt like uiilo its author's own 
 " .\ew Isden." then along ttie edge of a black 
 swamp, ujiji (lolefUi-lookinK liitle creek, across 
 u hit of dry i^roiind, up a little Itili and into 
 piiier .lir, aiid tinilly into ihe han<is and heart 
 of old Wesley lierryman, owner of one of the 
 stores in the villa;^(^ of Ulackelsville. Old 
 Wesley, somiitimes called '"Uncle." but fre- 
 quently dirsignaied by appellations not so 
 resi)eetful, was a Methodist class-leader as well 
 as a storekeeper; he was reputed a "close- 
 tlsted" man and ilie owner of the dismaleat 
 c )luction (if iciii^ious books in that section of 
 the country, oi late, however, inon had seen 
 him lanK'hin;^ a great deal us he read at his 
 store do(ir-.-te,p when no customer, were by, and 
 they feared -or hoped— that th ^ old man was 
 losing his mind. J''in illy, on a bright November 
 morning, old Wesley walked, with a gait adapt- 
 ed al)oui. e(|iially from the poniteni and tin? 
 sneak, down the main street and to the creek, 
 cari'ying a paint-pot and brush ; t wo hours lat(u" 
 the iown was shaken. .almost as by a severe 
 a.;ue, by the infnrmalion that old Wesley's new 
 It it-boal had a name painted on it, and it wasn't 
 done ill tar. either, as was the usual way, but 
 with good black paint and on a eiirface smooth- 
 ed for the i)iiriiose. 
 
 ' .Vlust be after somebody that's just died, 
 lhe:i,"8 ggestedold Mi's. Longhouse, who was 
 tlic lirsf recipient of the news from the Usher- 
 man who had brought it from the creek, 
 " domeOody who's just died, and that the old 
 III lu has come it liver in a trade some way, 
 mark my words. What did yo say the name 
 wuz, George T' 
 
 "riam W Cller, " replied the fisherman; "I 
 wuz askiii' the tellers round the saw-miil if 
 they knovved any such person, but they didn't. 
 I do I't remember the names about these parts." 
 
 "N'utherdo I," said the old lady, "and 1 was 
 Dorn -well, tw.iii'l liutt year, anyhow," she con- 
 tinued diplomatically, after almost committing 
 the most unwomanly indisi;retion of revealing 
 her age. " Mebbelie was some of the old man's ; 
 wife's folks, 'said Mrs. Longhouse, gazing tlz \ 
 
 edly into the foliage of a great oak as if It wcro 
 Uie JJcrryman geiuaujgical tree ; " tuev say she 
 brought him his inom.y, an' there wuz some 
 trouljic about gciun' 11. Anyhow' theoidman 
 aiu t u-ed lip go(yd i.ainl f/utt wayomesrs there's 
 somttliiu' on ins mind man; my words, 
 tieorgc." 
 
 •just what /s.y, Mi.sa Longli(jii»e," replied 
 the lib.ierman, and ibe reiiiauung villagers 
 agree(l sviih tlie couple. 
 
 As for tliu cralt whose name hnd been the 
 cause ol so much curiosity, she was typical of 
 the country m wbicii she was buiit- broad, 
 rougii, unsightly, but extremeiy u.-eful. ^^he 
 was simply uii enormous oblong box. with no 
 interior space but wiiat was u.-elul for stowage 
 purpo.->es. ihe bare ground eo. situted ihe 
 ■■ ways " upon which slie was buili, and the 
 ceremony ol launching vviis conducti d solely by 
 nature, lor the Novtmber rains expanded the 
 utile creek until its waters reached the Imat 
 and lifted 11. Nature aiso supp.ied its motive 
 power, tor It was exp. cted to move only by 
 lloaiing w ith ihe currents of snob streams as it 
 drifted into. It liad along oar all, and one on 
 each side amidsliips. out iiiese vve;e merely 
 to be used when it was necessar> to change the 
 boat's course— never to increase her .-^peeU. Her 
 cabin was merely anunoecupiedend of theboai, 
 being separated iroai llie sio.%age r-paee only by 
 a wail (j1 corn in bags. Ihe furniture, thougu 
 noi elegant, was suiHcient ; upon each side 
 were two bunks, and against lue wall of corn 
 sacks was another, and inese live b( ds aeeoni 
 modatcd the entire crew and its single officer. 
 A piain wooden table stood in front ol the ofti- 
 cer s bunk, tins latter being by day a seal, and 
 agaii.si the broader wall of the boat reposed a 
 brick tire-place and cliimney. 'ihe walls were 
 ornamented with culinary utensiis, and about 
 the tlijor, out of the ordinary cenlro, were rang- 
 ed the principal portion of the commissary 
 Stores. 
 
 1 reckon old Uncle lierryman '11 he sendin' 
 his boat oil' pretty soon, " suggi sled one villager 
 to aiioiiier uficr they had exchanged greetings 
 and disposed of tiie weather, lie's got that 
 name on her. and lie wouldn t have done that 
 till the la-it minute, so s to save the interest on 
 ttie cost of paint." 
 
 Ihespeakerssupposition was correct, whether 
 or n I Us basis were sound. Tfie ham Welter 
 had been raised from the ground by the swelling 
 of the creek, tier moistened planking ciosed its 
 seams, slie was pumped dry, her cargo, consist- 
 ing of barrels of pork and sacks ot corn, was 
 p jt on board, and quite a number of loaiers had 
 stood idly about tor several uajs so us to be 
 ready to enjoy to the full the excitement of 
 seeing the sani W'eller drift down the creek, 
 wnen Heacon faizra t^acksiit, wlio had severoi 
 mouths before been engaged as captain, pilot, 
 male, ana clerk, carried dismay and an anxious 
 face into Uncle lierryman 's stoie by staling 
 tiiat two of the crew had failed him at the last 
 
TFTE rin:\v of the sam wkller. 
 
 Inntant. Ono of thetn had fjono no one knew 
 'vhori!, upun a. Uiial Hpn-c, in unticipalion of 
 Bcvoiul svr<'l;.si)f tluj corrofi. lnil)it.s wliich Ut'ii- 
 i!on I'.ifkHit' always cxiicictl from his iiew. 
 
 while workinK 
 
 liiiii to luke half 
 l)row3 and pursed 
 
 and the otiun- had lirokoii a l< 
 111 a ' cleariuic.' 
 
 "1 had tliat drunken Sam I'ys^or on n>v mind, 
 too,'" Hnid III.' Dcaron, Mionrnfully ; " I'd meant 
 to i<it him under ennviciioii, un\ how, on liiis 
 trip, while he was awuy from his old friendH, 
 and maybe, the «ood Lord willin", ^it liim con- 
 vorted_ln'f)re he j^oi baek home." 
 
 " An' I," rtaid tue owner of Ihc l)i)at. restini^ 
 hlfi elbows on his counter and htariiiK vai'anlly 
 ai a shelf of patent medicines, ' I'd K'>t hini to 
 a^reetotake half his pay in store goods, ho 
 he'd hive cost nn; about tiv(! dollars less than 
 llie rest of 'em. !('« hard on Ixjth of us. Deacon, 
 but ihe (Tcek mav fall 'tain'l rained much for 
 a day or two -so I reckon we'll hev to leave our 
 Horrers to the JiOrd, and look U|i a new nnm - 
 two new meii. .Mebbc; you can j,'et some other 
 felhir tha' needs convtu-tiuic a * bad as Sam I'y- 
 jjer did ; you mis'lit tell him what the range- 
 ment was with Sam, an' gii 
 his \n\\ in Koods." 
 
 Till' Deu" in wrinkled his 
 his li IS ratlier imiJatiently, but Uncle Herf-yman 
 was his employer, Iher • were no other (latboats 
 buildiiiK oil tlie creek that reason, and there 
 wore oiner pilots to be had, .so the Ueaoon 
 speedilv recovered Ids business temper, and re- 
 marked :— 
 
 "Oh. yes: there's plenty tliat need it as bad, 
 but there ain't as likely soil in 'em to work on. 
 They ain't got tiie headpie c to understaTid the 
 doctrin'-s. How much shall I od'er lo pay /" 
 
 " <.)n, Deacon," said the siorek tper, '"' there 
 you Ko ns^iin on the wriui:^ track. You're 
 alwaya e.^p -ctinLC people to git n-ii^ion throu:.;h 
 t'acir iieads. I got mine th ou;,'li :::y heart, in 
 tl»« twiiiklin' of an eye, wlory to (iod ! an' ho 
 ean uiivDody els:' e,f they believe. 1 don't think 
 ^'•1 oiler more'n twenty-live dodara. 1 know 
 t'uriy's the regular price, but tlalboata are 
 Hkeerce this winter, an' there must be lots of 
 follows waitin' to go to Orlean-." 
 
 "There's i)!enty that waid to go," rejilied 
 the l^eacon, " but they aiti't them that I'd lake. 
 Nosv tliere'a Km iry liickins' boy he's od 
 oaough an'slrong enough, bat let him once gel 
 10 New Orleans, an' he'd go to the devil faster'n 
 In ever rode a boss in ascrutj race. I heerd 
 him talki'i' about wantin' to go it must have 
 been Ine beginiiin' of the sea.son an' he 
 siid he'd be glad to go for nothin', just to see 
 0.1 ;ana " 
 
 '• Wny, git him, then!" exclaimed the st. ire- 
 keeper, straightening himself at once. " I never 
 had .such a cliance bm once iti my life before - 
 I'd be Just that much ahead." 
 
 The Deacon Btraigluened too 
 it, Mr. llerryuian I don't mean 
 loss o. tnat boy's so:d iaiil on inc.' 
 
 The storekeeper turned toward 
 bios, and then turned rapidly 
 " ueaco I Packhitt, " said he, "tain't your resk, 
 u.all. Whether a man standeth or falleh, he 
 d')OS ii unto himself. That s good Scripture 
 ii jctrine, I b'leeve I If a man falls, ii.'shisoion 
 sin; it ain't goin to be laid onto any tlatooat pi- 
 1 )t no, nor any llaibua'. owner, nedlier." 
 
 "Yes, that's go id doctrine," admit ed the 
 D;;ucon aftera monu'nt of hesitation, "but if 
 a man falls beoause sounduidy else puts a sliim- 
 b.in' blooivin his way, 1 reckon it i-n't ihe fault 
 of the man that falls, partickkilarly if the stuni- 
 blin* block that's stuck ou is as big as the liull 
 city of -Sew Orleans. Hesides," con inued the 
 De con, " nobody ever could keep Unit boy 
 from ifittin' drunk just when he's a mind to, an' 
 
 "I cant do 
 lo have the 
 
 a shelf of Ui- 
 bacK again. 
 
 if he happened lo git loo much a)ioard when 
 'twas his turn on neck, and he let her run lier 
 head on an island, there 'd be 1 1, e whole cargo 
 spiled if Ihe ri\er should fall. V'ou know 1 
 always ir</,s down on lakin' driiikin' men onto 
 crews - 'tain'l ever .safe." 
 
 ■ That's so, Deacon," said lh(! slorekeeiier, 
 who had slowly resumed nis li.siliss position, 
 '■you always «'//.'< sale as ,\ou o/7 to lie. U»;t 
 I kind o' think you dodged Ihesuliieci of who'd 
 be to blame if tlie b.iy wi iit to liie bad. I'll 
 have that o<it with you, s .nu'time ; I've got tho 
 apostle i'anl on my side, -scj / ni sure to beat 
 yon. Hut who c.m wt; get } W by 1 declare ! 
 
 how could 1 have forgot ! There's old Lug- 
 wine, down in the iio.loms; he was licggii»' me 
 to let him go, but 'twas . tier tlii^ hand.s war all 
 en^ia.i^d; he said he wanted to go so's to cut 
 an bring back a hundred or two li.ih-poles,' 
 that he tliouglit he could get a (piarier apiece 
 lor. lie ought to be wiiii .' lo take twenty-live, 
 >es, IWiMity dollars, aal e\\n liitcen. for iho 
 ehanc of inakin' muncy on a lot of dsh-poles. 
 AH he's never be n gathered into tlie ark of 
 safety, not lie. 1 here 'r. your (. nance, l>eacon." 
 
 ■' S'i'ell, yes," said tin; lieacon. "lie isn't 
 much of a man, bit iie'i, do on u pinch. I 
 don't know about converlin' thi-m Dottoin 
 chaps, iliough ; their dog.s lias got more sense, 
 an' J list aliout as mmdi rengion. "4 
 
 " You wouidn I talk no dismal about "em if 
 you w.is a Methodi.st instead ol a I'resbyterian, 
 Deacon," said ihe storeKeeper with animation. 
 " The grace of ijod can Had ils way into llie 
 meancsi heart, bless the l.iord. (in(;e I didn't 
 think any more about religion than a Dolloni 
 feller, an' noir look at m ." 
 
 HrJt was perhaps unconsciously that Ihe store- 
 keeper dropped his ejcs as he concluded lliin 
 speeidi, so that when tiie Deacon complied will 
 his employer's reiiue.st, the tace ot ihi' latter was 
 so neai'ly invisible tiiai tlu; l/cacon could see 
 littl bill a dull scalp insullicienily covered with 
 dingy gray hair, it was better ihat 11 should bo 
 so, however, for the Deacon's peculiar gaze 
 might not have fiihy pleased Ins emp oyer. Suil- 
 denly the storekeeper rai.^ed Ids head and re- 
 marked: 
 
 " Well, old Lugwine'« one, anyhow ; it would 
 be buiyir.g oiy Lord's lalent instead of putting 
 it lo usury, if 1 lust him when there's a chance 
 of geltin' him so cheap. ^ on'd better go see 
 him right oil", wlnie 1 look up somebody else; 
 if I can tliid somebody with a soul to be saved, 
 I'll do it, even though you an' me don't agreeon 
 how it ort to be done,' 
 
 The Bollom, in which Deacon I'acksitt was to 
 llnd old Lugwine, had the reputation of being a 
 hard place. Everyiliing aliout 11 was hard, ex- 
 cept the soil; this, as if to couiiteriialancc the 
 general hardness ol iin; IJoltom, was soft and 
 yielding, ijrass never grew uiuler the trees in 
 the liollom, and pro.itrale trunks turned black 
 and exudeil ooze. The houses in the Hottom 
 were small, and of 1 igs ; each of ineni consisted 
 of a single room, the door ol whicn was fie- 
 i.uently the only window, and was occasionally 
 the chimney also. Furuilurc, excejii frying-pan, 
 axe and gun, was almost unMiown in the iiot- 
 tom. 
 
 The inhabitants of the 1 Jot torn were in one 
 8ense|ari.s'.ocrat3 -they de. pi ed labour, and they 
 persistently abstained irom d ing any. Tney 
 would bit upon door-steps or the bank of ihe 
 creek, but never as I ibourers in the market 
 place. A Uoltomile would occasionally lisii, 
 or chase a deer, or shoot a wild turkey, or cut 
 down a hollow tree with the hope of rinding 
 
 ill 
 t| 
 
 * American bamboo, which grows very large 
 in the Hwanips of the Lower Mississippi. 
 
THE CREW OF THE SAM VVELLER. 
 
 5 
 
 "'"1 wIh«/i 
 •'•lun /„.,. 
 
 I'" " Wii-Ko 
 Kllovv 1 
 
 '"I!" onto 
 
 J.l'osition, 
 
 <»' who'd 
 had. ij, 
 
 KOI tiio 
 
 V '" tJt'at 
 
 ''•'t-'ifwo ' 
 
 , "'li hiiff- 
 
 Iwia'iiie 
 
 r."' 'o cut 
 
 [''-poles,* 
 I"'" ujJioco 
 
 'u'- I ho 
 *''-lJoJea. 
 I" Hrk of 
 iiijoa." 
 ''l- ibji t 
 I'lcli. I 
 
 « souse, 
 
 'oin if 
 V'orian, 
 "latioii. 
 'to liie 
 <li<ln't 
 'bottom 
 
 I' store- 
 ed iJii.v 
 
 li UJtJ 
 
 t^or wu.s 
 ||J<1 see 
 <l UitJj 
 
 "lid ho 
 1' Kuzc 
 
 • «ud. 
 ml re- 
 mould 
 'Uiintr 
 
 'aiice 
 •0 sue 
 else ; 
 ived. 
 seojj 
 
 It to 
 'K a 
 ox- 
 tile 
 iiud 
 
 * in 
 ick 
 
 Olll 
 
 ted 
 
 40- 
 
 .11, 
 )t- 
 
 le 
 
 y 
 y 
 
 u 
 
 lioMOj' tliiTciii, liiit (iH Hir h ('(FiirtH were elnaHi- 
 lied MH Bports. Ill (Iri'-s, also, tlie iiihaliiliiiitH of 
 tlie Hotloiii vverearisiocriiis in vviiicli tlie' wen; 
 Kuilty of tio Hcrvile iinilaliun of each oiJier. 
 Kach wore tfaniieiit-i iieeiiliar to iiiiiiHcl', and 
 wliieh seldom or iie\er K.i\(! plaee t.i tlio-e pre- 
 scrihcMl 'ly lyr.imiieal f.i.sliion. In niatiers of 
 ednoatioii. tuo. ihey w<Te arisloc'ivtic ; tlieir 
 pi'ide in llie ienorinee of ilieir cliildtrn was, if 
 not so po lieallv e.\|ir<'s-ed as that of the as^ed 
 DouKhis, at least as'Herted hy (h'eds tlie iiiijiort 
 or' which emild not he niis'aken. Whih- :}'.<> 
 county aii'lioritieH were ii lildiiii^ a Heliool-hou<e 
 atnon^theni. tlie Ii<ilt()iiiileH dedineil ev(Mi to 
 Hit ' jioii its tiinbefs. nii'l when the hni diiiii was 
 (• >tnjileted, the>|(|iiielly liiirned it to the itroiind. 
 They were not aminved to learn that the »<chool- 
 tiouse iiad h(!eti paid f<ir liy taxation in tin; 
 eoiinty. for no IJulloniiu; w sever known to pay 
 taxes. 
 
 In religion, evory man in tho Bottom w s a 
 priest uiiio iiimself. The women oecasionally 
 exhihiteii senlimeiital weakn ss on the suhjee't 
 of preaeiintr. ami the men allowed them to do 
 so— that was ail. Old Kiilcr Hidiiiedowkor rode 
 o\ er to the Mutlom one .Snidav to sinil<^ the in- 
 haliitants with I he sword of the Spirit, and walk- 
 ed home afler s(>rviee, his horse liaviiitr d'saji- 
 peared, never to retuivi. Then youiiK Eiitflish, a 
 meek-eyed K)>iseo|ialian, rt ml the heanlifnl ser- 
 vice of hi.-t L'huiih in Ihe Ilo lom. with iio res- 
 p use except from a soninolenl male or two. 
 lirother l!iini:lile. the eii'eiiil rider, wj-nt to 
 them as an ambassador he:l^in^i a niessaj^e from 
 hisKrcat Kiiivr.tiul wlieii he took from his pocket 
 somtMieatly fu'ded pieces f^f (laper on wliieh 
 he had made fiolcs from which to speak, the in- 
 hahitaiits took him for a dei'Uty i-heiili' in 
 dispraise, and th se who did not jirecipitalely 
 retire arose ai.d <'asi hi n from 111' ir midst. 
 
 Consistent as the iehahilanis of the Jiottom 
 .'Strove to he, they were iiiiman.and they dejiarted 
 so far from their prineiples as to )) ant' corn. For 
 this olfei ice ii;<ai list their uriwriitcii cree ' they 
 were not to he coiidemncd sevi'i'ely, for lln^ in 
 tlucnci; uponilieir lives ipf the t'eautiful cereal 
 was almost as Kreal as that <d" fate itself. Un- 
 like other soils of lahdiir. the piaiiliiiL;' of corn 
 was almost pleasural)le. The {.(roiiiid was lirst 
 lirepare I hy a ploiiuh, and the h rs'Ml'orrowedl 
 who drew this imidemeiii always drew also 
 I li>^ Kreater portidii oi' the weight of the lord of 
 I lui manor, as h(,' followed in the furrow. The 
 )>!aiitini; of t lie I'oni was done ))y the a-sistance 
 of the neinlrioiii s, and ollereil nearly a-* many 
 opi)ortiiiiilies for conversation and conviviality 
 as did pel feet leisure. .\s the corn k'"ov.- a li 
 wax(,'d tall, the tichl formed for tlic inchria'e 
 Kiittomili ii ipcrfect refiiK'c^ fro ii the ie))roa<'h- 
 lul eyes of lis wife, or from ihe minions of the 
 law who had frcciuent occasion to visit the Hot- 
 lom ; for a walk of a few steps into its leafy co- 
 verts W' iild ,secr( t ■ a man aa sec'.ircl)- as a 
 wearisome tramp into the fori'st. Hesides, the 
 cnllivaiion of c(jrn \\asin some sense a matter 
 of honour to Ihe inhahitant of tlie i;.)ttoin ; his 
 liiKhi'sl amhiii.in.s. his most earnes; exertions, 
 his tende; est.lliehls of fancy, his deeds of great- 
 est darin;;, were all i'ldiicell liy whi^^key ; IliiH 
 stimulani wismade froia corn," and if men were 
 to plant, where was tlu' maiiisprinK uf life to 
 come from t 
 
 His freedom from the thralls of cdncitlon be- 
 ing as pt rfect as it was, it is not wonderfu that 
 the l^ntoniitc never consulted an almanac ; to 
 this fact may he atlrilmled his peculiar method 
 of di\ idiiiK tlic ) ear into seas(;n8. His seasons 
 were three ; the lirst. which licgan in May and 
 was quite short , was the time to plant 
 coi-n ; Ihe rcmaiinh-r of the year was divided 
 into lime to diink whiskey and time toseud for 
 
 the doctor. 'I'he dunition and limits f.f the first 
 HeiiMon miyht he closelv dellin'd. hut the others 
 lapped and inier-coinmiinicateil as lovin^rlvRs 
 the isoihern.al lines alouK tlio line of the 
 .Northern I'.ieilic railway. 
 
 The male inhahitanis of Ihn Bottom had one 
 liniean weakness to .m unusual de^rree Ihey 
 worshipped their women. I heir adoration was 
 in many respects like that with which most 
 worshiiipers rejrard Deity ; it was always stiijiid 
 and sometimes vulj^ar : it was full of nej^ativcH ; 
 it (lid not imjily that the worshiiiiMr would put 
 hmiself out to spare pain for Ihe worslji|»pcd,hul, 
 on tlic other ' 'ind il would never wilfully inflict 
 oain. Obedience w s as fre(|uintly (liid wil- 
 lingly renderiMl by the husband tf> ilie wife as 
 accordinjf to t e most irksome of conventional 
 marriaKc vowa. The women at the Bottom 
 were characterized by many attrlbntps of aris- 
 tocracy ; they weiesniall, sJiKhl. colonrlisH. and 
 Kcneraily riisi)layed llni mud-coloured hair, va- 
 cant ey.e low ftu'tdicnd and retreatiiivr chin bo 
 ' fre(iueiitly noticed in thedescendanis of ftiniilies 
 ' which inherited wenllh. Hut liic expression of 
 I lassitude 1) culiar to most aristocr.itrs had in the 
 j women of the Moltom k'iven place to a look 
 I which seemed to indicate a IohkO'K f<'r heaven 
 I yet a fear to letive earth, and il was with thM 
 j expression that .Mrs. I.uKwii'.e jfreeted Deacon 
 ; I'acksitt \\ hen Ihe old man. \\ lio, h inatfislrat^ 
 as well HH a deacon. eiKpiired tor In r hm-hand. 
 
 " I ain't seed him lately," said Mrs. Lngwine ; 
 "he 'llowed this morniii' that mehhe he iniKht 
 Ko to town a bit." 
 
 The, Deacon acrajied with his heel the dirt 
 where the door-sill would have been had the 
 house been almost anywhere else, and then ho 
 looked emiuiriiiLdy and somewhat douhl fully 
 toward the town. 
 
 "Nooody hain't sick, is there?" af-ked Mrs. 
 LuKwinc.with hypocritical solicitude and with a 
 trembling heait. 
 
 "Oh, 11"," replied the Deacon ; " I was only 
 thinkin' that mebbe, > ain, your husband, might 
 like to go to Orleans with me on Beirymun's 
 tlalboat." 
 
 '"Aly 1" exclaimed Mrs. l.iigwiiie, lli'st looking 
 greatly relieved, and then iiiori- anxious than 
 ever : " Orleans is u good ways oil'- way Lolow 
 Cairo." 
 
 " I reckon it is," remarked the Deacon, ap- 
 plying a vigorous giind or tsvolo Lis mouthful 
 of tobacco- " about twelve hundred miles be- 
 low." 
 
 "Sakes !" exclaimed Mrs. Lu'-'winp ; "that's 
 a ;joic( /i/'u/ ways !" 'i'he announce cut ot the 
 disiaiK e secnu'd to work upon her ininds-olor- 
 cibly as to occa-ion iiiMue agitaln^ii, tor the old 
 lady aiiruptly and hastily tilled and lighted a 
 chiy piiie. "Are ytui sure you can bring him 
 l)ack safe i" 
 
 The Deacon looked (luickly ihlothe eyes be- 
 for him, but dim and old as they \^ ere there 
 was something in them which tic could not gaze 
 upon longer than an instant : I lien he Uujked 
 into t e liarren hut. and around its dismal sur- 
 rounding-, and said softly, to himself, 
 
 " If I was sure 1 rouliln't, what a (rod's bless- 
 in' I'd be to you an' your young ones I ' Then he 
 said aloud, 
 
 " Oh, certainly ; make him to come back 
 with me, and I'll engage to bring him right side 
 up." 
 
 "\Vell,"faid the old lady, with an agitated 
 pull or two at her pipe, "1 dunno. It 'pears to 
 be a great resk. I wish Cain wa-^ here liisself. 
 P'raps hj.' is sonu^where around- mebbe he 
 didn t go to town aticrall. I'll see if I can tlnd 
 him. >it down. Deacon if ye sit on that log 
 thar, ye ken rest yer back agin t e cido of the 
 house." 
 
THE CRKW OF THE SAM WELLKR. 
 
 Mrs. liiii^wino. movort toward fho litflo imt-h 1 
 chUoiI liviMiurtosv H "Held" ■.fcorn. hikI huoii 
 icturiit' 1. fnllinvi'il by Ii«t lonl hixI iimHtcr.who. 
 iinclcr tli<> iiifliicncc" of iiii opitorinnity to "o 
 KoinclhmK be wiiriti'd to. "ns already lookinK i 
 roiiMldfinlily iiioro iiiaidy than u.siial Tho 
 thaiu<* ill hi appcaraiii-ii -o Hiartlcd the Km- ] 
 COD that h.' delcrmiiHMl not to heat him down | 
 in price at ail, noh" slini>iy announced that \vi \ 
 would IKe Idin for one o? the erew of Uerrv- | 
 nian'rt flatboat. at the usual price, payable In , 
 
 •■rii do it." Haid Mr. LuRw^no promptly, 
 "'xocpt I want five dollar^i of ti. m>iv,V i'" cash ! 
 iuHtoi d of i;oo(N. It'll ooHt mo tw dollars to | 
 comeback, dc<^k passage, on a Htean.'ioat. an a 1 
 dollar more lo britif,' my (Ishpoles : ii "oUarforj 
 whut I'll eat on the way, and then." - viii Mr. 
 1/ik'wliK', r.unen^bcrinj? bis darlin,? wea'aicss, 
 '• I may t<ei sick on tho way, an' need ..oine 
 ined'oine." „ , , , „ 
 
 "C.mo back with me," s.id the Deacon 
 bru-qui'l' , a piost savaKely, "un'ril doctor 
 you free of charRe," 
 
 "It'savtaine, then," said I>u«winc. ' i^hake 
 bands onto it." 
 
 Tiie Deacon took the out-stretched hand ra- 
 ther yiiueilv ; he had duK i)otatoc9, the Deacon 
 had, ami without iriovcs. oiu ib re inKcncraliv 
 but (UK' kind of soil adherintr to a potato, aixi 
 it seems to belonii there by divine ri^'bt. .Sud- 
 tietdy, howev( r this bindine ceremony was 
 broken by Mrs. Luscwiiu-, who threw ber.sdf 
 ujion her husl)anir-( brea>t and cMclaimed : 
 
 "i^aiii, ye hain't never been away froii» me 
 th't louK {>cforc." 
 
 The H i;f()inile looked sheepishly at tin? Dea- 
 con, and then, as if .somewhat Hiirpri-<eil, at his 
 wife. 
 
 " Why. thafa so, Altniry. hain't it } I'll be 
 Kol du iieil ef it hain't !" 
 
 ■' Well," ."^aid the hoiic.on, " we w vnt to tret olF 
 Kt-morrer iiii'rnin', iet at dnviii'ti» sn'«'o"et 
 Dut of the Dhio an' i .to the Mississippi before 
 dark." 
 
 This announcemc. t caused ^Irs. liUj^wine 
 iii^aiii to Ti'sort to the fragments of h(>r hus- 
 band's shirt front, from which she had temp<ira- 
 rily ret ircil. and to throw her arms aiToss her 
 bnsbiu I's shoiild'-rs. bcholdiiit,' which indi(M- 
 ti ins of fe'lint^ tlie Deacon precipitately retreat- 
 ed. SN'lien he rejoined his employer he found 
 that ><cntleman despondent. 
 
 "J'car' like evcrytl^ing was a/'inst ni 
 
 sighed Uncle Berryiaan. 
 
 Kv'rybody I've 
 
 si)oke to is just dOiU' somethin' or goin' to do 
 Koineiliin.' Didn't it never seem to you. Deacon, 
 as it' the Lord a unetimes withdrew his pro- 
 tectin' arm from us, jest perhaps to try our 
 faith r 
 
 " Like enough," conceded the Dea(!on, whohad 
 long had his (lotibts as io whether liis employer's 
 interests were really committed to the care of 
 tho Lord or th(^ adversary, but who did not care 
 to argue a tlieologic il point wIkmi ther(< was no 
 time to t)e lost in reaching the Mississippi river. 
 "But taint, wise for us to slop trvin' at such 
 times Wonder who that strange feller is across i 
 the street {-he don't look as if be had anything i 
 to do, an' yet he don't look like a lo»'" r." | 
 
 Theqiiestron was Hi)eedily at».^wered by the i 
 strang'ir himself, for lie crosed the street as if i 
 moved by a sudden i.oi)ulse, walked into the I 
 store and saiil : 
 
 Mr. Beryman and Captain Pack.Sitt, I i 
 believe i" 
 
 " Yo irs truly, sir," replied the Deacon. 
 
 "Ah, thank you." said tho stranger; "my i 
 name is Brown Walter Brown I understand | 
 you want a hand for yotu- Hatboat. I've never j 
 DJen oa a Hatboat, but I've sailed a schooner iu i 
 
 „ hard gale of wind. Tf j'oii'vp no ob.jertfon, 
 1(1 like lo form one of the crew. 'I Ik- pay Im 
 no object. I want lo go (udy for Die sake of ii 
 iiew «'xperience." 
 
 To have a manofrcrto work for nothine was 
 a new exj)eriene(> to the sloreke. jier. but hi^ 
 tendency lo (ind fault with an aiuilieant for 
 work had to be appeased in some way, so he 
 sai<l : 
 " I'm afeared you ain't slrotig enonirh." 
 The stranger stuipped bis eyes at fh(> 'Id tnan 
 liandsome. but rest ess anil furtive eyes they 
 were : suddenly he placed I wo batrs of shot, 
 weiifliing twenty-tlve potiiid-" each, on bis hand, 
 anil held tliem iit arm's l< imtji. suving : 
 " Can }/o« do that cither of you I" 
 " Nf)." said the storekeeper Iniriiedly. " and T 
 don't wiint to. I'nt 'em dowti quick, or mebbe 
 you'll drop 'cun 'an spill the shot— you can'i ever 
 gel '^liot out of the criicks in a floor. T rei'kon 
 vou're stronuenough.but your h uids lonk pretty 
 K :ft— the skin'll conu' otr oi 'cm first time you 
 h( !o us(> thesweeps" (oars). 
 
 'I ;i(^ strantrer looked contemptnously at his 
 • mall white hands, and briellv ejaculated. " Let 
 it " 
 
 1 lot h natives irazed so hungrily "t 'he young 
 nuin that they momen aiily foitr't lh(^ir busi 
 ness ; strangers were not numerous or freque^'t 
 [ at Braekelsvillc. and shapely, biuid-niue. ncntly 
 I dresst^d men wen' ntner seen there imle s they 
 hiipp"iu>d to stray from elsewhere. Th • sfa'iiv.' 
 ; contintied. and so did the silence. until the younir 
 i nuins'arted, luriu-d, and moved toward 'he 
 door, saving: " I beg vour pardon 1 did not in- 
 tend to impose myself iqion you." 
 
 Tlie storekeeper recovered bim-^elf hastilv 
 fr(uu the extreme depths of conteiiiplalion, and 
 , exclaimed : 
 
 "Here stop a bit, strnmrer 'Mr.| Prowr, I 
 i mean don't be in a 'mrry. / don't see why yoti 
 won't do ; how is it. Deacon " 
 " I'm saliitle<l, "briellv answered the master 
 : of the craft." 
 
 "Then it's a bargain." said the storekeeper, 
 "a'i<l-nho! why we hain't made • o bargain at 
 ' ^ 11." 
 
 ! "I leave that entirely to you, gentlemen," 
 ; said the stranger. 
 
 "Well." said the storekeepev. lapsimr int > 
 
 conserv'tive tones. " thirtv dollars is t e usual 
 
 I price, but there ain'l many boats iroin'this year. 
 
 I an' I s'posi' there's pli'iily of fellows hanirn' 
 
 i around th tl I co Id gt;' for twenty, but " 
 
 " Make it twenty, then," said the stranger 
 I " sVhen do you sail ?"' 
 
 i "At daylight to-morrow," rejilied the Deacon. 
 "I'll be there." said the stranger with a 
 bow ; " rood day, gentlemen." 
 
 The two old men gazed on the rctreatin.' fig- 
 ure until it disappeared from view then they 
 gii/.ed blankly upon each other. The propria - 
 t(U' WHS Die tlrst to V)reak the silenc". 
 
 "I b'lievo he'd have gone for fifteen," said 
 he. 
 
 " r believe he needs convertin'," said the 
 I leaeon. 
 
 "Oh, well." said tho storekeeper, somewhat 
 vexed, "tha 's no reason why I ■should loso five 
 dollars that I might have saved." 
 
 The night wore on, as nights will, even in 
 lands where the inhabitants are too feeble of 
 body and soul to long for the morning; the 
 nu)rning came as successfully as it could, con- 
 sidering the heaviness of the fig-blanket from 
 under which he had to crec]). Then caine 
 Iliglov Sool". who had stayed awake all night 
 that he might be sure to be up in time in the 
 morning, ami who consequiutth bronirht a heavy 
 lace with his portable etlccts A few moments 
 later came Deacon Tacksitt with a woU-atutfe . 
 
 cii 
 til 
 
 ol 
 
THE CREW OF THE .SAM WELLEH. 
 
 J''.)>fff0ll, 
 
 t', nay JH 
 
 '"ir hiq 
 |anf rf)r 
 so lie 
 
 ''1 rnnji 
 
 J.''' "JlOf 
 
 lis iuuu]. 
 
 luui r 
 
 flU'fih,. 
 
 ii'( over 
 pn-tfy 
 
 l»lt« yoij 
 
 1. "I...t 
 
 yo'ijisf 
 
 ■ Itrisi 
 
 (•arp(!tlmK iiikI liiw iiiiviKMtor'fl InstnimpntK. to 
 wil, u tin horn willi which to warn approacliiiiK 
 iMtttts. riiiii tiiipfan'd Job Tiuiker, who hud 
 been tlaibouiinK before, ami KHieli'd the Sam 
 \\ filer wiih as liearty a HUiilo uh a sailor long 
 lanil-locked beslowrt upon tli« oee.an. I'ncle 
 Herrynian then joKKed in lii« waKgoii dowii the 
 iimii from lowM. and brouk'lil the llnal invoieo 
 of eommiswary utonH, wJiich toii«iHti(l of u coop 
 of cliielienH. In the waifK"" with tiim waH also 
 tlie nowoHt and least known member of the 
 <:row. and at the sauie tlnio ihere dropped down 
 the ereek in a eanoo. old Ln^wine ami his wife;. 
 
 "WhoH tliat feller thcM-e with good elolhcn 
 on, Cuin t" asked Mrs. J^unwine ua her e>o 
 rctfled on Hi'nwn. 
 
 Old Lugwine gladly rested an instant in the 
 midst <»f the operation of tying his canof, 
 lookeil over the liale party and answered, 
 ■'iJiinno; nes cr sicd him before." 
 
 '• He looks green." remarked .Mrs, Lugwine. 
 
 ■' Well," repliid her husband, completing at 
 Itisl the knot in his canoe line, " some folk.s 
 does. Aliniry," 
 
 ■' Not thai way, though." said Mrs. Lugwine, 
 picking up the game bag In which her husband's 
 single extra shin was packed, and leading the 
 way to the llatbo.it. "liis eyes are looking 
 ev'rv way lo once." 
 
 " Had snakes in his boots." suggested Mr- 
 Lugwine. 
 
 •' No, taint tlia" kind of a lo ;k, either," con 
 tinned Mrs. Lugwine. 
 
 " I hen /don't know noihin' about it," said 
 Mr. Lugwine iMom|)tly and honestly, from tlu' 
 deplhs of his expeiienie. Hy •liistiinebe had 
 .joined the rcunaihder of the crew, bis wife 
 d"o ping itu'onsiiic\iouHly to the r(!iir. Old 
 Lugw lu; the Mill omite was generally of a 
 retiring disposition, lait Lngwint^ the prosp e- 
 tive boainnm and trasi'.ller was quite a dillcr- 
 ent person. He shook hands all round and 
 looked eaeii man sieu'.lily in the eye, until he 
 came to Brown, U|i(in a single glance from 
 whose eyes he instantly dropped his own eyew 
 and his half rais> d luind also. To hide his 
 agi ation lie addressed Soole : 
 
 '■ What yer goin' lo fetch back }" 
 
 " CloH'te," said -^oole. " It's tlv • pounds for a 
 dollar h' re. nn' the ( irlcans paper sa\s it's only 
 hair that much by the bag. I'hal's the way us 
 poor men that works gits cheated. (Mr. Soole 
 neglected to stale, icrbaii-i for fear of iri-ele- 
 \ ancy, that all the (uiree he IkuI drank within 
 a year remaiiK.-d ."ipaul for ai the store oi' a 
 rival of Uncle Merrv in m.) 1 U sell most of it, 
 li)wer than the 8 orekeepers do, make somethin' 
 on it, an' have my own for noihin'," 
 
 '' Well, I'm fclciiii.' lish-Dole-i," said Mr. Lug- 
 wine. " 'Hout thvci' months ago I caught a big 
 cat-llsh, an' he broke my i ole, an' 1 haint had 
 none since but liig ^-liiks 1 cut la the woods. 
 Wiiat //o« feJchin', Tanker i" 
 
 ".Sugar," was t I.e. reply. "A feller can al- 
 ways get rid of that, an' get his money back in 
 a hurry. Folks'U have swee! things if ihey don't 
 have nothin'(^lso." 
 
 " ."lugai ri mighty useful," remarked Mr. Lug- 
 «ino. purs'.ng his lips, and thrusting his hands 
 into his pockets, "'specially when there'ssome- 
 tiiin' to drink that yer want lo mix ii into." 
 
 'Aligh' as well be a-gittin', I s'posc." remark- 
 ed thii ])ea(5on, defere tially looking around. 
 Ol.i LugwimMuoved toward his wife as the 
 ()i.h'>rs walked up tlie gang-plank, and Mrs, 
 Lugwin remarked, 'Cam, that strange fell r 
 is tne (lut.'erest 1 ever see." 
 
 " rnunder an' tar-buckets, Aimlry !" exclaim- 
 cl Mr. l-ugwine ratiier pettishly, ■' 1 never see 
 \ so wrapped up ii» another man before," 
 "Cain, 1 ain't," replied Mrs. Lugwine, re- 
 
 proHchfiilly. "only! can't help a neein' what's 
 right before my eyes I wish you'd watch him 
 C'ainev. o.d nnin." 
 
 " Why. do you tiiink ho'd sto 1 f asked air. 
 Lugwine in alarm. Then the extreme Hanasni 
 of theft being committed upon his own ell'ecfrt 
 struck Mr. Lugwine ho fore ' 'y, tiiat hi- blusii- 
 edand explained, "Steal lisl. pole-. I mean." 
 
 " No. 1 ilon'i mran tlwit. haid Mrs Lugwine 
 " but ihcre's r-omethin on Ids mind, an taint 
 f/oo.f troulile niither, an' yii he don'i look as if 
 he'd hurt anybody. I wi.-h yt»u'd keep your 
 eye on him, t^ainey, o'd man. 
 
 " Last man onlies ihe rope ," ri ii.i rk( d Ina- 
 eon I'lieksiti (rom tin- deck of the boat. Old 
 liUgwine looked around in alarm, and exclaim- 
 e<l. •• I reckon I'd Intter be leavin', Almirv • 
 good-bye. Iwentylive dollars in store-goods', 
 hez got a heap of comfori in 'em, old gai 
 h(!y /" 
 
 Mrs. Lugwine embraced and ki.ssed her hus- 
 band she had not done so before >ince the last 
 time he was taken to jail I'or assault and battery 
 while drunk. Old Lugwine looked ihspaiiing- 
 ly at the two lieavy cabies which he would 
 li.ive lo loosen, )ind at length ki.ssed his wife, 
 released himself, and moved toward tlie stump 
 about which one of the cables was wound. His 
 wiff followed him. 
 
 •■ Cain,' said Hhe, " don't git mnd. but watch 
 that feller a little; he's on my mind." 
 
 "Theilcvil he is !" respond, d Mr. Lugwine. 
 
 " Ontie t'other line now,' Mhouud lieacon 
 Pack-ill. "an' then hurry for the plank 'fore 
 the boat diiflH." 
 
 Mr. Lugwine obeyed orders, and actually ran 
 to get aboard ; the boat leisurely siar.ed, the 
 plank was haiile.i in, the storekeeper .ilarti-d 
 from t iwn, Job Tanker's small boy stand 
 vacantly at the retreating ■ o.it, and pn-senied 
 to his lailn'ia picture of whi( li ;i inl nor.e ami 
 a set of chattering teeth were the principal 
 fe.Uurea Mrs. Lugwine wiived her apron at 
 her husband until the boat di.-aiipeareil laii.ind 
 a bend ; then she apjilied it to hir eyes, and >he 
 and I he shivering red-iKwcd boy took their 
 separate ways for home.'" 
 
 IL 
 
 Mrs. Lugwine was not the only person in t'e 
 woild w ho (lesir(!'l lo kni>w luor' about \Valter 
 Hrouii.yel tiioM- who seemed iiio.st inierested in 
 liiiii vNcie apparently well ii.fi.riiied about tin- 
 y.'iiiiu, man, as may be inferred liom the foilovv- 
 ing exiract from the luUcrii.sing columns of a 
 ]U'ominent h^astern journal oi ihi day : 
 
 " WANTKIJ ! 
 
 " 'I he defaulting 'cceiving tclhr of the Ho- 
 mes ic Hank, of New York. -if is thiity-lwo 
 years of age. live feel aiidjcven inches in height, 
 li lit i-oiuplexi'ii, with a considerable colour, 
 reddish yellow hair and whiskers, dark blue 
 ej cs, maun rs rellned and pleasant, yet brisk 
 and de( ided. The initials K. l>. are' i alloc icr. 
 upon his left arm, his nanK' being Uichard 
 Horell : if is iirobable that the name or initials 
 may be found upon sonii' (if his elnihing. One 
 thou-and ilollars will be paio liy the bank for 
 such informuiion as n ay ie d lo ihe i pprehen- 
 sion of the criminal." 
 
 'i- .Mr. Lugwine's opinion of literature being 
 what it Was, it is not surprising that Ihe journal 
 containing the advertisement nuoted had not 
 shed its informing tnlliience in the IjUgwIne 
 mansion; even liad the piper ilself reached 
 tlie Hottfun, the fate of the f gitive would ha\<> 
 remai ed undecided by anyihing that .\irs. 
 Lugwine might lia\e d nc, tor the giMKl lady 
 was unabtc lorcud, and none of h' r uciirhbuui.t 
 
THE CREW OF THE SAM WELLER. 
 
 u titUl have lUinn nnythiiiK towanl iniikinK 
 uuii-iKis for her <l<'ncitMii>y 
 
 As fur the (l»!fauliiM(< ttillor, hi- hail tho advcr- 
 liseineiil ti» tlumk fortlip only luomont'^of Jolliiy 
 li ■ Imd iiiijoycd »incc his fli^hi frotii tho bank. 
 ■fcitMMiro ill tiu'dis^KtiiHiM) a cIcuii-Hliuven facivin'l 
 ail aHHiiniod iiainu, lii; tiad in tho ri-adiiiK-rooiii 
 of a \Ve-ti(!rn iiotol luiard tho ndvcrtiHciiKMit 
 read and di8(;uHHodl)y a coiiplo of l)iisinfHH nion, 
 and not even tho un(;ontro)lal)lc HJiuddor 
 wliich lollowi'd liisUu'nrinKdf tlic word " criini- 
 n U" waH al)l«' to prevent tijo sdMsfaction 
 • ith wliicli Iw hi'iird ihe eoin>lo, after relieving 
 tlieir ininda freely on Ihe suliicci of didionoHty 
 in Hank otih;iaiH, paHH naturaliy and vvitii their 
 entire hearts to t lie oonco tint; of an enterpriHe 
 which wafl morally a liundred thnes worKc liian 
 rolihinK a bank, but against whieli ni'ither law 
 nor bnsincHH Hcntiinent would be likely 'o raise 
 a dtH.-^entinK hand. His time beiiiK all hia own, 
 he peniHed (certain portions of nowHpapers very 
 industriously, and liy applj in>? a certain line of 
 hijcic to whai ho found tliere, he gradually suc- 
 ceodod in assiiiitif; I iniseif tliat ho 'vasno worao 
 than many business nuMi fur whose apprehcn- 
 siou no rewards were otFered. His conclusion 
 was perfectly correct, in point of fact ; and liia 
 Ionic beint^. like that of most other men, cxer- 
 ciscil only in (UM'tain special pleas for himself, 
 ho jjrew elated at his comparative rcspeclJibiii- 
 ty, instead of Iieint^<;u8t down at tho t;onipara- 
 Wvc rascality of stich of the business world as 
 be compared hiiiisell with. The eirect upon 
 himself of these conclusions seoini'd to him to 
 Ik! altoKt'ther hapjiy, lor it enabled him to hold 
 his h(jad higher and breitho fnjcr than he lm(l 
 done in late (lays. ihouKh whether those who 
 loved him best would have been satislied with 
 the peculiar chantces which his countenance un- 
 derwent dur'iiKits process from the shamefaced 
 to thoerec'.is a tiuestion to whicli the veracious 
 liistorian cannot rcsponl in Ihe afHrin:itive. It 
 occasionallysectned poss b e thai WaltcrHrowu 
 himself was not fully satislied with the chiin^jro. 
 A man cannot always be in the receptive mood, 
 or the observing niooii ; nature has ordaiiuMl a 
 sort of iinntal (•learinK-hoiiso in the heart of 
 every man, and whether its oi)eialions be ret^u- 
 lar or vvheihcT ihcy be lilful, it attends to all ne- 
 cessary work. And so it was that Walter 
 Hniwn, in si ite of every possible attempt to 
 kill time, frenuenily found himself consulting 
 ft mirror, witii results that never tended 
 toward hilaJity. Ho had alw.iys been 
 very well salisfled with his clear 
 briKlit blue eyes, but now he studied them with 
 u countenance earnest almost to anxiousness. 
 There wt-re spots and stripes in their pupils ;— 
 were they tht^re before— before he— betoro ho 
 toinmitted his irreyulii' ilies, or were they not i 
 A tine, an almost invisiple line or two below 
 them and at their outer angles -were those there 
 in other days? For years his mouth had been 
 liidd'u by a mouslacho; now that it was bare 
 he wondered if the si les of his lower lip had 
 been ho prominent in other days as they now 
 were— 30 obstinate in their <iotermiiialion that 
 they would not submit to any endeavourto draw 
 them in ? 
 
 On the Sam WcUer he had more time for re- 
 flection th <n ever, for the men who composed 
 ttie crew were not onKa{?ing subjects for study, 
 and Deacon I'acksitt's Bible, the only printed 
 matter which was publicly exposed, seemed to 
 lack atlractivene-is. Upon the deck of the boat 
 were stacked some b irrels of pork which the 
 overloaded hold could not accommodate, and in 
 front of these. in\isible to everyone but tho 
 helmsiu m, and disolaying to him only the lop 
 of itfcltliat, he isctl to sit for meditation and 
 £clf-exaininutiuu. His mates preferred ilie 
 
 cabin, and he heariilv rejoiced then-at : he 
 truBfcd they might continue to do so, and leave 
 him to the unchanging landscape, and his own 
 enually unehangingthoughls. Hut on Ihe second 
 day out. when the boat reached tlie Mi<*Hlssippi 
 anil deep water, and Deneun I'aehsitt's duties as 
 pilot were intermittent and lig'it, companMl 
 with what they had been on the Ohio, tho l»oa- 
 con gladly turned from his iluly to his employer 
 to that toward his Mak» and started in (piest 
 of his stranger-hand. He lound him in front of 
 the barre's, with a small iiocket-mirror in his 
 hand. The Iteacon (jonsicierately looked tho 
 other way for a moment, ami wtien again he 
 turned his head tho mirror was invisible. 
 
 "Nice mornin', ain'l it?" remarked the 
 Deacon. 
 
 " Very— very," replied Urown, getting brisk- 
 ly noon his feet, and remarking to him-elf, 
 '* Hatchet-faced old bore !" 
 
 '• It'll get nicer ev'ry diy, too, the farther 
 South we get," continued the Deacon. "L'Umds 
 ain't so plenty down South as they be im here." 
 
 " All tho pleasanter for tho .Southernera, I 
 should say," returned the strange hand. 
 
 " Well, yes," said the captain, medita- 
 tively, and engaging with a shred of bark 
 on a barrel-hoop ; " that is, it woulil be, 
 if tkey 'precialcd it, but they don't 'peir to. 
 .lust like the rest of us, though, 'bout other 
 things." 
 
 "'riie old fool has some sense," remarked 
 Ilrown to himself. The captain drew his knife 
 from his pocket, carved a letter X m* two on the 
 heailof a oarrel. and continued, disjointing his 
 sontenceswhei jvcr ihcexigeneies otthe carving 
 required, fi-r a moment, th^^ entire attention of 
 the artist. 
 
 ■" I tell our folks — in meetin' that In- 
 
 steui of grumblin' about what they hain't got, 
 
 they'd a mighty sight lutler be a-lhankin' 
 
 God for jishaw !" iiiierrn]ited the cap'ain 
 
 savagely, for tho i)oint of his blade broke and 
 Hew away and over I hi' side. The cantain 
 scann'd the water carefully for a moment, as if 
 expoc'ting to see the blade rise nenitenlly to the 
 surface a' d ask to be restored again to conti- 
 deiicc and tlnty. The unreasonableness of such 
 a hope soim bec:im.. ap.arent. and tho Deacon 
 concluded his sentence - 
 
 "Better be a-thankin' (iod for what they've 
 pot— youth, an' health, an' time to repent, for 
 instance. 
 
 "Very true! V'Ty true!" assented Brown. 
 "That blade isn't all gone, is it? There's a 
 stone in the cabin, you know, and you can 
 grind a fair jioinl upon it again," continued 
 iJruwn, with v sible eagernc-s. 
 
 "yiioiildii'l woniler." said the Deacon, pocket- 
 ing the knife, but tailing to ata upon the iiint. 
 
 ■' I'll turn thosione fur you nivBclf. if you 
 like," said Brown, after noting the failure of his 
 suggesti'n :" thill is, I'll do jl after I write a 
 letter which I want to have r ady to mail at 
 the llrst possible opportunity." And Bn)wii 
 Btaried after his writing materials, leaving the 
 Deacon in pos.sossion of a Held without a vic- 
 tory. Tho Deacon looked after the retreating 
 figure as it went down the cabin ladder, and 
 then he mused aloud :— 
 
 " VVouder if he suspected I IIo can't always 
 dodge me, tnougli ; there'll be rainy days an' 
 night when he'll have to sit below, and listen, 
 al least. I wouldhketo hear hi in talk, though : 
 he's got headpiece, that fellow has. and it's 
 out of itsplace, too. Like enough, religion's the 
 very last thing he cares to hear about, but that's 
 the very reason he .wAomW liear about it." 
 
 The remaining niembirs of the crew paid 
 
 scarcely any attention to Brown and the young 
 
 I man be jume at oucu as displea&cd by their con- 
 
THE CHEW llF THE SAM WELLEB. 
 
 'Hi 
 
 fc'7 ''i« ow, 
 
 J, " front „f 
 rooked (j,„ 
 
 [l'"tr brislf. 
 
 fe furfluT 
 Clouds 
 II ;» iwro " 
 
 '"ffJif.1. 
 
 of bulk 
 
 >M/f/ i,e 
 poir fo.' 
 "t ofjjor 
 
 ^'narked 
 
 IS knifo 
 o on „,p 
 
 ''"«■ /liH 
 '■•Tviti 
 'II ion 
 
 ''"f in- 
 I" ' Kof, 
 iiinkin' 
 •'"P'Hin 
 Ike uiid 
 
 ;'Mitai;i 
 
 '. as if 
 to the 
 
 COIiJi- 
 
 rstich 
 'eacou 
 
 't, for 
 
 own. 
 f's a 
 I ('tin 
 lued 
 
 ket- 
 nr. 
 
 .VOII 
 1)18 
 
 '' (I 
 I at 
 
 ic- 
 
 Id 
 
 rs 
 ti" 
 1. 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 i 
 
 diuM HM lie wiin hy ilnif of tin- Koacon. At 
 huiiic I'vcrj l)«i(ly iiutio <1 liiin. »n fo Hiihiiiit to 
 ncKlcc Iroiii lioorw wiis no oiihv tai*k. Mail 
 t oy t'xIiihiK (1 (iiiiinary i-urioHily alioiit him, 
 lirovvii woiil 1 have Imtm Halihll<(l. for ho did 
 not crave <'on vi-rnatioii wit li «itlii'r Uinlcy Soolf, 
 or Job T.iril<rr, (ir old I.iiKwinc. Unt wlu-n 
 Hrown canuhi ilic Klmiccsof thcHc >;<'ntlcnicn, 
 ho K<'ii« lady found iticni lilU'd witli diHiruHt. 
 and tliiH cnraKeil and : iarnicd Idu). Had ho 
 known l\n: rrai cansi- of tl.cir fcoliiiK, Id.s nund 
 would lui\ I" Ik on at (a <•. for his in-atly-llttinK 
 clothinK. lii« liriKlil eye. IiIh i l('an->'havrn an(i 
 fr('(|ucnlly wanlicd fa^ <■, and Ids at^dity of 
 motion. sliowi'O him to )>(> of nionlil niiliki! 
 that oi" Ids coinip.iiduiiH, imd wlialivcr waH 
 unlike them wan anknow n to tlurm, and fli(M»- 
 fore, ac nidinv; to one (jI' luimaidty "r* moat In- 
 llcxlbic riilis distrnlcd hy thrm. 
 
 Hrown .siiccdily dcliMidiK d to avcnRP liinisclf 
 upon hiH nicsstnidoH, or lathrr njion ^oolc and 
 'i'anker ; lor ljii;;\\ mi- did not notice him atall 
 oxoept. with a vacant ntarc wideh ini;.lit inoin 
 anytluntc or noIldiiK. Aial the ycainir mm'rt 
 nietliod oi aVL'ii ;itii,' liim-elf wa^ tliat one wldeli 
 la(lit>.-4 arexiippohcd to monopohze under nimilar 
 circunntuiices ; he devoletl Idmsolf to tliat 
 mend)er oi liie larly wlm was lea^t intercalinjr 
 and Willi cared lea.si for iiiiii to i.n^;: vine. 'l"li(' ' 
 task \va- no easy oiie, for llrowii eoidd not (ton- 
 vt'ihi; iideliiKt ntly of any of tlie dillicultioa 
 
 in tlie IJo torn, nor of 
 
 ■H ine place had become 
 
 cuise ili(' Uraekelvilh'. 
 
 Ihiciicy which .Mr. l.uf^- 
 
 wliich hail taken iilace 
 tliesprc'-.s wliich at the 
 hJHtoric, imrcoiiid hi 
 Btorekeepers with that 
 
 wine's exjicrieiices had seemed to jnalify and 
 demand. Jim he con d oiler an occasional pij'c 
 of toljucco, and this was a ciniitesy which Mr. 
 LiiKW'inc aiwaya accept ed at its fall value, and 
 the ouiMiil liive etleci of rti-veral attentions of 
 this won \va > to nnve Ijii;,'wine to Hlaiid one day 
 on the (ii ( k .ear iirownii. stead of seleetiiiK 
 some j)osition wher<' he niijild have sometliin</ 
 to lean a^' uiisl, as was his usual 'ont-andto 
 contlde o tlic ymiiiK m ■!» a condensed and 
 HOiiiewJiat pait zan hi.slu-ical skeicli < ♦■ socit ty 
 at ihc Uotiom, Irom its het^'inniims (lown to the 
 time of this rehition. no Urown, instead of 
 beintrdi-K st d. wa.s ainusen and supplied witji 
 con^■ili( r..ble food loi- tlioimht and lor subse 
 quent coni^raiiilation. Like n'finy ano'hir man 
 wliohe clianu'icr oi- in. iinations liH\e fallen 
 belo .V til,' standard \\ Inch lias heen cstatilished 
 forhini hy ancesir.v or so.icty. Waller Hrown 
 had been ^Ilectllatin^r wiili mmh in- 
 dustry thou h lit Hi; eiuie upon the possi. 
 bility of sac ificimr his cliarai ter so that 
 he miKht preserve )i s sclf-rcspei t. He 
 had rivalled to the ntlerniost, ilie characters 
 whose uci|uainlaiie> he had made at eollcKe. 
 throUKli the aid of llonicr. Virjril. .Juvenal and 
 otlier clasfical wriier- ; tinse re.s))ect d ihem- 
 Belv(P,and won. sometime nnriuii, the rcKRrd 
 of later p'lnraiions ; yet they committed 
 ftcliona which ihe world of to day would not ex- 
 cuse. Mi(.rht he not hecome a i a^iin liimself, 
 and live With a liuppimss which nO'^'wasim- 
 po.ssihle to him i Urn his menial exierimenis in 
 this direction had not heen at all suecei-sfid. 
 Defaulter tliouKh he was. fiiK' live fiom justice, 
 and o.>-tracisi it liy socieiy. he ncverlhelcsa en- 
 couiiteiHNl. at e\ ery point. wJhmv he attempted 
 an assault, upon Ids old scif. a (luantitvand 
 quality of moral .sense from whicli ne could not 
 divest himself. Ur had i/ursed its existence, 
 but it remained unshaken hy his an^er. It was 
 not, as lie at first fondly innij;ined. a set of 
 mental a)istraciions wliich he had assumed and 
 P'lt on, like Ids theory of politics or bis las' stiit 
 of clothes; it was a very element of his life, 
 obtained by iulieritance, and.lhouKh su ccpiible 
 
 to (ihu!-e. If was suHceptiblo to all ntleinpts 
 against it i-xiHlence. 
 
 In liiiRwine. however. Hrown foinid licpe. 
 Here was a I'ak'an, almoluti ly i>nil without 
 modillcution. vet he was .i man of the nrcucnt 
 ^'eneration anil the neiKhour and aeipuiinianco 
 of m ralistsof the niinteenth century. UiKht 
 aiKl wnuiK apparently were ineaidnk'less tertna 
 to him. exec lit whin translatetl by his own 
 Hclllshness. lie npoke a.s coolly of otlVnees 
 against moral and social In ws as if they wei'e not 
 ofi'ences at all ; and alt||i)Uk:h those iV- alluded 
 to were seldom of any makfiiiiiide, llie I liorouKh- 
 nesa of his ap]iroval of fl ■> clearly indieateil 
 that virtue as a motive of .unci could never 
 find hivonr in his eyes. . il yet. litMlId not 
 seem to be vii-ions ; he wished haitn only to hit 
 enemies, atid seemed to Ke willinj; that the rest 
 f)f the world slioidd he as comfortahle as hff 
 liimsclf desired fo he. He was not a model for 
 file youn^r default! r who had heen reared on a 
 Hocial plane inliidtely removed from flat of ;he 
 iiottom, but he was that wh ili to t!ie cnouirinK 
 ndnd is sometimes dearer than a model ; he 
 was an indirafion. It i-* olcn inconvenient to 
 follow a model, but around an imlicafion the 
 most wavwaid aiid erratic ndiid nia\' play at 
 will. Where would a lanre c'.as of ourscien- 
 tists he. had .Mr. I'arwiu prnnoniiced thenjiea 
 model instead of a mere ind cation, a suKKca- 
 tion? 
 
 ."^o f/iscinntini/ and consfiHnu were the thnu^^hta 
 created by the contemplation of Mr. lu^wine, 
 that Waiter Hrown soon found himself an ear- 
 nest s'ndenl of this repres'eiitativc Itirttomitc. 
 Mr. l.upwine's.conver-aiioiuri powers wer*' few, 
 and such a.-' he posse -sed w ere safe from annoy- 
 ance liy tlieir owner's lan^'uid will. His facial 
 orjjans, however, im>i bcjnir subject unto will, 
 expre,-s>d a Kf'"' deal after the tongue had 
 ceased to speak, and Hrown therefore sfunied 
 Ihc 1) d man's face with an earnestness anil per- 
 sistencv w hieh mitrht have fri^rhfi ned l.ni^wine 
 had his almost iihenoiiienal indin'eiciice ever 
 allow ed l.im to ri'ali/.e w hat an objei't of ii terest 
 he had bi I'lme. W'ht iher. could he have been 
 for an insi.mf endowed willi his comiianion's 
 a('uli' pow fis of perception, a,. (1 emiiloyed them 
 U))on ids comiianion's coui.!ciiaiic( . he wovdd 
 not li.ive been niori! than friKhlencd, d( ca not 
 clearly appi! r. 
 
 .Meanwhile the invisil)le powers were piepar- 
 in^ an answer to the pious jiilot's jirayer for 
 bad w either. The la aeon was ron.-ed one 
 morn iiK by information that the mi.-.t was 
 so tliick tiai' Ihe .steen-inan could not fell 
 whether h was in the chaniie' or in shore. 
 The liciicon came on deck once, listened 
 i.jjou either (jinirter for 
 ahi.uid indica e how far 
 bank of Ihe, stream iniKht be, 
 n peaicdly. and diu all that 
 tiilot I'ou d liavedoiie. and yet. 
 markakalii.\ die rfid. Then rain beiran lo fall 
 lhrou|,;h ilic mist, so ihat the Heacon h.ui to don 
 an oii.^kin coat, ami still the iJeacon was cheer- 
 lul. As the rain incieas'd tio mi.-i disappeared, 
 (layliKht came, the rain poured in toi'reiitH, and 
 the beacon's joy Was complete ; for the boat 
 was safe, the laia nromise.d to fall all day. so 
 that a i hands but the man on deck xtoukI be 
 i.liliKcd to remain under cover, and Hrown's 
 " wa:ch " was t w-lve hours otl'.* 
 
 The viclim had Ix en awake but a few mo- 
 rncnls before he clearly foresaw his ihioni. He 
 tried to determiiie ui»' n a day of e.Kercise upon 
 oeck ; surel> he had hunted ducks many a (lay, 
 in the Kas', wiien tlie weather was worse than 
 
 sounds which 
 di'^taiit either 
 threw the Uiad 
 carclul Hat boat 
 he sc( ni d re- 
 
 * (»n flat boats the day is divided into four 
 watches of six hours each. 
 
10 
 
 THE CREW OF THE SAM WELLER. 
 
 it was nu llio Miaaissippi on tliis particii'.arday. 
 Poinelin.v, tlioii^r!). a man's dctorminatioTi is not 
 aa powerful wl.cii thiT.' is to he Honio huntirifj 
 (lone ill wliich lie liiiiisclf in to bo the traino in- 
 !<ica(l of the, s|ioriKiiian. find vvlion he trios. 
 HLfains siicii odds, to oxcitottio dotorniination 
 bifore brcakf.isl. As be fould ii'>t stiniulato an 
 lionouriiliU' passion to assist liini against flie 
 Keacon, lie tried t" f-'et tboroiiirbly anrrv r.t the 
 old man. hnt in this tteini)t also he failed, for 
 1 he Deacon in(,ked nei'her solemn, nor pn^Tui- 
 <'ious. nor any otli.T way bnt perfoetiv cheorfnl 
 and manly. Then Hrown atleniptod the part of 
 the beaten enr. and sulked snecosst'nlly for a 
 few momenls ; bnt that part of human nature 
 whieli makes some men siiiiorior to the; hrntos, 
 rescued him from this humour only to drop 
 him into a lower one. for lirnwn determinoil to 
 play the part whicli is the favonrit(Mif all hijjfhly 
 inlelli^rent sin (Ts he would shnrpon his wit"-* 
 "i\d prostitute them in any way if only he conld 
 beat the l)(a''on. This rcMoho di<l not tronblo 
 his con-cieiici* in 'he lea.st. for he was probably 
 as iKnoranI as ov(M'y oii(> idse is of ihe exi tonce 
 of any .rrcat niiTiiber of people who would not 
 eheciriiliy in-oslitiiie Itiirie to any extent for the 
 sake of !,Minint; an inteilertnal victory. 
 
 The Deacon talked v(>ry litlie dnrintcl)roak- 
 fast : his mind seenicd to be soarii'K abivo tho 
 common pliine of breakfast-table conversation 
 on the Sam W'eller. Soole, who added to his 
 nantic il <iiities the profession of cook, noticed 
 that the Heac m took a en]) more tlian n«nal of 
 coli'.e :it would have nutrni'cd ill, too, for the 
 intelliwiual lan-^nectsof anv one but a flatboat 
 pilot, that th(> Deacon consumed an immense 
 ([iiantily oi" fri (I pork iui i bnckwlieat cakes. 
 As for Hrown, he became ho trtvoiis that he 
 could hardly eat at ail. A man who is 
 Koini,' to li-dil afxain t his inheri ed instincts ;il- 
 ways rc;ili/es that he has a hard ti(?hl before 
 him. even wIumi the insiincts themselvesare bul 
 and their owner's intention j^rorid ; how faint 
 mnst be tlie heait o' the man who proposes to 
 war auainst lh(» better iitrt of his realso!f? 
 The Deacon went on deck to fortifv liimaelf 
 with i« silent prayer; Ihe def.nilter stayed be- 
 low and foi'tilii'd himself with a pi)t" of tobacco. 
 .\ few iiioiiKMits later he Deacon descended tho 
 cabin ladder just as Drown was knocking tlie 
 ashrs from his pipe ; the ey<'S of ihe two men 
 met, and then the D(»ici)ii learned for the lirst 
 time that his proposed attack wmi d not he nn- 
 I'xpecti (1. The etlect was that the Deioon be- 
 came temporarily d moraliz'^d and repulsed, 
 while his anta^oni-t L'rew elated and careless, 
 allowintr I is IniriiiMlly oivanized wits to dis- 
 jierse to their vations (pi rteis mid their case. 
 
 Bnt the Deacon had often jiondered npcn ""d 
 nrofited by the scriptural injun'-tion, "Do yi- 
 wise as serpents." To his mind the wisdom 'of 
 flie s rrent consisted of di simulation, so wiih 
 this faculty he had become remarkably i>rofl- 
 c.ent. Ife post pom d his i'tendod nmvemeiit 
 for an hour or two, (dialled n"on nnittors ner- 
 t lining: to the boat, rid Ih.o riv(>r, lo'd a few 
 •j-ood stories, ai'd llnally had the do auUer and 
 tho rem linder of the cre\v in excellent Inunonr. 
 Then lu^ pie:<ed up jin o!d rowsjiaper, appar- 
 ently by Mcciicnt. and read various hoadiUKs 
 in a desultory manner. Finally ho read, a,s if 
 to himself - 
 
 "ll'm- 'the C'amiibellites intend to erect a 
 church editico at Drackel.sville, and to call a 
 jiastor.' \V(dl. well ! Tle're aro more church 
 odidcos and jiasiorsin town , ow than people 
 can make use of." 
 
 "'i'hat is natur.il enoim;li," laiiKbed JJrown. 
 "(MiU(di(! and prea hers in general aren't 
 what the people wunt, 8o much aa they want 
 
 somebody who will talk to them in their own 
 wav in parlicidar " 
 
 The Ik^icon had not expi^cted ao prompt a 
 resr«oniio, bnt the spirit of Urown's reply whs 
 siudi as to destroy the jileasnro wliiidi the readi- 
 ness of the answ(>r miirht have calleil lorth. 
 Tlie Deacon mused (earnestly for a moment, 
 thou'h witli as Htiait'lit a fac<> us if he were 
 simjily absorbing additional items of local news 
 from the iiaper, then ho replied : 
 
 " riiore's a Rood deal of truth in that, and yet 
 
 peorde boin' as they bo, tliere's an excuse forit. 
 
 Kven tlie anostle speaks well of ' the toolishncHs 
 
 I of preaehin' ymi kmw. so it isn't wonderful 
 
 that folks should prefer to worship God in llieir 
 
 own wiiy." 
 
 j "ll'm!" breathed tho Doac n to himself, 
 
 " (hat's w'h.i^ \ should call 'abnsin' |)laintiff'3 
 
 I attorney.' He's weaker than h<^ thinks, but 
 
 I there's no knowin' how lie may feel when lie 
 
 I Hilda on; his shakiiiess." Then the Deacon said 
 
 ! aloud : 
 
 j "Tha'strue that's very true. .\ trood imuiy 
 lieople only ^cet far enoiiu;h into roliKi'u to .-ave 
 j their souls, or to think th'ysave 'em. .Vn' when 
 hey son. day do some bin' outraj^'cius, they're 
 1 a (jjood deal worse scamps than other men. Just 
 I beiiiusc they )>roiiiised to be bettor, lint f/ici/ 
 ] don't know it. jioor sinners." 
 
 The De (-on's eoiicession had been made for 
 ; the piri)os(! of disarmiiiK bis enemy, but it did 
 i far more than the old man kiii'W. for Walt r 
 I Jb'own had been one of the iiiodid youiiLr men 
 I ■\.lios' names are always on church-rolls -or 
 j were, less than a t,'eneration iiKo. 'I'bc wound 
 I hurl tho yomiK niiii severely, and tl,e < nly way 
 j lie could avoid s^ owin^ his pain was by laugh- 
 ing at it. 
 j "AH that i;i because men came to wonder 
 I whether they understand clcNirly what is ri ht 
 I and what is wr ii}<. Ui^bl and \vioiiy: are 
 ! merely relative terms." 
 
 [ " Not according to Scrip* re," interposed the 
 j Dc'.ieon. 
 
 ! " 'I'h It's bad ftir Scrip' lire, then, "said Hrown. 
 Tho Deacon trroaned inwardly. He kuew lit- 
 tle of phihisoiihy exee|ii from such aita''ks as 
 his own denominational journal made upon it 
 from lime to time. Ihit h' now had no doubt 
 that his aiitaLTonist was a philosopher. The 
 u'ood old man siieedily recovered iiis couraj^e, 
 however, for was not a philo.-o|ili(>r a person 
 whoroasoned? Could a teacdier of the Word 
 ask for a belter listener than a niai of the rea- 
 son ; habit t Cl'he Deacon should not be too 
 seve ely binned for this blunder, for bo had 
 never before met an (iroirnl pliiloso, her of that, 
 very common tvpo wliieh niukes reason the 
 bondman of rascality.) The, Chri^li'ii reliK'ion. 
 a.' ■: logical system, was a.wajson the D' aeon's 
 ton .mo, road J for instant use ; hut iu'ver before 
 had he met any one who seemed intidloctually 
 80 competent to receive it. Indeed, the Deacon 
 ooMht not imagine how Hrown, with such a 
 habit of mind, had not long ago been brought 
 under conviction, uiile-s it was Ihat th(> Lord 
 h.id reserved him as a s| ceial gift for the Dea- 
 con : on >iis|iicion that siudi might bo the ease, 
 th'> good old man breathed a fi'rveni tliunk- 
 otreriiig to lieaven, and be.;an to work in 
 earnest. 
 
 "I .s'posa you "don't believe in iho Hible 
 then I " 
 
 "Not);sasafe guide for busiinss men," said 
 the defaulter, Hdiiig hi- jiipo anew. 
 
 ".Iiist what / say, " remarked lai;wiiie, look- 
 ing longingly at Brown's tobacco-iioueh. Hrown 
 ac(!epted the hint, while the Deacon ca t a 
 withering glance at the Hott"mito, and pro- 
 ceeded : 
 "Jesus thought it go d eiiou^^h." 
 
 l.rl 
 
 iiiq 
 
 tal 
 
THE CREW OF THE SAM WELLER. 
 
 11 
 
 tlun 
 
 rown 
 
 Pi'onipr a 
 ''•.I'l.v \V«3 
 Mh(;rcadi- 
 P<''' 'Ol'fh 
 
 < ho \v,.,.,; 
 
 I', 'aidyef, 
 
 |'>li.sJine8.s 
 l<>ii(Je.rf„] 
 I' HI 111 fir 
 
 lliinisolf 
 B'lintiifs 
 
 1'^^ l)iit 
 |vli(>n],(, 
 l'"ii sai(i 
 
 lint Je8U8 wasn't a business man," suf^Ki'stod 
 j;r>wn. 
 'I'lio I)i>ac()ii winced, bi t continnod : 
 
 "Up was lictior; hi> tiiui;bt sonictliinK thut 
 iiifliid(>d ('Vi'rythii)f^ t'!sc business and all." \ 
 
 "Hut his loUowcrs don't reach bini when he ' 
 talks of business." ! 
 
 " AbimitiLT plaintiff's altornc" agrtin." snid the ' 
 Dcficon to hinisi'lf. '•Tiiat's jvis w lier<! lie was : 
 before, but b!c-s me! where am I; I don't f^et 
 iilontf anv faster ihan /((■ does." The l)encr)n 
 made a miKhiy oirurt to say sometliinj^ that 
 wotild put him iipon the track" he wished to fol- 
 l'>''\ and at la I he said : 
 
 " Dun'r you believe in .Jesus ? " 
 
 Tlie def:iult(>r wanted to answer holdlj', but 
 be did not lind lyiiij^ so easy an operation in a 
 discussion as it was in Imsiness, so he hid his 
 f tee Willi a cloud of smoke l)efore bi answered : 
 
 "No." 
 
 'I'lie Deacon wo\dd liave sTistiected tiie youn'/ 
 man of nntrutiifulness had lie not suspected 
 him of b intf a i>hili'S(iphei- .At 1 n^th he said: 
 
 " I) I you >)elieve in anythiiiir in jilace of him?" 
 
 " Vc: myself." .mswered Brown. 
 
 " U"ell. diawled the Ucacoii, concealint^ his 
 horror with t,'r"at success, •' it's llrst rale to be- 
 lieve ins meb. Illy that you re wel' acquainted 
 wi'.h, and that ,\nuknowisall rii?bt." 
 
 .\ telling; shot tiurts not less wiien it is fired 
 at random, than when it is he result of deliiie- 
 rato aim Urown tJr ared at the Deacon with 
 eyes like those of a wild beast about to spring. 
 and the fact that the old man was still leisurely 
 looking? up and down the columns of the news- 
 paper was more CTiraKiicj; than if be had seem- 
 eci to liave made his I'cniark maliciously, and 
 with full knovvlcd.Lre of tlie fiets. The sileru'c 
 was beciimintr cxtrtMiich' nn])!e:isanl to Urowii. 
 who could devise no apiirojjriate retort ; i'nd 
 when it WIS finally briiken, tlie defaulter would 
 have iircferred it intact a^ain, for ■'» was old 
 ].u?winc who spoke, and ho uttered only tiie 
 word-i. " that's so." 
 
 The Deacon tinal'y spoke attain, and unfolded 
 modestly, -incerely, ind ably, tlie o thodox iiiea 
 of (Christ and h s work, He did it without inter- 
 ruption, for Hrown's lemiier, in subsidinjf, left 
 its owner peifecily listless, thouirh onct; or twice 
 the baliit of ibc s<'hi)lar made him wish he 
 miufht be other than he was. that he mi lit im- 
 jirove in ccrtiiiii points the Deiicon's statement 
 of do trines wlrch h(~ himself had many a time 
 eniiiiciatcd more clearly than the Deacon was 
 doiiiMr. The old 111 411 closed his exordium with 
 liraye- (silent) and went upon deck, from which 
 p:)-ition he shouted tha iht! boat was nearint^ 
 Memphis, and he should lav her ashore lotitj 
 enou.yrh to tro I" the post-ollice. LuKwine vobm 
 leered toaccomiaiiN him. and when the ecuple 
 returned to the boat, lau'wine's movements 
 were so full of mvsteiy tlcit Soole and Tanker 
 (\autiously snutl'cd the air to ascertain, if possi- 
 ble, whellier theii' mes-mat(^s bad been drink- 
 mg. Fiiiallv, tb(^ liotlomite edged gently to- 
 ward Hrown and whi-^Mcicd : 
 
 " Yoiikin read writin', can't you ?" 
 
 " I think I can," replied ilrown, after true de 
 libprati<in. 
 
 " Well, I u^cd-to could do if, too," said LuK- 
 wine, tail my eyes ain't as good as they wuz. 
 An' here's my wife gmic an' sent me a letter I 
 dunno whosiie got to write it, but sh(\ said she 
 wuz goin' to send me one to ^iemI)his. Would 
 you mind readin' ittomc( \ mifiht get the 
 Deacnri o do it, I'siiose ; liiit then - well, Im ain't 
 exactly m.v kind." 
 
 Hrown meekly swallowed the compliment im- 
 plied by JiUgwiiK^'s closing sentence, but state! 
 that he'felt delicate about hearing family details 
 u£ which he had uo right to know. 
 
 "Oh, never mind that." said Lugwine. cheer 
 fully. " My gals ain't hit; enough to git mar 
 ried, nur the boys to go to jail, so I rcekon iher 
 hain't no secret-, in it. l-'ire away." 
 
 Thus essni'cd, Mr wn rial tlie missive, of 
 which the follow ing is a iiiiiiisliikit'geo]iy : 
 
 " 'l)i:i.i{ Kam;. i take mi pen in han urMriar 
 Truggdiizto SMy iiii well an the child renin, 
 tlim mudlcy shot a iiiiintcr.' it bit him test an he 
 did aitur. emery (iinnison isi.jalc! tiir shut 
 in— ' ' 
 
 "Shnttin' ?" iiueried laigwine, "why, a man 
 can't be i)i-,t in jail forshiittin' anything." 
 
 "Shooting is what is meant, 1 in^igine," said 
 Hrown, serutinix.iiig the letter closely. 
 
 " That's more bk"." said Lugwine. "shnotn' 
 is sometimes likely toget a manin.jail ifhe uits 
 caught. (Uibhl i most forgot- wiio did he 
 
 shoot ;" 
 
 "' Shutin' b'ld Peters.' " continued Hrown. 
 
 " llooi-.iy !" exclaimed Lui.-wine : "shot a dep- 
 ]iity sheritf! Mi blie tbouuli." cont inued L g- 
 vviiio suildenly calming him ell', as henolii«'da 
 peeuliiir 111 k on Brown's face, " mebbe you've 
 been a dejipity sherill' .'" 
 
 ■• Never '."exclaimtd Brown, earnestly, and 
 conliii' cii : 
 
 "'Vance I i rd is run away weth Sy Grren. 
 1 wish yon wuz home laiite thesam plase we^h- 
 otit you. i bore god ell br iig ymi bak safe. 
 im a '" 
 
 "(iot stuck ("asked Luu'wine. •'MriarTrugg 
 ain't o\ cr-h indy at wrilin', I s pose." 
 
 " I gii'ss I can make it oi,t." said Brown. 
 "■Jmase\er. your loving wife.' Thai's all" 
 
 "Much obliged.' said l.'gwine. takini<tlie 
 h'tter, liinkiiiLr it "ver with some curiosity, and 
 then folding it awkwardly and iiutliiig it iiiln a 
 box in wh cli In- generally kept lisb-bait. 
 " .Mel)ii(> 1 can do \ on thesan.. uatterly turn 
 some day whi-n iiour <'yes breaks down." 
 
 Brown tnrne<i awa\ , and walked forward. 
 The last words be h.id leally read in ISIrs. Lug- 
 wine's letter were : 
 
 " im jirane tu (ioil fur that stranger 
 
 teller fur i no theirs sunithin tniblin his mind." 
 
 III. 
 
 Deacon I'acksitt was not of the kind which 
 wearies (,f well (loinir. He had a eiaiscience 
 whieh was very well p;-esci\-ed. as consci(>nces 
 go. a great de.il of scnliment;il heiiesl regard 
 for liuiiianiiy. and a most unlashionalile sense 
 of mill's responsibility foi' the conduct of his 
 brother man. .\s he" had lived nearly three- 
 score year~. he had learnid liy experience, as 
 well as trnni the Hible, that the human lieait 
 is deceiltiil abox e ;ill iliiiigs:and though he 
 was generous eiiouijh to lir^t deal wiili a fellow- 
 beimr as if the said rellow-being wa" as honest 
 as he himself tlied to be, he was seldom asleep 
 when the trusted fellow-bi iiig show- 
 ed himself 10 be the creature of 
 seiitimeiiis ditl'eretit, very diU'ereiit. from the 
 De eon's own. W'icn he m ule an assault iinon 
 the sinful soul ol'aiiy iieipiaintanee, lie lirst did 
 it in the most direi i and hoiKairabie manner, no 
 matter how lie h.nl olit.iinii the poiiion from 
 wliii'h he III >\i'd his ■•olumiis ; when, howi^ver, 
 the (|iialities wliich I he Deacon, generally with 
 cause, massed ueder the inileci ive ilile oi' " nai 
 tural d")>ravify." were displayed li\ his aiiiago 
 nist, the Deaeoii dieppf-d the taclies of a genera 
 and fiilopcd those ot a foxho nd. am, he would 
 therc'itier patiet.tly follow a sly sirm r thioi'Kh 
 any 1 hyriirli and over every oh-li.ele u til he 
 hail either eaptiired him or run him lo eiirtli. 
 
 It follow-, therefore, that the Dea< on's llrst 
 
 Panther. 
 
12 
 
 THE CREW OF THE SAM WELLER. 
 
 rclii^ioiiH liilU Willi Hrowii was not his last Dis- 
 cov^•I•ill^c tliiit liis istranprcr-hiiiwl \va,s not fond of 
 reliifion iis a set isnhjcct of coiivcrsatioii, tho 
 l)r' icon freciiKMitly wl drop sin^fUi rcniarka 
 Which wori'dc-iLriicd to i)ir)\():i(> retorts from tlio 
 youiiK man. Sonictimcs t'lcy Hiicci-cfled, with 
 the r(?sult of t^iviiit; tlic Deacon mental advan- 
 tau'« wliicli he \\as not slow to enforce ; then, 
 however. th(! Deacon had taet cnoiiKh to with- 
 draw before he liad frit;hiened liis aTita^onist 
 into HnlleimesH. He calculated, ((wite .shrewdly, 
 that a younj; man of so evident ability would 
 become restive under successive defeats over 
 which the victor did not appi ar to be ov r-ex- 
 ultant : tbat l-e would sotu" day, under the 
 cumulaii\-e eireet of many defeats, j^row undnly 
 excited, and di -play liis "whole forc<\ with its 
 weakness as welt a- its slrenj^tli. and would 
 thereafter l)e completely at liis mercy. 
 
 Hut while there a'c no lieiLrhls of personal (sx- 
 perience which may not !)(> renclied by an hon- 
 est nature, no matte- how imperfect its trainin)? 
 or how secludt^l is life, thcivia e, depths whicli 
 cannot bi; sounded, even awkwardly, by any 
 one who has nut been f.uniliar with the lai'Ker 
 arid the most varied circles of }uiman 
 elfort. ,\ny child, looking; uiiward, may bc- 
 h'lUl he glories of worlds which are millions 
 of niile.s iiway, hut wiicn it turns its eye down- 
 ward til siiallow puddle at its feet seems 
 fathomless; indeed, it had bctt<!r remain so, 
 unless to those who have lost something? in its 
 depths, f(U' no ^ood nanirally inhabits it, no 
 matter how patiently curious hands may search 
 il. In luid around Hraekelsvilie iliere were sin- 
 Jiers of many kinds, but all of them, except u 
 few buiiLclin^? hyiiocrilcs, wer ■ what might be 
 called simple (;iises. Tin" Deacon had a mental 
 catalogue of them : liec-ould name in plain terms 
 the particular pliysi(^al temiitation mid' r which 
 the ott'ender f(>ll to whalever sinful plain he 
 might now be uijon, and no one ofthes(-inen 
 would (bay the iiecuracj- of the Deacon's deti- 
 n tion. Kul the rascal dcvi'loi.cd within the 
 boundaries iif good society is cf a nattirc alto- 
 gether ditl'eicnt from these. His physical nature 
 may be as frc'iueut an oU'eiiler as that of his 
 tcUow-man in simpler, ruder circles, but his 
 tiller mental oigani;5ation and Ir.iinuig, with its 
 op. ortunities f(U" wrmig-doinga thou -.(.nd times 
 increased, enables him to ai'coniplisli mental 
 >ind moral abasements compared with which 
 the simple violatnjiis of the ten commandments 
 s(tem respectable. Th - prospe.tive goal of tho 
 thief, tlie brawler, and the murderer, if they 
 care to look for it, is the prisoners' bar; but 
 that of the scamj) whose course is pursued 
 through social and busini'ss cindes, is utterly 
 impossible to conlemiilati' in advance, for it is 
 as likely to bc^ social or tinaneial eminence as 
 the reverse. When, however, the least desirable 
 of these two ends is i-tMcheil. iiartieularly by a 
 man of eonsiilerabh! shrcv iliies-, he is not, as 
 m.'inyavuigarlsinner is, asli andcdbariiue.wliieh 
 needs o 1,\ .1 frieiuUy tug to be atloat again, or 
 which may even rescue iiselfal high tide, but 
 he is an utter wreck, its fragmentsina eonfuscil 
 .jumble, from whieb no human man can recon- 
 struct it. U'(U-sc siill. such fragments as seem 
 to possess \()liti(Ui object strong y to reco - 
 alruction according to any sea woitliy model, or 
 any other e.Kcept one embixlying all the faults of 
 the late original at themnmeiii of foundering. 
 
 The Deaciui lindiug himself unsuccessful in 
 his main issui; with Urown, turned liis batteries 
 upon old Ijhgwine, and speedily discoveretl 
 that some people could be shot through and 
 through without bt'ing hurt a iiarticle. The 
 old Hoitomii(! was not without reasoning pow- 
 ers—no man is, afttM- he. has once desired to 
 transgress any law of stale or society— aud ho 
 
 occasionally became wrought up 'o a pitch of 
 argumentation whi<'h astonishe(l all of tlie crew 
 who had known him princii ally as a listless, 
 lazy lounger. 11 justice to his messmates, it 
 must be admitted tliat ;hat old man was rather 
 a wonder to himself in this resvieef, for he had 
 never before realized how the tight. ng spirit, 
 which at home asserted itself in bis blood at 
 least once a fortnight, can be ■. ratified as com- 
 idetely and viciously through the ton ue as 
 tlirougli ti-t and knife. He occasionally PUt 
 some of the De con's choicest doctrines in great 
 jeopartly by his 'iuestions nd replies, so that 
 "tlie good man sen'uisly lielie\-e(l that .Satan was 
 alarmed for the saf(>ty of his own. and was 
 speaking thi-ough him. Hut when the Deacon 
 assaulted morality instead of doctrine, the liot- 
 tomite was com lelely riddled without beiiitr 
 conscious that anything unusual, le ist of all 
 anything dingerons. was goingoii. <ine dav the 
 two had been sparring vigoiirously over 
 some of the 1 1(» icon's heri.shed doctrines, and 
 at length the 1) aeon said, " hugwine. it makes 
 no diU'cence whether you understand certain 
 doctrines as T do ; you know that you (ju-,ht to 
 live r. belter life." 
 
 "Well." said the Bot'omite. modifyig the in- 
 tensity of liis retlectiiuisby some vigorous bucks 
 upon his pipe. " 1 don't see but I'm as good a.s 
 niv neighheui-s." 
 
 "Hut von should be bettor than they." urged 
 the Deacon. 
 
 The Hotto'iiite lauirl cd sarcastically- it was a 
 hollow derisive laugh, that alFecteil the Deaein 
 abtiut as the earlier symptoms of a chill might 
 have done - as h ■ rettlied. 
 
 " If you preached t bat way to your neighbours, 
 they'd run you out of to\Mi." 
 
 "My neighbours and yours a'p difTerent 
 people, ' replied tli i Deacon with some acer- 
 bity. 
 
 "Yes," replied the Bottomite, "thev wear 
 betterclotl.es an' go to ehiircli more -I b'pose 
 that's what you mean, 'riiey're sharper a< a 
 bargain, though. .\ny of 'em iliat keep store '11 
 CO his best t > get a co(Ui-skiu from me fo less 
 money than he knows his next-door neighbour 
 •llTiav!" 
 
 " Hut they don't get drunk and fight," said the 
 Deacon. 
 
 " No -o -o." dr.iwled T,i).gwin(>, " but when 
 they hav ■ a fallin'-o t with somebody they go to 
 law with him. Now I think a 'fair staiKi-up 
 Hsl-light is a square way of seltlin' a ditliiuilty - 
 there ain't no sue , kin' around, no hitlin' a feller 
 in the daik about it." 
 
 " .See h(!re. L\igwine"said the Deacon, "you 
 know you Hottouiites bring ountcrfeit money 
 into town sometimes. I don't sa> you tlo it, but 
 everyb.idj knows that it comes fiom scmiebody 
 in the Hottoni. Now, you know that nobody in 
 tow^n does tb.at sort of thing," 
 
 " Well," said tluiuld pagan, after a moment of 
 rellection : " the only dillerenee is that ihe town 
 way of sliovin' bad payer is aceordin' to law, 'an 
 the other way ; in'i. "There was .\iiizi Hoper, 
 that boughi produce last year. I sold him my 
 eini — 'twas not much, to be sure, but 'twas my 
 whole crop an' he gave me a two mouth due 
 bill for it. He didn't pay it he ain't i)ai<i it j it, 
 Wliat'h ye gimme for iti I can't gii noihiii, out 
 of him. ail' I can't put him injail, neither." 
 
 The i>eaeon was not buying uncommercial 
 paper : Ik; explained, however, to the lnuiighted 
 IJuttomite, that then- was a legal iliir<'ieiiee be- 
 tween spurious bank-notes and genuine notes of 
 hand. 
 
 " Of course there is, ' ass rited the Ho'to 1 ite, 
 with his dreadful laugh, "an" that's the de\ il 
 of it. J'A'erybody knows about counterfeits, if 
 they've got a bank note detector and ta.'iroad, but 
 
 nl 
 
 ti 
 
./^ Pitch Of 
 I"' tho crpxv 
 
 f"'- i'c had 
 
 ' " an com- 
 I'"" "t; as 
 
 ••'".'"r put 
 
 .'■•^ "1 CTeat 
 I'-s. HO thui: 
 
 "t.in H-U.4 
 
 .iiKi ,vajj 
 
 ' 'A'.iL-nri 
 ""' iiot- 
 
 sf of afj 
 
 "flur the 
 
 ''A over 
 1'."'^. and 
 1."^ "lakfts 
 
 J'"Mit t.> 
 
 ^•oo.l a^ 
 urged 
 [ ^vas a 
 '"JKht 
 I hours, 
 
 'forent 
 acer- 
 
 jvear 
 ^ I'ose 
 I' ai a 
 i^re 'U 
 
 iboiir 
 
 llhe 
 
 'hen 
 ro to 
 
 i-Un 
 
 'y - 
 JJer 
 
 ICJ- 
 
 >nt 
 dy 
 m 
 
 of 
 'n 
 
 .11 
 f, 
 
 y 
 
 V 
 
 THE CREW OF THE SAM WELLAR. 
 
 i; 
 
 nobody knows about bad due bills except the fel- 
 low that umkes 'em. " 
 
 •■ There are bad men everywlur •," admitted 
 the Deacuu, " but that is no reason wny other 
 men should be bad, and its au rea^^uu why so 
 niucli hoi'se-stealing should Oe mana^icd by iioc- 
 tom men." 
 
 Mr. J^ugwine winced a little, u-iiuy which 
 the Deacon iletcrmined to warn the local " far- 
 mer's band" to watch ine old nmn closely. 
 
 " Well,' said the repreoenladv e oi ine sua- 
 pncted diitiicl, " 1 dou t know \\ nether it's any 
 worse to steal a boss oulrio'hi than il is to cheat 
 a man JUt of his criller, an' tliat's iiie way 1 los . 
 all the bosses J ever had- lost 'emrighi in town, 
 too, in open daylight. v\ hat do you tiduk of 
 that, iiei^^hbour {" continued LugNvine, suddenly 
 addressing Urovvn. 
 
 " You are perfectly right, ' assented lirowu, 
 who had taken sincere aenglit ironi ihc olu sin- 
 ner sdeteiice of his cla.-s. Ulien one cannot 
 raise himse.f to a ae.irud level, ii is extremely 
 comforting to hriiig the level Uortii to his own 
 feet— and U is so much the easier plan ot the 
 two. i'agauism ucgau to uppLar ev.n more 
 desirabiC than ever lo ihe dLuuUter, now-ihat 
 ne had seen it defended, wi h lo.ei'.ible success, 
 on the ground of Us compaiative moi'auiy. 
 How, he asked hiniseif, and in a si)inl which ue 
 imagined was honest, ilid h.; diner irom the 
 otticers of the bank v% hose funds lie had used} 
 People deposited urjuej- in the bank beetiuse 
 they wanted it in safer hands than iheir own, 
 buL those ot them wuo were uusinoes men knew 
 that ihe hank's couers seldom com, lined their 
 moaey. Alost ol il was loanea almost a.-* soou 
 as receiv ed, to whomsoever the b.^nk saw lit to 
 lend it ; he hiinseit iiau. iiiaue loans tor the hank, 
 when he thought wen oi iiie piospccis ui get- 
 ling il back ; he had loaned 10 hiinselt in like 
 manner. Uf course, he believed the ehaiiie ot 
 repayment was good ; wouiii lie have ocea so 
 idiotic as lo have knowingly run any seiiaus 
 risk of non-payment I 
 
 It was (jiiile easy lo reas n in this strain as he 
 1 miiged auoui Ihe deeii in ihe mellow suniigiit 
 of a Cloudless day, wiiiic uic ooai uniLed saieiy 
 along in iiud-river, uu. ii was sonieiiow impos- 
 ail'le.when the thread ol hi-i aiviument had been 
 broicen by a call to aoine minor d iiy, to resume 
 it When no weni upuii dcca. lo 
 hjld ihu helm tnroiigu six hours 
 of a moonless nigh . Tiien there came 
 tirst and remained uppernijsi the inought lUai 
 the uuiik had not received us money back 
 again, that ne had noihi ,g lo oitcr as auequiva- 
 lenl, that tiunsaclions like his hail always been 
 classed among crimes, and tnal no criminal 
 lawyer would oe foolish enough lo argue belore 
 judge and jury as lirown had argued beiore 
 nimseit. And excusable— na^ , desirable— as 
 paga asm had seemed by daylight, wneii iiigliL 
 came ne again andagain found iiimsed engaged 
 la a course of seU-exaniintion according lo Cal- 
 vin. Had his sin u^en known only lo luniseif, 
 he iiiighl have imained himsed xohowuig i,al- 
 viii slid f.iriher, and lulled his lears lo rest by 
 trusliiig in iiie mercies ot the Judge in whose 
 existence and goodness he intellectually be- 
 lieved. Untorlunately, however, tor his peace 
 ot luin.i, as the successiui wrong - doer 
 seldom does, he was n <t so. much concerned 
 about the manner in which he was regarded in 
 heaven as about the opinion of the woi .d. He 
 huiieved in tiod, as we are assured the devils 
 do, but all of us believe in a great deal willi 
 wiiich we do not particularly concern .iiraelves. 
 'I'he mercy of ijiod might save him from the 
 linal doom of the wicked, wnica was ihe point 
 ol orthodoxy upon which his mind was most 
 active, but uouid 11 replace him in the society 
 
 from which, by his own act, he had excluded 
 iiinioelf < H' 11 could noi, how mucli Wii reli- 
 gion really wor.h loa man who was in dilUcul- 
 liesS 
 
 And hJs imagination was as changeable as 
 his reason. In the warm air of day, his vision 
 bounded only by trees, sky, and water, ihe 
 every surroiuuiing of the liitle boat being 
 natural and instinet with lite, his intellectuat 
 reachingsaf erpaKanisin were siu/piemeniea by 
 Ihe iniaginaiion iiauiral lo mooi young men ol' 
 liberal educaiioii and warm red blood. Herecall- 
 cd all the desirable deilies troin his n.Mnembrance 
 of classical dictionary heevolv edlroni luslaucy 
 au assortment ol naiads, dryads, and fauns, ihat 
 would have made liie exireiiiely lively l..r the 
 habitually lonesome "Father ot Waters." i.e 
 went tarliier, anil endowed wnh individuality 
 every tree thai grew upoiuhe bank, es cry stream 
 that emptied luseif inlo ine great rner; he even 
 loiind it easy lo create a sentimenial .sympatiiy 
 tor an uprooted tiee vvnicii lioaled along in ine 
 current. Hut when darkness came lo hide most 
 shapes, and distort ihereinainuer, lie remembei- 
 etl ihal nol ah me deities oi Oreeee and Itome 
 We e desirable, thai there were demons as well 
 as gods, and satyrs as wi'U as fauns, f he grand 
 old river wliicn seemed by day lo murmur 
 caressingly lo ihe boat eiiirusted to it, talked in 
 a ve.y uittereiil tone at iiiglu ; itseudies, wh en 
 in the sunliglit merely danced and iippiedas 
 the boat parted Lliem, now remoiislialed sharply 
 and ihrealeiied hoaisely; the great sycamores 
 wnich stood so gray ano grand uy uayi ghl, . ovv 
 seeineu to slietcn ihf'cai.eiiing aini.i through llie 
 dark, while the doaling lug was a shape ail the 
 more dreadfui be aiise it was iianieh ss. Kven 
 night birds iiiid animajs opened ineir mouths 
 only to sereaiii, oi .-hriek, or roar, uiid the ver- 
 dure-covered banks of the day became the great 
 black wails wnieh hemmed nun in among the 
 horrors he had crei'ied, and wiueh ended only 
 where the black horizon dropped lo iiieei ihem. 
 One iiighi arovv-lioat crossed the river jusl 
 asiern ol the sani VV eller ; a torch showed the 
 oceupanis lo ue uegrots, biack, ragged, diriy, 
 runaway slaves, piobabii , yei he would giai^iy 
 have exchanged aiipearaiiee and toriune wiih 
 any of lheiii,and aceepled wliatev r tale nisnow 
 (.:ondilion might bring bun, l"'or what could 
 iheir future coiuain mat was as bad as the best 
 that seeiiud in store for him i The life for 
 which ihey longed ihey knew of on.y through 
 imagination ; iliey probabiy wouid be disap- 
 poiiiied by it w hen ihey gained U, it gain it 
 they did. riiipposu thej weie puisued, huiued 
 and lorn by dogs, reeaiilured and lake, i back lo 
 their oal Inc. iiiey would at least be taken to 
 the be=t they h.id ever known, and the crime 
 for wiuch me> vvouid be punislud Would aiWays 
 seem a virtue to iheiii. lint he. what hunting, 
 whai cruelty would he nol endure to be restored 
 to Ihe old lite from which he had lied, it oniy 
 lie might think ot his lliglii as ine lugilive siave 
 wou u honesily think oi his own ! 
 
 iiul suppose he could reuirn, without risk of 
 prison, who would there be lo weleoine him t 
 ills fUther and inoiner, probabl.. , and the eily 
 missionary, , no.se iiuiy a was lo prowl among 
 the dangerous classes. v\ ho wouid really eaie 
 tor him as he waikeil the sireets < Lghl The 
 mere thoughi maue liini shiver and crouch us 
 he leaned on hi., heavy oar. I'agan or Chrisiian, 
 pciienl or ue.ia .1, he v\as sure that lie couid 
 ncTeragaiu face h.s old acquaiiiiaiices, iie\er 
 again inhabit his lavouriie society, nor any 
 Which amiiated svllh it, V\ here, ilien, could he 
 go, to hide ironi those he had iiijureit, audio 
 iind anyone who m ihe leasi cared for liim ? 
 His faiher and mother would travel anywhere, 
 everywhere, to be with him ii nis trouble. But 
 
14 
 
 TUE CRE\/ OF THE SAM WELLEU. 
 
 olfeiuliTd l.ciiuoiiily Icjirn, without parlicularly 
 gi'uuitouivr''"-'. Ii <vv uiialirai-'live nuLural aiicc- 
 liou may Ucfoiuc to tliusc who nffk uii'ir worid- 
 ly tread arcs aiiioiig more maicriai iniugrt. But, 
 make luc iJCsl lie couui ol u iicaraiicen, iie com i 
 not Uisuovur liow lu- ouiuil Cvorou more tii-tii 
 ail oi'.leartt, to liia ow.i. outcast ! -he, waiter 
 Jjrowii, young, iiaiiasome, educated, reiined, an 
 aUie mail ol uiiwiiies.-j, and Liia Uvtely a pel of 
 society { wher. ruutd iie go witnoui iiuiiiuiaiiou/ 
 lie uii^iit rciurii lo iJracKCi.sxiile wuli liie ro- 
 juauider o( liie crew, di.-,t;iu6e iiiiiift<;ii uy some 
 new arratigcmeui Ol liair ami wuijKer, so mat 
 no traveller u'oiii New loui coma reco<uizi} 
 him( I'lK'u he mi^? .t Hart anew m iiie. I'ne 
 lowu would iloiioiiess grow ; liure woulu be 
 some Boru oi sooieiy to enjoy, and but «t <p - 
 lie was Kii \vn ev>ii liierc ; laai insignilicanl, 
 noinciy, vul:^i.roid woman who nau wunessed 
 liiej dep^riuie ot tue aam W'.Mier iiad delected 
 mm -sue ivuew Uiere was sometmn.; on ms 
 muM, and she was ;jrayi.i^ lor inm ! i' auga ! 
 
 Ad lie mused in iiie uaiii, he nuconsciously 
 drvippeit ihe masK wiiicii ii j namtuaUy wore oy 
 uayngut, and lie was no aosorbea in ins micom- 
 loriauie ilnjugms thai he dui noc tiu'>k to re- 
 assume ms iiauitual b aiiired wiien iiie day 
 oroki^. He neuiier tuo.igiu nor cared tliat nis 
 watch was eiiiuiig ana Liiat it was ume to can 
 his successor, so wneii laiiKcr, whose turiTiL 
 ivad tor diuy, awoKc b^ nunc loice or nabil ami 
 came miCApectedly Ujo.i acch., iiie tace wliicli 
 lie oeheid wad so strange ana untainiuar iiniL 
 Hie Slid sluepy lanivcr droiipe I nasidy down 
 tiio ladaer.arounea lus inessmans,and nuggesLcd 
 tiiat the boat must nave Ulcu uoardedaini uiAcn 
 111 podssssioii at nigiiL by rivt.r piraies, as liau 
 been i.ne late ol occas.onal oiner o^ais ol vvliica 
 nenauneaid. '1 iicii tlie wnoie crew lumu.ed 
 up, eacn witn an axe a umie, or a iiatciiel, and 
 were not very inompt ai pciceivmg lanicei's 
 blundei, su paic, liiin, weird a it umnvc its 
 usual se.t was ilie Uira uf taeir hclmsm.in. 
 
 ■"ilad a cmiH ' queried itie i)cacon, layin.;- 
 dow.i Ills axe and waiiiing sioWiy ati. 
 
 " No, ' repiieu lirowii, nis paa; ciicek flushing 
 as he parity recovered iroin tne irigiu inio 
 wlilcn tno menacing a.ray ol ms me.-.sniaies n .d 
 tnrowii hull, '" out i don t leei ao .veil ad i w ouia 
 
 lli».0 to. ' 
 
 ■• liiese conlounded souihcru fogs arc pretty 
 sure to Kuooiv up a mall mat isn't used to eiii, ' 
 saiu oojii,', '■ bui ^.iiiune ii niaKe ii.m <til rigm. 
 I'll uring you Up ooine," ana tne stupid tei.ow 
 insiaiiLiy lorgoc, i.i tne presence oi apparent 
 iiiisto.luiie, mat lie had oeen naLing lirowii 
 quite indtisinouslj ever oiiice tuu boat started 
 O.i h r iiip. 
 
 ■v^uiniuo won't do you no good," wliispered 
 laiiKer, ad ho tooii uie liolni ; " resuricctioii 
 pins are tne liiiiig : i it onng you up my box ot 
 em, an you can laivc an >oii piea^. . ^vn' i 
 recivon i-ny bed is solicr tiian ^ oarn-judt turn 
 into It wneii you go below,' 
 
 "Wliaiyoii need," oud^jrvcd JjUgwiue, as he 
 accompanied lirowii to ilie ladaei, " id two or 
 tnree stout liorns ol .. iiiskey, ana urst time we 
 lay up at a town iou'a oet,cr get a lot. A 
 single botlic all! t no gootl. I'ne Deacon is 
 always down on wiusive^ ; iie won't havo it 
 aooard a boat ot nis it no ivnows ii, uu you can 
 keep it hid— I'd help you do it.' 
 
 Alter a bountiim ureah.iast and a tew hours 
 of sound Biumoer, liowever, i.a'owu appeared 
 upon deck as oright-eyeii as ever, iliough tue 
 genuine syinpaihy oi his inesdni.iles made it 
 nard lor mm lo reiiiin nis usuai seit-ouiliciency, 
 Tne calm ti.at tiaiiuilyj succeeds a storm even 
 uausea hini to unuenn moreaniiauiy tnatiliehaa 
 uuherto done, and iiu voiiuiieei'cd assistance 
 in lue variuus tiagaientary cuuversatiuug tiiat 
 
 occurred, until Tanker and Soolc Hdmittcd t« 
 each other t at he vnus a pretty goo l fellow 
 alter all, though not an aasy one to Ket ac- 
 iiuainled witli. 
 
 riie D.fcon noicd the change in the young 
 in.tn d demeanour. Jle r, called times wIkmi short 
 his or sickness Had somehow diaiiged lus own 
 mental coiisutution tor Hie better, so that he 
 liau louna occasion to thank tiod even for sick- 
 ness. I'e.liaps the lemporary illness of the 
 stranger band inigiit iiave disposed liis li-art 
 more lavouraoiy lowara the ideas wliich he lia.l 
 scouted While in perfect hcaltli. How tar could 
 mcrepiiiioa.iphy go towards sust.tining r man 
 so hlied With roar and dread as JJrown had 
 seemed to be lliat morning ! Tlic Dea.-oii deter- 
 mined .o ascertain, u possible'; but while dis- 
 cussing wiih hiindcU ihe wavs and means of 
 doingsj. uccessiuily, he and the uiio.ioupied 
 puriionoi the crew were startled by a shout 
 from Soole, who was at the helm. 
 
 •■ There s a nigger ia I lie water, ' said he, "an 
 he seonis to be inaRin' lo.- us. iie's headin' just 
 where weorttomeeL him." 
 
 i'Aeiybov.y hurriea to the side to look; tiicre 
 ceilaimy was a olack head moving m the water 
 and toward the middle ot th • stream. It 
 seemed lo move abou, as slowly as the boat, and 
 the two could not nie^t lor at least a (piarter of 
 an hour. ihe He.icni and his men moved 
 s.owiy lorward, keeiung their eyes lixed on the 
 dariv spot in tne water, li was old Lugwine 
 WHO dually broKo ine siicnce, and witn the 
 Words : - 
 
 ;■ iiaiig a nigger ; that's what I say." 
 
 ■■ Algiers iiuve soais, the same as wliite men," 
 said luo iJeacon repiot iiigiy. 
 
 • 1 lecivon his'li git out oi liii body 'fore we 
 reach hiai, ' drawled -ojie, '•unless he's a mighty 
 gootl .TWimmer." 
 
 ".ueuoe thcie'da rew.ird to be got lor hirn," 
 duggcsted Tanker; ••he's good for that niiich, 
 aio way." 
 
 ■■.so matter what he is," said the Dea on. 
 siarung, ■'he ought to be saved irom dr /wning. 
 uet tne skid" over the side, quick; who'll go 
 with me I" 
 
 ■ 1 wid," said Brown, (luiekly, snatching .he 
 oars out of the little ooat, and saoving her over 
 tne side. I'ne Deacon d'-o,ip('d into the boat, 
 lirown handea the oars down and then de- 
 scended himseif ; a lew seconds later, and the 
 ski. f, urged a.ong by the Ueacon s stout arms 
 and a swut current, was dying down the strea.u. 
 iJrown instructed the Deacon brielly but fre- 
 quently as to the c nirse ; suddenly," liowever, 
 he exclaimed, 
 
 " Deacon, mat's not a darkey— it s a be.ir 1 ' 
 
 " U racious ! ■ exclaimed the sld man, res.ing 
 on h. soars lor a mo ..eiii and gazing over his 
 shoulder; " oo it is ! " In an insiaat he turned 
 the skiif on its centre j,iid slaricd back tor .lie 
 boat, jerking out as he did so, 
 
 ■•1 wish la -.lied me glass on— him before i 
 -lowered the boat. I've seen bears swimming 
 belorc, though wiiai they re oucIiIooI.t tor -as i^ 
 swim the .ylississippi an' tool sott-neaiieil 
 folks -beats me." 
 
 " Don't run away from him, ' pleaded Brown. 
 "Let's have hnn; la manuge liiin with iIuh 
 hatchet, if you U manage the boat." 
 
 The Deacon stuck manfully to his stroke, and 
 gasped— 
 
 "1 don't care much for bear's meat -I pref r 
 pork." 
 
 " Let's have his skin, then," said Brown. " A 
 man don't gel a chance at bi , game every 
 day," 
 
 " I like my own skin best," remarked the 
 Deacon, " an' I like it without -scratches." 
 
THE CREW OF THE SAM WELLER. 
 
 15 
 
 '"'""■""(I t« 
 
 fhe 
 
 roiin;^^ 
 
 P' / ills own 
 
 ^, ''"•'-•ouJd 
 '"^^^■1 hud 
 
 '"""ins of 
 '■> a sJjour 
 
 t'u' Water 
 '■••an,, jt 
 ''^"U, un,i 
 ""'•ter of 
 , '"oved 
 •^' "II the 
 
 ^"nWiiie 
 
 ^^tJi the 
 
 :cnien,' 
 
 'ore We 
 '"iifhty 
 
 i-hiin," 
 
 IlliJC/l, 
 
 eu 0/1, 
 
 ii g^ 
 
 'fa' .he 
 •over 
 bout, 
 li Ue- 
 
 1 tile 
 inns 
 
 •U.ll. 
 
 Ire- 
 vt-r. 
 
 ing 
 tile 
 
 iie 
 
 ! 1 
 
 »K 
 i« 
 (1 
 
 - "lie won't cire to scratuli. " uryed Brown; 
 " lie can't use but one paw at a time while lien 
 ill the wi.ter, and 1 uaii eauiiy ..ibuLtle thai with 
 the liatchet." 
 
 Tlie lieaeon pau.-ied no longer than absolutely 
 ueccftsary bet^e.-n hia sliolies, as he leplieti, 
 
 " I'll take your wora t'<<r u, bui 1 Uou'i want 
 to run— no risks. 1 don't care to— lay up nown 
 the river an' pay doctor's bil.s for— one or boiii 
 ot us. It don I leel nice— to be sewed 
 up ill Bpots-aii' bears am t partiouhir 'bout 
 leariu' on straight ed^jes.' 
 
 lirown was amiosi ti antic with his desire 
 to engage with iJruiu. Jieiiig human, he couid 
 be a savage hunter at any time, on very short 
 notice ; now, ins auger naving long been stimu- 
 lated without a chance to vent iiselt upon any- 
 tliing or any one, the prospect ot a perfectly 
 legal tight with some one stiong enough to be 
 worth overcoming, he was so neariy beside 
 lumselt in Ills eagerness as to torg^t nis mau- 
 ners and exclaim : 
 
 •' 1 believe you re really afraid for your life. 
 I'm willing lo risk mine, and I'm not prepaied, 
 as you believe t/ott are." 
 
 Ine Ueaion rested his oars for a moment, and 
 retieeted. i'"ighling a lierce useless a iiiial in 
 the midtlL; ot tlie Alissi-sippi river was poor 
 business lor a Deacon, the latho of a family, 
 and the pil jI and supercargo of a valuable 
 rtat-boat, but if by so uomg ne conhl m aii> way 
 snow ttiat tlie cou.age of the CJinsiian was 
 superior to ihat of me sinful man. the aiiair 
 wouul wear a very diirereut a-spect. iJid not 
 Paul, for tlie glory of God, lignt with wild 
 beasts at Ephesu*— prouabl> witnout the aid ot 
 a hatcliel, uud certainly without a big river to 
 partially Uisarm the animals fur him { 
 
 " Uci your near if you want ium so bad !" 
 shoiiteU the J>eacoii, as lie again turned the 
 BKilfs head uown stream, ana rowed with all 
 Ills uiighi. 
 
 liruiii saw the couple approaching, and 
 changed his course s inewhai so as to meet 
 ttiem. it Was impossible to aiscern his inten- 
 tions from his pnysioguoiiiy, out itwasciuite 
 evident from his mutiou.-i tnat someihing in or 
 auout the Uoal was extremely attractive lo nim. 
 
 "I'ull around him I " exclaimed Brown, as the 
 animal was nearly reacheil, "so ne won't move 
 loo iMpidiy for me to siMke sipiareiy. I'ass un- 
 der fiis nuoc. as nearly as pos.-in.e, as you go up 
 stream, and swing the stern square against iiuu 
 It you can." 
 
 lirown still kept his seat in the stern, his 
 hatchet hidiiun from view; ho seemed s> cool- 
 so tearless, in spito of his animation, that the 
 Ueacou, could not helj) admiring nim and won- 
 dering at Ium. Was the fellow a fooH no; he 
 had dropped some remarks about liiiiitiiig which 
 showed mm to have been a zealous sportsman. 
 Hut had he ever met a uear uefoe ( or hadn't 
 he anyining to live tor t even if he had not, the 
 instuict of seli-preser . iiiion must certainly be 
 strong in so healthy a young fellow. 
 
 lie looked liKe anything but a man c ireless 
 of life, as he sat, crouching but aleri, with thj 
 hatcuet reiired, but field wuh a gnp so firm 
 Ihal the bone, tendon and vein in the back of 
 his hand stood plainly in view, f'here could be 
 no doubt that the feiiow really had courage ot a 
 very line (piality, but where could it have come 
 from t l^'ioin mere philooophy i Then how 
 much greater Inaii he had ever imagined must 
 Oe the possibililies of ilial better courage of 
 which the Deacon Knew. 
 
 Comparisons oi the real with the true, the 
 known with liie unknown, may often be safely 
 and piolitalily made, but not by a person who 
 lo an imi«oriaiit party to a bearluiui. While 
 the Deacon occupied himscif busily with 
 
 Brown's face and eyes, he neglected the actual 
 .losilion of Ihe bear, andgsou h.pptned, that 
 as he supposed hiiliself aooiit lo round Brum, 
 one of Ins oars was snalclied violently out of 
 his hand,andalaliiio.st the same inslanl the skiff 
 made a sudden lurcn in ilie direclioii of the de- 
 p irted oar ; and when tiie Deacon, jii-l saving 
 the eipiihbrium of ilie bi.at by a iremeiidous 
 start in the opiiosiie direction, looki d across his 
 shoulder to see whal Ilie cause could liavt! been 
 his eyes met eyes which, in npile of an air of 
 meek enijuiry, were rather iiioic lio^;gish than 
 the old man was in the habit of eiiCouniering, 
 even among business men. Ihcn he saw, 
 within an inch uf his own elbow, an immense 
 blackisfi-brown paw. 
 
 " Here's your bear." sliiMited the Deacon, 
 scrambling hastily forward, and doing his best 
 to iireserve the e»iu' libriiiiii ol tiie boat. "VVhy 
 don't you come and gi't liiiii '" 
 
 Brown also crept loiwanl, and, bracing him- 
 self against the tide and seat of the boat, raised 
 his hatchet and aimed a blow at the aniinal's 
 head. But Bruin, elumsy ilioiigh he was, was a 
 speci^.lisl 111 Ilie art ol seifdeieiice. He skil- 
 Uilly wan.ed oU' Ihe blow by a slroke of one 
 paw ; the hatchet dropped forlunalcly into the 
 boat --.ind the bear himself eulert'd ihe boat a 
 I second later, Miiialted upon his broad hams, 
 I and proceeded to eonsKur the si.uulion. 
 ! I'lu- Deat;uii, who with a very strong grasp 
 ; had relaiiied Ihe remaining oar, ruiseil it, 
 ! made a treunndo s lunge wim it allerthe 
 I manner of a lance, ga\ e the bear a severe punch 
 I in the bacK of the neck, and shouled— 
 I "Git out!" 
 
 I Bruin whirled about as if he had been a 
 I dancing niasler, anil the oid man, h.tstily com- 
 j mending himself lo his .Maker, went over the 
 ' side wiih great rafiidily ; his molion caused the 
 I boat lo capsize, and 111 an insiant there was in 
 the river as confused a.iuinble of boats, bears, 
 ileaoon ana detauliers, as any wisher after 
 " I'liaos come again " could desire. 'Ihe boat 
 turned bottom upwards, and the ileiicon splut- 
 teriM \ioienlly ab,;iu uniii he rested i.is eibow 
 upon the slerii-po.it ; Brown placed a hand 
 upon the stern, while Bruin, periiups m answer 
 to the Daacons fer\ent iirayer that he might, 
 if liiiiigry, devote h.mseif to that one ui the 
 couple who was manuestly youngest and most 
 loolnsoiiie,' placed both paws upon the bottom 
 amidships, and scrambled towards Brown. Tne 
 defaulter raised his hatchet, and siiiole the ani- 
 mal on the top of his head, a proceeding which 
 somewhat discouraged the bruic. He reheated 
 the blow, and beslowid his ihud upon the ani- 
 mal's ankle. The bear suddenly recognized the 
 inevitable, loosened his hold, and drilled down 
 the river, being saluted by a wild shriek as his 
 coat rubbed tnat ot the oid man, and his un- 
 harmed paw lingered eonvul>ivel> about Hie 
 iJeacoii s breast, i hen Brown righting the boat 
 got into It, baled the waier wiih nis hai, and iii- 
 siructed the Deacon how lo gel in ^vithoui 
 causing another capsize. Knocking the seat 
 loose with tils haichei, Brown used it as a 
 paddle, and worked ihe boat lirst totjne oar, and 
 then lo the other; men the coiipl ; overtook 
 Bruin as lie drilled iusi-nsibly alung, gave him 
 two or three linishiug strokes, and tjwed him 
 slovviy out to the llatboal, which by this lime 
 was about abreast of them. 
 
 f he old man had but Utile to say until the ani- 
 mal was hauled aboard, and iie himseit had 
 cfianged his clothing. Then he drew Brown 
 
 * The Deacon had fallen into the common er- 
 ror of supposing that bears are particularly fond 
 of human llesh, the fact being that they prefer 
 nearly any other article of diet. 
 
1() 
 
 THE CREW OF THE SAM WELLER. 
 
 a.sidf! from when; ho Imd luoii watchiriK the 
 Playinw ol the animal, mui iiKiiiircd- 
 
 ■ V\ hiTc- (litl you g(M tlidt kind (,f j^jrit froml 
 If IS tuo K.'od uol tu he nsed in ihf bcrvice of 
 jour iMukcr. ' 
 
 IV. 
 
 "Five iniitMMirrcnl, I shouhl say," rcinarked 
 Ucacori I'ackKiii, Hshc v>alki-d ilj." di ck uf thu 
 ham VVtJlor, and moodily olt-SLTVL'd tlio suriai-o 
 01 ■'•c n\i,LT. •• Aiioul a liU' difd anu ivvenly 
 lui/.es aday.thnl means providin' we have no ouu 
 vyeuiher, so's we have lo lay up. So w. 11 be in 
 Urleana m tour days, unless tin; curiDil slack- 
 ens— wJm.li iliurc aiu'i jio iiaiiKfii' of its duin' 
 Only loia-uays to ilie end ol' tiie Iriii, au' no- 
 body convciled >et. llavvi done my best, or 
 haven t i t I've certainly been iier.-istent in 
 season an out of t-eason, an' wJuu s eoi,,e of it 
 ah; Nolhin". unle.M the l.ord se.s soiueiliiu' 
 thai I dont. IJrovvnaint n - nearer tlie kiuK- i 
 aom tiian he was when we starleo-l hope jie 
 aihtyit/'^/((r from ii ! An' as lor l^u^vsiii.', well 
 Jlea\eii lo! give me, I'm about ready I o oeheve ' 
 sumeloiks ain't got no souls any way. "rwouki j 
 lake an awlul. load of of my shoidders~my 
 soul, 1 mean if I could really believe tJial there : 
 «?-<.'iolks without Sou. s, an', con.eciuenlly, folks I 
 tiiataintwonh savin.' I'raps liruvvn could I 
 proven to me, with that smooih tongue of his I 
 that wdl talk a feiler down just wlien ne knows 
 lieougnt to be upper. no»t. Isut before 1 ask nini ' 
 about It, 1 il go through my liible, with tiie Con- 
 <ordanee to iielp me, and see wnat that says ou 
 I ho subject. 
 
 I'he iRvKJon raised his liead, merely to rest it 
 and happening to notice ihat VicRsb.irg, which 
 town lie was just pa^sing, made a very pre.ty 
 picture when the light came from an evenin' 
 sun, he alloweii his percept ive to relieve his re" 
 noctiye powers lor a littfe whi.e. l<'uie 
 views were not peculiar to tlie iJeaeou's own 
 country, nor even to the Mississippi river 
 as a general thing, so the old man gazed until 
 tlie hglit fadeu and left the lull and its nouses 
 to their own natural u.^liiiess. And the scene I 
 suggested to the old man a spiritual parallel. J 
 
 '• ihat was just like Urown, lookin' at him- 
 seit, 1 verily believe," said he. '-lies irot 
 splendid health, au' that's the light that giuri 
 ties everything m himself thai he's so waii 
 •^^^l^^hed with, ineversaw my own depravity 
 nil 1 left Long Island, came West, un' nearly 
 uied o.thea^ e. isut it docs seem as if the 
 Uevil heL.ed ms own. Ev'ry other New Eastern 
 man that ever came down this river with me 
 has had a tough time with the chills before he 
 got this lar. i'liy wc couldn't have two or 
 three hot togs before we reach Orleans ; they'd 
 leiclihim, and they'd make us lay up, too an' 
 give me more nine at lam. 1 honeaiiy do 
 believe that chills 'an fever has done more to 
 J-hnstiauize the West tluin everything else put 
 together -except tlie spirit of God." 
 
 the Ueaeoh paused for a few moments to 
 retl> ct on this tonic, and lo peel, with his knife 
 some very thin shavings from one oi the sweeps 
 upon which lie leanea. Hut realizing that he 
 was losing ai^ht of the main subject, he rallied 
 ^.'.'V'^'^V,""«i'considerab.e tffort.and continued 
 Btill wuh himself for sole auuitor - 
 
 " Well, you can't ?/ia/i:e a horse drink, no 
 mutter how otten you lead him to the wateriuir- 
 trough-an' 1 never could 8ee that it did any 
 Kooii to push his nose down under the water— it 
 only frightened him and maae him splutter an' 
 alvyays after tliat want to drink at any place 
 but that I inusinl get him in. </ia« ll.x, else 
 who knows but some universalist would tret 
 hold of him-</jcn he'd be damned in spite ef 
 
 anything. He likes old Lugwine, now, a good 
 deal belier than he dues //(■■, an'l ne^er saw 
 anybody before that want d lo be armmd Uiat 
 old cuss all the time, unless it was a deputy 
 sheritf. ,1 wouldn't feel so bad if he too ■ o 
 boolean Tanker; they ain't much, to he sure 
 .^ ., f,y.M.? ^^-^^^ "^:"ced a change, inless Muho- 
 
 //!«uust ye"/- '' "^' •" ""'^"'''^^' ^"' ^ ^"'^-'""^ ^^y 
 
 Injustice to the Deacon's observing facu:tiri 
 it must be admitted that iJrown had been in! 
 uenced ashith.' by the old man's arguments as 
 t he Leac n himseli feared. Occasional His of 
 remorse he could not e-:cai)e, for with a mental 
 nature whieli, though waVpecl, had ' m "'oi 
 been rendered inactive ■ y bad nlivi, al Imh'iL: 
 hcludalso all hlsliiiie lathe diVpoi lofiiH 
 thought.,, no matter 111 what direction his mind 
 might insist upon working. But a man wo 
 sueees.stuily withstands an attack oi any sort 
 n ■ hia ter how bad his own c .use or how good 
 hat ot hi. antagonist may be, aciiuires new 
 power and ski 1 as a eombatant, and it follow^ 
 that the delaulter, who generally strove against 
 his conscience until it retired, and on all other 
 I occasions 1 el used lo retire liims.lf. bc-an to , v 
 ^^X'"" lo «ei; Perio Is of ease, and assaults 
 1 v\ hieh grew feebler with each recurrence. 
 I -"esides. he was approaching u city which 
 small thanks to. what is called interesting new^' 
 had impressed itself upon his mind as the moat 
 irreligious city in tne L-nioii. Newsde Iters 
 which he had seen from there seldo.i. conta led 
 any word about churches and benevolent soeie 
 '^A ,^iS,l'!'!!:!! •J'^""^ "oi^e-races'anf duels: 
 
 ,h .^ ^f' ^''* ""'' •''."' ""'" ^'^^'^ li'indle a great 
 deal or commercial paper from New Orleans- 
 did It not uite proportionately with its(,uantity 
 
 c ntre? And it the people of this supijosedlv 
 
 Hm'^''"fi '^I'i^' /V-'"'^ "'^ ^'""^''^t as those of-Zl 
 But, soft- that line ot argument w,,s uninten- 
 t lona : It the.v were as honest as other peS- 
 ple, how could his own system of paganistn 
 alhliaie vvith theirs f in point of physical 
 ' morality they are as lo.v 'a, any one could 
 desire, but lor. sensuality or brutality he had 
 110 longings. There was one poinr of contact 
 ready made for him, however, with beS of 
 an intei.ectual order, for he knew by a New 
 Orleans journal which he had purchised at a 
 lauding above that the theatres were oivn on 
 bunday, and that the dramatic tastes of the 
 people seemed t.. be of a high order 
 
 ,.^ , .'J'"'^^^' ^^'^ J'i^'^*'^" ^ '"" ''i« I'oeket, and re- 
 load the a vertisements of amusements and 
 lead again ami yet again an ablv-writ,ei'i ro 
 
 Zr-iho.^hei'^ir,''""''''"-:'^ ^^' ^ J"'ominent 
 stai , then he tell to m cmg upon niavs h(» 
 
 had heard and read, when he heard hmberiSK 
 uncertain steps appreaehing, ami then he heard 
 the voic. of old Lugwine. remarking- 
 That an Orleans paper you've uot ?" 
 \ es,'' replied Brown, in a tone many deerces 
 removed from the amiable. uegrees 
 
 " They're buhy papers ; leastways, them that 
 I ve seen is." said Lugwine. " .Alost alwavs 
 theressumthin' in 'em about a tip-top ffl 
 somewneres. Papers up our way ain't wuth 
 house r.om. Even ef there ks a light all They 
 ever do is t . say there was one, and that the 
 feller that licked is either in jail or the shorilV's 
 alter him. u hy, a preacher left five or six 
 around our settlement once, an' Nemi Flicker 
 lookea em all through, an' all ther wuz in em 
 lit to read was boiu how a filler that thev ea - 
 
 ed a visionary, or soniethin' like "j ^ 
 
 'Alissionary i" suggested Brown. 
 i!>>r„...';?' ^"•'<i L"H\V"'^- "^f'^-r a moment of de- 
 liberation, 1 guess 'turns misHonary - 'bout how 
 he was sliced by some fellers in Afriky that 
 
THE CREW OF THE SAM WKLLAIl. 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 ]''' '" bet '" 
 
 /■■entity 
 
 fosedjy 
 of. Z, 
 
 /eo- 
 
 "S'cai 
 ouid 
 
 iud 
 
 tact 
 
 ! of 
 
 e\v 
 
 - a 
 
 on 
 
 be 
 
 didn't want tohear him pri'iicli, but h • would 
 do it, inatid of lakiu' hints when they hcavi'd 
 rocks at liiin. "l'\va.su't niufli of ast')ry, ncitlK-r, 
 fur hi! didn't hit hui'k nary tinio, an' lio jist 
 pfayed inslid of cussin' 'cm. You hain't muMi 
 nutliin' of tho kind, only livelier, in that Orleans 
 paper, I a'pode ( " 
 
 " None that I renicMnber," said Urown, shud- 
 dering and smilinKHlmosl at the same instant 
 
 " Thai's too duriuMl had." said the old man, 
 feelinKly, as he leaned dejectedly against a bar- 
 rel of i)ork, and thrust his hands into his 
 pokets to avoid the labour of sustaining them 
 in the air. " I don't feel over an' abovt; well 
 to-day, an' somethin' of that kind would pick 
 me up almost as good as whiskey." 
 
 The evident .sincerity of the old man attcctod 
 as well asaniused Hrown to a (lej^ree which 
 caused him to st-arch the paper again for ma- 
 terial of a sort which he. for himself, always re- 
 'ected at sight. Fortunately for iiUgwine's 
 spirits, the search was luit unfruitful. 'I'here 
 had occurred a dilUculty, in the .\chafalaya re- 
 gion, betwe two sirions of good families, so 
 die alt'air was .-eported as re pectfully as if it 
 had been a mere excusable altercation instead 
 of a brutal tight -reported, in fact, as it would 
 have been in almost any northern journal, if 
 the social considerations had been similar. 
 
 " I've got it," said Urown, with an uncontrol- 
 lable shiver ; " hi-re it is," he continued, handing 
 the pape:- to IjugwiiK!. 
 
 "Well, now," said the old man, with an odd 
 alternation of hesitation and t\'igerness, '• it's 
 loo bad, but my eyes are bothcrin" me a heap 
 lately ; would you mind readin' it to me J I'll 
 do as much for you some day." 
 
 Brown hastily determined to study his audi- 
 tor by way of neutralizing the driails of the 
 story, and began to read, old liUgwinc seating 
 himself c^se beside him. 
 
 " UNFORTUNATE DIFFICULTY. 
 
 " We I'arn from a i^entleman owning a large 
 plantation on the Achafalaya river, he particu- 
 lars of a deplorable affair which transpired 
 several days ago. Two young men of tinest 
 family had been spending an evening socially 
 with some friends, when con\ersation turned 
 upon the cotton crop of the neii^h- 
 bourhood. What was merely a differ- 
 ence of opinion unfortunately assumed the 
 aspect of an issue of veracity, and (jach gentle- 
 U'lan being rather heated with wine, charged 
 the other with untruthfulness, 'he etl'orts of 
 the other gentlemen present being powerless to 
 nrevent a confliet. a h istile meeti.ig, with 
 knives, was immediately arranged and cariied 
 into etfect. IJoth gentlemen " 
 
 " Knives," interrupted Lugwiiu;, "are just 
 the thing, if a feller means liusiness. Th' re 
 ain't any snappin' of caps about a knife, an' no 
 feller haint got a chance to lire up into the air 
 an' sjiile the fun of them that's niebbe come 
 miles to enioy the tight. Go ahead." 
 
 " Why, Lugwine," remonstrated Hrown, 
 "that'sjust the trouble. If men meet with 
 knives, some one is sure to be hurt ; if they use 
 pistols or guns there may b(- a chance of buth 
 being s itislied without any harm Ixnng done." 
 
 " I'd like to l>.n()W." said IjUgwine, with judi- 
 cial delilieration. which faileil to entirely ron- 
 ceal his injured ft'clings, " if chealin" the 
 aujince out of the show isn't doin' no hariu ; 
 No sir -iH- ; knives are the t hings. Ihecrci oiie\ 
 from a young feller that oik'c run a school in the 
 Fast somewheres, but (Mime down to .lur neigh- 
 bourhood to hide about somethin' 'Iwasn't 
 none lit my bi/.ness to ask him what it wuz I 
 lieerd fr.im him that one; their wuzn't no such 
 thing 1* shootin", an' all kinds of lights wuz 
 
 settled with cold iron. Why. he told me "bout 
 one light liuit thousands of fellers got into 
 thraslier-nioney, I think he " 
 
 " 'I'hrasyniene /" suggested Hrown. 
 
 " I reckon llx't wuz it," said l.ugwine. " I 
 see i/uu know al)out it too. H'ti:n't tiiat a light 
 I hough f The fellers got so hot slashin' each 
 otiier that an earthiiuake came along an' tliey 
 didn't knov; a dog-goncd thing aiioul it. A fel- 
 ler kinder takes more interest in a row when 
 his man's near enough to grip, you know." 
 
 " .Vnd it makes liini iiate his eueiny a great 
 d(!al inore, too," said Hrown. 
 
 "Of eoorse it lioes," rep'ied Lugwine. " an' it 
 ort to. What's the gond of lightin' if you hamt 
 got a good hate on { An' then, when you hit a 
 man with a knife, you know wliere you hit him. 
 if you feel arouiul with the knife a little putti- 
 kilar but a shot -why, if you dont't semi iiim 
 to kingdom conu? lirst pop, you don't know 
 whether you hit him at all, an' so there ain t 
 nuthin' to encourage you" 
 
 "Hut. liUgwine," aigiied Hrown "one man 
 deserves just as good a chance as another in a 
 light, for the sake of his family as well as him- 
 self." 
 
 " Look-a-here, neighbour," said Lugwine, 
 sprawling on the deck so that he; might look up 
 into Hrown's fac , " von ain't talkin' tight at all 
 
 you're goin' on like a church member ! I 
 kinder S(;t consi(ierablc store l)y you; I hope 
 th(! I)e iCon ain't been a comin' it over you an' 
 siiilin' you ;" 
 
 As the old man spoke, his gaze became so 
 earnest, so serious, so reproachful, that Hrown's 
 eyes turned away from it, and he felt conscious 
 of having done something to be a>h'iuied of. 
 In a moment or two he recovered himself, and 
 then, tlu-hing angrily, he crumpled the paper 
 into a ball ami tossed it overboard, rising at the 
 same time aiid beginning to pace the deck with 
 long strides. So trying to beaheatheii had roally 
 come to this I Me had laid himself open to a sus- 
 picion uf being religious ; he was losing the re- 
 spect of the brute who had become almost to be 
 his model, an worse still, he had involuntarily 
 become abashed and ashamed under the 
 suspicious looks anil suggestions of this iguo 
 rant, degraded old wretch ! He had 
 imagined himself ^as raising himself, bv 
 metaphysical etfort, ab tc the level of the dumb 
 iolloweis of mere moral tradition. Although he 
 liad it.'cognized Lugwine as bei g upon the do- 
 dred plane it was only as a sort of camp fol- 
 lower -a bit of inert del/ria which had been 
 thrown to the extreme edg(; of the desired life 
 by tile acti\e force which is as peculiar to pa- 
 giinism as to any other system of life. 
 
 Why certain thoughts, sentiments, sayings, 
 sometimes present themselves oiiportuiiely yet 
 witlKjiil call, is beyond explanation, but no one 
 
 not even the creature of pure reason can 
 deny that such ('oincid nee of demand and 
 supiily fre(iiiently occurs. As Hrown stro le 
 back "and forth there c .me to his mind, for no 
 cause that he knew of, the lixpression : 
 
 "From him that hath not shall be taken 
 away e\en that which he iilh," 
 
 " II m I what if that sayiny should really be a 
 wise one, after all. in siiite of his own belief that 
 it was sjioken merely from human sentiment ( 
 What /if//' been taken away from him J lliH 
 l)agaiiism .' Well, he would admit that ho 
 liadn't acciuired much of it, so far -he could 
 easily get it back again. I'erhaps it was his 
 religion .' Well hi' smiled sarcastically as lie 
 talked to himself if he had so little of it that 
 it had to betaken away from him, then good 
 riddance to it it hadn't kept him out of trouble 
 at home, and had been the source of most of 
 his mental unquiet since he had -had come 
 
18 
 
 TlIK C'KH\V OK THE .SAM WKI.LAK. 
 
 West. For what had that passasjfe come inio 
 hi» iniiul, uiiy way t Was Ui ti- ro.illy a tbivil 
 wu't went about loniiuiiliuji uitjii ! lln of 
 uourne could aol allrilxui; his visiiaiioii by iliis 
 aayiiig to any .spirit bu:, oao i<r cVil, I'or was not 
 its eftcci anuoyin»; .' Had anything really boon 
 taken away rruiii hiiu I 
 
 UoasideiMblo uoisi; was bciiiK created aft, and 
 lirowu, loolciii^i; carelessly up to discer ■ ilic 
 cause, s iw old Hi.;»vine tlirowmg a Iomk lish-liiU! 
 iuto the water and jerkint; il speedily lu again ; 
 he was evidently trying to recover the news- 
 paper. I'lie anxiety -eidcted on the old n\an's 
 counteuauce, and his pnenoiiienul indusiry, 
 uinused the yoinig niiui condderably ami, 
 changed tlie eurreid of lii« tliou.;lis. Seem;^ 
 thai no etfort of his own could increase tlie 
 lengtli of hi . o\ersh(jrt line, tiie old gentleni ai 
 gave up his attempt, and bt;slowcd ujion ihe 
 liae, the paper, and his own soul, a number of 
 condemnalury expressions. l''inaily. his temper 
 having been allayed, he saunleriM sheepishly up 
 to lirown, and suia : 
 
 " Say, 1 didn't mean to make you mad, but I 
 hev seen lots of g.)od fellers nuide kinder like 
 idomo'iody else, by that old cuss of a Deacon an' 
 feliera like him." 
 
 " Never mind," said Hrown, "I wasn't exactly 
 mad ; 1 happened to be thinking about some- 
 thing elae." 
 
 '• VV'ell," said the old man, biting industriously 
 at his tobacco-plug. " I wuz ufearcd I'd riad 
 you awful. i>o you know, you throwedawa: 
 that i)aper before you tinisued the jarn?' 
 
 " IJid 1 i" asked m-own, who ha i no recollec- 
 tion of the story. 
 
 " Of course you did," replied the old num, wax- 
 ing earnest, " you oidy got to where they agreed 
 to rtght with knives; that ain't no story; the 
 Hgni hadn't even begun, an' there's the paper 
 out in the river all wet; it'll sink pretty soon I 
 there's just one thing to be do le : l.'t'silump the 
 siiiil into the waer, quick, an' go out an' grab 
 the paper before it sinks. " 
 
 "Hang the paper, and the light tool" ex- 
 claimed Brown. "liert, smoke a pip- (of 
 good tobacco ; jday seven up «/;// thing, rather 
 than tliidiug oi.t Ihjw two men cut each other 
 to pieces. .Men were made for .-jomeihing bet- 
 ter." 
 
 '* There you go again !" complained Lugwine : 
 "if that don't soun(l like a preacher, what docs 
 it sound like! "taint //i// fault if I hear such 
 tilings when yon go an' .say em." 
 
 Brown again began to fee ashamed, and to 
 hide his senation from his interlocutor he 
 hurried forward again. " From him that hath 
 not shall be taken away, even that which he 
 hath !" This saying again obtruded its -If upon 
 ills mind, and with it came a dim glimpse of 
 what he liad really lost by having it not. If he 
 was so sensitive to the suspicions even the 
 opinions -of a mere bit of h iiiian scum like 
 Lugwine was, did it not seem thai his self-re- 
 snect had been taken away ; He fought the 
 iaeaatOi.ce, and fought it desperately, but des- 
 peration is not the (iiia.ity with which a man 
 can vaniiiiish a truth -a truth which is fresh, 
 imdimmed, uiuiorrupted, as yet, by any nu^a- 
 physical aliaeks from the ipiarter to which it 
 should trust for its su-tenance. The truth con- 
 quered, and Walter Brown, gentliinan. linan- 
 ciei-, scholar, man of so.-iety, church mi'mbi;r. 
 son, brother and lover -a man who had enjoyed 
 the advantages of every human incentive to 
 self-respect -saw himsolf as the wilful destroyer 
 of a quality more iireeious than any which his 
 brutish companion had ever carelessly owned 
 ; nd lost. 
 
 The Deacon came on d<'rk just then to look at 
 he weather and river, bui !)>■ wa.-i not s > iiarr'>w 
 
 of vision as to lose anything else that was 
 within reach of hisgla ice. He saw his stranger 
 hand leaning li>ilessly on the pork-barrels, dim- 
 eyed, heavy-iaced, a mere sulien cur, in spite of 
 lii.-i line ligure and beauiy of face. 'I'he Deacon 
 was startled, tiiid said to himself, 
 
 ■' Is It ih(! ag r comin' on glory be to God !- 
 oris It conviction gn.-aier glory lie to the same! 
 in either case, l'\e got llie chauct; I'm l'>okiu' 
 for th>' best chance I'm likely to have this side 
 of Orleans. Wheiher he needs (jui-ni e or 
 prayers. I'li speak to him, " and then he advanc- 
 ed and said, aloud, 
 
 " rieem to be fi-elin' down again { Anything 
 1 I'an do for you ;" 
 
 Tiie defaulter looki'd at the Deacon from 
 under Ills eyeliils only : lie s>-enied, even to him- 
 hcll, unable to laise his head. 
 
 ■■ I herti's plenty of (/(t/-niiie below, if you've 
 been look with another chill," continued the 
 Dea on 
 
 The young man siiook his head impatiently. 
 
 "An' there's b. dm in Oilead there's a I'liyai- 
 eian there," the old man continued. 'I'heii, get- 
 ling no response, he approached closer to Brown, 
 laid a hand on his shoulder, and said, 
 
 " Voung man, I hate to medd.e with other 
 people's business, but if I ain't awfully mis- 
 taken, y>iu've got some (.-oiisi icrable trouble on 
 your mind. It's //<;«/• alt'air, an' i don't want to 
 pry into it, as I said, tint ilier is somebody you 
 can't keep it fro i:. Oo to lliiii. ycjiing man- 
 he's loo much of a gentleman to run himself on 
 you. ' 
 
 '■ r\'e been there," responded the defaulter, 
 after an unsuccessful atlempl to keep silence. 
 "Jh can't (to any thing foi' me." 
 
 " I'hat word "can't ' is an insult, even to a 
 man," replied Ihe J>eacoii ; "duii't apply it to 
 (jod. I don't k..ow what you want of him, 
 but 
 
 1 want flfty thousand dollars of hii 
 
 said 
 
 was you. /can't 
 be got rid of at 
 
 Brown. 
 
 The Deacon retired precipitately. Here was 
 a fellow who was mixing business and religion, 
 a mixture which Ihe Deacon, iuspite oi a |irettj 
 lair conscience, knew nothing about. Why 
 icuuld ni(;i\ make siuli attempts, he wondered.' 
 I'o .Soolc, who crawling up the ladder and eoiii- 
 meiilii)i.i upon the strange appearaiu:e of his 
 stranger iiiessmate, the Deacon explained 
 
 ■■ Jle's got business troubles on His mind." 
 
 -Soolc slouched up to Brown, tried iinsuccesa- 
 fully li> catch his eye, and linally whi pered 
 apologetically — 
 
 " I'd lake eoU'ec back, if 1 
 ad'ord half as much as can 
 Brackels\ille. " 
 
 Jlrown looked up enquiringly, and regained, 
 only to lose them an insuiiit later, his customary 
 spirits, as h ; di\ineil the iirobable cause of 
 Soole's advice. "Thank you," said he, and 
 turned away to rid himself of his would-be 
 assistant, at rolling aft, "he was hailed by Tan- 
 ker, who was at the iiclm, and who said to liim-- 
 
 " Seem to be down m the mouth, pardner. 
 Fellows often air when they're gelling near 
 Orleans. ?dade up your luiml what you're goin' 
 to do when y(jii get I here -what you're gom' to 
 take back with you, 1 mean .' Just takt; my word 
 fori!, ihere ain't notliiii'lik(' sugar. Low freights, 
 you know, 'cording lo what it'll fetch when you 
 git it home, an' no risk of waslin" if you ship it 
 on a good boat." 
 
 The young man again ehaiued his base, 
 anirrit-r and more tormenleil at heart than he 
 hail yet been. The fc.'cble means suggested, 
 contrasted with the greatness of his need, ev( .i 
 if restoration of the bank's money could restore 
 him again lo the life which he had lost .iiid the 
 oiil.v life he cared for, showeil him with terrible 
 
 ll 
 
 \| 
 
 i 
 
THE CHEW OF THE SAM WELLEH. 
 
 19 
 
 I, /hat was 
 r':'''l8. Hun- 
 
 _ to God i_ 
 I", 'lie Hutimi 
 J' '" i'-okiu" 
 
 I/""' •' or 
 I'"-' advunc- 
 
 lufoii /Voji, 
 r" fo iiiiii- 
 
 _, ." you'\(. 
 ['""lod the 
 
 ll'iition tly. 
 
 7, ,'1 ''liysj' 
 
 "*-'". «"ot- 
 
 luJirort'n, 
 
 ''|» olJiei- 
 "'i- mia- 
 ""We on 
 "ant to 
 '^f'ly you 
 Mian- 
 
 '"s -Jjoii 
 
 t-'f'.uiJier, 
 wilunce. 
 
 on lo u 
 >h: it to 
 '<■" liiui, 
 
 ' •' " suid 
 
 oi'e Was 
 •^•''Wion, 
 • protty 
 
 !(JcT(;d.' 
 •' t'OUl- 
 Of his 
 
 if-'cesa- 
 peied 
 
 can't 
 of ut 
 
 iiit'd, 
 navy 
 I' o/ 
 
 and 
 <l-l)e 
 run- 
 in-- 
 lie f, 
 lear 
 uin' 
 
 lo 
 Jrd 
 
 118, 
 
 on 
 it 
 
 ie, 
 lie 
 d, 
 
 '.I 
 ■(J 
 e 
 e 
 
 (ijsiiiutiio.^K tlic liopclc^snoss of lii^ positioti. 
 'I'liTi- was no sense ill liopinj; a:_')iinst the odds 
 wiiicli were iit.'iiiiist liini ; U'cre was nn life hiit 
 111;' old life \^ liieli iir(\-ciilc(l any alli'aitiuiis. 
 'I' Ik 're was in on.- ali\t' wlio eareil fur liiiii t)ut (i 
 I iiiii~li liiiii lliroMi;li ilie ineai s wliicli wire jiro- 
 \i(leil for ilii' iiunislinieiil of (■'■iiinimls. Why 
 slion d III.' cniiiiiie to live if no one liad any 
 interest in him but from sellisli iiintiv s .' I'lie 
 river Was hi-side him. and ul! ahoiil him; (7 
 e iiUI IsMji his secret, if lie cast hioisr-lf into it. 
 Hut no, there were tliosi lell-iali' initials ii]ion 
 liis aim; water seemed always reliiitant to 
 keep its dead ; he would be cast up, he 
 would be foiiiid, recofj^nizcd. and his mem- 
 ory would be t'!,i!i(led a- that of ii coward 
 us' well as a. defaulter. Well, he eould 
 tie the pounding lead and other weiirhts about 
 him, HO as to bury himself beyond .diaiiee of rc- 
 Hurreciion. If no one c^ired fnr him 
 
 "."^ay, neighbour." somided a familiar voiee at 
 his ear. eaiisnif;,- him to stail violently, "the 
 jiatier is Koiie I saw it sink I won't suy any- 
 thing more aKin yer 'bout talkin" like a 
 preacher, but I fiin disappintcil worse 
 thin thundi'i'. \\ (Uild yer mind read- 
 in' the old woman's Jelicr ovc" afj;in to 
 me?" 7'/n// Old . sez thai Kme ytJinnisoii shot 
 thesheritf'sd. jiitty; there wosn't nokniliir///(r(' 
 It'll be lots an'. jobs of i omforl for m<! now. yer 
 can list bet yer life on it." 
 
 Hrown ineehanically stretched forth Ids hand 
 for a letter, which Lu^wine was slowly exlraet- 
 inii: from his oiloiirle-s reee|)tac.le. LuKwine 
 awkwardly i-moi.lhed its many folds. and Hrown 
 took il between the extreme lips of tin<;er and 
 tliumb, while the old heathen rubbed his hands 
 in anticipation. Hrown read '. he letter aulomati- 
 eally. In intr absorbed in the fraLfmci ts of his 
 own tliou«lils and apprehensions, and eonse 
 (iu»>i tly he bcfran to read, for^'ctfiil of its import, 
 theelosiiiK paiaui'iipb "f the eiiislle. 
 
 '■ I'm praiie for— 
 
 " \\ hat in thunder is the old woman a-prayin' 
 about I ow ?" asked ijiit,'win('. " I disremembir 
 that when you read il last time; 1 s'liose ! was 
 so toiik up with the way that Kmery Ciiiiiisoii 
 Kot even with the denjiit^ -sherili' that 1 toiKol 
 all about what eanie after. Ihil she's alluz 
 u-prayiii' for somebody or somethin', .just as 
 straiKht-ahead as if {'would do some K""*'. 
 \\ omen are darned (lueer critter.-, anyhow ; did 
 you ever know any of em' thai could mind lier 
 own bizniss, an' wouldn't ^o aiinind botherin' 
 herself with other folkse allairs ? Been aroiiiid 
 anion,!; women much in your lime i" 
 
 "Some little," answeifd Hrown. looking buck- 
 ward a few year- with senliinenls not at all 
 (luietint": in th' ir iiitliiencc. 
 
 " Weil now, there's-; Almiry," said l.UKwine, 
 "rolling a splinter tenderly baciv and torth 
 uiuier ids huge brogan, y»n' iie\er saw such a 
 woman, (iood enouKli. as women ^J;o best 
 woman aliv(>, in fact. Never eiis es after I'vv, 
 been olt't woorthreeriays sviihlhe lioys; alliiz 
 hez sonietliin' fur me to eat. whether / fetched 
 t in or not. Yer iiiiKlit leave a. jug of foiir-ycur 
 old right under her nose for ten years, an' 
 she'd fiever steal a drop of it. Sue's alluz 
 a-doii' somethin' for the young ones, though 
 what they need to hev done for "em / never can 
 see. An' yit she's uiluz got lime I o pester 
 her mind 'bout somebody else. Nobody else 
 else ever does anything for lifr. She hears, 
 sonu'how or other 'bout ev'rybody that gets 
 into scrapes 'round our naberliood, an' over in 
 town too. She non't git paid for it, like jireaeh- 
 ers do, or 1 eould see through it. She don't keer 
 a cent 'bou how that deppity-shcrid' got shot ; 
 ef 1 wuz home, an' tellin' her 'bout it. ah 
 wouldn't listen much she'd aetjist ez if she 
 
 I 
 
 wuz asleep, an' yit. if the dejijiitv come into the 
 house al chinved up. or Kniery fJinnison cnmo 
 in lo hide from them that iniKbt beaftei him 
 'bout the .'•hootin'. she'd be us s-ofldiearied to 
 one on "em as she would to t'other. 1 >og on my 
 cats if it don.t heal »i//si lionlin.'" 
 
 And this was the t er^OIl who alone of all ho 
 knew, was earing aiiylliing for him, c en if i}i(> 
 meiliod of In r attention \\n>* one wliieli In lind 
 e me lo consider as deciiledly antiipiuled ! .'^o 
 the defiu'lter mused. TliiU etiiers mglit b« 
 equiilly earnest in the same direction, as wmh 
 more lliao likely, the young man had not inm- 
 gined : for the imagina'ion of a debased mind, 
 till mailer how active it mav he. is more likely 
 lo crawl than to soar. Father, mother, anil 
 (iod he knew much about, but the prodigal 
 son, even, seems never to liave ihonght of Tiis 
 fattier, rich and iiowerful. until his lower na- 
 ture, his stomach compelled him to do so. An 
 ignorant, low-down old woman was the oidy 
 ])erson alive who was earing for him for rea 
 sons other than personal. lier husband liked 
 him. to be sure, but Low long would he continue 
 to do -o afier^he gratuitous tobaceo-poueli be- 
 eaiiK^ emiity f Soolc iind Tanker- pshaw ! he 
 had fre<iueiitly given advice of a similar elia- 
 ra(!lei' liiinself out of the love of giv- 
 ing aihice. and dodged the recipienis 
 afterward for fear th.-it they iniyht ask 
 favours of him. The JJeacon well, all thes(^ 
 old chiirch pillars thought to save themselves 
 from eternal tires by iihicking soniebod.v else 
 from the burning. 
 
 Well, at any rule, he had not asked for lier 
 sympathy : she had bestowed it unsought; still, 
 -he had seen in him the necessity for it. Siie 
 had seen him for but a few moinenls, and even 
 in those her mind nnisi have been partially oc- 
 cuiiied by thoughts of her husband. 'I he de- 
 faulter was not conscious of liming thought at 
 all of his unpleasant position on the nmrning of 
 embarkation: could it be that his face, which 
 had successfully locked his guilty secret from 
 I he sliai'i)-eyed oHicei-s of his bank, had been an 
 crystal under the eyes of this vulgar old 
 woman >. If so. how and where cotdd he secrete 
 hinis(>lf from the eyes of the world in generalj 
 
 As the young man pondered, the rirw kept on 
 its course, and as Hrown went on dutv at the 
 helm that night, the Deicon informed him that 
 th' boat would reach New Orleans in time for 
 the crew to go lo church on Sunday moi'ning, it 
 being already Thursday night. 
 
 "[suppose, tliou. h," reniaiked the Deacon, 
 " I hat you don't ,'are much to go to church, ' eo- 
 in'lhatyou b'lceve all principally in yoiir.^elf. 
 Hut don't you think there's somethin' kind o ' 
 tduehin' an' manly in a lot of men and women, 
 lots of 'em smart folks too, gcttln' together on 
 Sunday an' humbly i xjiressin' their trust in a 
 Power that they never saw, an' yet b'leeve must 
 be managin' the things they don't understand 
 \\ ben / was a young lean, even though I was 
 in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of ini 
 quity, 1 uscdtoen.joy goin' with the multitude 
 whether thcv was doiu' evil or good. I was 
 generally evil, an' 1 didn t liang back from doin 
 my share, but long before I got into a state of 
 grace I took a good deal of comfort out of bein' 
 with them that served the Jjord. It kinder 
 brought me ni.'arer to my owil kind, an" made 
 me feel as if r had lots of friends, even in a 
 church wiiere I don't know man, woman, or 
 cliild. You'd better try it just once- you'll feel 
 all the better for it." 
 
 The defaulter hung moodily upon the grea 
 rudder-sweep ; he was grateful, at least, that 
 the darkness of lught hid his face from his su- 
 perior otHcer, Suddenly business came into the 
 
tto 
 
 THK CUKW OK THK SAM W KLLKl!. 
 
 Deacon's mind nnd bftniHhcd rcliKio" for the 
 moment. 
 
 " "Hout Ihnio or four niilcH done," niiid ho, 
 " there's a new cut-otr. It don't 'nioiint to muck 
 as a rnli", hut tlic river's iii-ctly iiij,'li Just now, 
 and tlicro lui^ht be soiiu; iiltic const HlciiiMl)oat 
 hecoinin' up through it. Kccj) 111'' tioat's liciid 
 well out in Ih ■ Htrcain." 
 
 The Deacon descended to his IxmI, and the de- 
 fauUer t<> hits tiioughlH. 
 
 The Deacon's liope nnd ))romise thitt the Sam 
 Weller woidd vvnch New Orh-ans early enough 
 to enahle the cr(!\v to «<> !•• cliiinli was not 
 vcriti(!d. The boat lt)st several hours i)y tfround- 
 inK on the point of an island near IJaton llouj,'e ; 
 HO the hell ran^ for mornin:; service an hour 
 before the snires of the (Crescent City were si^'ht- 
 i'A. Hut the Deacon was not Koint^ to disrei^ard 
 any ])ortion of the day merely becaus( he hap 
 j)cnedtol)e out of reach of church privilc),'es. 
 The en rent of tli • river did not cease running 
 on riunday: so the old man allowed the boat to 
 drift upon it. but otherwise he ohsiu'vel the day 
 with all |)o-sible respec^t. lie appeai'ed on deck, 
 as he had done on ('Very Sunday during the trip, 
 clad in the peculiar combination of white 
 linen. hla(!k satin, and >hiny black cloth in 
 which well-to-do ("hnrch members in the West 
 always made themselves un(M)mf()rtable and 
 awkwird on i^undays. I'sually he dis|)Jayed 
 ids Ihble also upon deck, but on this part iiii- 
 iar day he Hccmed to have some ditl'erent form 
 of worshii) on his mind The whole crew were 
 on deck, ready to work the bo;il, by means of 
 the threat sweeps, to that portion of the levee 
 which the Deacon mit,fht select, Soole. reclin- 
 intj forward, was casting,' up, for the tifiicth 
 time, a cjhimn of IlKures chalked upon the 
 deck, and represcntiuK his prospective transac- 
 tion in cotfec. Tanker was observing an oi^ca- 
 sional sutfar-house cliimney which shot up 
 against the horizon, and idly f^uessinji: from 
 which one his own hof^shead of sufrar niiu;ht 
 come ; while L\ii:wine lay ui)on the deck and 
 tenderly caressed the bundles of large bamboo 
 canes ciit a few days before. Hut the Deiicons 
 heart was upon treasures of a ditferent order. 
 He looked upon his stranger hand, who stood 
 aloof from the others, and seemed to be taking 
 in all of the scenery through his quick bright 
 eyes, and the old man groaned in soul. Mis 
 own authority over Hrown would cease within 
 a very few hours, and then what would become 
 of the fellow I These men, who believed so 
 strongly in themselves, were jusr the sort to go 
 to horse-races, to go to the theatre on Sundays, 
 to gamble, even to take part in duels, the 
 Deacon thought with a shudder. Yet what 
 could be done to prevent him I Sliould h<^ 
 make another etfort i and if so, what sort of 
 one 1 He had tried upon Hrown every argu- 
 ment that ho had ever heard brought to bear 
 upon any sinner. Certainly they were intel- 
 lectually correct, for the wisest heads in the 
 < "hnrch liad originally constructed them, and 
 other wise heads had been using them ever 
 since. There was a passage of Scripture that 
 hit Brown exactly, tlionght the Deacon, with a 
 sensation not far removed from satisfaction, 
 "He that being often reproved, hardeneth liis 
 neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that 
 without remedy." But it jras too bad. The 
 Deacon mentally reconstructed the young 
 man's immortal part as he stood there staring 
 at him, and groaned to think how able aprayer- 
 meeling leader and how useful a Sunday-school 
 man the Church was losing by Brown's perse- 
 verance in his sinful course. He could easily 
 
 imagine him standing up in the basement of the 
 little church at Hrack<'l ville, after some 
 tamiliar hvmn had been sung, and making a 
 praver wlMch, in the distinctness and fervour 
 which couhl not help characterizing it, would 
 be a perfeit shower tif refreshing to those who 
 languished in the jtiriiinil desert which was so 
 leebly watered by the brethren who had the 
 nuitter in charge the Deacon woidd admit that 
 lie hiinsiMf was no moreablt> than the rest. 
 
 Bui the lioiit drifted along, and llu^ little 
 villages adjoining I he Crescent City on tlu' north 
 wer«' sighted, and tli(^ Deacon's thou -his ilrift«'d 
 on until they grew desperate, lie had pleaded 
 steaddy with this man without siuu-ess. VVa-i 
 tlwre anything letl to be done but to warn him 
 And ln)w much attention was li ■ likel) to 
 liay to any warning, this m n that believed 
 j)rincipally in himself ; No. the Deacon thought 
 itbettei'to sjieak to him kindly, and a\oi<l 
 religious topics entircl), trusting to leave bo- 
 liind him, at the last, something to make the 
 young iiuin's memory of him kinder than it was 
 likely to h{' while it consisted principally of 
 unpalatable exhortati(uis. The Deacon ap- 
 proached Brown, and said - 
 
 " You're at liberty to leave whenever you like 
 after the bo it reaches shore, for the cargo is 
 sold, and tin- consignee's watchman will take 
 chiirge as soon as we gel to tlu^ levee. You're 
 wcU'ome to niak(- your home aboard as long as 
 you're in the city anil the boat ain'i pulh'if to 
 liieces,' though I s'posc^ naturally you'll look up 
 belter accommodations. An' I want to say to 
 you, knowin' it's your .just due, an' hopin' it'll 
 gi\«^ you some satisfaction to kno^v it, that 
 you ve been the best Hat-boat hand I've over 
 had in my life." 
 
 ■•Thank you, thank yon," responded Brown, 
 cheerily, " I'nc ti-ied to do my duty, but I'd no 
 idea that I'd succeeded so well. I guess I'll 
 leave the boat, however, when W(< go ashore, 
 for I mav be able to lindsome people in the city 
 whom I know." 
 
 "I spose," ventured the Deacon, looking 
 directly into the water as if Brown were swim- 
 ming alongside, "that we won't see you at 
 Brackels\ ille again {" 
 
 " I don't know, really, 
 plans are not formed as 
 like them to be. I may 
 think I slia 1 return to the 
 
 •' \V(dl." said the Deacon, "come an' see us 
 come to my house if you get West any time 
 I'll promise not to talk religion to you always, 
 as 1 know I hare done on this trip. I didn't 
 
 mean to worry you " 
 
 "Oh, don't apologize," laughed Brown. "Busi- 
 ness is business, and rc^ligion is one of //oi/?' 
 businesses. Yen attend to it ably, too— don't 
 imagine that your failure to cajtture me is 
 due to any lack of ability or eltort on your 
 part," 
 
 " Why, thank you ; that's kindly, any way," 
 said the old man, hoping anxiously that the re- 
 cording angel had been listen ng to the conver- 
 sation and had taken note of it, "But I want 
 to ask one favour of you ; if you ever do cx- 
 nerience a change, let me know, won't you I 
 Twould be an atr/ul comfort to me that so 
 smart a fellow was" on the good ship Ziou with 
 me." 
 
 " You shall know in such ease. I promise 
 you," said Brown, with a smile. 
 
 The city had now begun to disclose itself ; 
 and a vei'v grateful view it was to men who had 
 for weeks ttoated thiough the lonely wilderness 
 
 ■ Flat-boats are unable to reascend the river, 
 and are therefore sold as old lumber, and are 
 broken up. 
 
 said Brown ; 
 de'nitely as I 
 remain here, 
 Ka.st." 
 
 my 
 
 -hould 
 but 1 
 
THE CUKW OF THI-: SAM WKLLEll. 
 
 n 
 
 I*^,,"' Would 
 
 I ''. ""'"^ «'> 
 
 ml.'""' "'•' 
 
 r' /''<n.lo' 
 
 (•"'''"'"K'hf 
 
 "t'iKo iIk. 
 '"•'"" "as 
 
 ■aco/i 
 
 ap. 
 
 "', !;'"•«•<> is 
 
 ,,. ,»<)irr(. 
 
 r'l IDIIL' as 
 
 .//•'"..<f ;',': 
 
 V '""k II,, 
 
 ,,"••".'■*•'«• 
 "I"" ifll 
 
 i \ V. ever 
 
 ;>' /vi „o 
 
 'i ashore. 
 Uie ciry 
 
 'ookin«' 
 
 « suii,,* 
 
 yoij at 
 
 • ,"'iiy 
 
 but J 
 
 ee lis 
 , f inie 
 
 flidirt 
 
 'fJiisi- 
 1/0 vr 
 don( 
 lie is 
 your 
 
 ■ay," 
 ere- 
 \"cr- 
 'unt 
 cx- 
 
 OIJ I 
 
 so 
 1th 
 
 ise 
 
 f; 
 ifi 
 
 3S 
 
 'I'lu- (1< t'luiiter 
 and dropped his 
 
 said LuKwino, 
 
 of the Lower Ali8F.i8Hippi. The Sim Wellerwns 
 
 Hlowly worked tii> lo the h-vec in ihc upper 
 pU' t (if III)' liver, ahove tlie ahiiusl eiidh.ss line 
 of HinokiiiK ^iliaintidiitH, (iiie of ihc coiisiKiu-c'H 
 elerks caiiie uhoaid, aid thf Deacon ttiinally 
 turned Ilie Ixial over to liiin. Mrow n chopped 
 down lh«' iauch-r, sei/.e t iii« porlniaiileau, re- 
 aseended. exehiiiMcd "(lood niMniiiiK. k'' nlle- 
 niei :," to his more leiHUni> niessiiiaie-, and w, s 
 iiMliore lielore any one recov ered from their as- 
 tonishiiient at his luiHte. 
 
 "Don'i seem to want <o eontinner tlie ae- 
 guainlanee," remarki'd Soole to Tiinker. as their 
 hit(! lelhiw travelh r moved rapidly itcioirHthe 
 wide 8' reel called " I he Ijcvee. " 
 
 " VN'ell, ihi'ii, mil her no I," Ki"(>wl<'d 'ranker; 
 "IhoiiKli, seem" I lei him into the waj of iiiakin' 
 money on siiKar, he mi.i;lit .jtiHl have shook 
 hands with me " 
 
 LiiKwine was too mueti astonished lo s y any- 
 thiiiK. I>iit his wils were hiis-ily en. aK('<l in tak- 
 iiiL' in the ehaiiKe in the siliialioii. 1 he result 
 was tliat lu' sprang a.sliore himself, and chased 
 his reiirinx mc-ssinate with an ability which no 
 one woiihi have helieved him capable of. 
 HiDwii had jiisl struck the jiin «;meiit, and was 
 rcKainin^ ilie New Yorker's own sii'p, and 
 reali/.ini< how loiiK it had been since lie liail 
 tak(^. It, when a man ran rapidly u)i lo him and 
 clapped him on the sjionldeis. 
 sliriink awav from the touch, 
 porlniantiau from iiure fright. 
 
 " I didn't mean to scare yoi: 
 •■ hut I don't know the ways of the town, an' 1 
 haven't Kot an extra eeni nohow, an' you ain't 
 the kind of lellow that smokes jiipes ashore. 
 I'ouldn'l you spare me some of your extra 
 sinnkin' I iihhdker ?" 
 
 UriiU 11 recovered hiscolour and his self-jiosses- 
 sioii. and handed i.,iiKwiiie his toliacco-pouch 
 
 " 'riierc." said he. " Now keel) sober on the 
 way back, and be a heiter liiishand when you 
 >?et home. Your wife is loo good for you. liul 
 wail come along with me a little wa.v ." 
 
 'J'he astoiiisheil Uoltomite followed in silence. 
 What did Jirown know about him and his wife! 
 Like enough that sneaking 'i'anker and meddle- 
 soiiK^ ."-^oole and infernal old Jieaeoii had been 
 tc ling licsabout him. \VliyiO)(/(//i'/ lolks mind 
 their own business I Jhit where was Jirown 
 taking him I Could it be oh, sweet Heaxcn ! - 
 could il be ilial lirown was going tci staiui 
 treat I 'I'he old wretch's whole nature was 
 alive in an instant at the meie thought of such a 
 thing. 
 
 I'he coujile walked on until they reached a 
 street coniaining small shojis, all open, as was 
 ciislumary in New Orleans on .Siiiuiay. Jirown 
 entered one of these, in wliich a number of 
 jicople of various colours were chattering and 
 bargaining ; liere he purcliased a small, cheap, 
 briglit < fdoured shawl, anil handed it. wranpcd, 
 to Jjiigwine, saying - 
 
 " I'lease give this to your wife witli my com- 
 pl'iiuiits. Good-bye." 
 
 Jirown walked rapidly awuy, while Lngwine 
 stood at tlie store door willi cycB nearly as large 
 as saucers, and watched ttio retreating Mgure. 
 rtlowly tlie Hotlomite found liis tongue, and 
 then he drawled— 
 
 " \\ I 1, I'll be dai-ned! I might have knowed 
 from his ciii that he was a ladies' man, but I 
 i-ever would Iiave 'llowed that AIniiry waz just 
 tliestyle that he liked. She in a fine woman, 
 thougli I can liclv any cuss that says she ain't. 
 I /(cr licked felleis, when slie wiiz a gal.just fur 
 sayiii their ga s took the sliine oil of her. Noi.' 
 I come to remember, she was kinder took by 
 him that inoinin' that the boat started. 1 hope 
 he ain't a goin' to come back an' try to cut me 
 out ! Sends her a present by me, too— me her 
 husband! An' a shawl! Wondrr what put it 
 
 into his hcnrt? I never thought to Kivohcr a 
 shawl. Well. I'll (i,. ,l„riied I" 
 
 Tliccrew of the.<am U eller. Mrown exfcpled. 
 rciidied Liackesvil'e in due lime, and he Dea 
 con. who arrived a foilnigiit later than the 
 oihers, having lurried in New < Irii an-" lo look 
 after siiiiie 'Jttle .-jm cnlalii ns of his nwri. sought 
 Ihe store of his employer. I'ncje Mciryiii.in 
 lia)i)ieii( d lobe without enslcjineis u heii ih' 
 old man entered, and lie greeted his pilot 
 Ileal tily. 
 
 "(iood morning. Deacon." said he. "(ilad 
 to see \(iii back. Kirst-rale trip, wasn't il f NO 
 leaks, no wn cks. no towin' to he paid for. .\h ! 
 the Lord seems to have sm led on hat ciirgo. 
 Do you k^ow. I goi half a CI III a I oiiiid more 
 formypoik than an.\ body else in this town did." 
 
 " liii glad 'o liear it." said ihe I)eiicon. 
 
 "Yes. ".said I'licle Herrymiin, gh efu \y : "got 
 Ihe otrer liy mail as I wiote you; wliiie the 
 other feUowi--. who hauled to the river an' ship- 
 ped by steaiiiboal, got to market earlier, had 
 lieavier fieiglu exiienses to stand, and miIiI 
 (heaper after all. F tell yon what 'lis, lleacon : 
 ■ The luiLcl of tlie Lord eiicamjielh round at'oiit 
 them that fear him." What'ciid you jiiiy that 
 stranger felhiw when il came to seiilin' ;" 
 
 "Twenty dollars, as we agreetl to do." ri'plied 
 the Deacon. 
 
 "Slio I" exclaimed the storekeeiier, his ^])iriis 
 crojipiiig somewhat. " I hoped you iniglil gi i 
 him to thiiik it over again, an' git him to take 
 lifleen." 
 
 "He earned his money." saiil tlie Deacon. 
 "1 ne\er knew a better (latboat haii<i." 
 
 " Well." .'-aid tl>" storekeeper, with a coiis^er- 
 vative air. "that's no reason why he should g' t 
 more than he was willin' to take. Oh ! I forgot. 
 How did you git along with hitii an' the other 
 fellow that you was goin' to convert I I kntiv 
 aboi.t how much yon did for l.ugwiiie, foi the 
 old reprobate went on an awful tare as snoii as 
 h(5 got home, an' was put in .jail for hgliiin". 
 P'raps you did give him a 1 resbyterian conver- 
 sion tliere's some kinds of conversion thai 
 don'r strike in very deep. Hy the way. there's 
 been a precious oiitnourin' of iheSpenii in town 
 since vou left ; nubbe you've heard of it. Lots 
 ot siniiers have been gathered into the ark of 
 .safety, an' there's more a-coinin'. It's kinder 
 sininierd down now, but there's a prayer 
 meetiii" kejit up every night -dl the churches 
 jineinit. You'd better come around niebbe 
 'vou can tiring old I iigwine into the fold yet, if 
 you have us Methodists to help you." 
 
 The storekeeper's slurs upon deiiomnations 
 other than his own were not sullieieiit to keep 
 the Deacoiawavfrom general rel gioiisservices. 
 so, prom]) Iv a' 1i df-past seven. ho walked into 
 the .'\letlioilist Church, where the Union meet- 
 ii gs were held, and took a seat well forward 
 among the godly. The service did not seem to 
 tlie Deacon to ditl'er much from the regular 
 weekly prayer meetings of his own Church. 
 The flood of excitement had suVji-ided. the 
 noisy eddies which had whirled sinners about 
 in previous meetings had rpiieted, and the drift- 
 wood, both good ..nd bad, which every flood 
 brings to torment both friend and foe until it is 
 caught and put where it will do the most gooa, 
 had been left high, dry, and lonesome liy the 
 lowering flood. The hymns were much tlio 
 same as those which were sung in the Deacon's 
 own praver-meetings; the prayers ofrercd ny 
 habitual prayer-meeting men of the difterent 
 churches, bore a strong family resemblance to 
 each other, and to collections of favourite pas- 
 sages of Scripture, and the audience would 
 have been recognized anywhere as a prayer- 
 meeting audience— a body which was remark- 
 able principallv for the absence of those wh 
 
THE CREW OK TUK SAM WKLLEl!. 
 
 tnodtneedrd tobp prayrd for imd ihnsc wiio 
 iHodiMl niOHt to pray. Oiit-ldc the door iin.l 
 windows louhKid r^cvcrnl inon. '. oiiiik and nid. 
 wlio hiid (uimo Its cscMdic to woiihmi. hiil wIim 
 cnrt'd mil to follow tli< ir tiiaion within ilic 
 Hiiiirtiiary. Anioiu; ihcMc wii old l,u^wi^.•, 
 and hi" Iciini'fi aKiiin>-l llic fiatiu' oi a window 
 wliicli niiniiiiindiMl a view of his wife, and 
 liariiculaily of Jirr new shawl, wiiirn h. I'on- 
 Bidcied the llncsi niiiili-of fcmidf al lire in llio 
 Mate, 'i'lic old man occaKionallv vanid lii-, 
 pohitioiiio rclati' to lie otlirr loniiKfis hoiih' 
 n-iiiiniscciiccK ol the (latlioat trip, iiim llic pliK c 
 nnd occamon rcniindid Idni to tell, with Kirat 
 gli-e, how i|.-. JJeacoii had tried to convcrl llx" 
 8tranK«'i-ha Land how he ^ui haidcr knnckH 
 than h« ^ vf. 'I'hroiij^li ilu- open windows 
 caiiio the sound of hoili nrais»( and piayer, and 
 boili sounded diHiiiul to the Iouiik^'I-h. 
 
 Finally, afler ihc iisiial nmnber of Kiavrrs 
 and hyn.iis.thc IcadcM' of the iiiitUinKiinnouruid 
 that fin opiKtrliinily wonid now be ^iven loam 
 one who lilt moved to speak. A vo ee, stranKe 
 lomostofllji persons prt^sent. tnil familiar to 
 tlu; l)eaeon, was lieanl beKinniiiK' 
 
 "My friends " The Deacon Imrriedlv 
 twisted liis neck, and saw, slundiiin in a liaek 
 Heat, hiH late llalhoat hund, Waller H own. 
 l.u>;wine espied him at the same ins ant, and 
 his suii)rise c.uised luni to ejacu ale in a lone 
 loud enoiiKJi to oe heard throuKhoul ihe room 
 " Well. Ill be durned!" 
 
 • My fi-ionds." said the slranLCc speaker. •' I 
 am unknown to most of you, Imt I have a woiii 
 to Miy to those who piofess t i serve (Jod and 
 desire to briuK others uniollun. I have Iouk 
 been a member of an evanKelieal ehuich else- 
 where, ; 1 aceep ed reliKion loKieallv and have 
 ui'Ked it upon many an(,iher man in the same 
 manner. Then 1 fell from lint pusilion I had 
 o<HMipi(d, or fail' led 1 oecupied, in the Church • 
 I left my iioiiie. and believed myself abandoned,' 
 tor }<ood cause, by my friends. I learned wliul 
 a hypocrite I had been, and 1 endea- 
 voured to pre:ierve my pride by 
 sacriiiemK my belief in the religion in 
 which 1 liud prole.-ieed tobeliexe, and was sue- 
 ceedihg (piite well, in spite of the edbrts whicJi 
 a very Kood man in your midst mad<! o lead me 
 back again. After he had emjiioyed all ai-Ku- 
 '■ cnt - the ablest arKument iinsu(;cossfulJy 
 upon me. 1 wa.s Btill abasing myself successfulh" 
 and ujirooting my faith in what was good, when 
 1 accidentally discovered that an old woman 
 who was under no obligationa to me whcm I 
 had barely seen, in fact had out of pure sorrow 
 for the condition f mind in which she had de- 
 tected me to be, was praying forme. 77!J.s' truth 
 I could not shake oil or forget -that some one 
 and not a bein^ of high order, but one of your 
 own Hottomites. cared enough for me, a stran- 
 ger, to disquiet her own heart for mv sake. I 
 have had c;hrist preached at me in e\ ery con- 
 c<;ivabl'j way. my friends, ever since my boy- 
 hood, but I leally learned to compreliend hiin 
 tor the (irat time thiough this low type of ku- 
 
 maiiily, hut high form of human unsellishneaH. 
 I have omeall Ihe way limk Irom Newdrlcans 
 .iiisi I . look at a 1). in^r who cared this much fm- 
 me, and who lias mad" plain to me the niuiir 
 of a LCI eater lleing, w honiullo her leaciicr- have 
 e.xplaii.ed io me in \ain. Ai d I bei; i . impies:, 
 III on yon ih Irnlh which this experience ha.-i 
 impre->c<l u|ion me llial iinscKlsh human hve^ 
 are ihc be- 1 nnans (d' leaihin^c to men Ihe na- 
 ture 1 if (.(III, in w licisi- likeness ihc\ are made." 
 
 Jlrown sealed liimsell. and .Mrs', Lu;,-\\ine, of 
 who-ic pieseini' he was iKimranl, wepi silenth 
 and happily to herself 1 ti.e eMienn- corner of 
 a bacK seat. I here w.is a movement near the 
 rioor anil I hen Ihe voier- of old l.iiguine was 
 heard i \claiming, 
 
 '■J wiak.n. f yiiiivt^ gol him. there ain'l no 
 chaine ouh ide for mr." 
 
 .^ome <if the bre hreii left tlieir seuts and 
 gathered iutMinii the old sinner, while Hrowii 
 pressed eldse to nim, whisjien d ".Ask your 
 w ife." and disappeared. 
 
 Some days later Ihe rlirectorH of the I)(»mestic 
 Hank of New York, having; iransacied the busi- 
 ness for which they had assembled in one of 
 their re^-iilar meetings, indulged in considerable 
 desullcn-y grumbling (.bom small deposiiors, 
 customers who were too urgent for Uiscounl. 
 seciinli. s which had gime down when the bank 
 held them and uone ui> when ihe bank shoulil 
 li.ive held them, when there ap))eared in their 
 miflsi their delaiilling teller. Kvery one was 
 loo iinied surprised to sjieak, ihtMigli one clear- 
 headed old fedow took Ihe prceautidii to slip 
 lieliind iiic yoiinu- man. lock the door. Mid re- 
 nioNc Ihe key There seemed at lirsl lo be 
 some doul)ls, either as lo the identity of the in- 
 triid. r or that ef Ihe I okirs-on, but at length 
 Ihe 1)1-. sideiii remarked sternly 
 
 '•Well, sir r 
 
 '' ';y''ll. sir r rcjilied the young man. meekly. 
 \\ hat have you to sav for yourself '" 
 
 ".Nothing." 
 
 ■ W here is our money (" 
 
 " (Ji.ne." 
 
 "Then ymi shall go \(> prison." 
 
 " I suppose so." 
 
 " U hai did you come ba<'k for 
 youf" 
 
 ".N'obod.y. I came of m.\ ..,v.w,... , 
 
 came to be punished; suppo.sed 1 rleserved lo 
 be. 
 
 '• Much good thai will do us, who have to lose 
 the inoney you sto.e." (^rowh d one director. 
 
 "I've iioihing but myself, gentlemen," said 
 
 hcdetaull r. " Ivc brought myscit here troni 
 
 twotho .sand miles awav. so that vou might 
 
 '^'M'lfX >""'?''"' '^^■'"' ""•' '" "-y "^^'">' i'"'>" eould." 
 \\hy, 1 be iev(> the rascal has got religion." 
 exclaimed ihe president, after surveying his lato 
 nniiloi/r cnlically tor a minute or two. 
 I hat's it. sir." said the young man. 
 "liet out then." said that otti<'ial ; "gosonio- 
 u'here whei e you can be of some use ; the bank'.s 
 too good lor you. but.jail's too bad." 
 And he went. 
 
 Who lironghl 
 own accord. I 
 
 FINIS 
 
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