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Entered according to Act of Congress, in June, 1867, by J. W. Burkk & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgia.
Vol. I.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
THE OLD SAILOR.
HE pleasant Summer af-
Wy ternoon, a number of
boys were playing ball
on the common of a pret
mk ty little village in the
South, when they saw an old man
W& approaching them.
He was evidently o sailor, for
he had on a sailor’s jacket, and
the long and loose browsers always
worn by those who follow the sea.
He was a dark, weather-beaten man
of about sixty years. He had lost one
of his letfs in the manner I shall tell
you of presently, but his wooden one
seemed to give him but little incon
venience, so well did he use it. In spite
of his age and infirmity, he had a
cheerful look and a bright, smiling
eye.
The boys were too busy with their
game to pay much attention to the
stranger, who took a seat near by and
looked on. After a w r hile, however,
when there was a pause in the game,
several of them went up to where the
old man sat, and spoke to him.
“You are a stranger here, are you
not?” asked one of the older boys, re
spectfully.
“ Yes, my lad, I am now, but I knew
the place well enough once,” was the
reply. “ Will any one of you tell me how
far it is to the cottage of the Widow Ed
wards?” he continued.
“ Only a short mile,” said another of
the boys. “ But here is Harry, the Widow
Edwards’ son, who will show you the way
if you want to go there.”
The stranger was glad enough to get a
guide, and so, after resting a few minutes
longer, ho set off with Harry, in the di
rection of his mother’s cottage. For some
minutes both were silent, until the stran-
MACON, G-A., MAY 9, 1868.
ger said: “ And so you are named Harry,
are you ?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Harry. “Mother
named me after my uncle Harry, who
died at sea while I was a little boy.”
“ And how old are you now, Harry ?”
« Eleven last May, sir,” he replied, look
ing curiously at the stranger, as if he
would like to know w T hy he was asking
so many questions.
“And during all that time your mother
has never heard a word from your uncle
Harry, has she ?” continued the old man.
“Ho, sir,” Harry replied, and he thought
it strange that anybody should be expect
ed to hear from one who was dead.
“Suppose I could tell your mother
something about your uncle, do 3 011 sup
pose she would be glad to hear it ?”
Harry looked still more curiously at
the old man, and still wondered what he
meant, but replied: “Oh yes, sir, for mo
ther often cries about uncle Harry, and
wonders if he really is dead.”
By this time they were near Mrs. Ed
wards’ cottage, and Harry ran on before
and told his mother that there was a sail
or coming who could tell her something
about his lost uncle. His mother hurried
to the door, and reached it just as the
stranger came up. The moment she
saw him she knew it was her brother
Harry, and she almost fainted with
joy-
You may know that Mrs. Edwards
was glad to see her brother, whom she
had long mourned as dead. It seems
that the ship on which he sailed, about
twelve years before, had gone on a
whaling voyage, and had never been
heard from. The vessel was wrecked,
and nearly all on board perished, but
Harry’s uncle and one or two others,
escaped a watery grave to fall into
the hands of savages, who had kept
them as prisoners for many years.
They were at length rescued by an
American war-ship, and while on board
this vessel, the old man had lost his
leg in an engagement with some pi
rates on the coast of Africa.
As Harry’s uncle was now unablo
to follow the sea, on account of age,
and the loss of his leg, he remained
for good and all at his sister’s, and he
soon became a general favorite with
all the little folks in the village. He made
a little ship for Harry, and taught him
how to rig it. He aiso told him and the
other young folks of the village, many
stories of his adventures at sea, and
among the savages, during his long cap
tivity.
We hope to be able to prevail on him,
one of these days, to tell some of these
stories to the readers of “Burkes
Weekly.”
Macon , Ga.
IST o. 45