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Article THE SAILOR AND HIS SISTER. ← Page 2 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Sailor And His Sister.
mother , and who were , at the time to which our story refers , amusing themselves on the lawn . The summer sun was fast sinking behind the western mountains , the dark shadow of which extended far over the valley , and the blue waves ofthe German Ocean rolled dim in the distance , visible to the eye through the opening , or eastern extremity of the glen . Sarah looked wistfully towards the sea ; for its heaving billows rose betwixt the spot where she then stoodand all who were
, dearest to her on earth ; and , whilst gazing on the far-off waters , her large blue eyes filled with the tears of silent and uncomplaining sorrow , —for her brother had long been a wanderer on the dreary waste ofthe boundless deep , and , since the hour of his departure , many and melancholy afflictions had , unknown to him , visited his father ' s family . His brothers and sisters , who were numerous ancl happy when he left his paternal roofwere now either scattered abroad in the worldor
, , mouldering under the green grass sod in the kirk-yard of Kirkwall . " Six in youth and one in age" had , in the interval of his absence , been , one after another , consigned to the silent mansions of forgetfulness , and the sparkling eyes , that were dimmed with tears when his last " adieu " was pronounced , were now and for ever closed in the long dark slumbers of death and the grave . Time after time did the grim messenger call at the poor man ' s doorthinning his young and tender saplings in
, the very bud of their existence ; and when the hoary-headed father was himself summoned to the world of spirits , the bereavement was felt to be deep and lasting . It now became necessary that the surviving children should endeavour to provide for themselves ; and , in quick succession , they all dropped away , until the happy hour of their childhood was at length reduced to the lonely habitation of their widowed mother .
While reverting to the scenes of other years , and indulging in these melancholy reflections , Sarah was suddenly aroused from her reverie by the unexpected sound of a curricle which had just entered the avenue . It halted , and the next moment a person , whose dress betokened him a sailor , thus addressed her : — " Can you inform me , my good girl , whether a young woman , whose name is Sarah Firth , lives in these parts ? " and being answered in the
affirmative with a smile of innocent simplicity , which conveyed to his heart a hope that the individual before him was none other than the very object of his search and affectionate solicitude , he ventured the question accordingly ; and , at the answer of the maiden , the soul of the sailor was troubled within him , for this was , indeed , the sister whom he sought , and his tongue faltered as he pronounced the name . Sarah was the youngest of her father ' s family , and only a child when
her brother went to sea ; and now that , after a long absence , he discovered her in solitude , he did not recognise the form ofhis sister , and knew not the lips which he pressed so tenderly at parting . The workings of his soul were too great to enable him to repress or conceal his agitation , and the maiden ' s astonishment was even unto sickness of heart . She knew not that it was her brother who now stood before her , and , like the destroying blast of a whirlwind , the chilling fear of
dismal tidings rushed over her mind , and filled her soul with perplexity and pain ; and , gazing imploringly on the face of the stranger , she prayed that he would at once relieve her anxiety by unfolding the nature and object ofhis mission .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Sailor And His Sister.
mother , and who were , at the time to which our story refers , amusing themselves on the lawn . The summer sun was fast sinking behind the western mountains , the dark shadow of which extended far over the valley , and the blue waves ofthe German Ocean rolled dim in the distance , visible to the eye through the opening , or eastern extremity of the glen . Sarah looked wistfully towards the sea ; for its heaving billows rose betwixt the spot where she then stoodand all who were
, dearest to her on earth ; and , whilst gazing on the far-off waters , her large blue eyes filled with the tears of silent and uncomplaining sorrow , —for her brother had long been a wanderer on the dreary waste ofthe boundless deep , and , since the hour of his departure , many and melancholy afflictions had , unknown to him , visited his father ' s family . His brothers and sisters , who were numerous ancl happy when he left his paternal roofwere now either scattered abroad in the worldor
, , mouldering under the green grass sod in the kirk-yard of Kirkwall . " Six in youth and one in age" had , in the interval of his absence , been , one after another , consigned to the silent mansions of forgetfulness , and the sparkling eyes , that were dimmed with tears when his last " adieu " was pronounced , were now and for ever closed in the long dark slumbers of death and the grave . Time after time did the grim messenger call at the poor man ' s doorthinning his young and tender saplings in
, the very bud of their existence ; and when the hoary-headed father was himself summoned to the world of spirits , the bereavement was felt to be deep and lasting . It now became necessary that the surviving children should endeavour to provide for themselves ; and , in quick succession , they all dropped away , until the happy hour of their childhood was at length reduced to the lonely habitation of their widowed mother .
While reverting to the scenes of other years , and indulging in these melancholy reflections , Sarah was suddenly aroused from her reverie by the unexpected sound of a curricle which had just entered the avenue . It halted , and the next moment a person , whose dress betokened him a sailor , thus addressed her : — " Can you inform me , my good girl , whether a young woman , whose name is Sarah Firth , lives in these parts ? " and being answered in the
affirmative with a smile of innocent simplicity , which conveyed to his heart a hope that the individual before him was none other than the very object of his search and affectionate solicitude , he ventured the question accordingly ; and , at the answer of the maiden , the soul of the sailor was troubled within him , for this was , indeed , the sister whom he sought , and his tongue faltered as he pronounced the name . Sarah was the youngest of her father ' s family , and only a child when
her brother went to sea ; and now that , after a long absence , he discovered her in solitude , he did not recognise the form ofhis sister , and knew not the lips which he pressed so tenderly at parting . The workings of his soul were too great to enable him to repress or conceal his agitation , and the maiden ' s astonishment was even unto sickness of heart . She knew not that it was her brother who now stood before her , and , like the destroying blast of a whirlwind , the chilling fear of
dismal tidings rushed over her mind , and filled her soul with perplexity and pain ; and , gazing imploringly on the face of the stranger , she prayed that he would at once relieve her anxiety by unfolding the nature and object ofhis mission .