Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 11
General
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 11
Scottish Borders (Scotland) -- Fiction
something like a tear in his eyes, when he spoke of "my Fanny." She
had little in common with the daughter of a fisherman; for his
neighbours said that her mother had made her unfit for anything, and
that Harry was worse than her mother had been. But that mother was no
more, and she had left their only child to her widowed husband's care;
and, rough as he appeared, never was there a more tender or a more
anxious parent--never had there been a more affectionate husband. But
I may here briefly notice the wife of Harry Teasdale, and his first
acquaintance with her.
When Harry was a youth of one-and-twenty, and as he and others of his
comrades were one day preparing their nets upon the sea-banks for the
north herring-fishing, a bitter hurricane came suddenly away, and they
observed that the mast of a Scotch smack, which was then near the
Ferne Isles, was carried overboard. The sea was breaking over her, and
the vessel was unmanageable; but the wind being from the north-east,
she was driving towards the shore. Harry and his friends ran to get
their boats in readiness, to render assistance if possible. The smack
struck the ground between Embleton and North Sunderland, and being
driven side-on by the force of the billows, which were dashing over
her, formed a sort of break-water, which rendered it less dangerous
for a boat to put off to the assistance of the passengers and crew,
who were seen clinging in despair to the flapping ropes and sides of
the vessel. Harry's cobble was launched along the beach to where the
vessel was stranded, and he and six others attempted to reach her.
After many ineffectual efforts, and much danger, they gained her side,
and a rope was thrown on board. Amongst the smack's passengers was a
Scottish gentleman, with his family, and their governess. She was a
beautiful creature, apparently not exceeding nineteen; and as she
stood upon the deck, with one hand clinging to a rope, and in the
other clasping a child to her side, her countenance alone, of all on
board, did not betoken terror. In the midst of the storm, and through
the raging of the sea, Harry was struck with her appearance. She was
one of the last to leave the vessel; and when she had handed the child
into the arms of a fisherman, and was herself in the act of stepping
into the boat, it lurched, the vessel rocked, a sea broke over it, she
missed her footing, and was carried away upon the wave. Assistance
appeared impossible. The spectators on the shore and the people in the
boat uttered a scream. Harry dropped the helm, he sprung from the
boat, he buffeted the boiling surge, and, after a hopeless struggle,
he clutched the hand of the sinking girl. He bore her to the boat;
they were lifted into it.
"Keep the helm, Ned," said he, addressing one of his comrades who had
taken his place; "I must look after this poor girl--one of the seamen
will take your oar." And she lay insensible, with her head upon his
bosom, and his arm around her waist.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account