Land and Sea 



The sea, like life, has its little ironies. And 

 it condescends sometimes to play practical jokes. 

 Last winter a young English clergyman, stay- 

 ing for a short holiday at one of the hotels, 

 mentioned to the hotel-keeper one morning 

 that he thought of going for a walk in the hills. 

 His failure to return in the evening suggested 

 pictures of his mangled corpse lying at the foot 

 of a precipice. Fortunately, one of his fellow- 

 guests was able to say that he had seen him on 

 board a Royal Mail steamer which was outward 

 bound for South America. This allayed 

 anxiety, but originated various theories for his 

 disappearance. Ten days later a telegram 

 arrived from Brazil to say that he had been 

 carried on involuntarily, not having noticed 

 that the steamer had started. He was taken the 

 round trip, and on his return to Southampton 

 found himself famous, being met by seven 

 reporters anxious to gather the impressions of 

 a clerical stowaway. 



The converse sometimes happens. Not long 

 ago a young man and a maiden, who had made 

 acquaintance on board, landed together from a 

 mail-boat bound for South Africa, for a walk. 

 Doubtless time took wings, for when they 



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