164 
FOREST AND STREAM. 


OCTOBER. 
eee 
HERE comes a month in the weary year— 
qEA month of leisure and healthful rest; 
When the ripe leaves fall and the air is clear; 
October; the brown, the crisp, the blest. 
My life has little enough of bliss; 
I drag the days of the odd eleven, 
Counting the time that shall lead to this— 
The month that opens the hunter’s heaven. 
And oh! for the morning crisp and white, 
With the sweep of the hounds upon the track; 
The bark-roofed cabin, the camp fire’s light, i 
The break of the deer and the rifle’s crack. 
Do you call this trifling? I tell you, friend, 
A life in the forest is past all praise, 
Give me adozen such months on end— 
You may take my balance of years and days. 
For brick and mortar breed filth and crime, 
Anda pulse of evil that throbs and beats; 
And men grow withered before their prime 
With the curse paved inon the lanes and streets. 
And lungs are choked, and shoulders are bowed 
In the smothering reek of mill and mine: 
And death stalks in on the struggling crowd, 
But he shuns the shadow of oak and pine. 
And of all to which the memory clings, 
There is naught so sweet as the sunny spots 
Where our shanties stood by the crystal springs, 
The vanished hounds, and the lucky shots. 
—The Aldine for October. 
How SJ was ilted. 
A YACHTING STORY. 



N my youthful days I should certainly have been classi- 
fied as an amphibious biped. One half of my waking 
hours during the summer season were spent in the salt water 
Moreover, when not sporting in the element which was 
mine by adoption, I was generally in ‘‘hot water.” Boys 
of a certain age usually are, and I was not an exception. I 
played truant from school with utter indifference regarding 
future punishment. I thought shoes were made for the 
purpose of wading through mud puddles; anew hat was 
just the thing with which to scoop minnows out of the 
muddy pools left by the receding tide; whil: spick-span 
new trousers were devoted to sliding down greased spars 
and newly tarred rigging. The feelings of my ‘‘fond 
parents,” can be better imagined than described. But if I 
had little regard for my clothes, I had still less for my 
neck. I went to the mast-head of every vessel that came 
into the port; ran along yard arms like a squirrel; was fre- 
quently capsized in unseaworthy craft; and occasionally fell 
over the end of a wharf. Surviving all these mishaps I 
became, as I grew older, an expert swimmer and boat-sailer. 
My taste for the sea did not desert me when in later years 
I passed many weeks in ‘‘prairie schooners,” or dwelt in 
towns far inland; and when arrived at man’s estate, I found 
myself in the Provincial city of Halifax, fronting a magnifi- 
cent harbor, with the broad blue ocean beyond, I hungered 
once more after my old pastimes and longed for a seat in the 
stern sheets of some swift little craft, that I might grasp 
the straining tiller, and listen to the ripple made by the 
sharp prow as it clears its way through the sparkling brine. 
I had several offers, more or less tempting, to become 
part owner of some fleet yacht, but as I wanted to com- 
mand my own craft, I did not accept them. Finally I 
made a purchase—such a purchase, too! My friends all 
declared that if ever I put tosea in the Jilt (significant 
name) I would certainly have to be fished up from the bot- 
tom of the harbor; a coroner’s jury would sit upon me, and 
the verdict would be, ‘‘Suicide by Drowning.” But here I 
differed with them, and I was right, as time has proved. 
When I bought the Jilt she had been hauled up for a 
year or two, from the simple fact that when her late owner 
took a larger craft to fly the Commodore’s pennant of the 
Royal Halifax Yacht Club, there was no one who dared to 
sailher. The Jilt was a craft of note, too, and had carried 
off more than one prize in the annual regattas. She was 
built at Bermuda, of the native cedar, and rigged and mod- 
elled after a style peculiar to that place. Her keel was four- 
teen feet in length, but she had an overhanging stern, and 
measured perhaps sixteen feet over all. The bow was 
bluff, but the lines of the stern were very fine, and she drew 
considerably more water aft than forward. The Bermudi- 
ans say they model their boats from the duck. The mast 
was stepped well forward, and raked aft at quite a sharp 
angle. It was a stick some twenty feet or more in length, 
small, but of tough springy wood, and well oiled. Ina 
stiff breeze it would bend like a bow, having neither shroud 
or stay. At right angles with the cut-water along bowsprit 
was thrust out, carrying a balloor jib, like an English cut- 
ter’s. The main-boom extended some four feet overfhe 
stern, and just swung clear of the deck. Instead of hoops 
or rings, the mainsail was laced to the mast with a small 
hard cord, and when well hoisted it literally ‘‘set like a 
board.” Ishould mention also that both jib and mainsail 
hoisted to within a few inches of the mast-head, from 
which a small red pennant floated in the breeze. The Jilt 
was decked over with the exception of a small space amid- 
ship, oval-shaped, and barely large enough to contain two 
people, and the greater portion of the hold was taken up 
by a ballast locker, securely fastened to the timbers, and 
filled with pig iron. Besides this ballast two bars of lead, 
weighing some four hundred pounds, were set into the keel. 
When in sailing trim the deck was barely six inches above 
the water, and very often the waves splashed over and into 
the hold, making it necessary sometimes to lay to and _ bail 
out. But on great occasions, such as a sailing match, half 
the cock-pit was covered by ahatch. A piece of canvas, 
passed over the steersman’s head, and buttoned around the 
combings, was then fastened securely around his waist, and 
no water could find ingress. But the risk was great, as a 
matter of course. 
No one who has not seen a boat of this kind would credit 
their ability to carry sail, their speed and weatherly quali- 
ties. Their great point is working to windward. I believe 
they will lay nearer to the wind than any other craft that 
floats. 
Of course I found my purchase in a somewhat dilapidated 
condition, and having her towed across the harbor to a 
marine railway of which I had charge, and hauling her 
high and dry, I undertook to repair, rig and paint her my- 
self. In the course of two weeks I had her in apple-pie 
order, and to me she was a very pretty sight indeed as she 
rode at her mooring. Up to the water line she was painted 
white, and over the paint was laid a coat or two of varnish, 
making it as smooth and glossy as the oiled plumage of a 
duck. From the water-line to the deck the paint was a 
beautiful Chinese vermillion, through which ran a gilt rib- 
bon. The deck was a light slate: color, and the combings 
were of richly veined cedar, polished and varnished. The 
mast, well scraped and oiled, was as hard and smooth as 
ivory, while the sails were of snowy whiteness. Take her 
allin all the Jilt was a very sightly craft, albeit by the books 
of the R. H. Y. C., she measured but three-fourths of a ton, 
and the tall slender spar was somewhat out of proportion 
to the low hull which supported it. + Many a pleasant cruise, 
however, had I in the Jilt, and I still live to tell the tale of 
‘how I was jilted.”” To do this I must re-open old heart 
wounds, but for the sake of the ‘‘dear reader” I will try to 
grin and bear it. 
I had not resided in Halifax many months before I was 
“‘spoony” on Edith Budd. It is, no doubt, a necessity 
with some natures to bein aconstant state of ‘‘spoonyness,” 
and I suppose this to be the case with regard to myself. I 
certainly had all the symptoms of the disease, for so, I 
suppose, we must term ‘‘an affection of the heart.” I did 
not, it is true, lose my appetite, and turn pale, bilious and 
interesting like some people. I believe I consumed as 
much underdone roast beef and bitter beer as any one to 
the manner born. But I haunted Edith persistently; not 
in a ghostly manner, ho vever, although I used to ad:ress 
the young lady (mentally) in the beautiful words—-‘‘ Whither 
thou goest, I will go.” And go I did; sometimes to the 
utter neglect of my duties. But then I had formidable 
rivals to contend with. Halifax was both a military and a 
naval station, and I was constantly in trepidation lest 
some enterprising fellow of the R. N. might prove too many 
guns for me. J was not then a very timid youth, but so 
far as brass was concerned the ‘‘subs” of either service 
could have given me long odds. Moreover, I had, or fan 
cied I had—it amounts to the same thing—a rival in Her 
Majesty’s 999th regiment of foot, and another on board H. 
M. sloop of war ‘‘Stingaree.” Many a pleasant dinner at 
mess or in the ward-room was spoiled for me by the pres- 
ence of one or both of my rivals. The sailor, I thought, 
had rather the weather gauge of the land lubber, but I hoped 
I was to windward of them both, though you may be sure 
I kept a sharp lookout for squalls. 
All went on smoothly until one ever memorable day. 
There was to be a picnic on McNab’s island at the harbor’s 
mouth, some four miles away, and Edith and my sailor 
rival were to be of the party. We were to embark at 
Pryor’s wharf, at the lower end of the town in the schooner 
yacht Fairy, and you may be sure I determined to be punc- 
tual. On coming into town that morning, however, I 
found it was absolutely necessary for me to go to the rail- 
way, on the opposite side of the harbor, and give direc- 
tions concerning some work to be done by the divers. ‘‘Just 
my luck,” I muttered, as I made my way hurriedly to the 
ferry. WhenI had completed my business I saw that it 
wanted but a few minutes of the appointed time for sailing, 
while it would take at least half an hour to get to Pryor’s 
wharf wia the ferry. So Iwas pulled off to the Jilt, which 
lay dancing at her moorings, got underweigh heartily, and 
started for the Halifax shore. The wind was blowing 
directly up the harbor, making it a dead beat to windward 
to reach my point of destination. Moreover, it was blow- 
ing half a gale, and I had need of all my skill to handle the 
Jilt with her fair weather canvas. But Leander swam the 
Hellespont, and I would risk my life as willingly, thought 
I, in the attempt to reach the side of the one Iloved. Kneel- 
ing down, with one hand holding the main-sheet and the 
other the tiller, I kept a sharp lookout to windward for the 
squalls which now and then swept down on me and threat- 
end to bury my little craft uuder the foam-crested waves. 
At times she was almost submerged, and once a bigger 
wave than usual sent several buckets of water over the comb- 
ings, drenching me from head to foot and carrying my hat 
away to leeward. I shook myself like a spaniel, brushed 
back the drenched locks which had blown into my eyes 
and easing off the main-sheet a trifle to right the boat was 
soon speeding on my way again. My attention was so much 
occupied that I had failed to notice whether the yacht had 
left the wharf, but presently, directly ahead, under jib 
and main-sail, appeared the Fairy. She was so near that I 
could distinctly see all on board—could see my rival, com- 
fortably seated beside Edith, and fancied I could see her 
smiles and’hear her merry voice. It was but a moment’s 
glimpse I had, for just then came a squall, and when I had 
safely weathered it the Fairy was on the farther shore. I 
was certain they had seen me, and had hoped they would 
} the harbor the waters were in violent commotion. 
heave to and take me in t6w. It was evident they had no 
such intention. JI immediately resolved to follow on, and 
to make the island in the Jilt, if possible. It was a mad 
resolve, for I had had comparatively smooth sailing to 
what was in store for me. Iwas then half a mile .distant 
from, and partially sheltered by a small garrisoned and 
fortified island, lying nearly in mjid-harbor. Between the 
island and the further shore the waves rolled directly in 
from the ocean, and even in the more sheltered portion of 
Yet I 
kept on. By luflfing once or. twice I managed to get in my 
jib and double-reef the mainsail, and by the time this was 
accomplished I was clear of the island and beginning to feel 
the full force of wind and sea. It was perilous sailing. 
As my little craft sank into the trough of the waves, their 
crests of foam rose far above my head, while the wind no 
longer filled my modest bit of canvas. Then, borne upward 
by the heaving waters, the sail would fill with a shock that 
threatened to part the sheet or snap the boom intwo. Still 
the Jilt was kept on her course, though staggering and 
reeling like a very drunken creature indeed. Every mo- 
ment, as I got nearer mid-channel, the waves seemed to 
grow larger and the wind to increase in violence. I was 
not in any fear of death, though J had not so much as an 
oar on board to float upon, and the Jilt, with a few more 
buckets of water in her hold, wouid have sunk like a plum- 
met. I doubt if I was ever conscious of the fact that for 
some time I had been~in imminent peril. I had a good 
deal of confidence in my boat, whose weatherly qualities I _ 
had before severely tested, and more in my own skill and 
seamanship. But one thing Isoon saw very plainly. That 
with such a wind and seal might tack until I was gray 
(provided the boat floated) and yet never reach my point of 
destination. But it was almost as dangerous to put back as 
to goon. With no head-sail, and with such a sea running, 
it was useless to think of going about. There was nothing 
to be done but to wear ship. Even that was very risky. 
In a sea way the Jilt settled down aft, owing to her fine 
lines, and one good sized wave catching her before she 
could get underweigh would certainly swamp her. How- 
ever, I resolved to try it. Watching my opportunity, I put 
the helm up, and the Jilt wore slowly and sluggishly round. 
Just as the boom was about to jibe a large wave struck the 
tiny craft and tossed her skyward on its foaming crest, 
where for a second or two (minutes they seemed to me) she 
rode unsteadily, laying at an angle to the force of the wave, 
as if about to topple over into the trough of the sea. For 
a moment a dizzy feeling overcame me, and I lost sight of 
everything. But Isoon recovered my lost nerve and my 
good little craft went wallowing and plunging through the 
waves, keeping me continually drenched with spray. I 
made for the island, as affording the nearest shelter; but as 
I approached it found J should have to haul again on the 
wind to weather a far reaching point, or bar, now 4white 
with row upon row of fierce breakers. I made this discec verv 
rather late, and found to my dismay, when again close 
hauled, that I was making but little progress. The angry 
waves proved too formidable for my little craft to contend 
against. They seemed at times ‘to lift her up bodily and 
bear her down to leewaid. But my only chance was to 
hold on. JI was not more than a yard or two from the outer 
reef, and thought myself out of all danger, when a wave 
swept down on my ‘boat and carried her broadside on into 
the breakers. Soon there was a shock, and a grating, 
crunching sound, which told me the days of the Jilt were 
ended. Without a moment’s delay I plunged overboard 
and mademy way, not without difficulty, through the surf 
to the shore. By this time a number of officers and men 
of the 999th, who were stationed on the island, had collect- 
ed on the beach, and among the former was a particular 
friend of mine, (since dead, poor fellow.) He at once took 
me to his quarters, when I speedily divested myself of my 
wet clothing, which was taken away to be dried; and ar- 
rayed in a suit of ‘‘mufti” from my friend’s wardrobe, with 
a stiff glass of brandy and water at my elbow, flanked by a 
box of fragrant Havanas, I thought it was not so bad being 
wrecked after all. Of the dissipation which followed the 
disaster it is not necessary to speak. There were but three 
or four at the mess-table, but the fun waxed fast and furi- 
ous, and it was well into the small hours when I donned 
my own garments, and was rowed across to the town. 
The Jilt, as I learned a day or two later, was hauled 
ashore by an enterprising soldier, and might be repaired; 
but I made no claim for her, abandoning her willingly to 
the wrecker. I had another jilt to deal with. 
Two or three days after my mishap a ball was given on 
board the Flagship Zerrible, and I stepped upon her deck 
just before the ship-band struck up the opening quadrille. 
Naturally my first act was to look about me for the fair 
face and graceful figure of Edith. At last I discovered 
her, leaning upon the arm of my sailor rival. She averted 
her head, I thought, as my eyes rested upon her; but I ~ 
gazed so persistently that I finally received a somewhat 
cold and distant bow, and a few seconds later I was at her 
side. Of course she was engaged for the first dance, and it 
was with evident reluctance that she handed me her ball- . 
card. Perhaps I should have gone away, leaving her 
wholly to my rival, and devoting myself to some other fair 
one. But I felt piqued and indignant, especially when I 
thought of my involuntary bath and the loss of my boat. 
And she did rot ask me why I was absent from the picnic, 
nor even hint at my mishap, which was known to all the 
town. aver, 
I was standing upon the poop-deek, looking down upon. 
the dancers, for whom the main deck had been cleared, . 
following with eyes that would droop mournfully in spite - 




