SUPERSTITIONS OF THE SEA.

Bruce Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 1759, 18 June 1886, Page 5

SUPERSTITIONS OF THE SEA.

There ie a story told by sailors of a haunted ship that used to sail out of Liverpool. The last voyage she made aB an ordinary ship with no ghostly accompaniment, she had a supercargo who was a violinist. He used to take his violin and go into tbe main crosstrees, where he would sit and play, his favourite tune being " The Grirl I left behind me." On the voyage the supercargo became insane and jumped overboard. Ever alter that occurrence on stormy nights, when wind and waves were high, and the ship groaned and creaked as she struggled through the waves, .the sailors floundering about on the dark, slippery deck, heard above the howling of the tempest the sound pf » violin, playing "The &irl I left

behind me" in the main cross-trees. Not many years ago there died in a little Cape Cod town a retired seacaptain. Once when he followed the sea he came across a Binding barque off Cape San Eoque. A gale was blowing at the time and a heavy sea was running. Added to thia night was coming on, and though the poor wretches begged frantically to be taken off, the captain sailed away and left them to their fate. The memory of the doomed crew of the sinking bark, stretching their hands out appealingly, and watching his ship sail away with despairing eyes and ghastly faces, lingered with the heartless captain all his life, and in his declining days he frequently complained that the crew of the barque were haunting him, and said t!:n: tome day the vessel itself would sail into harbour and take him away. One Btormy winter afternoon the old man lay on his bed dying. Just as the ebb-tide began to run he sprang up and shouted — " Don't ! don't ! I'll stand by till the morning. I'll take you all off !" and fell back dead. The watchers by the bedside said afterwards that through the window wbich overlooked the bay they saw a barque come sailing into the harbour at that moment, and then vanished before their eyes. — Eebcboth Herald.