GIRLS OF THE RIGHT SORT.
« . *My daughter, unless you can work the ship off the coast, she will soon strike the rocks, and we shall all be lost' So said the captain of a fine merchant vessel to his daughter. He was right ; it was their only chance. The Itark Atiina, 700 tons, was bound from Ouxhavcn to Rio with a general cargo. , She had scarcely left port when the captain was disabled by a broken leg. A mutiny followed. Under threat of bad weather the Anina anchored in a bight of a buy on the dangerous coast of Cornwall. Here the officers and all the crew deserted. A furious cyclonic south-west wind arose. The anchors dragged and the girl burned a flare on deck. The lifeboat responded, but was staved against the ship's side by a sea. All the boat's crew were lost except the coxswain who gained the deck. He was not a sailor, yet with him alone under her orders, this girl who was a .sailor, cut both cables, set some headsail, and got out into the open. It was touch and go but true grit won. Three weeks longer the girl. commanded before help came. Yet it did come finally, and so did the wedding of the handsome young coxswain and the captain's beautiful and heroic daughter. And yet there are some fools left who say we arnst look to men chiefly for courage and intelligence. Stuff and nonsense ! Any woman will scream when she sees a mouse (that's mere nerves), and ten minutes later she will meet disaster and death with a quiet smile. Then, too, women have a genius for throwing in a suggestion exactly when it is wanted. A man writes this way : — ' I came home dejected,' so lie goes on, ' and didn't know what to do ; but my daughter said ' But wait a minute. Before we hear what his daughter said, letfs have his storj from the start, shipshape and Bristol fashion. Pie says : — ' In December, 1890, I was suddenly taken with an excruciating pain in the pit of the stomach and in the right side. For over twelve hours I could neither sit nor lie down. The medical man who examined me gave me some medicine, but on the second day jaundice set in, and from that time I suffered from a similar attack about once every three weeks. Every remedy was tried without avail ; nothing did the slightest good. The kidney secretion was something frightful, being a mass of matter, blood, and bile. ' This continued five months and I grew weaker and thinner every day. My friends thought nothing could save me. Many urged me to have further advice, as at this time the secretions were much worse and the motions resembled white clay. Another attack came on, and as I was daily getting worse, I said, " I will see the doctor first, and if he can do me no good I will seek further medical help." ' Accordingly I went to see him, but he was from home, and would not return until late at night. I came home dejected and did not know what to do, but my daughter said, " Why don't you try Mother SeigeVs Curative Syrup 1 We hear it has cured many. IE L does you no good, it will do you no harm." " Well," I said to her, "I will try a bottle." ' J then began to take it, and oh, how thankful I afterwards was, for on the third day I could see such a change. The secretion, instead of being nothing but corruption, became clear, and "the motions a healthy colour. From that time I daily gained health and strength, and in a short time I was as well as ever in my life, and I have had no return of the disease. ' I can, therefore, speak of this medicine in the highest terms, for, under God's blessing it cured me when nothing else had the slightest effect.' The above communication is from a business man of high character in the county of Brecon. For especial reasons he desires his name withheld for the present, but we freely pledge our reputation for the truth of his statement. The date is February 12, 1892. The attacks which wowld soon have ended his life were of severe kidney and liver congestion, growing out of profound indigestion and dyspepsia. His system was' flooded with bile and acid poisons, and he may thank heaven for having a daughter who made the right suggestion at a critical moment. In courage and good sense she is like the other noble girl who saved her father's ship from wreck while he lay helpless in his cabin. Success • attend them in their own life voyages, say we.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CL18940420.2.8
Bibliographic details
Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1030, 20 April 1894, Page 3
Word Count
796GIRLS OF THE RIGHT SORT. Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1030, 20 April 1894, Page 3
Using This Item
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.