Difference between revisions of ".Mjk0.MjMxMA"
(Created page with ",Miss Field 'calls ''God's ~~·, ner 'luckiest break. She told of tlle frequent.· meetings with ,the. a.ged'grandson of Capt. Hadlock and his Wife, the "Some days he "Prussia...") |
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| − | + | Miss Field calls ''God's Pocket" her luckiest break. She told of the frequent meetings with the aged grandson of Capt. Hadlock and his wife, the "Prussian lady". "Some days he would talk and some days he wouldn't," said Miss Field, "but always on my part there were gentle | |
| − | + | proddings and guestionings. One beautiful July day I called on the dear old man, and, in the course of the visit | |
| − | + | he showed me, to my amazed delight, the tattered diary of Capt. Hadlock, two worn, almost illegible, record books, such as were seen in all country stores a generation or so ago. He was in his most talkative mood that day, and I was profoundly moved to hold in my two hands those records of Capt. Hadlock's travels with his show, records which just by chance had, not been taken with him on that last voyage which spelled diaster. The two | |
| − | "Prussian lady". | ||
| − | would talk and some days he | ||
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| − | old man, and, in the | ||
| − | he | ||
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| − | two worn, almost illegible, record | ||
| − | books, such as were seen in | ||
| − | stores a | ||
| − | in his most talkative mood that day, | ||
| − | and I was | ||
| − | in my two hands those | ||
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| − | records | ||
| − | been taken with him | ||
| − | voyage which spelled diaster. The two | ||
old books were placedJ in my hands, a i | old books were placedJ in my hands, a i | ||
definite lagacy, for two days later the | definite lagacy, for two days later the | ||
Revision as of 17:22, 17 March 2017
Miss Field calls God's Pocket" her luckiest break. She told of the frequent meetings with the aged grandson of Capt. Hadlock and his wife, the "Prussian lady". "Some days he would talk and some days he wouldn't," said Miss Field, "but always on my part there were gentle proddings and guestionings. One beautiful July day I called on the dear old man, and, in the course of the visit he showed me, to my amazed delight, the tattered diary of Capt. Hadlock, two worn, almost illegible, record books, such as were seen in all country stores a generation or so ago. He was in his most talkative mood that day, and I was profoundly moved to hold in my two hands those records of Capt. Hadlock's travels with his show, records which just by chance had, not been taken with him on that last voyage which spelled diaster. The two old books were placedJ in my hands, a i definite lagacy, for two days later the My time was then . ! old man died. givenovera lmost entirely to q.eciphering the faded mndwrit;n:ri., rniakj.ng
I 1
1
1
J.---ft'll!!1flftt:ht.
pbvnetic spelling, and
piecing together the travels as they progressed bit lby bit. Occasklnally l there would ibe a page missing, presumably where the entry had been too 1 spicy oo meet the approval of the gently bred "Prussian lady." 1
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Miss iField pointed out that such lbooks M that grow out of definite pictures, but other books IIU'e acquired in a more painful ·fashion, from incidents noted here and ,there and d,ovetailed together, from ,threads startin~ we know · not where , ~ Such a book· is I W<Wen in and out. ' ~ e out of Mind". 'When. Miss Field first began to come to Maine, -me. '\Y~, . . ·.•. .:r:, .. large white houses set on hiigh •., lu fs amid· spruce trees. · One of· these· houses in a seafai:ing town she named "The Folly", you remember Th~ Polly' in "Time Out of Mind"? She looked at and studied ,these old houses, heard stories about them, asked questions about them, and began ,to realize what the shipbuilding e:ra had meant to Maine. That probably was ,the \beginning of ,the story, ,although it may have ,been the desoription of a launching heard in the conversa,tion betiween two old women in Newlburyport, Miss ri,e1d listened as ,they talked, saw their shoulders li:tt, •their ey,es brighten, their faded ,cheeks itake on color as they said "Do you remember .••" and went on to tell o.f ,the sound of the hammers, ,the thrill as ,the boat left the ways and took the water. "Lt was so romantic and exciting to hear them talk," said Mtss Field," bub when I questioned them, one told me, sadly shaking her head, and looking at me w.iith a pitying· exprewmon, "You are ,too young to have ever been to a. ship launching." !But from that description ,1 took away the romance, the excitement,, ,the sound of ,the hanun~. to ~.gp,. in a book. ~ , t h e clock which· runs tl:u"Ough the story, seen in an antique shop, ,the little figures oftwo IWOOdsmen coming out on the stroke of
- the !hour, .to saw away ait their unseen
log, a •French clock that had been_ brought oversea by a Bath captain. When I saw it l decided_, then and there that some day this little clook would go into a, book, in the whlite house called 'The :lliolly'."
Her closing comment was; Wr~ing books is much like berry picking. You go out to pick blueber:ries, but you come .across some ttldce black· iberries, and chances a.re ,that you return hlome with your blil,sk:et filled with lblackberdes imt.eaJd of lbluebell'ries, Some times you return with only a f~ scattering berries in the bottom · your basket. One thing is· <:er,ta.!n, howbver; you oome home·wttih one of two things, with your basket e{ther empty or wlith contents tha.t may surprtse you."
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Etoc}clr~.. ,. , Courier -G, ::· Sept. ll~
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