The Survivors of the Chancellor | Page 6

Given at Charleston, September 13th, 1869.
J. S. HUNTLY.
From the foregoing document it will be understood that the Chancellor
is conveying 1,700 bales of cotton to Liver- pool; that the shippers are
Bronsfield, of Charleston, and the consignees are Laird Brothers of
Liverpool. The ship was constructed with the especial design of
carrying cotton, and the entire hold, with the exception of a very
limited space reserved for passenger's luggage, is closely packed with
the bales. The lading was performed with the utmost care, each bale
being pressed into its proper place by the aid of screw-jacks, so that the
whole freight forms one solid and compact mass; not an inch of space
is wasted, and the vessel is thus made capable of carrying her full
complement of cargo.
CHAPTER IV
SOMETHING ABOUT MY FELLOW PASSENGERS
SEPTEMBER 30 to October 6. -- The Chancellor is a rapid sailer, and
more than a match for many a vessel of the same dimensions. She
scuds along merrily in the freshen- ing breeze, leaving in her wake, far
as the eye can reach, a long white line of foam as well defined as a
delicate strip of lace stretched upon an azure ground.
The Atlantic is not visited by many gales, and I have every reason to
believe that the rolling and pitching of the vessel no longer incommode

any of the passengers, who are all more or less accustomed to the sea.
A vacant seat at our table is now very rare; we are beginning to know
some- thing about each other, and our daily life, in consequence, is
becoming somewhat less monotonous.
M. Letourneur, our French fellow-passenger, often has a chat with me.
He is a fine tall man, about fifty years of age, with white hair and a
grizzly beard. To say the truth, he looks older than he really is: his
drooping head, his de- jected manner, and his eye, ever and again
suffused with tears, indicate that he is haunted by some deep and
abiding sorrow. He never laughs; he rarely even smiles, and then only
on his son; his countenance ordinarily bearing a look of bitterness
tempered by affection, while his general ex- pression is one of
caressing tenderness. It excites an invol- untary commiseration to learn
that M. Letourneur is con- suming himself by exaggerated reproaches
on account of the infirmity of an afflicted son.
Andre Letourneur is about twenty years of age, with a gentle,
interesting countenance, but, to the irrepressible grief of his father, is a
hopeless cripple. His left leg is miserably deformed, and he is quite
unable to walk without the assistance of a stick. It is obvious that the
father's life is bound up with that of his son; his devotion is unceas- ing;
every thought, every glance is for Andre; he seems to anticipate his
most trifling wish, watches his slightest move- ment, and his arm is
ever ready to support or otherwise assist the child whose sufferings he
more than shares.
M. Letourneur seems to have taken a peculiar fancy to myself, and
constantly talks about Andre. This morning, in the course of
conversation, I said:
"You have a good son, M. Letourneur. I have just been talking to him.
He is a most intelligent young man."
"Yes, Mr. Kazallon," replied M. Letourneur, brighten- ing up into a
smile, "his afflicted frame contains a noble mind. He is like his mother,
who died at his birth."
"He is full of reverence and love for you, sir," I re- marked.
"Dear boy!" muttered the father half to himself. "Ah, Mr. Kazallon," he
continued, "you do not know what it is to a father to have a son a
cripple, beyond hope of cure."
"M. Letourneur," I answered, "you take more than your share of the

affliction which has fallen upon you and your son. That M. Andre is
entitled to the very greatest com- miseration no one can deny; but you
should remember, that after all a physical infirmity is not so hard to
bear as mental grief. Now, I have watched your son pretty closely, and
unless I am much mistaken there is nothing that troubles him so much
as the sight of your own sorrow."
"But I never let him see it," he broke in hastily. "My sole thought is
how to divert him. I have discovered that, in spite of his physical
weakness, he delights in traveling; so for the last few years we have
been constantly on the move. We first went all over Europe, and are
now re- turning from visiting the principal places in the United States. I
never allowed my son to go to college, but in- structed him entirely
myself, and these travels, I hope, will serve to complete his education.
He is