Ensign Merrill — page 18: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

+ ~~. i + . 7 “ ; ‘| 4 ey’ * 7 nv s ‘ ee. ad re & “we "i? i. sis Fe * ns . pA iy hander some "secret sorrow, ‘ard an old servant named Betsy. There was some mystery connected with the _ little family, and they were allowed to remain undis- turbed by the rough but kindhearted fisher folk who saw in Mrs. Merrill one superior to their class. Mark spent much of his time along the shore, and developed a passionate fondness for the sea. As he grew older, he with the aid of a small sailing sloop, started a modest trading business between the adjacent ham- lets, bringing in enough money to support the family. One day, during a severe storm, a yacht sailed into _ the little bay in search of shelter. There was only one safe anchorage in the harbor, and it was.evident from her actions that those on board were ignorant of it. Mark, from a position on a bold, rocky headland, had observed their peril, and, regardless of self, sprang into the raging sea, swam out to the endangered craft and piloted them into safety. It transpired that the yacht was owned by a prom- inent Boston merchant, and carried as his guests the — Secretary of the Navy and Admiral Lucien. | In grati- tude for the great services thus rendered by young Mer- rill, the secretary used his influence and entered the lad at the Naval Academy. There lived in the village at that time a wealthy man named Clemmons, whose only son, a vicious, self- willed boy, grew to hate Mark for various reasons. It happened, unfortunately, that Clemmons gained an ap- pointment at the naval school in the same term as Mer- rill, and, thus thrown together in the constant inter- course of the academy, they naturally became rivals for class honors. Having been thoroughly tutored by his mother, a _ well-read and highly-educated lady, and devoting him- MA RK MRRRITL AS A MIDSHIPMAN. he _ self to his studies, Mark easily defeated Scott Clemmons.