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Wednesday May 18
“He is dead Sir” was the mates report made to the Cap-
tain while I was sitting with him in his state room after
breakfast this morning, “He is dead Sir,” said a physician one
of the passengers who came up in a moment afterwards. “he
is dead Sir,” said an Italian steerage passenger. “He is dead
Sir was once more quietly repeated, and this line by an
officer a New England youth who had already acquired
the character of an affairs person. The Captain was
not surprised – We had been called into the sick mans
room two days ago by his unnatural groans and suppli-
cation and had concluded that he would not survive
the voyage – A poor Italian thirty years or so of age–
arrested in his adventure in America by the consumption
and striving to live until he could see his mother
and his nation sunny ^native^ land once more – How sharply
business is done even the busi business of duties to the
dead, at sea. Twenty minutes later an open trunk
stood in the gangway, the ship clerk over it with a pen and
paper – a crowd pressed around – and an inventory
of poor Pedronillos effects. $80 in cash a coat hat
pantaloons shirts ^hose^ a brush, a comb, a guide book
a bottle of medicine and six prayer books. The scene
rapidly changed – A corpse was brought on a mattress
out of the dead mans state room ^and placed on the roof of the wheel house^ The ^bosom then^ a was filled
with coarse warm flannel, The mattress brought close over
the body, the whole rapped ^in^ two or three thicknesses of
canvas sowed tightly up – great iron weights lashed
upon the legs, and then the whole enclosed in a

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worn out bunting which still bore ^retained^ the stars and
stripes which had fitted it for the ships flag – a
strong cord lashed around the two body and made
fast to a stanchion thus securing it against its
being lost over prematurely seaward by the rolling of the
ship. And there it lies now “in state” waiting the hour
of 4 in the afternoon, when the prayers appointed by
the church will be read and the deep will receive
what once was an object of a thous ^thousand^ tender affections into
its cold and most repulsive charnel house – All
this has passed, and no womens voice or foot step
has been heard – Men have done it alone, rudely
but God be thanked not irreverently, A little boy
stood looking on. In his hand was the little play
thing ^which to his imagination was^ a boat. He looked on until the
end of the sad arrangements came, and then went on
and dropped his boat suspended by a cord over
the ships side to try its capacity for the sea – A
passenger who had interrupted the whole transaction, turned
to the Captain and asked whether he thought we
should reach Cowes Tomorrow –
I think we shall – According to the
chart we are within fifty miles of soundings, Birds
are sweeping in graceful movements over our
heads, harbingers of land, of safety and rest.