The Fisherman; or, Men Must Work and Women Must Weep (1909)
Those who go down to the sea in ships walk hand in hand with death, and their wives know no peace of mind while they are on the water. No one better appreciates this fact than the brave and loving Nettie Bourne, whose husband, Ben, is a fisherman and must face the elements in his tiny cockleshell of a boat even when danger threatens. He and little Ben, his son, are about to start on a fishing trip. The sun is shining, but there are signs of an approaching storm, and poor Nettie seems oppressed by a sense of impending danger as she accompanies her big, brave husband to the shore and aids him in launching the skiff with little Ben sitting in the stern to aid his father. Even little Lucy, their four-year-old daughter, seems to share her mother's dread as she stands upon the shingle and watches the boat put out to sea. Danger is forgotten in the excitement of a good catch, but a sudden gust of rain warns them to put back to safety. Bourne lays down the lines to grasp the oars, but he has waited too long; the storm is upon them, and presently the boat is seen to have been overturned. Bourne has clambered upon the keel, but in the fierce onslaught of the squall poor Bonnie has been swept out of reach of his father's aid, and the horror of poor Bourne's situation is intensified by the thought of his loss. When night falls and the boat does not return. Nettie takes little Lucy and with a lantern seeks the shore. Here she finds an empty boat and in it she rows out to sea in search of her loved ones. She finds her husband alive, but weak from exhaustion and exposure. He barely is able to climb into her boat, where he collapses on the stern as she turns its stem toward the shore. There is no use looking for Benny in the vast expanse of cruel waters. But Benny has clung to a floating log and he is washed ashore, where he is found by two fishermen, who tenderly bear his body toward his home. Nettie and Ben, slowly toiling across the sands, spy the men with their inanimate burden, and with a cry the mother rushes toward them, Ben following as rapidly as his weakness will permit. She takes her son from the sympathetic men, who lend their aid to Ben, and the melancholy little procession winds over the sand to the Bournes' cottage. Though there is no sign of life, the fishermen commence an effort to induce artificial respiration and presently the boy heaves a sigh and his eyes open to encounter the tender and grateful glance of his loving mother. The parents kneel to offer up a prayer of thanksgiving, while the old fishermen stand with bowed heads in reverent sympathy with the parents' feelings.
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GenresDrama
Short
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