The mountain Democrat., 1864-05-28
THE NOBLE FISHERMAN.
FRox TBE snIIcD asSlzE11IoCD.

woman, two children and O sailor were
alono upon the waters in this frail vessel.
The woman. wrapped in large cloak, un-
der the shelter Of which she Rugged her
children to her heart, alternately wept
and prayed. The sailor, having for o
long time struggled against the tempest,
and endeavored in vain to urge forward
the shallop in his charge, had folded his
arms on his breast, and waited, in sullen
silence, the death which seemed inevita-
BILE. Through the thick mist his prac-
ticed eye at length saw hope. LAND !
Land !" he shouted, and again taking his
oars, he piled them with renewed vigor.
Vain! His exhausted strength could
surmount no rebuff, even with apparent
safety in his reach. His struggle to gain
the shore seemed but to lengthen the dis
tance between the shore and the strand.
At length he again abandoned his hope
less labor. The quick eye of the mother
detected his purpose as he relieved his
person of his heavier garments. You
will not abandon my children to perish ?
she cried in agony.
The sailor looked wistfully at the un-
happy sufferers. He measured the dis.
tance to the shore with his eye. and look
ed over the boats side at the waters,
which, here partially sheltered, seemed to
boil like yeast in cauldron, the rcccding
tide combating the furious gale. TO
save ore Of those helpless ones was i'm
possible lie venturcd on no word of ad-
vice OF consolation, le his mercy should
master his judgment, but while the mother
yet hoped-while she leaned forward with
lips apart, and eyes pressing from their
sockets, to catch a word, u sigh, a breath
in answer, he cut all short by diving sud
denly into the sea.
The boat rcclcd and shivcred under the
momentum given TO it by the sailor 5
plunge, but lie who holds the waters in
the hollow Of His hand watched over the
forsaEcn. The mother claspcd her little
ones yet closer to her breast, and raised
her eyes to heaven in an agony Of prayer
too earnest to wait for words. Her face
spoke an appeal from which AbaddOn's S
self could not have turned compasSionlesS
The wave that she feared was just about
to whclm her, was broken in its crest by
the strange weight it bore, and as its wa
tcrs reached her, a sulen and unearthly
sound broke on her quick ear, and the
spray which flew across her face came
ood.>taincd. The dead body Of the sal.
Ior who had deserted her, bumped all in
slant against the boats side, and then
drifted away from the sight of morta,S
forever. He had struck upon the sharp
point Of rccks beneath the surface, and
escaped the lingering death to which he
thought te lad lctt his companions, by a
sudden and awful plunge into the pres
euce Of his Maker.
In another instant the deserted woman
felt strange sound beneath her feet. -
Another bound before the wave and it
vas fast She sounded the water with
her arm, aud to her inexprcSsible JOY
fuand sold earth. In an instant she step
ped from the >hallop, caught her infants in
her arms, and aimed for the beach, which
seemed at little distance. The water
deci,ucd as she procccdcd-tn her waist
to her throut-she staggered and the
>t.ilng "bubbling cry" Of her children
uclvci her with new strength. An al
most supcrhuman spring. and She was
safe again and anuH she rccoi'ed, as the
earth seemed to sink under kcr feet, and
another footstrp would have plunged her
into an abyss, in the.vcry sight Of safety.
The agony Of frar-the strength of deS
pair-the lightning Of hope-tach seized
her by turns, till at length in dejirum
joy she left the sea behind her, having
escaped its last engulting wave--aEd
falling on her face in the damp sand. she
poured out her soul in gratitude to the
GCd who had delivered her and her little
ones.
She rose, shuddering with cold, now
that the struggle was over. Her children,
7 quivcring with terror, and sobbinS in dis.
comfort clung to her knees. The wind,
as if Heaven had held it back, until her
escape, increased in fury. Rain fell in
torrents. and the waves drowned the
shore far above the point at which she at
first felt safety. Her eyes wandered in
vain for help, the cold sky, the la>hing
waves, the bleak rock, the barren sand,
Knocked the hopes of the mother for com
fort or safety. A reaction of feeling had
takenhlace-her heart was sinking with.
/ in her.
! A voice Again and nearer! A man
upon the rocks earnestly beckoning, as if
some new and imminent danger beset the
/ fugitive from death. She saw no more,
but sank insensible upon the sand; and
her children raised piercing wall beside
her. Unarring instinct They did not
shrek thus when she sank down to pray
er!
Another moment, and the man who
shouted the warning is beside the ship
wrecked mother. His hardy wife attends
him. She has caught the children, each
by the shoulder. with more strength than
gentleness, though with gentle purpose,
and is scrambling up the rocks. lie bears
the still insensible form Of the mother, and
as he ascends, his hat has fallen behind
him, and is dancing in an eddy Of water
over the very spot from which, an instant
before, he had caught his unconscious
! burthen. The tide now at the flood has
swept like an avalanche over the nook
among the rocks. and the fragments of the
deserted boat are fretting among the crag-
gy points of that inhospitatle shore.
In the cabin of the fisherman, the moth
er is soon restored to life. Her first
thought is for her children, whom she
embraces again and again in passion of
Joy. She unclasps rich necklace from
the bosom of her little daughter; ." Take
this gage of my gratitude" she exclaims
-"acccpt it as an earnest, you to whom
l owe the life of my children"
The fisherman shook his head. 81
could not make use of such riches" said
he. % Tine products OF my labor suffice
me. To you this gold and these jewels
will be much more useful than to ne
Retain them"
The mother took the hand Of her pre-.
server. Young and beautiful even in the