The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1872-03-07

proof basket on her arm. So l
gave her the shilling, which she bit
and pocketed.
"Now then." said she, "what's to
do neyt?"
"What have you got there ?"
"German sausage, cucumber, car
rot, bottle barley-water, two toma-
toes, a bloater, two eggs, one pound
maccaroni, head of endive, stick of
Spanish liquorice, three pounds of
snuff"
"What are your terms for the
carrotp"
"Carrot very dear out here, you
peculiar old one. Carrot a guinea.
"Hand it over"
1 gave her o guinea and ate the
carrot.
"Now," said she, 81 go straight
on i'll that direction for shore.
Come along, old one."
Never! Will take tho opposite
point of the compass, and run my
chance. Goodbye"
And I struck out vigorously in
the opposite direction.
After a day and halfs vigorous
swimming Preached the point of
low sandy shore, which seemed to
stretch for miles in direction due
south, as judged from the position
ofthe sun. l was well satisfied to
feel dry ground under my legs again,
and 1 landed with much gratitude.
I was extremely hungry, and I
walked for miles along the shore
picking up mussels and:periwinkles,
and eating them raw. 1 saw no
trace of q human being of any kind,
and as the sun went down 1 began
to wish myself in the sea again.
Night came on, and 1 was hungry
and alone. However, 1 still wan
dered on the listless, purposeless
way until fell over something that
lay across my path. To my intense
Joy I found, on investigation, that
it was q sleeping, breathing human
being. Icould not tell whether it
was a man or a woman, as there
was no moon, and the clothes he
or she wore might have suited
either sex equally well. I endeav-
ored to awaken the figure, but in
vain, so | determined to sit by his
or her side until morning, Accor-
dinghy l dropped into a sitting pos
ture, when, to any extreme amaze
ment, an explosion OF fire took
place Immediately under me. The
fearful idea flashed across me that
the island was a mass of slumber
ing fire, only waiting for accidental
contact with an exciting cause t.
blow itself and everything upon i
miles into the air! On closer exam
ination, however, I found that 1 hat
sat down upon box of vesuvians
and one of them had exploded.
1t suddenly occurred to me to use
these vesuvians as a means of iden
tifying my companion. | ignited
ono, but it was not u flaming vesu-
Wan: it amouldered, and fixed, and
emelt, but afforded no assistance. |
lit another, and held it close to the
persons nose, but 1t only illumina-
ted small circle as big as a hall
crown. I lit q thild, and this time
the red.hot end tumbled on the
sleoper's check. The sleeper start,
ed up. 1t was Dolly Fortescue!
1 was not q bit surprised. I had
brought myself to look upon Dolly AZ
my Fate. Dolly was not a bit sur
prised. She looked at me-grin
ned and spoke.
"That dash hot, you odd one!.
When morning broke we looked
about us. The island, we found
was about twenty-five miles long
and seven broad, principally rock
no vegetation-no. fresh water
The island was crescent-shaped, the
two horns being twenty miles as
under. l had landed on one horn
she on the other, and we had met
in the middle. The only native in
habitants of the place were peri
wrinkles and mussels. So we set to
work to make ourselves comforta-
BILE.
The object of this narrative is not
to give detailed account of this
highly ingenious manner in which
we contived to live comfortable,
and even luxuriously, on our island,
but rather to exhibit the caprice of
a determined destiny.
l detested Dolly with all my
heart, and avoided her whenever it
was practicable, but she paid me
every attention, and, notwithstand-
ing her unpleasant appearance, she
was really valuable to me. With
oil her faults, l must admit that
she paid me higher honor than
any other human being has ever
paid me. She chirstened the island
"Fortescue," and crowned me its
monarch. My first act as king was
to try her for drawing her knife on
the policeman in Bembridge 'lock-
up, and by that means breaking out
Of custody. She was found guilty
by an impartial jury OF Me, and
sentenced to transportation for life
on the other side. of the island.
She went meekly and uncomplain-
ingly-but, as'she took all our cook
ing implements with her, 1 was
obliged to follow.
This inconvenient life went on for
thirteen years. At the expiration