Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-11-02

stay. Thoughts of tempest nd fury,
of chill piping winds whipping the
foam from the waves, of roaiand tu-
multi, and a heaying wilderness of dark
waters, came over her; and Though all
the refrain of Jean Ingelow's pathetic
strain mixed and blended--
And / shall see thee no more,
Till tire eea gives up its dead
Great drops forced thcmseles be-
meath the closed eyelids, and SIC Sob
bed: go Paul, Paul! how cam bear
itpr H..
And then she thought, as sh had
thought before, how glad she shold be
to die! Life didn't seem desirabl any
longer, and it would be blessed B be
with Paul, even at the bottom o the
ocean,. And thinking thus, the bng,
eyelashes dropped more and more baV-
lily; peace fell upon the brow and ips:
she was asl~eep-asleep, and dreaming
a sweet, joyful dream. How longshe
slept she never knew. She awoke nth
q sensation of intense cold. The sell
of slumber was so strong upon her bat
for a moment she did not realize WAT
had taken place. The cav was hsf-
full of water. Her feet and the hem,f
her dress were already wet; and tie
roar of the waves beneath the hardy
distinguishable archway told that th
tide had surprised another victim an,
already the avenue of escaped was bar
red.
Was this the answer to some unspok.
en- prayer?
Tho +h0,rrh+ AochaI oro~ hn, ~
she really prayed for death? Here il
was close at hand, and she was con.
scious of no gladness-only an instinct.
i've desire for life. 1t was o dreadful
to be drowned in that hole, and washed
away like a weed. Life was worth liv.
ing, after all.
Had somebody said, or was she
dreaming, that a portion of the cave
was left uncovered by the water? She
could not remember, but now she
searched about for some Indication.
All, surely this was one-ac cork, ascrap
of paper, lodged on the higher shelf,
fragile things which a tide must inevita-
bly, have washed away. With that in
stinct of property which survives ship
wreck and fire, she collected her draw.
ing materials and other little belong
ings, and, retreating with them to this
possible place of refuge, wrapped her
cloak about her, and, with folded hands,
sat down to await her fate.
The cav was full of pale green light.
1t was beautiful to see, as the advanc-
ing flow rose, ledge over ledge, and
flooded the miry pools, how each star
flower and sea-urchin, each crimson
and golden weed, trembled and auiv-
cred as with delight at its refreshing
touch. Each anemene threw wide its
petals and expanded into full blossom
to meet the spray baptism. No mortal
eye ever looked upon sight more charm
ing; but its beauty was lost to the shiv-
ering and terrified girl.
The doorway had quite disappeared.
Sharp spray dashed against her dress.
The drops struck her face. She shrank
and chung more tightly to the rock. A
prayer rose to her lips; and through
the tremulous light of the submerged
archway a strange shadow began to 90
and come, to move and pause, and move
again. Wa it fish, or weed, or some
mysterious presence? Did it come &C
companied by life or death?
DANriACALlO1 vi UhC 1oChO IcOfCS - oiS~
tracted group were collected. The par
ty had come gayly back from the
"Heads." DR.. Gray, ignorant lands
man as he was, had grown uneasy and
hurried them away. Arrived at the
"Grotto," the full extent of the calam-
ity was at once evident. The boy had
mistaken the tide-iow for ebh-and
the only hope was that Esther, discov-
ering her danger in time, had taken
refuge in the cottage neal by. Thither
they flew; but, as we know, in vain.
The sobbing girls hung distractedly
over the cliff, listening to the hollow
boom with which the waves swung into
the cavern Notwithstanding to think
of the awful something which might
any moment wash outward on the re-
turning billow. The gentlemen went
for assistance, and brought a couple Of
stout fishermen to the spot. But what
could any body do?
"If the young woman has sense
enough to climb up to the right-hand
corner and set still, it won't hurt her
none, perhaps" one of them said.
"Not more than two tides a year gets
up there" @
All! ii Esther could only be told that!
They could but trust powerlessly to her
steadiness of nerve and common sense.
"She's such a wise thing" Helen
sobbed out. So they waited.
A rattle of wheels came from the
road. They all turned to look, and
some n said, perhaps it's a doctor!n
Though. what earthly use q doctor
could have been, would be hard to say
A figure was rapidly coming up the
path--a young man. NOBODY reco; 2.
nized him, till DR.. Gray started fC5r,
ward with the face of one who sees q
ghost.
"Paul! Good God! 1T is impe.ssi
ble?"
eyes, Doctor" with a hasty fland.
shake. "No other. I don't wonder
you stare."''
q"But, in heavens name, how has il
come about? Where have you bseer
since we gave you up for lostPn.
"1t's a long story. You shall he a,
a. D.