Year: 1867

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gales by plantation of stunted oak
trees whose gnarled and withered
branches attested their long resistance
to the fierce ocean blasts. The inter
Tor of the house was bright and cheer
ful, and had that habitable look so
rarely to be met with in modern hous-
es' as if it reflected the happiness of
those who lived in it. Altogether, it
| formed a strange contrast to the wild
ness and desOlatiOn around.


There was only one thing to which
the most fault finding could object -
this was the insuperable dislike Of Mrs.
Tremewen to smoking in the house
This may appear to you very trifling
drawback: to me (as an inveterate
smokcr) it was no small grievance. In
all therrespects she was most charm
ing woman. andmy friend everything
that was hospitable and kind.


"'Alice will not altsssssFE any smoking
in the house as you know, said my
friend to me the first night of my arri-
val therefore have built a retreat for
myself and my friends, where we can
smoke in peace; but now that am kept
in such subjection, / only indulge in
one cigar after breakfast


''He then led the way through the
garden and plantation to q small kind
of building or hut, which commanded
an extensive view of the ea,which now
lay before Us glittering in the bright
cold moonlight of an evening towards
the latter end of October. On oneside
was a door, opening on the cliffs,
through which narrow pathway led
down to the rugged sands.


after this, need not tell you !
paid many solitary visit to this re-
treat, and always the last thing at night,
for at that time ] imagined | could not
sleep without my accustomed sedative
| had now prolonged my visit three
weeks, and we had arrived at the be
ginning ofan unusually wild and dreary
November. There had already been
one shipwrecl1 on the coast, and many
an hour had we watched with anxious
eye from the windows of the hut YES
sells driven before the gale, seeking
shelter from the violence of the storm,
fearing every moment that they would
be dashed by the fury, of the waves
among those giant rocks which, in spite
of their height, were now often com
pletely hidden from our sight, by dense
masses Of foam.


'One morning, as we were all sitting
at breakfast, my friend received let
ter on business which required his i'm
mediate presence in town. After he
had finished its perusal, he turned to
me and said:


81 shall have to leave Alice in Your
charge during my absence, and l hope
you will take good care Of her, and
he continued smiling) should any
wrecks occur whilst / am away, do not
allow her to run down the cliffs in the
midd of the night, as she once at
tempted to do, thinking she might lie
of some use


''IIe left as the same morning, prom
ising not to be absent many days
That afternoon the weather, which had
been heavy and lowering during the
few preceding weeks, was at last bro
ken up and disturbed by violent gusts
of wind, accompanied by frequent hail
and the sea rolled in upon the shore
the great waves breaking far outside,
and mist and foam darkening the sky.
When all had retired for the night, |
lighted my lantern. and went, as usual,
through the plantation towards the hut,
but found it difficult work to battle
against the wind, at last reached my
destination. On three sides of the
building were windows, one opening
towards the sea. / sat down in my ac-
customed seat, and listened to the
hoarse roar of the mighty waves beat
ing against the cliffs. ! had been sit
ting thus about 90 minutes when it sud
denly occurred to me that the lantern,
which / had on the table opposite the
window, might possibly deceive some
unhappy vessel, and so lead to her de-
struction. The scene was certainly a
desolate one. Within the room, hang
ing on the walls. were sad relics of
many a gallant ship which had gone
down, and whose crews had never sur
vived to tell the dreadful tale, frag-
ments of wreck, figure heads, and 9th
er CHASTITY memorials bearing witness
to the merciless nature Of that fearful
coast AS these thoughts passed
through my mind l eNtinguished the
| light, and was left in utter daI Ikness.


There was no moon, no light save
the occasional glimmer OF solitary
star as the heavy clouds swept across
the sky, and the reflection from the
white mass of foam surging beneath
me. / tried to shake of the uncom-
Portable feelings which, in spite of my
self, would steal over me. | am not
nervous or over-imaginative, as you
well know; but could not with stand
the dreary influence of the place. The
moaning sound Of the wind and the hol-
low roar of the sea as it thundered
against the cliffs sounded in my ears
like signals of distress. had been sit
ting thus, dreamily smoking, for about
half an hour, when I became conscious,
between tho pauses of the hurricane, OF
a heavy sound of dripping water, too
near and too distinct to be confOnnded
with the roar of the sea. The wind,as
| said before, was blowing furiously at
the time, but the sound struck on my
Garnet above but through all At the
same time cold chill seemed to per
wade the room, and suddenly | distinct
ly saw, human face That face | car
never forget: blue and death like, the
eyes fixed and CHASTITY, and the face