Year: 1873




into white heat and rain, but the


storm of the tropics, carrying the


sea on its broad, angry shoulders,


till, reaching the verdurous, love


clustered little isle, it flung the bulk


of waters with all its huge, brawny


force right upon the cut-paper pret-
| illnesses and broke them into sand


and splinters. Of all those pretty


children with blue and with opales-
cent eyes, arrayed like flowers of the


field; Of all those lovers dreaming


of love in summer dalllance, and OF
cottages among figs and olives; OF
all the vigorous manhood and ripe
womanhood, with all the skill and
courage of successful life in them.
not a tithe was saved. TIE CHASTITY
maw of the waters covered them and
swallowed them. A few sprang,
among crashing timbers, on q floor
laden with impetuous water-the
many perhaps never walked at all, or
woke to but one short prayer. The
few who were saved hardly knew
how they were saved-the many who
died never knew how they were slain
or drowned.


1t has twice been my fortune in
life to see such q storm and know its
sudden destruction; once, to see a
low, broad, shelving farmhouse dis
appear to the ground-timbers before
my eyes, as if its substance had van
ished into air, while great globes of
electric fire burst down and sunk in
to the ground once, to see a pine
forest of centuries growth cut down
as grass by the mower 5 scythe. l
do not think it possible to see a third
and survive and 1 do not wish my
soul to be whirled away in the vortex
Of such a storm.


At noon or later, after the ruin of
Last Island, a gentleman of name
renowned in Southwestern story
found himself clinging to a bush in
the wild waters, lashed by the long
whips Of branches. half dead with
I fear and fatigue. For a time the
urly-burly blinded and hid every
thing, and the long roll rocked and
tore at him in desperate endeavor to
wrench loose his bleeding fingers.
The impules of the wind and storm
at such a time is Of solid body and
there is look Of solidity in the very
appearance of the magnificent force.
But as it abated he thought he heard
faint cry, and looking around he
saw poor girl in the ribbons Of her
night-dress, clinging to branch and
slipping from her feeble hold. Tired
as he was. and wild and dangerous
as the attempt might be, he did not
dare to leave her to perish. Choos-
ing his time in lull. he struck out
to the bush and reached it just as
her ebbing strength gave way. He
took her in his sturdy arms and
clinging with tooth and nail, STAYED
them both to their strange anchor
age. Faint. half conscious. disrobed
as she was, in the sweet, delicate
features, the cerve Of the lip and the
raven tresses clothed in seaweed. lie
recognized the Creole belle of last
nights hop. He cheered and encour-
aged her, pointing out that the storm
was abating, had abated. 1t could
not be long until search-boats came
and while he had strength to live she
should share it. 1t proved true.
Generous and hardy fishers and
ships had come at once to the scene
of disaster and were busy picking up
the few spared by wind and wave.
They found the two clinging togeth-
er and to that slight bush and they
took them off, wrapping them in
ready, rough fishermen's coats. The
reader can see the end Of that story.
A meeting SO appointed had its pre-
destined end in a love-match. So
We leave it and them; the rest of
their lives belongs to them. not
to US.


The pair found by our fishing
smack were a wealthy planter and
his wife. For nine days of starva-
tion and danger they had chung to-
gether. When | think of the hus-
bands manly care in thus abiding
by the wife, find it hard to recon
Gle it with the fact that he only
valued his life and her at a few dol
lars-not enough to compensate the
traveller for the loss incurred as de-
murrage to the fishermen.


Now Last Island IS but a low
sandy reef, on which few strag-