Year: 1872

Il-lCornhill 1 Magazine.


i


EBB-TIDE.


A furious war of seething waters rag
ing around a battlement of hard, wet
rocks; foam-lashed cliff burying its
feet in an angry sea; and a long, white
fringe of surf drawing line across the
blackness Of the night; sweeping gale
of wind bowling through the hollow
caverns among the rocks, and Il great
ship going to pieces on the reef outside
r an old man STOPPING over some object
which the sea had thrown pitilessly
among the stones, and holding bis Ian
tern forward as if to see what thing it
was he had stumbled over.


"A little brandy, my good fellow "
he shouted, trying to throw his voice
above the loud roars Of the breakers.
sit will do you good. have it. There -


He lifted up the thing which he had
found, and set it on a rock which the
sea in its fury assaulted less mercilessly
than others. BY the lanterns light it
seemed to be a yOnng man, not strik-
ingly handsome, but with well-formed,
regular features, and with mass of
brown hair which lay across his face
like drift of matted sea-weed. He
opened his eyes moment in the glare
OF the lantern, and then dropped back
ward again in swoon.


No use," muttered the old man.
He's most dead already. The old wo-
man will have to tend to him.


Like one who was used to such bur-
dens, he lifted the insensible wait light
ly in his arms and climbed with him by
the steep path to the top of the cliff
above. A little cottage, built far back
from the edge of the rocks, sent one
cheering ray of light cleaving through
the clustering, inky night, far out to
sea; and towards this the old fisherman
made his way. ..ss raf 7S--


Here, MOTHER" he said, bursting open
the door with his foot, and depositing
mis- bundle-for it was little else now
upon couch within; take care of this
one. He's the first. The vessels break
ing up; there may be more. Hot brandy
and plenty of blankets will do it, l
guess t........-.


Mercy upon usr cried the old wo-
man, what good-looking man! Lay
him down there. That's it. Now leave
him to me, Silas Grant, and 60 back and
help the others. I've resurrected more
than one young chap, and old ones too,
that was higher gone than this


Il know it, said Silas. Where is
Flora?' % .'..,-,.t
q sent her off to bed. l was afraid
some of 'em might be brought in here
that even l couldn't resurrect, and there
is no use in seeing such things.


quite right he replied, buttoning up
his coat for another rally into the storm.
Don't let her see him either before
morning. 81


Wrapped snugly in Dame Grants
warm blankets, and with hot water-bot-
ties at his hands and feet, the rescued
man glided, almost without waking
pause, from the Inconsistencies of
death to the insensibility of sleep. To
him the bowling gale and beating storm
without were as the wind and rain of
another world. He heard them not.
He knew nothing of the drifting spars
and. timbers and pieces of wreck that
cane floating to the shore all night;
some with clinging cargoes of breath
ing, yet half-drowned, life; some with
only freight of ghastly death; some
with not even that poor load, but knot
ted with ends OF rope and pieces OF torn
handkerchiefs from which the owners
had lost their hold, and sunk for ever in
the boiling, foaming sea. He heard
nothing of the crashing breakers on the
shore below; saw nothing of the bea-
con-fires lighted along the cliffs for the
guidance of any boat that might be
struggling from the vessel towards the
shore. 1t was not till long afterwards
that he knew the story of that dreadful
night and of his own rescue. Then they
told him OF the dead mother whom the
sea had hurled pitiously ashore with
her lifeless infant clasped close to her
cold bosom, and her long hair sweeping
its baby face; and of that other silent
story of woman's love, where one,
wheh in the heaviest of the surf, and al
most within reach of help, on looking
round in the glare of the beacons, and
seeing that her husband had lost hold
upon the slender spar that had thus far
borne them both, let go her own grasp
also, and followed him to death without
a cry. Through all these things he
slept in peaceful Inconsistencies.


When he awoke, it was to light and
life. The first object that met his OPEN
ing eyes was one so unreal and beauti-
full that he doubted whether it belonged
to heaven or earth. At the window
near his bed sat young and slender
figure, with faithful frank blue eyes,
bending over some pretty work in
worsted. Lovely as was the rosy beau
ty of her cheeks, yet was it surpassed
by the glory of her long and wondrous
hair, which dropped downward upon
her shoulders in the morning sunlight
for the storm had broken with the
day-in ripping fall of glowing gold.
He gazed at her in silence for several
moments before he could collect his
confused thoughts. .t...


'How long have you been herc1' he
asked, at length. ....
) She left her seat and came to his side
sottIv