Year: 1873




the wild and terrible story of Last Island


Last Island was the Saratoga and Long
Branch of the South, the, southermost
watering-place in the Gulf. Situated on a
fertile coral bisland, enriched by innumer-
able flocks of wild-fowl, art had brought
its wealth of fruit and flowers to perfec.
ton. The cocoanut-palm, date palm, and
orange orchards contrasted their rich foli
age in the sunshine with the pineapple,
banana, and the rich soft turf of the mes
quitgrass. The air was fragrant with
magnolia and orange bloom, the gardens
glittering with the burning beauty of
tropical flowers, jessamine thickets, and
voluptuous grape arbors, the golden wine
Ike sun pouring Intoxicating balm over
it graceful white cottages festooned with
vines, with curying chalet or Chinese roofs
colored red; pinnacled arbors and shad-
owy retreats Of espaliers, pretty as acoral
groves and fair, shining hotel in the
midst VI With arcades and porches and gal
leries ~@thexery dream of ease and luxury,
as delicate and trim as if made out of cut
paper in many forms of prettiness. Here
was the nabob's retreat; in this balmy
garden of delight all that luxury, art, and
voluptuous desire could hint or hope for
was.collected, nothing harsh, or poor,
9g rugged, jarred the fullness Of its luxu-
rfous ease.


Ten nights before, its fragrant atmos-
phere was broken into beautiful ripples
by the clang and harmony of dancing
music. 1t was the night of the chop"
The hotel was crowded. Yachts and
pleasure vessels, pretty as the petals of a
flower tossed on the water, or as graceful
shells, banked the shores; and the steam
er at twilight came breathing short, ex-
cited breaths, with the last relay, for it
was, the last of the summer season. In
their light, airy dresses, as the music
swan and sung brighteyed girls floated
in graceful waltzes down the voluptuous
waves of sound, and the CLEAN of light
and color was like butterfy's ball. The
queenly, luscious night sank deeper, and
lovers strolled in ianp.lighted arcades,
and dreamed and hoped of life like that
the fairy existence of love and peace; and
so till, tired of play, sleep and rest came
in the small hours.


Hush All at once came the storm, not,
as in northern latitudes, with premonitory
murmur and fretting, lashing itself by
slow degrees 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 lit
tie isle, it flung the bulk of waters with
all its huge brawny force right upon the
cutpaper prettiness, and broke them into
sand and splinters. OF all those pretty
children with blue and opalescent eyes,
arrayed like flowers of the field; of all
those lovers dreaming of love in summer
dalliance and of cottages among figs and
olives; of all the vigorous manhood and
ripe womanhood, with all the skill and
courage of success in them, not tithe was
saved. The ghastly nav of the waters
covered them and swallowed them. A
few sprang, among crashing timbers, on
floor laden with impetuous water-the
many, perhaps, never walked at al ], 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 a storm and to know its sudden
destructiveness once, to see a low, broad,
shelving farmhouse disappear TO the
ground timbers before my eyes, as if its
substance had vanished into air, while
great globes of electric fire burst down and
sunk into the ground; once, to see pine
forest Of centuries growth cut down as
grass by the mowers scythe. do not
think it possible to see third and sur
Wye, and / 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, gentleman of name renowned
in Southwestern story found himself cling
ing to bush in the wild waters, lashed
by the long whips of branches, half dead
with fatigue and, fear For a time the
hurly- -buriy blinded and hid everything,
and the long roll rocked and tore at him
In 10 doc IN 1Oncn
bleeding fingers. The impulse of the
wind and storm at such time is as of a
solid body, and there is a 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 Choosing his time in Hull, he
struck out to the bush, and reached it
Just as heeasebbing strength gave way.
He took her in his sturdy arms, and,
clinging with tooth and nail, stayed
them both to their strange anchorage.
Faint, halfconscious, disrobed as she was
in the sweet, delicate features, the curve
of the lip, and the raven tresses clothed
in sea weed, he recognized the Creole belle
of last nights hop. He cheered and en-
couraged 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 together and
to that slight bush. and took them off,
wrapping them in ready, tough fisher
mems coats The reader can see the end
of the story. A meeting so appointed had
it's pfedestined end in love match So
we leave it and them; the rest of their
| ivesibelongs to them, not to us.


The pair found by our fishing, smack
were a wealthy planter and his wife. For
nine DAYS of starvation and danger they
had clung together When think of the
husbands manly care in thus abiding by
the wife, 2 find II hard TO reconcile it with
the fact that he only valued his life and
hers at few dollars-not enough to COM
pensate the traveller forthe loss incurred
as denhIrrage to the fishermen.


Now Last Island is but a low sandy
reef, on which few struggling fruit trees
trysto keep tho remembrance of its by
gone beauty. 1t is as bare and desolate
as the bones of those who filled its halls
in the cataclysm of that dreadful night
| bones which now waste to whiteness on
sterile shores or are wrought into coral in
the under-sea.


tas Adventure With a Madman.