peatedly with great fervour, hanging it finally round her neck and concealing it in her bosom, as if she now felt warranted in wearing the portrait of her future husband. Upon her return to the cabin she ran to caress Brunette, a beautiful little spaniel given to her by Henry, and which had become her inseparable companion; but the animal, instead of bounding and frisking up to meet her as usual, remained panting upon the floor, only answering her soli citations by moaning and whining. It seemed to be suffering severely from the heat; and I then for the first time remarked, that, although there was a an the cabin windows were open, unusual, almost a suffocating closeness in the atmosphere. Going up to the deck to obtain a little fresh air, I observed that the animals, consisting of some foreign sheep and a buffalo which we were taking to Europe as presents, were also panting and moaning, obviously not less distressed than Brunette, by the sultry denseness of the weather. I thought, too, that a sulphureous smell diffused itself around us, and that the sun looked upon us with an angry vengeful eye as it was setting behind a yellow mist, which threw an ominous and ghastly glare over the whole face of creation. Notwithstanding the dead calm that surrounded us, the sea began to swell and heave with a sudden lowing sound, and though our vessel was unvisited by a single breeze, the clouds at a distance were seen scudding rapidly about in different directions, as if anxious to fly from some impending convulsion: presently they all disappeared, the winds remained hushed for a short time, the waters becaine lulled, and yet a deeper and more anxious gloom spread itself over the features of the sea and sky. Such, methought, would be the silent, harrowing, and awe-stricken suspense, such the appalled expression of the face of nature, if the day of judgment were come, when the universal mother shall await in breathless anguish the irrevocable doom of her children. "The captain, to whom I addressed myself for an explanation of these portentous appearances, declared that we should certainly have a typhon, or a tremendous hurricane of some sort during to the night, and instantly proceeded to give or- masts were struck, the foresail and topsails double reefed, and the pumps examined to see that they were in a serviceable state. In the midst of these preparations the sun went down, and we were left for a while in total darkness; nor did the rising of the moon present to us any very cheering sight, for her appearance not only clearly prognosticated a storm, but we were enabled by her light to perceive at no great distance a black and compact cloud, whence a huge dark column descended into the sea, which we water-spout. presently ascertained to be a Where it fell it ploughed up a deep channel in prodigious the ocean, and the spray rising to a height, and illuminated by the moon-beams, as sumed the appearance of a thick smoke. It so far partook of the nature of a whirlwind that it had a rotatory as well as a progressive motion, and I could have admired this sublime phenomenon, as it advanced towards us with a tumul tuous velocity, rushing and roaring, and seeming to drag along with it in its fury the mighty waters of the deep and the dark superincumbent clouds, but that I clearly foresaw we should be overwhelmed with instant destruction if we came within its havoc-spreading range. From this there would have been no escaping, for the winds seemed to be gathered up by the hurricane within its own vortex, and even if our sails could have availed us, it would have been vain to attempt flying from this terrific monster of the elements, which rushed athwart the waters with an incredible speed, as if pursuing some unseen prey. At one moment it approached us SO close that our doom seemed inevitable, terror sate upon the countenances even of the captain and oldest sailors, and the whole crew remained for some moments contemplating it, with all eyes immovably fixed upon the tremendous arbiter of their fate, and all standing transfixed in a dumb and desperate suspense, of which no words can give an adequate description. Fortunately, however, the column suddenly began to waste from below, until at last the whole be › came gradually absorbed into the dark cloud above, and we were almost instantly deluged with a furious torrent of rain, after which the cloud passed away. ut sit gabim toodA 200 With a glad heart I congratulated the cap~tain upon our escape from the threatened danger, which I now considered to be entirely at an end, but he shook his head, looked earnestly to the sky, bade me observe the increased rolling and rising of the sea, which he pronounced to be indicative of a worse hurricane than that which had passed us, and expressed an anxious wish to know from what quarter it would come. From my knowledge of his skill and experience, I had but too much reason to confide in his predictions. Accordingly, when my wife and Agnes, who were of course kept unacquainted with his apprehensions, were about to retire to "rest for the night, I signified my intention of › remaining upon deck for an hour or two, that I 2 02 might learn the result of some astronomical ob servations then about to be made. Nothing oc curred for some time to justify the captain's forebodings, though the increased and alarming swell |