indeed cheerless and desolate, but the Lord om spol. medt brogue of hose whom he loveth whom he chasteneth, and those whom he Iv saved he will assuredly not

the term the

has sɔ mercifully leave to perish. Well might prospect desolate! The storm, indeed, had utterly passed away, the sun was shining with a fierce brightness in a sky of cloudless and intense blue, but its radiance fell upon a barren waste, in vain endeavouring to throw a smile over its features of deformity and death. From the spot on which we stood, the eye w eye wandered to the right and left, over low, jagged, bare rocks, to the sea, where not a vestige of our unfortunate vessel was to be seen, nor was a single fragment of the cargo discernible in any direction. Before us extended the same sterile

T

1

scenery, interspersed with pools of water, and patches of sand, and closed in from sea to sea, at a little distance, by two stupendous rocks, separated from one another by a fearful chasm, which gave them the appearance of having been violently split asunder in some convulsion of

uge' and 'dark-frowning

nature. These huge'

crags,

naked, sultry, and haggard their impassa

ble barrier to the sky, and stood out like colossal

giants, ready to crush and overwhelm whosoever should venture to approach them. Here and there, upon some sloping ledge or projection of their ragged sides, large wild-flowers were to be seen, whose gaudy colours, painfully contrasted with the desolation of nature amid which they grew; and as they waved to and fro in the breeze, I could hardly help imagining that they shook their heads at us in pity, as if ready to exclaim- Alas! poor mortals, what seek ye here? there is hardly earth enough upon these . sun-burnt and squalid rocks to enable us weeds to cling to life; what then can ye hope but to perish miserably?-With a heavy heart I recalled what the mate had said as to the barren nature of the islands in these Southern latitudes, and as I saw before him the withering evidence of his accuracy, I reverted with a still deeper despondency to the sufferings he had once endured, and the probability that we ourselves might be destined to some equally agonizing fate.

"To add to our distress we were all tormented with a parching thirst, partly from the salt water he had swallowed when cast ashore, partly

from the fierceness of the sun to which we had

been exposed when sleeping; and

Po#190 przed act to

trying

some of the pools spread around us, we found them to be all brackish and undrinkable. At this discovery I sate down with a bitter groan, clasped my hands together, and as I gazed upon the verdureless scene of desolation before me,

D

or

conjecturing in vain how we could all avoid dying of hunger thirst, a deep feeling despair took possession of my soul. Under this sickness of the heart I believe I should have sunk, but that my wife, who in this pinch and crisis of our trial possessed greater fortitude than myself, sustained me by her religious confidence. Do not despond, my dear Reuben,' she exclaimed, as she first pressed my hand, and then tenderly kissed it; ' do not despond. Let the past mercies be an assurance of the future; and remember that if we die we have at least the consolation of dying together. I saw no method of escape when we were on board the vessel, yet were we saved; and so may be in this our still more desperate emergency.' At this moment, Agnes, who had

"

6

climbed up a large stone at some little distance in advance of us, cried out that she saw water gushing from the bottom of the fissure between

the two huge rocks. On gaining the elevation upon which she stood I could plainly discover

the same object, and though my mind sadly misgave me that it was nothing but the sea beating through the opening, I ran eagerly forward to ascertain its real quality. The ground continued to rise as I advanced, but after climbing over several intervening fragments, I at length reached a little rocky basin into which a narrow cascade fell from the base of the chasm between the two peaks; and on stooping to taste it, I found it to be pure and a most delicious fresh water, which at that moment seemed sweeter than all the nectar that had ever been quaffed upon Mount Olympus.

"Without staying to satisfy my full thirst, importunate as it was, I rose hastily up to communicate my discovery to my companions, when, upon turning round for that purpose, I beheld an object which afforded me not less astonishment than delight. From the elevation to which

as

I had climbed I was enabled to overlook the rocky ridge under which we had slept, and upon the shore beyond it I beheld the remains of our wrecked vessel, apparently in the same state a when we had abandoned it, and seeming not to have more than a foot or two of water around it. Our position in the hollow had prevented our seeing this object in the morning, and our wanderings in the dark had so deceived me as to our bearings, that even if I had dreamt of its holding together so long, I should never have thought of seeking it in that directions Oh with what alacrity did I hurry back to communicate the double good tidings to my wife and Agnes, and with what an affecting piety did the former behold the finger of Providence in this dispensation, and gratefully receive it as a present earnest of protection and support hereafter ! I was fain to assist them over the rugged and steep approach to the little fountain, which they at length reached in safety, when we all slaked our thirst abundantly, and all pronounced it to bewa beverage of exquisite and surpassing