where my wife read the morning and evening service. One delicious afternoon, when we were thus assembled, I took occasion, in order to dissipate al melancholy which had begun to steak over the mind of Agnes, to expatiate upon the relative happiness of our lot, comparing it to that of our first parents in the garden of Eden, cand contrasting our calm and placidlives with the struggles and heart-burnings of the great world, the gnawings of avarice or ambition, the hollowness of friends, the concealed envy and uncharitableness of some, the open malignity of others, and the fermentation of the hateful passions engendered in that crowded arena, which is termed society. my own part, I continued, my heart has never felt so tranquil and serene as since I have entered into closer communion with Nature, abandoning the pursuit of lucre, and every hope of advancement.I am like the ivy which, while it is climbing, bears neither berries not object but to blossoms, having apparently no object throw out fresh footstalks, and gain a higher elevation; but no sooner is it deprived

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of its customary support than it expands and

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luxuriates in the air, bearing thick fruit, and reposing upon its own settled fertility.' Fanny expressed her perfect and grateful resignation; while Agnes, uttering a deep sigh, exclaimed, that we had indeed been very fortunate, and walked away from us, for her eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

In a few minutes afterwards I heard her clap her hands, and utter a cry of surprize, when she came rushing towards us, her eyes sparkling, and her whole face illuminated with a flush of joy, as she shouted out A sail! a sail! a sail!' and kept pointing towards the sea. As we turned our eyes eagerly in that direction, both Fanny and myself exclaimed at the same moment, It is indeed a sail !'-And the latter grasping my arm, ejaculated-“ Thank God! Reuben, I shall again embrace my child before I die,' Away in a moment flew all our recent thoughts of resignation and contentment with our lot. Agnes, withdrawing the miniature from her bosom, was pressing it in silent rapture to her heart; my wife was upon her knees returning thanks; and as for myself, wildly crying out, My boy!

my boy! my darling boy!' I ran at full speed down the hill to get a light, that I might set fire to the beacon, so as to arrest the attention of the vessel. Returning with breathless haste, I again looked anxiously towards the sail, when my spirits sank, and my mind misgave me, for I observed that it had expanded, and altered its appearance. Still our eyes remained riveted to the object in silent suspense, when lo¦ it gradually enlarged, and finally, rising above the waters, proved to be nothing but a white cloud! We looked at one another, but any attempt at consolation would have been a mockery; our hearts were too full for utter ance; Fanny, my pious and excellent wife, again sate down to her Bible; and Agnes, and myself walked slowly away in different directions, that we might give vent in solitude to the bitterness of our disappointments.

we were

Shortly after this painful occurrence, which proved to me that, whatever might be our occasional professions to the contrary, all secretly yearning with our whole soul for a return to England, I began to observe a

marked change in the appearance of my wife. From the suffering and exposure consequent upon our shipwreck, her constitution had received a severe shock, which she in vain endeavoured to conceal; and I had no medicaments for her relief, nor the skill to administer them if I had. Her strength declined; she was no longer able to join even in the shortest of our excursions; her countenance betrayed the ravages of inward disease, and though she never uttered a word of complaint, and endeavoured to tranquillize my apprehensions, I looked forward with deep anxiety to the effect of the intense periodical heats, now about to set in, especially as Agnes and myself already began to suffer from their fierceness.

"The sun was in its zenith; the grass was burnt up; the parched earth cracked and opened in various places; the drooping trees lost their green tints; the flowers sunk exhausted to the ground; the hum of insects seeking to appease their thirst was heard in all directions; red and angry exhalations, that gave the whole island the appearance of a conflagration, rose up

from the soil as the sun was setting, and instead of the sea-breezes to which we had been accustomed, at hoti unwholesome vapours steamed through the fissure between the great rocks, from which we were not less eager to escape than from the burning rays of the sunst The mind of my poor wife, sustained by an indestructible principle of pious confidence, bore up with an unalterable constancy, affording an affecting and even a sublime example of patience and resignation; but her body sank rapidly under the combined effect of internal decay and an oppressive season. Thus did she for some time linger on, becoming more and more reduced, though no murmur, no syllable of repining, no look of impatience, ever escaped from her, until at length finding her strength rapidly departing, she called us to her side, and taking each of us by the hand, which she gently pressed, exclaimed in a low but calma voice, My dear Reubend my beloved Agnesdolam going to leave you I feel that I am about to die Idove you both dearly, and if everl have offended you I implore you to forgive me.'