few torn pieces, for a minute or two, my wife brought a candle from the locker, which we lighted, and then joyfully proceeded to change ourselves: the rain, meanwhile, continued to fall in a deluge over our heads upon the deck, as if the very sky was coming down. We took off our dripping clothes, and put on our light night things. It was not cold; yet we felt chilly after our wetting. I now thought of the captain's case of hollands, and, without saying a word to Eliza, I brought out a bottle, and set her an example by taking a sup of it, and made her do the same. Having done this, we only said " God preserve us!" and went to bed, leaving the candle burning in a candlestick, standing on the plate. We could not sleep, the falling of the rain beat so heavily on the deck: but there was no wind. "Edward," said she, "we shall have another hurricane let us put in the dead-lights." "There can be no occasion for them, my love," I replied; 66 we have no sea to encounter here; we are in a secure and protected harbour."—"Oh! I know,” resumed she, tremblingly, "that it will soon begin to thunder and lighten, and blow a tempest; and it will be dreadful !”. "Well, but my own!" replied I, “we are safe; and you express more fear than when we really were in danger!" She sobbed. "You weep, Eliza," cried I; "what is the matter?"

"We have gone to bed, Edward," exclaimed she, "when most called upon, without praying to that God who hitherto has been to us a father." I felt the justice of the remark, and, embracing her with respondent tears, we rose upon our knees, and implored forgiveness and protection. We then lay

down in peace: the rain continued to pour in torrents; and soon we heard the howling of the wind: but, as it did not come in at the cabin windows, I concluded it was from the westward. Still, as the companion doors were open, and the cabin windows open, there was a thorough draft; and the rain beat through the cabin with the wind, and the candle was blown out. I got up and drew down all the windows in the cabin, and shut the door; and struck a light again with some difficulty, and, having relit our candle, I placed it on the floor, near to the cabin bulkhead, out of the way of the draft. I then lay down, but could not sleep: the wind howled tremendously; and I now feared every moment that the brig would break adrift, as it blew right ahead, and the ropes by which she was fastened to the rocks were very slender. At last, I could no longer continue in bed; therefore got up, and went forth to look out at the companion door; but the wind and rain drove so furiously in my face, and, besides, it was so dark withal, that I could see nothing. In this attempt, however, I was completely wet; and as I could not be more so, I determined to keep my station at the top of the companion ladder, until I had shut both the half-doors. That done, on coming down, I perceived we were all afloat in the steerage passage: still I gained by having closed the doors; for, by excluding some of the noise from the storm above, our situation became more comfortable. I lost no time in putting on a dry garment, and sat down on a chair beside my wife's bed, in the state-room, the door of which opened into the cabin; and, by its

position with respect to the companion door, we had not felt either the wind or the rain, excepting in their terrific sounds. "Edward," said she, "you have again been sadly wet; take a little more hollands." I did not reject her advice, but took a second small dose of the captain's cordial, which I found very comforting. At length the rain ceased; but the wind, if we could judge by its roaring noise, blew more violently. I listened attentively to every sound, to distinguish, if possible, whether the ropes were giving way; and I got up from my seat several times, to endeavour to see from the cabin windows whether we were yet close in our harbour. I threw one of them open, to enable me the better to discover our situation; but I could discern nothing but the water, covered with a sort of phosphorescent light; it could not be from any thing else, for the heavens were all darkness above. No rest visited our eye-lids; and during this suspense, I may say agony, we remained till day-light, the dawn of which was indeed gladness to our hearts; it released us from all dark apprehensions of jeopardy; and our ease was completed, by discovering that we remained unmoved from our safe situation. The wind lulled; but the rain continued to pour down unceasingly: I was glad, however, to throw open the cabin windows, for it had become very close and oppressive. On looking out, I could see little change in the usual scene around us: the wind had blown from the northward and westward; and as we lay under the lee of the sand-banks, the water was quite smooth beyond us, and nothing seen floating on it. My first business was to get a swab and an empty bucket,

and swab up into it all the wet in the steerage passage and cabin. The rain had now ceased; I therefore set open the companion doors; and the windows of the cabin being already so, the thorough draft soon dried all below. When I went into the state-room to my wife, to tell her it was comfortable again, I found her sound asleep; and happy I was to see her so sweetly rest, after our anxious night. I watched by her; but she soon opened her fine mild eyes, and smiled on me. I kissed her serene forehead, and then both those sweet eyes, one after the other; and taking her by the hand, said, "Rise, my love, and let us pour out our gratitude to heaven."

The weather continued unsettled; and as we foresaw more squalls of wind, with rain, my Eliza remained in the vessel to prepare us a cold breakfast, and I set forth to see the state of our live stock on shore; and with much apprehension for its fate, to reconnoitre the plank-house that had cost me so much labour. I took some corn with me, and was glad to find the goats and fowls in the cave, and the ducks safe on its outside; there being a sort of ledge before it, which they could not ascend. I scattered some of the corn about, and in an instant a whole flock of pigeons flew down from the interior of the cave, and began to feed among the goats and poultry, the fowls now and then startling them from their feast by pecking them; but as no hostile hand had ever been raised against them, they evinced no more fear of me than of the animals; and as they were older possessors of the island, I did not grudge them, on this occasion, a little share of what was

going. I then turned my steps, to examine the plank-house: I was rejoiced to find it standing unmoved, excepting only two of the planks on the eastern part of the roof, which had been blown off, and were lying on the sand near to it. I did not stop to walk over to the western shore of the isthmus, on which the wind had blown with violence during the night; but hastened back to the vessel, lest my dear wife should be uneasy. I told her that all was well, but that it looked black around, so that we might expect more bad weather. She was

feeding the ducks in the coop, when I came on board; and Fidele, her faithful squire, was helping her in the best way he could, by eating the bigger pieces of biscuit, such as he thought might choke the poultry. We now went down to our own breakfast; after which, we considered how to employ our time to the best purpose on board, as the weather would preclude our doing any thing on shore; however, I thought it right to inspect the ropes, fastened from the brig to the rocks, and gladly found they had not been stranded in any part; the fact being, that the vessel was hard and fast in the sand, fore and aft, and was therefore immovable. I next thought it well to take a spell at the pumps, and it was an hour before the pump sucked; so that I perceived I must not neglect this operation, but now and then pump as a duty. I then took the boards into the cabin; and having the carpenter's chest at my command, I resolved on employing myself in making the small table for the plank-house, while my wife occupied herself with her needle on a new pair of boot-legs.