Saturday wretch can stretch out his hand across the ocean, er bappiness, diverts my mind a while from the one and put a letter into her hand under my very eye. ever-pressing anxiety. But, alas! it will return. Away goes all that I have gained by being near By this time my Helen is on the seas, — the terrible, her, while be is far away. He is not in England the treacherous, the cruel seas, that spare neither now, – he is here. His odious presence has driven beauty nor virtue, nor the longing hearts at home. me from her. O that I could be a child again, or I have conducted this office for some years, and in my grave, to get away from this Hell of Love thought I knew care and anxiety. But I find I knew and Hate.” neither till now. “I have two ships at sea, the Shannon and the is point, we beg leave to take the narrative Proserpine. The Proserpine carries eighteen chests, into our own bands again. of specie, worth a hundred and thirty thousand Mr. Hazel actually left the deck to avoid the sight pounds. I don't care one straw whether she sinks of Helen Rolleston's flushed cheek and beaming eyes, I or swims. But the Shannon carries my darling; reading Arthur Wardlaw's letter. and every gust at night awakens me, and every And here we may as well observe that he retired a day I go into the great room at Lloyd's and watch not merely because the torture was hard to bear. the anemometer. God! be mertiful, and bring He had some disclosures to make, on reaching Eng- | my angel safe to me! 0 God! be just, and strike land ; but his good sense told him this was not the | her not for my offences ! time, or the place, to make them, nor Helen Rolles “Besides the direct perils of the sea are ton the person to whom, in the first instance, they some others you might escape by prudence. ought to be made. Pray avoid the night air, for my sake, who could: While he tries to relieve his swelling heart by not live if any evil befell you; and be careful in putting its throbs on paper (and, in truth, this is your diet. You were not looking so well as usual, some faint relief, for want of which many a less un- , when I left. Would I had words to make you know happy man than Hazel has gone mad), let us stay your own value. Then you would feel it a duty to by the lady's side, and read her letter with her. l be prudent. “ RUSSELL SQUARE, Dec. 15, 1865. "But I must not sadden you with my fears ; let “ MY DEAR LOVE: Hearing that the Antelope me turn to my hopes. How bright they are ; what steam-packet was going to Sydney, by way of Cape joy, what happiness, is sailing towards me, nearer Horn, I have begged the captain, who is under some and nearer every day. I ask myself what am I that obligations to me, to keep a good look-out for the such paradise should be mine. Shannon, bomeward bound, and board her with these. “My love, when we are one, shall we share evlines, weather permitting. ery thought, or shall I keep commerce, speculation, “Of course, the chances are you will not receive and its temptations away from your pure spirit ? them at sea, but still you possibly may; and my Sometimes I think I should like to have neither heart is so full of you, I seize any excuse for over thought nor occupation unshared by you ; and that flowing; and then I picture to myself that bright you would purify trade itself by your contact ; at face reading an unexpected letter in mid ocean, and other times I say to myself, 0, never soil that so I taste beforehand the greatest pleasure my mind angel with your miserable business; but go home to can conceive, — the delight of giving you pleasure, her as if you were going from earth to heaven, for my own sweet Helen. a few blissful hours.' But you shall decide this ** News, I have very little. You know how deep- question, and every other. ly and devotedly you are beloved, - know it so well “Must I close this letter? Must I say no more that I feel words are almost wasted in repeating it. I though I have scarcely begun? Indeed, the time, I hope, is at hand when the word “Yes, I will end, since, perhaps, you will never love.will hardly be mentioned between us. For my see it. part, I think it will be too visible in every act, and “ When I have sealed it, I mean to hold it in my look, and word of mine, to need repetition. We do clasped hands, and so pray the Almighty to take it not speak much about the air we live in. We safe to you, and to bring you safe to him, who can breathe it, and speak with it, not of it. | never know peace nor joy till be sees you once more. " I suppose all lovers are jealous. I think I should “Your devoted and anxious lover, go mad if you were to give me a rival; but then I "ARTHUR WARDLAW.” do not understand that ill-natured jealousy which would rob the beloved object of all affections but the Helen Rolleston read this letter more than once. one. I know my Helen loves her father, - loves She liked it none the less for being disconnected him, perhaps, as well, or better, than she does me. and unbusiness-like. She had seen her Arthur's Well, in spite of that, I love him too. Do you know, business letters; models of courteous conciseness. I never see that erect form, that model of courage She did not value such compositions. This one she and probity come into a room, but I say to myscit; did. She smiled over it, all beaming and blushing; • Here comes my benefactor; but for this man there she kissed it, and read it again, and sat with it in would be no Helen in the world.' Well, dearest, an ber lap. unexpected circumstance has given me a little mil. But, by and by, her mood changed, and, when itary intluence (these things do happen in the City); Mr. Hazel ventured upon deck again, he found her and I really believe that, wbat with his acknowledged with her forehead sinking on her extended arm, and merits (I am secretly informed a very high person- the lax hand of that same arm holding the letter. age said, the other day, he had not received justice), She was crying. and the influence I speak of, a post will shortly be The whole drooping attitude was so lovely, so femoffered to your father that will enable him to live, inine, yet so sad, that Hazel stood irresolute, looking henceforth, in England, with comfort, I might say, / wistfully at her. affluence. Perhaps he might live with us. That de- She caught sight of him, and, by a natural impends upon himself. pulse, turned gently away, as if to hide her tears. “ Looking forward to this, and my can still great-But, the next moment, she altered her mind, and said, Saturday ice of a rival. Yes, sir, you forget that you have beautiful and stilly night; all sounds were magnilet out the motive of this wicked slander. You love fied; and the father of all rats seemed to be gnawme yourself; Heaven forgive me for profaning the ing the ship down below. name of love !" | Hazel's curiosity was excited, and he went softly - Heaven forgive you for blaspheming the pur- down the ladder to see what the sound really was. est, fondest love, that ever one creature laid at the But that was not so easy, for it proved to be below feet of another. Yes, Helen Rolleston, I love you; decks; but he saw a light glimmering through a and will save you from the grave and from the vil- small scuttle abaft the mate's cabin, and the sounds lain Wardlaw; both from one and the other.” were in the neighborhood of that light. “0said Helen,” clenching her teeth, "I hope It now flashed upon Mr. Hazel that this was the this is true; I hope you do love me, you wretch; very quarter where he had heard that mysterious then I may find a way to punish you for belying knocking when the ship was lying-to in the gale. the absent, and stabbing me to the heart, through Upon this a certain degree of vague suspicion behim.” Tgan to mingle with his curiosity. Her throat swelled with a violent convulsion, and He stood still a moment, listening acutely; then she could utter no more for a moment; and she put took off his shoes very quietly, and moved with her white handkerchief to her lips, and drew it noiseless foot towards the scuttle. away discolored slightly with blood. The gnawing still continued. "Ah! you love me," she cried ; "then know, for He put his head through the scuttle, and peered your comfort, that you have shortened my short life into a dark, dismal place, whose very existence was a day or two, by slandering him to my face, you new to him. It was, in fact, a vacant space between monster. Look there at your love, and see what it the cargo and the ship's run. This wooden cavern has done for me." was very narrow, but not less than fifteen feet long. She put the handkerchief under his eyes, with The candle was at the farther end, and between it hate gleaming in her own. and Hazel, a man was working, with his flank turned Mr. Hazel turned ashy pale, and glared at it towards the spectator. This partly intercepted the with horror; he could have seen his own shed, with light.; but still it revealed in a fitful way the huge stoical firmness; but a mortal sickness struck his ribs of the ship, and her inner skin, that formed the beart at the sight of her blood. His hands rose and right-hand partition, so to speak, of this black cavquivered in a peculiar way, his sight left him, andern; and close outside those gaunt timbers, was the strong man, but tender lover, staggered, and fell heard the wash of the sea. heavily on the deck, in a dead swoon, and lay at her There was something solemn in the close proxfeet, pale and motionless. imity of that tremendous element and the narrowShe uttered a scream, and sailors came running. Iness of the wooden barrier. . They lifted him, with rough sympathy; and Hel. The bare place, and the gentle, monotonous wash en Rolleston retired to ber cabin, panting with agi- of the liquid monster, on that calm night, conveyed tation. But she had little or no pity for the slan- to Mr. Hazel's mind a thought akin to David's. derer. She read Arthur Wardlaw's letter again, “ As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there kissed it, wept over it, reproached herself for not is but a step between me and death." having loved the writer enough ; and vowed to re- Judge whether that thought grew weaker or pair that fault. “ Poor slandered Arthur,” said she ; stronger, when, after straining his eyes for some is from this hour I will love you as devotedly as you time, to understand what was going on at that midlove me.” night hour, in that hidden place, he saw who was the workman, and what was his occupation. It was Joseph Wylie, the mate. His profile was CHAPTER IX. illuminated by the candle, and looked ghastly. He AFTER this, Helen Rolleston and Mr. Hazel never had in his hands an auger of enormous size, and spoke. She walked past him on the deck with cold with this he was drilling a great hole through the and haughty contempt. ship's side, just below the water-mark; an act, the He quietly submitted to it; and never presumed effect of which would be to let the sea bodily into to say one word to her again. Only, as his determi- the ship and sink her, with every soul on board, to nation was equal to his delicacy, Miss Rolleston the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. found, one day, a paper on her table, containing ad (To be continued.] vice as to the treatment of disordered lungs, expressed with apparent coldness, and backed by a string of medical authorities, quoted memoriter. ; HOME OF THE LOCUST. She sent this back directly, indorsed with a line, Very great curiosity has been recently excited in pencil, that she would try hard to live, now she by the appearance of locust-clouds in the neighborhad a friend to protect from calumny; but should bood of Jaffa, — the Joppa of the New Testament, use her own judgment as to the means. where they have committed extraordinary devasYet women will be women. She had carefully tations. No parts of the world, save the countries taken a copy of bis advice, before she cast it out bordering on the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, are with scorn. entirely free from the visits of these voracious and He replied, “ Live, with whatever motive you terrible insects, which, as they march over the please ; only live." earth, produce the most startling transformations. To this she vouchsafed no answer; nor did this un-" Before them,” says an ancient writer, " the land is happy man trouble her again, until an occasion of a as the garden of the Lord ; behind them, a howling very different kind arose. wilderness." Take one of them up, and look at it One fine night, he sat on the deck, with his back singly, you would pronounce it far too insignificant against the mainmast, in deep melancholy and list- to occasion the slightest uneasiness; not to speak of lessness, and fell, at last, into a doze, from which he alarm and maddening terror. But the locust is the was wakened by a peculia: sound below. It was a best of all illustrations of what may be effected by |