they are alone again, plunging into the hollow of the waves.

66

Well, sir, when Paddy Murphy cried out, we looked: and sure enough we saw a great cutter close-hauled, driving right on for us. Her bowsprit seemed to bury itself deep in the water, and a heavy sea tumbled into her, and then her bow tossed up into the air, so near that her bowsprit appeared to be right over us. We gave ourselves over entirely, when she suddenly luffed up. She tacks!' I cried, she tacks!—we are saved! she will soon be on the other tack.' But on the other tack she never got. We heard her sails and sheets rattling, as her head was turned into the wind; but she missed her stays she got stern way upon her-she went down stern foremost: the next sea rolled over her. The Lord have mercy on their souls!' we all cried. Ah, sir, many a time before we had wished them all drownedmany a curse we had heaped upon them; but when their turn actually came, we felt for them just, if you will believe me, they had been our own children.

sir, as if

Sir," said

he, speaking with great feeling, "they put down their helm just for the chance of saving our lives. Who would have expected that from men who earned their livelihood by hunting us down? They were fine fellows, though, that they were, though they sailed in

a cutter.

"By-and-bye the weather cleared up, and we had a tolerable passage over to Cherbourg. There was not much chance of our being picked up as we came back, we thought. We had very fine weather to return with, and we had got three parts of our voyage back without seeing any sail, except one or two big square-rigged vessels working down Channel, when, all of a sudden, close to us. right on for our bowsprit-end, we saw the identical self-same revenue cutter hove to just before us. We could see the people on board just as plain as we ever saw anybody in our lives before. There was one man standing at the helm in a pea-jacket, and the skipper, in a gold-laced cap, walking up and down the deck, looking as comfortable and as important as if he never had been drowned at

all. Indeed, we never would have believed that such a thing could have happened to them, if we had not seen it with our own eyes."

Here Mr. Winterblossom shook his head; and Ragged Jack, probably thinking that it would please the old gentleman, shook his head also. Little was he aware of the deep erudition that was conveyed in the antiquary's shake of the head. The blind man continued his story.

"The skipper then took a speakingtrumpet off the companion, and hailed us to come alongside. Oh! such a horrible, dismal, hollow sound; it was more like the rolling of a distant clap of thunder than the voice of a living being; but then, sir, you must consider that the poor fellow must have been dead at that time somewhat more than six-and-thirty hours. I never felt what it was to be regularly afeard before; the hair of our heads felt as if it was bristling and standing on end, almost, as I may say, like a hair-brush; except indeed Jack Green's, for you must know he had been quite bald at