Emma V. Hallett

“ I was watching those fleecy clouds, until they seemed to be little waves in which the stars were sailing upward, up, and as they looked back to us, their smile seemed to grow purer; and I think I can see Quady among them. Don't you see him, Vingo?"
"Does you mean dose little black specks in de moon, missy?"
"No, Quady is one of the bright ones now; and you will be made white, too, when you go there. Don't you want to go and be one of those bright ones, Vingo?"
"Does all de white folks go dar?"
"Yes, if they love God when they are here; if they are good he will take them home to be with him." ”

“ The Sea-flower and his mother! his eyes fill with tears, and his heart is swelling into his throat; he is upon the point of retracing his steps, when his eye rests upon the features of his father. The daring boldness of the expression, which the artist had but too well portrayed, fires him with fresh courage; every nerve thrills with new life, and kissing the inanimate canvas, as if it were indeed his dear mother and sister, he tore himself away from home. Walking rapidly down the deserted street, without venturing a look back, he passes many an endeared object ”

“ Reader, you may visit Nantucket's sea-girt isle, you may walk those peaceful shores where she loved to roam; you may meet there that lone man on the shore; you will approach him with feelings of deep regard, not unlike reverence; but do not hesitate to inquire of him for the grave of the Sea-flower. With eyes fixed upon the ocean's blue, pointing with his finger heavenward, he will direct you to a grassy mound, at whose head is a weeping willow, upon the broad trunk of which is wrought in letters of pearl,--"The Sea-flower awaits for thee." ”

“ The joyous mirth which abode in Winnie's nature had superseded, in a measure, days of deep mourning; yet this first taste of earth's sorrow had left an impress upon her mind never to be erased; and though thoughtless ones perhaps observed no change in her young, elastic spirits, there was one, gentle and youthful, who had been to her as a mother in her bereavement,--the Sea-flower. She could see that the death of a loved one had wrought a good work upon the heart of her friend, as it may with us all, if we will lie passive in the hands of the workman. ”

“ Harry had left his firing, and ascending the hurricane deck, stood with folded arms, as if bracing himself to meet the foe. It is coming in all its fury! kind heaven! the fog lifts! it rolls itself away as it were a great scroll. The ink-black heavens are fearfully majestic, seen in the lightning's lurid glare. A speck! yes, 't is the boats! do they see them? Once more the boy flies to the cannon, not pausing to see if they are nearing the ship; his heart beats wildly; 'tis their only chance for life! the hurricane has burst upon them! the enraged deep responds loudly to the deafening roar! ”

“ There is no spot within your heart of love which is not occupied. Could I have left home with a mother's blessing, I should be happier; but she will pray for her boy; the gentle breeze which fills our sail will bear her "God bless you" to the ear of him who will think of the dear ones at home, until he shall once more fill his place in that dearest of family circles, and thank God, my mother has such an one as you to lean upon. Farewell, dear Sea-flower, until we meet again. BROTHER HARRY."
He had gone! Could it be possible? How could she speak those cruel words to her mother? ”

“ Delwood was thunderstruck.
"Indeed, I never could have mistrusted Mrs. Santon's character was so vile!" said he; "but I can sooner believe this than that darkness is born of light. And has Miss Grosvenor suffered the ill-will of this cruel, cruel woman, and never lisped a word but should lead others to respect her? Noble girl that she is! thrice noble have these very evil designings proved her! 'Tis useless for intrigue to cope with purity."
"And she bade you come and see for yourself. What meaning is there in that?" asked Winnie; for surely such an act would go to prove her innocence." ”

“ I met with sorrow at an early age; the young wife of my choice was taken from me, and I should have been overwhelmed with grief, had not the precious boon left to me by her, claimed my heart-felt love; the beautiful babe smiled upon me, and I felt rebuked in spirit that I should thus murmur at God's will, when in his loving kindness he had spared to me this, her very likeness, and I came to smile again. I could then smile upon his chastening rod, but,"--and a deep shudder thrilled his frame, "I have since been led to ask myself if there is a God! O! can a good God thus afflict his children?" ”

“ The child grew in strength and beauty, and was a source of great amusement to them all. Old Vingo would delight to make one of his "squantums," as he called it, to the shore; and with master Harry, who was now taking his first lessons in driving, (a point once attained, boyhood thinks to gain no higher) and Sea-flower in his arms; with Nep, who is determined to be "head horse," bounding off in the distance, is happiness enough for the negro, and his white teeth glisten in the bright sunshine like so many African pearls, as he jabbers away to Sea-flower, as if she were comprehending the whole. ”

“ The Sea-flower saw that her brother hesitated in giving her his usual salutation, and throwing herself into his arms, she said,--"I am the little Sea-flower still, dear Harry; I shall always be the same simple child; but how you have grown, dear brother! I can hardly believe you are the little rogue who used to hide my pet kitten, because you loved to see the tears come into my eyes, and you would look at me without speaking a word, till I would laugh outright, and break the charm, as you said; and then the tears would come in your own eyes, for fear you had been selfish. ”

“ Santon's reply; and we heartily respond, "May she have her reward!"
Never a word did Mrs. Santon receive from the Sea-flower, in return for her ungenerous treatment of her, other than tones of kindness; and Natalie was happy under this new dispensation, for she said within herself,--"I am but bearing a part of the burden which would crush dear Winnie's heart;" and so she sang and played with her usual glad spirit, gliding about the house with simple dignity, with a cheering word for every one, and, as Biddy said,--"she was an escaped ray of light, too bright for the darkness to hide." ”

“ In my dreams I have had sweet visions of a beauteous being, who has smiled upon me, and made me happy. The Madonna awakens all those pure feelings, and I cannot but look upon her as in some way connected with my being; yet my own mother lives, and my affection for her is as for no other being upon the earth."
"She is in heaven," mused the artist.
At this moment the door opened, and who should enter but Clarence Delwood, who was much surprised to find Natalie thus unattended, in earnest conversation with the mysterious artist. ”

“ Once again the feeble voice of the cannon is doing its best to be heard, when lo! the flash mingling with the forked lightnings which play in the rigging, reveals the men, as they come tumbling over the ship's side! They are saved! saved by that noble boy, who does not know of their approach, so intent is he upon his exertions, until Sampson clasps him in his arms, and a "God bless you!" is upon the lips of every man, save the captain, who, having received a slight wound from a harpoon, and irritated by their bad luck, utters a curse which vies in blackness with that dreadful night. ”

“ I could tell its light from among a thousand! As I caught its last rays then, it seemed to me the pensive, forgiving smile of my mother, for, as you know, I came away from home without my mother's consent; but I long ago received her forgiveness, and everything will be forgotten in the happiness which we shall enjoy at meeting once more. And my father, he is at home by this time! How surprised they will all be to see me grown almost to be a man! I hope the Sea-flower is the same little fairy still. She will not always be a bud, however; yet the opening flower has greater charms. ”

“ A faint smile plays with the dimples around her mouth, and but for the words she whispers, one might indeed think her intent upon the ripples which kiss the shore at her feet; but no, she is transported to where the breaker's roar is heard, and a proud, noble form she sees,--his piercing eye bent upon the sea. Full well she knows for whom his heart thus wildly beats; "dear, good Clarence," she whispers, and starting from her revery, she kneels in prayer. "My Father, God, thou art merciful unto the weakest of thy frail ones, keep thou my heart to thee alone; may I have no other gods before thee ”

“ Sampson saw that the seal of death was stamped upon his features, and at set of sun, with an imprecation upon his dying lips, he had breathed his last. O, how fearful to enter that spirit land thus unprepared! to come before our Judge with a soul stained in the deepest sins, trembling with its burden of guilt. Lord, grant that we be not thus found when thou shalt call! Give us strength to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, so that at the last, we shall taste those joys which exist "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." ”

“ On the banks of the still waters of peace, 'neath the willows, whose tears are of innocence, frisk the tender lambs, who taste only of the sweets of the green pasture:--"I shall see what old ocean is made of." Far away in coral dells, where the nymphs of ocean tune their harps in praise to Nature's God, the Sea-flower loves to ramble, as if she had been a child in time long past, and the mysteries of ocean were that childhood's home. ”

“ Ah, who is he,--on whom young men and maidens look with pitying eye? to whom the old man lifts his hat, and little children cease from their sports as he passes, and quietly slip the innocent daisy, or the sweet-scented arbutus into his hand, which they have culled from the wide commons, where, they have been told, the good Sea-flower loved to stray.
It is Clarence Delwood! his has been a bitter, bitter draught; yet its dregs have in a measure lost their power, for he has learned that 't is his Father holds the cup. ”

“ What cell of goodness is there within the human heart, of which the breath of sorrow cannot raise the valve? In a word, what countless numbers of souls have been stayed in their mad career, have been saved from eternal destruction, through the chastening rod of the Lord.
It was the morning after the sailing of the Nautilus; the Sea-flower had arisen with the sun, and calling for old Nep, as was her wont, to accompany her on her morning's walk, she tripped lightly along, humming a farewell to the last altheas, as they nodded their shrivelled heads, in view of their departure ”

“ Yet, as alone he sits beneath the silent night, there where she last told to him her love, he fancies that the stars in pity smile upon him, and as one more gentle than the rest, leaves its place in the heavens and slowly descends, drawing nearer and nearer, finally resting upon the bosom of ocean,--he listens, for the music of her harp strikes upon his soul, and in the crested billows which play at his feet, a shining form he sees, her robe all sparkling with the pearly drops of the sea. ”

“ Grosvenor, though somewhat advanced in life, still retains that peculiar freshness of her earlier days; and as she proudly glances upon the young man by her side, calling him "my son," you can hardly recognize in his athletic form the little sailor-boy of other days; yet it is none other, although he has arrived to the dignity of captain, and as Sampson prophesied, a smarter man never sailed the ocean. But who is this witching beauty at his side, who would fain impress you with a belief that that mischief which will not remain concealed for the briefest period, is not her entire composition? ”