the undergrowth-yet running with all my powers and shouting with might and main.

It took me a good two hours before I got another sight of the bay. It was empty-the brig by this time but a speck on the horizon !

"Well, sirs, I sat down. I sat and sat, and felt stupider and stupider as the day wore on. And then hunger began to fight with stupidity, and a rare tussle they had. Hunger won. I hobbled along the shore in search of shellfish, but not one did I find, and finally had to put up with a few berries that I managed to pull from the shrubs that lined the beach.

"Next day, though, I had better luck. Somehow I had kept hold of my thick stick all the time-chiefly, I think, because it had never occurred to me to throw it away. And now in the early morning I came on a seal, sunning itself on the beach. I knocked it over, cut it open, and ate its liver ravenously. Before an hour was out, it turned me deadly sick. and thought that all was over.

I lay down

"In two hours more I was so far recovered as to get on my feet again, and ramble a bit further. This time I knocked over a tortoise and, being empty again, made a good meal off him. This gave me heart to return to the seal. I set to work, cut it up, and spread the strips on the sand to dry. "Well, sirs, I don't want to make this a long yarn. that seal, and I passed just three weeks on that island. up and down the shore, and at night I crept back to the woods to sleep. As soon as the seal was eaten, I had to make my dinner off berries only. There were plenty of fish in the sea, and there were plenty of birds that time after time came close to me; but, you see, I had neither fish-hooks nor gun.

I lived for a week on
All day long I paced

"One night, instead of returning to the woods, I lay down and slept on the beach. You may guess how I felt when I opened my eyes and saw a big seal lying cheek-by-jowl with me on the sand. By bad luck, I had before this mislaid my thick stick; but none the less I resolved to have a dinner at any risk. So I caught the seal round the throat, and about the sand we rolled-first one atop, then the other-until we soused into the sea together. And with that I found I was getting the worst of it, and was glad enough to scramble ashore with a whole skin.

"By the twenty-first day my strength was spent. If no help comes in twenty-four hours,' said I, why, then I must die;' and with that I crawled up-hill once more, with precious little hope of ever coming down again. Every step was pain, and I took the best part of the day in reaching the summit. I looked around.

"There was a dark speck on the horizon. It grew and grew, and at length I saw clearly it was a sail. What was more, I had no need to signal, for the ship was making straight for the island. Down the hill I tottered-Heaven knows how-and gained the beach, just as she entered the harbour. I saw her drop anchor and lower a boat; and that was all I saw before I fainted off.

"Well, I came round, and there were a dozen good British mariners standing round,―aye, sirs, and when I asked for water they gave me grogwhich is the way they differed from the landlord here, who, when you ask for grog, brings you water-and-gentlemen, are your glasses charged? Then, here's to the memory of Captain Cook!-for 'twas he that saved me.”

IV.

There is a tradition that, in the year 1615, the ordinary passage-boat between England and Ireland fell in with a French privateer and was taken. A stiff gale arose, however, and forced the Frenchmen to relinquish their prey. The tow-rope was cut, and the boat, with three occupants, was left to the mercy of the sea. The Frenchmen had left nothing but a little sugar on board; and death soon carried off one of the three unfortunate men. The two survivors rowed on desperately for a while, and then sank to the bottom of the boat, too feeble to do anything but wait for their doom.

The boat, however, was driven on a rock, close to a deserted island off the Scotch coast; and on this island the pair contrived to land. Not a tree, not a blade of grass was to be seen. A couple of long stones supporting a third might have given gratification to a modern tourist, but were viewed with indifference by these enforced wanderers. However, they crept under these relics of antiquity for the night.

Next day they found strength enough to make an expedition, and lit on a few sea-birds' eggs hidden among the cliffs. On this fare and on such fresh water as they could find in fissures and cavities of the rocks they eked out a wretched existence, tempering their misery now and then with the flesh of seadogs and sea-mews that they managed somehow to entrap. Out of the shattered boat they patched up a rough dwelling-place, and thus lived for six weeks; at the end of which time one of the pair disappeared. He never returned: and his comrade could only conjecture him to have fallen into the sea when in quest of eggs.

The survivor soon after lost his only weapon, his knife, and was forced to fashion a substitute out of a nail taken from the wrecked boat. Before winter came, his clothes were worn out; and when snow fell, it obliged him to risk starvation and remain indoors. However, he managed to sustain life by poking out a baited stick through a crevice of his hut, and so catching a few hungry sea-birds. It was only after eleven months thus miserably passed that a Flemish timber-vessel, under the command of Pickman, the recoverer of the Armada guns, ran aground near the island. A few of the crew landed and began to search the rocks for eggs. While thus engaged they caught sight of a naked hairy man running towards them with joyful outeries. Taking him for a pirate, they rushed towards their ship. The castaway followed. At length

looking back, they saw him drop on his knees, and took courage enough to approach him. His tale was soon told, and he was taken on board. Pretty soon the wind rose and sent the timber-ship into deep water; whereupon they made all speed for London, whence the castaway found his way safely home.

The truth of the above story is likely enough. But here is another more modern and better authenticated. It relates to the Saint Abbs, wrecked on a reef off San Juan de Nuova in 1855. Out of twenty-eight people on board, six contrived to reach the shore. The story shall be told by one of the castaways, Cadet (afterwards Captain) Ross:

"It was," he says, "a low, flat island, about a mile in circumference; all sand, and covered with birds and their eggs. We sucked some raw eggs and passed a miserable night. Next morning, at daybreak, we went to see if we could render the other poor fellows any assistance; but during the night the ship must have broken up, and all the poor fellows doubtless perished. There was no water in the island, and we could not make a fire, so that we had to eat raw birds and suck eggs. The birds were in thousands and quite tame. We were four days without a fire, but at length succeeded in making one. We also picked up some wine and spirits, but had no water. However, we drank champagne, and so kept ourselves alive. Every morning, some men were sent on the reef, and picked up what they could; but we could get nothing eatable except a few preserves, which were not of much use.

"We lived in this manner for fourteen days, when (as it was full moon) we determined to try and walk across the reef at low water to the other island, which appeared larger and better. We set out early in the morning, and dragged a raft across the reef with all our stock of wine and spirits. The distance was about seven miles, over sharp coral rocks, and as we had no shoes on, it was fearful work. The island turned out to be a large one, about fifteen miles long. We then knew it to be Juan de Nuova. Next morning, we explored for water, and the skipper and another man came back with the news that they had found a well and a hut at the very end of the island. Next day we went there, and found a good well and a small hut built of bamboo and leaves. There were plenty of birds, and we found some turtle made fast in a hut in the sea. We had plenty of water now, and could cook broth and boil birds and eggs. We lived in this style for another fortnight, when a small schooner hove in sight; we made all the signals we could, with shirts, &c., and she observed us. She had come from the island of Mahé for the turtle. She remained six days at San Juan de Nuova, when we six embarked for Mahé, and arrived safe and sound."

THE STORY OF A SIEGE. AUGUST, 1642.

OU know, of course, that 'twas on the 25th of August (1642) that the King raised his standard at Nottingham, and so began the strife that afterwards devastated England with fire and sword. My master, Colonel Purefoy, of Caldecote Hall, in Warwickshire, was a Parliament man and an ardent supporter of the Reformed religion. Master Richard Vines, the Vicar of Caldecote and a sturdy preacher, was used to call my master a "root and branch man," which, indeed, he was. He sat in Parliament for the borough of Warwick, and at the first breaking out of the troubles raised all the men upon his estate and led them off to Coventry, to be a reinforcement to Lord Brooke, and so had left us, little thinking that any mischief threatened us beside the quiet river Anker.

"I was a child at the time, but old enough to understand something of affairs; and, you may be sure, listened eagerly to all the news that reached

us. We had heard that the King had tried to seize on the castle at Hull, and had sent his nephews, Prince Rupert and Prince Morris, wild devil-may-care fellows, harum-scaruming through the country, frightening honest folks and doing little good but to set them against the King. Well, the King got together a parcel of gentlemen and troopers and came to Coventry. And 'twas 'Open the gates forthwith!' with him, as bold as you please. But the honest citizens shook their heads and answered very civilly that they could not admit him, and would he please to go elsewhere? For his Majesty, they said, he was welcome to come in by himself: but they had no mind to entertain all the tag-rag of the country. On hearing this, the King flew into a mighty rage and hurried off to Stoneleigh, and sent his cannon across to batter Coventry gates down.

"This put us in a great quandary, for we could hear the thunder of the ordnance quite plain; and shook in our beds o' nights at the sound of it. And one afternoon a man, that was passing along the high-road, stopped and told us that the King's party had forced the gates and were setting fire to the city, besides killing and ravishing right and left. All of which we afterwards found to be a lie. But at the time we ran up to the top of the church tower, whence we could indeed espy a great smoke, but whether 'twas from the powder of the culverels or the burning houses we could not tell.

"Now on the 28th, which was Sunday, Colonel Purefoy posts over from Warwick Castle in a mighty sweat to see Master George Abbot. Master Abbot was his son-in-law, and managed the Hall for the time: and the reason of the Colonel's coming was to concert with him about the raising more men to join my Lord Brooke (who was by this time gone to Northampton), and also to see about sending more provision to Sir Edward Peto, then in command of Warwick Castle and daily expecting to be besieged. Now for provision, I believe we had a plenty but as for fighting men, we were but women, children, and cripplesas you shall hear.

"I recollect that Sunday morning well-a fiery hot day. The sun was blazing on the leads as I climbed up the top of the church tower to see if I could mark anything of Coventry spires and the fire, for I was anxious about my father. My uncle Robin and three men had come over with the Colonel : but there were but nine altogether (including the Colonel and Master George) about the house, and some of these men had wives in the village.

"I, as I have said, went up the tower to look towards Coventry, but I could see nothing except a little smoke. I was looking at our river Anker, that shone very bright in the sunlight, and thinking how pleasant it looked, when, as I thought, I saw the river moving in the distance.

"Upon this I rubbed my eyes and looked again: and now I saw it was the steel jackets of a multitude of soldiers: and they wound along the road and glistened as 'twere a great silver serpent coming towards me. I stood looking at them for a minute: and this was time enough to tell me they were not