The winter had set in unusually early. Along the bleak coast of
Newfoundland, and through its dreary and sparsely inhabited islands,
November blasts raged fiercely, lashing to fury the crested waves that
beat against the giant rocks, which, standing sentinel-like on the
shore, seemed to frown defiantly on them; or laving, far and wide, the
long, flat sand beach, that afforded less obstruction to their impetuous
progress. To a remote part of this dreary coast we would now direct the
attention of our reader. Scarcely fair, even when Summer lavished upon
it her fairest smiles, there, no traces of beauty invited the weary
pilgrim to tarry and rest within their refreshing shade; no garden, gay
with flowers, rang with childish laughter, as the little ones plucked
their fragrant blossoms; but rugged hills, frowning rocks, and desolate
sand beaches, assumed the place of waving woods, smiling corn-fields,
and blooming orchards; while for the melodious notes of woodland
songsters, was heard the wild cry of the stormy petrel, or the shrill
scream of the large sea-gull.
But "Nature never fails the heart that loves her," and while destitute
of the exuberant charms of more genial climes, the spot to which we
allude was not without attraction to an admirer of the sublime and
picturesque.
Nor was there wanting wild beauty in the scene which greeted the
spectator, who might perchance on some lovely summer's morning ascend
the steep hills, or pause for rest on one of the rocky eminences jutting
out into the sea. Before him lay the wide expanse of ocean, reaching far
beyond the keenest vision, calm at that moment as though it had never
been lashed to fury by wailing tempests, and reflecting in its
mirror-like surface the azure heavens that smiled brightly above.
Beneath his feet the stunted herbage assumed its liveliest hue of
emerald green, diversified here and there by some tiny, hardy wild
flowers, while the distant sail, gleaming in the sunlight, and then
passing beyond the eager vision,--the fishermen's huts, scattered here
and there on the rugged and uneven land,--the fishing shallops, and
boats of every variety, that dotted the waters, with their owners, some
standing on the beach, and some in their vessels, but all engaged in the
one occupation of securing and preserving the finny tribe, their only
source of wealth, gave an air of animation to the scene, while the merry
laugh of children, and the cheerful tones of women, as they hurried to
the beach to assist the parent or husband, spoke of social ties, and
seemed to say, that peace and contentment were not alone the associates
of refinement, education, and luxury.
But quite a different aspect did that barren coast present when chilly
Autumn and relentless Winter resumed their dreaded reign. Then, indeed,
to the inhabitant of the city, dreary beyond description would a
residence within one of its small yet hospitable huts appear, and he
must possess resources in himself of no common order, or be sustained by
a lofty sense of duty, who could cheerfully and contentedly remain
through those cheerless seasons.
Standing somewhat isolated, and at a distance from the shore, yet
commanding a fine view of the sea, was a cottage of larger dimensions,
and of neater appearance than the generality of the fishermen's
dwellings. It was built on an irregular tract of land, that sloped down
to the shore, and behind it rose a ragged hill, in summer partially
covered with coarse grass, that concealed its jagged rocks, and lent it
an air of cheerfulness; but now its rude outline, no longer softened by
the verdure and sunshine, presented a weird and desolate appearance. In
front of the cottage, which contained four or five rooms, with a small
attic above, used for storing away provisions, &c., was a piece of
ground, enclosed by a wooden railing, where a few vegetables were
planted each spring; but these had long ago been gathered in, and the
land was now enjoying its Sabbath, to be continued for six long months,
before it would again yield of its productions, for the benefit of its
hardy and thrifty owners.
The interior of the dwelling, though roughly fashioned, and furnished in
the most simple manner, was not uninviting, for there was that
atmosphere of cleanliness and neatness about it, which renders the
rudest spot more attractive than luxurious habitations, where it is
found wanting. Through the centre ran a narrow hall, out of which opened
the different rooms. On the right hand, just as you entered, was a door
leading into a good-sized apartment, fulfilling the united duties of
kitchen, parlor, and sitting-room, while at the opposite side were
several chambers, small, but clean and airy.
In the sitting-room,--for by that term we shall designate the principal
apartment,--a bright coal fire was blazing cheerily in the large open
fire-place, casting its pleasant light over the spotless and carefully
sanded floor, gleaming on the plastered walls, and lingering to see
itself gaily reflected on the shining pewter, and brightly colored delf,
that, neatly arranged on the bowed shelves of the snowy dresser, were
evidently the pride of the housekeeper.
A white cloth covered the rude wooden table that stood in the centre of
the room, and the mistress of the dwelling was hurrying to and fro,
evidently intent on preparing the evening repast, while from the
bake-kettle, that had just been taken from the fire, the fragrance of
newly-baked bread ascended, filling the place with its odor; an odor by
no means ungrateful to appetites, sharpened by manly labor and healthy
sea-breezes.
While the busy matron was thus happily employed in her labors of
love,--for such they emphatically were to her,--the daughter, a girl of
eighteen years of age, and two younger sons, were with their father on
the beach, assisting him in sorting, and putting in barrels, a quantity
of fish, designed for the family's use during the winter.
"It will be a fearful night, father," said the girl, pausing from her
labors, and looking out on the black, swollen waves, while the wind, as
it swept furiously by, more than once obliged her to cling to the rock
for support.
"It will be a fearful night, father," she repeated,--and, hesitating for
a moment, she added, "and brother William is at sea."
"Ay," responded the brawny, stalwart, and good-humored looking man, "it
will be, as you say, lass, a stormy night, and a terrible one, I reckon,
to poor seamen,--for there is more than William on the ocean."
A faint flush tinged with a deeper hue the girl's countenance, already
bronzed by exposure to sun and wind, while her dark grey eye grew moist
with unshed tears. It was evident that there was something deeper in the
old man's speech, than the mere words would seem to imply,--some covert
allusion which thus called forth her emotion.
"The vessel was to have left more than a week ago; it ought to be near
the coast by this time," said the fisherman, in a tone of uneasiness.
He turned to address his daughter, but she was no longer at his side;
and, looking in the distance, he perceived her climbing a high and
jutting rock, from which the ocean, for miles around, was distinctly
visible. Ellen, for that was her name, having at length ascended, stood
with agile yet firm feet on the eminence, shading, with one hand, the
sun, which now, peering from behind a mass of dark purple clouds, lit up
for a moment the turbid waves, and gleamed on rock and beach and
fishermen's huts,--and with the other holding on to the sharp edge of a
projecting rock, that still towered above her. Nor as she thus stood,
was she, by any means, an unpicturesque object; the sunshine glancing on
her neatly arranged brown hair, her tall figure, slight for that of a
hardy fisherman's child, clad in a black skirt and crimson jacket, and
every feature of her speaking countenance wearing a commingled
expression of anxiety, hope, and tenderness.
How her eager vision seemed to catch, in a moment, each feature of the
scene; the sandy beach--the rugged hill--her father's shallop--and he,
standing in the position she had left him, gazing out into the sea; and
with what a lingering, straining glance, did her eyes wander over that
pathless ocean, while her heart sank within her, as she contemplated its
angry and menacing appearance.
"Not a sail in sight," she murmured, "and the night coming on so
fearfully black. Oh, Edward, shall I ever see you again!" was her
exclamation, uttered in a tone full of wild pathos, while the hand, that
had been upraised to shade the sun's rays, fell listless at her side.
"Oh, if you only come back safe again, I shall quarrel with you and
tease you no more,--and you so patient and so good,"--and her quivering
lip, and the expression of anguish that passed over her features, told
how deep and true her emotion.
"It is no use lingering here," she mentally ejaculated, as a fresh blast
of wind nearly swept her from the summit. "I may as well go down at
once." Turning to descend, she paused to take a parting glance at the
distant ocean, whose mercy she would fain have invoked for the loved
ones it bore on its bosom, when something at a distance caught her eager
eye. As one transfixed, she stood there, fearing almost to breathe, lest
a breath might dissolve the vision.
"Yes, a sail is in sight; but, ah, is it the one I look for? Oh, this
cruel suspense, how much longer must I bear it! Father, father," she
cried, and the breeze bore the clear tones of her voice distinctly to
his ear; "father, do come here, for I see a sail yonder, and I think it
is the 'Darling,'" for so, by the lover captain,--doubtless to remind
him of another =darling=, tarrying at home,--the little trim schooner
was designated.
The man quickly obeyed her summons, and soon stood by her side,
scanning, too, with eager eyes, the appearance of the vessel, that was
now, favored by a strong breeze, veering rapidly towards them.
"It looks like her cut, Ellen," said the fisherman; "but we shall see
shortly."
"Yes," said the girl, clapping her hands with delight, while her whole
face was lighted up with joy; "it is her, sure enough, for I see her
blue flag bordered with red, and the white square in the centre."
"Well," said the man, with a good-humored smile, "thine eyes must be a
good deal sharper than mine, lass, for I can barely see a flag at all,
much less its color; but certainly thou ought to know best, when it
happens to be the work of thine own hands."
A merry laugh was the response. "I shall hurry down to tell
mother,"--and with an agile step she bounded down the steep eminence,
and in a few moments reached the door of the dwelling, while the
fisherman hastened to the beach, to be first ready to greet the crew of
the schooner with a hearty welcome home.