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VOL. 11.
THE CABINET
Is published every Saturday by P. L.
ROBINSON, Warrenton. Geo. at
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►Select Tales.
FRuM THE AMULET FOR 1829.
THE FISHERMAN.
It was as calm an evening as ever
came from Heaven, —the sky and the
earth were as tranquil, as if no storm
from the one had ever disturbed the
repose of the other: & even the ocean
•—that great highway of the world—
lay as gentle as it its bosom bad never
betray ed,; —as if no traveller had ever
Biivik to death in its embrace. The
sun had gone down, and the pensive
twilight would have reigned over na
ture, but for the moon which rose in
full orbed beauty, the queen of an il
limitable world, to smile upon the
goodly things of our3, and to give a
radiance and a glory to all she shone
upon. It was an hour and a scene
that led the soul to the contemplation
of Him who neVer erases to wat< h over
the worksite has made and whose pro
tecting rare displays itself alike upon
the solid land and the trackless wastes
of the deceitful sea-.
On the western coast of the county
of Devon, which has been termed, and,
it may be added, justly* ‘the garden
of England,’ upon such an eVenir.g a
group had assembled around one of
the fishermen's cottages. The hab
itation was built in the style of old
en time, when comfort was the
principal object of the projector.
At either side of the d'oojp Wre scat
tered the lines *nd ro ts and baskets
that betokened the calling of the own
er, and the fisherman wos taking his
farewell for the night, of his happy
loving family, who were bidding bio
*God speed’ on his voyage. A fine
old man was leaning his arms on tin
railing, and talking to an iuterestini
girl Wliose hand lay upon the shoul
der of a younger sister. The stm
fisherman, dressed in his rough jerkin,
and large hoots that reached n
bove the knees. Was in the act of kis
sing a little cherub, who seemed half
terrified at so high as
the fathers lips,* while the wife &nd
mother, with her infant nursling on
her lap, was looking anxiously upon
her husband as she breathed the part
ihg blessing, and the prayer for his
safe return. A little boy, the miuia
ture of his father in countenance and
dress, bearing a huge boat < loak a
cross his shoulders, and the lantern
that was to give light when the moon
departed, completed the group—if we
Except a noble Newfoundland dog,
some steps in advance of the party,
watching for the nod to command his
march to a kind of pier where the,
fisherman and his boy were to em
bark. ‘Good luck, good luck!’ ex
claimed the old man; ‘good luck and
safe home again, John; ye want m
more but God‘s blessing, and that ye
may have for asking; but ye may as
well take mine too,—God bless ye,
and good by to ye.’
The blessing was heartly echoed by
his kind partner and his children, and
whistling as he went, with his boat
hook on his shoulder, his deg Neptum
before, and his boy following, be
trudged along to the beach.
With the earliest dawn of morning
the fisherman‘B family were astir; tin
elder girl was busily arranging then
little parlor, while the younger was
preparing the breakfast table, ar.cl tin
vVarmiem, July 2 ). 18^9.
mother spreading before the fire the
clothes of her husband and her boy.
An hour passed, and she grew some
what uneasy that lie had remained a
broad beyond the uslial period of his
return.—Another hour had elapsed,
when she said to her father, ‘Father
go out to the hillock, and try if you
can soe his sail upon the water; lie
seldom stays out so long when the sea
is calm and the Weather fair; my little
boy was not quite well last night, and
this alone should have hastened him
home.’
The old man went Forth, and one by
one his grand children followed bin;,
until the mother was left alone, rock
ing the cradle of Ijer unconscious babe.
After the lapse of another hour, her
daughter entered with riews that a
neighbour had spoken to her father
in the night, and that ho would ccr
tainly be soon home,
‘God grant it!’ said she, and she
spoke in a tone of deep anxiety—‘lie
never was away so long but onccj and
that was when he saved the crew of
the ship Mary; and then the whirl of
the sinking vessel well nigh made his
grave.*
Again she stirred the fire, again ar
ranged the clothes before it, ami pour
ed some hot water into the tea cups.
Still the breakfast remained untouch
ed.
The sun was now soaring to his me
ridian height, when once more the
family assembled in their humble
dwelling, the prop of the whole Was
yet wanting. They sat down to a
c heerless meal, the scats at either side
of the wife remained vacant.—The
old man was the only individual who
appeared to anti< ipate no evil; but he
hastily finished bis breakfast and Went
forth.
The noon was rapidly passing, and
the sun had already given tokens of
the glory of his departure, when the
fisherman's wife having lulled her in
fant asleep, went herself to the hill
bat commanded an extensive view of
in* \Vide spread ocean. All the little
household soon assembled on the spot,
but no boat was seen upon the waters
nothing that could give hope except
the aspect of the waves which looked
too placid to be dangerous.
Their deep dread was no longer to
be concealed; and while the old man
paced to and fro, looking earnestly at
brief Intervals over the lonely sea, the
mother and daughter Were sobbing au
dibly.
‘Fearless let him be whose trust is
in his God!’ ex< I aimed the father.
The sentence was uttered involunta
rily, but it had its effect.
‘Ay,’said the mother, ‘he always
trusted in his God, and God will not
forsake him now.’
‘Do you remember, Jane,’ ’ contin
ed the old man, *how often Providence
was with me, amid the storm and the
wreck, when help from man was far
off, and would have been useless if
near?’—And they entered and encour
aged one another to hope the best, —
but to submit id the decree of Hea
ven, whether it came as tlip gentle |
dew to nourish, or aS the heavy rain;
to oppress.—From that hillock which
overlooked the ocean, ascended the
mingled prayers that God would not
leave them desolate.
The fisherman—the object of their
hopes, and fears—had been very sue.
-essful during the night; when at day
break; as he was preparing to return
home he remembered bis promise
to bring with him borne sea-weed to
manure the potatne plot behind his
ottage. lie was then close to rocks
which were only discernabie, at low 7
water, he polled for them, jumped on
shore, fastened the painter of his boat
to a jutting prt of a ( lift, and took
his boat book with him. He collected
a sufficient quantity of the weed, 1 but
in his eagerness to obtain it, had wan- j
dered from the landing place, when;
he heard his boy loudly hallowing and
exclaiming that the painter was loose.
He rushed instantly towards the boat,
which was then several yards off, the
boy was vainly endeavouring to use
both the oars; and Neptune, the faith
ful dog, was ruhning backward and
forward, howling fearfully, as if con
scious of his master‘s danger, at one
moment about to plunge into the
waves to join tiim, and the next lic k
ing the face and hands of the child,
as if he foresaw that for him his pro
tection would be most needed.
The fisherman perceived at once
the desperate nature of his situation;
the tide be knew Was coming in rap
idly, and bis hope of escape was at an
end, when he perceived that his boy.
in an effort to use the oars had In
one of them fall overboard, ‘Father,
father,* exclaimed the poor lad, ‘what
shall 1 do?’—the boat at this moment
so distant that his distracted parent
could scarcely hear the words; hut lie
called out to him as loud as he could to
trust in God, the father of the father
less. He then stood resigned to th<
fate which he felt awaitbd him, and
watched the Uniting boat that bon
the c hild in peril from the fatal hic ks
lie had offered up a brief pray er W
the throne of mercy, when in an in
starit, a light broke upon his mind.
♦Good God!* he exclaimed, ‘I may yet
be saved.’ With the energy of hope
battling with despair, he collected all
the stones around him, and heaped
them rapidly upon the highest ledge
ofrenk: it was indeed wonderful how
he could have gathered so many in so
short a time; but the almighty gaVe
strength to his arm, ami he was la
bouritig not for life merely, but fr
beings, still nearer to him. The
tide came on, bn, on, and soon obliged
him to abandon his work. He then
mounted the pile lie had heaped plant
ed his boat-hook firmly in one of the
crevices of the cliff, and prepared to
struggle for existence; but his heart
failed him, when he considered how
slight was the possibility that the wa
ters would not rise above bis head.—
Still, he determined to do all he
could to preserve life. The Waves
were not rough and the boat-hook
supported him.
The awful moment rapidly ap
proached; the w r ater had reached his
knee 9 but he stood firmly and prayed
that he might he preserved. On, on,
on,on it came slowly and gently, but
more fearfully than it raged around
its destined prey—soon it reached his
waist, and he then prayed that it
might go no higher* On, on, on, it
came; and his shoulders were covered;
hope now died within him, and
thought of himself no longer, but of
those who were so dear to him—his
wife, his children and his father—it
was for blessings on them that lie then
implored heaven. Still, on, on, it
came, and he was forced to raise his
head to keep as long as possible from
death; his reason was almost gone,
his breath grew feeble, his limbs chill,
he panted and his pray ers became gur
gling murmurs. The blood rushed to
bis head: bis eye balls glared as if
they would start from their sorketts.
He closed them with an effort, and
thought for the la3t time on the home
that would soon be so wretched! Hor
rible images were before him—each
swell of the wave seemed as if the
fiends were forcing him downward,
and the cry of the eea-bird was like |
their yell over their victim. He was
gasping, for he had not strength to
keep his head above the waves; every
moment it was splashing upon them,
and eac h convulsive start that follow
ed, only aroused him to the conscious
ness, if consciousness it could be cal
led, that the next plunge would be his
last.
Merciful powers!—at the very mo
ment, when the spirit of a man had
left him, and the cold shudder of
death had come on, he felt that the
tide rose no higher. His eyes opened,
closed, and a fearful laugh troubled
the waters! They eddied in his
throat, and the bubbles floated around
his lips—but they rose no higher—
that lie knew—again and again his
bosom heaved withr a deep sob, as be
drew in his breath, and gave it forth
again in agony. A minute had pas
sed sin e the salt sea lead toii< lied his
lips; this was impossible if \U*> tide
still flowed, he could reason so much.
He opened his eyes, and faintly mur
mured forth. Oh! God! be merciful.
The flow of the ocean had nearly
ceased; there he stood motionless; but
praying and Weeping, thinking of bis
beloved home, and hopii g that his
plac e there might not be forever va
ant. The waters in a sltoiq time
subsided and he was enabled to
stretch bis c billed limbs, and warm
them by exercise. Soon the rock
was left dry as before; the fisherman
knelt down upon the desolate spot a
mong the billows—prayed and bles
sed bis Creator—his Preserver!
Oh! it was the well-known bark of
bis faithful dog that he had heard a
hnve the waves, in another moment
the creature was licking his pale
cheek. He was saved: for Ins own
boat had touched the shore, and Ins
own boy was in his arms! lie h and
been drifted to the land, and had easi
ly found (hose who rowed hard for tlto
chance of saving his father‘B life.
Now homeward, homeward! be ex
claimed. Homeward! homeward! ecln
oei|the child; and Neptune jumped
and barked at the welcome sound.
The fishercnan‘s family were still
supplicating Providence upon the
hillock that over looked the deep;
when the old man started from his
knees, and ex- laimed:—‘We are
heard! there is a speck upon the dis
tant waters *
‘Where, where,’ was echoed by the
distant group; and he pointed out
what, he hoped to be the absent boat;
They eagerly strained their eyes, but
could see nothing/ in a few minutes
however, all perceived a sail; still it
was impossible to tell the direction in
which its course lay.
Then was the agony of suspense; it
continued however, but for a short
time, a boat was evidently advancing
towards the shore; in a few minutes
they could clearly perceive a man at
the bow, waving his hat above his
head, and soon after the well known
bark of Neptune was borne to them
by the breeze.—The femily rushed to
the extremity of the rude pier; and the
loud Huzza of the fisherman was an
swered by the ‘welcome, welcome* of
his father, and the most inarticulate
‘thank God,’of his wife.
And now all wasjy and happiness
in the cottage, where there had been
so much wretchedness: the fisherman,
his boy and his dog, were sate from the
perils of the great deep; but he wonld
return no answer to the tnairy ques
tions, as to what had detained him so
long beyond the usual hour of his re
turn; ‘Wait, rny wife,* said he, ‘until
vie have dressed and refreshed our
selves, and you shall know all, but
before we do either, let us bless God
No. 7.