Jack and Jill

by Louisa May Alcott

  Chapter XXI. Pebbly Beach

  "Now, Mr. Jack, it is a moral impossibility to get all those things intoone trunk, and you mustn't ask it of me," said Mrs. Pecq, in a tone ofdespair, as she surveyed the heap of treasures she was expected to packfor the boys.

  "Never mind the clothes, we only want a boating-suit apiece. Mamma canput a few collars in her trunk for us; but these necessary things _must_go," answered Jack, adding his target and air-pistol to the pile ofbats, fishing-tackle, games, and a choice collection of shabby balls.

  "Those are the necessaries and clothes the luxuries, are they? Why don'tyou add a velocipede, wheelbarrow, and printing-press, my dear?" askedMrs. Pecq, while Jill turned up her nose at "boys' rubbish."

  "Wish I could. Dare say we shall want them. Women don't know whatfellows need, and always must put in a lot of stiff shirts and cleanhandkerchiefs and clothes-brushes and pots of cold cream. We are goingto rough it, and don't want any fuss and feathers," said Jack, beginningto pack the precious balls in his rubber boots, and strap them up withthe umbrellas, rods, and bats, seeing that there was no hope of a placein the trunk.

  Here Frank came in with two big books, saying calmly, "Just slip thesein somewhere, we shall need them."

  "But you are not to study at all, so you won't want those greatdictionaries," cried Jill, busily packing her new travelling-basket withall sorts of little rolls, bags, and boxes.

  "They are not dics, but my Encyclopedia. We shall want to know heapsof things, and this tells about everything. With those books, and amicroscope and a telescope, you could travel round the world, and learnall you wanted to. Can't possibly get on without them," said Frank,fondly patting his favorite work.

  "My patience! What queer cattle boys are!" exclaimed Mrs. Pecq, whilethey all laughed. "It can't be done, Mr. Frank; all the boxes are brimfull, and you'll have to leave those fat books behind, for there's noplace anywhere."

  "Then I'll carry them myself;" and Frank tucked one under each arm, witha determined air, which settled the matter.

  "I suppose you'll study cockleology instead of boating, and read upon polywogs while we play tennis, or go poking round with your oldspy-glass instead of having a jolly good time," said Jack, hauling awayon the strap till all was taut and ship-shape with the bundle.

  "Tadpoles don't live in salt water, my son, and if you mean conchology,you'd better say so. I shall play as much as I wish, and when I want toknow about any new or curious thing, I shall consult my Cyclo, insteadof bothering other people with questions, or giving it up like a dunce;"with which crushing reply Frank departed, leaving Jill to pack andunpack her treasures a dozen times, and Jack to dance jigs on the lidsof the trunks till they would shut.

  A very happy party set off the next day, leaving Mrs. Pecq waving herapron on the steps. Mrs. Minot carried the lunch, Jack his preciousbundle with trifles dropping out by the way, and Jill felt very elegantbearing her new basket with red worsted cherries bobbing on the outside.Frank actually did take the Encyclopedia, done up in the roll of shawls,and whenever the others wondered about anything--tides, lighthouses,towns, or natural productions--he brought forth one of the books andtriumphantly read therefrom, to the great merriment, if not edification,of his party.

  A very short trip by rail and the rest of the journey by boat, to Jill'sgreat contentment, for she hated to be shut up; and while the lads rovedhere and there she sat under the awning, too happy to talk. But Mrs.Minot watched with real satisfaction how the fresh wind blew the colorback into the pale cheeks, how the eyes shone and the heart filled withdelight at seeing the lovely world again, and being able to take a sharein its active pleasures.

  The Willows was a long, low house close to the beach, and as full as abeehive of pleasant people, all intent on having a good time. A greatmany children were swarming about, and Jill found it impossible to sleepafter her journey, there was such a lively clatter of tongues on thepiazzas, and so many feet going to and fro in the halls. She lay downobediently while Mrs. Minot settled matters in the two airy rooms andgave her some dinner, but she kept popping up her head to look out ofthe window to see what she could see. Just opposite stood an artist'scottage and studio, with all manner of charming galleries, towers,steps, and even a sort of drawbridge to pull up when the painter wishedto be left in peace. He was absent now, and the visitors took possessionof this fine play-place. Children were racing up and down the galleries,ladies sitting in the tower, boys disporting themselves on the roof, andyoung gentlemen preparing for theatricals in the large studio.

  "What fun I'll have over there," thought Jill, watching the merry scenewith intense interest, and wondering if the little girls she saw were asnice as Molly and Merry.

  Then there were glimpses of the sea beyond the green bank where a pathwound along to the beach, whence came the cool dash of waves, and nowand then the glimmer of a passing sail.

  "Oh, when can I go out? It looks _so_ lovely, I can't wait long," shesaid, looking as eager as a little gull shut up in a cage and pining forits home on the wide ocean.

  "As soon as it is a little cooler, dear, I'm getting ready for our trip,but we must be careful and not do too much at once. 'Slow and sure' isour motto," answered Mrs. Minot, busily collecting the camp-stools, theshawls, the air-cushions, and the big parasols.

  "I'll be good, only do let me have my sailor-hat to wear, and my newsuit. I'm not a bit tired, and I do want to be like other folks rightoff," said Jill, who had been improving rapidly of late, and felt muchelated at being able to drive out nearly every day, to walk a little,and sit up some hours without any pain or fatigue.

  To gratify her, the blue flannel suit with its white trimming was puton, and Mamma was just buttoning the stout boots when Jack thundered atthe door, and burst in with all sorts of glorious news.

  "Do come out, mother, it's perfectly splendid on the beach! I've founda nice place for Jill to sit, and it's only a step. Lots of capitalfellows here; one has a bicycle, and is going to teach us to ride. Noend of fun up at the hotel, and every one seems glad to see us. Twoladies asked about Jill, and one of the girls has got some shells allready for her, Gerty Somebody, and her mother is so pretty and jolly,I like her ever so much. They sit at our table, and Wally is theboy, younger than I am, but very pleasant. Bacon is the fellow inknickerbockers; just wish you could see what stout legs he's got! Coxis the chap for me, though: we are going fishing to-morrow. He's got asweet-looking mother, and a sister for you, Jill. Now, then, _do_ comeon, I'll take the traps."

  Off they went, and Jill thought that very short walk to the shore themost delightful she ever took; for people smiled at the little invalidas she went slowly by leaning on Mrs. Minot's arm, while Jack pranced infront, doing the honors, as if he owned the whole Atlantic. A new worldopened to her eyes as they came out upon the pebbly beach full of peopleenjoying their afternoon promenade. Jill save one rapturous "Oh!" andthen sat on her stool, forgetting everything but the beautiful blueocean rolling away to meet the sky, with nothing to break the wideexpanse but a sail here and there, a point of rocks on one hand, thelittle pier on the other, and white gulls skimming by on their widewings.

  While she sat enjoying herself, Jack showed his mother the place he hadfound, and a very nice one it was. Just under the green bank lay an oldboat propped up with some big stones. A willow drooped over it, the tiderippled up within a few yards of it, and a fine view of the waves couldbe seen as they dashed over the rocks at the point.

  "Isn't it a good cubby-house? Ben Cox and I fixed it for Jill, and shecan have it for hers. Put her cushions and things there on the sand thechildren have thrown in--that will make it soft; then these seats willdo for tables; and up in the bow I'm going to have that old rusty tinboiler full of salt-water, so she can put seaweed and crabs and allsorts of chaps in it for an aquarium, you know," explained Jack, greatlyinterested in establishing his family comfortably before he left them.

  "There couldn't be a nicer place, and it is very kind of you to get itready. Spread the sha
wls and settle Jill, then you needn't think of usany more, but go and scramble with Frank. I see him over there with hisspy-glass and some pleasant-looking boys," said Mamma, bustling about ingreat spirits.

  So the red cushions were placed, the plaids laid, and the littlework-basket set upon the seat, all ready for Jill, who was charmed withher nest, and cuddled down under the big parasol, declaring she wouldkeep house there every day.

  Even the old boiler pleased her, and Jack raced over the beach to beginhis search for inhabitants for the new aquarium, leaving Jill to makefriends with some pretty babies digging in the sand, while Mamma sat onthe camp-stool and talked with a friend from Harmony Village.

  It seemed as if there could not be anything more delightful than to liethere lulled by the sound of the sea, watching the sunset and listeningto the pleasant babble of little voices close by. But when they went totea in the great hall, with six tables full of merry people, and half adozen maids flying about, Jill thought that was even better, because itwas so new to her. Gerty and Wally nodded to her, and their pretty mammawas so kind and so gay, that Jill could not feel bashful after the firstfew minutes, and soon looked about her, sure of seeing friendly faceseverywhere. Frank and Jack ate as if the salt air had already improvedtheir appetites, and talked about Bacon and Cox as if they had beenbosom friends for years. Mamma was as happy as they, for her friend,Mrs. Hammond, sat close by; and this rosy lady, who had been aphysician, cheered her up by predicting that Jill would soon be runningabout as well as ever.

  But the best of all was in the evening, when the elder people gatheredin the parlors and played Twenty Questions, while the children lookedon for an hour before going to bed, much amused at the sight of grownpeople laughing, squabbling, dodging, and joking as if they had allbecome young again; for, as every one knows, it is impossible to helplively skirmishes when that game is played. Jill lay in the sofa cornerenjoying it all immensely; for she never saw anything so droll, andfound it capital fun to help guess the thing, or try to puzzle theopposite side. Her quick wits and bright face attracted people, andin the pauses of the sport she held quite a levee, for everybody wasinterested in the little invalid. The girls shyly made friends in theirown way, the mammas told thrilling tales of the accidents their darlingshad survived, several gentlemen kindly offered their boats, and theboys, with the best intentions in life, suggested strolls of two orthree miles to Rafe's Chasm and Norman's Woe, or invited her to tennisand archery, as if violent exercise was the cure for all human ills. Shewas very grateful, and reluctantly went away to bed, declaring, when shegot upstairs, that these new friends were the dearest people she evermet, and the Willows the most delightful place in the whole world.

  Next day a new life began for the young folks--a very healthy, happylife; and all threw themselves into it so heartily, that it wasimpossible to help getting great good from it, for these summer weeks,if well spent, work miracles in tired bodies and souls. Frank took afancy to the bicycle boy, and, being able to hire one of the breakneckarticles, soon learned to ride it; and the two might be seen wildlyworking their long legs on certain smooth stretches of road, or gettingup their muscle rowing about the bay till they were almost as brown andnautical in appearance and language as the fishermen who lived in nooksand corners along the shore.

  Jack struck up a great friendship with the sturdy Bacon and theagreeable Cox: the latter, being about his own age, was his especialfavorite; and they soon were called Box and Cox by the other fellows,which did not annoy them a bit, as both had played parts in thatimmortal farce. They had capital times fishing, scrambling over therocks, playing ball and tennis, and rainy days they took possession ofthe studio opposite, drew up the portcullis, and gallantly defendedthe castle, which some of the others besieged with old umbrellas forshields, bats for battering-rams, and bunches of burrs for cannon-balls.Great larks went on over there, while the girls applauded from thepiazza or chamber-windows, and made a gay flag for the victors todisplay from the tower when the fight was over.

  But Jill had the best time of all, for each day brought increasingstrength and spirits, and she improved so fast it was hard to believethat she was the same girl who lay so long almost helpless in the BirdRoom at home. Such lively letters as she sent her mother, all about hernew friends, her fine sails, drives, and little walks; the good timesshe had in the evening, the lovely things people gave her, and she waslearning to make with shells and sea-weed, and what splendid fun it wasto keep house in a boat.

  This last amusement soon grew quite absorbing, and her "cubby," as shecalled it, rapidly became a pretty grotto, where she lived like a littlemermaid, daily loving more and more the beauty of the wonderful sea.Finding the boat too sunny at times, the boys cut long willow boughs andarched them over the seats, laying hemlock branches across till a greenroof made it cool and shady inside. There Jill sat or lay amongher cushions reading, trying to sketch, sorting shells, drying gaysea-weeds, or watching her crabs, jelly-fish, and anemones in the oldboiler, now buried in sand and edged about with moss from the woods.

  Nobody disturbed her treasures, but kindly added to them, and often whenshe went to her nest she found fruit or flowers, books or bon-bons, laidready for her. Every one pitied and liked the bright little girl whocould not run and frisk with the rest, who was so patient and cheerfulafter her long confinement, ready to help others, and so gratefulfor any small favor. She found now that the weary months had not beenwasted, and was very happy to discover in herself a new sort of strengthand sweetness that was not only a comfort to her, but made those abouther love and trust her. The songs she had learned attracted the babies,who would leave their play to peep at her and listen when she sung overher work. Passers-by paused to hear the blithe voice of the bird in thegreen cage, and other invalids, strolling on the beach, would take heartwhen they saw the child so happy in spite of her great trial.

  The boys kept all their marine curiosities for her, and were alwaysready to take her a row or a sail, as the bay was safe and that sortof travelling suited her better than driving. But the girls had capitaltimes together, and it did Jill good to see another sort from those sheknew at home. She had been so much petted of late, that she was gettingrather vain of her small accomplishments, and being with strangersricher, better bred and educated than herself, made her more humble insome things, while it showed her the worth of such virtues as she couldhonestly claim. Mamie Cox took her to drive in the fine carriage of hermamma, and Jill was much impressed by the fact that Mamie was not a bitproud about it, and did not put on any airs, though she had a maid totake care of her. Gerty wore pretty costumes, and came down with pinkand blue ribbons in her hair that Jill envied very much; yet Gerty likedher curls, and longed to have some, while her mother, "the lady fromPhiladelphia," as they called her, was so kind and gay that Jill quiteadored her, and always felt as if sunshine had come into the room whenshe entered. Two little sisters were very interesting to her, and madeher long for one of her own when she saw them going about together andheard them talk of their pleasant home, where the great silk factorieswere. But they invited her to come and see the wonderful cocoons, andtaught her to knot pretty gray fringe on a cushion, which delighted her,being so new and easy. There were several other nice little lasses, andthey all gathered about Jill with the sweet sympathy children are soquick to show toward those in pain or misfortune. She thought they wouldnot care for a poor little girl like herself, yet here she was the queenof the troupe, and this discovery touched and pleased her very much.

  In the morning they camped round the boat on the stones with books, gaywork, and merry chatter, till bathing-time. Then the beach was full oflife and fun, for every one looked so droll in the flannel suits, it washard to believe that the neat ladies and respectable gentlemen whowent into the little houses could be the same persons as the queer,short-skirted women with old hats tied down, and bareheaded, barefootedmen in old suits, who came skipping over the sand to disport themselvesin the sea in the most undignified ways. The boys raced about,
lookinglike circus-tumblers, and the babies were regular little cupids, runningaway from the waves that tried to kiss their flying feet.

  Some of the young ladies and girls were famous swimmers, and looked verypretty in their bright red and blue costumes, with loose hair and gaystockings, as they danced into the water and floated away as fearlesslyas real mermaidens. Jill had her quiet dip and good rubbing each fineday, and then lay upon the warm sand watching the pranks of the others,and longing to run and dive and shout and tumble with the rest. Now thatshe was among the well and active, it seemed harder to be patient thanwhen shut up and unable to stir. She felt so much better, and had solittle pain to remind her of past troubles, it was almost impossible tohelp forgetting the poor back and letting her recovered spirits run awaywith her. If Mrs. Minot had not kept good watch, she would have beenoff more than once, so eager was she to be "like other girls" again, sodifficult was it to keep the restless feet quietly folded among the redcushions.

  One day she did yield to temptation, and took a little voyage whichmight have been her last, owing to the carelessness of those whom shetrusted. It was a good lesson, and made her as meek as a lamb during therest of her stay. Mrs. Minot drove to Gloucester one afternoon, leavingJill safely established after her nap in the boat, with Gerty and Mamiemaking lace beside her.

  "Don't try to walk or run about, my dear. Sit on the piazza if you gettired of this, and amuse yourself quietly till I come back. I'll notforget the worsted and the canvas," said Mamma, peeping over the bankfor a last word as she waited for the omnibus to come along.

  "Oh, _don't_ forget the Gibraltars!" cried Jill, popping her head out ofthe green roof.

  "Nor the bananas, please!" added Gerty, looking round one end.

  "Nor the pink and blue ribbon to tie our shell-baskets," called Mamie,nearly tumbling into the aquarium at the other end.

  Mrs. Minot laughed, and promised, and rumbled away, leaving Jill to anexperience which she never forgot.

  For half an hour the little girls worked busily, then the boys came forGerty and Mamie to go to the Chasm with a party of friends who wereto leave next day. Off they went, and Jill felt very lonely as the gayvoices died away. Every one had gone somewhere, and only little HarryHammond and his maid were on the beach. Two or three sand-pipers ranabout among the pebbles, and Jill envied them their nimble legs so much,that she could not resist getting up to take a few steps. She longed torun straight away over the firm, smooth sand, and feel again the delightof swift motion; but she dared not try it, and stood leaning on her tallparasol with her book in her hand, when Frank, Jack, and the bicycle boycame rowing lazily along and hailed her.

  "Come for a sail, Jill? Take you anywhere you like," called Jack,touched by the lonely figure on the beach.

  "I'd love to go, if you will row. Mamma made me promise not to gosailing without a man to take care of me. Would it spoil your fun tohave me?" answered Jill, eagerly.

  "Not a bit; come out on the big stones and we'll take you aboard," saidFrank, as they steered to the place where she could embark the easiest.

  "All the rest are gone to the Chasm. I wanted to go, because I've neverseen it; but, of course, I had to give it up, as I do most of the fun;"and Jill sat down with an impatient sigh.

  "We'll row you round there. Can't land, but you can see the place andshout to the others, if that will be any comfort to you," proposedFrank, as they pulled away round the pier.

  "Oh, yes, that would be lovely!" and Jill smiled at Jack, who wassteering, for she found it impossible to be dismal now with the freshwind blowing in her face, the blue waves slapping against the boat, andthree good-natured lads ready to gratify her wishes.

  Away they went, laughing and talking gayly till they came to Goodwin'sRocks, where an unusual number of people were to be seen though the tidewas going out, and no white spray was dashing high into the air to makea sight worth seeing.

  "What do you suppose they are about? Never saw such a lot of folks atthis time. Shouldn't wonder if something had happened. I say, put meashore, and I'll cut up and see," said the bicycle boy, who was of aninquiring turn.

  "I'll go with you," said Frank; "it won't take but a minute, and I'dlike to discover what it is. May be something we ought to know about."

  So the boys pulled round into a quiet nook, and the two elder onesscrambled up the rocks, to disappear in the crowd. Five, ten, fifteenminutes passed, and they did not return. Jack grew impatient, so didJill, and bade him run up and bring them back. Glad to know what keptthem, Jack departed, to be swallowed up in his turn, for not a sign ofa boy did she see after that; and, having vainly strained her eyes todiscover the attraction which held them, she gave it up, lay down ontheir jackets, and began to read.

  Then the treacherous tide, as it ebbed lower and lower down the beach,began to lure the boat away; for it was not fastened, and when lightenedof its load was an easy prize to the hungry sea, always ready to stealall it can. Jill knew nothing of this, for her story was dull, thegentle motion proved soothing, and before she knew it she was asleep.Little by little the runaway boat slid farther from the shore, andpresently was floating out to sea with its drowsy freight, while thecareless boys, unconscious of the time they were wasting, lingeredto see group after group photographed by the enterprising man who hadtrundled his camera to the rocks.

  In the midst of a dream about home, Jill was roused by a loud shout,and, starting up so suddenly that the sun-umbrella went overboard, shefound herself sailing off alone, while the distracted lads roared andbeckoned vainly from the cove. The oars lay at their feet, where theyleft them; and the poor child was quite helpless, for she could notmanage the sail, and even the parasol, with which she might have paddleda little, had gone down with all sail set. For a minute, Jill was sofrightened that she could only look about her with a scared face, andwonder if drowning was a very disagreeable thing. Then the sight of thebicycle boy struggling with Jack, who seemed inclined to swim after her,and Frank shouting wildly, "Hold on! Come back!" made her laugh in spiteof her fear, it was so comical, and their distress so much greater thanhers, since it was their own carelessness which caused the trouble.

  "I can't come back! There's nothing to hold on to! You didn't fastenme, and now I don't know where I'm going!" cried Jill, looking from theshore to the treacherous sea that was gently carrying her away.

  "Keep cool! We'll get a boat and come after you," roared Frank, beforehe followed Jack, who had collected his wits and was tearing up therocks like a chamois hunter.

  The bicycle boy calmly sat down to keep his eye on the runaway,calling out from time to time such cheering remarks as "All aboard forLiverpool! Give my love to Victoria! Luff and bear away when you cometo Halifax! If you are hard up for provisions, you'll find an apple andsome bait in my coat-pocket," and other directions for a comfortablevoyage, till his voice was lost in the distance as a stronger currentbore her swiftly away and the big waves began to tumble and splash.

  At first Jill had laughed at his efforts to keep up her spirits, butwhen the boat floated round a point of rock that shut in the cove, shefelt all alone, and sat quite still, wondering what would become of her.She turned her back to the sea and looked at the dear, safe land, whichnever had seemed so green and beautiful before. Up on the hill rustledthe wood through which the happy party were wandering to the Chasm.On the rocks she still saw the crowd all busy with their own affairs,unconscious of her danger. Here and there artists were sketchingin picturesque spots, and in one place an old gentleman sat fishingpeacefully. Jill called and waved her handkerchief, but he never lookedup, and an ugly little dog barked at her in what seemed to her a mostcruel way.

  "Nobody sees or hears or cares, and those horrid boys will never catchup!" she cried in despair, as the boat began to rock more and more, andthe loud swash of water dashing in and out of the Chasm drew nearer andnearer. Holding on now with both hands she turned and looked straightbefore her, pale and shivering, while her eyes tried to see some sign ofhope among the steep cliff
s that rose up on the left. No one was there,though usually at this hour they were full of visitors, and it was timefor the walkers to have arrived.

  "I wonder if Gerty and Mamie will be sorry if I'm drowned," thoughtJill, remembering the poor girl who had been lost in the Chasm not longago. Her lively fancy pictured the grief of her friends at her loss; butthat did not help or comfort her now, and as her anxious gaze wanderedalong the shore, she said aloud, in a pensive tone,--

  "Perhaps I shall be wrecked on Norman's Woe, and somebody will makepoetry about me. It would be pretty to read, but I don't want to diethat way. Oh, why did I come! Why didn't I stay safe and comfortable inmy own boat?"

  At the thought a sob rose, and poor Jill laid her head down on her lapto cry with all her heart, feeling very helpless, small, and forsakenalone there on the great sea. In the midst of her tears came thethought, "When people are in danger, they ask God to save them;" and,slipping down upon her knees, she said her prayer as she had never saidit before, for when human help seems gone we turn to Him as naturally aslost children cry to their father, and feel sure that he will hear andanswer them.

  After that she felt better, and wiped away the drops that blinded her,to look out again like a shipwrecked mariner watching for a sail. Andthere it was! Close by, coming swiftly on with a man behind it, a sturdybrown fisher, busy with his lobster-pots, and quite unconscious how likean angel he looked to the helpless little girl in the rudderless boat.

  "Hi! hi! Oh, please do stop and get me! I'm lost, no oars, nobody tofix the sail! Oh, oh! please come!" screamed Jill, waving her hatfrantically as the other boat skimmed by and the man stared at her as ifshe really was a mermaid with a fishy tail.

  "Keep still! I'll come about and fetch you!" he called out; and Jillobeyed, sitting like a little image of faith, till with a good deal ofshifting and flapping of the sail, the other boat came alongside andtook her in tow.

  A few words told the story, and in five minutes she was sitting snuglytucked up watching an unpleasant mass of lobsters flap about dangerouslynear her toes, while the boat bounded over the waves with a delightfulmotion, and every instant brought her nearer home. She did not say much,but felt a good deal; and when they met two boats coming to meet her,manned by very anxious crews of men and boys, she was so pale and quietthat Jack was quite bowed down with remorse, and Frank nearly pitchedthe bicycle boy overboard because he gayly asked Jill how she left herfriends in England. There was great rejoicing over her, for the peopleon the rocks had heard of her loss, and ran about like ants when theirhill is disturbed. Of course half a dozen amiable souls posted off tothe Willows to tell the family that the little girl was drowned, so thatwhen the rescuers appeared quite a crowd was assembled on the beachto welcome her. But Jill felt so used up with her own share of theexcitement that she was glad to be carried to the house by Frank andJack, and laid upon her bed, where Mrs. Hammond soon restored her withsugar-coated pills, and words even sweeter and more soothing.

  Other people, busied with their own pleasures, forgot all about it bythe next day; but Jill remembered that hour long afterward, both awakeand asleep, for her dreams were troubled, and she often started upimploring someone to save her. Then she would recall the moment when,feeling most helpless, she had asked for help, and it had come asquickly as if that tearful little cry had been heard and answered,though her voice had been drowned by the dash of the waves that seemedready to devour her. This made a deep impression on her, and a sense ofchildlike faith in the Father of all began to grow up within her; forin that lonely voyage, short as it was, she had found a very precioustreasure to keep for ever, to lean on, and to love during the longervoyage which all must take before we reach our home.