of shelter for his companion until means should be found
to raise her to the summit of the cliff. With great difficulty, and aided by the rope from above, he succeeded
in elevating her to a narrow shelf of the rock some ten feet
higher up the face of the cliff, where, however exposed
to the driving sleet and the impetuosity of the wind, she
would at least be safe from the showers of foam that deluged the rock below.
" Oh ! can I ever sufficiently thank you ?" said the grateful girl, " your kindness may be in vain-but God will bless you !"
Her companion made no reply, but as he looked at her shivering form, he saw that her exposure had almost exhausted her, and that it was with an effort that she had spoken. "Droop not, dear lady ," he said, "I see that they are lowering down cloaks in which to wrap yourself, and keep out this pitiless storm. If we can only sustain Ourselves here for an hour longer we can reach the summit. The gale must lull by that time." She made no answer except by a desponding shake of her head. The bundle was by this time swinging overhead, and watching a chance, her companion succeeded in catching and disentangling it from the rope. He now busied himself in wrapping up the form of the chilled and exhausted girl, and, for a while, she revived ; but it soon became evident that her fragile constitution was giving way under her sufferings. This the young man saw with agony. Oh ! how he wished that the ledge on which they stood could have afforded them a fire, how he prayed that the storm would abate in order that she might be raised to the summit of the cliff. Happily he had provided himself, ere he began his descent with restoratives, and these he now applied freely to the sinking girl in his arms. He clasped her small fair hand, he made her drink of the life-giving liquid, he besought her to attempt to walk to and fro, supported by him, on the narrow ledge of rock on which they stood. By these efforts he succeeded in partially reviving her, and, at the end of half an hour, saw with a joy unspeakable that the tempest had begun to lull, and in a few minutes as if miraculously the snow ceased and the wind died almost wholly away. The youth now gave the signal to those above, and soon saw the chair descending. How he trembled with eagerness, during the minutes that elapsed ere it reached the rock, lest the gale should burst forth with renewed fury. At length the chair swung on the ledge where they stood. Not a moment was to be lost. Exhorting his companion to rally her energies for this last effort, he lashed her firmly in her seat, and seizing the rope by which the ascent of the chair was to be guided, gave the signal. The attempt was perilous to the last degree, but they knew that it was the only chance for life left. With tearful eyes his companion took leave of him, but he assuming
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a cheerfulness he scarcely felt, bid her retain her presence of mind, and all would go well. " Oh ! it is only for you I fear now. How can you reach the summit when there will be no one below to guide your ascent ?" "The God who preserved me once, will preserve me, if he sees fit, again. Ere ten minutes I shall be safe at your side." With a beating heart the young man gazed at the dizzy course of the chair, and once or twice he trembled violently as he saw it, despite all he could do, swinging in dangerous proximity to a jutting rock. At length he beheld it reach the level of the cliff-he saw it grasped by two or three strong arms-it was drawn inwardand then he knew that his late companion was safe. We will not analyze his feelings at that moment, but they were certainly as deep as if he had known that lovely creature during a long life-time- so true is it that an hour of fearful peril spent together, breaks down barriers betwixt two hearts which otherwise it might take years to remove. In a few minutes the rope again descended, and the young adventurer, by incredible exertions reached the summit of the cliff, without injury. The moment his feet touched the cliff a dozen hands grasped his own, and a long loud shout of enthusiastic welcome pealed to the sky. But the first thing his eye sought was the rescued girl, who, deaf to every entreaty, had watched from the top of the cliff until she saw her preserver safe. Then she fell back exhausted into the arms of a kind-hearted dame, who had left her home and hurried to the rocks the instant she heard that the sufferer under the cliff was a woman. The rescued girl proved to be a young lady, the | daughter of an opulent merchant in a neighboring city, who was returning from her education in Europe with her governess. Her preserver was a naval officer, a lieutenant in the revenue cutter, which, but a few days before, had run into the little roadstead, a mile or two from the scene of the wreck. It was in endeavoring to make that anchorage that the ill-fated ship had come ashore, when of all her freight only this fair girl had been saved. Need we recount the gratitude of the father when his only child was placed in his arms ? Need we say how often that child thought of her preserver, or how the young lieutenant found her at length necessary to his happiness ? The grateful father deemed it the happiest | day of his life when he placed his daughter's hand in that of her preserver, and gave her away at the altar to one who, by risking his life for her when she was a stranger to him, had proved that he would be a protector to her in after life when she was known and loved.
