been invented. The circumstances are so natural, and yet so little in the obvious routine of the imagination, that they must have been suggested by similar incidents in the story of a real shipwreck. One of the goats had a leg broken in the late storm, and it was Seaward's care to tie it up and cure it. This would hardly have been thought of by a mere novelist. Fidele, soon after, going on shore, turned up an Iguana, which proved excellent food, being as tender as a chicken. This is another trait of reality, trivial in itself, but tending materially to the completeness and beauty of the picture. We might enumerate many other occurrences of the same kind, which, taken together, give an appearance of probability to the tale, that is exceeded in no other production of the same class in our own literature, and indeed in no other that we know of.

The first Sunday after their arrival was peculiarly devoted to thanksgiving for their safety. The trunks were opened,' says the amiable narrator, and my beloved wife dressed herself as she would have done at Awbury on a Sunday; and I followed her example: we then sat down quietly, and I went through the morning service, she reading the lessons for the day. After this proper and consolatory exercise, we talked to each other about those dear friends we had left behind in England, and often with grateful tenderness reverted to the father of Eliza, to whom both of us were much indebted for the peace we now enjoyed; being separated from the gaieties of life, but having for our portion God and ourselves.' 'We enjoyed ourselves,' he adds, sitting arm-in-arm on the quarter-deck, feeling an internal happiness, that scarcely would have been anticipated in such a situation: it was that peace which the world cannot give, nor take away, and with which the stranger intermeddleth

not.'

The diarist dwells with inexhaustible delight upon every little trait in his wife's conduct, upon this occasion; her fortitude, her cheerfulness, her industry, the smiles with which she encouraged his labours, and the sweet tenderness of language with which she rewarded them. Having drained the wreck of all the water which it contained, and having ascertained all the conveniences which the carpenter's chest, the cargo, and the ship's furniture could afford him, he proceeded, attended by his affectionate wife, and the useful Fidele, to select a spot in which the seeds of some fruits, which were in the brig, could be sown with the best chance of a good return. While they were walking through a thicket of thorny acacias, under a precipitous rock, the little dog, who had preceeded them, began suddenly to bark, and the noise was heard as if at a considerable distance. He suddenly appeared before them with another Iguana, but the peculiar sound of his bark, had led to an impression that there was an uninterrupted passage through the thicket. After some hours spent in clearing the way through the brushwood, Seaward found himself unexpectedly at the mouth of a cavern, which forms a very prominent object of curiosity, in

the subsequent pages of this veritable history. It was a natural excavation of considerable length and height: the floor was covered with the dung of birds; the summit thickly hung with pendulous stalactites, with shelving masses and nodules, of which the sides were also incrustated. Seaward, satisfied for the present with this discovery, returned, after having fixed upon a piece of ground, clear of the shade of trees, for putting in the seeds. Upon this excursion, both parties having found the inconvenience of their dresses, resolved to conform to their new circumstances: Seaward adopting the jacket and trousers of the sailor, and his wife a close bedgown, with a shawl wrapped round her head, as a turban. The goats and poultry were transferred to the cave, where the latter, especially, took up their residence with great glee. A tent was next erected on shore, which was soon exchanged for a wooden hut; they became, of necessity, their own boot-makers, tailors, and sempstresses, and in the clear stream washed their own linen, by beating it, after the ancient fashion, on a stone in the running water. They found fish in abundance in an arm of the neighbouring sea, and cocoanuts, and other fruits in the surrounding woods; and being satisfied that they were now alone upon the island, they occupied themselves constantly on shore, in administering to their present wants, in providing for the future, enjoying in the intervals the sweet happiness, which innocent labour and alternate rest seem capable of yielding, under almost any conceivable circumstances. The picture which is presented of their daily life, at this period, is enchanting. The open air, or the wooden hut, as the season permitted, was their eating apartment, the cabin of the brig their bed-room. After the toil of the day was over, they talked over what they had done with renewed delight, giving a thought, the while, to their dear friends in England. It was now time for our evening repast; and we sat down on the wooden platform, between the plank-house and the rock, with our table between us, each on a commodious chair, and our dear little dog in front of us, to our comfortable tea, in peace and quietness; perhaps, experiencing more real enjoyment, than the world's society with all its blandishments could bestow'! Yet we had a sigh and a tear for those we loved, and had left behind in our dear native village.' 'In this way we communed with each other, till the time for retiring drew near; when, fastening up our palace, and seeing our dumb companions repair to their retreat, we too, serenely and happily, bent our steps towards the brig.' Such was the life of paradise which they led. Their poultry now began to lay, their goats presented them with two kids, they beheld their husbandry thriving beyond their expectations, and they looked upon themselves as completely established in the island, scarcely entertaining a wish to be rescued from their solitary condition by a friendly sail.

Their happiness, however, was seriously interrupted for a season, by a discovery which Seaward chanced to make in his cavern. On VOL. 11. (1831.) No. III.

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turning up the dung of the birds, which he used for the purpose of husbandry, he struck upon a piece of brass and leather, which, upon examination, turned out to have been the breast-plate and belt of a soldier. From this circumstance it was inferred that the place had been already visited, possibly by pirates or bucaneers; but no trace of a dead body having been discerned, nothing more was thought of the matter, until one day, Seaward, driving a peg in the side of the cavern, in order to hang upon it a peccary which he had killed, observed that the place into which he had hammered the peg sounded hollow. This was ascribed at first to fissures in the rock; but the echoes being much louder in one spot than in any of the others, he determined to explore this mystery. Mrs. Seaward was equally concerned in clearing up the matter, as she had no objection to the discovery of another apartment, which might serve for a larder. He accordingly took his hatchet, and striking all round the place where the peccary was hung, was convinced that there was a large hollow space behind it. A light was brought, and, to their amazement, an artificial appearance of inserted stones was evident. The dead body of the person to whom the breast-plate and belt belonged, might, they thought, have been here entombed. A sufficient number of the stones having been dislodged to admit Seaward's entrance, on thrusting in his head and shoulders he perceived a kind of chamber, dimly lit from a narrow fissure above, but which had not the power to shew him any thing within. The remainder of this extraordinary and rather romantic story, the author must tell in his own language.

The floor of the place was covered deep with sand, which was quite dry, and for some time I could not discover any thing worthy of notice; but, on moving forward about three yards, I saw a collection of small canvass bags, ranged side by side, and behind them a long wooden box. Without stopping to examine their contents, I stepped back to the hole, and desired my wife to come in, telling her what I had seen. She quickly got through, following the candle and me; and opening one of the bags, I discerned, at a glance, some sparkling metal. "This is treasure," cried I. She instantly exclaimed, "may it please God to preserve us!" "From what, dearest?" I replied, tumbling out several large pieces of coin. "They are all full of dollars," she rejoined, "and of what use are they to us?" Well, sweet Eliza," I replied, "they can do us no harm; we can leave them where we find them, if we please." "Just so," she answered. "However," said I, we will examine the box." The lid was nailed down, so it could not be opened without a chisel; we therefore quitted the recess till I should bring the necessary implement from the carpenter's chest, and returned to the plank-house. I held some pieces of the money in my hand, which had fallen out of the bag, and by the candle-light had appeared white we then concluded they were dollars, but we now discovered by daylight that they were gold doubloons. I remarked this vast difference in their value to my dear wife. "Well," said she, "Edward, it is all the same to us, dollars or doubloons, or our own English farthings: we cannot send to market with money here. Your health, my honoured hus

band, is our wealth, and God's blessing is our exhaustless mine! So I care nothing about these; only this, that I fear the discovery will be a source of great uneasiness, if not of misery to us."—" Very well, dearest," I replied, if there be any more of it in the other bags, with you and God for my guide, I hope I shall not make a bad use of it, should I ever have the opportunity." "I hope I believe you would not, my dear Edward," she rejoined, "but riches are a snare. "My own Eliza," I answered,

gravely, "bags of gold can be no riches to me where we are; they may as well be full of the sand that covers the floor."

'Here the dialogue ended, and with less haste about going for the chisel, I set about preparing dinner, in which my Eliza, cheerful as usual, assisted me; and we dined on the last corned quarter of the peccary, which was still very good, and the salt had drawn out the rankness of the meat that exists in its fresh state. "" Now, my own!" said I, "let us go and inspect the box." She re-lit our candle; and I taking a chisel and mallet with me, we proceeded to the cave, and again entered the recess. I opened the box; it was full of all sorts of gold and silver articles: representations of the crucifixion; the Virgin and child, in highly wrought silver shrines; gold hilts for swords, large ear-rings of gold, some ingots of gold; and a considerable quantity of gold and silver tissue; and some silver lavers, and other costly things. My dear wife admired all these beautiful pieces of workmanship very much, making many appropriate remarks on the different articles; and when we had examined all, she gently said, "Dear Edward, let us now shut the box up, and the place in which it is also; these things do not belong to us. "Oh, very well!" I hastily replied, as you please! I don't care a rush about them." In mutual silence, we stepped out of the recess, and I thrust in the loose stones again.

'After sitting down in the plank-house, and after a few moment's musing, I said, "My dear Eliza, we will let this matter rest for the present, and discuss it at our leisure; for I trust that whatever we may conclude

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to do, will have a blessing, and not a curse.' "Don't let it perplex you, my honoured husband," she replied, "we will pray God to direct you.' This affair was of too much importance to remain unsettled. I turned the doubloons over and over in my hand, and found on them the head of Carolus II., which, although looking as if just out of the mint, bore the date of 1670. 66 Eliza," said I," when we look at the date of this coin, and consider the situation in which we discovered the belt, the probability is that this treasure has been here at least fifty or sixty years, and that there are no persons living to whom it belongs. Besides, most likely the persons who placed it where it is were buccaneers, who despoiled some Spanish vessel of it; the first owners, then, are doubtlessly killed. Hence it does not belong to any one; at least, not to any one that could, with the utmost diligence, be discovered. Therefore possession is the only right which, under such circumstances, can be set up. And it is a duty I owe to myself, and to you, and to all connected with us, though on distant shores, to endeavour to preserve this treasure, and to convey it to England if ever an opportunity should offer. With your consent and approbation, my beloved wife, I will act according to this reasoning." She did not answer me for some time; at last she said, "if those to whom it rightfully belongs cannot have it, I certainly see no just reason why you should not do as you propose, preserve it for your own use, and so apply it, should

the occasion ever present itself." "Well, my dear Eliza, that is the principle on which I shall act; and on that principle allow me to lose no time in securing the fortune, which has fallen so wonderfully into our hands."

The question was now set at rest between us, by which a great weight was taken off my mind; for my exemplary friend, as well as obedient wife, would never have uttered an assent to any measure not founded on moral propriety. It was but a few hours since I had discovered this hoard of gold; and, with all my efforts, I could not settle to my work as before. I continued in the plank-house, talking on subjects far from our little island, and I asked my sweetly attentive companion to give us some wine, which she did immediately; and I sat, and discoursed, and drank wine, till tea-time. She often smiled as I talked, but would not disturb my humour, and that visionary hour or two passed off very well. We fed our

animals, and retired early to the vessel.

Tuesday, 19th.-My sleep during the night was harrassed by strange dreams, so incoherent they could not be recounted, but all bore on the treasure in the cave. On waking, I mentioned them to my dear wife, though I really felt ashamed that the late matter had so completely engrossed my mind. After discussing the subject for an hour, she concluded by saying, "Well, my Edward, whatever you wish to do, I will join you in most cheerfully." And she said this with great emphasis, as she always did when she had made up her mind so to pledge herself. I received her assurance affectionately, and we left the vessel for the shore.

After breakfast, I proposed that we should examine the whole of the bags with their contents; and accordingly, on entering the cave, I removed the loose stones from the breach in the wall, and we again found ourselves in the recess. I counted the bags, and found forty, each of them not larger than the top of a stocking; but, on reckoning out the doubloons from one bag, the result was five hundred; and on breaking the strings, which were quite mouldering, of some of the others, I found their contents to be the same. The bags themselves, also, were nearly rotten, although they lay in a bed of dry sand. "We have here," said I, "my dear Eliza, a corroborating proof of the length of time this money has been hidden in this place."Well," she replied, "but what are we to do with it?" "You must make new bags," was my answer, "and I will make boxes to pack them in and then we will leave them here, ready for any opportunity that may occur to remove them and us. For we may hope that, in the course of time, some providential vessel may hover near us, and give us means to return to our native home, to bless with our riches and our presence those whom we fondly love." "Ah! dear Edward!" she exclaimed, "it may indeed please God that we are to be the instruments of comfort to your family and to mine, and with these riches be a blessing to the poor." Thus saying, she embraced me tenderly.'-vol. i. pp. 216-222.

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The next fortnight was spent in making new bags for securing their treasure; and the very different effect with which this employment was attended, from that produced upon their minds by their agricultural and domestic labours; the anxiety which now came upon them, the distaste which they began to feel for their former quiet and innocent occupations, are painted in the most natural and affecting language. On rising this morning,' says the