The Captain looked puzzled, and turning to his wife, said, "It must, be
Ellen Williamson, to whom Mr. Clifford alludes. She is not ill-favored,
by any means, and indeed quite the belle of the place, being by far the
best looking girl in it; nevertheless, I should hardly mistake her for
one of higher rank; but Mr. Clifford has been so long without beholding
woman's face divine, with the exception of yours, my dear, that he is
ready to magnify good looks into positive beauty and grace."

The young man seemed disconcerted.

"I could almost stake my existence, that the person to whom I refer is
not, cannot be the daughter of a fisherman. However, if it should be so,
Captain, and such a region as this can produce so lovely a being, in
spite of its barren wastes and rocky steppes, I should be ready to
surname it Paradise, or The Enchanted Isle, if you will; for certainly
it was a vision of enchantment I just now beheld."

Captain Pierce, though almost imagining that his young friend's
intellect had been deranged, gaily responded:--

"I must warn you in time, I see, for you are in danger of losing your
heart, if it is not gone already. Ellen Williamson is engaged to a
worthy young man, a captain of a fishing schooner, and their marriage
is to be celebrated this spring, so her father informed me when I was
here last year, and I think it only my duty to give you fair warning,
that another claims your enchantress as his own. But here we are at the
cottage, and your doubts will speedily be put to flight, by an
introduction to the girl herself."

The loud knock of the Captain, at the cottage door, was quickly answered
by Mrs. Williamson, who, in terms of genuine pleasure, welcomed his safe
return, and the little party were ushered into the sitting-room, whose
neat and even tasteful appearance, formed a striking contrast to the
generality of the fishermen's huts.

Mr. Clifford's quick eye, as they entered, sought the window, but the
seat was vacant now; evidences of its having been lately occupied were
discernible in a work-basket that stood on a table near, and on which
some embroidered muslin had been lightly thrown.

The Captain smiled as he observed Mr. Clifford's disappointed look, and
turning to Mrs. Williamson, who was assisting his wife in divesting
herself of her shawl and bonnet, inquired after her daughter.

"She is quite well, thank you," was her reply, "and was here a moment
ago, but observing you in the dist