way, the decks
opening, bales, chests, cordage, stores of all sorts tossed high up on
the shore, more dead bodies--chiefly of men, for they had some time
before given up to the few women and children the now capsized and
shattered boats. All along the shore, as far as eye could see, the beach
was composed of a heterogeneous mass of enormous fragments of rock
thrown together and piled up on each other, leaving here and there in
their midst a separate pool of sea water; in some of these pools was a
dead body or two, but by far the greater number were lying in every
imaginable, distorted position among the huge, irregular blocks of
stone. Many, who had been washed in sufficiently far to escape drowning,
were killed by the force with which they were dashed on shore: there,
with broken bones and gnashed and blood-stained bodies, they slept in
death, like men who had fallen in some great battle. It was noon, but
not a ray of sunlight glinted across the ghastly scene. Every sound was
lost in the terrific roar of the great, heaving hills of water, which
rolled in continuously; huge masses of wet gray cloud hung over all,
obscuring or transforming every visible object. Far up among the shingle
lay one human form which still bore signs of life. It was that of a
young lady, attired in deep mourning, a stream of blood trickled down
the pale face, and from time to time one hand moved convulsively toward
a deep cut in her head as if to assuage the pain; presently in
half-consciousness she whispered "Do not tell my mother I am hurt, it
would grieve her. She has had too much sorrow already."

The beloved mother, and all others who had made life precious to the
speaker, had three years previously been tenderly laid to rest in their
quiet graves thousands of miles away; but at this moment the mind had
only half awakened. A few minutes later her brain was clear and active,
and the truth flashed upon her in all its force. The recollection of her
bereavement and the fact of her being utterly alone in life, were the
first thoughts that came and the thoughts which dominated. And so it is
that all who are called upon to endure a great sorrow, acutely realize
that sorrow again and again with each return of the mind to the
consciousness of human existence, whether it be after the delerium of
fever, the stunning from an accident, or the awaking each morning to
daily life. With the awaking to our senses assuredly comes the old
heartache; nay, befo