m the bank of sand whereon she
had been seated, and cast anxious, rapid, and searching glances around
her. Not a human being met her eyes; but in the woods that stretched,
with emerald pride, almost down to the golden sands, the birds and
insects--nature's free commoners--sent forth the sounds of life and
welcomed the advent of the morn with that music of the groves.

The scenery which now presented itself to the contemplation of Nisida
was indescribably beautiful. Richly wooded hills rose towering above
each other with amphitheatrical effect; and behind the verdant panorama
were the blue outlines of pinnacles of naked rocks. But not a trace of
the presence of human beings was to be seen--not a hamlet, nor a
cottage, nor the slightest sign of agriculture! At a short distance lay
a portion of the wreck of the corsair-ship. The fury of the tempest of
the preceding night had thrown it so high upon the shoal whereon it had
struck, and the sea was now comparatively so calm, that Nisida was
enabled to approach close up to it. With little difficulty she succeeded
in reaching the deck,--that deck whose elastic surface lately vibrated
to the tread of many daring, desperate young men--but now desolate and
broken in many parts.

The cabin which had been allotted to her, or rather to which she had
been confined, was in the portion of the wreck that still remained; and
there she found a change of raiment, which Stephano had provided ere the
vessel left Leghorn. Carefully packing up these garments in as small and
portable a compass as possible, she fastened the burden upon her
shoulders by the means of a cord, and, quitting the vessel, conveyed it
safe and dry to the shore.

Then she returned again to the wreck in search of provisions,
considerable quantities of which she fortunately found to be uninjured
by the water; and these she was enabled to transport to the strand by
means of several journeys backward and forward between the shore and the
wreck. The occupation was not only necessary in order to provide the
wherewith to sustain life, but it also abstracted her thoughts from a
too painful contemplation of her position. It was long past the hour of
noon when she had completed her task; and the shore in the immediate
vicinity of the wreck was piled with a miscellaneous assortment of
objects--bags of provisions, weapons of defense, articles of the toilet,
clothing, pieces of canvas, cordage, and carpenter's tools. Then,
wearied