omplete security; till at length the orient luster was
caught successively by a thousand lofty pinnacles of rock; and finally
the majestic orb itself appeared, lighting up a series of verdant
plains, delicious groves, glittering lakes, pellucid streams, as well as
the still turbulent ocean and the far-off mountains which had first
peeped from amidst the darkness.

Fair and delightful was the scene that thus developed itself to the eyes
of Wagner; but as his glance swept the country which rose
amphitheatrically from the shore not a vestige of the presence of man
could be beheld. No smoke curled from amidst the groves, no church spire
peeped from amongst the trees; nor had the wilderness of nature been
disturbed by artificial culture.

He turned toward the ocean; there was not a trace of his vessel to be
seen. But further along the sand lay a dark object, which he approached,
with a shudder, for he divined what it was.

Nor was he mistaken; it was the swollen and livid corpse of one of the
sailors of his lost ship.

Wagner's first impulse was to turn away in disgust, but a better feeling
almost immediately animated him: and, hastening to the nearest grove, he
broke off a large bough, with which he hollowed a grave in the sand. He
deposited the corpse in the hole, throwing back the sand which he had
displaced, and thus completed his Christian task.

During his visit to the grove, he had observed with delight that the
trees were laden with fruit; and he now returned thither to refresh
himself by means of the banquet thus bountifully supplied by nature.
Having terminated his repast, he walked further inland. The verdant
slope stretched up before him, variegated with flowers, and glittering
with morning dew. As he advanced, the development of all the features of
that land--lakes and woods; hills undulating like the sea in sunset,
after hours of tempest: rivulets and crystal streams, each with its own
peculiar murmurs, but all of melody; groves teeming with the most
luxurious fruit of the tropics, and valleys carpeted with the brightest
green, varied with nature's own embroidery of flowers--the development
of this scene was inexpressibly beautiful, far surpassing the finest
efforts of creative fancy.

Wagner seated himself on a sunny bank, and fell into a profound
meditation. At length, glancing rapidly around, he exclaimed aloud, as
if in continuation of the chain of thoughts which had already occupied
his mind, "Oh, i