every part of
our dangerous coasts. No eye was there to see nor ear to hear, when,
twenty minutes after she struck, the East-Indiaman went to pieces, and
those of her crew and passengers who had retained their hold of her
uttered their last despairing cry, and their souls returned to God who
gave them.

It is a solemn thought that man may with such awful suddenness, and so
unexpectedly, be summoned into the presence of his Maker. Thrice happy
they who, when their hearts grow chill and their grasps relax as the
last plank is rending, can say, "Neither death, nor life, nor any other
creature, is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord."

The scene we have described was soon over, and the rich cargo of the
East-Indiaman was cast upon the sea and strewn upon the shore, affording
much work for many days to the coastguard, and greatly exciting the
people of the district--most of whom appeared to entertain an earnest
belief in the doctrine that everything cast by storms upon their coast
ought to be considered public property. Portions of the wreck had the
name "Trident" painted on them, and letters found in several chests
which were washed ashore proved that the ship had sailed from Calcutta,
and was bound for the port of London. One little boy alone escaped the
waves. He was found in a crevice of the cliffs the following day, with
just enough vitality left to give a few details of the wreck. Although
all possible care was bestowed on him, he died before night.

Thus sudden and complete was the end of as fine a ship as ever spread
her canvas to the breeze. At night she had been full of life--full of
wealth; in the morning she was gone--only a few bales and casks and
broken spars to represent the wealth, and stiffened corpses to tell of
the life departed. So she came and went, and in a short time all
remnants of her were carried away.

One morning, a few weeks after the night of the storm, Maggot the smith
turned himself in his bed at an early hour, and, feeling disinclined to
slumber, got up to look at the state of the weather. The sun was just
rising, and there was an inviting look about the morning which induced
the man to dress hastily and go out.

Maggot was a powerfully-built man, rough in his outer aspect as well as
in his inner man, but by no means what is usually termed a bad man,
although, morally speaking, he could not claim to be considered a good
one. In fact, he