"Stop, Ariel; you are excited," said the captain, earnestly. "I have dared to follow you here because I am innocent, and want to convince you that I am. Your friend, Miss Madsen, told me all, and-and-I am surprised, Ariel, that you could think me so mean!" There was a troublesome catch in his voice at this juncture, but he overcame it bravely, and went on: "I did not give Madame Brunault your locket, Ariel. On my honor as a gentleman and a soldier, I lost it from my watch-chain at some time during the day; and I have made her confess to me, in the presence of Miss Madsen, that she found it on the floor. Can you believe me, little one?" Ariel was trembling like an aspen by this time, and could not have spoken a word to save her life. She was beginning to see her mistake. INDIAN GRATITUDE. A SKETCH OF WESTERN LIFE. matter. BY A. E. WALTERS. BOUT ten years since, as I sat in an antiquated pioneer hut, situated in one the most remote settlements of Nebraska, partaking of a scanty board of provisions, a poor, famished Indian made his appearance at the door and begged for something to eat. The generosity of my nature was moved by the story of his privations and wrongs, to all of which his weariness gave evidence. He stated, in tolerably good English, that he had been for two days on a fruitless excursion for game; that he had an aged mother at home, whose comfort and existence depended on his skill as a hunter, and worst of all that he had killed no game, "I knew that woman before her name was Ma. and that he could not bear the idea of letting his dame Brunault," continued Harry. "It was when poor, old mother perish from hunger, although at our army was stationed in India, six years ago. I present he did not know how he could remedy the confess that I was dazzled by her beauty, and made a precious fool of myself, but I assure you my infatuation was short-lived. I found her ou in time to save myself. She was thoroughly unscrupulous, very vain and pleasure-loving, and the god of her idolatry was-herself. She incautiously made the boast that she would win me and my money within a couple of months. A disinterested friend told me of this, and I had the pleasure of thwarting her scheme by getting out of her way. Afterwards, she married the rich and popular Mr. Brunault, and two years ago he died. I did not know she was in London, till she entered Mrs. McPherson's drawing-room this morning, and I more than half suspected that she would try and make mischief. Here is your locket, Ariel, just as you gave it to me. Can you believe what I tell you, darling? If not, you will certainly believe Miss Madsen-" Ariel was sobbing even more passionately than she had been when Harry entered, but she interrupted him at this point by throwing herself into his arms, and begging him, in a broken, hysterical way, to forgive her. He did forgive her, on the condition that she would not doubt him again, and she was only too glad to promise. So the private theatricals went on, but another lady was engaged to take Madame Brunault's place, since that fair goddess had the good sense to leave London after her mortifying exposure. An Eastern Bride. A girl, after she is betrothed, is cooped up in a small room, with shackles of gold and silver upon her ankles and wrists. If she is to be married to a man who has discharged, dispatched or lost a former wife, the shackles which the former wife wore are put upon the new bride's limbs, and she is fed till they are filled up to the proper thickness. The food used for this custom, worthy of barbarians, is a seed called drough, which is of an extraordinary fattening quality. With this seed and their national dish, cuscucoo, the bride is literally crammed, and may die under the spoon. "Never mind, brother," I said, in the kindest manner possible, "though my board is not very plenteous, what I have you shall willingly share, and after you have been satisfied, we will then consider what is best to do for the relief of the famishing mother at home." A flush of gratification overcast the savage as he drew near the table and sat down. He ate with an eagerness which proved to me that his was no sham complaint. "White man not all devil," said the Indian, after a few moments' silence, and he looked at me with a tear in his eye. I saw that the expression came from his heart. "What do you mean," I asked, "by such an unreasonable expression ?" He then informed me that he had stopped at the hut of a white man only a few miles north of me, and had begged for something to eat, but was refused, and not only refused, but was insulted and abused by the unfeeling occupant. He described him so well that I knew it was my nearest neighbor Flint, with whom I had but little dealings on account of his unsociability. "Bad white man never come to good," continued the Indian," and good white man never come to bad." "Indeed," said I, "there are too many who, sur rounded by the blessings and luxuries of life for get to administer to the necessities of those who may have been less favored by high heaven, and consequently are in want. But, brother, we should remember, that though blessed to-day, to-morrow we may be destitute, and dependent upon the charity of others; and above all, we should never forget or refuse to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and lift up him that is fallen." "White man talks right," said the Indian, while a look of satisfaction beamed from his eye; "good actions never forget-never die. We do good, the Great Spirit sends us good; we do bad, Great Spirit sends us bad." Thus reasoned the poor wild savage, and I thought that his reasonings were sound, and I wished that all white men thought just as he did, and acted upon the same principles in their dealings toward one another. Act as if they thought that, hereafter, they would be judged by their actions. How much better our world would be! The meal having been dispatched, I turned the subject of conversation toward the famishing mother at home. "Ah, yes!" he said, springing to his feet, "she must not die, I must away; but if I should kill no game," he said, mournfully, as he hastened to wards the door, "then all is over, and I could not live after that, for the evil ghosts would haunt me, and I would die and go to the world of evil spirits." "We must prevent such tragedies," I said. "Yesterday I had the good fortune to shoot a fine deer, and you can have the half of it as well as not, also a portion of corn, and we will set out immediately; I will go with you, and help to carry the burden." I then asked where he lived, when he informed me that his wigwam was situated on the banks of the Platte, some fifteen miles distant. I then tossed upon his back the half of the deer just mentioned, and shouldering a sack of corn myself, we moved off. Had I been lucky enough to have possessed a team of horses, it would have saved me a long and tiresome walk; but the reader must recollect that on the wild prairies of the West, the ox team is invariably used, because they are easier maintained than horses. It is needless to enter into a detailed account of the journey. It suffices to say, the assistance came in time, and that the aged and famishing mother was soon made happy and cheerful. After some time spent with my savage yet grateful friends, and after receiving manifold blessings and assurances of a return for my goodness, I returned to my own home, revolving in my mind as I did so, the novelty of the day's adventure, and to what it might hereafter lead. And I could not but draw a contrast between humanity and inhumanity, between in doing as we would wish to be done by, and doing as we, too frequently are done by. And I could not help thinking that the pleasure I then enjoyed was more gratifying than that of my neighbor Flint, who had refused the poor savage even a morsel of food. Although my neighbor had accumulated wealth faster than I, by means of his avariciousness, yet I did not envy him; a clear heart and a good conscious is a greater blessing than them all. What little I have is a source of comfort to me, and not of regret, as it would be had I come by it dishonestly. We will now pass over a period of four years, during which time serious difficulties arose between the border settlers and the Indians; in which many of the former lost their lives. Nor did I escape the common fury of the savages, but with all my effects I was hurried away to the hostile camp. Here I met my unfortunate neighbor Flint and others who had fallen victims to the common rage; poor fellows! lying about upon the ground, closely fettered hand and foot, and lashed fast to trees to keep them still. Theirs was indeed a most pitiable condition. But I was not left a great while to pity the miseries of others, ere I was fettered and left in the same uncomfortable condition. Ah, too feeble is the pen of the writer to even attempt a description of the tortures of such a confinement. The air resounded with the cries of the poor wretches. As for the comfort of my situation, the reader can imagine how he would feel with a rope around his ankles, the other end of which was tied to the branch of a tree overhead in such a way as to elevate his feet far above his head. The fancy can hardly paint a more uncomfortable situation than this; and in this predicament we were left for the night. I had had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours, and the keen demands of appetite almost rendered me frantic. The Indians then retired to their camp, not however without holding a grand pow-wow or conversation respecting the fate of the prisoners on the morrow. It was all quite incomprehensible to me, for I did not understand their language; but not so with all the prisoners; for as soon as they were gone, one of them cried out: "There comrades, did you hear that ?" "I heard it," said one, "but could not understand it; what does it all mean ?" "It means," continued the first, "that we are all to be burned at the stake in the morning." "Sure?" asked the other. "Yes, I am quite sure that such is the decision of the council. I understand their Sioux as well as I do the English, and such is our inevitable doom." The groan which my poor close-fisted neighbor Flint gave was truly touching. "Is that so?" he asked, excitedly. "O my God, and is there no escape?" "None but roast," replied the other, "unless you can break your fetters during the night and escape by that means." "But that is impossible," continued poor Flint, hopelessly. "Then better reconcile yourself to it, my friend," said the other, "and suffer yourself not to be excited; assistance may come yet. I was once nearer than this to the stake, and still escaped to meet this danger, and I trust to outlive it also." How vain such hopes! The night wore away tediously, and not one, I dare say, of all those prisoners, slept a wink; at least I did not, and cries and complaints were heard from all around. But those complaints were soon to be hushed, and those fears all quieted in the grave. The inauspicious morning began to dawn in the east, but no looked-for-friends, no assistance came. The cries of discomfiture among the captives became heart-rending as they began to despair. But as for me, I had endured, and was still enduring all that it was possible for poor human nature to bear, and I cared but little how soon the tragedy was brought to a close. I had been guilty of nothing worthy of punishment, had a clear heart and approving conscience, consequently the future appeared bright before me. Presently the Indians made their appearance in considerable numbers, and unfettering the feet of the captives, we were all marched off to the banks of the Platte, where a bright fire was already seen blazing, and a large assemblage of Indians were gathered around it. Some of the captives were greatly affected at the sight of what they rightly supposed to be their approaching dissolution; while my poor unfortunate neighbor Flint was quite overcome, and had to be carried. rays of the future seemed to break in upon my half unconsciousness, and the thought occurred, "How shall I be received in the other world?" I recollect experiencing a sense of disappointment that the pangs of death should be so brief; and I remember a sensation of pity felt for those who still dwelt upon the earth-how they tremble at the thought of dissolution, when the suffering is in reality so quickly over. When I awoke from insensibility, I found myself lying on a soft, comfortable bed in my own little hut. But how I came there was a mystery. A venerable squaw was sitting by my side, and near the fireplace sat an old Indian warrior smok "Never mind," said one of the savages, in broken English, who had to assist in the task, "you feel better by-and-by." Soon, on the border of a beautiful prairie, the party came to a halt. On one hand was the river, skirted with trees, and on the other a vast extent of prairie, reaching as far as the eye could see, with the dim outlines of timber away in the distance. Here another pow-wow was held, at the conclusion of which we were all unceremoniously lashed to trees, generally four in a place, with ouring his pipe. Observing the change of my countebacks to the tree, and our hands still firmly bound. Wood was then placed around us, and I really began to feel that my hour had come. However, I had resolved to meet it like a true martyr, with christian meekness, resigning myself to Him whose power can save the spirit even after the body is consumed in ashes. The moments flew past rapidly. O, the anxiety and fearful excitement of that hour! The necessary preparations were all made, the wood placed, and the victims at the stake. "Salt-petre can't save us," said he, who on the previous evening had been our interpreter; "for they are now only awaiting the arrival of another company who desire to witness our torment. It is all over with us! all over with us!" he repeated, in a despairing tone. "We must all perish here." "O God! O God!" echoed a chorus of voices all around, "have mercy on us!" nance, she spoke to him, when he arose and came toward me. What was my astonishment, when I recognized in him my old friends, who some years before I had saved from starvation; and the old squaw was his mother. There then had I seen the effects of Indian gratitude. This was the reward of my kindness and generosity. As he drew near me with a grateful smile on his countenance, I looked at him in wonder, and unceremoniously extended my hand to him, which was warmly taken; and after many hearty congratulations were received from my red-skin nurses, the subject of the former intimacy was introduced. "But how is it, or why is it, that I am here?" I asked, feeling somewhat oblivious respecting the past. ed. "You recollect being a prisoner ?" "I think that I have been dreaming," I answer "Yes, dreaming of fire and of bad Indians," said he, regretfully. It was then the horrible reality flashed upon my mind. "O, yes," I exclaimed, darting from my bed. "But where are my companions? and how came I to be rescued from the terrible death which awaited me?" "Bad white men all gone," he said, "to dream "But how came I to be saved ?" I asked. "Me come just in time. Me not know you there, or me come sooner." Minutes flew past, yet the expected company came not, and I perceived a spirit of impatience and uneasiness among those by whom we were surrounded. The savages began to murmur, and a serious contention rose among them, during which the torches were applied, and the flames began to circle up on all sides very rapidly. The smoke arose in dense volumes almost from the beginning, and well-nigh suffocated me. Meanwhile the savages commenced dancing around us, flour-land-no more trouble." ishing their tomahawks, and shrieking a kind of doggerel or war song, the while at intervals thrusting sharp-pointed sticks into the flesh of their perishing victims. The air resounded with the shrieks and groans of the poor victims as they writhed amid the torture. The flames progressed rapidly; the lower portions of my body were already badly blistered, and the hot smoke circled around my head, and singed my hair, and almost entirely obstructed my breathing. The pangs I then felt can be better imagined than described. Its most excruciating torture to depict I can find no words that would give you the faintest idea of it. I discovered myself to be fast sinking into insensibility. There was gathering into my eyes what I can describe as no other than the shadow of despair. I seemed to be settling down into a half unconscious slumber, which I thought was death, and from which I never expected to awaken. The pang was over, and I felt that my scene of suffering was at an end. I seemed to enjoy a kind of breathiess being. My mind flashed back upon the past, and Thus was I made aware of the dreadful tragedy which had been enacted. My Indian friends remained with me several days, when my health was completely restored and I was able to go about with ease. They conducted me out over my premises and showed me everything in its place just as I left it when carried off by the savages; then whispering in my ear, "We do good, the Great Spirit sends us good," the Indian departed to his own home, accompanied by his old mother, and I have never seen them since that day. "How many regular boarders have you, madam ?" asked a census-taker of a landlady. "Well, really I can't say as any of 'em is too regular. They stay out." "I mean, madam, how many steady boarders have you?" "Well, really, out of nineteen there's not more'n two that I'd call steady." THE CHILD OF THE SEA. BY EMERET H. Sedge. N the eastern coast of Newfoundland, between Cape St. Francis and the little town of St. John's, was a narrow estuary, which extending inland a short distance, was met by a small and rapid stream, the waters of which it first rebuffed and then swallowed up in its briny wave. The rocky wall on one side retired just enough to leave room for a fisherman's hut, with a gradual slope of ground between it and the ocean. Behind the house there might have been an equal extent of surface reduced to good cultivation, and producing hardy vegetables and a few stunted trees. It was already past the middle of the last half of a sultry summer's day. The only occupant of the little area was a young girl of about fourteen years, who went from the hut to the beach, from the rocks to the garden, from the forsaken old boat to the little flower border, in a capricious circuit; bounding over the hard soil with captivating grace, clambering in dangerous places with agile daring, then disposing some domestic labor with busy care, or looking with anxious gaze out on the sol. itary water. Her face was sweet and beautiful, and the rough sea winds had no power to sully its rare whiteness, and the chilling mists could not drive the roses from the round cheek and full lips; and her little hand, too, as she raised it to shade for an instant her large dark eyes, or toss back the long truant curl, gleamed like the snowy wing of a bird. Though there was no other human being near her, she did not feel either fear or loneliness, for a great, shaggy and powerful dog, a native of the island, was her constant companion and protector, and almost sympathizing friend. A more than brute intelligence seemed to glow in his eyes as he watched the wistful gaze of his young mistress, who, resting her hand upon his long, curly hair, paused again to carefully survey the ocean prospect before her, and then to observe the thunder-cloud which threw up its gleaming fantastic pillars from behind the cliff "They were to have been here early this morning, did you know it, Christy ?" said the girl. The dog wagged his tail in the affirmative. "It is very strange, isn't it?" she continued; "they must come in sight soon. I am afraid they are lost in the fog, and there will certainly be a dreadful storm before midnight, won't there?" Christy looked with his mistress toward the straggling cloud that was rapidly rising to obscure the sun, and uttered a long, mournful howl. "O, don't do so. Keep up your spirits, Christy Perhaps they are in sight already. We'll go out upon the crag and look for them." The dog, as if he fully comprended the words, moved on before towards the place indicated, and with grave pace wound his way among the loose rocks and up the rugged ascent. The young girl, kept close behind him, and with voice and eye and caress showed her loving admiration of his huge, supple, undulating form, and bestowed her unstinted praise upon the dog, which now and then ooked round in acknowledgment. They came ou upon the crag that hung low over the water and projected farther into the ocean than any neighboring point. The girl bent forward and sent her searching glance in every direction. All along the coast and about half a mile from it, lay a thick, heavy fog bank close upon the sea, that sunk down dense and compact, and wrapped its chilling folds about like a winding-sheet. The girl was tired and disappointed, and with a sigh she sat down, and leaning her hand upon Christy, looked on the waters as they gave their tumultuous greeting of spray and gurgling foam to the repelling shore. But there was no cheer in their rushing voice, and she grew more sad till the quick tears came into her eyes and blinded her. A sudden thought struck her, and she sprang to her feet, exclaiming with a forced smile: "Father Mahan says I must not hearken to the waves when they talk despondingly, for then they tempt me into a grievous sin against the Holy One; and surely they never were so full of the spirit of evil as they are at this hour, and I am very weak." Christy gave a sharp bark, not in response, but at the fog bank from which there quickly shot out the same instant a large row boat, containing two individuals, that rapidly drew near the shore, accelerated by the hasty strokes of the oars and the flowing tide. As it appeared, the shadow left the face of the tearful girl, and she clapped her hands exultingly, but her joy was soon turned to hesitation, then to complete disappointment, when she perceived that the boat did not contain those whom she expected, but strangers. Whoever they might be, they were unacquainted with the locality, for not heeding the half-concealed estuary, they made for a deceptive but impossible landing-place in another direction. The girl, aware of the danger to which they were exposed in their passage among the rocks, seized the hat from her head and swinging it aloft, shouted at the top of her voice, and Christy, not behindhand in benevolent intent, barked in his own sturdy fashion. Their united demonstrations gained the attention of the sailors, who immediately bent their course towards the crag, not before the girl, venturing too near the edge of the rock in her earnestness, slipped and fell into the waters beneath. In the twinkling of an eye Christy also disappeared in the deep surf, and presently rose with his precious burden. It was not easy to gain the beach before the hut, but the dog swam vigorously and cautiously among the rocks, and at length reached the calm water and bore his charge to the dry shore, none the worse for her sudden plunge save by a thorough wetting and the loss of her hat. Christy seemed to notice that it was missing, and after looking intently out on the ocean for a minute, and discoving it as it mounted a distant wave, started after it with a loud bark. The hat went farther, and the dog grew tired and weak, and had it not been for the timely notice of the sailors and the arrival of the boat to his assistance, must have sunk, a victim to his devotion. The girl, pale with anxiety on his behalf, bebeld with joy as he was taken into the boat, and when soon after he sprang out upon the little beach at her feet, forgetful of her own situation and the strangers who followed him, she loaded her favorite with caresses, while they observed her with admiration. She did not look up until she heard the voice of Father Mahan, who advancing from behind the hut, and seeing the unwonted group on the beach, and the agitation of his wet friends, drew near, alarm and surprise depicted in his face. "How is this, my daughter? To what danger have you been exposed ?" The girl sprang up, and taking his hand, said: "Nay, it is nothing. I only awkwardly tumbled off the crag, and Christy, the good fellow, leaped after me to save me from the effects of my carelessness. I dropped my hat as I went into the water, and Christy must needs go after it without my bidding, and if it bad not been for the kindness of these strangers, I should never have had him again." She paused abruptly and blushed as she noticed the observation of the men directed to her, and remembered the plight of her drenched and straightened curls and clinging garments. But Father Mahan laid his hand upon her head and said: "Hasten, my child, to obtain dry clothing, and I, meanwhile, will talk with these men. A shower is approaching, and we shall be your guests, probably. I see that Joe and George are not come." "No; they are lost in the fog, no doubt, and their boat can never outlive a storm," she said, tearfully. "See how black the cloud is, and the waves swell and the fog rises and spreads." "Think hopefully of all things, and forget not Him who brings light out of darkness and changes onr misfortune into great joy. We are in His hand. Hasten, my daughter," and waving the girl towards the hut, the priest turned to the strangers who waited his salutation. The foremost of these was a young man not more than twenty years of age, medium stature, with a well-formed frame, an intellectual head, features denoting refinement and self-control, and a clear, steady blue eye that inspired immediate confidence. He was dressed in the garb of a sailor, and the extreme neatness of his attire, together with unusual fairness of complexion, indicated that he had not seen a protracted nautical service. He was accompanied by a half-blood Indian, who stood deferentially at a little distance leaning on the oar. "Permit me to introduce myself," said the young man, addressing the priest in a cordial voice and polished accents. "Alexander Walsworth, a resident of the city of New York, and at present a transient visitor, with my mother, at St. John's. We have come northward in the spirit o |