shore, in a heavy swell, on a still, cloudy, sultry evening; one of those evenings which "e'en in their silence seem to brood" something portentous of approaching storms. The clouds hung heavily along the horizon, and seemed to mingle their huge masses with the heaving ocean. On one side stretched the Mexican coast, a bold mountain dimly visible in the distance. We had passed the mouth of the river; through a glass had been discerned the shipping that lies there; but the breeze came not which might have wafted us safely into harbour. So we came to anchor, as I said before, after uneasy consultations; and many an anxious gaze, weatherward, proving the dubious seamanship of the measure that was adopted at last. This idea, however, did not trouble me; for placing implicit confidence in the skill and experience of those in command, we retired to rest with our usual tranquillity; a calm as deceitful as that of the weather, which was rather disturbed about midnight by the hollow roaring sound of the approaching gale, like the low growl of a beast of prey ready to take its spring, and by the real spring of the Captain from his hammock on to the deck, with the hoarse ominous cry of "All hands on deck!" But "all hands” were fast asleep, and there was not a light on board, of which I was not at first aware, but discovered it by the reiterated shouts and curses of the Captain; upon which I felt for my magic matches, and raising the hatchway, called out at the top of my voice that I had a light for them. This effort relieved me from the terrible feelings that took possession of me during the first frightful minutes of darkness and confusion; confusion that was above me, and round about me, and busy at my heart; and yet in which I could take no share, nor lift a finger to avert the impending danger. In the meantime the howling of the gale increased every instant, and with it the uproar on deck; and, above all, we heard the Captain vociferate repeatedly "Does she drag?" At length the mate answered him that she had parted her cable, and then we said, "Now surely it is time to awaken the children and prepare for the worst, for, alas! it is all over with us." So I reluctantly raised them from their happy slumber, and at the moment I was lifting one of them from the berth, the vessel struck amid the breakers, and shipped a sea, which rushing down the companionway drenched us completely. For an instant it appeared that we were all afloat. The vessel turned on her side, and every moveable article flew forward as it were with a sudden impulse to obey the immutable laws of attraction; which we with some difficulty resisted. Soon after this the mate came down into the cabin, and by his assurances that we were in no danger dispelled our fears. He declared that every stroke of the vessel heaved her higher up on the beach, and

Thus

promised to have us safely carried ashore at day-break. re-assured, we waited in a most drenched and comfortless condition till daylight should enable us to land in safety.

At early dawn we were summoned on deck, when the danger being over, we could contemplate without dismay the wild scene before us. The unfortunate little schooner, lying half on her side, was heaving heavily to every stroke of the sea which partially She had fought her way broke over her. The struggle was over. through those frightful breakers, which were roaring fiercely behind, as though still eager to pursue their prey; and now beyond their reach, lay sullenly resigned to her fate, like some luckless youth wrecked amid the breakers of disordered passions. He lives, it is true; but can float no more on the buoyant waves of a sunny existence. Stranded, listless, hopeless, he wears away the sad remainder of his life. Now we, though stranded, were neither listless, nor hopeless; but very much on the alert.

The sailors, who were bouncing about in the surf like great and there ; the desoamong water dogs, carried us safely to shore late sand-hills they had pitched for us a rude tent, with some loose spars and a huge sail they had contrived to drag through the waves. I felt grateful to the Captain and his mate for this ready provision for our comfort. They certainly spared no exertion nor contrivance by which they could in any way alleviate our melancholy condition during the two days we remained encamped on that dismal scorching coast.

On landing, some of the party expressed a fear that the natives might take advantage of our helpless situation; and I, ignorant of the peaceable character of the Mexicans in that quarter of the country, felt quite alarmed when I perceived some people approaching I urged the gentlemen to arm at a brisk pace along the shore. themselves, and retreated precipitately into the tent, dragging with me the poor half-dressed, dripping children. But the Captain laughed at my fears, and soon convinced me that the people at hand were only poor fellows who had been gathering oysters for the Tampico market, to which place they were carrying them on the backs of donkeys. These were the first Mexicans we had seen, and we eyed them with no small degree of curiosity. They were small in stature and nearly as dark as Indians, but otherwise not much resembling that race. They were not overburthened with clothing; a shirt, and loose cotton drawers reaching a little below the knee, being their only apparel. They carried short leather whips, or rather thongs, and ran barefoot after their donkeys.

In the course of the day my alarm was slightly renewed by the appearance of two strange, swarthy looking beings at the door of

the tent. They were dressed like the oystermen, with the addition of a kind of leather breastplates strapped over their shoulders, and tied round the middle with leather girdles, to which were attached great knives a foot and a half long. "Gracious Heaven!" thought I, "are they going to butcher us with those frightful knives!" But again my fears were without foundation. They were only poor wood-cutters, carrying those formidable looking weapons in the way of their business, and with no hostile intent. They came to beg a dram and a bit of sea biscuit, which was handed to them, and we were glad to see them move off. We amused ourselves through the day by gathering shells on the beach and bathing in the surf. We also made a short exploring expedition, and roaming over the sand-hills, discovered a small la. goon, near which some deer were feeding, and great sea birds were winging their lazy flight. The excessive heat, however, made exercise unpleasant; it would have been intolerable but for a strong breeze off the sea. If we took shelter under the tent, the oppressive closeness of the air was more distressing than the scorch. ing heat of the sun. Besides which, the wet sand that had clung

to the sail of which the tent was formed, fell as it dried, and covered every thing, powdered our hair and mingled with our provisions. We felt no partiality for that sandy abode, but preferred a seat in the open air under shelter of an umbrella. But when night came there was no choice left us; so into the tent we went, and resigned ourselves to the heat and the sand, the sand flies and land crabs, which peered up their little glassy eyes at us out of holes in the ground, quite amazed at the sight of such intruders. Some customhouse officers too had found us out, and eyed us with equal curi. osity. We returned them the compliment; but I could discover nothing in their appearance worthy of a second glance, except the peculiar manner in which their hair was dressed. It was shaved quite close at the back of the head, while the front locks were left long and frizzed fiercely round the face. This I find is a prevailing Mexican mode of hair dressing. One of these gentlemen had gathered a quantity of turtles' eggs on the beach, which formed an excellent addition to our supper.

The next morning, as the news of our disaster had reached Tampico, a party of gentlemen rode down to the wreck, from va rious motives of duty, interest, and curiosity. They were of various nations; Americans, English, Germans, Mexicans. They were all well mounted, with each a servant also on horseback, and formed quite a cavalcade as they came ambling along the beach. The costume of these gentlemen struck me as well suited to the climate. Large Panama hats, snow-white jacket and trowsers,

and linen in which appeared the most scrupulous attention to neat. Some adopt the becoming addition of a scarlet sash round

ness.

the waist.

That evening, as we were drinking our tea in the tent, two or three sailors appeared at the door, and asked abruptly, "Now, sir, shall we turn in and bury the cook!" Assent was given, and the ceremony was very unceremoniously performed. The poor fellow was a negro, and had been sick nearly from the time we left New Orleans, and on the morning we abandoned the vessel was so unwilling to leave his berth, that the sailors had to use force, and swing him over the side of the schooner with ropes fastened round him; and then, being a heavy man, it was with difficulty they removed him to a small tent raised for his accommodation, where he was afterwards found dead. So he was sewed up in a blanket, and placed upon a rudely constructed bier, from which the body fell twice as they were bearing it to a grave his shipmates had prepared for its reception, where the funeral service was read to the assem. bled crew from a prayer book that I was glad to see produced. One of the poor fellows begged to be allowed to place a cross there to mark the spot, which, with a seaman's oath, was peremptorily refused with what appeared to me mistaken zeal. I cannot understand what there is so offensive to a Christian eye in that most appropriate emblem of the sufferings of our Saviour. In such cases, when calamity consigns the remains of some unfortunate to unconsecrated ground, beyond the reach of the usual forms which hallow the place and solemnize the scene, that simple emblem seems to "Here lies a Christian.” consecrate the spot and say,

The next morning we gained our first experience in Mexican travelling. Two men were sent down, with five horses, to carry me and my three children to Tampico, a distance of three or four leagues. Two of these Rosinantes were furnished with side-saddles, on one of which my little girl reluctantly took her first lesson in riding; the others were carried by the servants; and the extra horse, loaded with baggage, was tied to the tail of one of his companions. The animal which had thus the triple duty to perform of carrying a servant and child, and of leading another horse in the singular manner described, seemed rather the least stupid of the party; so he took the lead, and we followed in most irregular file along the shore.

We had not proceeded far when we were met by about twenty men on foot, a motley crew, whose wild looks and strange unpleasant countenances excited my curiosity as much as the novelty of our appearance riveted their attention. They wore coarse palm hats of every size and shape, which contrasted strongly with their

jet black hair and swarthy skins. They were bare-legged and bare-footed, and had little clothing beyond a shirt thrown open at the collar, and a pair of wide, short drawers. What surprised us the most was to see some of these beings striding along with their brawny limbs entirely exposed to the burning rays of the sun; naked with the exception of drawers fastened round the loins, and tucked tightly up far above the knee; in which state of semi-nudity I have since seen many of the labourers at work.

"Who, and what are these?" we asked of our guide, who was "Portuguese John" the interpreter; and who informed us in very good English that they were labourers sent down from Tampico to assist in unloading the vessel. They passed us at a brisk pace, chattering and laughing, as though trouble sat as lightly on them as their clothing and in my mind I compared their heedless hilarity with the dignified gravity of our North American republicans. We had occasionally to wind our way round abrupt points of land, the bases of which were washed by the surge; whilst the retiring wave left a firm footing for the animals. Round these points the led horse objected to pass, and invariably expressed his unwillingness by squatting on his haunches and holding back with all his might. Thus was our little party thrown into confusion. The children screamed, the men shouted their Spanish vociferations, and thick fell the blows of the whip. But after leaving the shore we had no further difficulties to encounter. Our lazy nags led us slowly through thickets of a species of the banyan tree, where the children observed with delight large hanging nests of birds quite new to them, and a variety of plants and flowers, all rendered charming by novelty.

At the mouth of the river is a cluster of bamboo huts, in one of which, the domicile of our guide, we stopped and rested, and looked at some half-dressed, lazy looking women, who, sitting in low seats with their great, bare, brown arms lolling across their knees, eyed us with stupid curiosity. I would fain have addressed them, and exercised the traveller's privilege of asking questions; but, alas! my ignorance of the Spanish language set a seal upon my tongue. Yet more did I lament this deficiency when I found myself the inmate of a foreign merchant in Tampico, in whose household Spanish was the only language made use of, except by the head of the establishment, a young German, who, fortunately for us, spoke English. In a foreign accent he gave us hospitable welcome, and we thankfully accepted the accommodation he politely offered, as Tampico afforded no decent place of public entertainment.

On the opposite corner of a cross street stood a large coffeehouse, the resort of foreigners; where from my window I observed