Natalie A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds Part 8

NATALIE.

"If ever angels walked this weary earth In human likeness, thou wert one of them."

ANONYMOUS.

"'Mid pleasures and palaces, where'er we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home; A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere."

MOORE.

"Sampson, Mr. Sampson! just step this way, and bring your eye to bear a little to the nothe-nothe-east, and tell me what you make."

"Make, boy, make!" exclaimed Sampson, thrusting a huge piece of pigtail into his already overcharged, capacious mouth, "I suppose you would have me believe that you'd made the light of some sweet-heart's eyes, outs.h.i.+ning even old Sankoty itself."

"Three years ago, do you remember it, Sampson, when I was a mere stripling, you took me aside, and pointed out a dim light, away down to the water's edge, and told me I would have seen different days before I made it again? Do you think I can ever forget it? I could tell its light from among a thousand! As I caught its last rays then, it seemed to me the pensive, forgiving smile of my mother, for, as you know, I came away from home without my mother's consent; but I long ago received her forgiveness, and everything will be forgotten in the happiness which we shall enjoy at meeting once more. And my father, he is at home by this time! How surprised they will all be to see me grown almost to be a man!

I hope the Sea-flower is the same little fairy still. She will not always be a bud, however; yet the opening flower has greater charms."

"Bless my stars! boy, are you losing your senses?" asked the astonished Sampson, as Harry walked the deck in raptures, talking as fast as his tongue could fly, as it appeared to the old tar, in riddles.

"What's got into your head, boy? I have always taken you to be the most sensible person aboard, but s.h.i.+ver my topsails, if the fellow don't talk as if he expected to find old Vineyard Sound turned into a flower garden, with a fairy made fast to every other blossom!"

As Sampson delivered himself of this ludicrous remark, Harry burst into a loud fit of laughter, and handing the tar his gla.s.s, he sang out "Sankoty light, ahoy!" which brought all hands on deck in an instant, rubbing open their eyes, (for it was but the second watch in the morning,) to catch sight of the first object visible of their homes.

"Three cheers for old Nantucket, and young Grosvenor!" shouted the captain; and the ready huzza which went up, amid the waving of sundry flannel s.h.i.+rts, old boots, and forsaken tarpaulins, which had been caught up by the unshorn tars, as the sound of their near proximity to home aroused them from the dreamy visions thereof to the vivid realities, were borne over the waters which separated them from thence, deceiving the red-combed heralds of the day into the belief of an early dawn, judging from the signs of recognition which met their approach, as the first tinge of red lit up the eastern sky.

n.o.bly the good s.h.i.+p Nautilus bore down to the bar, setting heavily on the water, and the good twenty-five hundred with which she was laden, was no less weighty than the handfuls of silver which danced o'er the minds of the glad sailor boys, as they neared their native sh.o.r.e. None were more light-hearted at the prospect before them than Harry Grosvenor; not that he had become weary of the sailor's life, for he loved the ocean with the same free, wild love as when three years before, it had beckoned his boyish heart to brave its perils; but his joy, as the endeared objects of his home, one by one, welcomed him in his fancy, was unbounded, and he could not realize that he should so soon greet the dear ones who had been the subjects of his most precious thoughts, through the many days which had separated them.

"Well, my boy," said Sampson, as he grasped Harry by the hand, "we've sailed under a clear sky for the most of the time, and we've held together about as good as the strongest, but there's no use in shedding fresh water tears over it, for I'm thinking this'll not be your last voyage, and as for me, there's nothing to hinder my hanging around this little sand-heap a bit longer; and who knows but we may try it again some day. Who knows? ah, who knows that John Sampson is not lying at this moment at the bottom of the sea? Who is there that cares to know?"

"This, I know, is not your home, Mr. Sampson; but have you not one friend? is there no spot in the wide world which is dear to you? is there not one who will welcome you home?"

"All places are the same to me, and I can truly say, there is not a person on the whole earth that would 'bout s.h.i.+p' to get a look at me. To be sure, I was brought up somehow, till I was able to take myself up, but by whom, or where, is farther back than the story goes; all I know is, I found myself, at six years old, on the top of a London dust heap, taking a survey of the great metropolis. Whether I was left there by the refuse gatherers, to come under the head of starved dogs, or whether I was accidentally dropped by my lawful owner, it don't make much difference. Well, I shook the dust out of my eyes, and made for the water, and I've lived on the water for the most part ever since. But there's one comfort about it, I've never been troubled with poor relations," added he, jocosely.

"Mr. Sampson, yours is a strange history, and what is stranger still, that you have not, in all your yarns in the forecastle, spun us this one. But have you never, in all your wanderings, met with those whom, you can call your friends?"

"A rough old tar like me, I must say, would not be the most inviting craft to interchange signals with, but, thank G.o.d, I have found one, in my long life of wanderings who was worthy the name of friend! but she, kind, beautiful lady, is gone;" and the rough tar drew his sleeve across his eyes, and turning toward the island, muttered,--"twelve, yes, fifteen years ago this very month, and I the only one saved! I worked hard, but it was of no use; it was to be. I'd gladly have gone down to have saved her."

"Well, Sampson, I think it is you who are losing your senses now," said Harry, as he listened to his inaudible words; "but you shall not say you have not a friend so long as my craft sails the ocean, for I never shall forget your kindness to me and my faithful old Nep, while exposed to the harsh treatment of our former captain; and depend upon it, you will have made other true friends, when the dear ones at home shall have heard of your generous conduct. I have one of the best of mothers, Mr. Sampson, and a sister who would make you a better man to look into her heaven-speaking eyes! A likeness of her was among my valuables when I left home, but it has been by some means mislaid."

"A better man, eh? well, there's room enough for that! I shall have to lie under a close reef, and by the help of my gla.s.s, I may get sight of her some day."

The crew of the Nautilus, after having made themselves as tidy as a six months' beard, and a suit of three years' usage would admit, prepared to go ash.o.r.e. As Harry stepped upon the wharf, he looked among the s.h.i.+ps lying at the dock, for the Tantalizer, but not seeing her, he concluded she must have put to sea again, and taking his package upon his shoulder, he whistled for Neptune, and turned his footsteps homeward.

How familiar was every object as he tripped along the street! everything appeared the same as when he left, and as he pa.s.sed the old church, it seemed as if it was but yesterday when he had kneeled upon the door-stone in prayer for those who were sleeping, unconscious of the sorrow which awaited them. His heart beat wildly as he drew near his home,--so great was his joy that he had not observed that Nep had not accompanied him from the s.h.i.+p. It was evident that he would take the family by surprise, for not even old Vingo was to be seen about the premises. Noiselessly he opened the door,--his mother was sitting with her face from him, engaged with her sewing, and at her feet sat the Sea-flower, so absorbed, reading his last letter, that she was not aware of his presence till he threw his arms about his mother's neck, and sobbed like a child. As he turned to his sister he faltered; what a change had been wrought in her in three years! The child, whose mature mind had not been in accordance with her years, had come to be a fair maiden of sixteen summers! The bud had indeed expanded, till now its unfolding leaves were as new-born rays of love, reminding Earth of Heaven. The Sea-flower saw that her brother hesitated in giving her his usual salutation, and throwing herself into his arms, she said,--"I am the little Sea-flower still, dear Harry; I shall always be the same simple child; but how you have grown, dear brother! I can hardly believe you are the little rogue who used to hide my pet kitten, because you loved to see the tears come into my eyes, and you would look at me without speaking a word, till I would laugh outright, and break the charm, as you said; and then the tears would come in your own eyes, for fear you had been selfish. But I felt that my tears were not in vain, for I usually found some little stranger among the bright-eyed ones, that looked up to me for protection."

"I knew I should find you the same dear sister as ever! I knew you would always be the same;" and as the vague remembrance that she was of other parentage flashed across his mind, he modestly pressed her hand to his lips, and gazed into her beautiful face in silence.

Harry observed that his mother had lost her cheerful, happy expression, which had given her the youthful look not of her years, and he feared that his conduct had been a source of deeper grief to her than he had supposed; but now that she again looked upon her son, her pale, pensive face was lit up with the smile of contentment, and a heart of thanks was hers that so many blessings were yet her portion.

A noise which strongly reminded Harry of the rattling of the rigging in a gale of wind, was now heard in the hall, and Vingo presented himself at the door; he looked at Harry, then at his mistress, while the pupil of his eye gave place to its lighter counterpart, and raising both hands, he exclaimed,--"De good Lord be praised! 'pears like I couldn't be any fuller ob laugh if I find old Phillis hersef!" and grasping his master's extended hand, he laughed until it seemed as if the corners of his mouth would meet.

"I's right glad to see you, young ma.s.sa, 'deed I is; but where is de old fellow Neptune?"

"Yes, yes, where is the faithful creature?" asked Sea-flower; "at our joy in seeing you, we have quite forgotten him."

Just then the dog's well remembered bark was heard at the door, and on opening it, the animal marched in, and laying a little parcel which he had brought in his mouth, upon the floor, he jumped upon the Sea-flower, nearly overpowering her, in his delight frisking from one to the other as if he were mad. Harry was now, for the first time, aware that the dog had not come with him, and examining the parcel which he had brought, to his no little astonishment he found it was the identical curiously wrought block, which he had found after that dreadful night of the storm. Among the many gifts which he had brought home to his mother and sister, he had forgotten this simple one, and now he remembered that he had not seen it for a long time. Why the dog should have noticed so trifling a thing, was indeed singular. Harry related the circ.u.mstances by which he had come in possession of the curiosity, and from the presents of silks, c.r.a.pes, fruits, etc., which he had brought to the Sea-flower, she turned to the mysterious little curiosity with a greater interest, examining the grotesque figures with a fascination, when accidentally pressing a pearl setting, the box (for such it was discovered to be,) flew open, and revealed to her bewildered gaze--what?

good G.o.d! is it possible? Neatly lined is the box, and lying therein--a cross! the same which the Sea-flower had wrought with her own hands, and given her father when she saw him last! Carved at the head of the cross are these words,--"You will soon come to me again; then you will never leave us;" the child's last words to her father. O, how did they fall upon her heart now! It seemed as if he were speaking to her from the skies, and unconsciously she looked upward, as if she might indeed catch the tones of her father's voice, bidding her come away. "We will come,"

she softly whispered, "we shall soon be with you there;" and turning to her mother, she added,--"it is not far, that better land; we may hear their glad shouts, if we will listen."

Over that cross, emblematic of the Lamb who was slain that we might live, was shed tears from a widow's heart; but those tears were not of mourning for the departed, for through her who was made but a little lower than the angels, those tears had been turned into joy. The child who had ever walked in that narrow way, as if it were the only path in which the children of earth might tread, had taught her bereaved mother, that those precious words from the book of life, which she had ever recognized, but had not strength to cling thereto in the hour of trial, were truly Christ's words of tenderness; she could now smile upon the chastening rod. Those dying words, as it were of him who had gone, were as balm to the heart of Mrs. Grosvenor and the Sea-flower, for what could be more dreadful than that they should never learn of his last moments? But to Harry, who had been just upon the point of asking for his father, it was as the dark funeral pall to his soul, and he staggered to a chair.

"Where is my father?" he asked, in a hollow voice.

"In Heaven!" was the response of the Sea-flower.

There was silence in that house. Sorrow, which had reigned for a time around that hearthstone, still lingered, striving to supersede the joy which must go hand in hand with purity; but its icy touch was to be of gentler mien, its cold, cold breath mingling with that of more genial spheres, helping to swell the--"Father, thy will be done." This was a dreadful announcement to Harry, a stroke which he was not prepared to receive; and now did the past come to his remembrance with sickening frenzy. That terrific night!--he had, at the peril of his life, implored that heartless being to listen to the stranger's cry of distress, to stretch out to him the hand of brotherly love; and that cry for help was now sounding in his ear with renewed freshness, for it was from his own loved father!

"Oh, what an undutiful son I have been!" cried Harry; "had I known then what I know now! and yet, the fiend would not have turned a hand, had it been his own father! Thank G.o.d, I have his forgiveness for disobeying his last commands! 't is the one great lesson of my life, and should I live a hundred years, I will never deviate from what I think would have been my parent's wishes."

"Natalie!"--the Sea-flower gazed upon that name, the name of her father's choice,--a simple word, but Oh, what volumes did it speak!

there seemed to be a very sacredness hanging about the tone. As time sped onward, leaving far behind the past, but not burying it, the sweet, child-like Sea-flower was gradually putting on the gentle, mystic form of Natalie; and though the name had become familiar to other ears, to her its impress was as when she reverently looked upon that cross of Christ, at the foot of which was traced that which she could not but a.s.sociate therewith. The depth of her dreamy eyes spoke not only of him who had left them, but they told of the soul's instinct in regard to that which was as yet unrevealed.

"Well, ma.s.sa, I tinks de sun make up he mind to take a look out at us once more," remarked Vingo, as seated astride a wood-horse, he was making vigorous exertions to take the nautical expression from his young master's boots.

"Then you have had rather a dark time of it at home here, have you, Vingo? have been rather lonely?"

"Yes, 'deed it has, ma.s.sa Harry; I 'fraid sometimes dat I lose my self-complexion entirely, and I tinks you not find so much ob me left, if it not for missy's bright light, dat s.h.i.+ne along de way. Dare not anoder like her, ma.s.sa; but I dunno as dat's strange, for de stars not come down to bathe in de ocean ebery day."

"You are getting sentimental, Vingo," and an expression of thought stole over Harry's features, and he remained silent, for he could not bring himself to disclose even to Vingo, his knowledge of the mystery in regard to the fair creature who called him brother. He could not bear to think that she was not his sister; and yet, had his memory not served him thus, he must have observed how unlike she was to any member of the family.

"Mother, you have looked very thoughtful for the last few days. I hope that now we are together once more, there is nothing to disturb your happiness," remarked Harry, as the two sat together on the little promenade ground in front of the house, enjoying the beautiful sunset of a summer's evening.

"There is nothing which makes me unhappy now, for although 'we know not what a day may bring forth,' yet I have learned to smile under the most trying dispensations of Providence, knowing that His ways are higher than our ways; but," and her voice was hushed almost to a whisper, "there has been something upon my mind of late, of which I would make you a confidant, my son."

There was a pause,--well did Harry judge of what his mother would speak, and looking into her face, he said,--"Natalie,--she is not my sister by birth, yet I shall ever claim her as such; and I know, should she learn that she was of other parentage to-morrow, she would cling to you, mother, as her dearest earthly friend."

"And for that reason I know she is of n.o.ble birth. But tell me, Harry, can it be that you, who was but a child, remember the circ.u.mstance?"

"Yes, mother, I can well remember the infant with the gold bands, and the pretty white dress, all wet with salt water; then were my first ideas of innocency."

"She has proved a rich blessing to us, and I do not feel that I can ever part with her; but I have been thinking it was selfish, indeed, in keeping her with us, to deprive her of those advantages which would fit her for filling the station which I can plainly see belongs to her. Not but that she might finish her education at home, for our island can rank among the first in her systems of education, and there are many of our citizens who are recognized by our most literary friends of the continent, as among the first in the arts and sciences; but I think it would be greatly to her advantage to see more of the world, and my purpose is to accept the urgent request of a dear friend residing in Boston, that my daughter should spend some time in her family, where she may receive the same excellent instructions with her own child. Our means have been for the last year or two somewhat curtailed, yet as long as we have enough to be comfortable, we will share with her what she most justly deserves."

"Yes, mother, give my portion to her; I can take care of myself, and you shall not want for anything so long as I can help you. I do not know how we can let her go, but it is for the best. She will learn of this world, and they will learn of another."

As the two had been speaking, they had not observed a light form, reclining under a flowering currant, which only separated them from the object of their conversation. It was a little arbor, formed by a cl.u.s.tering rose, vieing with the flowering currant in fragrance; thither had the Sea-flower repaired, and as the softest rays of a northern sky, at sunset, sank into her soul, mingling with more mellow light than is of southern climes, these words fell upon her ear,--"Natalie, she is not my sister by birth." She paused to hear no more, for she knew the conversation was not designed for her, and noiselessly gliding from the spot, she sought her own room. The crescent moon came forth, and beheld the fair maiden gazing far out over the silver-edged billows, her head resting upon her hand, her golden tresses falling gracefully over her shoulders, while from the deep recesses of her heart there sprung up that which had ever been, and yet was not, and took to itself a form.

"Good morning, Natalie, did I not know you retired early last night, I should say you look a little unrefreshed. Where are the roses of yesterday? they should not fade in a single night"