night, but fearing that IDA might not be able to find him in the dark,
he gave up this idea. His present intention was that Miss LEWIS should
believe him to be a lonely mariner from a far distance, tossed by the
angry waves upon her rock-bound coast But there was a certain difficulty
in the way, which Mr. P. feared would prove fatal to his hopes.

The sea was just as smooth as glass!

And the wind all died away!

There was not enough left to ruffle a squirrel's tail. How absurd the
situation! How could he ever be dashed helpless upon the rocks under
such circumstances?

The tide was setting in, and as he gradually drifted towards the land,
he saw the storied rocks, and even perceived Miss IDA, sitting upon a
shady prominence, crocheting a tidy.

What should he do to attract her attention? How put himself in imminent
peril? His anxiety for a time was dreadful, but he thought of a plan. He
got out his knife and whittled the mast half through.

"Now," thought he, "if my mast and rigging go by the board, she will
surely come and rescue me!"

But the mast and rigging were as obstinate as outside speculators in
Wall street,--they would not go by the board,--and Mr. P. was obliged at
last to break down the mast by main force. But the lady heard not the
awful crash, and little weened that a fellow-being was out alone on the
wild watery waste, in a shipwrecked bark! After waiting for some time,