spectator, who might perchance on some lovely summer's morning ascend
the steep hills, or pause for rest on one of the rocky eminences jutting
out into the sea. Before him lay the wide expanse of ocean, reaching far
beyond the keenest vision, calm at that moment as though it had never
been lashed to fury by wailing tempests, and reflecting in its
mirror-like surface the azure heavens that smiled brightly above.
Beneath his feet the stunted herbage assumed its liveliest hue of
emerald green, diversified here and there by some tiny, hardy wild
flowers, while the distant sail, gleaming in the sunlight, and then
passing beyond the eager vision,--the fishermen's huts, scattered here
and there on the rugged and uneven land,--the fishing shallops, and
boats of every variety, that dotted the waters, with their owners, some
standing on the beach, and some in their vessels, but all engaged in the
one occupation of securing and preserving the finny tribe, their only
source of wealth, gave an air of animation to the scene, while the merry
laugh of children, and the cheerful tones of women, as they hurried to
the beach to assist the parent or husband, spoke of social ties, and
seemed to say, that peace and contentment were not alone the associates
of refinement, education, and luxury.

But quite a different aspect did that barren coast present when chilly
Autumn and relentless Winter resumed their dreaded reign. Then, indeed,
to the inhabitant of the city, dreary beyond description would a
residence within one of its small yet hospitable huts appear, and he
must possess resources in himself of no common order, or be sustained by
a lofty sense of duty, who could cheerfully and contentedly remain
through those cheerless seasons.

Standing somewhat isolated, and at a distance from the shore, yet
commanding a fine view of the sea, was a cottage of larger dimensions,