now, as I neared the dwelling to which you directed me; for, seated at
the window, sewing, was a young lady, neatly though plainly dressed;
but her look and manner bespoke her to be far above such a condition of
life."

The Captain looked puzzled, and turning to his wife, said, "It must, be
Ellen Williamson, to whom Mr. Clifford alludes. She is not ill-favored,
by any means, and indeed quite the belle of the place, being by far the
best looking girl in it; nevertheless, I should hardly mistake her for
one of higher rank; but Mr. Clifford has been so long without beholding
woman's face divine, with the exception of yours, my dear, that he is
ready to magnify good looks into positive beauty and grace."

The young man seemed disconcerted.

"I could almost stake my existence, that the person to whom I refer is
not, cannot be the daughter of a fisherman. However, if it should be so,
Captain, and such a region as this can produce so lovely a being, in
spite of its barren wastes and rocky steppes, I should be ready to
surname it Paradise, or The Enchanted Isle, if you will; for certainly
it was a vision of enchantment I just now beheld."

Captain Pierce, though almost imagining that his young friend's
intellect had been deranged, gaily responded:--

"I must warn you in time, I see, for you are in danger of losing your
heart, if it is not gone already. Ellen Williamson is engaged to a
worthy young man, a captain of a fishing schooner, and their marriage
is to be celebrated this spring, so her father informed me when I was
here last year, and I think it only my duty to give you fair warning,