the life-boat adrift, had made for shelter to the back of the Hook Sand, not far from the Reculvers, and there waited, her crew anxiously on the look-out for the return of the life-boat. As they were making for the steamer, the lugger, Eclipse, came in chase, to hear whether all hands, and especially her men, had been saved. They welcomed the glad tidings with three cheers for the life-boat crew. Soon after, the Whitstable smack stood towards them on the same errand, and, after speaking them, tacked in for the land. The night was coming on apace. It was not until they had run three or four miles that they sighted the steamer; and, when they got alongside, it was a difficult matter to get the saved crew on board. The gale was as hard as ever, and the steamer rolled heavily; the men had almost to be lifted on board as opportunities occurred; and one poor fellow was so thoroughly exhausted that they had to haul him into the steamer with a rope.

Again the boat was taken in tow, almost all her crew remaining in her; and they commenced their return home. The night was very dark, although clear; the sea and gale had lost none of their force; and, until they got well round the North Foreland, the struggle to get back was just as hard as it had been to get there. Once round the Foreland, the wind was well aft, and they made easier way; light after light opened to them; Kingsgate, Broadstairs, were passed; and, at last, the Ramsgate pier-head light shone forth its welcome, and they began to feel that their work was nearly over.

A telegram had been sent from Margate, in the afternoon, stating that the Ramsgate life-boat had been seen to save the crew; but nothing more had been heard, and the suspense of the boatmen at Ramsgate, as they waited for the life-boat's return, was terrible. Few hoped to see them again, and, as hour after hour passed without tidings, they were almost given up. During the whole of the afternoon, and evening, anxious eyes were constantly on the watch for the first signs of the boat's coming round the head of the cliff. As the tide went down, and the sea broke less heavily over the pier, the men could venture further along it, until, by the time of the boat's return, they were enabled to assemble at the end of the pier. When the steamer was first seen with the life-boat in tow, the lookers-out shouted for very joy; and, as they entered the harbor, and hailed, "All saved!"

cheer after cheer for the life-boat's crew broke from the crowd.

The Spaniards had somewhat recovered from their exhaustion under the care of the steamboat crew, and were further well cared for and supplied with clothes by the orders of the Spanish Consul; and the hardy English boatmen did not take long to recover their exposure and fatigues, fearful as they had been. The captain of the Spaniard, in speaking of the rescue, was almost overcome by his feelings of gratitude and wonder. He had quite made up his mind to death, believing that no boat could by any possibility come to their rescue in such a fearful sea. He took with him to Spain, to show to the Spanish government, a painting of the rescue, executed by Mr. Ifold, of Ramsgate.

There is an interest even in reading the names of those (however unknown to us) who have done gallant deeds; we give therefore the names of the crew of the life-boat, and of the steamer. Of the life-boat: James Hogben, captain; Charles Meader, Thomas Tucker, Philip Goodchild, Edward Stock, William Penny, William Priestly, George Hogben, William Solly, George Forwood, John Stock, Robert Solly. Of the steam-tug: Daniel Reading, J. Simpson, W. Wharrier, T. Nichols, J. Denton, J. Freeman, T. Larkins, W. Penman, W. Matson, W. Solly. Other fearful scenes have most of these men, especially the captains of the life-boat and steam-tug, passed through in their effort to save life; one so terrible that two out of the crew of the life-boat never recovered the shock given to their nerves. One died a few months after the event, and the other to this day is ailing, and subject to fits. Of the splendid life-boat too much cannot be said; no fewer than eighty-eight lives have been saved by her during the last five years. Designed and built by J. Beeching and Sons, boat-builders, etc., of Yarmouth, she won the Northumberland prize of one hundred guineas in a competition of two hundred and eighty boats. Each time the men go out, their confidence in her increases, and they are now ready to dare any thing in the Northumberland prize life-boat. It is pleasing to be able to add, by way of postscript, that the Board of Control has presented each man engaged in this rescue with a medal and £2, and that the Spanish Government has also gratefully acknowledged the heroism of the men, and sent to each a medal and £3.

From The Ladies' Companion.
THE CHAMOIS-HUNTER.

FROM THE FRENCH OF EMILE SOUVESTRE.

AT the foot of the narrow gorge of the Enge, not far from the village of Grindelwald, is a chalet, now abandoned, but well known as having been the home of one of the few families who still preserved the heroic traditions of the chamois hunter. To the Hausers of Enge, the mountain had always been their true home: they had preferred above every thing the wild liberty of the heights, the glory of this war against mountains and abysses, which is a sort of perpetual defiance of death.

Some years ago, in the early days of March, a young girl was leaning against the wall of this chalet, near a small window, the panes of which were thickened by the strong frost; her hands joined, her head hanging, her whole attitude expressing sorrow. At her feet sat a young man, who, seizing one of her hands, said, in a desponding tone, "So it is true, Freneli, whilst I have been working hard at a distance, in the hope of having you for my wife, your grandmother, Trina, has destined you for my Cousin Hans?"

"It is too true, Ulrich."

"But she has not said any thing either to you or to him. If you tell her that your heart is turned another way, she will, perhaps, change her projects."

Freneli shook her head.

"My grandmother is as firm in her purpose as the Eiger is on its base; and it would be more casy to overthrow the mountain than to change her will."

"But are you sure that Hans loves you, Freneli ?"

"Yes," replied the girl, with a shade of bitterness, "as he loves the chamois he hunts on the peaks. Do you think he asks its consent? I am in his eye a prey; he believes I belong to him only because he wishes it, and he will treat whoever tried to carry me away from him as the hunter treats the man who robs him of his game!"

"So everybody here is against me!" Ulrich, sadly.

said

"There is one who is your friend- that is Uncle Job. Though he loves the mountain, and regrets that you have thrown away your hunter's rifle, he never speaks of you but with affection. He is now seeking his plants and crystals on the heights, but I hope he will return this evening."

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Ah, well! I do not return to Meyringen until to-morrow; I will see if I have any thing to hope from my uncle." Then approaching Freneli, he put his arm round her "And you," said he, "do you love me so little that you could be happy with Hans?"

"You know the contrary too well," replied she, with emotion, trying to disengage herself. "So you will help me, Freneli?" "As much as a poor girl can, Ulrich." "But if your grandmother and Hans persist? "

"Then," replied she, weeping, "we shall be very unhappy."

Freneli's grandmother had known how to preserve all the dignity of her position as head of the household. Brought up by her, her great-nephews, Hans and Ulrich, had learnt never to question her will up to the age when they became chamois hunters. But Ulrich had none of the feverish passion necessary for this wild existence. Every' time he crossed the valleys of Lauterbrunnen or Hasli, he would stop for hours watching the shepherds carving the yew and the maple; and in the hours of the chase he would drop his rifle at his feet, to cut out some new imagination in a bit of wood taken from the roof of a chalet. At length a carver at Meyringen offered to take him, and feeling certain that it would secure a far more comfortable subsistence to Freneli than hunting, he gave his rifle to Uncle Job, and set out. Two years of hard work had given him the first place among the Oberland sculptors, and he amassed the sum necessary for the realization of his dearest hopes. We have seen how the projects of the grandmother had been revealed to him at the moment when he thought he had gained his end. They were still talking when Trina entered: she was about seventy years of age, little, thin, and bent under the weight of years; but her gray eyes still retained the penetrating fixity of those of a bird of prey. Hardly had she crossed the threshold when her glance rested on Freneli and Ulrich, who were visibly embarrassed.

"Ah! ah!" said she, "here is company! You here? you—"

"God protect you, aunt," replied Ulrich. "I have just come from Meyringen-I came to ask after you."

"And you are quietly asking Neli," said Trina. "Hans has not returned, then? He never rests," said she, pointedly: "he must earn the bread which is eaten here on the glaciers. You did well to choose another occupation; the chamois run too fast for feet which like to be stretched at the fireside."

"So I have cause, every day, to rejoice at my determination," replied Ulrich, without guessing the irony concealed under the serious tone of Trina. "I can earn as much in a day as Hans in a month-not to speak of the death which is always at the elbow of the hunter. My wife will not tremble every

time the echo of the avalanche sounds from the Shreck-horn or the Wetter-horn."

The old woman gave him a look which made him cast down his eyes: "Ah! that is what you have just been making Neli understand," said she.

"It is true I have spoken to her of it," said he, with emotion: "and, since you have guessed it, there is no further reason to be silent in your presence. I have always wished for this marriage; for three years past we have both thought of it. You have known me from the cradle: I have been brought up as your son: you know I have neither cowardice nor malice in my disposition, and my wife will not have a husband without a heart. May God punish me if she ever weeps for my faults. Let Freneli and me be happy, Aunt Trina, and we will thank you on our knees."

He had taken the hand of the young girl, and stood before the grandmother in a supplicating attitude. She looked upon them like a vulture on two turtle-doves: then, shaking her head-"Do you know Freneli's dowry?" asked she of Ulrich.

"Her dowry?" repeated the young man; "I never thought she had one. What matters a dowry to me?"

"But it matters to me; for it is not to enrich, but to honor."

Then, going to a worm-eaten cupboard, she took a rusty key from her pocket, and with difficulty turned the lock, throwing open the folding-doors, within which were several skulls of the chamois, surmounted with the branching horns.

"What is this, aunt?" cried Ulrich, whilst Freneli gave a little cry of surprise; "where did such a dowry as this come from for Freneli ?"

"From the fathers of her father. Though you are no great hunter, you may perceive that each of these skulls has belonged to an emperor of the chamois."

"Certainly," replied Ulrich, who knew that these large antlers belonged to a chamois old enough to be the chief of its tribe.

The two lovers exchanged a look of despair.

"What!" cried Ulrich; "and you would place such an honor above every thing else? Then the wishes of her who marries are of no consequence to you; her happiness is not your concern; but only that you may have in your family the best hunter in the mountain?"

"And we have always had it," replied the old woman with pride.

"But what has it brought you, if not poverty, anguish, and widowhood? Where are the remains of those who placed the trophies there of which you are so proud? Have they not all the avalanche for their windingsheet, and the precipice for their cemetery?"

"Who said the contrary?" replied Trina, with haughty coldness. "Have I spoken of long life, rest, and riches? In our old history have you not read of noble families who lost all their men in war? Well, our husbands die on the mountains; it is their battle-field. Disgrace will begin with the first who dies in his bed!"

As she finished these words, footsteps were heard in the path leading to the cabin: Freneli raised her head, bent her ear, and said, "It is he."

Almost at the same moment the door was rudely pushed open, and Hans crossed the threshold in the complete dress of the chamois-hunter. He entered like a whirlwind, and stopping in the middle of the room, let the but-end of his rifle fall heavily on the floor. Trind saw in a moment that he had not been successful. Without saying a word, she signed to Freneli to rouse the fire, whilst she herself went to the cupboard to bring out refreshment. It was then only that the hunter perceived Ulrich.

"God preserve thec, IIans!" said the latter, advancing to meet him.

The cousin did not reply, but he glanced at Freneli, whom he surprised with her eyes fixed on the young sculptor. He approached the fire without a word, and seated himself in the corner.

"And what did he say?"

"Nothing; but two months after threw that at my feet which you see there. If he had not brought it, my daughter and I would have waited for a more skilful hunter."

The hunter shrugged his shoulders, and replied disdainfully, "Whoever said that chamois were plentiful, when the thaw allows them to find pasture on the highest peaks? "Then you have not sought them so high?" Hans threw him a savage glance: "I come

from the Schreck-horn!" said he, with emphasis.

At this name the women turned. The Schreck-horn, or Peaks of Fear, are the highest points which rise over Mettemberg: rarely does the hunter venture there, and it is the last resort of the chamois.

"The Schreck-horn!" said Trina, in a tone of emotion-"do you really come from thence ?"

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Why not?" said Hans.

"It is there they all rest-the father of Freneli, the father of her mother, and the father of her grandfather. There is an old hatred between our family and the Schreckhorn."

"And even on these heights you have seen nothing?" asked Ulrich.

"I have seen a herd of chamois with their emperor."

Three exclamations burst forth. All approached, questioning him at the same time. Hans drew himself up; a beam of joy lightened his heavy features.

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'Yes, I have seen them. It was in one of the defiles which open at the foot of the smaller peak. I examined them well with my telescope, and advancing to a nearer point, had the sentinel within range, when he bounded aside to warn the herd, and all set off the emperor at the head. There were nine!"

Trina shuddered at the last words. "You are sure of the number?" said she, quickly. "You have counted them ? "

"As certainly as I can count the fingers on my hand. I pursued them for three hours among the peaks, and across the glacier, four times. I was near enough to hear the whistling of the emperor; but a crevasse or an aiguille have always cut me short. On arriving at the Eiger, whilst turning a point of rock, they had disappeared."

"It is they! it is they!" responded the old woman, pensively. "Nine chamois-the emperor at the head! Impossible to reach them; and when at last you are near, all disappear. Freneli's father saw them a month before his death."

Hans trembled in spite of himself. "Do you think they are the chamois d' égarement? said he, shrugging his shoul

ders.

"Who knows?" said Trina; "the Evil Spirit is there in his kingdom."

"Have I said the contrary? But what matters it? for eleven years I have braved him in his home? By my head, I care no more for him than the marmot in the rocks. Listen to what I promise: before eight days

Fantastic chamois, which are hunted in vain, and lead the pursuer to precipices.

are past there shall be on this table a haunch of the emperor which I have just been hunting."

This oath was accompanied by a glance thrown at Freneli which made Ulrich tremble. Then followed a long silence, for the words of Hans were never lightly spoken. He drew to the table to partake of the miserable repast, which consisted of a bit of black bread and poor cheese. Turning to the sculptor, he said ironically:

"I suppose my cousin has no appetite for the poor fare of a hunter's dinner?"

"Who speaks of poor fare?" interrupted a voice from the threshold, and Uncle Job appeared with his hammer and tin box. Freneli ran to meet him, and the old man gave her a basket which was hung on his arm.

"Take care, Neli, my girl," said he, gayly; "it contains neither plants, nor stones, nor butterflies. Open the lid, and show Hans what I bring."

She drew out successively eggs, smoked lard, three white loaves, and a little bottle of Kisrchwasser: the hunter, who seemed indifferent to the former, received the latter with an interjection of content.

"Ah! ah!" said the old man, "I am glad to find an open spot in your heart into which I can send a ray of sunshine. Goodday, Trina; and you, Neli, cook these provisions. Come, Ulrich, my boy, sit down: we will sup."

Addressing each in his jovial tone, he inquired if Hans had been successful, and how Ulrich liked his position at Meyringen. For more than forty years Uncle Job had been exposed to all the fatigues and perils of these desolate solitudes in seeking crystals and wild plants.

Whilst the unconquerable boldness of Hans found in this grand scenery the Evil Spirit only, Job's resigned sweetness saw none but God. The first was the strength that braves; the second the simplicity which admires; nothing had troubled the serenity of his mind; youth, in departing, had left a ray of joy, as the setting sun leaves a rosy reflection on the white peaks.

"Where have you found all these, uncle?" inquired Ulrich.

"At the Hotel of Lauterbrunnen. This morning the waiter bought all my crystals that I got from Rosenlaui; and yesterday I discovered in a rock, uncovered by the thaw, a real nest of crystal. It is hidden in the side just over the abyss; but, with a rope, a man may reach it: to-morrow I return there. Speaking of it, Hans, in crossing the Wengern Alp I saw the traces of chamois; I can point out the spot." "Thank you,

Hans.

I know of others," replied