PEREENE.

A TALE OF THE WEST INDIES.

BY MRS. C. M. SAWYER.

THE most prominent incidents of the following tale are the scarcely embellished narration of facts which have, in reality, transpired. They took place somewhat less than a century ago, on the island of St. Christopher, and have constituted the theme of more than one moving and pathetic ballad. I have chosen them for the foundation of my tale, as furnishing one more addition to the catalogue of events illustrative of that trite and much hackneyed expression, "Truth is stranger than fiction."

It was morning: the sun was just rising over one of the loveliest islands of the Caribbean sea, illuminating the summits of its mountains, and shedding its brilliant and gorgeous rays over a landscape of rare and exquisite beauty. Extensive fields of sugar-cane, growing to the height

of eight feet, and covered with beautiful arrowy blossoms, lay thickly scattered through the rich valleys, appearing in the sunlight like immense sheets of waving gold gemmed with tyrian purple. Interspersed with these plantations were seen groves of lofty and magnificent trees, whose beauty is unknown in any save tropical climes. The palm-tree, the cocoa-nut, and royal palmetto, with the tamarind, the orange, and the graceful bamboo, lay grouped together in the wildest luxuriance. Numerous rivers, fed by a thousand rills, traversed the island like threads of silver, while, higher up, foaming cascades issued from the verdant sides of the mountains, whose summits were.crowned with naked rocks piled together by the convulsions of nature, while the intervening spaces were filled with evergreens and lofty trees, among which the palmetto towered to the height of two hundred feet.

On that part of the island which is more particularly the scene of this story, stood a dwelling which was so far superior, both in its style and extent, to the houses usually occupied by the planters of the country, as to attract the immediate observation of every stranger. Its lofty verandas were twined with the choicest and most beautiful lianas, and exhibited various arti

ty; such an one as is seldom, perhaps never, seen in our more northern climes, but one which, if once beheld could never be forgotten. Slightly and gracefully formed, her proportions had attained that beautiful roundness seldom found united with her extreme youth, save in those who first look upon the day beneath the burning skies of the torrid zone. Her hair, of the deepest black, fell in glossy and luxuriant ringlets over her neck, vividly contrasting its delicate whiteness; for, unlike most maidens born under the equator, her complexion was extremely fair, and the hue of her cheek more lovely than the rose-tinted shells which lay scattered along the glittering sands of that palmy shore. But it was her eyes, large and intensely black, which constituted the singular charm of her countenance. Those who have gazed into the glorious, yet melancholy depths of the soft, dark eyes of Italy, can alone conceive of the wild and mournful beauty of those tender and appealing orbs which, ever and anon, as she leaned confidingly on his shoulder, the maiden raised to the face of her companion.

Apparently, some subject of unusual interest now engrossed their thoughts; for neither of them had for some time spoken, although the tremulous motion of the young man's lips, as

well as the sudden suffusion of his eyes, whenever he withdrew his gaze from the shrouded ocean and turned it upon his beautiful companion, betrayed an effort to speak, while some powerful emotion held him silent.

Meanwhile the sun had risen to some distance above the horizon. Already the dew-drops which glittered like diamonds upon the verdant foliage, and upon the fairy-gossamer which canopied the delicate plants, were rapidly exhaling, when the vast cloud of mist which enveloped the ocean began to waver. Huge volumes of vapor rolled slowly and majestically upward, presenting, as they hung suspended in the horizon, a strange and beautiful optical illusion. canoes appeared in the rosy and gorgeous clouds, floating, as it were, in an aerial sea, while their shadows, as if by some wonderful magic, were accurately delineated below. They gradually faded away, and, in a few minutes, disappeared, leaving the whole heavens perfectly cloudless.

Distant

At the moment when the mist was rolling up from the ocean, and before its crystal expanse was clearly disclosed, the youthful pair, whom we have described, sprang suddenly to their feet, and the lady, slightly bending forward, raised her arm in the direction of a vessel, scarcely visible through the fading mist, which was riding

me.

66 It

at anchor at some distance from the shore. is there!" she exclaimed in a voice full of stifled emotion. "The dreaded ship has arrived! but, O, Clarens," she continued, turning to her companion with an imploring earnestness, "heed not the summons that would separate you from How shall I live when I no longer hear the sound of your voice, and no longer meet the dear light of affection which beams from your eyes? You have taught me the language of your distant land, and, ah, how vainly shall I yearn to hear its accents! You will return to your splendid home, to your proud parents, who would scorn an alliance with a West Indian girl; other and fairer forms than mine will meet your eyes, and the poor Creole will be forgotten. O, stay, stay, Clarens! do not forsake me!"

"Nay, hear me, my Pereene," answered Clarens; "I am summoned by my parents, who have garnered up all their affections in me. I am their only son, their only child, and, from the earliest dawn of my existence, they have lavished upon me a wealth of love and kindness which I should be an ingrate, unworthy of your affection, could I forget. Think of it, dearest, and you cannot bid me stay! Distrust not my affection, for-look at me, Pereene - Heaven is not more true than I have been, and will ever be, to you.