No, it cannot be! Yet-yes, it is, it is Susannah striving to steer towards the wreck!" exclaimed I, involuntarily. The old man's eyes, dim from age, but their vision quickened by affection, were fixed, like mine, in straining scrutiny; and when his gaze was sure of its object, he cried out in a tone of bitterest anguish

stream, by the aid of a square and tattered-looking sail, || the waves, and rocked like a cradle by the opposing but every effort of the men who managed it was baffled influence of wind and tide. by the extreme violence of the waves, which we could plainly see washing clear over it from stem to stern. "I'll just wish you good evening, Sir, and hurry on to the ferry and I hope the boat may have succeeded in passing it before I arrive, for that ledge of rock just above the station is hard to steer past in such a dreadful squall," said my companion, with benevolent anxiety. But I was not disposed to part with him thus. The danger to which the unhappy boatmen were exposed,

"Oh, my child! my Susannah! It is her-it is the boat. She will perish. Oh, save her! save her! Herr Gott!" And with incredible speed he darted away from our resting-place. I soon overtook him, and supported him on my arm, as he tottered, panting and ex

been crewhile coiled. We now saw it within fifty yards of us on the boiling surf, and the heroic child-her young heart buoyant with pity's life-blood-working her

and stern at the rain and the waves, which drenched her

through—at the furious wind, which had loosened her long hair and sent it streaming around her,—and at the broad lightning, which gave, at intervals, a supernatural hue to her whole person. She was, in a minute or two

the half-drowned men now clung to their capsized boat, and she was in nearly as much danger as they were. It was a moment of actual distraction for her father, and of indescribable awe to me. I never shall forget the sensation of that fearful interval of suspense.

was attraction sufficient to lead me closer to the scene; and old Johan and I proceeded rapidly together on our way back, hurried silently forward by the force of mere excitement, and never losing sight of the strugglinghausted, to the tree against which his little skiff had vessel, which, though it made scarcely any way, was nevertheless gaining on us, as we approached the ferry in a now nearly parallel line with the river. Every moment that led us nearer, showed us the in-helm-like oar with all her strength, and looking pale creasing peril of the frail craft; and I thought I could distinguish at times a despairing cry for aid from the two men who were imperfectly managing her, and whose gestures, as she was heavily tossed to and fro by the angry swell, spoke a plain story of terrified help-more, in the power of the formidable current, in which lessness. A hollow in the road made us lose sight of her for a few minutes; and as we ascended again, in breathless impatience, we caught a new view, which confirmed our worst forebodings. The boat, either from the rudder being unshipped, or the man at the helm being washed by a wave, had turned completely round, and was swept across to almost the other side of the river, by the strong side wind, and the violent eddy. Every wave threatened to swamp it altogether; and it was drifting fast into the ledge of rocks alluded to by Reisacher, and over which there was now a foam of breakers scarcely to be believed by any one who has not utter as to the means of approaching them. But, alas! seen the Rhine in one of its angriest moods. We were the utmost strength of a child, fortified, as it must have now within a few hundred yards of the ferry. been, by a powerful feeling of religious confidence and The cries for help were less frequent, for there was to a noble courage, was insufficient for so severe a strugall appearance no help at hand. Four or five peasants,||gle; and I had the deep anguish of seeing the wreck, men and women, stood at different points on the banks, throwing up their hands, and screaming unavailing advice or consolation to the poor boatmen; and now and then the dismal echo of their shouts was felt rather than heard, as I and my old companion ran along the slippery road.

The gray-headed old man now gasped convulsively; and, wildly stretching forth his arms, he flung himself on the earth, as if to shut out the scene of almost inevitable death. The despairing men were, with hoarse, faint voices, hailing and cheering on the intrepid girl, and giving what snatches of instruction they could

and the forlorn brothers who hung upon it with a fierce yet enfeebled grasp, swept by within a dozen yards of the ferry-boat.

At this moment old Reisacher started up, and he would have plunged into the merciless river, had I not forcibly held him back; but, screaming louder than the

In a few minutes more the boat drifted into an eddy || storm, his voice now reached Susannah, and it seemed most particularly dreaded by the old ferryman.

"It's all over with her now; and there she goes, sure enough!" exclaimed Reisacher, as a powerful wave caught the boat under the side, and turned it keel upwards.

at once to paralyze all her power and skill. She cast her looks by turns on the wretched objects she would have saved, and on the half-maddened parent, who seemed rushing in a frantic effort to assist her.

At this crisis, Martin Buckholz, one of the brothers, "They must be lost before we can reach the river," perceiving that their combined hope of safety depended added he, catching at the railing by the roadside, over-entirely on the possibility of his gaining the ferry-boatcome by agitation and exertion, while I stopped to recover my breath, and stared down into the river from the precipitate bank. The rain now swept in sheets up the stream, and almost hid every object upon it; but I fancied I distinguished, like a phantom boat in the mist, old Johan's little skiff, striving to plunge through

for his companion could not swim-he resolved to trust himself, inexpert, and encumbered as he was, to the chances of the torrent. He slipped down into the water, struck out his now-nerved arms to buffet every wave, and rolling and plunging with the fierce energy of despair, he little by little approached the skiff. Su

sannah, regained her presence of mind, and she labored at her oar with renewed strength and redoubled efforts. She soon met the bold swimmer: he grasped the prow, heaved himself up the side, caught the oar from his preserver's hands-and though now a considerable distance from the heavy-rolling wreck, he came up with it

just as his brother was fainting from exhaustion and terror, and lifted him safely into the skiff.

And how to describe old Reisacher's delight, quick following his despair, as he saw the ferry-boat bounding triumphantly across the waves, with its miraculously rescued freight;-the tears, the blessings, the thanksgivings-the love, the pride, the gratitude!all fell down in plenteous showers upon the head of his child, or rose up to Heaven in fervid but silent thought.

Original.

A BACHELOR'S COURTSHIP.

"Oh! thou unkind one!

Have I deserved this from you?"-VENICE PRESERVED.

PETER ALEXANDER KNIBBS was a dealer in that very ancient and highly esteemed medicine, vulgarly termed "birch oil," the virtue of which is so immeasurably known, that the very name has become a terror to all youthful evil-doers-in other words, he was one of those known by the name of "Schoolmaster," whose princinecessary appendages of a small village, commonly the aforesaid oil unsparingly, and, at the same time, jupal occupation is, (as every body knows) to administer diciously, to a set of rascally mischief-loving boys. He was regarded as a man of the most profound learning; and it was with no small degree of pride and self-satisfaction that he saw himself so considered. The acquirements of Knibbs were in fact of no ordinary description. virtuous and heroic action, without knowing, at the In Grammar he was, or professed to be, a proficient; as

Susannah-calm, modest, and apparently unconscious in the midst of all our united praise and admiration was destined to the conviction that she had done a

time, its uncommon merit.

The Grand Duke of Baden, on hearing the circumstance, was pleased to bestow a gratuity of two hundred florins on our little heroine, together with a medal, as a special mark of distinction, bearing the inscription, 'She trusted in God." She was, when I last saw her, a year after the adventure, receiving the full benefit of an excellent education; for some voluntary subscriptions procured her many additional advantages; and she walked at the head of her village schoolfellows, in their daily promenades, with a step as composed, and a look as unassuming, as before the event which has given her name its local immortality.

But since the year 1831, friend Reisacher has lost his old sister, and given up the ferry. But the gratitude of Martin and George Buckholz does not allow him to want the comforts of a house in his old age; and I should not be at all surprised to hear at any day (for Susannah is now seventeen) that the gratitude of Martin, who is still unmarried, was about to give a still more permanent expression of his attachment to the younger remaining member of the female branch of the Reisacher family.

he was able to analyze that most ambiguous sentence→→→

"To be or not to be-that is the question." He was in figures, if possible, a still greater adept, as no problem in Daball's Arithmetic, however complicated, was sufficient for a moment to puzzle the brain of Peter Alexander Knibbs. But it was upon his knowledge of history that he most especially prided himself, particularly that of Greece and Rome, several black and mysterious looking volumes of which graced his desk, placed there doubtless for the purpose of impressing the youthful minds of his pupils with a proper degree of awe and respect. It was indeed confidently whispered among the enemies of Mr Knibbs, (all great men have enemies) that his middle name had not the most distant claim to the place it occupied, but was added by himself on reading the exploits of the renowned Alexander, the conqueror of the World.

In a small wooden building, somewhere about the dimensions of ten feet by twelve, did our hero sway the sceptre of authority over some two dozen urchins, the majority of whom were ragged and barefoot. In this temple of Minerva," as he was pleased facetiously to call it, did he direct their youthful steps up the rugged hill of science-this was the scene of his authority, of his labor, and of his glory.

Mr. Knibbs was now fast advancing to that respectable period of life, when a man in his unfortunate situation—that is, one who has wilfully neglected the opportunity of procuring a partner of the gentler sex for life, is liable to be stigmatized with the opprobrious epithet of "old Bachelor." Had he remained content with his condition, and without an effort to ameliorate it, his name might not have been recorded in these pages, and he most probably would never have been heard of beyond the confines of the little village. But, alas! for the frailty of human nature-Knibbs was in love. The object of his adoration was a fair widow, by name Mrs. Milicent Mix, who had been left by her husband with a fair competency, sufficient to support her through life, and one "little responsibility," a curly-headed, blue-eyed

boy, now about three years of age. She was possessed || than soft embraces." Resistance on the part of Johnny was of course desperate, and he was carried nolens volens out of the room.

of a fine form, beautiful face, white teeth, and a pair of
killing black eyes, that were capable of implanting the
arrows of love, which bachelor poets talk so much about,
and know so little of, into a heart far more callous than
that of Peter Alexander Knibbs. For the satisfaction
of any reader who may be at all curious as to the age of
the lady, we mention for their especial edification that
she was not yet twenty-five. The exact number of years
we were never able to ascertain, we therefore will not
"Rashly quote for fear of a mistake."

"He is a fine little fellow," said Knibbs, as the door closed, " and by proper management and study will one day make a great man. Depend upon it, nothing can be more beneficial to a youthful mind than hard study.” "I cannot say I agree with you. Children so very

young-"

"I beg leave again to differ from you," replied Mrs. Milicent; "I do not conceive it necessary for boys of any age to be troubled with too much study."

"True, true," interrupted Knibbs. "Children so very young should not be too much troubled with books. I It was in the early part of a bright, moonlight winter's coincide with you there exactly. But to those of more evening that saw Knibbs at the house of his fair "ladye || advanced age, nothing in the world is equal to hard, I love." Now, though our hero was possessed of a heart || may add, laborious study." bold as a lion's, and though when among men no person had a greater stock of assurance and impudence, yet he was one of those unfortunate individuals who, when in the presence of sparkling eyes and rosy lips, feels a strange and undefinable feeling of awkwardness come over him, which is not easily to be accounted for-in short, he was a bashful man. Those of our readers who have the misfortune to be similarly afflicted, will perceive at once the delicate situation in which Knibbs was thus placed. For a long time not a word had pas-about a holiday. I think you should allow them one sed between them. Knibbs was engaged in the deepest after so much hard study." thought, probably meditating some very gallant or complimentary sentiment. At length the lady broke the

silence.

"I think we will soon have a storm."

as

"I am precisely of your opinion," replied Knibbs, nothing more truly indicates an approaching storm, than the refulgent brightness and splendor of the moon."

This most profound, wise and elegant reply, had an effect directly contrary from what was intended. Mrs. Mix in vain endeavored to conceal a smile, and poor Knibbs began to experience rather an uncomfortable pressure about the neck, which he manifested by several convulsive attempts to unloosen his handkerchief. Meanwhile he was, with the patience and fortitude of a martyr, undergoing another trial of a different nature. The son of Mrs. Mix, a little mischievous looking boy, had succeeded in climbing upon his knees, and was now busily engaged in searching his vest pockets.

"Get down, Johnny, instantly," said his mother. "I won't," was the dutiful reply.

"Let him stand,” said the good-natured schoolmaster, "he does no harm, I assure you—not in the least."

And now Johnny having finished his investigations into the vest pockets aforesaid, jumped down from his perch, and holding between his fore-finger and thumb, cried out, "I've found a penny."

"Take it back, you naughty boy, or you shall go to bed instantly."

"I won't," said Johnny.

Here Mr. Peter Alexander was very evidently discomposed; he put his feet up on the fender, twisted his body about on the chair, and busied himself for the space of two minutes and a half in adjusting his shirt-collar. "I will mention it now while I think of it, Mr. Knibbs," said the lady; my little boy was speaking

Since you desire it, I consent," replied Knibbs. “I may indeed say, your son rules the school. As Philip said that his son, Alexander, governed Macedonia-he governs his mother, and his mother governs me.'

"That case is hardly applicable, as the wife of Philip had the legitimate right to govern, while I, you know, Mr. Knibbs, cannot pretend to any such authority."

The lady glanced archly towards Knibbs, who had been gradually approaching the fair speaker for the last few minutes.

"Then, dear Madam, accept the authority which I freely offer," cried the schoolmaster, throwing himself on his knees at the lady's feet, " and make me the happiest of mortals. Believe me when I say I love you to-to distrac-desperation-believe me when I swear for ever to honor and obey you. Surrender but this fair hand-(he scized the small white hand, and covered it with kisses)—give me but the right to call you mine,” he stopped for a moment in this sublime stream of eloquence-raised his head, and to his astonishment beheld the figure of the lady slowly retiring; for a moment he caught a glance at her face, on which appeared to hang a sort of coquettish smile-he started up, looked around and the first object his eye met was the person of a handsome young man, apparently about twenty years of age, whom he had never before seen. He had stolen into the room unperceived and doubtless overheard the conversation.

Drawing himself up to his full dignity, Mr. Knibbs "A mere trifle, Mrs. Mix," responded Knibbs, look- inquired with as haughty an air as he could assume— ing birch-rods and ferulas at the little rascal.

trouble yourself about it-its a mere trifle."

"Don't

'By what authority do you dare thus intrude into a place, where your presence is perhaps as little expected

Mrs. Mix, as a punishment for his parental disrespect, || as desired-and what is your name, sir?”

now committed Johnny to the loving arms of a servant, which were of strength and size sufficient to give "other

"To the first of these questions I at present decline answering. My name is Hawkins, at your service, sir.

And now, if it be not an impertinent question, allow me to inquire by what title I may have the honor of addressing you," replied the stranger, carelessly flourishing a small riding-whip.

"Peter Alexander Knibbs," replied our hero, with an air of conscious superiority.

"Then, Mr. Knibbs, hear me," returned he of the riding-whip. "I would respectfully suggest the propriety of your making a sudden exit-"

"Sir !" said the astonished pedagogue, "I do not know how to construe that-I do not understand you, sir." "If Mr. Knibbs is unable to comprehend my meaning I will use plainer language, and request him very politely, to leave the house."

As Hawkins spoke he executed with his riding-whip several scientific flourishes. Poor Knibbs wished himself out of the house a thousand times-he did not feel himself particularly pugnacious, and seeing no way to make good his retreat with honor, he stood looking at the stranger with an astonished and unmeaning stare. "I hope," at length said Hawkins, raising his whip; "I shall not be driven to the disagreeable necessity

of-"

"How, sir," interrupted the schoolmaster, fiercely ; "do you dare to insult and threaten me in the same breath (he took his hat and moved towards the door) But know, sir, I will not be insulted with impunity, (his || voice grew louder as the distance between himself and Hawkins increased) know too, I have been accustomed to associate only with gentlemen; (he had now reached the stoop) to which title I conceive you to have not the most remote claim. It is therefore with a great deal of pleasure that I now take my leave."

Then, my dear sir, I will instantly put your friendship to the test. Know that I have been most outrageously insulted—a ruffian, in the disguise of a gentleman, assaulted and threatened to assassinate me he was armed with a sword-cane, and I am not certain but I saw the blade of a dagger glitter beneath his vest. By dint of great coolness and presence of mind, and some strength of body, I was at length enabled to clear myself from him. And I now request your opinion-whether the most proper course would not be to demand the satisfaction of a gentleman."

"He is here," said a voice within the room. looked round, and to his inexpressible astonishment and dismay, perceived the figure of Hawkins standing near the door. He had overheard the whole conversation.

We like not to dwell on painful themes, and shall consequently not detail the scene that ensued. We will merely state that they fought, and poor Knibbs fell-"O what a fall was there, my countrymen." Yet no murderous bullet pierced his heart, neither did he fall to

Alexander's namesake, the only arms used on the memorable occasion, were such as Nature had provided the combatants; and the immediate cause of the final catastrophe was the introduction of the stranger's fist to the olfactory organ of Peter Alexander.

"Are you satisfied?" said his antagonist, holding his clenched hand before the schoolmaster's visage.

Well had it been for our worthy friend had he not uttered the last sentences. But, alas! the best and wisest are liable to err; and Knibbs being but a mortal man, a man too, whose passions were easily excited, he uttered almost involuntarily the harsh language in question. No sooner, however, had it left his lips, than the nether extremity of the haughty stranger came in con-rise no more; but, alas! for the glory of the illustrious tact with the devoted body of our hero, and he received || what is vulgarly called a kick, which marvellously accelerated his downward progress. He reached the bottom of the stairs, where he lay for several minutes stunned with his fall; indeed, his rising at all was for some time at least problematical. But he did at length arise. Ye gods! who can imagine the agony of rage that shook || his frame, or who depict the whirlwind of passion that raged within his breast? Throwing himself into a heroic attitude that would not have disgraced many a youthful aspirant for histrionic .fame, he vociferated with the tone of a stentor-" Scoundrel! knave! villian! you have insulted-you have injured and disgraced me there is a stain upon my honor which nothing but blood can wash away: and, by the soul of the immortal Alexander, I will be revenged! Fool, fool, that I am," he continued, frantically striking his forehead: "thus to waste my breath on a base, mean-spirited, craven-hearted wretch whom it were base flattery to call a coward." "

'Perfectly," gasped Knibbs. And Hawkins rising from the prostrate body of his adversary, with great coolness and deliberation walked away.

Our unfortunate hero rose from the ground, but in what a plight! From his mouth-which was robbed of half its tenants-flowed a stream of blood-his nose, once so fiercely cocked, and which seemed to breathe forth an air of defiance, was now battered to a level with his face and around those intelligent and intellectual eyes were drawn horrid lines of black!

Two days after, Hawkins led the fair widow in triumph to the altar. The reader must imagine the astonishment and rage of Knibbs at receiving an invitation Satisfied with this sublime effusion, he turned slowly to attend the wedding, as no poor efforts of ours are

sufficient to do them justice. What made the mortifica- | beautiful and foolish little things with flattery, and then they forgot him who had loved them so well and so constantly. Night after night the star shone down upon them, but more faintly; its radiance declined into a mild dim look of pity, and then it disappeared entirely.