bosoms, and spread them out in the valleys where cities will be built; and the busy life of Man will find its best abode above our banks."

So all the Children of the Flood began their work in the world. The rough rocks gave up to them their treasures, and these they spread out along the valleys, making smooth ledges for roads, and broad intervales for meadows and grain-fields.

seen.

Soon gray and yellow lichens began to dot the rocks, and beautiful mosses to embroider the banks, and multitudes of green growing things thronged by the sides of the brooks; for they loved the faithful and busy little workers who were toiling so well for the coming creatures whom they had never And the mosses were not long alone; for graceful, pointed ferns appeared and overshadowed the mosses, and presently shrubs and thickets grew up and overshadowed the ferns, and tall trees lifted their green arches into the air, and over-roofed the shrubs; and they all lived together in peace, and drew their life from the Children of the Flood, who brought them food constantly from the sides of the mountains.

Being filled with this spirit of service and good-will, it naturally happened that the abodes of the mountain brooks became the loveliest places in all the world; and after the children of men had come to their home, and had begun to find out its hidden beauties, there were no places that they loved more to visit, none where the goodness of their Father was shown to them by more charming records, than the shady water-courses in the forests. Here they would sit by the brook-side on mossy rocks, and listen to the voice of the water, which, though they could not fully understand it, seemed to be always telling some very pleasant tale.

Four of the great rivers, hand in hand, encircled the Garden of Eden, and no one can tell how many smaller Children of the Flood wandered through its shady walks, and told sweet stories to the childlike human spirits who had come to live with them. Certainly some of these are wandering upon the earth to this day; and when you meet a little woodland brook whose voice is unusually sweet and low, as if he were telling some half-sad but all-beautiful tale of olden times, while all manner of spicy odors breathe along his banks, you may be perfectly sure whatever spring he may pretend to start from-that he is a little runaway from Paradise, and can almost carry you back to it, if you will but submit yourself long enough to his spell.

There were other Children of the Flood, which, though less known to men, were not less useful in their way. They lived in the hidden channels among the rocky foundations, and came forth only when, by patient and diligent study, men had discovered their hiding-places, and had learned the spell which could command their services.

Far away in Africa is a great sea of sand, upon which the sun pours out its hottest rays, and men have left it mostly in its solitude, calling it "Sahara, the Great Desert." Fierce winds, born of the sultry heat, range over its surface, and sometimes sweep forth into the country around, burning and ravaging; and then human creatures sicken or die, while all green things perish in their scorching breath. But under the rocky bed of the desert itself

still lurk the little water-spirits, Children of the Flood, with life and health in their cool veins.

Once a man from a far-away country, with keener eyes or a stouter heart than the people of the desert, resolved to call up the healing spirits from the vasty deep of sand. It was a singular undertaking, and a host of turbaned heads looked on in some fear, as he began to sink the shaft which he meant should open a way for the water-sprites to ascend. To them it seemed quite as likely that some malignant Genie lay concealed in a burning cavern beneath, and would take a hot revenge for their intrusion. Perhaps the Frenchman was a sorcerer, they thought. And indeed he was; but his was only that healthful and lawful kind of sorcery which consists in commanding the servants who were appointed in old times to serve us. As the shaft went down, the Arabs stood in the hot sun looking on, when suddenly there leaped from far beneath the surface a cool, white column of water, and sprang high into the air above their heads. Then they shouted with joy, and fell on their faces in the sand to worship the wonderful spirit that had come to their aid. Once released from her rocky prison, this beautiful Child of the Flood showed no intention of returning thither; on the contrary, she continues to this day to bestow her health-giving presence among the desert people. But that spot is no longer desert; for soon from the arid sands sprang up the tender grass and mosses, which love the water so well that they follow it wherever it grows. And, if the keen-eyed men that know the spell of the water-spirits shall continue their work, it is just possible that the whole sea of sand will some day be converted into fertile fields, fulfilling that old saying that "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose."

None of the forces that inhabit the earth have ever performed more willing and various service for man than these Children of the Flood. Dwelling in the secret places of the hills, they feed the ponds and lakes through all the summer drought; and, if only a channel is laid for them, they will rush down to the great cities, and flow through little underground paths into every house, carrying purity and health to all that will accept the gift.

When the fire-fiends break loose among the dwellings of men, the little water-sprites are the only forces that can withstand them; and they will rush into the thickest of the scorching flames undaunted, though often they perish in the fight. Many a time in this way they have saved a great city from destruction, and rescued thousands of precious lives.

Moreover, they are the greatest manufacturers in the world. Wherever there is a wheel to be turned, some little mountain brook is ready to put his brown shoulder to it; and it is hard to say what boys and girls would do for clothes to wear, were it not for these diligent workers. They saw logs, and plane the planks, and knit stockings, and make paper, and weave cloth, and print calico; in short, there is really no end to the useful things they do.

But, with all the burdens they bear, they never lose their beauty or their happiness; indeed, never do they beam so brightly, or sing so merrily, or clothe themselves in such airy garments of spray, as when they are most

busily employed in turning wheels, and helping in the work which men have devised for them. No task discourages them, and no danger daunts; no heavy burden crushes their spirits; for have they not undertaken, ages ago, to be the faithful friends and helpers of mankind? And they will never dream of rest while anything remains to be done for our health, comfort, or enjoyment.

Elsie Teller.

THE

CARRIE'S SHIPWRECK.

HE story which I am going to tell is all true, every bit of it. It is not a made-up story, though some parts of it may sound as if they were made Carrie is the real name of a real person, whom I have known almost all her life; and all the account of her shipwreck is taken from her own letters, and those of her friends who were with her.

up.

One thing is certain about Carrie's adventures,- that they happened to just the right person. For I hardly ever knew any one who took such an eager interest in foreign countries as she did, or liked so much to read about them. At school, beside her geography lessons, she used to try and learn still more from other books about the different parts of the globe; and she could tell you a great deal about the different races of men, and about the various climates and plants and animals, and about the Gulf Stream and the tradewinds, and all those interesting things which travellers know.

So when she grew older, - grew to be quite a large girl, in fact, — she seemed just the person to travel. And when it was decided that she should go and live on the Pacific coast, at a place called Puget Sound, away at the northwest corner of the United States, you may imagine that she was quite excited at the prospect, though she did not like to leave her friends.

She was to reach Puget Sound in this way. First, she was to go in a great steamer from New York to Aspinwall, which is on the Isthmus of Panama. Then she was to cross the Isthmus of Panama by railroad. Then she was to go from Panama by another steamer to San Francisco, in California; and then by another steamer to Puget Sound. So Carrie was to be quite a traveller, - three different steamers; and after all, as you will see, she got into a fourth steamer besides, in a very unexpected way.

Carrie's voyage at first was very much like other voyages, except that she was not sea-sick at all, which is very unlike the voyages of most people. So she was on deck all day and every evening, and watched the Mother Carey's chickens in the daytime, and the porpoises at twilight; and she slept soundly at night in her narrow berth, and then went on deck in the morning, and saw the white-capped waves still stretching everywhere around, and seeming to hold up a thousand little hands, as if they were dancing in play.

So the great steamer sailed southward, and sailed southward, and passed the Bahama Islands, and the West India Islands, and came into the beautiful Caribbean Sea. And there Carrie's adventures began.

The Caribbean Sea is thought very beautiful, because there are such bright and lovely colors in the water there, and also in the sky; while even the floating sea-weeds and the birds and the fishes have brighter colors than almost anywhere else. Then there are coral islands too, which the coral insects build. These are beautiful when they are fairly above water; and soil has collected upon them, and trees have grown. But at first they are only low coral reefs, and cannot be seen above the water; and then they are very dangerous, and vessels are sometimes wrecked upon them, in perfectly calm weather, when they are going smoothly on. Carrie had often read about this, but she did not know how soon she was to find it out for herself.

One morning, between three and four o'clock, Carrie and her companions suddenly waked up, and heard a most singular grating and thumping sound underneath the vessel, and there was a dashing of water; and then the bell sounded to stop the engine. Then some one came to the state-room door and said, "You must get up and dress quickly, the vessel is on a coral reef."

That was all; there was no disturbance inside the vessel, but they heard the people everywhere getting down from their berths, and dressing, and talking in low tones. Carrie dressed just as quickly as she could, and put round her waist a life-preserver, which some one gave her, and then went out into the cabin. She could tell by the violent motions of the engine that they were trying to get off; and soon the vessel began to jerk and strain and creak, so that everybody had to hold on by something, and all the glass rattled and tumbled about the room. The little children began to cry at the noise and strangeness, but the older people kept still and quiet; and Carrie wrote to me that she never knew before how brave and good men and women could be. It was perfectly dark outside, and they were not allowed to go on deck yet, and they could not tell but the ship would break to pieces at any moment; yet there they sat patiently, the parents holding their children in their arms; and Carrie said that some faces which had always before seemed to her disagreeable looked now like the faces of angels.

But at last the daylight came, and they were permitted to go on deck. What a sight they saw! There was the vast rolling ocean around them, just as far as eye could reach, without a spot of land in sight; and here underneath them was the great brave vessel, which had borne them so long, now lying fixed on a reef which they could hardly see under the water. It was impossible to get the steamer off, the captain said, and there were nearly seven hundred people on board, and the boats would not hold a quarter of them. What was to become of them?

This was all they could see on deck, and the waves swept so terribly over the vessel that they all had to go down into the cabin again. There they heard the sailors cutting away the great masts, and the steam-pipe; and then some men came below and began to cut away the state-room doors, and Car

rie heard them say, "It is to make a raft, the only chance for our lives." But when somebody asked where the raft could take them to, nobody answered, for everybody knew that they were out of sight of land. But still the women and children sat quietly and patiently, with their life-preservers on, waiting for whatever might happen.

Carrie saw somebody writing a letter, and that put it into her head to do the same. So she got out her pencil and a piece of paper, and wrote me a little note with them. She thought that, when they left the vessel, she would leave it in the state-room, directed to me, and perhaps that part of the vessel would float, and I might get the note, even if she were drowned. And I did get it, (though not in that way,) and it came soiled and spotted with salt water, where the sea waves had wet it. And you may well suppose that I shall always keep it.

Carrie heard them say that the vessel had got far out of her course, into a part of the ocean where ships hardly ever came; and that the nearest land was a hundred miles off, and that a boat had been sent there for help, but might never get there. But soon after noon some one came down into the cabin and told them great news. Some sharp-eyed sailor was sure that he saw a low island only a few miles off, and a boat had been sent there also, to see if it was true. This boat was several hours absent, and when they saw it coming back, many of the passengers gathered on deck - all who could hold on to hear the news. The little boat came nearer and nearer, and the passengers on deck were almost breathless with anxiety, when at last a sailor rose and waved his hat, and shouted, "Success!" so that they could hear it amidst all the noise of waves. Then the men on board the steamer tried to answer them with a good loud shout, but the women could not keep back their tears, and some who had not cried before cried then.

The land which they had discovered was, after all, a part of the same coral reef, where it had risen above the water, four miles from the wreck. It was a little barren islet, a few acres in extent, without any vegetation, any land animals, or any springs of water. Yet it was this little, rocky, desolate spot which seemed likely to save the lives of those hundreds of passengers. For even with the aid of the raft, which was now ready, very few of them could probably be saved.

That night they began lowering the women and children, by ropes, over the lofty side of the vessel. It seemed terrible to Carrie, and she shut her eyes when she found herself swinging in mid-air, and saw the great waves beneath, which sometimes lifted the boat far up, as if to take her in, and then scooped it away so that it made her dizzy to look down at it. The vessel rocked and lurched so, too, that it seemed as if every stroke of the waves must be the last, and each time that the shock came, the ship's bell struck, as if it warned them what they were doing to do quickly. It was all over soon, however, and when she was once in the boat, it was very exciting to be rowed away, in the dim light, and placed upon the raft, while the boats went back for more.

All that night the women and children sat huddled together on the raft,