was light, we bore down to the little bay you see off yonder to the nor-east, and having anchored, sent off a boat to the shore. I was in her, and I shall never forget my joy when I first saw our men standing on the beach. and hallooing to us: we were soon among them, and asking questions enough to sink a lighter. After leaving the ship, they steered as near as they could tell to where the cries came from; after running about ten minutes, they could hear them plainer, and at last got so near as to speak to the person: it was a man who was clinging to a large board, and was nearly exhausted. After a time they got him in, and finally reached the shore; the poor fellow was nearly gone, and could not speak a word, so they took him to a house, and, after awhile, by rolling and warming him, brought him to. It so happened that the house belonged to the governor, or whatever they call him; and as soon as he clapped his eyes on the man, he knew him, and had him taken to prison; and it turned out that, after all our trouble, we had only saved the poor wretch from being drowned that he might be hung; for it was proved by many who knew him, having seen the fellow before, and by pieces of the wreck which floated ashore, that he was nothing better than a real pirate, whose murders were so numerous they couldn't be counted. He had been taken twice before, but had escaped each time. The governor, to be sure of him, now ordered the execution to take place that day. We had leave to stay on shore and see it. He looked pale and half dead when they brought him out, and for the soul of me I couldn't help pitying him, he stepped so firm, and went so willingly to meet his death. He was led out to the gallows between two files of soldiers, and our parson talked to him all the way, but he paid no attention, and seemed to be thinking of something else-mayhap the fine vessel he had lost, and all that. We saw the poor fellow swung off, and then went back to our ship, but there was no laughing or joking that day, nor the next either, for we all felt as if we had some hand in it, and wished the poor man had been food for the fishes rather than to have fallen a prey to land-sharks. The body was taken down, and then hung up in chains; and on our homeward voyage we saw them there rattling in the seabreeze and bleaching in the sun. I have passed here often, but I have never forgotten to look for the gallows and the pirate's remains, and I shall never forget that night while I live.' All hands a-hoy!' shouted the boatswain, and in a moment I was left alone. Before I went to my berth, I took one more look at the dreaded object, and determined, if ever I found leisure, to commit the story to paper.* THE CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS. NEITHER the most humble individual, nor what is considered one of the meanest of occupations, is to be despised. This is illustrated by the following little story, which we quote from an old volume of the Literary Gazette: The sultan of a certain Eastern country gave notice, that on a particular day he would entertain the nobles of his court with some field-sports. The courtiers were immediately in a state of preparation, the attendants were every one upon the alert, and all was on the tiptoe of expectation, for all knew that a feast would follow, and all were eager to follow a feast, as the sultan was distinguished as an epicure, and his courtiers were not a pin behind him. The wished-for day arrived, and at the first dawn the huntsmen, their helpers, and all that belonged to the train and pomp of an Eastern hunt, were in readiness. On the sultan himself, the prospect of the sport had made some impression, and he did not keep his nobles more *We have copied the above from a collection of pieces, where it appears without any author or publisher's name, and are therefore not aware of the source whence it originated, The prostrations were made, than three hours waiting. the sultan was seated, and a signal was given for his favourite repast, which, on days of exercise, he was accustomed to order; but, O wonder of wonders! the signal was not answered by the immediate appearance of the banquet. It was repeated with as little success. The courtiers who dared to look, rolled their eyes about in all directions, the mutes were distinctly seen to move, and the favourite sultana alone dared to meet the eye of her lord, and finding there no immediate killing orders, began to breathe freely; at the same moment a confused murmur was heard, and the venerable person of the chief cook was seen making his way to the throne, before the awful majesty of which, throwing himself as flat as the protuberance of his body would permit, he thus began : Light of the Sun, Splendour of the Moon, Eclipse of the Stars, Mightier than the mightiest! the life of thy slave is but as a grain of sand before thee.' The sultan here cut short his speech along with his head-the prime minister was despatched to discover the cause the chief cook had been so long of coming, and he found the kitchen in consternation. He learned that the court chimneysweeper, in order to ruin the cook, who had levied a tax in addition from the perquisites of his soot-bag, had neglected the orders for sweeping the chimney on the day previous to the hunt, whereby a quantity of soot falling on the fire, had spoiled the favourite mess. By this time, the storm brewing on the empty stomach of the sultan had reached its climax, and scarce had his minister intimated the occasion, when an immediate order was given to execute all the chimney-sweeps in his metropolis. A few stragglers only were found on whom to execute this summary order. The principal court-sweep, foreseeing the consequences, had retreated with his family, and as many of his tribe as he could warn of the mischief which he knew would follow, to a neighbouring state then at war with his quondam prince. But the sultan waits-and wait he must; for as to having his victuals cooked by an ordinary cook at an ordinary kitchen, the thing was not to be done; so taking some dried sweetmeats and coffee in his harem, the day's pleasure was reversed; but the mischief was not over, for the palace kitchen could have no fire till the chimney was cleansed, and the sultan called a council, by which it was concluded, that chimney-sweepers were of use, and by proclamation a pardon was offered to such as would come forth from their concealments, and operate as before. But caution and distrust had so wrought on the sable community, that not one-if any had remained— appeared. The evil increased, foul chimneys were everywhere complained of, and a reward was added to the pardon of the sultan ; but still without effect. In the meantime, a few fires broke out, and a few houses were consumed, from the accumulation of soot; and such was the general panic, that men began to think of their own safety in preference to the homage due to their first magistrate; and even went so far as to accuse him of rashness, in hastily putting an end to what was discovered on all hands to be so useful and necessary a part of the community. The sultan continued to assemble his councils, who were instructed in all the learning and wisdom of antiquity, but who had never yet discovered that so trifling an article as sweeping a chimney might inconvenience and even menace the overthrow of a mighty empire. Insurrections were already on foot, and the precipitancy of the monarch was the ground of complaint. The scavengers now began to feel their importance, and the city was in danger of becoming a prey to pestilence from its filth; when the sultan, a politic man in the main, though a little too hasty, entered into negotiations with the exiled sweep-master, who, on the promise of a pardon, a place, and a pension, returned to the duties of his occupation, and brought his brethren of the brush over by making terms for them. Upon this turn of affairs, the other orders of the state returned respectively to their employment. As the grandees had by this time undertaken to do their own dirty work, the ladies of the seraglio made their own beds, and the favourite sultana was said to have been seen mending her own stockings; for as the revolt had become general, the necessity of the case was urgent, and even young sweeps were in training from the younger children of respectable families; for as a title had been added by way of a douceur to the original mover of the revolt, the profession was no longer thought degrading. It was thus that necessity first shewed the importance of an humble part of society, and pointed out a remedy, by putting them upon a more equal footing with the more wealthy and exalted; and the mutual compact was cemented; the sultan gave a grand hunt on the occasion, and a tolerable cook being obtained, a good fire and a clean chimney insured him his favourite meal, and the day went off without the loss of a single life, except that of a boar, which they brought home in triumph. DELUGE IN THE VALLEY OF THE DRANSE. At the opening of one of the subordinate valleys which branch out from the greater strath of the Valais, in Switzerland, stands the small city or town of Martigny, on the river Dranse, which was the scene of one of the most direful inundations which had ever occurred in that part of the world. This destructive deluge took place in the year 1818, and memorials of its visitation are yet observable both in the town and its vicinity. We quote the account of the catastrophe, in an abridged form, from an exceedingly beautiful work-Switzerland Illustrated, by Dr Beattie. (2 vols. Virtue: London.) For a considerable time, the waters of the Dranse had gradually diminished, and at length almost disappeared. So unusual a phenomenon, it might have been supposed, would have led to some inquiry into the cause, and to a |