THE WRECK. And ever the fitful gusts between A sound came from the land; It was the sound of the tramping surf, On the rocks and the hard sea-sand. The breakers were right beneath her bows, She drifted a dreary wreck, And a whooping billow swept the crew Like icicles from her deck. She struck where the white and fleecy waves Looked soft as carded wool, But the cruel rocks, they gored her sides, Like the horns of an angry bull. --_Wreck of the "Hesperus."_ When Ishmael awoke in the morning he was surprised to find that the motion of the ship was much lessened. And when he went up on deck he was pleased to discover that the wind had fallen and the sea was going down. There was but one trouble--the thick fog; but that might be expected on the Banks of Newfoundland. Old Captain Mountz was pacing up and down the deck with the firm tread of a man who felt himself on solid ground. "Good-morning, captain! A pleasant change this," was Ishmael's greeting. "Oh, aye, yes! for as long as it will last," was the dampening reply. "Why, you don't think the wind will rise again, do you?" "Don't I? I tell you before many hours we shall have a strong sou'wester, that will do its best to drive us ashore on these Banks," was the discouraging answer. But by this time Ishmael had grown to understand the old sailor, and to know that he generally talked by the "rules of contrary"; for whereas he would not permit the late gale to be anything more than a "capful of wind," he now declared the fine weather to be nothing less than the forerunner of a hurricane. So Ishmael did not feel any very serious misgivings, but went downstairs to breakfast with a good appetite. Here another pleasant surprise greeted him: Judge Merlin and Mr. Brudenell, recovered from their seasickness, were both at breakfast; and notwithstanding the weight of care that oppressed their hearts they were both, from the mere physical reaction from depressing illness, in excellent spirits. They arose to greet their young friend. "How do you do, how do you do, Ishmael?" began Judge Merlin, heartily shaking his hand. "I really suppose now that you think I owe you an apology? But the fact is you owe me one. Didn't you know better than to intrude on the privacy of a seasick man? Didn't you know that a victim hates the sight of one who is not a victim? And that a seasick man or a rabid dog is better let alone, eh?" "I beg your pardon, sir; I did not know it; but now that you enlighten me, I will not offend again," laughed Ishmael. Mr. Brudenell's greeting was quieter, but even more cordial than that of the judge. Before breakfast was over they were joined by others of their fellow-passengers, whom they had not seen since the first day out.