The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 240: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Se ee THE STEAM PACKET. 183 the recollections of our own pride, our own revengeful thoughts, and the swellings of our hearts against them. But our repentance is too late, our sorrows unavailing, our tears unnoticed! The flame of their being is quenched ; the lamp of their existence is gone out ; and they have passed away from us for ever, into the land of spirits. Such were the reflections of the venerable Pierre Michel—or ‘‘ Father Michel,” as the neighbours called him—as one evening, in the month of April, 1776, he sate upon the bench at the door of his cottage, which was situate midway between the Basse-Ville of Calais and the Sea-shore on the northern side of the town. The boughs of the trees which waved over his head were putting forth their verdure; and the notes of the warbling bird had begun to announce the presence of spring. Jt was at that delicious twilight hour, when the soul is akin in feelings to the tranquillity of surrounding nature, and yet suscept- ible of that same soft melancholy influence which resembles the gloom of the evening growing over the last reflections of an effulgent sun. Father Michel was a man of sixty-two years of age at the period when this legend commences; and the excellence of his character—the pa- triarchal hospitality which he was ever ready to afford to the wayfarer —and his universal kindness to the little children of the neighbour- hood, obtained for him the appellation of ‘‘ Father.” His little dwelling, which was about a mile from the Basse-Ville, was the abode of comfort and peace. He was a widower; but one son and one daughter were left to cheer him in his way through this world. Albert was a fine tall youth, of nineteen, with dark eyes and hair, and that facial outline which reminds the beholder of the character- istic features of the warm.and sunny clime of Greece. Pauline was one year younger than her brother, but modelled after the same style of beauty, and graced with attractions which would rather have seemed to denote the high-born lady than the lowly and unassuming country maiden. Both she and her brother were well educated; for their mother, who had died only two years previously to the opening of our tale, was a lady of great accomplishments and considerable knowledge, and she had devoted unwearied care to the instruction of her well- beloved offspring. Pierre Michel himself had been a soldier in early life; and the knowledge which he possessed was rather the result of experience than of inculcation. He had espoused the scion of a noble family ; and the lady, who had sacrificed brilliant prospects to her af- fection for him, was immediately disowned by all her relations. Her father, however, settled an annual income of eighty pounds upon her husband, to preserve them from want; and immediately after their marriage they retired to the white cottage near Calais, afar from the Gomicbooks (E(0)