Natalie | Page 5

you here?" added he. "I suppose you came along as
supercargo; pray tell me with what are you freighted?"
"The Sea-flower is my only freight, sir."
"And God grant that you may always find as valuable! but tell me, is
this angelic child your sister?"
"Yes, sir, my sister, and we all love her very much; we could not be
without her, for we might forget to thank our Father for his kindness to
us, if we had no Sea-flower to remind us of Heaven."
"So young, and can appreciate so rare a gift," mused the gentleman;
"childhood, indeed, is the first to discover purity;" and the eye of the
stranger grew moist, and the melancholy smile which sat upon his
countenance gave place to the shadows of grief. "What is the child's
name?" asked he.

"We call her Sea-flower, sir."
"'Tis a peculiar, sweet name; but has she no other?"
"We have always called her by that name. Mother says she came to us
from God, and he loves the little flowers; he smiles upon each one, as it
holds up its little head, all shining with pearly tears wept by the stars.
But do you not love my sister? I did not think she could make you sad."
"Yes, yes, my son; take good care of her, be a true brother to her, ever.
Many long years have passed since my own little Natalie played in my
arms, but they are gone;" and the kind gentleman gathered his
sketching instruments to depart.
That night, as Mrs. Grosvenor talked with her children, as was her wont,
of the good Father who loves us all, Harry related the interview with
the stranger gentleman; and in the prayer which followed he was not
forgotten. The Sea-flower folded her tiny hands meekly, while from the
windows of her soul went up the love she could not speak. As that
faithful mother sat meditating upon the story of Harry in regard to the
stranger, which she had related to her husband, Captain Grosvenor
remarked,--"It is just one year to-day when our dear child came to us,
being also my birthday; but instead of adding a year to my life, it seems
to me old Father time has made a mistake, and made a deduction of a
year. Just one year to-day, and she is the Sea-flower still. Yes, she will
ever be the Sea-flower to us; yet I suppose she must have a name more
in keeping with the ideas of the world. What was the name of the lost
one the sad gentleman mused of?"
"He spoke of the long time ago, before his own Natalie had gone."
"Poor man! Each life must have its portion of bitterness. Natalie,--I like
the sound; it reminds me of my home on the waters. With your consent,
my wife, the Christian name of the child shall be Natalie, for she came
to us from the sea."
CHAPTER II.

THE ISLAND HOME.
"Long may this ocean-gem be bright, And long may it be fair, In
Freedom's pure and blessed light, And Virtue's hallowed air! While still
across its ocean bound, Shall e'er be borne the truthful sound, Our
island home! our island home! We love our island home!"
MRS. J. H. HANAFORD.
"And yet that isle remaineth, A refuge for the free, As when
true-hearted Macy Beheld it from the sea. God bless the sea-beat island!
And grant for evermore, That Charity and Freedom dwell, As now,
upon the shore!"
J. G. WHITTIER.
Gentle reader, pause a little, and let us for a few moments turn our
thoughts toward that Island of the sea, upon which it was the fate of our
heroine, through the guidance of a divine providence, to find a home in
the bosoms of those whose hearts' beatings were of love for our
unknown. Yea, love ever encircleth purity.
Properly, this chapter, descriptive of the Island of Nantucket, should
have been our first; but had that been the case, alas, for the simple tale
of Natalie! How many would have passed it by with but one thought,
and that thought invariably,--Nantucket! pooh! a fish story, strikingly
embellished with ignorance. And you may indeed discover in the
feebleness of my unpretending pen, much that is food for critics; yet
give not a thought of ridicule to Nantucket's favored ones, for it is not
for me to enlist under her banner of superiority of intellect. To the
many questions which I know you have it in your heart to ask, as
touching the civilization, etc., of these islanders, I do not reply, as I
might be tempted under other circumstances to do, that it would be
advisable to procure a passport before landing on those shores, lest one
might stand in danger of being harpooned by