Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. II.djvu/146

Rh of one's life. Three life-boats are continually rowing about outside this scene during the bathing season in order to be at hand in case of accident. Nevertheless, scarcely a year passes without some misfortune occurring during the bathing season, principally from the want of circumspection in the bathers themselves who venture out too far when they are not expert swimmers. The impulse of the waves in the ebb is stronger than in the flowing tide, and it literally sucks them out into the great deep; and I cannot in such case but think upon the legend of our mythology, about “the false Ran” which hungers for human life, and drags his prey down into his bosom. There is no other danger on this coast; porpoises are not dangerous, and of sharks there are none excepting at the dinner-table.

A shipwreck has lately occurred not far from Cape May, which has crushed the hope of many a heart, and has made a deep impression upon thousands of minds in the North-Eastern States.

One stormy night during July, a brig was stranded upon a rock on the coast of New Jersey. This brig conveyed to her native land the Marchioness Ossoli (Margaret Fuller), the object of so much conversation and so much blame, of so much admiration, of so much attention in the New England States, and with her came her husband, the Marchese Ossoli, and their little boy. They all perished, after having seen death approach for four hours; whilst the waves dashed to pieces the vessel which had borne them hither. As I recollect I mentioned to you Margaret Fuller's letter to the Spring's from Gibraltar, in which she spoke of her presentiment of evil, of the captain's death, &c.

After the death of the captain, the first-mate took the command of the vessel. He seems to have been an expert seaman, and so certainly calculated on bringing his ship safe into port, that the evening before the disaster occurred