Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/347

OR, VULCAN S PEAK. 107 CHAPTER VIII. Thou shall seek the beach of sand "Where the water bounds the elfin land ; Thou shall watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the bright moonshine, Then darl the glistening arch below, And catch a drop from his silver bow ; The water-sprites will wield their arms, And dash around, with roar and rave, And vain are the woodland spirit s charms, They are the imps that rule the wave. Yet trust thee in thy single might; If thy heart be pure, and thy spirit right, Thou shalt win the warlike fight." DHAKE. A TWELVEMONTH passed, after the return of the expedi tion against Betto s group, without the occurrence of any one very marked event. Within that time, Bridget made Mark the father of a fine boy, and Anne bore her fourth child to Heaton. The propagation of the human species, indeed, flourished marvellously, no less than seventy-eight children having been born in the course of that single year. There were a few deaths, only one among the adults, the result of an accident, the health of the colony having been excellent. An enumeration, made near the close of the year, showed a total of three hundred and seventy-nine souls, including those absent in the Rancocus, and ex cluding the Kannakas. As for these Kannakas, the results of their employment quite equalled the governor s expectations. They would not labour like civilized men, it is true, nor was it easy to make them use tools; but at lifts, and drags, and heavy work, they could be, and were, made to do a vast deal. The first great object of the governor had been to get his people all comfortably housed, beneath good roofs, and out of the way of the rains. Fortunately there were no decayed