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wish to alarm, is to step over as far as you can, so as to plant your foot, when you set it down, as near as possible into the middle of the boat. Then

the pressure of your weight is equally distributed, as they say, over the bottom of the boat, and the whole body of it is pressed down equally, and there is very little tilting to either side. But if you step upon the side of the boat, or upon the bottom of it near one side, no matter how carefully you do it, the weight of your body will press down that side deep into the water, and make the lady afraid.

Grimkie understood this, and so by putting his foot over as near as possible into the centre of the boat, and resting his weight upon it there, he succeeded in getting in without scarcely disturbing the equilibrium at all; while John, though much lighter, by stepping upon the edge of the boat on one side, and then giving a little jump tilted it so much as to startle his mother and Florence considerably. In fact Florence gave quite a little scream.

As soon, however, as all were settled in their places, and the boat began to move away from the pier, the fears of the ladies at once subsided, and the whole party enjoyed the excursion very much. The water was shallow, and the surface of it was so smooth and glassy that the bottom,

with all the little pebbles and shells, and the ripples in the surface of the sand, could be seen almost as distinctly as if the boat had been floating in the air.

For some time the children occupied themselves in looking over the gunwale of the boat into the water, watching the various objects which they saw lying on the bottom, or which came floating by. There were some beautiful masses of sea-weed, of delicate forms and beautiful colors, that Florence said she wished she could get, to press and preserve, but they were too deep in the water. There were also several crabs, and in one place a sun-fish, which last consisted of a mass of jelly in the form of a cup which made its way through the water by a series of alternate contractions and dilatations, very curious to behold.

The crabs and the sun-fish John wished very much that he could get, to preserve in some way and carry to America to put into his museum.

The attention of the party in the boat was so absorbed for a time in watching these wonders which revealed themselves in the water, that they did not look up toward the land until they had proceeded for some distance from the pier. Then suddenly Mrs. Morelle happening to lift up her eyes obtained a view of the shore, and she

immediately uttered an exclamation of delight, which at once caused all the children to look up.

The view was beautiful. The range of cliffs extended uninterruptedly for miles along the shore. Above them to the left were the Downs, with here and there parties of visitors walking upon them, and appearing like moving dots. In the centre of the view was the opening of the great chasm of the Chine, with the row of houses extending along the beach below to the right, and beyond it, on the top of the cliffs, the roofs of the houses of the village, and the spire of the church, appeared among the trees. Farther still toward the right the coast line was seen extending from headland to headland toward the north and east, until it was lost in the distance, in dimness and haze.

Mrs. Morelle was so much interested in the view, and in the other objects of attention that occupied her mind, that she forgot her fears entirely, and enjoyed the excursion very much.

Such a result as this almost always follows, when we compel ourselves to obey the voice of reason, and refuse to listen to imaginary and foolish fears. As long as we cherish and indulge the phantasms and notions which spring up in our minds, and which reason condemns, so long they will domineer over us and make us misera

ble. But if we resolutely refuse to pay attention to them, and show a firm determination to be governed not by them, but by truth and reason, then the phantoms soon fade away and disappear.

After cruising about upon the water for nearly an hour the boatman turned the boat toward the shore, and the party landed upon the pier.

"Here we are, mother," said John, "all safe upon the shore again. And are you not glad you went ?"

"Yes," said Mrs. Morelle, "I am very glad, indeed. And I arı much obliged to you and Grimkie for contriving such a pleasant excursion for us."

CHAPTER XVIII.

MRS. PELHAM.

THE party did not return through the Chine, but in order to vary the walk they went up by the public carriage road, which ascended by a winding and zigzag way from the little street leading along the beach by the row of houses up the cliffs, in a sort of dell or series of dells, which like the chines were undoubtedly formed by a washing away of portions of the ground by currents of water. The water, however, which formed these dells was probably that of the rain, while the Chine had been hollowed out by means of a permanent stream, which came down from the interior of the country. This was, perhaps, the reason why the chasm of the Chine was so much more steep and precipitous.

The winding road up the dells was very pretty, being shaded by trees, and it turned continually as it ascended, so as to present many charming points of view. At one of these turns there was a pretty little inn, where visitors might stop to rest themselves and procure refreshments if they

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