raging of the tempest had a character of duration
that rendered it easy to imagine it might be a permanent feature of
the spot. The roar of the wind was without intermission, and the raging
water answered to its dull but grand strains with hissing spray, a
menacing wash, and sullen surges. The drizzle made a medium for the eye
which closely resembled that of a thin mist, softening and rendering
mysterious the images it revealed, while the genial feeling that is
apt to accompany a gale of wind on water contributed to aid the milder
influences of the moment. The dark interminable forest hove up out
of the obscurity, grand, sombre, and impressive, while the solitary,
peculiar, and picturesque glimpses of life that were caught in and about
the fort, formed a refuge for the eye to retreat to when oppressed with
the more imposing objects of nature.

"They see us," said the Sergeant, "and think we have returned on account
of the gale, and have fallen to leeward of the port. Yes, there is Major
Duncan himself on the north-eastern bastion; I know him by his height,
and by the officers around him."

"Sergeant, it would be worth standing a little jeering, if we could
fetch into the river, and come safely to an anchor. In that case, too,
we might land this Master Eau-douce, and purify the boat."

"It would indeed; but, as poor a sailor as I am, I well know it cannot
be done. Nothing that sails the lake can turn to windward against this
gale; and there is no anchorage outside in weather like this."

"I know it, I see it, Sergeant; and pleasant as is that sight to you
landsmen, we must leave it. For myself, I am never so happy in heavy
weather as when I am certain that the land is behind me."

The _Scud_ had now forged so near in, that it became indispensable to
lay her head off shore again, and the necessary orders were given. The
storm-staysail was set forward, the gaff lowered, the helm put up, and
the light craft, that seemed to sport with the elements like a duck,
fell off a little, drew ahead swiftly, obeyed her rudder, and was soon
flying away on the top of the surges, dead before the gale. While
making this rapid flight, though the land still remained in view on
her larboard beam, the fort and the groups of anxious spectators on
its rampart were swallowed up in the mist. Then followed the evolutions
necessary to bring the head of the cutter up to the wind, when she again
began to wallow her weary way towards the north sho