trangers. To the young
lady and her maid Claude gave up the state-room which he himself had
thus far occupied, and which was the best on board, while Zac gave up
his to the old man. The others were all comfortably disposed of, and
Zac and Claude stowed themselves away as best they could feeling
indifferent about themselves as long as they could minister to the
wants of their guests. Food and sleep were the things that were the
most needed by all these new-comers, and these they had in abundance.
Under the beneficial effects of these, they began to regain their
strength. The seaman rallied first, as was most natural; and from
these Claude learned the story of their misfortunes.

The lost ship had been the French frigate Arethuse, which had left
Brest about a moth previously, on a voyage to Louisbourg and Quebec.
The old gentleman was the Comte de Laborde, and the two girls whom
they had saved, one was his daughter, and the other her maid. The
other gentleman was the Comte de Cazeneau. This last was on his way
to Louisbourg, where an important post was awaiting him. About a week
before this the Arethuse had encountered a severe gale, accompanied
by a dense fog, in which they had lost their reckoning. To add to
their miseries, they found themselves surrounded by icebergs, among
which navigation was so difficult that the seamen all became
demoralized. At length the ship struck one of these floating masses,
and instantly began to fill. The desperate efforts of the crew,
however, served to keep her afloat for another day, and might have
saved her, had it not been for the continuation of the fog. On the
following night, in the midst of intense darkness, she once more
struck against an iceberg, and this time the consequences were more
serious. A huge fragment of ice fell upon the poop, shattering it and
sweeping it overboard. In an instant all discipline was at an end. It
was _sauve qui peut_. The crew took to the boats. One of these went
down with all on board, while the others passed away into the
darkness. This little handful had thrown themselves upon the ship's
poop, which was floating alongside within reach, just in time to
escape being dragged down by the sinking ship; and there, for days
and nights, with scarcely any food, and no shelter whatever, they had
drifted amid the dense fog, until all hope had died out utterly. Such
had been their situation when rescue came.

Claude, upon hearing this story, expressed a symp