arbour of
this isle, and ran alongside the little quay, where the few natives who
chanced to be lounging there were filled with admiration at the sight of
five stalwart men who leaped upon the rocks, an active lad who held the
boat steady, and a handsome middle-aged woman, who was assisted to land
with much care by the tallest of her five companions.

There were a few small bales of merchandise in the boat. These being
quickly tossed ashore, one of the natives was asked to shew the way to
the nearest store, where they might be placed in safe keeping.

This done; the largest man of the party, who was clad in the rough
garments of a merchant captain, offered his arm to the female, who was
evidently his wife, and went off in search of the chief magistrate of
the settlement, leaving his companions to look after the boat and smoke
their pipes.

The handsome stranger introduced himself to the magistrate as Mr
Stuart; stated that he intended to settle on the island as a general
merchant, having brought a few bales of merchandise with him; that he
had been bred an engineer and a shipwright, and meant also to work at
his old trade, and concluded by asking for advice and general
information in regard to the state of trade on the island.

After having obtained all the information on these subjects that the
magistrate could give, insomuch that that functionary deemed him a
perfect marvel of catechetical wisdom and agreeable address,--the
stalwart stranger proceeded to inquire minutely into the state of
religion and education among the natives and settlers, and finally left
the charmed magistrate rejoicing in the belief that he was a most
intelligent philanthropist, and would be an inestimable acquisition to
the settlement.

A small trading store was soon built. The stranger was not a rich man.
He began in a humble way, and sought to eke out his subsistence by doing
the ordinary work of a wright. In this latter occupation he was ably
assisted by his stout son, Henry; for the duties of the store were
attended to chiefly by the lad Corrie, superintended by Mr Stuart.

The mysterious strangers were a source of much gossip and great
speculation, of course, to the good people of Green Isle, (as we shall
style this gem of the Pacific, in order to thwart the myrmidons of the
law!) They found them so reserved and uncommunicative, however, on the
subject of their personal affairs, that the most curious gossip in the
settlement at