The gushing of the wave Far, far away did seem to mourn and rave On alien shores. The eternal sound of the sea on every side has a tendency to wear away the edge of human thought and perception; sharp outlines become blurred and softened like a sketch in charcoal; nothing appeals to the mind with the same dis tinotness as on the mainland, amid the rush and stir of people and things, and the excitements Of social life. This was strikingly illustrated during the late war, which, while it wrung the heart of the whole country, and stirred the blood of every man, woman, and child on the continent, left the handful of human beings upon these lonely rocks almost untouched. The echoes of woe and terror were so faint and far they seemed to lose their significance among the many — voiced waters they crossed, and reached at last the indifferent ears they sought with no more force than a spent wave.