human being so white, and though it must
have been dead for some time, it was not in
the least decomposed. It had upon its head
a little cap trimmed with lace, and a nightdress
of fine material.

The chest and its contents were at once
brought to land, and placed beneath a shed.!
A surgeon of great experience examined the
little body—an operation in which, at his
request, I assisted him. We found no marks
of violence. Nothing to warrant a suspicion
that death had ensued from other than
natural causes. On the contrary, the cause
of death was apparent, and there was
no occasion for sending for the coroner,
whose place of abode was twenty-one miles
distant.

The little body lay in the shed during the
day, guarded by one of the men who had
picked it up, and meanwhile preparations
were made for the funeral, which was to
take place in the afternoon, at six o'clock, in
the churchyard of the parish, and about a
mile from the watering-place.

The visitors of both sexes, and of all ages,
went to look at the Dead Baby—not in a
mass, but in groups of twos and threes. I
took up a position in a loft over the shed,
whence I could see and hear without being
seen.

One lady, whom death had doubtless robbed
of a little one, wept very bitterly at the sight
which had seemingly made her heart bleed
afresh, and it was with difficulty that her
husband removed her from the scene. Several
other ladies also wept: amongst them a
governess who held by her hand a little girl
of about nine years old, and whom she
informed that it was just like a little baby of
her sister's, who died when it was five months
old. Another English lady remarked to her
companion that the dressing-gown in which
the infant was wrapped, as well as the child's
clothes, were not of English material or make;
and that the child must have been born of
French parents. This remark induced me
to examine minutely the lid of the chest, and
upon it I found a slight indentation in the
shape of a cross. But whatever was the
child's race, or whatever their religion, it
was carried to the graveyard by brave and
honest English boatmen, and received
Christian burial.

It would be in vain to speculate who were
the parents of the child, or what part of
the world they were going to, or coming
from. That the little one had died far far at
sea, and out of sight of land, there could
hardly be a doubt, and that the chest (which
the coals were not sufficiently heavy to sink)
had been washed up the Channel. Had it
not been picked up that morning, abreast of
the Goodwin Sands, it might have found its
way to the River Thames.

As it was—beyond a passing notice in a
country journal—no mention was ever made
of it. I have seen extracts from Household
Words, in Indian, Australian, Cape,
American, Canadian, and other journals. My
chief object in detailing the above facts is,
that they may become known to those to
whom the little one was dear. The ashes
of the Little Unknown repose in the graveyard
of Saint Peter's, in the Isle of Thanet,
Kent, England. Even should this knowledge
cause the child's relatives a renewal of their
griefs, it cannot fail to afford them some
consolation.

I cannot conclude this little narrative without
alluding—and I do so with something
like national pride—to the respect which an
English seaman pays to the dead. When we
were getting the chest into the lugger, and
before its contents could be guessed at, there
was no small amount of jocularity touching
the nature of the prize. And when it was
fairly aboard a scene ensued that amused me
vastly. A little gambling went on, and the
reader must bear in mind that these men
who, every winter, man life-boats, and risk
their own lives to save those of others, are
not particularly refined in their expressions,
when they are amongst themselves, and have
some business to settle. My presence did
not operate as a check upon their tongues.
They had known me too long; and I had
often witnessed their daring deeds.
Sometimes, when an oath was rapped out, they
would beg my "pardon for such a rudeness;"
but then there was always a smile
playing over the lips of the speaker, which
more than half destroyed the force and
effect of the apology he intended to offer
me.

"Well, what about the shares—whatever
it may be? " said the captain of the lugger,
when the chest was about to be opened.
"Share and share alike?"

"I saw it first," said one of the men; " I
ought to get a share and a-half. But—
look here—who will buy my share, on
chance?"

"I will!" cried out the other three men.

"What will you give? Bid!"

The bidding commenced. The fourth share
of the value of the chest and contents
unknown, was started at eighteen pence, and
was eventually knocked down after a
spirited competition, for three shillings and
sixpence, the purchaser being quite satisfied
that it was a carpenter's chest of tools, or
a box full of nautical instruments. While the
lid of the chest was being removed, there was
also a good deal of joking, and the expression
of many hopes and fears. Gold, rum, sugar,
tracts. No sooner, however, was the
truth manifested, than their conduct was
entirely changed. Not an oath was uttered
on the way back to the harbour, nor a word
spoken that did not betray some very good
feeling, or some very tender thought; and
when we came alongside the old wooden
quay, the captain of the lugger said to the
youngest of the crew in a low, reverent voice: