Witch Hazel; or, The Secret of the Locket

"The Secret of the Locket" by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon is a serialized melodrama beginning with a maritime disaster. Sandy Morton, a sixty-year-old lighthouse keeper on a remote island, lives with his ten-year-old grandson Percy and two servants. The boy is the sole survivor of Morton's son, a ship captain whose vessel wrecked years earlier with his wife aboard. One November night, a distress signal appears at sea. Despite dangerous conditions—high winds, darkness, and treacherous waves—Morton, his helper Jim, and Percy launch their boat toward the stricken vessel near Ainslie Crag. As the ship founders, a man throws a bundle of shawls into their boat before the vessel sinks catastrophically, drowning all other passengers. Inside the bundle, Percy discovers a small, beautiful girl—the sole other survivor. The narrative combines nautical peril, pathos, and mystery, suggesting the girl's identity will become central to the unfolding plot.