diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/65143-0.txt | 4660 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/65143-0.zip | bin | 92995 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/65143-h.zip | bin | 142313 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/65143-h/65143-h.htm | 8112 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/65143-h/images/img-cover.jpg | bin | 48792 -> 0 bytes |
8 files changed, 17 insertions, 12772 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5220093 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65143 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65143) diff --git a/old/65143-0.txt b/old/65143-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 612a66c..0000000 --- a/old/65143-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4660 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Derval Hampton, Volume 1 (of 2), by James -Grant - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Derval Hampton, Volume 1 (of 2) - A Story of the Sea - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: April 22, 2021 [eBook #65143] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DERVAL HAMPTON, VOLUME 1 (OF -2) *** - - - - - DERVAL HAMPTON. - - A Story of the Sea. - - - - BY - - JAMES GRANT, - - AUTHOR OF "ROMANCE OF WAR," ETC., ETC. - - - - VOL. I. - - - - LONDON: - W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE, - PALL MALL. S.W. - - 1881. - - (_All rights reserved._) - - - - - LONDON - W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE S.W. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER I.--"Playing with Shells upon the Shores of Time" - -CHAPTER II.--"Therefore he loved Gold in special" - -CHAPTER III.--On board the good ship _Amethyst_ - -CHAPTER IV.--Under the Southern Cross - -CHAPTER V.--After Long Years - - - - -DERVAL HAMPTON. - -(A STORY OF THE SEA.) - - - -CHAPTER I. - -"Playing with shells upon the shores of time." - - -"I wonder why Heaven sent us into this world to face the -mortifications we have to endure?" - -"Do not say this, Greville, dearest; it is not for us to judge; we -have but to suffer and endure, and be thankful for life, for health, -and that we are not worse off than we are." - -"Thankful for life!" exclaimed the man, bitterly. "Why should I be -thankful for a life of poverty, obscurity, and trouble?" - -"Trouble is sent, as the preacher tells us, to make us better and -draw us closer to God. It is 'not my will, but Thine be done'; so we -ought not to question the mystery of life; and then, husband dear, we -have our little boy!" - -As she said this, something of a soft smile replaced the angry and -far-away expression that filled her husband's dark eyes. - -Greville Hampton and his wife Mary--her hands busy with work--were -seated in the ivy-clad porch of their little cottage on a bright -evening in summer. Before them, at the end of the vista down the -dell in which it stood, lay the waters of the English Channel -glittering in sunlight, as it rolled away from Rockham Bay to craggy -Hartland Point, a sheer precipice 300 feet in height. If humble and -small in accommodation, the cottage of Finglecombe was pretty -externally, with its wealth of creeping plants, and kept scrupulously -neat and clean within, though destitute of every luxury. - -Before the cottage lay the pretty garden which Greville Hampton -tended with his own hands, and where Mary reared and twined her -flowers. There were the ripening strawberries, their fresh green -leaves lying lightly on beds of yellow straw, the late asparagus and -wonderful cucumbers under glass-shades, mellow-flavoured peas in -borders, and wonderful nectarines climbing up the wall. Behind the -cottage, on the south, lay Finglecombe, (in old Devonian) "The dell -with the hazel boundary," and a lovely dell it was, bordered by -gentle slopes, covered with those "apple bowers," for which the -district is so famous, in all their luxuriance and greenery. Yet, -all this brought no pleasure to the eye or mind of Greville Hampton, -a moody and discontented man, one on whom the world and society had -smiled in other days, and thus he was ever comparing the present with -the irrecoverable past. - -There was an air of great refinement in both husband and wife, an air -that contrasted strongly and strangely with their plain attire and -circumscribed dwelling. Greville Hampton's face was dark in -complexion, aquiline in feature, a very handsome face, one quite -warranted to claim the unmistakable admiration his wife had for it, -and yet it was not a pleasing one. His brow was indicative of -intellect and courage; his lip, shaded by a black moustache, was -indicative of a resolute will and firm purpose; and his dark hazel -eyes, if stern and even gloomy in their normal expression, could -soften with a depth of affection when they dwelt on the face of Mary, -on the child that was playing at their feet, or at the approach of a -friend, and showed that he had a warm heart under the crust in which -he was wont to hide it. - -Early disappointment, great monetary losses, and a wrong more real -than fancied, the loss of a title and patrimony, had much to do with -the latter, and hence came the bitter expression that at times stole -over his well-formed mouth, and the shadow that clouded a really -handsome face. - -Mary was indeed a lovely woman, but her slight girlish figure, and -the bright tint of colour on her soft, Madonna-like cheek, seemed to -speak of a delicacy of constitution, not quite suited for the -hardships and trials consequent upon the loss of all to which she had -been at one time accustomed. Her dress was coarse and plain, yet -arranged so tastefully, that her figure made it look graceful, and it -seemed--humble though the material--to repose on her rounded bust and -limbs with something suggestive of distinction and placid elegance. - -Mary was a brunette, yet with a wonderfully pure complexion, with -small hands and feet, large dark eyes, and dark silky braided hair. -Like Annie Laurie, of the tender old Scottish song, "her voice was -low and sweet,"--soft as the low notes of the stock-dove, and yet men -always spoke to her with a strange sensation of timidity. Often did -the touch of her cool soft hand soothe Greville Hampton in his times -of dejection, and he found hope and sympathy in the earnest light of -her unreproaching eyes. - -She was fond of dress, and what pretty woman is not? and a time there -was when she had indulged to the full in stylish things, and always -wore silks of the most delicate colours in the carriage, or in the -evening; but she had to content herself with dresses of other -material and more sombre tints, that were turned more than once, as -she had to do much of her own economical millinery, and darn her -gloves again and again; but Mary was always content, and would smile -happily when Greville would say, with something of his old lover-like -gallantry, "Dearest Mary, it is you who will make any dress seem -charming, and not dress that enhances you." - -Between them, and at their feet, sat their only child, little Derval, -a pretty golden-haired boy of six, intent on playing alternately with -a toy ship and building a house of little wooden blocks, which he -would rear and carefully construct again and again, each time that -the tiny edifice was finished, demolishing it with a shout of -laughter to begin his labour anew. - -"Come, Derval," said his mamma, after they had been watching him, -fondly and silently, for nearly half-an-hour, while the sun sank -beyond the sea, "it is time for bed, so put away your toys, darling." - -"Oh, I wish the sun wouldn't go down just yet," the little fellow -exclaimed; "do let me make one more Pixies' house, mamma." - -"Pixies!" said Greville, with one of his bitter laughs. "By Jove! I -wish that the Pixies, be they fairies or fiends, would show us where -some treasure is buried, or teach me the art of growing rich!" - -"God grant, Greville dearest," said Mary, meekly, "that the child may -always be as happy and innocent as he is now." - -"God grant, I say, that he may be rich--rich as we once were--richer, -at least, than we are to-night." - -"Wealth does not bring happiness, Greville." - -"It brings the nearest approach to it, Mary; a light heart generally -goes with a heavy purse. It is not so much for myself, as for the -child and you, Mary, that I wish the past could come again--but the -past with its experience. 'Twere useless else. You are lost here, -with your perfect manner, your sweetness, your talents and high -accomplishments." - -"Lost when I am with you?" - -"Yes, lost; who and what are our immediate neighbours?" - -Mary smiled silently, for she knew well that the occupants of -Finglecombe village--a village as red as the soil, consisting only of -rude cob-cottages as they are called--were only weavers of -pillow-lace; and that the homely manners and slip-shod conversation -of these, and of the adjacent farmers, with their incessant talk of -short-horns and the merits of the Devonshire breed, their cows and -"yowes," the weather and the turnip-fly, worried and bored her -husband at times, though he was too well-bred to let them see that it -did so; and they, on their part, were perfectly aware that there was -a vast difference and distance between themselves and the mysterious -and lonely gentlefolks who vegetated in the sequestered little -cottage of Finglecombe. - -And yet, how Greville Hampton envied the contentment of the dwellers -in those cob-cottages--people with whom the world seemed to go -precisely as they wished it to do; and who deemed that human life out -of Finglecombe and beyond the circuit of its interests and -apple-orchards, must be a dull affair indeed for the greatest portion -of mankind. - -"Poor Derval!" he sighed, as he saw the reluctance with which the -child at last gathered up his toys; "Dryden was right--'men are but -children of a larger growth'; children who often toil a lifetime in -rearing fabrics unstable as yours. Kiss papa, darling, and now to -bed." - -So while Mary bore away her darling, undressed him, smoothed all his -golden curls, and tucked him tenderly into his little crib; while she -knelt beside it, folded his little pink hands devoutly, and made him -repeat after her a simple childish prayer, of love and faith, and -that God might bless papa and mamma, and give Derval a good night's -rest; while, after this, she had to tell him stories of the flowers -in the garden, the birds and the little lambs, and especially of the -Pixies, those wonderful Devonshire fairies, who, though invisibly -small, ride the farmers' horses nearly to death, steal the fruit and -pound their own cider in holes and corners; and while she covered his -rosy cheeks with the tenderest kisses ere he coaxed himself to sleep, -her moody husband lost in his own thoughts, his briar-root pipe grown -cold, had been gazing on the sea, and the wide expanse of Barnstaple -Bay shining in the last glow of the set sun. - -The beauty of the Devonshire coast, with all its bluffs and rocks, -its wonderful verdure and glorious "apple-bowers now mellowing in the -moon," had no charms for the soul of Greville Hampton, whose mind at -that time was running on the London life from which he was a hopeless -exile now, the life in which he once bore a brilliant part. - -Well did he know all that was passing, and on the _tapis_ at that -identical season! That the club at Sandown was flourishing as it -never flourished before; that Prince's was in all its glory; that the -meetings of the Coaching Clubs and four-in-hands had all been -arranged, without his team of roans being expected at the Serpentine; -that Richmond, Hurlingham, and the Orleans Club were all extant, -though they knew not him, and that even his name was recalled at none -of them now. Already had the attractions of Epsom and Ascot begun, -combining those of hospitable country-house life with wild excitement -of the race-course and betting-ring; and he knew that the sons and -daughters of pleasure were striving to crush as much brilliant -amusement as was possible into the interval between flowery -Whitsuntide and the epoch of Goodwood in its glory, and the yacht -regattas at Cowes. - -His mind, we say, was full of all these things--fierce, high, bitter, -and regretful thoughts all mingling together--when Mary, full only of -the sleeping face of her child, gentle and unrepining, content and -hopeful, crept hack to resume her knitting by his side. - -Her knitting! How the proud man winced as he saw her white hands so -humbly employed. - -"Derval is asleep?" said he. - -"Yes; and the dear pet lamb, how sweetly he does sleep!" replied -Mary, her soft voice almost tremulous with the pleasure of her -maternal love; "I remained watching him for a time, and -wondering--wondering in my heart--" - -"What, Mary?" - -"What awaited him in the unseen future," she replied, as she fixed -her eyes, not upon the face of her husband, but on the far horizon of -the sea, yet tinted with ruddy gold by the sun that had set. - -"Were the book of destiny laid before you, Mary, would you have the -courage to turn a leaf?" asked her husband in a strange and hard -voice. - -"I fear, Greville, dear, I should lack the courage," said Mary, as -she ceased to knit, and her white hands lay idle in her lap. - -"If wealth--if riches--be not written there, I care not what the leaf -contains! Not that I entirely believe in destiny; in many instances -we make our own, as I, to a certain extent, made ours, by becoming a -victim of others; but a destiny over which I have no control deprives -me of my birthright; and I, who ought now to be twelfth Lord -Oakhampton, and tenth Lord of Wistmanswood, am a poor and needy man. -So I say again, Mary, if wealth be not before our little Derval, in -the years to come, I care not what may be, with all my love of him!' - -"Oh, Greville, do not--do not talk thus!" said Mary, imploringly; -"suppose death were to come, and our child, the sole bright star in -our otherwise cloudy sky, went out, leaving us in utter darkness!" -Her voice broke at the idea of the hopeless desolation she conjured -up, and her eyes filled with tears, for she was a sensitive creature. -"Suppose this were to happen," she continued, "and you saw me, with -fond and lingering hands, folding and putting past, as priceless -treasures, the little garments they had made, the tiny socks they had -knitted, and the broken toys that would be required no more, while -turning away heart-sick from the sight of happy parents, whose little -ones were spared to them, and striving to console ourselves with the -conviction that all things come from Heaven. I share your hope and -wish, Greville, that Derval may be rich, and great too, but I would -rather that he were good than either!" - -"Rich he shall be, I hope, before I die," exclaimed Greville Hampton; -"and I have strange dreams at times, Mary, that seem the harbingers -of something to come," he added gravely, and in a lower tone, -"Wealth----" - -"What need of wealth, dearest? we can save, out of our little -pittance for Derval; he is the only chick we have to scrape for," -she interrupted him, and took his passive hands caressingly within -her own. - -"Oh, Mary," he replied bitterly, without heeding her question, "I -have in my time feasted at the table of Dives, while Lazarus stood -without the gate, and now I seem, in turn, to have taken his place." - -"How can you talk thus wildly, dear Greville; have we not every -necessary that life requires?" - -"True; but not the position and the luxuries to which we were -accustomed." - -This was but one of many such conversations to which she was -accustomed, and Mary sighed wearily at her husband's incessant -repining, as she said, while glancing furtively at her plain dress: - -"Luxuries can be done without; but you have been having some of your -tantalising dreams again." - -"I have, indeed, Mary," said he, with his eyes fixed on vacancy, for -the visions that haunted his mind in the hours of sleep by night, or -when his thoughts were drifting back to the material world in the -early hours of morning, showed the tenor of those other dreams that -haunted him in the hours of wakefulness by day. - -"Was it again of the mysterious treasure ship--the quaint old Argosy -stranded in yonder Barnstaple Bay, deserted by her crew and left high -and dry by the ebbing sea, with the great golden doubloons flowing in -torrents through her gaping seams, and piled like glittering -oyster-shells in heaps upon the sand, where you and I were gathering -them up in handfuls--for you often have such fancies in your sleep, -Greville?" she added, nestling her sweet face lovingly and laughingly -on his neck, anxious to soothe and humour him. - -"It was not of ships, Mary," he replied, with an arm caressingly -around her; "but of a strange and wondrous land--a scene amid -stupendous mountain ranges, like what we have heard of, or read of, -as being in the Great Basin of California, or the Cordilleras, hemmed -in on every side by mighty steeps. It was indeed a strange dream, -Mary, and most vivid, distinct and coherent in all its -details--painfully so, when the moment of waking came. Falling -aslant the mountains the sun's rays struck upon a streak in a mass of -volcanic rock, which gave back a yellow gleam. I struck the mass -with a hammer--a fragment fell at my feet--it was gold--pure gold! -Again and again I struck, and huge nuggets of the precious metal fell -down before me, while at every stroke my heart beat painfully yet -exultingly, and my breath came thick and fast. I was there, I -thought, alone; the land around me was my own, with the conviction -that far in the bosom of the mighty mountains rose the strata of -precious metal--a wondrous land, where the teeth of the black cattle, -of the mules and the goats that grazed upon their grassy sides, were -tinted yellow by the gold with which the soil abounded. Could my -dreamland have been in California?" he asked, as if talking to -himself. "What visions of boundless wealth came before me; and what -mighty power would that wealth command! Again and again I wielded my -hammer, and the heap before me seemed to increase, till my brain -became giddy with the thoughts that swept athwart it. Could my -vision have been of California?" he continued dreamily to himself, -rather than to Mary; "it must have been--it must have been among the -Rocky Mountains that my soul was wandering while my body slept." - -"Oh, Greville, darling, don't talk in this wild way." - -"I should like to search for that place, Mary; it exists somewhere, -and I am sure I should know it again." - -"Heavens, Greville, you would not think of going there, and on the -strength only of a dream?" - -"No, Mary; you are not adapted to the life of a digger's wife," said -he with a tender smile. - -"As little as you are to be a digger," she replied, while caressing -his hand, which, though manly, was a white one. - -"The dream seemed a long, long one, Mary, though doubtless short -enough in reality, so true it is, a writer tells us, that there is a -drowsy state between sleeping and waking, when you dream more in five -minutes with your eyes half open and yourself half conscious of -everything passing around you, than you would do in five nights with -your eyes fast closed and your senses wrapt in perfect -unconsciousness! So it was with me Mary; but the mountains seemed to -sink; the scene to change and resolve itself into sweet and peaceful -Finglecombe, with all its orchards and the Bay shining in the rising -moon, even as it is doing now; but the heap of golden ore was still -before me--till I awoke with a start, to find myself again--a beggar!" - -"But beside we," said Mary, with a little laugh that ended in a sigh; -"and if your dream will bear reading at all, Greville, it must be -that your riches lie, not in California, but here in Finglecombe; -though what they are, or where they are, unless they be Derval and -me," she added, kissing him, "goodness only knows." - -But full of his vivid dream, Greville Hampton made no response -immediately. He sat lost in thought, passively gazing on the Bay, -glittering and rippling beyond the boundary of his garden where a -fallen beech of vast dimensions lay, with its end half-hidden in a -rose-tree that was a mass of bloom. There was silence in the -place--a drowsy summer silence; the sounds of the distant cob-village -came faintly mingled with the lap, lap, lapping of the waves upon the -shore. - -"Supper waits, ma'am," said Patty Fripp, suddenly appearing in the -porch, which was a veritable bower of roses and Virginia-creeper, for -Patty--a robust and honest countrywoman, who was nurse to Master -Derval, cook and housemaid by turns, and all together at times, and -had come as a retainer to his father's house in better days, when she -was a blooming lass of eighteen--was close on the wrong side of fifty -now, but true as steel in their altered fortunes to Greville Hampton -and her mistress. - -He allowed himself to be led by Mary indoors, where in their snug -little parlour, a room made pretty by many a knick-knack, the work of -her industrious hands, a plain repast awaited them; the home-brewed -ale frothed creamily in a great antique silver tankard, that had -served his sire and grandsire before him, and which, nearly the sole -family relic, bore the heraldic choughs borne by so many Cornish and -Devonshire families; and there were ruddy cheese, snow-white bread, -and dainty butter, all prepared by Mary's pretty hands; but there was -a shadow upon Greville's brow to-night that even she could not -dispel; for while he regretted very bitterly--half savagely, -almost--the luxuries to which he had once been accustomed in -Belgravian dining-rooms and Pall Mall clubs, the rich _entrĂ©es_ and -rare wines, Mary--who had also been accustomed to luxury--took her -food contentedly, and thought the while of the many men and women and -little children--children like her own golden-haired Derval--who had -neither dinner nor supper to sit down to. - -Her perfect and sublime trust in the conviction that all things were -ordered for the best, and her sweet yet strong reliance on God in -every way, were certainly touching to Greville, but he failed utterly -in falling in with her views, or sharing her content and -trustfulness, and when assured by her that thousands and thousands of -others were not so well off in worldly matters as themselves, he -failed also to find any ground for complacency in any such -statistics; and so, whether it was the influence of his golden dream, -or of his general discontent, on this night, his broad open brow, his -firm lips, and dark eyes, wore that peculiar expression which they -did at times, and which we have said was certainly not a pleasing -one, when he deemed himself to be haunted by his evil destiny--the -Demon of Impecuniosity. - -Mary left nothing undone or untried to add to his comforts, and he -knew that her beautiful and delicate hands had often done, and had -yet to do, rougher work than they were ever intended for, though it -was often done in secret, to prevent him from seeing it; but Patty -Fripp knew of it well. - -"Yes," said Greville Hampton, as if assenting to his own thoughts, -after he had drained the antique silver tankard, and fixed his eyes -for a moment upon the shield _argent_, with three choughs, gules, -engraved thereon, and the crested chough that surmounted a coronet -with the motto _Clarior e Tenebris_ (Brighter from Obscurity), "yes, -may the words be ominous of good! If I could but think that Derval -would certainly be rich, and should never know the privations we have -suffered and the deprivations to which we have been subjected, I -think, Mary, I could die happy." - -"The same repining thoughts still, Greville!" said Mary, softly and -entreatingly. - -"Yes, still, Mary." - -"Derval," said she, as she resumed her knitting, "has his youth and -all his life before him." - -"But without some effort on my part it will be a life of half penury -and whole obscurity in Finglecombe. But how is that effort to be -made? You would not have our boy grow up the associate and companion -of these villagers and lace-makers! Among whom else will his lot be -cast? I would rather see him in his grave, Mary." - -"Do not say so. The misfortunes you have undergone have made you -unreasonably bitter; but let us hope, Greville, for the best," she -added, running her slender fingers caressingly through his thick dark -hair. - -"Bitter! unreasonable! Have I not been mulcted of my proper -inheritance? Is not the position--the rank which ought to have been -mine and my father's before me--now held by another? Have I not been -robbed by fashionable gamesters, swindlers, and false friends!" - -"Yet it is for such society as those that you repine!" - -"It is not so, Mary; what happened once could never happen again. I -know better now." - -"The man who calls himself Lord Oakhampton----" - -"And who holds the broad lands and stately house that should be -mine--knows well, if the world at large knows it not--through a -quibble he is a usurper! Oh, my own Mary!" he exclaimed, while tears -glittered in his flashing eyes, and he glanced with angry scorn round -the tiny apartment, "when I wooed and won you in the happy past time, -you who were reared in the lap of luxury, wealth, and refinement. I -little foresaw that I would ever bring you, in the end, to a home so -humble as this!" - -"But I am with you to share it, Greville, and I do not -repine--unless, perhaps, for the child's sake. But why do you tell -me these things again and again, darling? Is it," she added, with -one of her brightest and most witching smiles, "to lure me into -repeating how much and how truly I love you, as if I were a girl -again in that second London season, which ended so sweetly for us -both?" - -She would have thrown her soft arms around him, but a spirit of anger -filled his heart, and he paced to and fro the little room like a -caged lion; and Mary regarded him anxiously, for she had a dread of -her husband's crotchets taking some active and dangerous form, -especially if he were again to have that Californian dream; for when -one's life, as a writer says, is a constant trial, "the moments of -respite seem only to substitute the heaviness of dread for the -heaviness of actual suffering;" and Mary was indeed far from strong. -There was a greater delicacy in her constitution than Greville was -the least aware of, a delicacy that, though it alarmed herself, for -his sake and their child's she kept her lips sealed on the subject, -lest the knowledge thereof might add to the regret of Greville for -the past, and his "worry" for the present. - -"If this life cannot be endured, it must be cured--to reverse a -vulgar saw, Mary," said he, continuing his short promenade; "if I -cannot be rich, Derval shall be so, if any scheme of mine can achieve -that end; and as soon as he is old enough, I shall teach him how -money can make money, and how to keep it hard and fast--hard and -fast--when it is made, and not be a fool like his father." - -"Teach not the child thus, Greville, I implore you," said Mary, -relinquishing her knitting; "of what avail will it be, if I strive to -make him virtuous, kind to the poor, prudent and industrious, if you -instil precepts so stern, so cold and selfish into his young mind? -If you have affection for me, Greville dearest, abandon such cruel -ideas and plans, or I will begin to think you a changed man, and the -Greville Hampton of to-day is not Greville that won the love of my -girlhood--yea, and of my life," she added with great tenderness. - -"I am a changed man--I admit it--a sorely changed man, in all things -but my love for you, Mary," he replied, as he stooped and kissed her -bright little upturned face, and perhaps thought for a moment--but a -moment only--that no man could be unhappy who had the smile and love -of such a woman as Mary to brighten the path and lighten the burden -of his life. - -"Riches are good and a godsend," said she, "if employed aright and -not as a means of pleasure only." - -"Aright?" repeated Greville, who was thinking of the clubs he once -frequented, his whilom team of roans, and Ascot perhaps. - -"Pleasure as a means of doing good and protecting the poor, assisting -merit and rewarding ingenuity. The rich man who presumes on his -wealth, and the poor man who desponds on his poverty are--" - -"Oh, don't preach, Mary darling, leave that to our friend Asperges -Laud. You are a duck and an angel, but I can't quite agree with -you," he added with a sigh as he filled his briar-root with tobacco -of a kind he would have disdained to smoke once. - -Many emotions combined to fill Mary's eyes with tears, but to conceal -them she turned away to seek Patty's aid in the preparation of some -jellies for one of her pensioners--for though so poor herself she had -several--a deformed girl who was dying of consumption; and in spare -times she was wont to read good and amusing books by the bedsides of -the old and blind, who were ailing or unable to be abroad. She had -even pensioners among the little birds, for whom she daily spread out -crumbs, especially in winter, upon her doorstep, whither they would -come without fear of Mary's pet cat, which was too well fed to meddle -with them. - -Greville Hampton was in an unusually bitter mood that night, and -long, long he sat abandoned to it after Mary had given a final but -lingering look at the little subject of their anxieties, folded in -his pretty cot, "like the callow cygnet in its nest," and then sought -her pillow. - -Evil spirits--envy, anger, and avarice--were struggling in the man's -heart, with a keen sense of unmerited wrong inflicted on him, of -injustice he had suffered, the black ingratitude of friends, and of -his own extravagance and reckless folly in the past; and had there -been a close observer present to watch his handsome features, they -would have read by the working of these, how each passion prevailed -in turn. - -Finally, he emptied his cherished briar-root by tapping it on the -hearth, put it in its case with an emphatic snap, and muttering, as -he sought the side of his sleeping wife, - -"Surely God will hear Mary's prayers, if not mine, that Derval may be -rich--but never the luckless creature I am to-night." - -Derval, a chubby child of six, with rosy dimpled cheeks, his mother's -snowy skin, and his father's deep dark eyes, with a wealth of golden -curls that rose crisp and in upward spouts from his forehead, grew -fast, while the care of his boyish education devolved wholly on the -delicate Mary, for Greville, though educated at Eton and finished off -at Oxford, was too erratic by nature, and with all his love of their -offspring, too impatient to share in the task of tutelage; in which, -eventually, she was fully and powerfully, to her great gratitude, -assisted by the Reverend Asperges Laud, the only visitor who shed a -little light on their humble dwelling, and who was also the only -link, as it seemed, that they cared to preserve between their past -life and the present. - -In his fortieth year, the Curate of Finglecombe--a place in which he -was utterly lost, because of its obscurity, and where he subsisted on -a mere pittance--was a man of considerable talent, and no small -accomplishments. He had gained high academic honours in philosophy -and theology, and was already known as author of several celebrated -prize essays; he therefore proved a valuable friend to Mary and her -little boy. - -The Reverend Asperges Laud, M.A., Oxon., belonged not to the days of -"nasal clerks and top-booted parsons." He was a man of broad and -advanced views, with somewhat stately, yet very soft and gentle -manners, who intoned his services, had matins and evensong, wore a -coat with remarkably long tails, a Roman collarino and a broad hat of -soft felt garnished with a black silk rosette, and was furtively -addicted to the flute. - -He had little choir boys in white collars and black surplices; called -his altar-table "the sanctuary," and had four candles thereon which, -in wholesome fear of the Court of Arches and His Grace of Canterbury, -he dared not light as yet; and there was much about him -that--according to the Methodists in the district--savoured of the -City of the Seven Hills, yet, "a man he was to all the country dear." - -All the neighbours about Finglecombe, but none more than Mr. Asperges -Laud, were delighted with Mary's grave, sweet eyes, her softness of -manner, her goodness of heart, her refined and cultivated mind, all -of which lent additional charms to a certainly very statuesque little -face. - -And Greville had won the hearts of the farmers, by riding, -controlling and breaking in, for one of them, a dare-devil horse, -that no jockey in Devonshire could ride, and had thereby won himself -emphatically the reputation of being "a man every inch of him." - -But both husband and wife were very reserved, and the few who -ventured to call on them when they first dropped from the clouds, as -it were, into Finglecombe, could not truthfully assert that, though -politely welcomed, they were urged to come again. Whether this came -of a sense of shyness, or of haughty exclusiveness, none could -precisely decide. Some averred it was the former in the wife and the -latter in the husband, and perhaps they were right. - -"Both seem only to live for each other and their little boy," said -Mr. Asperges Laud, their only and regular visitor in the end, and he -was right certainly. - -Thanks to the tutelage of the worthy curate, the childish mind of -little Derval Hampton began to expand, and he ceased to wonder if the -sea he saw rolling in Barnstaple Bay, between craggy Hartland Point -and sandy Braunton Burrows, and the uplands that bordered -Finglecombe, were all the world contained; for dreams, visions and a -distant knowledge of other seas and shores came upon him, and with -the knowledge there came in time the usual boyish crave to see and -know them. - -In Finglecombe, a lonely dell, where the apple groves grew entangled, -and a brawling stream, concealed by their foliage from the sunshine, -ran between banks of moss-grown stones towards the Bay, was an -excavation or cavern in a wooded hill, known as the Pixies Parlour, a -place he was wont to explore with fear and excitement, but in the -daytime of course; and near it on the shore was a place, never to be -visited at any time, for therein were sights to be seen that none -could look upon and live--the Horses' Hole, a cavern dark as night, -full of pools of water, and running an unknown distance under ground, -wherein a horse black as jet had found its way, and came forth with -its coat changed to snowy white; but as he grew older the place of -deepest interest for him was the ruined Castle of Oakhampton, and the -place named Wistmanswood, whence came the titles of that peerage his -father deemed his right. - -The wood always impressed him with fear and haunted him in his -dreams--for it was one of the wonders of Devonshire, and is said to -have been unchanged in aspect since the days of the Norman -Conquest--a vast grove of dwarf oaks, interspersed with mountain -ashes, everywhere covered by masses of fern and parasitical plants, -growing amid gigantic blocks of stone,--the clefts of which, and the -thorny undergrowth, are swarming with poisonous adders, and form the -shelter of innumerable foxes--a strange and weird place, amid the -desolation of which the scream of the bittern is yet heard, and the -whole appearance of which conveys the idea of the hoary age in the -vegetable world of creation; yet here on more than one occasion did -the somewhat gloomy Greville Hampton lead his impressionable and -shrinking boy by the hand, for to him the old Druid wood in its waste -and decay seemed sympathetic with his own fallen condition and -impoverished state. And but for the sake of the future of that dear -child whose hand he held, and unconsciously almost crushed in the -bitter energy of his thoughts at such times, he would have wished -himself as dead as one of those hoary trees; for to Greville Hampton -often came a strange feeling of weariness of life, and then he longed -for that day to come, when failure or success in aught would matter -nothing, when the sun would rise, but not for him, and all the world -go on as usual while he should be at rest and beyond all care and -trouble. - -And little Derval in the golden morning of his life, often wondered -already what it was clouded his father's brow and made his manner so -triste and pre-occupied. - -"It is not given to man to choose his own position in this world," -said Mr. Asperges Laud gently to Hampton on one occasion; "but it is -given to him to feel honestly content, and without useless repining, -in the place so assigned." - -"Another and better place in the world than that I now occupy, was -assigned to me; but--" and Greville Hampton paused, as something very -like an imprecation rose to his quivering lips. - -Meanwhile Derval, save for his mother's care and Mr. Laud's tuition, -would have grown up in rather a rough and scrambling manner; as it -was he was a little undisciplined; prone to bird-nesting, seeking the -eggs of the choughs and cormorants among the rocks; helping himself -to apples in anyone's orchard, and rambling far afield, and -clambering up eminences where he could see the variously tinted -groves that bordered on the deep blue bay, the distant sea -itself--glorious, glittering and far-stretching; the brown boats -drawn up on the golden sands; the passing ships under white canvas, -or the steamers with volumes of dusky smoke curling far on the -ambient air. He was rather addicted, we fear, to playing the truant, -and especially of skipping if he could the afternoon class for -catechism held by Mr. Laud in his church at Finglecombe, a quaint old -fane, concerning which there is a terrible old legend well-known in -Devonshire. In 1638 a ball of fire burst into it during time of -service, killing and wounding, or scorching, sixty-six persons, and -this event took in time a wild form, and we are told how the devil, -dressed in black, inquired his way on that identical Sunday of a -woman who kept a little ale-house at the end of the Come, and offered -her money to become his guide. - -But she, distrusting him, offered him a tankard of good Devonshire -cyder, which went hissing and steaming down his throat; and her -suspicions were confirmed, when, as he rode off towards the church, -she saw his cloven foot, and a few minutes after the terrible -catastrophe occurred, and Finglecombe church was strewn with dead and -dying--a story that often made little Derval cower in his crib in the -gusty nights of winter. - -What was to be his future, some twelve years hence, was the -ever-recurring thought of his parents. - -Greville feared he would inevitably grow up a rough country lad, and -already, man-like, he shivered at the idea of Derval--_his_ -son--becoming such, and in the time to come, getting up "a copse and -hedgerow flirtation" with a daughter of some cob-cottager--marrying -her it might be, and being thus inevitably dragged down into the -mire. At such thoughts his heart used to die within him. - -We have said that Mary Hampton's constitution was a peculiarly -delicate one, and now an illness fell upon her which was to prove -only the beginning of the end. - -Mr. Laud averred that at Christmas-time none could decorate his -little church, especially "the sanctuary" thereof, so tastefully as -Mary, with scarlet hollyberries and green glistening leaves, and so, -on one occasion having prolonged her labours in the cold, damp -edifice far into the late hours of a winter night, she caught a -chill, fevered, and became hopelessly consumptive. Her cheeks grew -hollow, her lips pale, and there came into her sweet sad eyes a -pathetic and settled intensity of expression. - -She was desired by the doctor to cease from exertion, to abstain from -all household work, and to drink plenty of good wine, to procure -which Greville Hampton deprived himself of many little things to -which in his reduced position he had been accustomed--an occasional -cigar, or a glass of cheap Marsala; and when he thought of the past, -the strong man's tender and loving heart was wrung, when he heard her -hacking cough, and he saw her seated, pale and feeble, her delicate -hands unable to persevere even in sewing a little jacket for Derval -that lay on the table before her. - -And now the kind curate, whose threadbare coat covered a noble heart, -brought her many a bunch of luxurious grapes, and many a bottle of -good wine--port of fabulous antiquity--which had been sent to himself -from the Hall, the abode of the Squire, whom Greville had known in -other days, but who now knew him not. - -To procure comforts for Mary, in his desperation he appealed to his -remote kinsman, Lord Oakhampton; but the application was ignored--no -answer ever came, and for some time black fury filled the heart of -the proud and fiery, but powerless and impoverished man. - -Anon he thought, what other treatment could he expect? - -Did not Lord Oakhampton know well that in society, on every occasion, -he, Greville Hampton, had denounced him as the usurper of his -property and title--a denunciation the truth of which, legally, as -yet, he could not prove? - -"Oh," he would exclaim, "for a little of the wealth I have wasted in -the foolish past time--for Mary's sake--for Mary's sake!" - -How bitter it was to look back in the light of experience and think -of what might be now, had he been wiser than he was! And his whole -soul recoiled at the contemplation of the awful loneliness of life -without her, if Mary were taken from him. - -Her fast failing health drew him from his usual selfish and useless -repining over the past, or if he did so, it was for her sake alone -now; for that she was failing and passing away from him day by day, -became painfully apparent; a cough shook her delicate form, and again -and again was her handkerchief soaked in blood. And he could only -groan over the poverty that precluded all change of air, or scene, -and the employment of greater medical skill than that possessed by -the country practitioner. But no skill could have availed Mary; and -the frail tenure of her life, despite all his love and anxiety, was -only a thing of time. - -The consumption that was wasting her delicate form only served to -make her beauty seem more tender, alluring, and pathetic to the eyes -of her sorrow-stricken husband, to whom she said more than once, with -her head reclined on his breast-- - -"If I am taken from you, Greville darling, I trust you will think of -the past less regretfully, of the future more hopefully, and remember -that we are, while here, but as 'little children playing with shells -upon the shore of time.'" - -"You are too good for this rough and bitter world," said he, as his -tears fell hotly on her soft and rippling hair, and thought in his -heart, "Oh, why does God take her and leave me?" - -And he clasped her to his heart, as if by the mere strength of his -love, and strength of his arms too, he might protect and keep her -with him, and kissed her more tenderly than he had ever done in his -lover days, for a holier emotion was in his heart now, and to him it -seemed that touches of great sweetness came and went about her lips -and into her unusually luminous eyes, though their expression grew -more weary day by day, and there came into them also that strange, -weird, and far-off look that belongs, not to this world, but to the -life that is gradually ebbing away from it, and this expression -Greville Hampton saw and read with acute mental agony. - -"God is taking me away from you, darlings," she said softly, one -evening; "but you will always be true and loving to each other for my -sake." - -Little Derval clung to his father, unable yet to realise the great -sorrow that had come upon both. - -Why prolong this part of our story? At last all was over, and -Greville, worn out with grief and long watching, was led away like a -child by the curate from the chamber of death, where his Mary lay, -still rarely beautiful, as a piece of sculpture, in her last repose. -All seemed terribly silent in the little cottage now; the buzzing of -the flies in the sunshine, and the ticking of a clock alone were -heard, unless it might be a sob from old Patty Fripp in the kitchen, -where she sat rocking herself to and fro, with her apron over her -head, or if she moved about it was with soft and stealthy tread, as -if she feared to wake someone. - -"Dead--gone--left him--his other self--it could not be!" he whispered -in his soul, for he could not believe, in his great sorrow, that it -was all happening to him. Surely it was some horrible nightmare, -from which he would awake to find his little world going on as before! - -But day followed day, each adding fresh details to the calamity, and -that of the funeral came inexorably, the closing scene of all. - -As one in a dream, Greville Hampton saw the episode like a grim -phantasmagoria. He heard the bell tolling, and heard Mr. Laud sob, -as he met the few mourners at the churchyard gate, and led the way to -the grave, repeating the fine words of the burial service. - -Grasping his father's hand, little Derval, with a stunned look and -dry eyes, dry with wonder and a great fear, saw the coffin going -down--down--till it disappeared, and then a cry burst from him, for -he knew that mamma was there--there in that cruel coffin which had -left his sight for ever, and he began, child-like, to understand the -dire and dreadful reality! - -At last the scene closed; the horrible jarring of shovels, gravel, -and earth had ceased, and Greville Hampton came back to his broken -and desolate home, where he sat like a man turned to stone, twisting -fatuously, yet caressingly, a tress of shining dark brown hair, all -that remained to him now of Mary, save the little boy, who nestled, -with scared and wistful eyes, beside his knee. - -The drawn blinds had for some days told all the passers-by that there -was death in the cottage at Finglecombe. Strangers hurried past with -a momentary glance, and thought no more of it, in the bright sunshine -and business of life; but some there were who looked sorrowfully and -went by with slower step, and there were the poor who missed the -ministering hand of Mary Hampton. Even now the little birds, for -whom she was wont to spread out crumbs, were tapping with their beaks -at the window. - -The blinds were drawn up now, and an unnatural flood of sunny light -seemed to fill the place. Everything Greville's haggard glance fell -on seemed to have a history of its own, a tender association, -connected with her who had passed away. The little womanly trifles -her hands had made to brighten this, their latter, humble home, were -all there still; the cheap but artistic-looking cretonne with which -her pretty and industrious fingers had deftly covered the furniture, -brought back to memory the song she sang while doing so; the -water-colours on the wall were her work too, scenes associated with -the past years and long vanished happiness; and no comfort could be -gathered from Tennyson's hackneyed couplet-- - - "'Tis better to have loved and lost, - Than never to have loved at all." - - -The terrible distinctness with which the first clod of earth fell--as -it seemed to him--on Mary's tender breast, was yet ringing in -Greville's ears, together with the cry that escaped from Derval. - -So Mary was gone, and for her the long, long night of the grave had -begun! - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -"Therefore he loved gold in special."--Chaucer. - - -"It is a great calamity, a heavy dispensation!" said a neighbour to -Patty Fripp. - -"He will get over it in time--the master," said others, especially -the women; "all men get over these things--he'll marry again, no -doubt; he is too young to live all alone in the world." - -Patty was very indignant at this suggestion being made already. - -"Time tries all, and soothes all," said another gossip; "we shall see -by and by--men don't break their hearts for love, look you. And how -about the little boy?" - -"Poor little soul! he is fretting sorely for his mother," said Patty, -polishing her face with her checked apron, after having 'a good cry'; -"but that is just human natur, I s'pose." - -To the lonely man it seemed strange that Mary was no longer in the -cottage at Finglecombe, and it was difficult for him, for a time, to -realise the idea that she was gone for ever from her place; that he -would never see her again; and that morning and night would come -inexorably; the weeks become months, and the months become years; and -that no Mary, with all her great love and tenderness, was there to -bear a part in the long vista of life that lay before him. - -His loneliness became at times insupportable, and he was frequently -absent from home--a circumstance which never occurred in Mary's time. -On these occasions the long and sleepless hours of night were -terrible to little Derval, with his true Devonshire dread of the -supernatural, for he had no longer the sweet consciousness of the -near presence of his watchful mother. - -At such times, till sleep sealed his eyes, he had but one -thought--that out there in the dew and darkness of night, as in the -sunshine by day, was the grave of one who had loved him and tended -him, as no other human being would do, in the little churchyard, -where the white tombstones and crosses contrasted so strongly and -beautifully with the emerald green of the turf and the darker tint of -the vast ancient yew that overshadowed them. - -In all the wide earth--the earth of which he had, as yet, so little -conception, there was already no spot so dear to little Derval as the -turf that covered his mother's grave; and thus in the darkness of the -moonless nights he was wont to waken and weep when he heard the cold -wind sighing and the rain falling; and he shuddered at the thought -that she was out there, exposed to them both, as it seemed to his -heated fancy. - -Then a great terror would come over him, till he crept softly into -bed beside old Patty Fripp. - -So the first heart-piercing days of sorrow and unavailing regret -began to pass away, and the old craving after wealth, the world, and -mammon began to resume its sway in the mind of Greville Hampton, and -the dreams of which we have spoken came to his fancy again. - -He began to think of Mary with more composure, and could hear, in -silence, Mr. Asperges Laud, when urged by him, gently and sweetly, to -remember that she had only faded out, as the stars fade, to shine -again; had died as the flowers die in autumn, for resurrection in a -brighter summer, in which he should meet her again, and there should -be neither sorrow nor parting. All this sounded and seemed too -remote and vague for the ache, the bitter void made by her departure. -Yet though Mr. Laud knew by experience that Father Time was a great -consoler, there was another nearer at hand than his Reverence had -quite reckoned on. - -Over the life of little Derval there was now a change, which he felt, -though did not quite understand. The loss of his mother he had -become accustomed to; but somehow, though there seemed plenty of -happiness in the world, it never came to him. Other children whom he -saw, or met at Mr. Laud's classes, seemed all well fed, neatly clad, -and joyous, for they had come thither with mothers' kisses on their -rosy cheeks, and the same caresses awaited them when they went home; -but he had no one to kiss him now, save old Patty Fripp, who, like a -genuine maid-of-all-work, was seldom without a smudge on one side of -her nose. - -Papa seemed for ever absent, for, as the months ran on, he seemed to -have found some mysterious occupation elsewhere than at Finglecombe. - -There was a time when Greville Hampton used to steal to the bedside -of his little boy, and hang over him in his sleep, parting the thick -curly hair from his forehead, softly and tenderly, while remarking -with fondness, that there still he could see Mary's long eyelashes, -Mary's brow and pure sweet profile, and all the loving memory of her -would gush up in his heart. - -Observant Patty thought that he was wont to do this less and less -now, while his absences from the lonely cottage became more frequent -and long. She marvelled much at this. Had he fallen in with some -schemes by which to amend his shattered fortune--the schemes on which -she had again and again heard him descant in times past? But -whatever caused the change in his habits and bearing, it was soon to -be made apparent to her now. - -Patty was startled from her usual propriety, or the even tenor of her -way, when Greville Hampton, with some reluctance or hesitation in his -manner, as if conscious of the speculation he would excite, announced -that three guests were coming to dinner on a certain day; and -thereupon great bustle ensued at the cottage of Finglecombe, whither -the railway van brought various wines, fruits, and condiments, "even -to the last grapes and first cucumbers of the season," as Patty Fripp -said, for the expected guests; and Patty had to obtain the aid of a -neighbour as a helping hand, and the united wonder and excitement -culminated, when two of the guests arrived in a handsome and -well-appointed brougham, and proved to be ladies--an old and a young -one--a Mrs. Rookleigh (of whom Patty had never heard) and her niece, -whom, with all her beauty, she mentally deemed to be hard, bold, and -haughty. - -It is a strange but true assertion, that anxiety, like misfortune, -can lend misgiving and fear to any unwonted occurrence, and now Patty -Fripp, for the little boy's sake, began to apprehend--she scarcely -knew what! - -"When I'm 'urried I'm flurried," said she to her gossip, "and look -you, it ain't easy to get this place, a cottage though it be, ready -by myself--to sort rooms and toilet-tables, kill chickens and dress -'em, and bake cakes, look you, like the king as burned 'em, lay -tables, and all that sort o' thing!" - -Mr. Hampton received his guests with great _empressement_, welcomed -them to Finglecombe, with the beautiful surroundings of which they -were greatly delighted, and--as Patty's watchful and wondering eyes -were upon him--he was not sorry when the Curate arrived, and he -desired her to conduct the ladies to a room, and assist them to -remove the costumes they had driven in. - -About the elder lady there was so little to remark that Patty -scarcely noticed her, but her niece, Miss Anne Rookleigh, then nearer -her thirtieth than her twentieth year, was brilliantly fair in -complexion, with large and languishing eyes of that golden-hazel -colour which so often goes with a duplicity of character, a -magnificent figure, and masses of light chesnut coloured hair. Save -that her bearing and expression were hard and cold, despite the -languor in her eyes, the most severe connoisseur in female beauty -could have found no fault with her, unless his glance fell upon her -hands, which, for a lady so generally refined in aspect, were -decidedly large and even coarse-looking. - -Since his mother had been borne away--it seemed so long ago now--in -that grim funeral car with its black plumes, no ladies had ever been -under their roof, till these two came, and now to Derval it seemed -that his papa was far less gloomy than he had been--indeed, was quite -gay; one of these ladies, Derval thought, eyed him curiously, even -hostilely through her gold glass, and he, grasping the while his top -and whip, looked steadily up in her proud face with a reconnoitring -gaze that piqued her. - -The dinner passed over like any other. Greville Hampton was -scrupulously attentive to both aunt and niece, but was so delicate -and guarded in his manner, that Patty, who knew not the language of -the eyes, could, as yet, obtain no clue to her suspicions; but, for -the first time in his short life, the child was conscious of a -something undefinable, he knew not what, in the manner of his father -to himself, and felt that if the former did not quite repel his -advances and wished-for caresses, he failed completely to respond to -them, while under the golden hazel eyes of Miss Anne Rookleigh. - -Derval then drew to the side of her aunt, who was intently conversing -with Mr. Asperges Laud, and whom he utterly failed to interest, on -the subject of his pet canary, and the big Dorking hen, that had been -mamma's, and laid so many eggs. - -At last the ladies rose, and quitting the table resolved to seek the -garden, leaving their host and the curate to their wine and cigars. - -"You have a piano here, Greville," said Miss Rookleigh with a bright -smile. - -"It is locked," said he uneasily. - -"But there is a key, of course?" - -"I have lost it," said he evasively; for the piano had been Mary's, -and he could not yet have a stranger's fingers running over the keys -where hers had brought forth the familiar notes. - -So the ladies swept forth into the little garden, where they found a -rustic chair under the shadow of a golden laburnham tree, and where -the roses that Mary's hands had tended were now in all the beauty and -luxuriance of midsummer; and ere long, Patty Fripp, who was not above -eaves-dropping, while collecting fresh salad for supper, and -unobserved was close by listening to all the two visitors said, -obtained a clue to the whole matter. - -In fact, Greville Hampton, the widower, was engaged to Miss Anne -Rookleigh! - -"Yes," said the latter, leisurely fanning herself, "that child of his -will be a great bore!" - -"A greater bore if you have any little ones of your own," said the -aunt, laughing; "but don't begin with this spirit in your breast, -Anne--take care." - -"Take care of what?" asked the niece, haughtily. - -"I mean of abusing the great power you so evidently possess over your -intended." - -"I little thought, aunt, when I was only amusing myself with him at -Ilfracombe, rambling among the Tors, sketching the Lover's Leap, -talking, playing chess with him, singing to him, accepting his -flowers and all that, I would come to love him as I do, and end at -last by finding this engagement ring on my finger!" - -("So-so!" muttered Patty, under her breath, with a vicious sniff; "my -old gossip was right--men don't break their hearts and die of -love--for their wives at all events, look you!") - -"Yes, I love him for himself alone," resumed Miss Rookleigh, after a -pause, "not his fortune certainly," she added with a mocking laugh; -"he is so handsome and winning. But I know, aunt, that though you -are a widow, you deem it impossible that there can be any romance in -a second marriage; and yet in such, a man may learn that his first -was a mistake, and that now he only loves for the first time," and -with a dreamy smile in her bright hazel eyes she swayed her fan to -and fro. - -"No one looks for romance in a second marriage--at least, I should -not," replied her practical aunt; "I have always deemed them, like -most first marriages, matters of convenience or of calculation, -now-a-days. At all events you must admit, Anne, that all freshness -of the heart must be gone?" - -"Aunt, you are very unpleasant! I believe a man is quite capable of -loving twice, and the second time more than the first; because he -must know his own mind better. If I thought that Greville had only -the shadow of love to offer me--but I shall not canvas the idea! -Greville's first marriage must seem like a dream to him now, and, if -otherwise, it will go hard with me if I do not soon obliterate all -memory of a former affection. He married his first wife for her -beauty, I believe; but she was a poor namby-pamby little thing. -He'll soon forget her, nay, he must have forgotten her now!" And a -flash came into her eyes, of subtle colour, as she spoke. - -"Hush, Anne, how would you like to be spoken of thus? Besides, his -child--_her_ child--will be a perpetual reminder." - -"It is aggravating! I believe the little brat already views me as an -interloper; and though I knew his age, he is on a larger scale than I -expected, and certainly looks old for the child of a man so youthful -as Greville; and then he speaks with the odious Devonshire patois!" - -"One lucky thing is that your engagement will not be a long one, if -you are satisfied for the time with this poor--though certainly -pretty--place." - -"It satisfied _her_," thought Patty, glancing at the distant spire, -the shadow of which was falling on Mary's grave; and the old woman -crept away, as she had heard more than enough, muttering, "after all -these years I'd give him warning this very hour, but for the sake of -the child. Poor Derval! from this day, I fear me, his life will be a -blighted one! Dear, dear! but the master has soon begun to sweeten -the hay again!" she added, referring to an old Cornish practice -common among lovers in haymaking time. - -So barely a year had elapsed, since the woman who clung to him so -tenderly and truly in poverty, as in wealth, and whose heart had been -for years against his own, had been laid in the silent grave, when -Greville Hampton brought another--but not a fairer--wife to share his -cottage home. - -That home he had spared no expense his means permitted to decorate -for the new idol, who had certainly not come to him undowered. Many -old and familiar objects had been removed--there were cogent reasons -why--and gave place to newer fancies. - -While Derval and Patty had been the sole occupants of the cottage at -Finglecombe, the wedded pair had been spending their honeymoon on the -continent; they had seen Antwerp with its cathedral and the art -treasures of its galleries; Cologne and Coblentz, the precipitous -Kolandseck with its baronial ruin and mouldering arch; hill-encircled -Ems, the banks of the picturesque Lake, wooded Nassau and merry -Wiesbaden; Greville the while judiciously silent that he had gone all -that bridal tour once _before_. But now he thoroughly believed in -his second election; and it has been said that, at few times, or at -no time, of his life, is a man such a true believer in faith and love -as when he plunges into matrimony; and we must suppose that it was so -with Greville Hampton. - -The arrival of the bride at Finglecombe, with all her boxes and that -"particular baggage," as Patty thought, her own maid, was a source of -sore worry to the former, who could no longer pursue the even tenor -of her way under the new state of things. - -Greville kissed his little boy, who clung fondly to him; but the -bride gave the latter her gloved hand coldly, and scanned him through -her glass, while he eyed her with mistrust and wonder, and with a -strange shrinking, for somehow her eye chilled him, and thus, at the -very home-coming there was a petty _contretemps_. - -"Kiss him, Anne dearest," said Greville; "go and be kissed by your -mamma, Derval." - -"She is not my mamma," said the child recoiling. - -"Go and be kissed by her instantly, sir!" - -"I won't, Papa." - -"Then leave the room, sir!" - -"He gives me a cold reception, certainly," said Mrs. Hampton, her -golden-coloured eyes sparkling dangerously under their rather white -lashes, as she threw off some of her travelling wraps and appeared to -Patty's wondering eyes in a rich and handsome dress, that accorded -well with the stately character of her beauty; and Derval slunk away, -doubtful and fearing, whether he had done right or wrong; but then, -what did papa mean by calling this strange woman his mamma? - -"His presence shall not annoy you, Anne." - -"But, until he gets accustomed to me, Greville?" - -"I shall compel him to stay in his own room, or in the kitchen with -Patty, till he knows how to treat you." - -So on this day the troubles of Derval really began. He felt that he -could never be even confident in the presence of this stranger who -had so suddenly taken a high place in their little household. There -was everything in her manner and bearing to repel him, and when she -spoke to him his large eyes dilated under her stony gaze, as those of -a bird are said to do when a serpent begins its charm of fear; and -when rated for some trifle, he said sullenly: - -"I want my own mamma. Why did papa bring _you_ here, and set you in -_her_ place at table?" - -"Dare you say so; you are a very bold child!" she exclaimed with some -heat, and in her hard constrained voice, when a more generous woman -would have smiled and resorted to caresses; "you ought to learn to -love me." - -"Never!" said the chubby Derval stoutly; "I shall only love my own -mamma; she allowed me to climb on papa's knee and kiss him, but you -won't." - -"This brat, Derval," she thought, "must certainly remind him of that -woman he loved, or fancied he loved, in the days of his youth and -folly! Derval must be sent from this--out of this, somehow--anyhow! -I would that he were old enough to go to sea." - -To sea! Was his future shadowed forth in this idea? - -Time will show. - -And already she began to hate the child, all the more that her -husband in his dreams--for he was as great a dreamer as ever--more -than once, in her hearing, muttered or whispered to himself, softly -and sadly, as to one near him, the name of "Mary," when doubtless the -present was forgotten, and the days of the past came back in the -visions of the night. - -"He is thinking of his boyish fancies and his wax doll," Anne would -mutter; "how shall I have patience to endure this if it occurs often?" - -Tall, proud, haughty, and imperious in her secret nature, she was in -all things the reverse of the _mignonne_, gentle and affectionate -"wax doll," she thought of so contemptuously. - -The poor for miles around felt a change now. Mary had ever but -little to spare from her own slender store, and that little was given -freely with kind words to all; yet the new bride that had come to -Finglecombe, though wealthier far than ever poor Mary hoped to be, -even amid all Greville's brilliant schemes and aspirations, gave not -a crumb of broken victuals to the passing mendicant; and as for the -sick and needy in the adjacent lanes, and little cob-villages, she -knew not of their existence. - -She had brought him a round sum of money, which, perhaps, more than -even her beauty and unmistakable advances, had lured Greville Hampton -into this second alliance; and with this he had speedily begun to -speculate successfully in the purchase of land at Finglecombe, and to -see, in prospect, the possible realisation of his golden dreams! - -Had anyone ventured to hint to Greville Hampton that he had now -forgotten Mary, he would have repelled the accusation with anger. -But he had been lonely--he felt the want of companionship; this woman -was handsome, and had been bent on winning him, for he was possessed -of much manly beauty, with a fine presence; and the dowry she had, -roused in him anew that craving thirst, that eager longing for "the -gold that perisheth." - -But in her love for him, and jealousy of the dead, she was somewhat -exacting, and tried him considerably at times. - -"You loved your first wife, of course, Greville, because it is your -nature to be tender and loving," said she on one occasion; "but do, -please, put her portrait away." - -"Why, Anne?" - -"Because the eyes of it seem to follow me everywhere, to watch me; -and I can never see it without thinking--thinking--" - -"Of what?" - -"That she was as dear to you, perhaps--as near to you, certainly--as -I am." - -"Your ideas are foolish, Anne," said he; but the portrait was removed -eventually, and one of her aunt, Mrs. Rookleigh, took its place. - -Sometimes she went further than this, and would test his veracity a -little unwarrantably, in her inordinate vanity, and with ineffably -bad taste. - -"Tell me, dearest Greville," she said, hanging over him, and -caressing him with great _empressement_, "did you ever love before as -you love me now?" - -He smoked his old briar-root, but made no reply. - -"Tell me--tell me," she persisted, while playfully pulling his ear; -but his heart felt a pang, and his eye wandered involuntarily to -where poor Mary's portrait used to hang. - -"Why so inquisitive?" said he; "you know that I was married before. -Do you think I am so vile as to marry without loving?" - -"That is no answer. But were you ever so much in love as you are -now?" - -Wishing to evade the inquiry, he smoked rather doggedly on; so she -questioned him again. - -"Some fellows are in love a score of times, with every pretty girl -they meet, in fact," said he. - -"But you, Greville, are not one of those men." - -"No, Anne, most certainly not." - -So she could extract no more from him. He was weak in her hands, but -to have said what she wished, he felt would he coarse treason to the -dead, and thought, "why could she not be content?" - -And when she sang--but in a style Mary never sang--she indulged in -high fantastic flourishes, running her hands heavily over the same -keys that Mary's pretty fingers had been wont to touch so lightly. -For a time Greville Hampton winced at the familiar sound of the -instrument, as if a spirit was conjured up by it; but ere long he -became hardened--accustomed to it. - -Soon her piano, almost every immediate relic of Mary, disappeared; -and times there were when her successor spoke--but never in -Greville's hearing--of her memory in a sneering manner, that stung -the sensitive Derval, and as he grew older, maddened and infuriated -him. However, he was but a child yet, and barely understood the -tithe of what she said. - -To her he was a perpetual eyesore; and in the round of her daily -life--especially in the absence of Greville--she found a hundred -petty means of venting her groundless dislike upon him. - -"Get out of the way--leave the room, boy--go and play in the -garden--you are not wanted here!" Such were hourly the greetings to -the child now--no kisses, no caresses as of old. All his sweet -childish impulses were crushed or checked, and thrust back upon -himself, and distrust and dislike of her, the typical rather than the -real stepmother (fortunately for humanity's sake), grew strong in his -heart--his little yearning heart, that felt half broken at times by -neglect, for he had no one now, save old Patty, to whom he could tell -all the wondrous secrets, and deep, tender confidences of child-life. - -And even Patty he might not have long, as in Mrs. Hampton's mind she -contrasted unfavourably with her own maid; she deemed her gauche, for -Patty was a stout, broad, and short-necked woman, with a clumsy gait, -a ruddy complexion, red sandy hair, eyes rather green than grey, and -with a resolute mouth and chin that came of her Cornish blood. - -"Poor little Master Derval, poor darling!" said Patty once to -Greville. "She has never said a kind word to him since she came to -the house; and look you, sir, he would think she was mocking him if -she said one now--yah!" and she ground her teeth. - -"Silence, Patty; I cannot permit you to speak thus of Mrs. Hampton," -said he angrily. - -"Missus Hampton, indeed!" grumbled Patty, but under her breath, -however. But one day Greville overheard a remark which gave him a -pang. - -"Derval, where are you going, sir?" demanded Mrs. Hampton -imperiously, as he was taking his little cap. - -"To the sea-shore," he answered shyly. - -"Again? You are never anywhere else, and always come back with wet -and sandy shoes. What takes you there?" - -"I like to watch the waves come in, and listen to what they are -saying." - -"You are a little fool; I say you shall not go!" and seizing him with -hands, which we have said were not small ones, she shook him -violently, and tears sprang to his eyes. - -"Oh," he wailed, "that my own mamma would come out of the ground, and -help her little boy!" - -"Ah, but your mamma can't," she said spitefully; "she is deep enough -down, thank Heaven!" - -"Hush, Anne," said Greville, suddenly appearing; "for Heaven's sake -don't speak to the child in that manner." - -"He aggravates me so!" she replied, colouring; but more with anger -than shame. - -"Oh, I do beg your pardon," said Derval one day, approaching in great -tribulation, with his little hands pressed tremblingly together. - -"For what?" she asked sharply. - -"Please, I have broken your little china vase." - -"The vase that dear Aunt Rookleigh gave me! Oh you clumsy, obnoxious -brat!" she exclaimed, while her eyes gleamed with anger; and as no -one was near she punished him severely. - -"Mother, mother! mamma, mamma!" he cried, panting in her grasp, "oh, -come back to your little boy, and save him from this terrible woman!" - -"Woman, indeed, you fractious imp; I'll teach you what your mamma, as -you call her, never did--manners!" and she continued to beat him till -he, and herself, were quite breathless, and then she flung him in a -heap into a corner, to sob himself into sullen composure. - -In the lust of her cruelty she, by the pursuance of a system all her -own, succeeded in actually weaning much of the regard of his father -from him, and had him excluded from the dining-room when dessert--to -which he had always been admitted--was on the table. - -Banishment from dessert seemed to Derval the acme of ill-usage; and, -apart from the loss of the good things thereat, he never forgot the -day he found himself thus banished. - -He had come into the room when he knew "papa was there," and rushed, -breathless and laughing, up to his side. - -"My chair is not put in for me, papa!" he exclaimed; "why is this?" - -Seizing one, he began to drag it across the room towards the table, -and to his father's side. Mrs. Hampton looked at him darkly (she was -rather an Epicurean and did not like to be worried at meals), and -Greville did so silently and uneasily, for he was not unmoved just -then by the tender and pleading expression he read in the child's -eyes. - -"I thought you said, my dear, that we were not to be disturbed in -this way by that _gauche_ boy?" said Mrs. Hampton; "and you know the -nervous condition to which he reduces me--just now, at least." - -"Leave the room, Derval; mamma does not want you to-day." - -"Oh, papa, you are not angry with me?" - -"Yes--no--but go; you are a bad boy to insist on coming to table." - -And so Derval never sat at that table again till the day came when he -was to leave the house for ever. - -As he was peremptorily forbidden to go near the sea-shore, he -frequently went to the churchyard of Finglecombe and spent hours -there, weaving chaplets of daisies and wild flowers. - -"What brings you here so often, my poor child?" asked Mr. Asperges -Laud (patting him on the head) the curate, in his long-tailed coat, -gaiters, and Roman collarino. - -"To be near mamma's grave," said Derval, gulping down a sob. -"Besides, it is a quiet place for a good cry," he added, as the kind -curate took him into his little thatched parsonage. - -In the dark nights of winter he could recal how tenderly mamma put -him to bed, and watched beside him till he slept. It was old Patty -Fripp who did so now, who tucked him cosily into his little crib and -kissed him some twenty times ere she bade him "good-night," but, by -order of Mrs. Hampton, was not permitted to linger beside him. - -"The child tells you, ma'm, that he can't sleep in the dark alone, -from fear," urged Patty on one occasion. - -"Fear of what?" she asked curtly. - -"The Long Cripples." - -"What _do_ you mean?" - -Patty then told her that snakes in Devonshire were called "long -cripples," and Derval had heard of the one at Manaton, that was as -big as a human body, and had legs as well as wings, and uttered a -hiss that could be heard for miles around. - -"The boy is a fool, and you are another; leave him to sleep, or wake, -as he chooses," was the mandate. So Derval was left to sob himself -asleep in the dark, cowering under his coverlet, fearing "the Long -Cripple" was coming when the wind moaned in the chimney, or the -ivy-leaves pattered on the window-panes. - -Apart from the comments of Patty, the remarks of schoolfellows and -neighbours were not wanting to foster the growing animosity of Derval -to his stepmother. Curious eyes watched him, and the inquisitive -questioned him, extracting answers, to which they gave suggestions -all calculated to inflame his impotent wrath; and now a day came when -the cottage at Finglecombe was turned topsy-turvy, and Derval, to his -utter bewilderment, was banished for some time to the parsonage. - -The real Lord of Finglecombe had come in the shape of a baby-brother -to him--a baby whom the Rev. Asperges Laud made a little Christian by -the name of Rookleigh Greville Hampton. - -And now, more than ever, as this little one had come, did the father -bless his increasing prospects in the acquisition of land, and in the -profits thereon, as, like the man in the _Canterbury Tales_, -"therefore loved he gold in special." - -New hopes sprang up in the heart of Greville, and with the wealth he -seemed likely to acquire, he ceased to regret that which he had lost, -and to repine about the title of which his father and grandsire had -been, as he believed, illegally deprived. - -But in the years to come this baby-brother was fated to have a -terrible and calamitous influence upon the destiny of Derval Hampton. - -Greville Hampton was so successful in his speculations that he -actually hoped, in time, to make quite an estate of Finglecombe. -Money makes money, and thus he became a wealthy man; for true it is, -"that the thing we look forward to often comes to pass, but never in -the way we have imagined it." - -His dreams of an El Dorado, and Mary's reading thereof, came back to -his memory, when he saw house after house being built in the little -dell that overlooked the sea; and he recalled her words, "Your riches -lie, not in California, but _here_ in Finglecombe." How prophetic -were her words! - -Now that he was becoming wealthy, many persons who had held somewhat -aloof from him began to discover a hundred good qualities in him they -had never dreamed of before. Ladies had always admitted that he was -a more than ordinarily handsome man; their husbands--county -men--praised his seat on horseback, his manner and bearing, remarked -the cheerfulness and good nature expressed in his face, and began to -extol the great frankness of his manner, though, sooth to say, they -saw little of him; for he, remembering how they had ignored his -existence in the past, ignored theirs in the present time. - -He steadily added acre to acre. A small, but pretty village, -approaching the dignity of a watering-place, had sprung up in the -lovely dell where the little cottage of Finglecombe stood, for it had -now given place to an imposing brick villa, which seemed to look -haughtily down on the humbler dwellings around, with its plate-glass -oriels, ogee gables, its handsome oaken porch of fanciful design, and -its sweeping approaches, rolled and gravelled between beautiful -shrubberies. - -As wealth flowed in and brought back wonted luxuries with it, he -ceased to remember poor Mary's pathetic attempts at a little ornament -and refinement amid the humility of her later surroundings, for -Greville Hampton became a sorely changed man to all, and to Derval -especially. - -Could Mary have dreamed that a day would ever come when her child -would pine for his father's love, as Derval pined in secret? But -under the cruel influence of the second wife and her little boy it -was so. Much of this, perhaps, arose from Hampton's absorption in -his own pursuits, so fearful was he of losing any time that might add -to his increasing store. Thus no word of endearment, of praise for -studious conduct, no caress cheered the lonely little boy, who saw -all such as his father could spare exacted by Mrs. Hampton for his -baby-brother, while her petty tyranny and aversion to himself grew -daily together, and a woman so petty, weak-minded, and -jealous--jealous even of the dead--found much to inflict in the round -of home life. - -Once, during a protracted absence of his father--not that his -presence perhaps would have mattered much--his little pet dog was -taken from him, and sent away he knew not where, and when he wept and -clamoured for it, she beat him and pulled his ears till his head -ached. On another occasion she deprived him of his canary, as its -seed and chickweed "made a mess"; and then he felt--as when she sent -"mamma's big Dorking" to the spit--something like murder in his -little heart. - -He rushed at her and contrived to inflict sundry kicks about her -ankles, which made her scream, and in a moment the strong and -athletic hand of his father was upon him. - -"Ask instant pardon of your mamma, sir!" was the command. - -"I won't--she is not my mamma." - -"I tell you, sir, she is," and the blows fell like a hailstorm about -the head and shoulders of Derval. But not a tear came from his eyes -now; his lips were firmly compressed, his face was deadly pale, and -he regarded his father with a steady and unflinching eye. - -"Go to your room, sir, and remain there till you are sent for." - -Under this unjust treatment the boy became sullen and resentful; -thus, when a little pool he had constructed in the garden, to hold a -shoal of minnows, by her order was emptied and filled up, he revenged -himself by poodling her favourite Persian cat, the gift of her aunt, -Mrs. Rookleigh, and for this she resolved to inflict condign -punishment, with great form and ceremony. - -She armed herself with her riding switch (for Greville now kept a -pretty pad for her) and desired the groom to bring Master Derval to -the stable, and as she did so, in her silly malignity, her very -handsome face had a very tiger-like expression, and she grasped the -jewelled handle of the switch resolutely in her large white hand. - -"Lock the door on the inside," said she when Derval was brought -before her. "Off with his jacket and tie up his hands to the knob on -that heelpost." - -And almost before Derval could realise the situation, he found -himself a prisoner, denuded of his jacket, a halter-rope looped round -his wrists, and himself "seized up," for deliberate punishment, -standing almost on tip-toe, and with considerable tension. - -"Will that do, mum?" asked the groom, who thought the situation an -amusing one, "a rum start," as he afterwards said in the kitchen, -adding that he never thought so "handsome a lady could be so -downright savage." - -Derval turned his head half round with an appealing expression on his -sweet boyish face--a look that reminded her of the expression of -Mary's eyes in her banished portrait,--but at that instant she swung -the elastic switch round, and it fell with a smart and stinging thud -upon his shoulders, which had no protection now save his little -shirt. Derval winced, but set his teeth firmly together, determined -to die rather than give her the satisfaction of hearing him cry out -or supplicate for mercy. - -With steady and regular sweep the switch descended on Derval's -quivering shoulders again and again; but not a cry escaped him, and -enraged anew by his fortitude, or "obstinacy," as she deemed it, Mrs. -Hampton exerted herself afresh, and Derval, while clenching his teeth -and breathing hard, boy-like, thought of the cruel enchantress who -used to whip the bare back of the helpless young king of the Black -Isles in the Arabian Nights, and longed for some such punishment to -fall on his tormentor as fell on that remarkable lady. - -We know not how many strokes were administered, but Mrs. Hampton was -becoming somewhat breathless, and the tension of the rope that bound -her victim to the heelpost seemed as if dragging his arms out of -their sockets. - -"Do stop, please mum, the little lad is fainting," exclaimed the -groom. - -"Nonsense, he is shamming, he is as cunning as a fox!' she exclaimed; -but it was as the groom said, for Derval's head drooped on his breast -and he hung on the rope like a dead weight, while no motion was made -by him. - -"Untie him; dear me, I had no idea of this," said Mrs. Hampton, -becoming suddenly alarmed, while the groom released the passive hands -of Derval, and tenderly carried him into the stable-yard, where the -fresh air fanned his face, which was now bathed with cold water from -a fountain into which Mrs. Hampton dipped her cambric handkerchief. - -"He will revive in a few minutes," said she, becoming certainly still -more alarmed at the pallor of his face and seeing that his eyes -remained closed. - -"Lord, mum," said the groom, who rather enjoyed her growing terror, -"I hope we won't be having a crowner's 'quest in the house!" - -"Fool!" said she, darting an angry look at the speaker, and then -applying her little bottle of aromatic vinegar to Derval's nostrils. -He revived, however, rapidly, put his jacket on, and walked sullenly -but unsteadily away. - -For the first time in her life she feared her husband--was glad of -his absence, and hoped that Derval's back, which she anointed when he -was sound asleep, would bear no trace of what he had undergone when -Greville Hampton returned. - -"Flogged like a black nigger for poodling a dirty cat--my eyes!" was -the comment of the groom, when relating the episode in the kitchen; -and poor old Patty Fripp wept tears of rage when she heard of it. - -Derval's back was still stiff and painful, and his tender wrists were -excoriated, when his father returned a day or two after, but the idea -of complaining about what he had undergone never occurred to him; in -fact, he was too much accustomed to systematic ill-usage now. - -He longed to be old enough to run away and be a soldier or a -sailor--he cared not which--and he would sit by his mother's grave -brooding over such thoughts, till led away by Mr. Asperges Laud, or -found by Patty Fripp. - -As he grew older he became painfully conscious, however, of the -different treatment of his younger brother and himself; he saw how he -was permitted to go threadbare and shabby, with tattered cap and -seamy boots, while little Rookleigh--or Rook as he called him--was -kept like a princeling in purple and fine linen, and all the while -their father seemed careless or oblivious of the difference. - -"I'll not stay here, Patty," said Derval one day in great soreness of -heart, while smarting under some new affront; "I'll run away." - -"Run away, child, and let the Pixies or the Long Cripple get thee!" -exclaimed his old nurse. - -But Derval had nearly ceased to fear these things now, and he had no -dread of any created thing, though he did shrink from the malice and -the severe and vindictive eyes of his stepmother, and from contending -with the low forces of her small and narrow mind. - -Had Greville Hampton shown more, or even any remarkable preference -for his first-born than for little Rookleigh, there might have been -some reason for her jealousy though none for her cruelty; but so -absorbed was he, as we have said, in the novel and pleasant task of -money-making, that he never gave a thought at all to Derval. - -As the latter approached boyhood, and Rookleigh childhood from mere -infancy, the continued difference in the treatment of both, in food, -raiment, and even in toys, was perceptible to all. Derval shunned -alike the dining-room and drawing-room, for _she_ was sure to be in -either one or other. He lurked in the stable, the gardens, on the -sea-shore, anywhere to be away from her, and his father never missed -him apparently. - -Rookleigh, petted, master, and more than master of the establishment, -grew up a froward, petulant, sullen and cunning child--a greedy one -too, who ate his cakes and sweetmeats in secrecy and haste, sharing -none and nothing with his elder brother or anyone else; and in many -ways, as her own peculiar rearing, he was becoming the counterpart of -his mother. - -Again and again had the latter hinted at sending Derval away -somewhere, to hoard or be bound apprentice, she cared not to what; -but time passed on, till he attained his fourteenth year, and his -half-brother was seven years old, with his mother's chestnut hair and -her cunning yellow-hazel eyes, but with a strange shifty expression -in them. - -At home in his father's house, Derval was beginning to feel homeless -now. Though impulsive and enthusiastic, what to him were now the -leafy rustle of the woods and apple-orchards of Finglecombe; the -trill of the lark above his head, the white-flecked azure of the -summer sky, the cornfields ripe for the sickle, the glare of the -golden sunshine, the soft curve of the distant hills, the bold rocky -coast of Devon, and the sea that lapped it? - -He only longed to be far away from them all and from "that woman," -for Finglecombe was no longer home to him; no welcome was there, and -love had departed. - -Often did the boy visit the ruins of the old castle of Oakhampton, -and wander there, as he had been wont to do in happier times, when -led by his father's hand, longing to be the lord of it, or of some -such place--but of it more than all. For he had been told it was -theirs by right, and the coat of arms above the mouldering portal, -the shield with its three choughs, and the motto _Clarior e -Tenebris_, was theirs also. - -The grim stone vaults, the dimly-lighted chamber, the roofless hall, -he peopled in imagination with mail-clad soldiers, their pikes -glittering and banners waving, as his mind filled with feudal fancies -and monastic longings, and he loved the old walls, which had been the -cradle of his race, especially when they, and the masses of -dark-green ivy that clothed them, were steeped in the redness of the -setting sun, and the gathering shadows of evening added to their -melancholy, their stillness, and gloom. - -He felt his heart swell with romance and pride, as he recalled all -his father and even Patty Fripp had told him of the Hamptons of other -days, and of the rights he had lost, and bold and daring were the -fancies that filled the mind of the brave boy at times, for he was -now at the age when all life is illusion. - -The sea-shore was his other favourite resort, and he spent hours -there listening to the lap, lapping of the waves upon the shingle, -and marvelling of other lands that were far, far away; and there was -one morning, the excitement of which he never forgot, when a nameless -and unknown wreck was found floating in the bay, a mastless and -battered hulk--battered by the fury of some great storm, in which the -water had contended with the spirits of the air, till all on board -had perished. - -Another haunt was a ruined and unused mill at Mill-brook, where the -old wheel, covered with green moss and grey lichens, looked so -picturesque, while the brook foamed and boiled unheeded beneath it, -and some ancient trees with drooping branches cast a shadow over the -ivied walls, where all, so busy once, was now silent, and made up a -picture of which Derval never wearied in his childish rambles, though -the pixies were said to grind their corn there at night, when the old -wheel, so silent and still by day, was seen revolving furiously in -the light of the moon. - -Thus, a strange and shadowy expression--induced by his -loneliness--began to come into the boy's eyes, as if he had thoughts -no one understood, or cared to understand, and as if by day he -dreamed of things unthought of by others. Mr. Asperges Laud saw all -this in his face, and longed to see the little lad away from -Finglecombe and its influence, and the wish was likely to be soon -gratified. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ON BOARD THE GOOD SHIP "AMETHYST." - -At last there comes a crisis in the affairs of Derval Hampton. - -"How often am I to urge that this boy of yours should be sent to a -boarding school or--to sea, dearest Greville," he heard his -step-mother say decisively, but in a suave manner she was cunning -enough to adopt with his father, when she had some important end in -view, just as he took his seat at a side-table for breakfast to which -he had been permanently banished, while little Rookleigh perched in a -baby-chair (held in by a cross-bar) sat by his mamma's side and got -tiny bits of the best of everything from her own hands. - -As her husband made no immediate reply, but sat immersed in the -"money article" of the _Times_, she repeated her observation or -suggestion in a louder key, when he said, - -"Why, Anne?" - -"Because I cannot have him at home here any longer, and what is more, -dear Greville, I shall not!" - -"You will not?" said he, laying down his paper, while Derval listened -with a quick-beating heart. - -"Once and for all--no." - -"I ask again, why?" - -"He is so unfinished--worse--unmannerly--a mere Devonshire lout, I am -sorry to say, and will corrupt my darling little Rookleigh if they -grow up together." - -"Say _ours_, Anne." - -"Well, ours, of course, darling." - -"I cannot see that poor Derval is all you say." - -"But I do, and to sea let him go; we can't have him growing up to -manhood an idle, hulking fellow here." - -"Everyone thinks Derval a very well-bred boy, and Mr. Asperges says -he is the best behaved of all his choir." - -"He poodled the cat, however, steals the fruit and the jam, and is so -full of tricks and strange eccentric ways, that he should be -permanently banished to the kitchen," continued Mrs. Hampton, -forgetting her suavity and warming up with her subject; "but here is -the very thing we want!" she exclaimed, turning to an advertisement -in the _Times_, as if her eye had only caught it for the first time. - -"_The Sea_.--Introduction given--free of all charge--to one of the -oldest ship-owning firms in the city requiring respectable youths on -board of three splendid ships just launched, for the West Indian and -Colonial trades. Midshipman's uniform worn. Apply, Dugald Curry & -Co," &c. "I think you should lose no time in writing, love," she -added coaxingly. - -"Would you like this, Derval?" asked Greville Hampton, with a little -softer cadence in his voice than usual. - -Of course he liked it; and a great flush of happiness and longing -rose up in his heart, the ideas of the "splendid ship" and "middy's -uniform," combined with a young Briton's in-born tastes and visions -of the sea--the sea, with its perils, glories, and wonders; of -Robinson Crusoe, and lonely isles full of fruits and flowers and -coral caves, of gold to find and savages to fight--now filled the -whole mind of Derval; and all that the lives of adventurous voyagers -and intrepid seamen--all that the stories contained in naval history -and the novels of Marryat and others have sown in the souls of our -schoolboys, were there to rouse his native enthusiasm. - -So the matter was soon accomplished, and a correspondence with -Messrs. Dugald Curry & Co. ended in Derval finding himself elected to -seek his bread upon the waters as middy on board the good ship -_Amethyst_ of London, 700 tons register, Captain Philip Talbot -commander, bound for Rio Janeiro. - -From this we may fully gather that the once tender husband that loved -so well the gentle Mary, and whose whole thought was the future -welfare of their only child, was a sorely changed man now, under the -influence of another woman and his new surroundings. - -With the removal of the picturesque little cottage of Finglecombe and -the erection of a florid and pretentious villa in its place, the old -life had passed away, and with it many a memory of the innocent and -loving, if anxious, past. Greville Hampton had become almost callous -in his worldliness; a slave to chance impulses, to gratified avarice, -to feverish acquisitiveness, and the love that had whilom been -absorbed by the son of Mary, was now shared, and more than shared, -yea, usurped, by the younger born of Anne Rookleigh. - -Derval, whom he was sending forth into the cold and bitter world so -early in life, in his tender years, as a poor sailor boy, was the -same son for whom, in the days of his more limited means, he had -longed for wealth, and now--now when wealth was coming upon him--he -could look on Anne's face, and into her false eyes of golden hazel, -and thrust back the thoughts that at times reproached him. - -Could it really be that he--Greville Hampton--was doing this without -a necessity therefor? But true it is, that "one's memory is apt to -grow rusty with respect to one's old self, and we nearly always look -upon ourselves as the products of certain causes, setting down -anything unsatisfactory to the charge of training and circumstances." -Yet, as in every parting there is an image of death, in the departure -of Derval it seemed for a time to Greville Hampton as if Mary was -dying again. - -The day before he was to leave, Derval went alone to her grave, to -read again the words--how well he knew them!--on the little cross at -the head of the dear mound, and to take farewell of her, as it -were--that turfy mound, to him the most hallowed spot on earth, yea, -hallowed as that on which the Angel of God once alighted; and waves -of feeling seemed to swell painfully up in his little heart as he -turned slowly to leave the spot, for years--perhaps for ever. - -Often in the lonely watches of the night, under the glory of the -southern skies, or in dark and stormy hours, when the bleak wind -blustered aloft and bellied out the close-reefed topsails, when giant -waves came thundering from windward to wash the deck and gorge the -lee-scuppers, making the stout ship reel like a toy in the perilous -trough of the sea, did the sailor boy's thoughts fly back to that -peaceful grave and his farewell visit there. - -And now the last night came that Derval was to spend under the roof -of his father, and for a time the heart of the latter really did go -forth to him; the present wife was almost forgotten; dead Mary came -back to his soul, and seemed to take her place again. Fain would he -have gone with his boy to London, to have seen him off, or into safe -hands on board his future home; but Mrs. Hampton said no--she could -not and would not be left alone just then. - -How tenderly old Patty wept over her "darling's things," and folded -them carefully and neatly for the last time, and packed his little -portmanteau, yearningly as his own mother would have done, and -thought truly, with a great sob, that had she lived he would not now -have been "going into the world as a sailor boy." And for that dead -mother's sake she kissed him many times, and with her old scissors -snipped off a lock of his once golden curls, that were gradually -turning to rich dark brown like his father's; but Derval had the -crisp hair that indicates character, firmness, and decision of -purpose. As he was to depart in the early morning, he kissed and -hung over his brother, "little Rook," as he called him, whom he was -not permitted to waken; and the episode of the lonely boy doing this -moved the heart of his father; but Mrs. Hampton looked coldly on, for -hers was hard as flint to him and cold as iron. - -At last it was all over, and in the early hours of the next morning -he found himself, as one in a dream, in the train for London, and -leaving fast behind every feature of the landscape with which he had -been familiar from infancy. Already Finglecombe, with all its groves -and little church tower had vanished, and now Bideford, with its wide -and airy streets that shelve towards the water, came and went as the -train swept on, and after that, all his wistful eyes looked on was -new to him. - -It was an inauspicious morning on which to begin the world, being a -dull and raw one in February; the rain fell aslant the grey sky, and -reedy fens and lonesome marshes, where the bittern boomed, were full -of water, and the rooks were cawing in the leafless elms as they -built their nests. The orchards were leafless, and the furrows in -the ploughed fields were like long narrow runnels filled with water; -but despite all this, the novelty of Derval's situation, a certain -sense of freedom, and being the lord of his own proper person, kept -up his spirits for a time. - -The last hand in which his hand had lingered was that of Mr. Asperges -Laud, and in fancy he seemed still to see his kind and earnest face, -his Roman collarino, broad hat, and long-skirted coat, as he stood on -the platform and gave a farewell wave, like a wafted blessing, after -the departing train. - -The railway journey was precisely like any other; he saw many places -new to him, Taunton, with all its pleasant villages and beautiful -orchards, and Salisbury with its wonderful spire, among others, and -after a run of two hundred and twenty miles his train ran clanking -into Waterloo Station. After traversing miles of streets (which he -thought would never come to an end), about ten at night, and with a -heart beating almost painfully with excitement, young Derval found -himself in the mighty wilderness of London, and surrounded by more -people than he thought the world contained, and an appalling bustle, -strange lights and sights and sounds, and where all men seemed to be -engaged in a race with time and for bare existence. - -By the guard who had him in charge he was taken to an hotel; -excitement rendered him incapable of eating, and weary with intense -thinking he went supperless to bed. Sooth to say, he felt very -friendless and miserable. He dearly loved his father, despite his -later abstraction and coldness, and already he was longing to see his -face again, and the face, too, of Patty Fripp, who had been a mother -to him. He had left home but that morning, and already ages seemed -to have lapsed since then. - -The thoughts of Robinson Crusoe, Captain Cook, Peter Simple, and so -forth, failed now to keep up his spirits in the unutterable -loneliness of his condition; already he wept for the home he had so -lately quitted and loathed, and from which he had been literally -driven; but he had no anger at any one there now--not even Mrs. -Hampton; and folding his hands, he repeated the prayers, from which -mockery was soon to make him refrain when on board the good ship -_Amethyst_. - -George Eliot says truly that "daylight changes the aspect of misery -to us, as of everything else, for the night presses on our -imagination--the forms it takes are false, fitful, exaggerated; in -broad day it sickens our sense with the dreary persistence of -measurable reality." - -The day that dawned was scarcely one calculated to rouse the ardour -or spirits even of a lad, as it was one of the Cimmerian darkness, a -London fog, when the omnibuses ceased to ply, and not even the -boldest cabby would undertake to convey Derval to the West India -Docks, a state of things which greatly perplexed him, as the yellow -opaqueness that now surrounded him was so different from the thin -white mists that came at times from the Bristol Channel. - -It was one of those horrible fogs peculiar to London and to London -only, when there is a doubly blinding nature in it, which puts the -thrust-down smoke into a state of atmospheric solution, obscuring all -things, and causes the oppressed eyes to tingle, smart, and fill with -irrepressible tears, and blinds them to the dim objects that might -perchance otherwise be visible; that compels at midday, and often all -day long, a vast consumption of candles and lamp oil, gas and -torches, and nearly all locomotion is brought to a standstill; when -the trees and railings become white as if snowed upon, carriages are -relinquished and links and lanterns resorted to at the West End, and -the street perils of the East are fearfully increased, and many a -vehicle is found half-wrecked by the kerb-stone; and when the -terrible poisonous smoke-fog in its descent from the very sky, as it -were, penetrates houses, and makes dark and obscure, damp and -comfortless, even the cosiest and brightest of rooms. - -The mind is usually affected by external circumstances. Thus, never -more than now in this dark and apparently awful day, did Derval, -cowering in the corner of a coffee-room, sigh in heart for the touch -of the loving hand and the sound of the caressing voice that the -grave had closed over for ever. - -At last, as evening drew near, the tiresome fog lifted a little, and -a cab was brought for him. To Derval's timidly expressed "hope that -he knew the way," the bloated visage of the Jehu of the -"four-wheeler" responded by a smile of half amusement, half contempt; -and to the inquiry if the fog was often like this, he was told that -it was "ever so, from year's end to year's end." - -After traversing a mighty labyrinth of streets, narrow, dirty, and of -most repellent aspect, the cabman drew up, descended, and opened the -door; though aware that he had to deal with "a precious green 'un," -he was actually content with thrice his legal fare, and depositing -Derval at a gate of the Dock--a wilderness of kegs, masts, and ships, -and all manner of strange things to him--left him with his -portmanteau to find out the _Amethyst_--his future home--as best he -could. - -By the assistance of a good-natured porter, after great delay and -trouble, he found her, and by a gangway proceeded on board in the -mist and damp, unnoticed and bewildered to whom to address himself. - -A prodigious noise and bustle prevailed everywhere, but to Derval's -excited imagination they seemed to culminate on board the _Amethyst_. -Several black gaping hatches were open, and a mighty multitude of -casks, boxes, bales, and filled sacks, were descending into them, by -ropes and chain run through the blocks shipped on derricks (in spars -supported by stays, and used for slinging up or lowering down goods), -with a terrible creaking and rattling, amid much expenditure of -breath in the way of "yo-heave-oing" by gangs of peculiarly -dirty-looking fellows, with jersey-sleeves rolled up, and who looked -like gipsies or vagrants, but were simply unwashed and unkempt -dock-labourers and porters. - -The deck and the entire ship seemed, to lad's unprofessional eyes, a -mass of irremediable confusion. The former was encumbered with casks -and cases, and the mud brought from the shore by the feet of -dock-people and visitors had not added to its comfort or cleanness. -Everybody seemed bustling about, with some distinct object in view; -but Derval stood aside with his little portmanteau and a -travelling-bag, pushed to and fro by every passer, lost, bewildered, -and not unfrequently sworn at. - -At last he took courage to address a young man, tall, surly, and -saucy in aspect, who was smoking a short pipe, but who wore a naval -cap, and though he had his shirt-sleeves rolled up as if he had been -at work, seemed in some authority, for Derval heard him spoken of as -the third mate, and he was greatly shocked to find such an official -attired thus, while superintending cargo going into the open hold. - -"Please, sir," said Derval, "I have come to join the ship as a -midshipman--where shall I put these things of mine?" - -"Don't chuck them down here, youngster, whatever you do," was the -somewhat surly response, while he gave Derval a casual yet critical -glance. "You are young--young--what the devil is your name?" - -"Derval Hampton, sir." - -"Oh, ah--yes," replied the other, touching the peak of his cap in -mockery, and for a moment taking his short pipe from his mouth. "I -am Paul Bitts, the third mate; we have been looking for you for ever -so long; you'll excuse the ship not being decorated to receive you." - -"Certainly, sir." - -"That is very good of you. I hope you left your esteemed papa and -mamma very well?" - -"Very well, thank you." - -"A very greenhorn, by Jove!" muttered this would-be witty young -gentleman. "Is your wife coming to see you off? I hope not, as I -can't stand women's tears--lovely woman in distress and all that sort -of thing." - -"Who's this?" asked a smart-looking seaman with a fringe of curly -brown whiskers, and a good-natured face--a man about forty-five--as -he came forward. The new-comer had the cut of a genuine seaman, and -wore his clothes as no landsman could ever wear them. His trousers -were loose and round at the feet but tight at the waist; he wore a -well-varnished and low-crowned black hat, with a long blue ribbon -hanging over the left eye, a black silk handkerchief peculiarly -knotted round his bare brown throat, that had been tanned by the sun -of many a land and sea; a jack-knife hanging by a lanyard thread was -his only ornament, unless we except a clumsy gold ring, and he -displayed a superabundance of check shirt. He had a wide step, a -rolling gait, and half-open hands that seemed always ready to tally -on to anything. "Who is this?' he repeated, eyeing Derval. - -"A greenhorn--a land-crab--come with the owner's compliments," said -Mr. Paul Bitts, bowing low ironically; "allow me to introduce Mr. -Derval Hampton--Mr. Joe Grummet, our boatswain; Mr. Joe Grummet--Mr. -Derval----" - -"Stow that 'ere nonsense," said the other bluntly; "welcome aboard, -my little lad, and if any man in the _Amethyst_ can make a sailor of -you, I am he." - -Then Joe Grummet shook Derval's hand very cordially indeed. - -"Take him aft to the captain," said Mr. Bitts; "but before you go, -youngster, hand over all the cakes and jam-pots the old woman at home -gave you." - -"I have none, and if I have, why should I give them to you?" asked -Derval, beginning to resent the other's offensive tone. - -"Because you might be a naughty boy and get so sea-sick--so hand them -over, and I'll find fellows to eat them for you." - -"I have none, I tell you," replied Derval, with sparkling eyes; "and -who do you mean by the 'old woman'?" - -"Your mother, of course." - -"I have--none!" replied Derval, in a changed voice that Joe Grummet -was not slow to detect, and taking up Derval's portmanteau and bag, -he desired him to follow, whispering as they went: - -"Look 'ee, Hampton lad, there isn't a saucier fellow in the ship than -Paul Bitts, but he is senior to you, and you won't gain anything by -running foul of his hawse, so give him a wide berth always." - -And now, by a very handsome companion-way and mahogany stair, they -descended to the cabin of the ship, which was plainly and neatly -furnished, the chief features, to Derval's eyes, being a rack or two -of arms and a brass tell-tale compass, that swung in the square -skylight. - -"Mr. Hampton--just come aboard, sir," said Joe Grummet, removing his -hat; and Derval found himself kindly welcomed by Captain Talbot, a -man about thirty, with a handsome open countenance, a bright cheerful -expression, and a stout well-set figure, and his two other mates, Mr. -Girtline and Mr. Tyeblock, who pressed him to join them in a glass of -sherry and a biscuit, of which they were partaking before going on -shore. - -Captain Talbot questioned him kindly about his parents and home as if -to acquire his confidence and inspire him therewith; about his -education, and if he had a genuine liking for the sea, or if it was -only a flight of boyish fancy born of story books; but Derval, unable -to tell that anywhere was better than home to him, answered with -great reserve and much shyness, while sooth to say, as he had never -heard of the Royal Naval Reserve, to which Captain Talbot and his two -mates belonged, their costumes puzzled him very much. - -They wore gold epaulettes, and half-inch gold lace in wavy lines -around the cuffs, laced trousers, sword and belts like naval -officers, Captain Talbot having two medals glittering on his broad -chest for saving human life; and he and his two mates were now -departing in "full fig," as Joe Grummet informed him, to a great -entertainment given by the Lord Mayor, and ere they left the ship, -the captain, who knew probably the proclivities of Mr. Paul Bitts, -who was left in charge there, specially directed the boatswain to -have an eye to the comforts of the new-comer. - -So while showing him his berth and where to stow his things, Joe -solved to him the mystery of the handsome uniforms, and fired his -enthusiasm thereby. He told him that no less a personage than the -Prince of Wales was at the head of the Royal Naval Reserve; that -Captain Talbot had the rank of Lieutenant there, and Mr. Girtline and -Mr. Tyeblock that of sub-lieutenants among the officers, who among -their number included several marquises and lords, as the _Navy List_ -showed; and that in consequence of the _Amethyst_ having among her -crew, which consisted of twenty-five all told (exclusive of -officers), ten seamen of the Royal Naval Reserve (of whom he, Joe, -was one), she was entitled to carry at her gaff-peak, the blue ensign -of Her Majesty's fleet, prior to first hoisting of which, she was -duly provided with an Admiralty warrant. - -The uniform which he had now unpacked and the contemplation of six -brass 9-pounders on deck, polished like jeweller's gold, with black -tompions in their muzzles and canvas-covered lashings white as snow, -afforded Derval as much delight as the rifles with sword-bayonets, -the cutlasses and pistols that were racked round the mizenmast in the -cabin and against the rudder case; for in the seas the _Amethyst_ -might have to traverse, were risks to be run that rendered lethal -weapons necessary at times; and he longed, with all an enthusiastic -lad's longing, for the day when he, like Joe Grummet and the rest, -would be qualified to have his turn of drill and gunnery practice on -board H.M.S. _President_ in the West India Docks. And he hoped too, -that in time to come he might be captain of just such another fine -and stately ship as the _Amethyst_ of 700 tons register, A.1 at -Lloyds, perfect in the grace of her rigging, beautiful in mould, and -made for fast sailing--for slipping through the sea "a-head of her -reckoning." - -Her rigging was beautifully fitted, every rope lying in the chafe of -another, her decks were flush and level, and when at sea any loose -rope was neatly coiled away and laid down in a regular man-of-war -fashion that came of the recent training of Joe Grummet and others on -board H.M.S. _President_. - -"The skipper has specially requested me to take you in tow, Mr. -Hampton," said the boatswain. - -"In tow?" queried Derval. - -"In charge, don't you know; so there is one piece of advice I'll give -you, keep to windward if you can of Mr. Paul Bitts; he is often -crank, and over-fond of colting the youngster, and who yaws a bit in -way of doing duty." - -To this mysteriously worded advice, Derval replied that he should -endeavour to please that gentleman in all things. - -"The captain, of course, will take care that you are not put upon, -but then he is not always at hand. He is a fine fellow, Phil Talbot, -who can crack his joke and his biscuit on the same head," continued -the boatswain manipulating a quid between the hard palms of his hands -prior to inserting it in the back recesses of his mouth. "Many a -lunar he and I have worked together when mere ship-boys long ago--for -there wer'nt no middies--no reefers--in the merchant service in those -days, and many who sailed with us then have gone aloft for ever. But -come lad--supper waits," he exclaimed as a bell was heard to jingle; -"a jolly British leg of mutton with caper sauce--gad boy, I have -eaten capers off the bushes many a time on the shore of the Black -Sea." - -At supper were Dr. Strang, the young Scotch surgeon, who in despair -of a practice ashore was fain to ship as a "medico" in the -_Amethyst_; and two middies, Harry or Hal Bowline, a frank -fair-haired and cherry-cheeked young fellow with a confident and -often defiant air; and little Tommy Titford,--usually called Tom -Tit--a quiet, dark-eyed, and gentle lad about Derval's age, and who -was the peculiar object of the malevolence of Mr. Paul Bitts, then -busily engaged in slicing down the mutton, of which he reserved all -the best cuts for himself. - -He gruffly told Derval to make haste and finish his supper, as he had -a message for him to execute; and Derval, anxious to make himself -useful, and also to conciliate this personage, bolted his food, and -nearly choked himself with a can of ale handed to him by the -good-natured boatswain. - -"Got any sisters, Hampton?" asked Bowline, who thought himself a wag. - -"No," replied Derval. - -"Sorry for that; because we would have stuck their photos all over -the place, and set them up to auction now and then." - -"Your message, please sir?" said Derval. - -"The harbour watch is set, so go forward and send the cook's shifter -to me." - -"Where shall I find him?" - -"In the starboard binnacle." - -"Very good, sir." And Derval vanished. - -"He is as big a gull as ever picked up a bit of biscuit!" said Bitts -with a horse-laugh in which the others joined, especially young -Bowline, and after some time Derval returned looking rather tired, -flushed, and confused, to say he had been all over the ship, inquired -of everyone, and could find neither the person nor the place referred -to, at which there was a fresh burst of laughter; for by some he had -been informed that the cook's shifter had gone on shore to be -married, by others that he was busy polishing the chain cable, and -that the starboard binnacle was at present in the captain's hat-box, -and so forth. - -Many similar, and many silly jokes against which the boatswain failed -to protect him, and perhaps was not disinclined to join in, were -perpetrated on Derval, ere, thoroughly weary with a long and, to him, -exciting day, he retired to his berth, which he thought had a moist -and musty odour, and certainly its sheets had not the dried lavender -and camphor scents of Patty Fripp's store presses at Finglecombe. - -Betimes came the morrow with its troubles, and the tyranny of Mr. -Bitts among them. - -"Come youngster, tumble up," shouted that individual, "it is six -bells." - -"What have bells to do with me, sir?" asked Derval timidly. - -"By Jingo, I'll soon let you know, through the medium of a good colt. -Rouse--that is all!" - -Now that gentleman was in charge of the deck, and when Derval came -upon it, at 6 A.M., Bitts was again in his shirt-sleeves, and still -superintending the stowage of cargo, swearing at the dock labourers, -until the appearance of Derval gave a turn to his thoughts. - -"On deck at last, Hampton. By Jove, you look as if you had been -cooked and stewed up again!" he exclaimed; "now, away aloft and get -the fresh air about you. The sooner you learn to sit astride the -main cross-trees, the better for yourself." - -And to Derval's dismay the speaker indicated two little spars, that -looked as slender as walking-canes, resting on the trestle-trees, -where the topmast and topgallantmast are connected. - -"Please, sir, I cannot do that just yet," urged Derval, turning very -white. - -"Into the maintop then," continued the bully; "away aloft youngster, -and hold on with your eyelids if your hands fail you. By Jove, -you'll soon find that you are like a young bear, with all your -sorrows to come! Here you, Tom Tit, show this son of a shotten -herring how to mount the rigging." - -In obedience to these orders the boys began to ascend the main -rattlins at once, little Titford leading the way and saying many -pleasant things to give Derval courage and confidence. - -"Not through the lubber's hole," shouted Paul Bitts; "up by the -futtock shrouds!" - -Derval knew well that the sooner he mastered all this kind of work -the better for himself. He had climbed many a tall elm when seeking -rooks' eggs at Finglecombe, and many a taller cliff when after those -of the cormorants, choughs, and gannets; but this was very different -work, even though the ship, moored beside the quay, was motionless as -St. Pauls; and he thought of what this task would be at sea, in a -storm perhaps, when the ship became the fulcrum of the swaying masts, -and his heart stood still at the terrible anticipation; yet he -mounted bravely up, step for step with young Titford, encouraged by -the latter's voice, and the clapping of hard horny palms below. - -But now they had reached the top of the long shrouds, to where the -futtock-shrouds come down from the top and are bound to the mast by a -hoop of iron. - -"Up you go now--if you go through the lubber's hole, I'll be the -death of you!" cried Bitts from below, for as the captain and other -two mates were still on shore, he was in all the plenitude of his -power. - -"Hold on fast and follow me," cried little Titford, and active as a -squirrel, with his body bent backward at an angle of forty-five from -the mast, he continued mounting until he found himself in the -maintop--_i.e._ the platform placed over the head of the lower must. - -Panting, and perspiring at every pore, with agitation, exertion, and -an emotion of no small dismay to see the deck and the men thereon -seem so small and so far down below, Derval, with tingling fingers, -while a prayer rose to his lips, grasped the futtock-shrouds, -surmounted them as one in a dream, and found himself safe beside -Titford. There came a time when this task was as easy to him as -sitting down to table, but the novelty of it filled him with great -alarm then, and when the descent began, despite his terror of Mr. -Paul Bitts, he deliberately left the top through the lubber's -hole--an aperture in the top grating--as an easier mode of -progression while Titford went down by the futtock-shrouds. - -On seeing this Paul Bitts grinned with delight, and produced from his -pocket a colt--a piece of rope eighteen inches long, knotted at one -end and whipped at the other--which he was wont to carry for the -benefit of the ship-boys. - -Derval perceived this; a spirit of mischief, caused by revulsion of -feeling, rose within him, and the moment he reached the deck, all -encumbered as it was by boxes, barrels, bales, and gangways, dock -labourers and porters, he gave Mr. Bitts a chase that excited the -laughter of all and roused the fury of that personage, by darting -hither and thither, with all a boy's agility, round the masts and -hatchways till he reached the quarter-deck, at a part of which the -side-netting was being repaired; consequently a portion of it was -open and the moulded plankshere (a plank which runs all round the -timber heads) was hinged up. - -While Derval stood here irresolute, and thinking of capitulation, -Bitts made a dart at him, on which the latter instantly shrank aside, -and his tormentor, in his blind fury failing to perceive the gap in -the bulwark, went head foremost overboard and into the water. - -Amid shouts of laughter he came to the surface, black as a negro, -with the filthy mud and ooze of the harbour bottom, into which he -must have been wedged to the shoulders. - -"Oh, my eye!" shouted Harry Bowline, who danced a few steps of a -hornpipe, "here's a lark--Bitts in the water--man overboard--rope, -rope! cut away the life-buoy--man a boat!" - -Puffing like a grampus and half choked, the third mate scrambled on -board by the mizen chains, minus his colt, and rather more than -crestfallen, and while he went below to alter his costume, Derval, -after paying his "footing" to the crew--their perquisites for his -first going aloft--was sent into a part of the hold where a gang of -men were stowing away cases, and where, as it was very dark, his duty -consisted in holding a candle to show a light when required. - -In an atmosphere and amid features and occupations so new and -strange, perhaps Derval thought as little now of the Oakhampton -title, the ruined castle, and Wistmanswood, as his father did amid -his fast growing wealth; but the time might come for both to lay such -matters to heart, and this the future will show. - -It was somewhat of a red-letter day for Derval when he first donned -his uniform--a gold-laced cap and blue Oxford jacket with gilt anchor -buttons, gold anchors on the collars, and ditto lace upon the -cuffs--and went on shore, bearer of a letter to Messrs. Dugald Curry -& Co., and feeling indifferent to the anxious inquiries of Mr. Bitts, -as to whether he thought he resembled Lord Nelson, K.C.B., whether -his mamma knew he was absent from home, and at what church he was to -meet his intended, and much more to the same purpose. - -In time the cargo was all on board, the hatches battened down, the -boats secured and inspected, the bills of lading signed--documents -whereby the captain of a vessel acknowledges receipt of goods shipped -on board, and binds himself ("dangers of accidents, the seas, fire, -enemies, &c., excepted") to deliver them in good order to those to -whom they are addressed, on payment of the stipulated freight. - -The _Amethyst_ was hauled out of dock, and with the blue ensign of -the Royal Naval Reserve flying at her gaff-peak, and Blue Peter at -the foremast-head, was taken by tug down the river, and came to -anchor off Tilbury Fort. Next day began the bustle of preparing for -sea; the canvas was fully bent, the royal yards crossed, the studding -sail gear rove, the powder brought on board; and in many ways Derval -made himself so active, even up aloft, that he quite won the heart of -Joe Grummet. - -"I knew you would drop into your place in a day or two, youngster," -said he, "and you've already done it." - -"When shall we reach the ocean?" - -"Oh, very soon--a deuced deal too soon for you," said Mr. Bitts. - -"To-morrow a tug will take us to the Nore, and next day will find us -in the Channel--and here comes old Toggle the Pilot," said Grummet, -as a stout personage, enveloped in many coats and wraps, came -tumbling over the side, with a rubicund and weatherbeaten face, and -made his way direct for the grog, which as a preliminary to -everything, waited him, as he knew, in the cabin. - -It is not an uncommon thing for the captain of a sea-going ship, -calling the roll, to find several of his men absent, having been -either too intoxicated to sail, or having broken their articles and -disappeared, and such deficiencies are then made up by the crimps at -Gravesend, as no vessel can go to sea short-handed; but this was -never the case with Phil Talbot, who was one of the most popular -merchant commanders belonging to the mighty Port of London. - -Ere long the Nore was left behind, and Derval had his first -instalment of the odious mal-du-mer amid the heavy seas of the -English Channel, and with a longing and somewhat of an envious heart, -he saw old Toggle the Pilot quit the ship and go off to Deal in his -boat, waving a farewell with his tarpaulin hat--the last link with -old England. - -Even the glorious sea is becoming somewhat prosaic now in these our -days of steam, telegraphy, and extreme colonisation; yet it was the -fortune of Derval Hampton to see much that was stirring, perilous and -even terrible, ere he had the down of manhood on his upper lip. - -The family at Finglecombe knew that the _Amethyst_, had sailed for -Rio de Janeiro. Greville Hampton, who was neither destitute of -humanity nor of natural interest in his first-born, duly announced -the fact, as seen among the "Shipping Intelligence" in his morning -paper, and it set Mrs. Hampton thinking--thinking--as she fondled her -rather cross-tempered little Rookleigh. - -She thought on the contingencies consequent to a sailor's life, -separated from death by a six-inch plank, as Juvenal has it--an idea -reproduced by Dr. Samuel Johnson--the collisions, fires, founderings, -the chances of lee-shores, of floating hulls and icebergs in the -dark; the countless chances too of drowning or dying by climate and -disease. She had read too in the papers that "in the five years -ending June last, 5,028 ships had gone to the bottom with every man -on board, making 6,469 souls," and she thought there were a good many -chances against Derval Hampton--the eldest born--ever darkening his -father's door again. - -But there was one chance, or mischance rather, on which she had not -calculated, and which startled the soul of Greville to its inmost -depth, when he read on another morning a paragraph worded thus:-- - -"The ship _Amethyst_ of London, outward bound, spoken with in -Latitude 13° 17' S. and Longitude 33° 27' W., by Curry & Co.'s ship -_Wanderer_, all well, save that a death had happened. A boy had -fallen from aloft and perished." - -* * * * * - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS. - -The voyage of the _Amethyst_ towards tropical seas and shores was far -from monotonous, and more than one startling event occurred during -its progress. With her snowy canvas spread, her rigging all a-taut -(to use a cant nautical phrase), and her deck, whilom so wet, -slippery, and foul in dock, well holystoned and swabbed till it -was--as Joe Grummet said--white as a lady's hand, the _Amethyst_ was -in all her beauty now--all the more so to Derval, who got rid of his -sea-sickness ere she cleared the Channel. - -"Well, my little man," said Captain Talbot one day, when Joe Grummet -was teaching him the use of the quadrant, "how do you feel on your -sea legs--eh?" - -"Happy, sir--very happy," replied Derval, turning his bright young -face, which was flushed by the keen breeze, laden by the iodine of -many thousand miles of the fresh, glorious, and open ocean. - -"That's right, my lad." - -"I have not been so happy for many a year past," said Derval, -thinking, perhaps, of his mother. - -"Come, come, youngster, it is rather early in life for you to talk of -many years, and of happiness in the past tense," said the Captain, -amused by a quaintness in the manner of Derval--a manner born of the -kind of isolation in which he had lived in his father's house; and -save for the annoyance occasionally given to him by the wasp-like -nature of Paul Bitts, he would have had nothing to complain of, for -the good example and gentlemanly bearing of Captain Talbot and the -first and second mates, affected all the ship's company -advantageously. - -As for the self-won ducking in the West India Dock, Derval hoped Mr. -Bitts would forget that and get over it in time; but he never did, -and in many ways pursued the feud which he had declared, apparently, -on the day Derval first joined the ship. - -One morning, when he and Derval were in the middle watch (_i.e._ from -12 to 4 A.M., as the ship was nearing the Azores), the latter, -overcome by the heavy saline atmosphere of the sea, by youth and the -lateness of the hour, began insensibly to doze, with his head resting -on the gunnel of the quarter-deck, and in a kind of half-waking dream -he thought himself at Finglecombe: young rabbits scudded past in the -grass; the hum of the wind in the rigging aloft, suggested that of -bees and insects in the sunshine, and the air seemed to become laden -with the familiar fragrance of the apple orchards and garden flowers, -till a heavy thwack from the new colt of the inevitable Mr. Paul -Bitts awoke him with a nervous start. - -"Sleeping are you--on your watch, too! You'll come to the gallows, -you young villain!" exclaimed his senior officer, with a malicious -gleam in his closely set and serpent-like eyes; "that will teach you -to snore like one of Circe's swine. Now go to windward--keep a -bright look-out for the revolving light on Cape Flyaway, and if you -see the great sea-serpent, don't forget to call the morning watch." - -And, with a chuckle, he coiled away the colt in a pocket of his -pea-jacket. - -"Keep your weather-eye open," he added in a bullying tone; "and don't -let me catch you, in the dark, stealing eggs out of the hen-coops!" - -"Please, sir," said Derval, rubbing his shoulders, "I never was a -thief." - -"But thieving begins sometimes, and opportunity is the devil's game." - -Under the special tutelage of Joe Grummet, who conceived a great -regard for him, Derval, in conjunction with little Tom Titford, -learned to hand, reef and steer, to mount away aloft with ease and -confidence, and with both to lie out on the arms of a topgallant -yard; to use the marling-spike, to splice and knot, and make a -grummet. He knew the name of every part of the ship, of every spar -and of all the standing and running rigging; for he had great -aptitude, and proved a smart scholar at this kind of work; thus, in a -little time, it was evident that he would be able to take sights, -work a reckoning by log and compass, and calculate variation and -leeway. He was taught how to be ready for any emergency of wind or -weather; to consider nothing too trivial for consideration, and to -remember, as Joe said, "how a little leak may sink a great ship." - -Yet his sweet boyish nature still remained; and now, when far away at -sea, he thought, in the warmth of his affection, of the handsome pipe -he would "bring home for papa"; of the beautiful shells for his -little half-brother; and he had visions, too, of a wonderful cap, all -over ribbons, for old Patty Fripp. - -Overhead the sky was now of the cerulean blue that England never -knew, and never will know. - -Captain Talbot made his men strictly observe the "clean-shirt-days," -as the sailors call Thursday and Sunday; on the latter he always read -prayers at the capstan-head to his crew, who were sure to be neatly -dressed, and there was much of that silence which prevails in a -man-of-war on that day. - -On one of these occasions, just after prayers, Mr. Bitts, to Derval's -great surprise, approached under the lee of the long-boat, amidship, -and said, "Come, youngster--here is a glass of grog for you--just a -thimble-full; the sun is over the fore-yard long ago." - -Derval shrank from the beverage, which was proffered in a tumbler, -but seeing Mr. Bitts' hand in his pocket wherein the colt was coiled, -he drank it off, though nearly choked by the effort, and after that, -his perceptions of everything were very vague indeed. - -The ship seemed to be sailing round and round upon an axis; he tried -to speak, but the difficulty of articulation became great, and the -half-uttered nonsense he talked hung upon his lips; he felt -alternately maudlin and defiant, especially with young Harry Bowline, -who greeted him with shouts of laughter, yet good-naturedly -endeavoured to get him below, and a struggle ensued between them. - -"What is the matter there, forward?" cried the Captain, in surprise, -from the quarterdeck. - -"Mr. Hampton taken suddenly ill, sir," replied Mr. Bitts with a -gratified grin. - -"Strang, see what is the matter." - -The young Scots doctor went amidships, and returned laughing, to -report that which was really the case, "Young Hampton as screwed as -an owl!" - -"The deuce he is!" exclaimed the Captain with great annoyance; "how -came this to pass?" - -"The grog as Mr. Bitts gave him has been too strong for him, sir," -said Joe Grummet, who took in the whole situation and resented it -accordingly; "riglar thumb-grog it must have been, to my mind." - -Bitts furtively darted a vicious glance at the boatswain, who -received it with perfect equanimity. - -"What can that boy know about grog?" said the Captain angrily. - -"How to get jolly drunk on it apparently," replied the unabashed Paul -Bitts; "he is rather a greenhorn yet." - -"Shame on you, sir! this is your fault, not his; and mark me, if it -ever happens again, it will be the worse for you and your -certificate!" - -With this threat, the Captain turned and walked aft. - -It may be safely recorded that this never happened again, and Derval, -full of shame for the occurrence, did all in his power, by proper and -zealous behaviour, to wipe off the stain, for such he deemed it, -brought upon him by the malevolence of the third mate. - -On the watch by night, under skies where new constellations--new to -his eyes at least--were studding heaven, he always felt to the full -the awful impressiveness, the utter silence of the sea! Then his -thoughts fled home--to that which had latterly been no home to -him--and again, in fancy, he saw the lovely dell of Finglecombe, the -bay glittering in the sunny distance, the grim rocky portal of the -Horses' Hole, the Pixies Parlour, the stately ruins of Oakhampton, -the lone waste of Wistmanswood, the cob-cottages, and the old haunted -mill at the Mill brook, with its silent and mossy wheel. - -What a vast time seemed to have elapsed since he left all these -behind him! - -One day, when the _Amethyst_ was near the tropic of Cancer, and -ploughing the Sargasso Sea, about daybreak, Tom Tyeblock, the second -mate, who had the morning watch, reported a sail, with a signal -flying on the lee-bow, so the _Amethyst_ was edged down towards her. - -She was a large brig, with her sails in considerable disorder. The -peak halyards of the spanker gaff had given way, and the sail lay -flapping against the mainmast; her spars were topped about in various -ways; the maintopsail was full, but the foretopsail lay in the wind; -not a soul was to be seen on board, and yet she had signals flying, -that said, "Can you send a boat on board?" - -When near her, the _Amethyst_ lay to, and Captain Talbot ordered Mr. -Bitts to take a brace of revolvers with him and go off to the -stranger, with Derval and six men, who hazarded all manner of -conjectures as to the vessel. - -Had her crew all perished of some terrible disease, or been poisoned -by a rascally black cook? If so, terrible sights would await them, -of corpses lying about, or festering in bunks and berths. Had there -been a mutiny, and had she been scuttled, to sink in time? She did -look rather deep in the water, Paul Bitts remarked, adding that she -might sink suddenly when they were on board, or alongside, and so -carry them down in the vortex she made. Had some dreadful crime -compelled her crew to abandon her? - -As they neared her, stroke by stroke, the silent, voiceless, and -crewless craft, floating in utter silence upon the glassy tropical -sea, became an object calculated to impose awe and a solemn sense of -great mystery on the boat's crew. At last they were alongside, and -as it might have been dangerous to hook on the painter to any part of -her, the coxswain held on by boat-hook to the forechains, while with -their pulses accelerated by excitement, Paul Bitts and Derval -clambered up and leaped on board, the soul of the latter already -recoiling within him at anticipation of some sight of horror. - -The deck was deserted, but ropes, &c. lay about everywhere in -confusion. The longboat was missing, but its chocks remained over -the main hatch. The quarter-boat, too, was gone, and the -fall-tackles swung idly at the davit-heads. - -They descended to the cabin: it was empty; but a fixed lamp was -burning on the table, and a clock ticked at the bulkhead; some books, -wine-glasses, and a couple of decanters had evidently slipped off the -table, and lay in a heap to leeward. A paroquet, in a gilt cage, -hung in the skylight. Save this bird, there was no living thing on -board. - -The cabin berths had not been slept in, and they, as well as the -forecastle bunks, were empty. There was no appearance of corpses, no -blood, no weapons, or sign of outrage anywhere. No ship's papers -could be found, but her name was the _Bonnie Jean of_ ... and the -rest was painted out! - -After making certain that there was no one on board the derelict, as -the weather was becoming squally, and Captain Talbot had a signal -flying "to return," Mr. Bitts quitted the brig, and shoved off. -Boy-like, Derval had possessed himself of the paroquet--a beautiful -little love-bird, half green and scarlet--in its pretty cage, -thinking of it as a gift for his little brother at home; but with a -malediction, Paul Bitts told him to "let it alone," and as he -delayed, he took it out of the cage and tossed it away to leeward, -when it soon disappeared. - -What could the emergency have been that caused the still flying -signal, now answered too late, "Can you send a boat?" to be hoisted, -and to what ship had it been exhibited? It could have been to no -town or fort in that latitude and longitude. Moreover, the burning -lamp showed that the desertion had been most recent. Where, then, -were her crew? - -Conjectures were endless; a sharp look-out was kept from aloft, but -no boats were seen, and as the _Amethyst_ hauled her wind and pursued -her course, every eye was turned ever and anon to the floating -derelict till she was hull down, and even till her topsails sank -beneath the dim and blue horizon astern. - -Derval recalled to memory the old and sea-worn wreck he had seen -floating in Barnstaple Bay, and the mysterious interest it had -excited in his childish mind, when he never thought that a day would -come and find him a sailor and far away on tropical waters. - -The episode was duly recorded in the ship's log, and it formed the -staple object for comment in the forecastle for the next twenty-four -hours, eliciting the narration of many a quaint personal adventure -from the seamen, and one of these, a somewhat ghastly one, was told -by Joe Grummet. - -"You must know, Mates," said he, "that when I was a foremastman -aboard the _Boomerang_ of Liverpool, bound from Newfoundland to -Waterford, in latitude 47 north and longitude 45 west, the look-out -men reported a boat in sight, on a dark-grey squally day in April, -and bearing about half a mile on the lee-bow, and in the stern-sheets -of that identical boat, far out in mid-ocean, sat a man, steering it -with an oar! There warn't no vessels in sight, but an iceberg or -two, for we were leaving the floes astern going north with the Gulf -stream, so the air, you may believe, was bitterly keen and cold. We -edged down towards him, but as he seemed to take no notice of us, or -heeded a shout or two, I was sent off with three hands in the -quarter-boat to overhaul him. My eye! we found as that 'ere boat was -steered by a corpse! In her stern-sheets he sat stiff, motionless, -lifeless, frozen hard as a rock, but with his head drooping a little -forward. He was rigidly upright, with the oar over the back-board of -the stern, as if he had been a-sculling, and so hard were his hands -frozen to it, that we failed to get it from the death-grasp. The -boat had been half full of water that had turned to ice, in which he -was wedged to his knees. Over his head and shoulders the spray and -spoon-drift of the sea had been washing again and again, freezing as -it came. How long he must have been dead, or whence or how he came -there, there was nothing to tell us. We held the water with our -oars, and held our breath too, as the boat with its terrible -occupant, on a current and before the impetus of the wind, went -bobbing past us, and we struck out for the ship, anxious only to see -the last of that ghastly boatman." - -Clear, warm, and sunny was the weather as the _Amethyst_ ploughed the -tropical seas, when Derval saw in the sky the wonderful constellation -of six stars named the Southern Cross, which, though coeval with the -universe, was first seen with awe by Christian eyes in the fifteenth -century, when Cada Mosto, the Venetian, steered his caravel into the -Southern Sea. - -One fine day Captain Talbot and his three mates were amusing -themselves with revolver practice, at a quart-bottle slung from the -foreyard-arm, at which they fired from the quarterdeck, but as the -motion of the ship was considerable, as she was then going before the -wind with all her yards square, and consequently rolled heavily, such -was the oscillation of the object, that after some twenty shots it -was only broken by Mr. Paul Bitts, who was greatly inflated by the -circumstance and the applause it won him and now ensued thereon, an -event somewhat illustrative of the strange doctrine of chances--a -thing happening by luck, without expectation or prevision. - -As Mr. Bitts was dropping fresh cartridges into the chambers of his -breech-loading pistol, with the air of a candle-snuffer at twenty -paces, his eyes fell on Derval, who, with the other two middies, was -regarding him with some interest, if it was not a very warm one. - -"Well, young fellow, do you think you could do that--eh?" he asked -with a grin. - -"I should like to try, sir," replied Derval, colouring. - -"Oho! the deuce you would! Why, you young----" - -"Give him a shot," said Captain Talbot, interrupting some abusive -epithet; "take my revolver, Hampton. Grummet, run up another bottle -to the yard-arm." - -"It will save trouble to let him have a shy at the neck--that is -enough for such a marksman!" sneered Paul Bitts. - -Derval nervously took the Captain's pistol, for he had never had such -an implement in his hand before, raised it, aimed, and while thinking -the report was all he would make, fired, and, by a most astounding -"fluke," smashed the bottle-neck which was yet dangling from the -yard-arm! - -A burst of astonishment escaped the crew, while the Captain, who -evidently knew how it all came to pass, laughed heartily; but not so -Mr. Bitts, who felt in this a fresh cause for hatred, and retired -aft, sulkily muttering: - -"A sly young beggar, who, I believe, knows more of the world, the -flesh, and the devil, than the ship's crew all told, for all that his -face and manner are so devilish meek!" - -But resting on the reputation so suddenly won, Derval did not, for a -long time, indulge in any more pistol-shooting. - -Now came the time for crossing the line, and from all he had heard of -the rough jokes perpetrated on that occasion Derval had a genuine -terror of Mr. Bitts, for the absurdities practised often became -insulting and cruel. But such is the improvement now wrought among -seamen by the spread of education and general progress of refinement, -that these coarse sports are decidedly on the wane, and Captain -Talbot contenting himself with ordering extra grog to all to drink -the health of Neptune, the equator was passed quietly, and many -schemes formed secretly by Mr. Paul Bitts for shaving and sousing in -slush both Derval and his chum Tom Titford, ended in nothing, to the -great relief of both. - -After the _Amethyst_ was some days' sail beyond the equator and -running on a wind, with her topsails set and starboard tacks on -board, the weather became peculiarly gloomy and squally, and one day, -when it was Derval's watch with Mr. Tyeblock, the Captain, who had -been studying the barometer below, came suddenly on deck, and looked -aloft and at the sky. - -"Trim the yards anew, Mr. Tyeblock," said he; "the wind is getting -more ahead." - -"Very good, sir," and the tacks and sheets were promptly attended to. - -Joe Grummet and other old seamen were now seen looking occasionally -to windward, for they knew well by the dark clouds that were coming -banking up from the horizon that they had foul weather to prepare -for; but it came slowly. Two or three days of sunless gloom -followed, during which no sights could be had or reckoning properly -worked, and the doubts concerning the latter were fated to have a -perilous solution. - -Night was closing amid mist and obscurity, the sea was rising, the -vessel rolling heavily, and all was in considerable confusion in the -cabin below, where everything that was not made fast _fetched away_, -and went crashing to leeward and got jammed or broken. - -Coiled on a chest in the companion-way, Derval had been courting a -little sleep, when he heard the hoarse voice of Joe Grummet shouting: - -"All hands, ahoy! all hands, ahoy! tumble up and take in sail!" - -Thick and fast the rain-drops were now pouring on the deck, gorging -the foaming scuppers, rushing as they only do in the tropics; and -rolling from side to side, as if she would dip her yard-arms in the -mountain-like billows that ran towards her, the _Amethyst_, with her -courses set and topsails nearly close-reefed, was ploughing before -the wind through a black and midnight sea. Loud and repeated orders -rang confusedly on the rising blast, together with the trampling of -feet, the creaking of blocks, the bellowing of the wind through the -strained rigging, where loose ropes were flying wildly about, and -there were the roar, the wash, and fierce incessant gurgle of the sea -as it burst over the bows and boiled away beneath the counter. - -"Close-reef topsails!" cried Captain Talbot, while the storm -deepened; and with others, Derval and Tom Titford, under Mr. Bitts, -ascended, to do their part of this task, by the fore-rigging, often -as they went embracing the shrouds with their legs and arms; and the -ill-conditioned third mate was heard using terrible language as he -urged them all up to the cross-trees and out upon the yard. - -"Out you go to the starboard ear-ring, you wretched little -biscuit-nibbler, and don't look as if you had joined the Shakers!" he -exclaimed, administering a blow with his clenched hand to poor Tom -Tit, who turned his little white face upbraidingly towards him, and -then lay out manfully on one yard-arm as Derval did on the other, and -aided by the strong hands of the seamen at the centre of the spar, -got the heavy wet canvas tied hard and fast with the reef points. - -Poor Tom "lay out" on the yard with a will, above the black and -seething deep, with all his strength; but in the fury of the wind it -began to fail him, or it might be that in the force of the gale he -lost his presence of mind, and when the men began their descent he -remained, with his hands convulsively clutching the yard, and his -feet on the slippery foot-ropes or in the stirrups thereof. - -"Now then, stupid! are you going to sleep there?" cried Paul Bitts -from the crosstrees, "or must I rouse you with my colt, and make you -dance the binnacle hornpipe when I get you on deck?" - -"Mother--oh, Mother!" the boy was heard to shriek, his small voice -sounding weirdly on the skirt of the howling blast, as he slipped -from the yard-arm, and vanishing into the wrack and obscurity below, -was seen no more! - -Derval felt his blood grow cold; and as one in a dreadful dream, from -which he must waken to find Tom Tit by his side, he made his way, he -knew not how, but mechanically, to the deck, where the tragedy was -reported to the Captain. But there was not a moment now, either for -comment, explanation, or regret, for there came aft a terrible cry -from the look-out man at the bowsprit. - -"Breakers ahead! breakers on _both_ bows!" - -"In the name of heaven, how came breakers here!" exclaimed Captain -Talbot, for a moment forgetting that for many hours past he had been -unable to verify his whereabouts. Proceeding forward in haste, the -Captain went out to the cap of the bowsprit. In peril he was a man -whose nerves became as iron! Steadily he looked around him, but even -his cheek blanched then, though none could perceive it. - -Through the black gloom, a blacker barrier of mighty rocks was rising -right ahead. Boiling fiercely before a northern blast, the sea was -breaking on them wildly, dashing its white spray as high as the -maintop, and, as the waves receded, the sable fronts of two -particular or insulated masses were plainly visible from time to -time, with a mass of froth between them; while accelerated by the -wind astern, and no doubt by the indraught in the reef, for a reef it -appeared to be, the stately _Amethyst_ seemed to increase her speed -from ten knots an hour to something far beyond it. - -Clinging to a belaying pin on the port side, as the ship rushed on, -there came into Derval's uninitiated mind only the fear of immediate -death, with a quickened circulation of the blood and a painful -tightness of the chest, and in this emotion men far his seniors -shared, at that dreadful crisis; but now the voice of Captain Talbot, -who had obtained his trumpet, was heard even amid the roar of the -breakers, and a clear and manly voice it was. - -In that tropical region the water and spray that swept over the ship -were warm nearly as new milk, and by this time the poultry and pigs -were all washed overboard and drowned. - -"There is an opening in the reef, three points before the port beam," -said the Captain; "Mr. Tyeblock, take the wheel and steer for -it--three points, remember! There may be water there to carry us -through. Hands to the braces; brace the yards, forward!" - -Then, as the _Amethyst_ sprang to the blast, the waves boiled over -her lee gunnel; but finding a terrible strain aloft,-- - -"Let fly the topsail sheets!" was now the order of Captain Talbot, -and then, as the canvas flew to ribbons that cracked like thunder in -the gale, the topmasts were saved. - -"Hard up with the helm now, Tyeblock! Hands to the braces and square -away the yards." - -Headlong careered the ship on her way through the narrow passage -which Talbot's eye had detected, and splendidly was she steered in -the skilful hands of Tyeblock, who exultingly declared that he could -turn her on a sixpence. - -"The reef is astern, we are safe, thanks be to God!" exclaimed -Captain Talbot, whose emotion of prayerful gratitude was shared by -all who heard him. - -Deep water ahead, was reported by Girtline, the second mate, who was -in the bows with the hand-lead. - -"Heave to, till dawn comes!" was now the Captain's order, and the -ship was accordingly hove to, about two miles to leeward of the reef, -and a keen look-out was kept in every direction for breakers. - -On sounding the well, Joe Grummet reported that the ship had sprung a -leak, and the water was rising at the rate of two feet an hour; so -the chain pumps were rigged, and all idlers--such as the carpenter, -cook, steward, and others--took the first spell thereat, to be -immediately followed by a fresh gang, so that the leak made little -way. - -The gale abated as day came in with its tropical rapidity and -splendour, and Captain Talbot knew instantly that the reef they had -so nearly perished on, was one of those between the numerous rocky -and barren little islets that stud the whole coast around the island -of Fernando-de-Noronha, which lies about seventy leagues north-east -from the Cabo de San Roque, on the coast of Brazil. - -In the full glory of the morning sun, towered up the Campanario (or -Belfry), a steep mountain of the isle, a thousand feet in height, and -of a form so remarkable, that on one side the upper portion overhangs -its base. The Portuguese flag was hoisted on Fort Remedios, as the -_Amethyst_ passed on the north-west side of the island, with a soft -and pleasant breeze, while the hands were aloft, bending a new set of -topsails, or attending to the leak and other damages of the eventful -night. - -While sent aloft, for practice, to assist in bending on the new -foretopsail, Derval had not much time either for reflection on the -catastrophe of the past sleepless night, or observing the wonderful -multitude of turtle's eggs which cover all the rocks and shore -thereabout between the months of December and April; but when -excitement and work were over, he, like others, had leisure to think -over poor Tom Titford, whose maritime career, to which he had looked -forward in all the delight of youth, was thus ended ere it had well -begun. - -His empty berth and vacant place at table, his uniform cap hanging on -a peg, and his little trunk with all his worldly goods remained; but -his soft smiling face and his earnest honest eyes were gone from -human gaze for ever, and Derval and Hal Bowline were very sad on the -subject of his sudden loss, which made them somehow closer friends, -while each felt that the victim might have been himself or the other; -and both instinctively clenched their fists when they heard Bitts -say, with a silent laugh, that "even if the body were found, there -would be no coroner's inquest in the latitude of Pedro-de-Noronha, -and that young lubbers when they went aloft should remember the maxim -of 'one hand for myself, and one for my owners.'" - -So the middy, of whose death the passing ship brought tidings, was -not Derval Hampton, but little Tom Titford. Had it been himself, he -thought, who would have sorrowed for him? and it cannot seem strange -that the image of old Patty Fripp occurred to the lonely lad even -before that of his own father. - -For days after the storm, he felt his legs and arms stiff from the -effect of bruises and abrasions sustained in clasping the shrouds -when going aloft to reef the topsails. - -Days of light breezes and bright weather followed each other now, and -on a fine morning in March the cheerful cry of "Land in sight," -passed from mouth to mouth on board the _Amethyst_. To Derval's eye, -the faint blue mass that rose west-north-west about four miles -distant, seemed an island; but to Talbot and many of the crew it was -familiar as Cape Frio, a promontory on the Brazilian coast, -sixty-four miles eastward of their destination; and with all that -interest and curiosity excited by the appearance of a new and strange -country, he watched the oval-shaped mass of granite cliff that -terminates a long range of mountains, and all its features were -distinct by five in the evening, when it was only seven miles distant. - -With midnight came squally weather, with thunder and red flashes of -lightning, against which, "instant seen and instant lost," rose the -black outline of the heavy waves, serrated like the teeth of a saw; -but when day came in, the _Amethyst_ was standing in for the Bay of -Rio de Janeiro, under full sail, with a steady breeze from the sea. -Long ere this, the watch on deck had been busy getting the cables out -of the tier, laying them in French-fake on the deck, a peculiar -method adopted to let them run out freely, precluding all danger of -the links getting foul. They were then bent to the anchors, which -were hoisted over the bows and hung by the ring ready for use. - -The flag of the Royal Naval Reserve was now run up in a round ball to -the gaff, where it was shaken loose, and then "the blessed bit o' -bunting," as Joe Grummet admiringly and affectionately called it, -floated gallantly on the breeze. - -By noon Captain Talbot gave the order to shorten sail; the courses -were hauled up; the warm breeze swept through the open rigging; the -anchor was let go--the cable swept with a roar through the -hawse-hole, and the ship rode at her moorings, in eight fathoms -water, while the hands and apprentices went aloft to furl everything -fore and aft. - -Around was now the noble bay of Rio, studded by fully eighty islets, -with the city and all its shipping in the foreground; and the high -range of beautiful mountains, clothed with wood to their summits, -called the Corcovado, that bound its western plain, in the -background. Along the beach lies the main street, called the Rua -Dirieta, from which all the others branch off and form a city of -palaces, for such it is; and high over all its edifices, conspicuous -on a hill that juts into the sea between it and the Praya de -Flamingo, towers Nossa Senhora da Gloria, the greatest of the sixty -churches in Rio, where eternal spring and summer reign together. - -But we do not mean to "do Guide Book," and dwell on the beauties and -wonders of Rio de Janeiro; neither do we mean to linger on the -_debĂ»t_ of Derval or his probationary life as a sailor, for we have -much to relate of his future career. Suffice it now, that "bulk" was -soon broken on board the _Amethyst_; the cargo started and sent -ashore, to be replaced by another for Van Dieman's Land, and by the -labour of slaves, who in Rio are made veritable beasts of burden, and -are to be seen with iron collars about their necks, and often with -masks of tin, that conceal the lower portion of their faces and are -secured behind by a common padlock; and the last day of March saw the -_Amethyst_ standing out of the bay, with a land breeze, under a press -of sail, once more to plough the world of waters. - -Ere the vessel sailed Derval felt, but for the last time, the colt of -Mr. Paul Bitts, who called him "the lazy scum of a fish-pond," and -who delighted in malignant cruelty and the torture of his own -species, and highly resented the circumstance of the lad being a -little absorbed in a letter from home, brought by the mail steamer. -His father had heard of his safety, through the owners, Curry & Co., -and no doubt the fright he had received caused him to reproach -himself, for a time--but a time only--with his coldness and neglect -of his firstborn, and lack of that affection which latterly he had -denied him and bestowed entirely on the other son; and poor Derval's -honest heart grew very, very full indeed, as he read and re-read the -lines his father's hand had traced, and which he valued more than the -twenty-pound note he enclosed to him, and which could not be of much -use while on the waters of the Southern Sea. - -Fortunately he had been well grounded in Euclid and algebra, by the -kind tutelage of Mr. Asperges Laud, to whom his thoughts ever went -home gratefully; and in the knowledge of his profession he made rapid -progress under Joe Grummet, a tutor of a very different kind; while -his mind, as active as his body, required and delighted in scientific -research. He became a prime favourite with the seamen, knew and -understood their characters, and was all the more in favour that he -quickly knew the whole parts of the ship from stem to stern, and -could act by turns cooper and carpenter, sailmaker and ropemaker, so -clever was his head and so skilful was he with his hands. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -AFTER LONG YEARS. - -Four years have elapsed since we last saw Derval, and since then the -_Amethyst_ had been freighted to so many parts of the world, that he -had seen a vast deal of it and won much skill and experience, but had -never once been near his home. - -Great were the changes which time and circumstances had effected -there. - -From the hour Greville Hampton began to speculate, it seemed as if -everything he touched turned to gold. He had bought and sold, sold -and bought, and speculated, till he was becoming one of the richest -men in Devonshire or Cornwall, and all this growing good fortune he -somehow insensibly connected with his second marriage, and poor Mary -was as completely forgotten, apparently, as if she had never existed. - -His success was great; it astonished himself and others too; and, -after the fashion of the toadying world, he was greatly looked up by -many who, at one period of his life, knew him not. - -The last of the humble cob-cottages had disappeared, and with it the -last of the aboriginal inhabitants of Finglecombe; the villa -residences of Bayview Terrace were in great request, and a handsome -sea-wall, called the Grand Promenade, occupied the shingly shore on -which the ocean had freely rolled for ages. - -Finglecombe was now inhabited by a circle of families who dined and -tea-ed each other, and, moreover, closely criticised each other, for -"pig-iron always looks down on tenpenny nails"; who attended church -and, frequently uninvited, each others' marriages, baptisms, and -funerals; and more than all, a great hotel was built, with a -gin-palace as an adjunct, and the once secluded Combe began rapidly -to approach the dignity of a cockney watering-place, in every way, -however, a source of wealth to its lord and proprietor. - -The thatched parsonage and the little church of the middle ages alone -remained unchanged, though Mr. Asperges Laud was more silver-haired, -and he had, under the influences of surrounding gentility, ventured -to light two candles on his altar. - -The wayside booth, dignified by the name of a railway station, that -boasted of but one porter, who often travelled to and fro per train, -and acted as deputy stoker, &c., had now been replaced by one of -imposing aspect, with a spacious platform, a staff of officials, and -an airy young damsel to superintend its buffet. - -Mrs. Hampton's carriage was one of the features of the new -settlement, but though to the poor of Finglecombe, or its vicinity -rather, she was, as ever, no friend, her name appeared often in print -as a patron of local charities. - -Of all these wonderful changes the toiler of the sea knew little, if -anything at all; his half-brother Rookleigh was now a pampered and -very precocious boy of eleven, and already, under his mother's -influence, he was beginning to be infected by an idea that if -Derval--the fact of whose existence was referred to -occasionally--ever did return, he could not but view him, elder -though he was, as an interloper and intruder where he was not wanted, -all the more as the family lawyers had begun to foster her pride by -some confident surmises concerning ousting the Lord Oakhampton out of -his title in her husband's favour. - -The perils of the sea, the chances of climate, and many chances -militated (thought Mrs. Hampton) against Derval ever returning again; -and she comfortably, with a view to her pet's interests, made up her -mind that too probably he never would return, and that all his father -had made and was yet amassing, would eventually go to her own and -only son Rookleigh. - -Towards the end of the fourth year of her absence from home, the -_Amethyst_ was running from Rio de Janeiro to Bermuda; and time had -seen some changes in her. Many of the old hands had shipped on board -other craft; but Captain Talbot still held his post, as did Joe -Grummet and Mr. Gritline; but Harry Bowline had been promoted as -second mate, and Derval, now past his eighteenth year, was third, -_vice_ the ill-conditioned Mr. Paul Bitts, who had come to an -untimely end, when Derval nearly lost his life in trying to save him. - -While in the act of endeavouring to stimulate with his inevitable -colt an apprentice boy, who was at work greasing the sheaves of the -starboard catblock, Bitts fell overboard. The ship, which was going -before an easy breeze, was promptly thrown in the wind, and, aware -that Bitts was unable to swim, Derval, without a thought or -consideration, threw off his jacket, and plunged in to save or assist -him. - -This occurred within a day's sail of Tristan d'Acunha. The height -from which he leaped--the top-gallant forecastle, as the short upper -deck forward is named--made him go very deep into the water, and when -he came to the surface a cry of horror escaped him, for he could see -only one of the man's hands above it, while all around was crimsoned -with blood! - -In a moment he knew that a shark had taken him, and every instant he -expected the same fate. The breath seemed to leave his body at the -terrible anticipation, and thus he sank more than once, nearly -paralysed. - -Promptly though the mainyard had been backed, the _Amethyst_ had -forged some distance ahead, and Derval gave himself up for lost, -though he heard the clamour on board each time he rose to the -surface, and the rattle of the fall-tackles, with the splash, as a -quarter-boat was being lowered and shoved off towards him. - -As if to add to his horror he saw--or thought he saw--the black -dorsal fin of the monster standing steadily above the water about -twenty yards distant. - -"God help me! God spare me!" escaped his lips, for death in an awful -shape seemed terribly close indeed, and every action of his past life -seemed to come in memory vividly before him, compressed into the -narrow space of a minute or two. - -Half senseless with actual fear, he was dragged into the boat, and he -was barely on board the ship when no less than four sharks, all -seeking for prey, were seen under the starboard counter, where they -continued to follow her for some time after the yard-heads were -filled, and she once more stood on her course. - -The crew crowded round Derval, and Captain Talbot shook him warmly by -the hand. - -"You are a brave, good lad!" said he, "and had you saved the poor -fellow, should have had such a medal as I now wear. I have twice -saved human life at sea, but never in the face of peril such as this. -Poor Paul Bitts! he was never a friend of yours, certainly; but he -has come to a most awful end, with all his imperfections on his head." - -After a little time the Captain decided that on getting a certificate -he should be his successor. - -For many a day and night after this did Derval shudder at the thought -of what he had gone through, and recal the acute agony of his -emotions in the water; but other events came to pass, and gradually -the horror lessened in his memory. - -Now past eighteen years of age, Derval's face was decidedly of a -handsome cast, inherited, like his well-knit figure, from his father, -and he had the soft, gentle, and earnest eyes of his mother--the -tender Mary, whose grave was under the shadow of Finglecombe Church, -but on which no loving hand laid a chaplet now. He was intelligent -and experienced far beyond his years, and had, in the opinion of Joe -Grummet, only one defect as a sailor--a fancy for sedulously -cultivating on his upper lip something that Joe stigmatised as -"fluff"; but it was certainly adding fast to the character of a very -fine cast of features. - -So it was as third mate, and as such keeping a bright look-out ahead, -while assisting Mr. Girtline to conn, or direct the steerage, that, -on a brilliant afternoon in autumn--though there is no autumn in -those isles of eternal summer--Derval saw the Bermudas, to all -appearance like a range of low sterile hills, at the base of which -the ocean is dashed into a line of white foam, rise gradually on the -lee-bow, while cheerily the afternoon watch were singing, as they got -the "ground tackle" ready and bent to the anchors. - -These isles are so numerous that there is said to be one for every -day in the year--some writers say four hundred and more--and as the -ship neared them the short greensward that covers them, their dark -cedar-trees, and pretty, but low, white dwellings, rapidly became -visible, together with the masts of several vessels of war, as the -group serves as a summer station for some of our American squadron, -and also as a rendezvous for the great steamers of the Royal Mail -Steam Packet Company; but the whole of these isles, which are formed -by the zoophyte, or coral worm, are so completely hemmed in by -perilous rocks, that it is only with extreme caution that a vessel of -even ten tons burden can enter the roads. The water, however, is so -beautifully clear and pellucid that the pilots can make their way -with considerable facility between the coral reefs. - -There is but one channel for large vessels into the principal -anchorage, and through that the _Amethyst_ was guided by a native -pilot at flood-tide, for at low-water the whole of the rocks are -nearly dry. - -After the cargo was out, there was some delay about getting a freight -for England, as the main dependence of the colony is upon the naval -and military establishments that have been formed there, and on the -shipyards and saltworks; and now there had been a falling off in -onions and whale oil, which are among the chief exports of the "vexed -Bermoothes." - -To this delay was added another. The _Amethyst_ had sprung her -maintopmast in a sudden gale of wind, one of those "Bermuda squalls" -so dreaded by all navigators of those seas, and she had suffered -other damages, which compelled the Captain to place her in the hands -of the dockyard people; thus, as there was plenty of leave-going, -Derval was frequently on shore, and on one of these occasions a -rather curious adventure befel him. - -Joe Grummet had prepared Derval for seeing much that was novel in -these Summer Isles, as they were not inaptly named from Sir George -Summers, who was driven there in a storm in 1609, and whose heart is -buried in one of them; but Joe could not prevail upon him to accept -the genuine old nautical idea that the land and the coral crust -composing it is so thin as to be easily broken, even by a stroke of -the foot. But so many wrecks took place among their shoals, that the -Spaniards of old named them Devils Isles, and Joe knew by tradition -the strange story regarding a mighty multitude of rats, that came, no -one knew from where, and, multiplying exceedingly, swarmed over all -the isles, and ate up the corn, the fruit, and all green things for a -period of five years, after which came a cloud of ravens out of the -sky and destroyed them in turn, since when no raven has been seen in -the Bermudas.* - - -* This story is told in the _Atlas Geographus_, 1717, vol. v. - - -Derval saw whales trapped and harpooned among the coral reefs, while -the very sharks contended with the natives for the blubber in the -warm shoal water, and more than once he had climbed Tibbs Hill, the -highest elevation there, only a hundred and eighty feet in altitude; -and he had seen the gangs of natives toiling at the cisterns in which -rain-water is preserved for the shipping, for there are few wells and -no fresh-water streams, but the dew-point ranges very high indeed. - -One day, in his rambles, Derval came upon a little spot of remarkable -beauty near the sea-shore. Many caverns, the roofs of which sparkle -with brilliant spars, and having fantastic stalactites formed of the -dripping water--genuine coral caverns, beautiful as the -transformation scene in a pantomime, with their reflected lights, -colours, shadows and uncertainties--are to be found in many parts of -these isles, having in them pools of cool water delicious to bathe in. - -Through one of these from the sea-shore--one in which it is said the -poet Waller wrote a portion of his poetical description of Bermuda, -when in exile there he penned his insipid "Battle of the Summer -Isles,"--Derval wandered to where its inner end opened on a beautiful -little dell, an amphitheatre of coral cliffs and verdure, at the -bottom of which lay a salt pool filled always by the sea at each -flood tide, and therein he was certain that more than once he saw a -stealthy shark gliding. - -Bordering it were the palmetto palms, with luscious fruit like plums -in colour, and those enormous leaves, each of which are of such -amazing length that they are used to roof houses; the oak, the ash, -bananas, orange, lemon, mahogany and caoutchouc trees all growing in -luxuriance together, and the coffee plant flourishing wild under the -lofty cedars. - -Delighted with the beauty of the cool and shady place, Derval -stretched himself at length upon the velvet sward, and proceeded to -enjoy a cigar, while watching, high above his head, the struggles of -a small bird which was caught in the web of a spider--one of those -spiders there so remarkable for their size and a peculiar kind of -beauty, and the webs of which are, in colour and substance, a -veritable raw silk. - -His attention was next attracted by the appearance of a lady and a -young girl walking slowly on the summit of a coral rock, or cliff, -that overhung the salt pool. The lady, who carried a large white -sunshade, was proceeding leisurely, reading a book, while the girl -went hither and thither gathering flowers. - -"Take care, Clara darling," he heard the lady say; "keep back from -the edge of the rocks." - -"Do let me gather these flowers," was the entreating reply, "and I -shall make you such a lovely bouquet." - -"Stay, I insist upon it," said the lady. - -"Oh, I shall be so very careful," replied the sweet little English -voice, which sounded so pleasantly to the ears of the listener,--but -a shriek closed the sentence. - -When venturing to the verge to gather the coveted trifle, the girl -had fallen over, and vanished from the eyes of her horrified -companion--her governess, as she eventually proved to be--who fled, -uttering wild and breathless cries for assistance, for she knew that -the little one had fallen from a height of nearly a hundred feet. - -At the same moment a half stifled cry escaped Derval, who, with the -keenest alarm, saw that in her descent a stump of laurel projecting -from the cliff had caught a portion of the girl's dress, a species of -muslin scarf that went round her waist, and there she hung, blind -with terror and silent in her agony, some fifty feet above the rocks -that shelved steeply downward to the pool or salt-water tarn. - -"Keep still, girl, keep still!" cried Derval, who saw that already -her frail protection was beginning to rend, while he instantly -commenced to climb towards her, and as only a British sailor can -climb, finding footing and things to grasp where a landsman would -have found none. - -At last he reached her, but not without incredible difficulty and -great peril, at the very instant when the delicate scarf had nearly -parted, and she must have perished miserably on the rocks or in the -water below. To make assurance doubly sure, he grasped one part of -her dress with his teeth, another with his left hand, winding it at -the same time round his arm, and holding her thus, while she clutched -his neck, he began his descent to the base, breathless and silent; -for to ascend, though the way was shorter, proved impossible, as the -rock over which she had fallen was an impending one. - -The base at last was reached, when Derval could scarcely respire, and -was trembling in every fibre with exertion and anxiety; and intent on -conveying his half-senseless charge to her friends without delay, as -he knew that their grief would be intolerable, he deemed his quickest -way would be through the cavern to the sea-shore; but he had not -proceeded, far, when he found the flood tide was already coming in so -fast, that to pass or repass was impossible, and he could but clamber -up into a recess, and place her there on a dry shelf of the coral -formation till the tide ebbed again; and in that strange shelter -there was a reflected light from the rising water at both ends, that -while it produced some very curious and picturesque effects of colour -and shadow, enabled them to see distinctly around them. - -"Thank you, thank you, sir,--oh so much, so very much!" sobbed the -child (she did not seem to be yet in her teens), and after the terror -and prolonged shock she had undergone, she wept bitterly and -hysterically, with her beautiful little head on Derval's shoulder, -while his arm yet encircled her; but his voice and manner were so -kind, tender, and reassuring, that after a time she became soothed, -and "disengaging" herself from him, as the novels have it, so shyly, -so prettily, and like a little lady, said: - -"Oh, what a fright my poor papa will be in, when Miss Sampler tells -him of my fall! How will he ever be able to thank you, sir!" - -"Thank Heaven, thank Heaven--not me--that you are safe," said Derval, -earnestly. "Poor child! what a fate you have escaped!" he added with -a shudder as he looked at the tender and delicate form, the soft -violet eyes, the rich brown hair, and mignonne face, flushed with -excitement, and thought of what might have been, had he not been -there--had he been too late, or failed in his courageous attempt! - -He gazed on her with all the interest the great service he had -rendered, her great beauty, and her present helplessness all seemed -to excite, and he said, half to himself: - -"Had you fallen to the base, you had been instantly killed; if into -the water, the sharks----" and shudderingly he thought of his recent -episode near Tristan d'Acunha. "I shall ever bless heaven I was so -near you, child!" - -"I am not a child," said she with a pout on her rosy lip, as her -colour came back; "I am twelve years old." - -"And who was the lady with you--your mamma?" - -"Oh no; my dear mamma is dead." - -"Who, then?" - -"My governess, Miss Sampler. Do you live near this?" she asked. - -"I am a sailor, and live in my ship. She is now in the dockyard. -And you--you must, of course, live near this?" he added, seeing that -she was without a head-dress. - -"Yes; in the large white house that has great cannons in front of it, -and where a pretty flag is always flying till sunset, when boom! goes -one of the cannon, and down it comes." - -"It is a garrison, then?" - -"Oh no; it is papa's house. Oh, how papa will thank you for saving -his little girl--he loves me so much!" Her voice trembled and her -soft eyes filled as she said this, and added prettily, "I am the only -one he has now; all my sisters are buried beside mamma." - -"Where?" - -"In England, far, far away--in Devonshire." - -"I know Devonshire well!" exclaimed Derval with growing interest. - -"Do you?" she asked, while her earnest eyes dilated. - -"May I ask your name?" - -"Clara." - -"A pretty name! Clara what?" - -"Hampton. And yours?" - -"Hampton too." - -"How very, very odd!" - -Derval laughed, as the little "situation" began to have "its charm," -in one way, but not quite in another. In their hiding-place, the -whole floor of which was now a stretch of deep and shining water, the -sound of excited voices reached them, as from a distance, from time -to time--the voices of those who, no doubt, were in search of the -lost one, and with whom Derval could not communicate, for -there--either brought in by the flood-tide from the sea, or by it out -of the pool--he could see, at no great distance from the perch -occupied by himself and his shrinking companion, the back or dorsal -fin of a great shark above the surface of the smooth dead water, -while the whole of its awful length was visible beneath it. - -The monster swam slowly to and fro--Derval, sailor-like, never -doubting but it heard their voices, and was only waiting if -opportunity served, or the water rose, to make a mouthful of each of -them; but he felt safe and secure, as they were above high-water -mark, as he could see by the colour of the coral walls; and when, -ultimately, the tide did begin to ebb, Jack Shark passed out with it, -and eventually disappeared. - -Before this came to pass, Derval and the rescued had conversed on -many things; and he found that, young though she was, there was a -sweet, womanly sympathy about her, that led him, unconsciously, to -tell her much concerning himself and his affairs, and how and why he -left pleasant Devonshire to become a sailor; how quickly he had risen -to be third mate of a handsome ship, what a fine fellow Captain -Talbot was, and so forth, and as the little lady listened to him, her -soft eyes filled with interest and wonder. - -At last the ebbing tide left the floor of the cavern, and the shingly -beach without it, completely dry, when the red sinking sun was nearly -level with the sea, all crimsoned now; and giving his hand to his -pretty namesake, he led her forth, and she at once indicated a path -that led from the shore to her home. Ascending this, and passing -through a grove of Palmetto palms, they found themselves on the -plateau of the rock from whence she had fallen, and the appearance of -the place made her shrink to Derval's side, while his arm went kindly -and instinctively round her. But they had not proceeded far when -they came upon a group of excited searchers, perhaps the same whose -voices Derval had heard, and among them were officers in undress, -soldiers from the garrison, seamen from the ships, planters, clerks, -and blacks, their white teeth and eyes gleaming, screaming, -hallooing, and all bearing ladders, ropes, poles, drags, and even -lanterns, for the darkness was close at hand now. - -"Papa, Papa!" suddenly exclaimed the young lady, and snatching her -hand from that of Derval, she sprang like an antelope into the open -arms of a careworn and haggard, but tall and distinguished-looking -man, who had a decided air of good birth and breeding his -planter-like costume, of a broad straw hat and white linen coat and -trousers, failed to mask; and in his close embrace she sobbed -hysterically. - -"Safe, Clara--safe, my child!" said he in a broken voice; and then -there was a minute's pause, during which the haggard lines grief and -alarm had suddenly drawn on his face began already to fade out. "Oh, -my darling, my darling!--what miracle is this?" - -"That gentleman saved me, Papa; saved me, saved me!" was the sobbing -reply. - -"But how is she harmless after such a fall?" asked her father -shudderingly of those around him, and as if unable to believe the -evidence of his own senses, while the crowd closed round. - -Derval briefly and modestly related all that had occurred. - -Then the father of the rescued girl wept as he pressed and retained -Derval's hands in his; but failed to find language in which to thank -him coherently. After a time he asked: - -"Do you belong to a ship of war, sir?" - -"No, sir." - -"To what, then?" asked the other, glancing at the uniform. - -"To the ship _Amethyst_, of London, carrying the flag of the Royal -Naval Reserve," replied Derval, touching his cap, for somehow the -bearing of him he addressed bore the impress of one in no small -authority. - -The latter drew a handsome ring from his finger, and presented it to -Derval, saying: - -"I beg that you will accept of this, and wear it in remembrance of -one whose gratitude you have won for life." - -The stone was a magnificent onyx, and Derval saw, with a start, how -that it bore a shield with three choughs, and the motto _Clarior e -Tenebris_. He bowed, and placed it on his finger, saying: - -"May I ask whom I have the honour of addressing?" - -"This," said an officer (an aide-de-camp apparently), who stood near, -"is Lord Oakhampton, Governor of the Bermudas." - -His remote kinsman and his father's enemy! Confusion, astonishment, -and then something of gratification filled the heart of Derval by -turns, and all together. - -"I am deeply grateful to you, young gentleman, for the great service -you have rendered to me; but may I, in turn, ask your name, that I -may never forget it?" - -"My name, like yours, my lord, is Hampton--Derval Hampton." - -"Are you a Devonshire man?" - -"Yes, my Lord; my father lives at Finglecombe." - -Lord Oakhampton coloured, and a cloud came over his decidedly -handsome face, as he was well aware who Greville Hampton was, and -what his pretensions were; and now, with a little more of hauteur -that hospitality in his manner, he said: - -"Dine with me at Government House to-morrow; eight is the hour, and I -shall be glad to see you then." - -Derval muttered his thanks, and lifted his cap, but ere he retired -Lord Oakhampton shook his hand, Clara gave him hers confidently and -pleasantly, and the interview terminated, for the night had fallen -and Derval had to make his way back to the ship. - -The episode in all its details gave him much food for thought, as he -proceeded slowly homeward. He knew not, till then, that Lord -Oakhampton was in the Colonial Service at all; neither did he know -that by extravagance the peer had found the salary of Governor of the -"vexed Bermoothes," some thousands per annum, a comfortable addition -to a shattered income, while his estates were at dry-nurse. Derval -knew now, however, that he had done an act demanding a supreme amount -of gratitude, from a proud and rather repellent man, who would, -perhaps, rather have been indebted therefor to any other person in -the world, than the son of Greville Hampton; while, on the other -hand, Derval had been taught to view his lordship as his hereditary -enemy, the usurper of his father's rights, though why, or how, Derval -could not define; and that, more than all, in the days of his -father's unexpected penury and obscurity at Finglecombe, he had -sedulously withheld all countenance and assistance from him. - -"By Jove!" thought he; "sharks, sea-lawyers, the sailor's natural -foes, seem to be my friends! One gets me promotion, _vice_ poor Paul -Bitts, and I have the honour of saving a peer's daughter from -another--my little kinswoman, too. I wonder in what degree she is -so--a charming little creature, too!" - -His father seemed of late to have taken but little interest in his -movements or his success; but perhaps this startling episode might -kindle some emotion of revengeful triumph that great good had been -rendered for evil done. - -Derval duly presented himself at Government House next evening, and -was received by Lord Oakhampton with considerable impressment, and by -him was presented, as the rescuer of his child from a dreadful -peril--all Hamilton now rang with the story, though none knew -precisely who the hero was--to a select circle, composed of the heads -of departments, civil and military, the Chief Justice, the two puisne -judges, and so forth; and as Derval was a gentleman by birth, -education, and breeding, all were agreeably impressed by his -appearance, for added thereto, he had now that easy and perfectly -self-possessed manner which is only to be acquired by intercourse -with the world, by travel, and some experience of life; and there -were many things combined, which made Derval Hampton, in expression -and bearing, older than his years. - -Modest and reserved by nature and habit, he was, for a time, rather -abashed to find himself somewhat the lion of the evening, and was -glad when a little change was made in the current of the -conversation, by the appearance of Clara Hampton and her governess -with the dessert; and wonderfully bright and brilliant the little -lady looked, all trace of yesterday's alarm and shock having passed -away; but, though she accorded him her pretty hand very frankly, and -with a wonderful smile of pleasure and welcome, she was very shy with -him now, as contrasted with the mutual confidences they had exchanged -in the cavern, "while Jack Shark was swimming to and fro, keeping a -species of blockade upon them," as Derval laughingly said. - -After a time she drew close to his side, and with great, yet -childlike gracefulness, presented him with a flower from her dress, -saying: - -"I made this bouquet for you. Papa says no one can make a -button-hole--why he calls it so, I don't know--like me." - -So Derval gallantly kissed the little bouquet, and placed it in the -lapelle of his naval coat. - -Ere he left, Lord Oakhampton, thawing considerably in his somewhat -measured manner--a manner born, as Derval knew, of circumstances far -remote from Bermuda--assured him, that if he could do aught for him -in anyway, to command his services. Very pleasant all this, thought -Derval, who supposed he had no true friends in the world save his -shipmates on board the _Amethyst_; but remembering his father's feud -and claims, he returned thanks very reservedly and took his departure. - -For certain reasons, chiefly family considerations, and his own -dislike of all fuss and speculation, Derval said nothing of his -adventure, or his visit to Government House, on board the _Amethyst_, -which lay at Ireland Island, the chief place there for shipping; -thus, great was the astonishment of his "skipper," when an officer in -undress military uniform arrived from Hamilton, the chief town of -these isles, with an official letter addressed to "Captain Talbot, -H.M. Royal Naval Reserve." - -"For you, sir," said the aide-de-camp. - -"From whom, sir?" - -"His Excellency the Governor." - -Captain Talbot was rather, as he afterwards told, "taken aback," but -he said: - -"Won't you have a glass of sherry and a biscuit, sir?" - -"Thanks, very much--no," replied the other, and stepped on shore, -while the surprise of Talbot increased very much when he read the -letter twice over, and then starting up, ordered Joe Grummet to "pipe -all hands," and bring them aft, "and run the ensign up to the gaff." - -"Hats off, my lads," said the Captain, his face glowing with -pleasure; "for this comes from the Queen's representative." - -The letter, of which we only give an outline, proved to be from "His -Excellency Lord Oakhampton, K.C.B., Governor of the Bermuda Islands, -&c. &c.," warmly recommending Mr. Derval Hampton to his captain and -owners for his gallant conduct, which was fully detailed therein; and -congratulating Captain Talbot on having such an officer under him in -the _Amethyst_. - -Whereupon Joe Grummet took off his old battered tarpauline hat, from -a head that was getting grey now, and led the van of three stentorian -cheers for the third mate; and Derval heard them, as he had heard the -letter, with cheeks flushing scarlet, like those of a school-girl, -and a wildly beating heart. - -And in honour of the whole event, which Hal Bowline duly engrossed on -the ship's log, Joe Grummet's whistle was next heard, summoning all -hands to "splice the main-brace," an invitation never unattended to -by sailors, as they are ever ready for a glass of grog. - -The ship was now getting ready for sea, the hatches were being -battened down, the boats hoisted in, the studding-sail gear rove, the -royal yards crossed, &c., and Derval was compelled to spend much of -his time on board of the _Amethyst_; and now came the last day he -could pass, perhaps, on shore. - -Unconsciously he wandered to the little dell of the palmetto and -other trees, the coral cliff and the salt pool, all of which -impressed him so deeply as the scene of a startling adventure. A -fragment of Clara's muslin dress yet fluttered from the laurel stump -by which her fall had been arrested, either on the rocks below or -into the pool, where sharks were as usual swimming whenever the flood -tide floated them in; and as Derval surveyed the cliff up which he -had clambered to her assistance, now, when he had not the impetus of -excitement, he thought himself a very clever fellow, but doubted -whether he could achieve the same feat again. - -Something glittering at the foot of the cliff caught his eye. It was -a locket of gold, the size of a florin, with the name _Clara_ in -pearls on one side--an ornament doubtless lost by Miss Hampton on the -day in question, and he speedily possessed himself of it. Opening -it, he found that it was empty, but prepared at once to restore it, -and do what the rules of society required, to leave with it a -farewell card at Government House. - -On going thither he was informed that Lord Oakhampton had gone to -open the Assembly of Representatives (consisting of thirty-six in -number, four of whom are elected by each parish), so he inquired if -he could see Miss Clara Hampton. - -The valets, who knew the service he had rendered her, ushered him at -once into the drawing-room, where he found her, with all her rich -brown hair loose for coolness, and fanning herself with a large -circular fan, composed of the snow-white feathers of some rare -tropical bird, and intently conning some task set her by Miss Sampler. - -"I have come to bid adieu to your papa and yourself," said Derval. - -"I am so sorry he is from home," she replied, as she gave him her -hand, and with more self-possession than she might have had, if a few -years older, invited him at once to be seated. The soft mignonne -face seemed to Derval's eyes more beautiful than ever in its -childlike purity, and her violet eyes with their long lashes were -full of a bright and earnest expression. - -After a little pause, he placed the locket in her hand. - -"This, of course, is yours; I found it to-day at the place -where--where--I first had the pleasure of meeting you," said he, -seeing that she shivered and half closed her eyes. - -"Oh, do not speak of that place!" she exclaimed, lifting up her -hands; "I shall never, never forget you or it either." - -"I am sorry that the memory of me should be combined with a thought -of horror." - -"Do not imagine I shall think of _you_ in that way," she said very -earnestly; "and as for the locket--will you accept it--will you -permit me to give it to you? Pray do. Papa will be so pleased!" - -And springing to his side, the engaging creature, with rapid and deft -little fingers, attached it to his watch-chain, exclaiming gleefully: - -"Now, does it not look pretty?' - -"Thanks, my dear Miss Clara," said Derval, looking almost tenderly -into her bright upturned face; "but there is something that would -make it look prettier and enhance its value to me." - -"What?" - -"A tiny lock of your hair, as a souvenir when I am far away from -Bermuda." - -"Oh--is that all!" she exclaimed, and with the scissors that lay near -her she snipped off a tress and coiled it into the locket, laughing -merrily the while. "You will come and see Papa again to-morrow, and -let him thank you for me again," said she, interrupting Derval's -thanks, and seeing that he had risen from his chair. - -"For me there is no to-morrow, of leave at least--we must sail ere -the tide ebbs, and make a good offing by sunset. And now," he added, -yet lingeringly, "I must say good-bye." - -"_Bon voyage_, Miss Sampler would say; but a pleasant voyage home to -England I wish you with--with all my heart, Mr. Hampton," she said, -as her smile died away, for recalling the episode which made them -acquainted, the young girl's heart grew very full, and her beautiful -eyes too. - -"Will you give me one kiss ere I go?" said Derval, considering she -was but a child he addressed. - -"Oh yes!" was the frank response, as she innocently held up her -mouth, and the memory of the kiss given by those sweet rosebud-like -lips, haunted Derval pleasantly for many a month to come, when many a -league of ocean lay between him and the Summer Isles. - -Next day saw the _Amethyst_ in the pilot's hands, working out of the -tortuous channel between the reefs, her yards being braced up sharp, -and her tacks being carried far aft to port and starboard -alternately. As she passed in view of Government House the ports -were triced up and she fired nineteen rounds from her brass -nine-pounders in honour of Lord Oakhampton, the flag on whose -residence was dipped to her three times in farewell. - -By that time she was clear of all the rocks; her yards were squared, -and with a fair wind she bore away north-eastward into the evening -sea, the watery highway to "Old England." - - -Some two months after this found Derval, after quitting the -_Amethyst_ at the West India Dock--ever in his mind associated with -the awful day of London fog in which he first saw it--hastening -homeward on a few weeks' leave, and having with him, sailor-like, -presents for all there: a tiger-skin from the Cape for his father's -study; furs of the platypus, soft and grey, from Australia, to make -muffs and cuffs for Mrs. Hampton, and a shawl for her too; a shark's -skull for Mr. Asperges Laud; a model junk for little Rookleigh; -several cosy things for old Patty Fripp; and, moreover, he had -shells, horns, idols, queer ornaments, and all the curious _omnium -gatherum_ which sailors usually pick up--the gathered spoil of years -of wandering and affection. - -He disliked to carry the locket where Clara's hands had hung it. A -day might come--nay, surely would come--when he might have to discard -the gift, lest treasuring a woman's locket, with her name upon it and -her hair within it, might alarm some one dearer to him than life, and -lead to serious complications, although he had not met her yet--or -thought so; thus the locket was consigned to one of his secret -repositories. - -"Home--home!" he exclaimed to himself, and clapped his hands with -glee as the swift express train went tearing on through North Devon, -and the vale of Taunton, with its foliaged slopes, Coddon Hill and -St. Peter's ancient spire, came in sight; on and on yet, and ere long -he should be at Finglecombe! - -Breathlessly he stood at the window of the carriage, in his eagerness -hailing each successive familiar feature in the view. It was the -close of a summer day, and his heart felt full as when he had knelt -at his mother's knee to lisp the prayers she taught him. There -seemed to be something in the white clouds flecking the blue sky; in -the sweet fresh breath of the land breeze, laden with the perfume of -the orchards, the green leaves, and the flowers; in the joyous song -of the birds; in the pretty farms, in field after field as he saw -them, like great green seas of grass, studded with golden buttercups -and snow-white daisies; in the groups of children, in the herds of -cattle going to the pools to drink; in the voice of the lark soaring -aloft; in the familiar peal of the old church bell, like the voice of -an early friend: that all spoke to his brimming heart of England and -of home! - -At last the train went clanking into the station, where porters and -passengers were hurrying to and fro, and in their hot haste jostling -each other. Could this be Finglecombe? Changes were being effected, -and in progress, when he left; but he was by no means prepared for -all he saw now. There was no one to receive him on the platform, -about which he looked as one in a dream. He arrived, as he had -departed, unseen by the eye of a kinsman; and now, for the first -time, something of the old chill he had felt so often years ago, fell -upon his heart. - -A flaring placard, with views of Finglecombe, its terraces, villas, -sea-wall, and various projected improvements then caught his eye. It -was described as one of the most rising places on the western coast, -in a beautiful district, commanding a view of the Bristol Channel; -for yachtsmen and canoeists possessing an unrivalled field, and -attractive walks and drives for the excursionist or pedestrian; a -hotel, telegraph, and railway station, "advantages showing that, as a -centre or head-quarters for the tourist, Finglecombe was unrivalled -indeed; combining, as it did, cheapness of transit, and every means -for amusement, with great natural beauty of situation." - -Had his father found the lamp of Aladdin to produce all this? thought -Derval, as memory went back to the solitary little cottage in the -Combe, where a slice of brown bread, a pat of golden butter, and a -foaming jug of beer, were once deemed a luxurious supper. - -The Hampton family had a carriage now; but Derval, though expected, -was left to make his way home, how he chose or how he could. - -A porter put his portmanteaus on a truck, and, when desired to follow -him to Mr. Hampton's house, received the order with profound respect. -He was a stranger, and knew not Derval, whose own mother might not -have recognised him now--tall, developed in every muscle, brown and -manly in visage, with a dark, if slight, moustache; but amid the -"improvements" at the Combe he became so bewildered, that he was fain -to "drop astern" and let the porter pilot him. - -The handsome entrance gates were reached, and through the sweeping -approach, gravelled to perfection, and bordered by shrubbery and -flower-beds in all their splendour, Derval proceeded till he found -himself, as one in a dream, before the beautiful villa; and as a -portion of that dream, too, he found himself face to face with his -father, who grasped his hand, yet gazed upon him with an expression -in which astonishment at the change in his appearance, too evidently -exceeded the emotion of welcome; nor was it till Patty Fripp threw -her arms round his neck, weeping over and kissing him, in an -obstreperous fashion all her own, that the spell seemed broken, and -that tears sprang to his own eyes, as the ready flood-gates of -affection opened. - -"His mother's darling! his mother's darling and mine!" she continued -to exclaim. "Oh, Master Derval, Master Derval, how glad we are to -have you safe home again!" - -Derval felt a sense of mortification and disappointment. Of all the -sudden and wonderful changes around him, he, the wandering sailor, -had been kept in utter ignorance! Why was this? As a surprise for -him, perhaps, hope suggested. - -He found his father grayer, but less lined in visage than he could -remember him, for prosperity had smoothed out many a line that Mary -had seen growing, to her sorrow. Derval thought his manner nervous, -and that he welcomed him, perhaps with affection, but certainly with -outward constraint, especially when under the cold and observant eyes -of Mrs. Hampton; and when the latter put her large, if white and -shapely, hand into that of Derval, there flashed back upon his memory -that which he had long forgotten--how viciously she flogged him in -the stable with her riding-switch for poodling the cat. - -She seemed quite unchanged since then, as young and handsome as ever, -for no thought, care, or consideration would ever write a line on her -smooth forehead and certainly brilliant face. - -"This is your younger brother, Derval," said his father, as Rookleigh -came to take his place at the late dinner table. He had his mother's -expression of face; her light hazel eyes, only a little more green in -tint and shifty in expression, with short white lashes. Derval went -to him cordially, though he was no longer like the sleeping baby over -whom he had wept on the morning he left home, but a big hulking boy -of eleven years old. - -Rook, as they named him, eyed his elder brother sullenly, -distrustfully, and even malevolently, for already had his mother -contrived to implant in his dawning mind, that this tall sailor was a -species of natural enemy; but his face lighted up and his manner -softened, when this enemy put a handful of silver in his hand, and -produced the model junk, some packets of sweetmeats, a jack-knife, -shells, and many knick-knacks, brought specially for him from far -beyond the sea; and eventually Master Rook, who coveted everything -that Derval had to give, contrived to "screw" loose change out of him -on every available occasion. - -Greville Hampton listened with a curiously mingled expression in his -face--disdain of, and indignation at, Lord Oakhampton, when Derval -related the episode at Bermuda; and then something of real -gratification stole into his features on thinking that the peer's -daughter should owe her life and existence to the skill and prowess -of _his_ son! While, to anything in which Derval shone with credit, -Mrs. Hampton listened coldly, with disdain nearly expressed in her -light-coloured eyes, and had no word of womanly or well-bred -approbation for the feat he had performed, and of which the only -trophy he chose to show, was the signet ring of Lord Oakhampton, with -the three choughs under a coronet, at which Greville gave an angry -grimace, and sat slowly stroking a huge beard he had cultivated since -Derval last saw him. - -"And so you like Captain Talbot and your ship, my boy?" said he, when -Mrs. Hampton and her peculiar care had betaken them to the -drawing-room, and to change the subject of the astounding alterations -at Finglecombe, on which Derval had naturally been expatiating. - -"Like the Captain? He is a genuine brick!" said Derval; "and as for -our ship, no better sails the sea!" - -"Fill your glass, Derval--that Burgundy is better than any we used to -have long ago." - -"Thanks, Papa--'Governor,' I suppose I should call you in the -parlance of the present day--even Rook, I perceive, has adopted it." - -"Bad form, I deem it--very." - -"Whatever I call you, you will ever be the same dear old man to me!" -exclaimed Derval, as his eyes filled, and he wrung his father's hand. -"But I should like you to see the _Amethyst_ under full sail before -the wind, or even close hauled with her tacks aboard!" he added, with -all a seaman's genuine enthusiasm in a really good craft. "She does -indeed skim the waves, as if she were the work of magic. I have -often watched her, as Scott describes the Mertouns watching -Cleveland's vessel, as 'that rare masterpiece by which human genius -aspires to surmount the waves and contend with the winds,' and you -must know that we sailors think that a ship, like a woman, has a will -of her own, yet knows what the helmsman wants of her; so right was he -who said 'she walks the waters like a thing of life'--and this is -precisely what the _Amethyst_ does. Buoyant as a duck, when before -the wind, I have seen her yard-arms nearly touch the great rollers on -each side alternately." - -So multifarious were his father's engagements, and so much was he -pre-occupied by his schemes, that Derval soon found his own society -could be spared, and one of his first acts was to visit the quaint -old parsonage of the Tudor times, and present to Mr. Asperges Laud -the grim natural curiosity he had for him--the head of a shark caught -by Joe Grummet off Tristan d'Acunha, and which he had scraped and -polished till he had rendered it, as he thought, a very high work of -art indeed. - -To reach the parsonage, he had to pass his mother's grave, and as he -approached the well-known spot, with his head uncovered, he -experienced somewhat of a shock, it seemed so neglected and -forgotten; when under the Southern Cross, and far beyond the equator, -how often had his prayerful thoughts come here, and how did he find -it now? - -The tiny, but pretty monumental cross, erected by his father in the -days of their limited means--then almost penury--had fallen down, and -the little patch of grass under which she lay was choked with weeds! - -Even Mr. Asperges Laud had failed in the work of clearing and weeding -it again and again--often with his own hands. But Derval resolved -that not another day should pass, ere this desecration should end. - -The kind old curate received him warmly and affectionately, as if he -had been his own father, and with tears in his eyes, held up his hand -to bless him. - -Incidentally, he told him of the growing wealth of Finglecombe, and -of the great fortune his father was amassing. Derval, who had -naturally inferred that such was the case, now heard it distinctly -for the first time, though he had been kept in ignorance of it; and, -as naturally, he again asked of himself, why was this the case? - -He strove to crush down the unpleasant suspicions of--he knew not -what--that would occur to him again and again, and sought to enjoy to -the full the brief term of his leave of absence. He sought all his -old haunts, but only to find changes; the shingly shore, which he had -been wont to seek for hours, and whence he saw the old weedy hull -floating silently in the bay, was now giving place to a sea-wall and -marine parade; the Druidical stones that formed the Pixies Parlour -had become road metal, and the new hotel occupied its site; the -haunted mill with its moss-grown wheel had given place to a new villa -of astounding design; and he found nothing unchanged but the -Tiws-stone, or rock, named after the Saxon god (of the third day of -the week), on the summit of a hill, where in the deep snows of -winter, it is said, that on certain nights are traced the marks of a -naked human foot, and of a cloven hoof, while the shrieks of the -"whist hounds" are heard with the winding of unearthly horns, in the -hollow below the hill. - -So for a time, a very little time, he gave himself up to the full -enjoyment of the sleepy country life, which was so unlike what he had -been leading for fully four years past. - -Yet in his father's house he felt singularly homeless; by the side of -him whose blood he inherited and of the brother whose blood he partly -shared, he felt as one without kindred, and ever and anon the thought -occurred to him, "What brought me here? I had no pressing invitation -certainly; let me get back to the _Amethyst_ again!" - -Still stronger grew this desire, when one day he overheard his -step-mother say: - -"Greville dear, we must not have him with us long--with his sea -manners and ways; his oaths, no doubt, will come in time, and the -mode of treating the servant-maids too; for even they, and the ladies -he may meet, are so different to all he is accustomed to." - -"Who sent him to sea?" asked her husband curtly, for her remarks were -alike unjust and untrue; but though they had a circle of rather -fashionable friends now, Derval was conscious that none were invited -to meet him; and thus coldness on the part of those who should have -made him welcome, requests often refused, and lectures from Mrs. -Hampton, in a tone unsuited to a lad past eighteen years, provoked a -certain spirit of resistance in Derval. So far were slights carried, -that one day during his father's absence young Rookleigh was placed -at the head of the table. To see a boy of eleven years of age there, -made Derval laugh; but, as Selden says, "you may see by a straw which -way the wind is," and the preference was only a part and parcel of -her whole system. - -One morning, shortly before the time for his departure came, there -occurred two events--or one, we should say, as each was but a part of -the other--which gave Derval some food for reflection. - -Among the letters for post on the hall-table, he saw one in Mrs. -Hampton's handwriting, addressed to "Reeve Rudderhead, Esq., Mate, -Ship _Amethyst_, West India Dock, London." - -"Who the dickens is he?" thought Derval; "we have no such man, and it -is improbable that there are two ships of the same name in the same -dock." - -He inquired of Mrs. Hampton who this Rudderhead was. - -"He has succeeded Mr. Girtline in your ship." - -"As first mate?" - -"Yes." - -"Who told you of this?" - -"My aunt Rookleigh, by letter." - -"And about what are you writing to him?" asked Derval, so abruptly or -suspiciously, that she coloured with annoyance and said: - -"That is _my_ business; besides, he is my cousin-german, and was an -admirer of mine in my girlish days," she added, and left the room. - -Soon after Derval was in the library, penning a letter to Hal -Bowline, and while doing so, the appearance of his own name on the -blotting-pad, several times, in Mrs. Hampton's handwriting, attracted -his attention, and very naturally excited his curiosity. The -blotting-paper was new, yellow tinted, and clean otherwise, and -anxious to know in what way she was interested in his affairs, he -deemed himself quite entitled to examine into the matter; and he -could make out, by the address which was thereto, that the fragments -he could decipher were part of his step-mother's letter to her -nautical cousin, Mr. Reeve Rudderhead, and though unconnected, they -ran thus:-- - -"_... so Derval, you see, is ... y, and for the old love you bore me -... good round sum, rid ... him in any way ... lad and evil ... see -him no more, again ...._" - -Derval read these strange fragments between him and the light again -and again, till he fairly committed them to memory. He could not -make out the mystery, or why she should be writing about him in any -way. He quite failed to understand it, nor could he exactly speak of -it; but he had good reason to remember it when several degrees of -latitude lay between him and Finglecombe. - -He felt that his visit there had been a mistake; that his father was -all but alienated from him by a step-mother who wickedly hated him; -that his step-brother was a greedy, sullen, and most unlikeable -youth. Thus, more than ever, was his loving heart thrust back upon -itself. Why was all this? What had he done beyond the crime of -being the eldest son of his father, that his own flesh and blood -should treat him thus? - -He had but one unalloyed satisfaction during his visit. He received -the Albert Medal for saving the life of Lord Oakhampton's daughter, -and as he looked on it, his heart reverted again to the bright little -maid in that isle of "Vexed Bermoothes," and he wished that the -_Amethyst_ had been bound for that region again, instead of Van -Dieman's Land, or Tasmania as we name it now. - -So the hour of his departure came, and with heedlessness and -mortification curiously mingling in his heart, he once more quitted -his home, on the very day preceding one which Mrs. Hampton had fixed -for a brilliant dinner-party, and when she knew that Derval must, -without fail, be on board his ship. - - - -London: Printed by W. H. Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, S.W. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DERVAL HAMPTON, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/65143-0.zip b/old/65143-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 38e8196..0000000 --- a/old/65143-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/65143-h.zip b/old/65143-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c722b1e..0000000 --- a/old/65143-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/65143-h/65143-h.htm b/old/65143-h/65143-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index ae8b63e..0000000 --- a/old/65143-h/65143-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8112 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> - -<head> - -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> - -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> - -<title> -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Derval Hampton, Vol. I, -by James Grant -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> -body { color: black; - background: white; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-left: 10%; - font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; - text-align: justify } - -p {text-indent: 4% } - -p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } - -p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 200%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - text-align: center } - -p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - text-align: center } - -p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 60%; - text-align: center } - -h1 { text-align: center } -h2 { text-align: center } -h3 { text-align: center } -h4 { text-align: center } -h5 { text-align: center } - -p.poem {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10%; } - -p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; - letter-spacing: 4em ; - text-align: center } - -p.letter {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } - -p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.intro {font-size: 90% ; - text-indent: -5% ; - margin-left: 5% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.report {text-indent: 4% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.finis { font-size: larger ; - text-align: center ; - text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -</style> - -</head> - -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Derval Hampton, Volume 1 (of 2), by James Grant</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<table style='min-width:0; padding:0; margin-left:0; border-collapse:collapse'> - <tr><td>Title:</td><td>Derval Hampton, Volume 1 (of 2)</td></tr> - <tr><td></td><td>A Story of the Sea</td></tr> -</table> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: James Grant</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 22, 2021 [eBook #65143]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Al Haines</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DERVAL HAMPTON, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) ***</div> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - DERVAL HAMPTON.<br /> -</h1> - -<p class="t3b"> - A Story of the Sea.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - JAMES GRANT,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF "ROMANCE OF WAR," ETC., ETC.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - VOL. I.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON:<br /> - W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE,<br /> - PALL MALL. S.W.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - 1881.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - (<i>All rights reserved.</i>)<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> - LONDON<br /> - W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE S.W.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> -CONTENTS. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -CHAPTER I.—<a href="#chap01">"Playing with Shells upon the Shores of Time"</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -CHAPTER II.—<a href="#chap02">"Therefore he loved Gold in special"</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -CHAPTER III.—<a href="#chap03">On board the good ship <i>Amethyst</i></a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -CHAPTER IV.—<a href="#chap04">Under the Southern Cross</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -CHAPTER V.—<a href="#chap05">After Long Years</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p class="t2"> -DERVAL HAMPTON. -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -(A STORY OF THE SEA.) -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> -"Playing with shells upon the shores of time." -</h3> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"I wonder why Heaven sent us into this -world to face the mortifications we have to -endure?" -</p> - -<p> -"Do not say this, Greville, dearest; it is -not for us to judge; we have but to suffer -and endure, and be thankful for life, for -health, and that we are not worse off than -we are." -</p> - -<p> -"Thankful for life!" exclaimed the man, -bitterly. "Why should I be thankful for a -life of poverty, obscurity, and trouble?" -</p> - -<p> -"Trouble is sent, as the preacher tells us, -to make us better and draw us closer to God. -It is 'not my will, but Thine be done'; so -we ought not to question the mystery of -life; and then, husband dear, we have our -little boy!" -</p> - -<p> -As she said this, something of a soft smile -replaced the angry and far-away expression -that filled her husband's dark eyes. -</p> - -<p> -Greville Hampton and his wife Mary—her -hands busy with work—were seated in the -ivy-clad porch of their little cottage on a -bright evening in summer. Before them, at -the end of the vista down the dell in which it -stood, lay the waters of the English Channel -glittering in sunlight, as it rolled away from -Rockham Bay to craggy Hartland Point, a -sheer precipice 300 feet in height. If humble -and small in accommodation, the cottage of -Finglecombe was pretty externally, with its -wealth of creeping plants, and kept scrupulously -neat and clean within, though destitute -of every luxury. -</p> - -<p> -Before the cottage lay the pretty garden -which Greville Hampton tended with his -own hands, and where Mary reared and -twined her flowers. There were the ripening -strawberries, their fresh green leaves lying -lightly on beds of yellow straw, the late -asparagus and wonderful cucumbers under -glass-shades, mellow-flavoured peas in borders, -and wonderful nectarines climbing up the -wall. Behind the cottage, on the south, lay -Finglecombe, (in old Devonian) "The dell -with the hazel boundary," and a lovely dell -it was, bordered by gentle slopes, covered -with those "apple bowers," for which the -district is so famous, in all their luxuriance -and greenery. Yet, all this brought no -pleasure to the eye or mind of Greville Hampton, -a moody and discontented man, one on whom -the world and society had smiled in other -days, and thus he was ever comparing the -present with the irrecoverable past. -</p> - -<p> -There was an air of great refinement in -both husband and wife, an air that contrasted -strongly and strangely with their plain attire -and circumscribed dwelling. Greville Hampton's -face was dark in complexion, aquiline -in feature, a very handsome face, one quite -warranted to claim the unmistakable admiration -his wife had for it, and yet it was not a -pleasing one. His brow was indicative of -intellect and courage; his lip, shaded by a -black moustache, was indicative of a resolute -will and firm purpose; and his dark hazel -eyes, if stern and even gloomy in their normal -expression, could soften with a depth of -affection when they dwelt on the face of -Mary, on the child that was playing at their -feet, or at the approach of a friend, and -showed that he had a warm heart under the -crust in which he was wont to hide it. -</p> - -<p> -Early disappointment, great monetary losses, -and a wrong more real than fancied, the loss -of a title and patrimony, had much to do -with the latter, and hence came the bitter -expression that at times stole over his -well-formed mouth, and the shadow that clouded -a really handsome face. -</p> - -<p> -Mary was indeed a lovely woman, but her -slight girlish figure, and the bright tint of -colour on her soft, Madonna-like cheek, -seemed to speak of a delicacy of constitution, -not quite suited for the hardships and trials -consequent upon the loss of all to which she -had been at one time accustomed. Her -dress was coarse and plain, yet arranged so -tastefully, that her figure made it look -graceful, and it seemed—humble though the -material—to repose on her rounded bust and -limbs with something suggestive of distinction -and placid elegance. -</p> - -<p> -Mary was a brunette, yet with a wonderfully -pure complexion, with small hands and -feet, large dark eyes, and dark silky braided -hair. Like Annie Laurie, of the tender old -Scottish song, "her voice was low and -sweet,"—soft as the low notes of the -stock-dove, and yet men always spoke to her with -a strange sensation of timidity. Often did the -touch of her cool soft hand soothe Greville -Hampton in his times of dejection, and he -found hope and sympathy in the earnest light -of her unreproaching eyes. -</p> - -<p> -She was fond of dress, and what pretty -woman is not? and a time there was when -she had indulged to the full in stylish things, -and always wore silks of the most delicate -colours in the carriage, or in the evening; -but she had to content herself with dresses -of other material and more sombre tints, that -were turned more than once, as she had to -do much of her own economical millinery, -and darn her gloves again and again; but -Mary was always content, and would smile -happily when Greville would say, with something -of his old lover-like gallantry, "Dearest -Mary, it is you who will make any dress -seem charming, and not dress that enhances -you." -</p> - -<p> -Between them, and at their feet, sat their -only child, little Derval, a pretty golden-haired -boy of six, intent on playing alternately -with a toy ship and building a house -of little wooden blocks, which he would rear -and carefully construct again and again, each -time that the tiny edifice was finished, -demolishing it with a shout of laughter to -begin his labour anew. -</p> - -<p> -"Come, Derval," said his mamma, after -they had been watching him, fondly and -silently, for nearly half-an-hour, while the sun -sank beyond the sea, "it is time for bed, so -put away your toys, darling." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I wish the sun wouldn't go down -just yet," the little fellow exclaimed; "do -let me make one more Pixies' house, -mamma." -</p> - -<p> -"Pixies!" said Greville, with one of his -bitter laughs. "By Jove! I wish that the -Pixies, be they fairies or fiends, would show -us where some treasure is buried, or teach me -the art of growing rich!" -</p> - -<p> -"God grant, Greville dearest," said Mary, -meekly, "that the child may always be as -happy and innocent as he is now." -</p> - -<p> -"God grant, I say, that he may be rich—rich -as we once were—richer, at least, than -we are to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"Wealth does not bring happiness, Greville." -</p> - -<p> -"It brings the nearest approach to it, -Mary; a light heart generally goes with a -heavy purse. It is not so much for myself, -as for the child and you, Mary, that I wish -the past could come again—but the past with -its experience. 'Twere useless else. You are -lost here, with your perfect manner, your -sweetness, your talents and high accomplishments." -</p> - -<p> -"Lost when I am with you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, lost; who and what are our immediate -neighbours?" -</p> - -<p> -Mary smiled silently, for she knew well -that the occupants of Finglecombe village—a -village as red as the soil, consisting only of -rude cob-cottages as they are called—were -only weavers of pillow-lace; and that the -homely manners and slip-shod conversation of -these, and of the adjacent farmers, with their -incessant talk of short-horns and the merits -of the Devonshire breed, their cows and -"yowes," the weather and the turnip-fly, -worried and bored her husband at times, -though he was too well-bred to let them see -that it did so; and they, on their part, were -perfectly aware that there was a vast difference -and distance between themselves and -the mysterious and lonely gentlefolks who -vegetated in the sequestered little cottage of -Finglecombe. -</p> - -<p> -And yet, how Greville Hampton envied the -contentment of the dwellers in those -cob-cottages—people with whom the world seemed -to go precisely as they wished it to do; and -who deemed that human life out of Finglecombe -and beyond the circuit of its interests -and apple-orchards, must be a dull affair -indeed for the greatest portion of mankind. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Derval!" he sighed, as he saw the -reluctance with which the child at last -gathered up his toys; "Dryden was right—'men -are but children of a larger growth'; -children who often toil a lifetime in rearing -fabrics unstable as yours. Kiss papa, darling, -and now to bed." -</p> - -<p> -So while Mary bore away her darling, -undressed him, smoothed all his golden curls, -and tucked him tenderly into his little crib; -while she knelt beside it, folded his little -pink hands devoutly, and made him repeat -after her a simple childish prayer, of love and -faith, and that God might bless papa and -mamma, and give Derval a good night's rest; -while, after this, she had to tell him stories -of the flowers in the garden, the birds and -the little lambs, and especially of the Pixies, -those wonderful Devonshire fairies, who, -though invisibly small, ride the farmers' -horses nearly to death, steal the fruit and -pound their own cider in holes and corners; -and while she covered his rosy cheeks with -the tenderest kisses ere he coaxed himself to -sleep, her moody husband lost in his own -thoughts, his briar-root pipe grown cold, had -been gazing on the sea, and the wide expanse -of Barnstaple Bay shining in the last glow -of the set sun. -</p> - -<p> -The beauty of the Devonshire coast, with -all its bluffs and rocks, its wonderful verdure -and glorious "apple-bowers now mellowing in -the moon," had no charms for the soul of -Greville Hampton, whose mind at that time -was running on the London life from which -he was a hopeless exile now, the life in which -he once bore a brilliant part. -</p> - -<p> -Well did he know all that was passing, -and on the <i>tapis</i> at that identical season! -That the club at Sandown was flourishing as -it never flourished before; that Prince's was -in all its glory; that the meetings of the -Coaching Clubs and four-in-hands had all -been arranged, without his team of roans -being expected at the Serpentine; that -Richmond, Hurlingham, and the Orleans Club -were all extant, though they knew not him, -and that even his name was recalled at none -of them now. Already had the attractions of -Epsom and Ascot begun, combining those of -hospitable country-house life with wild -excitement of the race-course and betting-ring; -and he knew that the sons and daughters of -pleasure were striving to crush as much -brilliant amusement as was possible into the -interval between flowery Whitsuntide and the -epoch of Goodwood in its glory, and the -yacht regattas at Cowes. -</p> - -<p> -His mind, we say, was full of all these -things—fierce, high, bitter, and regretful -thoughts all mingling together—when Mary, -full only of the sleeping face of her child, -gentle and unrepining, content and hopeful, -crept hack to resume her knitting by his side. -</p> - -<p> -Her knitting! How the proud man winced -as he saw her white hands so humbly employed. -</p> - -<p> -"Derval is asleep?" said he. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; and the dear pet lamb, how sweetly -he does sleep!" replied Mary, her soft voice -almost tremulous with the pleasure of her -maternal love; "I remained watching him -for a time, and wondering—wondering in my -heart—" -</p> - -<p> -"What, Mary?" -</p> - -<p> -"What awaited him in the unseen future," -she replied, as she fixed her eyes, not upon -the face of her husband, but on the far -horizon of the sea, yet tinted with ruddy -gold by the sun that had set. -</p> - -<p> -"Were the book of destiny laid before you, -Mary, would you have the courage to turn a -leaf?" asked her husband in a strange and -hard voice. -</p> - -<p> -"I fear, Greville, dear, I should lack the -courage," said Mary, as she ceased to knit, -and her white hands lay idle in her lap. -</p> - -<p> -"If wealth—if riches—be not written there, -I care not what the leaf contains! Not that -I entirely believe in destiny; in many -instances we make our own, as I, to a certain -extent, made ours, by becoming a victim of -others; but a destiny over which I have no -control deprives me of my birthright; and I, -who ought now to be twelfth Lord Oakhampton, -and tenth Lord of Wistmanswood, am a -poor and needy man. So I say again, Mary, -if wealth be not before our little Derval, in -the years to come, I care not what may be, -with all my love of him!' -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Greville, do not—do not talk thus!" -said Mary, imploringly; "suppose death were -to come, and our child, the sole bright star -in our otherwise cloudy sky, went out, leaving -us in utter darkness!" Her voice broke at -the idea of the hopeless desolation she -conjured up, and her eyes filled with tears, for -she was a sensitive creature. "Suppose this -were to happen," she continued, "and you -saw me, with fond and lingering hands, -folding and putting past, as priceless treasures, -the little garments they had made, the tiny -socks they had knitted, and the broken toys -that would be required no more, while -turning away heart-sick from the sight of happy -parents, whose little ones were spared to -them, and striving to console ourselves with -the conviction that all things come from -Heaven. I share your hope and wish, -Greville, that Derval may be rich, and great -too, but I would rather that he were good -than either!" -</p> - -<p> -"Rich he shall be, I hope, before I -die," exclaimed Greville Hampton; "and I -have strange dreams at times, Mary, that -seem the harbingers of something to come," -he added gravely, and in a lower tone, -"Wealth——" -</p> - -<p> -"What need of wealth, dearest? we can -save, out of our little pittance for Derval; he -is the only chick we have to scrape for," she -interrupted him, and took his passive hands -caressingly within her own. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Mary," he replied bitterly, without -heeding her question, "I have in my time -feasted at the table of Dives, while Lazarus -stood without the gate, and now I seem, in -turn, to have taken his place." -</p> - -<p> -"How can you talk thus wildly, dear -Greville; have we not every necessary that -life requires?" -</p> - -<p> -"True; but not the position and the -luxuries to which we were accustomed." -</p> - -<p> -This was but one of many such conversations -to which she was accustomed, and -Mary sighed wearily at her husband's incessant -repining, as she said, while glancing -furtively at her plain dress: -</p> - -<p> -"Luxuries can be done without; but you -have been having some of your tantalising -dreams again." -</p> - -<p> -"I have, indeed, Mary," said he, with his -eyes fixed on vacancy, for the visions that -haunted his mind in the hours of sleep by -night, or when his thoughts were drifting -back to the material world in the early hours -of morning, showed the tenor of those other -dreams that haunted him in the hours of -wakefulness by day. -</p> - -<p> -"Was it again of the mysterious treasure -ship—the quaint old Argosy stranded in -yonder Barnstaple Bay, deserted by her crew -and left high and dry by the ebbing sea, with -the great golden doubloons flowing in torrents -through her gaping seams, and piled like -glittering oyster-shells in heaps upon the -sand, where you and I were gathering them -up in handfuls—for you often have such -fancies in your sleep, Greville?" she added, -nestling her sweet face lovingly and -laughingly on his neck, anxious to soothe and -humour him. -</p> - -<p> -"It was not of ships, Mary," he replied, -with an arm caressingly around her; "but of -a strange and wondrous land—a scene amid -stupendous mountain ranges, like what we -have heard of, or read of, as being in the Great -Basin of California, or the Cordilleras, -hemmed in on every side by mighty steeps. -It was indeed a strange dream, Mary, and -most vivid, distinct and coherent in all its -details—painfully so, when the moment of -waking came. Falling aslant the mountains -the sun's rays struck upon a streak in a mass -of volcanic rock, which gave back a yellow -gleam. I struck the mass with a hammer—a -fragment fell at my feet—it was gold—pure -gold! Again and again I struck, and -huge nuggets of the precious metal fell -down before me, while at every stroke my -heart beat painfully yet exultingly, and my -breath came thick and fast. I was there, -I thought, alone; the land around me was -my own, with the conviction that far in -the bosom of the mighty mountains rose -the strata of precious metal—a wondrous -land, where the teeth of the black cattle, -of the mules and the goats that grazed upon -their grassy sides, were tinted yellow by -the gold with which the soil abounded. -Could my dreamland have been in -California?" he asked, as if talking to -himself. "What visions of boundless wealth -came before me; and what mighty power -would that wealth command! Again and -again I wielded my hammer, and the heap -before me seemed to increase, till my brain -became giddy with the thoughts that swept -athwart it. Could my vision have been of -California?" he continued dreamily to -himself, rather than to Mary; "it must have -been—it must have been among the Rocky -Mountains that my soul was wandering while -my body slept." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Greville, darling, don't talk in this -wild way." -</p> - -<p> -"I should like to search for that place, -Mary; it exists somewhere, and I am sure I -should know it again." -</p> - -<p> -"Heavens, Greville, you would not think -of going there, and on the strength only of -a dream?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, Mary; you are not adapted to the -life of a digger's wife," said he with a tender -smile. -</p> - -<p> -"As little as you are to be a digger," she -replied, while caressing his hand, which, -though manly, was a white one. -</p> - -<p> -"The dream seemed a long, long one, -Mary, though doubtless short enough in -reality, so true it is, a writer tells us, that -there is a drowsy state between sleeping and -waking, when you dream more in five minutes -with your eyes half open and yourself half -conscious of everything passing around you, -than you would do in five nights with your -eyes fast closed and your senses wrapt in -perfect unconsciousness! So it was with me -Mary; but the mountains seemed to sink; -the scene to change and resolve itself into -sweet and peaceful Finglecombe, with all its -orchards and the Bay shining in the rising -moon, even as it is doing now; but the heap -of golden ore was still before me—till I awoke -with a start, to find myself again—a -beggar!" -</p> - -<p> -"But beside we," said Mary, with a little -laugh that ended in a sigh; "and if your -dream will bear reading at all, Greville, it -must be that your riches lie, not in California, -but here in Finglecombe; though what they -are, or where they are, unless they be Derval -and me," she added, kissing him, "goodness -only knows." -</p> - -<p> -But full of his vivid dream, Greville -Hampton made no response immediately. He sat -lost in thought, passively gazing on the Bay, -glittering and rippling beyond the boundary -of his garden where a fallen beech of vast -dimensions lay, with its end half-hidden in a -rose-tree that was a mass of bloom. There -was silence in the place—a drowsy summer -silence; the sounds of the distant cob-village -came faintly mingled with the lap, lap, -lapping of the waves upon the shore. -</p> - -<p> -"Supper waits, ma'am," said Patty Fripp, -suddenly appearing in the porch, which was -a veritable bower of roses and Virginia-creeper, -for Patty—a robust and honest -countrywoman, who was nurse to Master -Derval, cook and housemaid by turns, and all -together at times, and had come as a retainer -to his father's house in better days, when she -was a blooming lass of eighteen—was close -on the wrong side of fifty now, but true as -steel in their altered fortunes to Greville -Hampton and her mistress. -</p> - -<p> -He allowed himself to be led by Mary -indoors, where in their snug little parlour, a -room made pretty by many a knick-knack, the -work of her industrious hands, a plain repast -awaited them; the home-brewed ale frothed -creamily in a great antique silver tankard, -that had served his sire and grandsire before -him, and which, nearly the sole family relic, -bore the heraldic choughs borne by so many -Cornish and Devonshire families; and there -were ruddy cheese, snow-white bread, and -dainty butter, all prepared by Mary's pretty -hands; but there was a shadow upon Greville's -brow to-night that even she could not -dispel; for while he regretted very bitterly—half -savagely, almost—the luxuries to which -he had once been accustomed in Belgravian -dining-rooms and Pall Mall clubs, the rich -<i>entrĂ©es</i> and rare wines, Mary—who had also -been accustomed to luxury—took her food -contentedly, and thought the while of the -many men and women and little children—children -like her own golden-haired Derval—who -had neither dinner nor supper to sit -down to. -</p> - -<p> -Her perfect and sublime trust in the -conviction that all things were ordered for the -best, and her sweet yet strong reliance on -God in every way, were certainly touching to -Greville, but he failed utterly in falling in -with her views, or sharing her content and -trustfulness, and when assured by her that -thousands and thousands of others were not -so well off in worldly matters as themselves, -he failed also to find any ground for -complacency in any such statistics; and so, -whether it was the influence of his golden -dream, or of his general discontent, on this -night, his broad open brow, his firm lips, and -dark eyes, wore that peculiar expression which -they did at times, and which we have said -was certainly not a pleasing one, when he -deemed himself to be haunted by his evil -destiny—the Demon of Impecuniosity. -</p> - -<p> -Mary left nothing undone or untried to add -to his comforts, and he knew that her -beautiful and delicate hands had often done, -and had yet to do, rougher work than -they were ever intended for, though it was -often done in secret, to prevent him from -seeing it; but Patty Fripp knew of it -well. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Greville Hampton, as if assenting -to his own thoughts, after he had drained -the antique silver tankard, and fixed his eyes -for a moment upon the shield <i>argent</i>, with -three choughs, gules, engraved thereon, and -the crested chough that surmounted a coronet -with the motto <i>Clarior e Tenebris</i> (Brighter -from Obscurity), "yes, may the words be -ominous of good! If I could but think that -Derval would certainly be rich, and should -never know the privations we have suffered -and the deprivations to which we have been -subjected, I think, Mary, I could die happy." -</p> - -<p> -"The same repining thoughts still, Greville!" -said Mary, softly and entreatingly. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, still, Mary." -</p> - -<p> -"Derval," said she, as she resumed her -knitting, "has his youth and all his life before -him." -</p> - -<p> -"But without some effort on my part it -will be a life of half penury and whole -obscurity in Finglecombe. But how is that -effort to be made? You would not have our -boy grow up the associate and companion of -these villagers and lace-makers! Among -whom else will his lot be cast? I would -rather see him in his grave, Mary." -</p> - -<p> -"Do not say so. The misfortunes you have -undergone have made you unreasonably bitter; -but let us hope, Greville, for the best," she -added, running her slender fingers caressingly -through his thick dark hair. -</p> - -<p> -"Bitter! unreasonable! Have I not been -mulcted of my proper inheritance? Is not -the position—the rank which ought to have -been mine and my father's before me—now -held by another? Have I not been robbed -by fashionable gamesters, swindlers, and false -friends!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yet it is for such society as those that -you repine!" -</p> - -<p> -"It is not so, Mary; what happened once -could never happen again. I know better -now." -</p> - -<p> -"The man who calls himself Lord Oakhampton——" -</p> - -<p> -"And who holds the broad lands and stately -house that should be mine—knows well, if the -world at large knows it not—through a quibble -he is a usurper! Oh, my own Mary!" he -exclaimed, while tears glittered in his flashing -eyes, and he glanced with angry scorn round -the tiny apartment, "when I wooed and won -you in the happy past time, you who were -reared in the lap of luxury, wealth, and refinement. -I little foresaw that I would ever bring -you, in the end, to a home so humble as this!" -</p> - -<p> -"But I am with you to share it, Greville, -and I do not repine—unless, perhaps, -for the child's sake. But why do you tell -me these things again and again, darling? -Is it," she added, with one of her brightest -and most witching smiles, "to lure me into -repeating how much and how truly I love -you, as if I were a girl again in that second -London season, which ended so sweetly for -us both?" -</p> - -<p> -She would have thrown her soft arms -around him, but a spirit of anger filled his -heart, and he paced to and fro the little -room like a caged lion; and Mary regarded -him anxiously, for she had a dread of her -husband's crotchets taking some active and -dangerous form, especially if he were again -to have that Californian dream; for when -one's life, as a writer says, is a constant -trial, "the moments of respite seem only to -substitute the heaviness of dread for the -heaviness of actual suffering;" and Mary was -indeed far from strong. There was a greater -delicacy in her constitution than Greville -was the least aware of, a delicacy that, -though it alarmed herself, for his sake and -their child's she kept her lips sealed on the -subject, lest the knowledge thereof might -add to the regret of Greville for the past, -and his "worry" for the present. -</p> - -<p> -"If this life cannot be endured, it must -be cured—to reverse a vulgar saw, Mary," -said he, continuing his short promenade; -"if I cannot be rich, Derval shall be so, if -any scheme of mine can achieve that end; -and as soon as he is old enough, I shall -teach him how money can make money, and -how to keep it hard and fast—hard and fast—when -it is made, and not be a fool like his -father." -</p> - -<p> -"Teach not the child thus, Greville, I -implore you," said Mary, relinquishing her -knitting; "of what avail will it be, if I strive -to make him virtuous, kind to the poor, -prudent and industrious, if you instil precepts -so stern, so cold and selfish into his young -mind? If you have affection for me, Greville -dearest, abandon such cruel ideas and -plans, or I will begin to think you a changed -man, and the Greville Hampton of to-day is -not Greville that won the love of my girlhood—yea, -and of my life," she added with great -tenderness. -</p> - -<p> -"I am a changed man—I admit it—a sorely -changed man, in all things but my love for -you, Mary," he replied, as he stooped and -kissed her bright little upturned face, and -perhaps thought for a moment—but a moment -only—that no man could be unhappy who -had the smile and love of such a woman as -Mary to brighten the path and lighten the -burden of his life. -</p> - -<p> -"Riches are good and a godsend," said she, -"if employed aright and not as a means of -pleasure only." -</p> - -<p> -"Aright?" repeated Greville, who was -thinking of the clubs he once frequented, -his whilom team of roans, and Ascot -perhaps. -</p> - -<p> -"Pleasure as a means of doing good and -protecting the poor, assisting merit and -rewarding ingenuity. The rich man who -presumes on his wealth, and the poor man -who desponds on his poverty are—" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, don't preach, Mary darling, leave that -to our friend Asperges Laud. You are a duck -and an angel, but I can't quite agree with -you," he added with a sigh as he filled -his briar-root with tobacco of a kind he -would have disdained to smoke once. -</p> - -<p> -Many emotions combined to fill Mary's -eyes with tears, but to conceal them she -turned away to seek Patty's aid in the -preparation of some jellies for one of her -pensioners—for though so poor herself she had -several—a deformed girl who was dying of -consumption; and in spare times she was -wont to read good and amusing books by the -bedsides of the old and blind, who were ailing -or unable to be abroad. She had even -pensioners among the little birds, for whom she -daily spread out crumbs, especially in winter, -upon her doorstep, whither they would come -without fear of Mary's pet cat, which was too -well fed to meddle with them. -</p> - -<p> -Greville Hampton was in an unusually -bitter mood that night, and long, long he sat -abandoned to it after Mary had given a final -but lingering look at the little subject of their -anxieties, folded in his pretty cot, "like the -callow cygnet in its nest," and then sought -her pillow. -</p> - -<p> -Evil spirits—envy, anger, and avarice—were -struggling in the man's heart, with a -keen sense of unmerited wrong inflicted on -him, of injustice he had suffered, the black -ingratitude of friends, and of his own -extravagance and reckless folly in the past; -and had there been a close observer present -to watch his handsome features, they would -have read by the working of these, how each -passion prevailed in turn. -</p> - -<p> -Finally, he emptied his cherished briar-root -by tapping it on the hearth, put it in its case -with an emphatic snap, and muttering, -as he sought the side of his sleeping -wife, -</p> - -<p> -"Surely God will hear Mary's prayers, if -not mine, that Derval may be rich—but never -the luckless creature I am to-night." -</p> - -<p> -Derval, a chubby child of six, with rosy -dimpled cheeks, his mother's snowy skin, and -his father's deep dark eyes, with a wealth of -golden curls that rose crisp and in upward -spouts from his forehead, grew fast, while -the care of his boyish education devolved -wholly on the delicate Mary, for Greville, -though educated at Eton and finished off at -Oxford, was too erratic by nature, and with all -his love of their offspring, too impatient to -share in the task of tutelage; in which, -eventually, she was fully and powerfully, to -her great gratitude, assisted by the Reverend -Asperges Laud, the only visitor who shed a -little light on their humble dwelling, and who -was also the only link, as it seemed, that they -cared to preserve between their past life and -the present. -</p> - -<p> -In his fortieth year, the Curate of -Finglecombe—a place in which he was utterly lost, -because of its obscurity, and where he -subsisted on a mere pittance—was a man of -considerable talent, and no small accomplishments. -He had gained high academic honours -in philosophy and theology, and was already -known as author of several celebrated prize -essays; he therefore proved a valuable friend -to Mary and her little boy. -</p> - -<p> -The Reverend Asperges Laud, M.A., Oxon., -belonged not to the days of "nasal clerks and -top-booted parsons." He was a man of broad -and advanced views, with somewhat stately, -yet very soft and gentle manners, who intoned -his services, had matins and evensong, wore -a coat with remarkably long tails, a Roman -collarino and a broad hat of soft felt garnished -with a black silk rosette, and was furtively -addicted to the flute. -</p> - -<p> -He had little choir boys in white collars -and black surplices; called his altar-table -"the sanctuary," and had four candles -thereon which, in wholesome fear of the -Court of Arches and His Grace of Canterbury, -he dared not light as yet; and there was -much about him that—according to the -Methodists in the district—savoured of the -City of the Seven Hills, yet, "a man he -was to all the country dear." -</p> - -<p> -All the neighbours about Finglecombe, but -none more than Mr. Asperges Laud, were -delighted with Mary's grave, sweet eyes, her -softness of manner, her goodness of heart, -her refined and cultivated mind, all of which -lent additional charms to a certainly very -statuesque little face. -</p> - -<p> -And Greville had won the hearts of the -farmers, by riding, controlling and breaking -in, for one of them, a dare-devil horse, that -no jockey in Devonshire could ride, and had -thereby won himself emphatically the -reputation of being "a man every inch of -him." -</p> - -<p> -But both husband and wife were very -reserved, and the few who ventured to call on -them when they first dropped from the clouds, -as it were, into Finglecombe, could not -truthfully assert that, though politely welcomed, -they were urged to come again. Whether -this came of a sense of shyness, or of haughty -exclusiveness, none could precisely decide. -Some averred it was the former in the wife -and the latter in the husband, and perhaps -they were right. -</p> - -<p> -"Both seem only to live for each other -and their little boy," said Mr. Asperges Laud, -their only and regular visitor in the end, and -he was right certainly. -</p> - -<p> -Thanks to the tutelage of the worthy -curate, the childish mind of little Derval -Hampton began to expand, and he ceased to -wonder if the sea he saw rolling in Barnstaple -Bay, between craggy Hartland Point and -sandy Braunton Burrows, and the uplands -that bordered Finglecombe, were all the -world contained; for dreams, visions and a -distant knowledge of other seas and shores -came upon him, and with the knowledge -there came in time the usual boyish crave to -see and know them. -</p> - -<p> -In Finglecombe, a lonely dell, where the -apple groves grew entangled, and a brawling -stream, concealed by their foliage from the -sunshine, ran between banks of moss-grown -stones towards the Bay, was an excavation or -cavern in a wooded hill, known as the Pixies -Parlour, a place he was wont to explore with -fear and excitement, but in the daytime of -course; and near it on the shore was a place, -never to be visited at any time, for therein -were sights to be seen that none could look -upon and live—the Horses' Hole, a cavern -dark as night, full of pools of water, and -running an unknown distance under ground, -wherein a horse black as jet had found its -way, and came forth with its coat changed -to snowy white; but as he grew older the -place of deepest interest for him was the -ruined Castle of Oakhampton, and the place -named Wistmanswood, whence came the -titles of that peerage his father deemed his -right. -</p> - -<p> -The wood always impressed him with fear -and haunted him in his dreams—for it was -one of the wonders of Devonshire, and is -said to have been unchanged in aspect since -the days of the Norman Conquest—a vast -grove of dwarf oaks, interspersed with -mountain ashes, everywhere covered by masses of -fern and parasitical plants, growing amid -gigantic blocks of stone,—the clefts of which, -and the thorny undergrowth, are swarming -with poisonous adders, and form the shelter -of innumerable foxes—a strange and weird -place, amid the desolation of which the -scream of the bittern is yet heard, and the -whole appearance of which conveys the idea -of the hoary age in the vegetable world of -creation; yet here on more than one occasion -did the somewhat gloomy Greville Hampton -lead his impressionable and shrinking boy by -the hand, for to him the old Druid wood in -its waste and decay seemed sympathetic with -his own fallen condition and impoverished -state. And but for the sake of the future of -that dear child whose hand he held, and -unconsciously almost crushed in the bitter -energy of his thoughts at such times, he -would have wished himself as dead as one of -those hoary trees; for to Greville Hampton -often came a strange feeling of weariness of -life, and then he longed for that day to come, -when failure or success in aught would matter -nothing, when the sun would rise, but not -for him, and all the world go on as usual -while he should be at rest and beyond all -care and trouble. -</p> - -<p> -And little Derval in the golden morning -of his life, often wondered already what it -was clouded his father's brow and made his -manner so triste and pre-occupied. -</p> - -<p> -"It is not given to man to choose his own -position in this world," said Mr. Asperges -Laud gently to Hampton on one occasion; -"but it is given to him to feel honestly -content, and without useless repining, in the -place so assigned." -</p> - -<p> -"Another and better place in the world -than that I now occupy, was assigned to -me; but—" and Greville Hampton paused, -as something very like an imprecation rose -to his quivering lips. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile Derval, save for his mother's -care and Mr. Laud's tuition, would have -grown up in rather a rough and scrambling -manner; as it was he was a little undisciplined; -prone to bird-nesting, seeking the -eggs of the choughs and cormorants among -the rocks; helping himself to apples in -anyone's orchard, and rambling far afield, and -clambering up eminences where he could see -the variously tinted groves that bordered on -the deep blue bay, the distant sea itself—glorious, -glittering and far-stretching; the -brown boats drawn up on the golden sands; -the passing ships under white canvas, or the -steamers with volumes of dusky smoke -curling far on the ambient air. He was -rather addicted, we fear, to playing the -truant, and especially of skipping if he could -the afternoon class for catechism held by -Mr. Laud in his church at Finglecombe, a quaint -old fane, concerning which there is a terrible -old legend well-known in Devonshire. In -1638 a ball of fire burst into it during time of -service, killing and wounding, or scorching, -sixty-six persons, and this event took in -time a wild form, and we are told how the -devil, dressed in black, inquired his way on -that identical Sunday of a woman who kept -a little ale-house at the end of the Come, -and offered her money to become his guide. -</p> - -<p> -But she, distrusting him, offered him a -tankard of good Devonshire cyder, which -went hissing and steaming down his throat; -and her suspicions were confirmed, when, as -he rode off towards the church, she saw his -cloven foot, and a few minutes after the -terrible catastrophe occurred, and -Finglecombe church was strewn with dead and -dying—a story that often made little Derval -cower in his crib in the gusty nights of -winter. -</p> - -<p> -What was to be his future, some twelve -years hence, was the ever-recurring thought -of his parents. -</p> - -<p> -Greville feared he would inevitably grow up -a rough country lad, and already, man-like, -he shivered at the idea of Derval—<i>his</i> -son—becoming such, and in the time to come, getting -up "a copse and hedgerow flirtation" with a -daughter of some cob-cottager—marrying her -it might be, and being thus inevitably dragged -down into the mire. At such thoughts his -heart used to die within him. -</p> - -<p> -We have said that Mary Hampton's constitution -was a peculiarly delicate one, and -now an illness fell upon her which was to -prove only the beginning of the end. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Laud averred that at Christmas-time -none could decorate his little church, -especially "the sanctuary" thereof, so tastefully -as Mary, with scarlet hollyberries and green -glistening leaves, and so, on one occasion -having prolonged her labours in the cold, -damp edifice far into the late hours of a -winter night, she caught a chill, fevered, and -became hopelessly consumptive. Her cheeks -grew hollow, her lips pale, and there came -into her sweet sad eyes a pathetic and settled -intensity of expression. -</p> - -<p> -She was desired by the doctor to cease -from exertion, to abstain from all household -work, and to drink plenty of good wine, to -procure which Greville Hampton deprived -himself of many little things to which in his -reduced position he had been -accustomed—an occasional cigar, or a glass of cheap -Marsala; and when he thought of the past, -the strong man's tender and loving heart was -wrung, when he heard her hacking cough, and -he saw her seated, pale and feeble, her -delicate hands unable to persevere even in -sewing a little jacket for Derval that lay on -the table before her. -</p> - -<p> -And now the kind curate, whose threadbare -coat covered a noble heart, brought her many -a bunch of luxurious grapes, and many a -bottle of good wine—port of fabulous -antiquity—which had been sent to himself from the -Hall, the abode of the Squire, whom Greville -had known in other days, but who now knew -him not. -</p> - -<p> -To procure comforts for Mary, in his -desperation he appealed to his remote kinsman, -Lord Oakhampton; but the application was -ignored—no answer ever came, and for some -time black fury filled the heart of the proud and -fiery, but powerless and impoverished man. -</p> - -<p> -Anon he thought, what other treatment -could he expect? -</p> - -<p> -Did not Lord Oakhampton know well that -in society, on every occasion, he, Greville -Hampton, had denounced him as the usurper -of his property and title—a denunciation the -truth of which, legally, as yet, he could not -prove? -</p> - -<p> -"Oh," he would exclaim, "for a little of -the wealth I have wasted in the foolish past -time—for Mary's sake—for Mary's sake!" -</p> - -<p> -How bitter it was to look back in the light -of experience and think of what might be -now, had he been wiser than he was! And -his whole soul recoiled at the contemplation -of the awful loneliness of life without her, if -Mary were taken from him. -</p> - -<p> -Her fast failing health drew him from his -usual selfish and useless repining over the -past, or if he did so, it was for her sake alone -now; for that she was failing and passing -away from him day by day, became painfully -apparent; a cough shook her delicate form, -and again and again was her handkerchief -soaked in blood. And he could only groan -over the poverty that precluded all change of -air, or scene, and the employment of greater -medical skill than that possessed by the -country practitioner. But no skill could have -availed Mary; and the frail tenure of her life, -despite all his love and anxiety, was only a -thing of time. -</p> - -<p> -The consumption that was wasting her -delicate form only served to make her beauty -seem more tender, alluring, and pathetic to -the eyes of her sorrow-stricken husband, to -whom she said more than once, with her -head reclined on his breast— -</p> - -<p> -"If I am taken from you, Greville darling, -I trust you will think of the past less -regretfully, of the future more hopefully, and -remember that we are, while here, but as 'little -children playing with shells upon the shore of -time.'" -</p> - -<p> -"You are too good for this rough and bitter -world," said he, as his tears fell hotly on her -soft and rippling hair, and thought in his -heart, "Oh, why does God take her and leave -me?" -</p> - -<p> -And he clasped her to his heart, as if by -the mere strength of his love, and strength -of his arms too, he might protect and keep -her with him, and kissed her more tenderly -than he had ever done in his lover days, for -a holier emotion was in his heart now, and -to him it seemed that touches of great -sweetness came and went about her lips and into -her unusually luminous eyes, though their -expression grew more weary day by day, and -there came into them also that strange, weird, -and far-off look that belongs, not to this world, -but to the life that is gradually ebbing away -from it, and this expression Greville Hampton -saw and read with acute mental agony. -</p> - -<p> -"God is taking me away from you, darlings," -she said softly, one evening; "but -you will always be true and loving to each -other for my sake." -</p> - -<p> -Little Derval clung to his father, unable yet -to realise the great sorrow that had come -upon both. -</p> - -<p> -Why prolong this part of our story? At -last all was over, and Greville, worn out with -grief and long watching, was led away like a -child by the curate from the chamber of -death, where his Mary lay, still rarely -beautiful, as a piece of sculpture, in her last -repose. All seemed terribly silent in the little -cottage now; the buzzing of the flies in the -sunshine, and the ticking of a clock alone -were heard, unless it might be a sob from -old Patty Fripp in the kitchen, where she sat -rocking herself to and fro, with her apron -over her head, or if she moved about it was -with soft and stealthy tread, as if she feared -to wake someone. -</p> - -<p> -"Dead—gone—left him—his other self—it -could not be!" he whispered in his soul, for -he could not believe, in his great sorrow, that -it was all happening to him. Surely it was -some horrible nightmare, from which he -would awake to find his little world going on -as before! -</p> - -<p> -But day followed day, each adding fresh -details to the calamity, and that of the funeral -came inexorably, the closing scene of all. -</p> - -<p> -As one in a dream, Greville Hampton saw -the episode like a grim phantasmagoria. He -heard the bell tolling, and heard Mr. Laud -sob, as he met the few mourners at the -churchyard gate, and led the way to the -grave, repeating the fine words of the burial -service. -</p> - -<p> -Grasping his father's hand, little Derval, -with a stunned look and dry eyes, dry with -wonder and a great fear, saw the coffin going -down—down—till it disappeared, and then a -cry burst from him, for he knew that mamma -was there—there in that cruel coffin which -had left his sight for ever, and he began, -child-like, to understand the dire and dreadful -reality! -</p> - -<p> -At last the scene closed; the horrible -jarring of shovels, gravel, and earth had -ceased, and Greville Hampton came back to -his broken and desolate home, where he sat -like a man turned to stone, twisting fatuously, -yet caressingly, a tress of shining dark -brown hair, all that remained to him now -of Mary, save the little boy, who nestled, -with scared and wistful eyes, beside his -knee. -</p> - -<p> -The drawn blinds had for some days told -all the passers-by that there was death in the -cottage at Finglecombe. Strangers hurried -past with a momentary glance, and thought no -more of it, in the bright sunshine and business -of life; but some there were who looked -sorrowfully and went by with slower step, and -there were the poor who missed the ministering -hand of Mary Hampton. Even now the -little birds, for whom she was wont to spread -out crumbs, were tapping with their beaks -at the window. -</p> - -<p> -The blinds were drawn up now, and an -unnatural flood of sunny light seemed to fill -the place. Everything Greville's haggard -glance fell on seemed to have a history of its -own, a tender association, connected with her -who had passed away. The little womanly -trifles her hands had made to brighten this, -their latter, humble home, were all there -still; the cheap but artistic-looking cretonne -with which her pretty and industrious fingers -had deftly covered the furniture, brought back -to memory the song she sang while doing so; -the water-colours on the wall were her work -too, scenes associated with the past years and -long vanished happiness; and no comfort -could be gathered from Tennyson's hackneyed -couplet— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'Tis better to have loved and lost,<br /> - Than never to have loved at all."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The terrible distinctness with which the -first clod of earth fell—as it seemed to -him—on Mary's tender breast, was yet ringing -in Greville's ears, together with the cry that -escaped from Derval. -</p> - -<p> -So Mary was gone, and for her the long, -long night of the grave had begun! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -"Therefore he loved gold in special."—Chaucer. -</h3> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"It is a great calamity, a heavy dispensation!" -said a neighbour to Patty Fripp. -</p> - -<p> -"He will get over it in time—the master," -said others, especially the women; "all men -get over these things—he'll marry again, no -doubt; he is too young to live all alone in -the world." -</p> - -<p> -Patty was very indignant at this suggestion -being made already. -</p> - -<p> -"Time tries all, and soothes all," said -another gossip; "we shall see by and by—men -don't break their hearts for love, look you. -And how about the little boy?" -</p> - -<p> -"Poor little soul! he is fretting sorely for -his mother," said Patty, polishing her face -with her checked apron, after having 'a good -cry'; "but that is just human natur, I -s'pose." -</p> - -<p> -To the lonely man it seemed strange that -Mary was no longer in the cottage at -Finglecombe, and it was difficult for him, for a -time, to realise the idea that she was gone -for ever from her place; that he would -never see her again; and that morning and -night would come inexorably; the weeks -become months, and the months become -years; and that no Mary, with all her great -love and tenderness, was there to bear a -part in the long vista of life that lay before -him. -</p> - -<p> -His loneliness became at times insupportable, -and he was frequently absent from -home—a circumstance which never occurred -in Mary's time. On these occasions the -long and sleepless hours of night were terrible -to little Derval, with his true Devonshire -dread of the supernatural, for he had no -longer the sweet consciousness of the near -presence of his watchful mother. -</p> - -<p> -At such times, till sleep sealed his eyes, -he had but one thought—that out there in -the dew and darkness of night, as in the -sunshine by day, was the grave of one who -had loved him and tended him, as no other -human being would do, in the little churchyard, -where the white tombstones and crosses -contrasted so strongly and beautifully with -the emerald green of the turf and the darker -tint of the vast ancient yew that overshadowed -them. -</p> - -<p> -In all the wide earth—the earth of which -he had, as yet, so little conception, there was -already no spot so dear to little Derval as -the turf that covered his mother's grave; and -thus in the darkness of the moonless nights -he was wont to waken and weep when he -heard the cold wind sighing and the rain -falling; and he shuddered at the thought -that she was out there, exposed to them both, -as it seemed to his heated fancy. -</p> - -<p> -Then a great terror would come over him, -till he crept softly into bed beside old Patty -Fripp. -</p> - -<p> -So the first heart-piercing days of sorrow -and unavailing regret began to pass away, and -the old craving after wealth, the world, and -mammon began to resume its sway in the -mind of Greville Hampton, and the dreams -of which we have spoken came to his fancy -again. -</p> - -<p> -He began to think of Mary with more -composure, and could hear, in silence, -Mr. Asperges Laud, when urged by him, gently -and sweetly, to remember that she had only -faded out, as the stars fade, to shine again; -had died as the flowers die in autumn, for -resurrection in a brighter summer, in which -he should meet her again, and there should -be neither sorrow nor parting. All this -sounded and seemed too remote and vague -for the ache, the bitter void made by her -departure. Yet though Mr. Laud knew -by experience that Father Time was a -great consoler, there was another nearer -at hand than his Reverence had quite -reckoned on. -</p> - -<p> -Over the life of little Derval there was now -a change, which he felt, though did not quite -understand. The loss of his mother he had -become accustomed to; but somehow, though -there seemed plenty of happiness in the world, -it never came to him. Other children whom -he saw, or met at Mr. Laud's classes, seemed -all well fed, neatly clad, and joyous, for they -had come thither with mothers' kisses on -their rosy cheeks, and the same caresses -awaited them when they went home; but -he had no one to kiss him now, save old -Patty Fripp, who, like a genuine -maid-of-all-work, was seldom without a smudge -on one side of her nose. -</p> - -<p> -Papa seemed for ever absent, for, as the -months ran on, he seemed to have found -some mysterious occupation elsewhere than -at Finglecombe. -</p> - -<p> -There was a time when Greville Hampton -used to steal to the bedside of his little boy, -and hang over him in his sleep, parting the -thick curly hair from his forehead, softly and -tenderly, while remarking with fondness, that -there still he could see Mary's long eyelashes, -Mary's brow and pure sweet profile, -and all the loving memory of her would -gush up in his heart. -</p> - -<p> -Observant Patty thought that he was wont -to do this less and less now, while his -absences from the lonely cottage became -more frequent and long. She marvelled much -at this. Had he fallen in with some schemes -by which to amend his shattered fortune—the -schemes on which she had again and -again heard him descant in times past? But -whatever caused the change in his habits -and bearing, it was soon to be made -apparent to her now. -</p> - -<p> -Patty was startled from her usual propriety, -or the even tenor of her way, when Greville -Hampton, with some reluctance or hesitation -in his manner, as if conscious of the -speculation he would excite, announced that three -guests were coming to dinner on a certain -day; and thereupon great bustle ensued at -the cottage of Finglecombe, whither the -railway van brought various wines, fruits, and -condiments, "even to the last grapes and -first cucumbers of the season," as Patty Fripp -said, for the expected guests; and Patty had -to obtain the aid of a neighbour as a helping -hand, and the united wonder and excitement -culminated, when two of the guests arrived -in a handsome and well-appointed brougham, -and proved to be ladies—an old and a young -one—a Mrs. Rookleigh (of whom Patty had -never heard) and her niece, whom, with all -her beauty, she mentally deemed to be hard, -bold, and haughty. -</p> - -<p> -It is a strange but true assertion, that -anxiety, like misfortune, can lend misgiving -and fear to any unwonted occurrence, and -now Patty Fripp, for the little boy's sake, -began to apprehend—she scarcely knew -what! -</p> - -<p> -"When I'm 'urried I'm flurried," said -she to her gossip, "and look you, it ain't -easy to get this place, a cottage though -it be, ready by myself—to sort rooms and -toilet-tables, kill chickens and dress 'em, -and bake cakes, look you, like the king as -burned 'em, lay tables, and all that sort o' -thing!" -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Hampton received his guests with -great <i>empressement</i>, welcomed them to -Finglecombe, with the beautiful surroundings of -which they were greatly delighted, and—as -Patty's watchful and wondering eyes were -upon him—he was not sorry when the Curate -arrived, and he desired her to conduct the -ladies to a room, and assist them to remove -the costumes they had driven in. -</p> - -<p> -About the elder lady there was so little to -remark that Patty scarcely noticed her, but -her niece, Miss Anne Rookleigh, then nearer -her thirtieth than her twentieth year, was -brilliantly fair in complexion, with large and -languishing eyes of that golden-hazel colour -which so often goes with a duplicity of -character, a magnificent figure, and masses of -light chesnut coloured hair. Save that her -bearing and expression were hard and cold, -despite the languor in her eyes, the most -severe connoisseur in female beauty could -have found no fault with her, unless his -glance fell upon her hands, which, for a lady -so generally refined in aspect, were decidedly -large and even coarse-looking. -</p> - -<p> -Since his mother had been borne away—it -seemed so long ago now—in that grim funeral -car with its black plumes, no ladies had ever -been under their roof, till these two came, -and now to Derval it seemed that his papa -was far less gloomy than he had been—indeed, -was quite gay; one of these ladies, -Derval thought, eyed him curiously, even -hostilely through her gold glass, and he, -grasping the while his top and whip, looked -steadily up in her proud face with a -reconnoitring gaze that piqued her. -</p> - -<p> -The dinner passed over like any other. -Greville Hampton was scrupulously attentive -to both aunt and niece, but was so delicate -and guarded in his manner, that Patty, who -knew not the language of the eyes, could, as -yet, obtain no clue to her suspicions; but, -for the first time in his short life, the child -was conscious of a something undefinable, he -knew not what, in the manner of his father -to himself, and felt that if the former did -not quite repel his advances and wished-for -caresses, he failed completely to respond to -them, while under the golden hazel eyes of -Miss Anne Rookleigh. -</p> - -<p> -Derval then drew to the side of her aunt, -who was intently conversing with Mr. Asperges -Laud, and whom he utterly failed to -interest, on the subject of his pet canary, and -the big Dorking hen, that had been mamma's, -and laid so many eggs. -</p> - -<p> -At last the ladies rose, and quitting the -table resolved to seek the garden, leaving -their host and the curate to their wine and -cigars. -</p> - -<p> -"You have a piano here, Greville," said -Miss Rookleigh with a bright smile. -</p> - -<p> -"It is locked," said he uneasily. -</p> - -<p> -"But there is a key, of course?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have lost it," said he evasively; for the -piano had been Mary's, and he could not yet -have a stranger's fingers running over the -keys where hers had brought forth the familiar -notes. -</p> - -<p> -So the ladies swept forth into the little -garden, where they found a rustic chair under -the shadow of a golden laburnham tree, and -where the roses that Mary's hands had tended -were now in all the beauty and luxuriance -of midsummer; and ere long, Patty Fripp, -who was not above eaves-dropping, while -collecting fresh salad for supper, and unobserved -was close by listening to all the two visitors -said, obtained a clue to the whole matter. -</p> - -<p> -In fact, Greville Hampton, the widower, -was engaged to Miss Anne Rookleigh! -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said the latter, leisurely fanning -herself, "that child of his will be a great -bore!" -</p> - -<p> -"A greater bore if you have any little ones -of your own," said the aunt, laughing; "but -don't begin with this spirit in your breast, -Anne—take care." -</p> - -<p> -"Take care of what?" asked the niece, -haughtily. -</p> - -<p> -"I mean of abusing the great power you so -evidently possess over your intended." -</p> - -<p> -"I little thought, aunt, when I was only -amusing myself with him at Ilfracombe, -rambling among the Tors, sketching the -Lover's Leap, talking, playing chess with -him, singing to him, accepting his flowers -and all that, I would come to love him as I -do, and end at last by finding this engagement -ring on my finger!" -</p> - -<p> -("So-so!" muttered Patty, under her breath, -with a vicious sniff; "my old gossip was -right—men don't break their hearts and die -of love—for their wives at all events, look -you!") -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I love him for himself alone," -resumed Miss Rookleigh, after a pause, "not -his fortune certainly," she added with a -mocking laugh; "he is so handsome and -winning. But I know, aunt, that though -you are a widow, you deem it impossible -that there can be any romance in a second -marriage; and yet in such, a man may -learn that his first was a mistake, and that -now he only loves for the first time," and -with a dreamy smile in her bright hazel -eyes she swayed her fan to and fro. -</p> - -<p> -"No one looks for romance in a second -marriage—at least, I should not," replied her -practical aunt; "I have always deemed them, -like most first marriages, matters of -convenience or of calculation, now-a-days. At -all events you must admit, Anne, that all -freshness of the heart must be gone?" -</p> - -<p> -"Aunt, you are very unpleasant! I believe -a man is quite capable of loving twice, and -the second time more than the first; because -he must know his own mind better. If I -thought that Greville had only the shadow -of love to offer me—but I shall not canvas -the idea! Greville's first marriage must seem -like a dream to him now, and, if otherwise, -it will go hard with me if I do not soon -obliterate all memory of a former affection. -He married his first wife for her beauty, I -believe; but she was a poor namby-pamby -little thing. He'll soon forget her, nay, he -must have forgotten her now!" And a flash -came into her eyes, of subtle colour, as she -spoke. -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, Anne, how would you like to be -spoken of thus? Besides, his child—<i>her</i> -child—will be a perpetual reminder." -</p> - -<p> -"It is aggravating! I believe the little brat -already views me as an interloper; and though -I knew his age, he is on a larger scale than I -expected, and certainly looks old for the child -of a man so youthful as Greville; and then he -speaks with the odious Devonshire patois!" -</p> - -<p> -"One lucky thing is that your engagement -will not be a long one, if you are satisfied -for the time with this poor—though certainly -pretty—place." -</p> - -<p> -"It satisfied <i>her</i>," thought Patty, glancing -at the distant spire, the shadow of which was -falling on Mary's grave; and the old woman -crept away, as she had heard more than -enough, muttering, "after all these years I'd -give him warning this very hour, but for the -sake of the child. Poor Derval! from this -day, I fear me, his life will be a blighted one! -Dear, dear! but the master has soon begun -to sweeten the hay again!" she added, -referring to an old Cornish practice common -among lovers in haymaking time. -</p> - -<p> -So barely a year had elapsed, since the -woman who clung to him so tenderly and -truly in poverty, as in wealth, and whose -heart had been for years against his own, had -been laid in the silent grave, when Greville -Hampton brought another—but not a fairer—wife -to share his cottage home. -</p> - -<p> -That home he had spared no expense his -means permitted to decorate for the new idol, -who had certainly not come to him undowered. -Many old and familiar objects had been -removed—there were cogent reasons why—and -gave place to newer fancies. -</p> - -<p> -While Derval and Patty had been the sole -occupants of the cottage at Finglecombe, the -wedded pair had been spending their -honeymoon on the continent; they had seen -Antwerp with its cathedral and the art -treasures of its galleries; Cologne and Coblentz, -the precipitous Kolandseck with its baronial -ruin and mouldering arch; hill-encircled Ems, -the banks of the picturesque Lake, wooded -Nassau and merry Wiesbaden; Greville the -while judiciously silent that he had gone all -that bridal tour once <i>before</i>. But now he -thoroughly believed in his second election; -and it has been said that, at few times, or at -no time, of his life, is a man such a true -believer in faith and love as when he plunges -into matrimony; and we must suppose that -it was so with Greville Hampton. -</p> - -<p> -The arrival of the bride at Finglecombe, -with all her boxes and that "particular -baggage," as Patty thought, her own maid, was -a source of sore worry to the former, who -could no longer pursue the even tenor of -her way under the new state of things. -</p> - -<p> -Greville kissed his little boy, who clung -fondly to him; but the bride gave the latter -her gloved hand coldly, and scanned him -through her glass, while he eyed her with -mistrust and wonder, and with a strange -shrinking, for somehow her eye chilled him, -and thus, at the very home-coming there was -a petty <i>contretemps</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"Kiss him, Anne dearest," said Greville; -"go and be kissed by your mamma, Derval." -</p> - -<p> -"She is not my mamma," said the child -recoiling. -</p> - -<p> -"Go and be kissed by her instantly, sir!" -</p> - -<p> -"I won't, Papa." -</p> - -<p> -"Then leave the room, sir!" -</p> - -<p> -"He gives me a cold reception, certainly," -said Mrs. Hampton, her golden-coloured eyes -sparkling dangerously under their rather white -lashes, as she threw off some of her travelling -wraps and appeared to Patty's wondering eyes -in a rich and handsome dress, that accorded -well with the stately character of her beauty; -and Derval slunk away, doubtful and fearing, -whether he had done right or wrong; but -then, what did papa mean by calling this -strange woman his mamma? -</p> - -<p> -"His presence shall not annoy you, Anne." -</p> - -<p> -"But, until he gets accustomed to me, -Greville?" -</p> - -<p> -"I shall compel him to stay in his own -room, or in the kitchen with Patty, till he -knows how to treat you." -</p> - -<p> -So on this day the troubles of Derval really -began. He felt that he could never be even -confident in the presence of this stranger who -had so suddenly taken a high place in their -little household. There was everything in -her manner and bearing to repel him, and -when she spoke to him his large eyes dilated -under her stony gaze, as those of a bird are -said to do when a serpent begins its charm of -fear; and when rated for some trifle, he said -sullenly: -</p> - -<p> -"I want my own mamma. Why did papa -bring <i>you</i> here, and set you in <i>her</i> place at -table?" -</p> - -<p> -"Dare you say so; you are a very bold -child!" she exclaimed with some heat, and in -her hard constrained voice, when a more -generous woman would have smiled and resorted -to caresses; "you ought to learn to love me." -</p> - -<p> -"Never!" said the chubby Derval stoutly; -"I shall only love my own mamma; she -allowed me to climb on papa's knee and -kiss him, but you won't." -</p> - -<p> -"This brat, Derval," she thought, "must -certainly remind him of that woman he loved, -or fancied he loved, in the days of his youth -and folly! Derval must be sent from this—out -of this, somehow—anyhow! I would that -he were old enough to go to sea." -</p> - -<p> -To sea! Was his future shadowed forth in -this idea? -</p> - -<p> -Time will show. -</p> - -<p> -And already she began to hate the child, all -the more that her husband in his dreams—for -he was as great a dreamer as ever—more -than once, in her hearing, muttered or -whispered to himself, softly and sadly, as to -one near him, the name of "Mary," when -doubtless the present was forgotten, and the -days of the past came back in the visions of -the night. -</p> - -<p> -"He is thinking of his boyish fancies and -his wax doll," Anne would mutter; "how -shall I have patience to endure this if it -occurs often?" -</p> - -<p> -Tall, proud, haughty, and imperious in her -secret nature, she was in all things the reverse -of the <i>mignonne</i>, gentle and affectionate "wax -doll," she thought of so contemptuously. -</p> - -<p> -The poor for miles around felt a change -now. Mary had ever but little to spare from -her own slender store, and that little was -given freely with kind words to all; yet the -new bride that had come to Finglecombe, -though wealthier far than ever poor Mary -hoped to be, even amid all Greville's brilliant -schemes and aspirations, gave not a crumb of -broken victuals to the passing mendicant; and -as for the sick and needy in the adjacent lanes, -and little cob-villages, she knew not of their -existence. -</p> - -<p> -She had brought him a round sum of money, -which, perhaps, more than even her beauty -and unmistakable advances, had lured Greville -Hampton into this second alliance; and with -this he had speedily begun to speculate -successfully in the purchase of land at -Finglecombe, and to see, in prospect, the possible -realisation of his golden dreams! -</p> - -<p> -Had anyone ventured to hint to Greville -Hampton that he had now forgotten Mary, -he would have repelled the accusation with -anger. But he had been lonely—he felt the -want of companionship; this woman was -handsome, and had been bent on winning -him, for he was possessed of much manly -beauty, with a fine presence; and the dowry -she had, roused in him anew that craving -thirst, that eager longing for "the gold that -perisheth." -</p> - -<p> -But in her love for him, and jealousy of -the dead, she was somewhat exacting, and -tried him considerably at times. -</p> - -<p> -"You loved your first wife, of course, -Greville, because it is your nature to be tender -and loving," said she on one occasion; "but -do, please, put her portrait away." -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Anne?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because the eyes of it seem to follow me -everywhere, to watch me; and I can never -see it without thinking—thinking—" -</p> - -<p> -"Of what?" -</p> - -<p> -"That she was as dear to you, perhaps—as -near to you, certainly—as I am." -</p> - -<p> -"Your ideas are foolish, Anne," said he; -but the portrait was removed eventually, and -one of her aunt, Mrs. Rookleigh, took its -place. -</p> - -<p> -Sometimes she went further than this, and -would test his veracity a little unwarrantably, -in her inordinate vanity, and with ineffably -bad taste. -</p> - -<p> -"Tell me, dearest Greville," she said, -hanging over him, and caressing him with -great <i>empressement</i>, "did you ever love before as -you love me now?" -</p> - -<p> -He smoked his old briar-root, but made no -reply. -</p> - -<p> -"Tell me—tell me," she persisted, while -playfully pulling his ear; but his heart felt a -pang, and his eye wandered involuntarily to -where poor Mary's portrait used to hang. -</p> - -<p> -"Why so inquisitive?" said he; "you know -that I was married before. Do you think I -am so vile as to marry without loving?" -</p> - -<p> -"That is no answer. But were you ever so -much in love as you are now?" -</p> - -<p> -Wishing to evade the inquiry, he smoked -rather doggedly on; so she questioned him -again. -</p> - -<p> -"Some fellows are in love a score of times, -with every pretty girl they meet, in fact," -said he. -</p> - -<p> -"But you, Greville, are not one of those -men." -</p> - -<p> -"No, Anne, most certainly not." -</p> - -<p> -So she could extract no more from him. -He was weak in her hands, but to have said -what she wished, he felt would he coarse -treason to the dead, and thought, "why could -she not be content?" -</p> - -<p> -And when she sang—but in a style Mary -never sang—she indulged in high fantastic -flourishes, running her hands heavily over the -same keys that Mary's pretty fingers had been -wont to touch so lightly. For a time Greville -Hampton winced at the familiar sound of the -instrument, as if a spirit was conjured up -by it; but ere long he became -hardened—accustomed to it. -</p> - -<p> -Soon her piano, almost every immediate -relic of Mary, disappeared; and times there -were when her successor spoke—but never in -Greville's hearing—of her memory in a -sneering manner, that stung the sensitive -Derval, and as he grew older, maddened and -infuriated him. However, he was but a child -yet, and barely understood the tithe of what -she said. -</p> - -<p> -To her he was a perpetual eyesore; and in -the round of her daily life—especially in the -absence of Greville—she found a hundred -petty means of venting her groundless dislike -upon him. -</p> - -<p> -"Get out of the way—leave the room, boy—go -and play in the garden—you are not wanted -here!" Such were hourly the greetings to -the child now—no kisses, no caresses as of -old. All his sweet childish impulses were -crushed or checked, and thrust back upon -himself, and distrust and dislike of her, the -typical rather than the real stepmother -(fortunately for humanity's sake), grew strong in -his heart—his little yearning heart, that felt -half broken at times by neglect, for he had no -one now, save old Patty, to whom he could -tell all the wondrous secrets, and deep, tender -confidences of child-life. -</p> - -<p> -And even Patty he might not have long, as -in Mrs. Hampton's mind she contrasted -unfavourably with her own maid; she deemed -her gauche, for Patty was a stout, broad, and -short-necked woman, with a clumsy gait, a -ruddy complexion, red sandy hair, eyes rather -green than grey, and with a resolute mouth -and chin that came of her Cornish blood. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor little Master Derval, poor darling!" -said Patty once to Greville. "She has never -said a kind word to him since she came to the -house; and look you, sir, he would think she -was mocking him if she said one now—yah!" -and she ground her teeth. -</p> - -<p> -"Silence, Patty; I cannot permit you to -speak thus of Mrs. Hampton," said he -angrily. -</p> - -<p> -"Missus Hampton, indeed!" grumbled -Patty, but under her breath, however. But -one day Greville overheard a remark which -gave him a pang. -</p> - -<p> -"Derval, where are you going, sir?" -demanded Mrs. Hampton imperiously, as he -was taking his little cap. -</p> - -<p> -"To the sea-shore," he answered shyly. -</p> - -<p> -"Again? You are never anywhere else, -and always come back with wet and sandy -shoes. What takes you there?" -</p> - -<p> -"I like to watch the waves come in, and -listen to what they are saying." -</p> - -<p> -"You are a little fool; I say you shall not -go!" and seizing him with hands, which we -have said were not small ones, she shook him -violently, and tears sprang to his eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh," he wailed, "that my own mamma -would come out of the ground, and help her -little boy!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, but your mamma can't," she said -spitefully; "she is deep enough down, thank -Heaven!" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, Anne," said Greville, suddenly -appearing; "for Heaven's sake don't speak to -the child in that manner." -</p> - -<p> -"He aggravates me so!" she replied, colouring; -but more with anger than shame. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I do beg your pardon," said Derval one -day, approaching in great tribulation, with his -little hands pressed tremblingly together. -</p> - -<p> -"For what?" she asked sharply. -</p> - -<p> -"Please, I have broken your little china -vase." -</p> - -<p> -"The vase that dear Aunt Rookleigh gave -me! Oh you clumsy, obnoxious brat!" she -exclaimed, while her eyes gleamed with anger; -and as no one was near she punished him -severely. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother, mother! mamma, mamma!" he -cried, panting in her grasp, "oh, come back -to your little boy, and save him from this -terrible woman!" -</p> - -<p> -"Woman, indeed, you fractious imp; I'll -teach you what your mamma, as you call her, -never did—manners!" and she continued to -beat him till he, and herself, were quite -breathless, and then she flung him in a heap into a -corner, to sob himself into sullen composure. -</p> - -<p> -In the lust of her cruelty she, by the -pursuance of a system all her own, succeeded -in actually weaning much of the regard of -his father from him, and had him excluded -from the dining-room when dessert—to which -he had always been admitted—was on the table. -</p> - -<p> -Banishment from dessert seemed to Derval -the acme of ill-usage; and, apart from the loss -of the good things thereat, he never forgot the -day he found himself thus banished. -</p> - -<p> -He had come into the room when he knew -"papa was there," and rushed, breathless and -laughing, up to his side. -</p> - -<p> -"My chair is not put in for me, papa!" he -exclaimed; "why is this?" -</p> - -<p> -Seizing one, he began to drag it across the -room towards the table, and to his father's -side. Mrs. Hampton looked at him darkly -(she was rather an Epicurean and did not like -to be worried at meals), and Greville did so -silently and uneasily, for he was not unmoved -just then by the tender and pleading expression -he read in the child's eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"I thought you said, my dear, that we -were not to be disturbed in this way by that -<i>gauche</i> boy?" said Mrs. Hampton; "and you -know the nervous condition to which he -reduces me—just now, at least." -</p> - -<p> -"Leave the room, Derval; mamma does -not want you to-day." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, papa, you are not angry with me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—no—but go; you are a bad boy to -insist on coming to table." -</p> - -<p> -And so Derval never sat at that table again -till the day came when he was to leave the -house for ever. -</p> - -<p> -As he was peremptorily forbidden to go -near the sea-shore, he frequently went to the -churchyard of Finglecombe and spent hours -there, weaving chaplets of daisies and wild -flowers. -</p> - -<p> -"What brings you here so often, my poor -child?" asked Mr. Asperges Laud (patting -him on the head) the curate, in his long-tailed -coat, gaiters, and Roman collarino. -</p> - -<p> -"To be near mamma's grave," said Derval, -gulping down a sob. "Besides, it is a quiet -place for a good cry," he added, as the kind -curate took him into his little thatched -parsonage. -</p> - -<p> -In the dark nights of winter he could recal -how tenderly mamma put him to bed, and -watched beside him till he slept. It was old -Patty Fripp who did so now, who tucked him -cosily into his little crib and kissed him some -twenty times ere she bade him "good-night," -but, by order of Mrs. Hampton, was not -permitted to linger beside him. -</p> - -<p> -"The child tells you, ma'm, that he can't -sleep in the dark alone, from fear," urged -Patty on one occasion. -</p> - -<p> -"Fear of what?" she asked curtly. -</p> - -<p> -"The Long Cripples." -</p> - -<p> -"What <i>do</i> you mean?" -</p> - -<p> -Patty then told her that snakes in Devonshire -were called "long cripples," and Derval -had heard of the one at Manaton, that was as -big as a human body, and had legs as well as -wings, and uttered a hiss that could be heard -for miles around. -</p> - -<p> -"The boy is a fool, and you are another; -leave him to sleep, or wake, as he chooses," -was the mandate. So Derval was left to sob -himself asleep in the dark, cowering under his -coverlet, fearing "the Long Cripple" was -coming when the wind moaned in the -chimney, or the ivy-leaves pattered on the -window-panes. -</p> - -<p> -Apart from the comments of Patty, the -remarks of schoolfellows and neighbours were -not wanting to foster the growing animosity -of Derval to his stepmother. Curious eyes -watched him, and the inquisitive questioned -him, extracting answers, to which they gave -suggestions all calculated to inflame his -impotent wrath; and now a day came when the -cottage at Finglecombe was turned topsy-turvy, -and Derval, to his utter bewilderment, -was banished for some time to the parsonage. -</p> - -<p> -The real Lord of Finglecombe had come in -the shape of a baby-brother to him—a baby -whom the Rev. Asperges Laud made a little -Christian by the name of Rookleigh Greville -Hampton. -</p> - -<p> -And now, more than ever, as this little one -had come, did the father bless his increasing -prospects in the acquisition of land, and in -the profits thereon, as, like the man in the -<i>Canterbury Tales</i>, "therefore loved he gold in -special." -</p> - -<p> -New hopes sprang up in the heart of -Greville, and with the wealth he seemed -likely to acquire, he ceased to regret that -which he had lost, and to repine about the -title of which his father and grandsire had -been, as he believed, illegally deprived. -</p> - -<p> -But in the years to come this baby-brother -was fated to have a terrible and calamitous -influence upon the destiny of Derval -Hampton. -</p> - -<p> -Greville Hampton was so successful in his -speculations that he actually hoped, in time, -to make quite an estate of Finglecombe. -Money makes money, and thus he became a -wealthy man; for true it is, "that the thing -we look forward to often comes to pass, but -never in the way we have imagined it." -</p> - -<p> -His dreams of an El Dorado, and Mary's -reading thereof, came back to his memory, -when he saw house after house being built in -the little dell that overlooked the sea; and he -recalled her words, "Your riches lie, not in -California, but <i>here</i> in Finglecombe." How -prophetic were her words! -</p> - -<p> -Now that he was becoming wealthy, many -persons who had held somewhat aloof from -him began to discover a hundred good -qualities in him they had never dreamed of -before. Ladies had always admitted that he -was a more than ordinarily handsome man; -their husbands—county men—praised his seat -on horseback, his manner and bearing, -remarked the cheerfulness and good nature -expressed in his face, and began to extol the -great frankness of his manner, though, sooth -to say, they saw little of him; for he, -remembering how they had ignored his existence -in the past, ignored theirs in the present -time. -</p> - -<p> -He steadily added acre to acre. A small, -but pretty village, approaching the dignity of -a watering-place, had sprung up in the lovely -dell where the little cottage of Finglecombe -stood, for it had now given place to an -imposing brick villa, which seemed to look -haughtily down on the humbler dwellings -around, with its plate-glass oriels, ogee -gables, its handsome oaken porch of fanciful -design, and its sweeping approaches, rolled -and gravelled between beautiful shrubberies. -</p> - -<p> -As wealth flowed in and brought back -wonted luxuries with it, he ceased to remember -poor Mary's pathetic attempts at a little -ornament and refinement amid the humility -of her later surroundings, for Greville -Hampton became a sorely changed man to -all, and to Derval especially. -</p> - -<p> -Could Mary have dreamed that a day -would ever come when her child would pine -for his father's love, as Derval pined in -secret? But under the cruel influence of the -second wife and her little boy it was so. -Much of this, perhaps, arose from Hampton's -absorption in his own pursuits, so fearful was -he of losing any time that might add to his -increasing store. Thus no word of endearment, -of praise for studious conduct, no -caress cheered the lonely little boy, who saw -all such as his father could spare exacted by -Mrs. Hampton for his baby-brother, while her -petty tyranny and aversion to himself grew -daily together, and a woman so petty, -weak-minded, and jealous—jealous even of the -dead—found much to inflict in the round -of home life. -</p> - -<p> -Once, during a protracted absence of his -father—not that his presence perhaps would -have mattered much—his little pet dog was -taken from him, and sent away he knew not -where, and when he wept and clamoured for -it, she beat him and pulled his ears till his -head ached. On another occasion she -deprived him of his canary, as its seed and -chickweed "made a mess"; and then he -felt—as when she sent "mamma's big -Dorking" to the spit—something like murder in -his little heart. -</p> - -<p> -He rushed at her and contrived to inflict -sundry kicks about her ankles, which made -her scream, and in a moment the strong -and athletic hand of his father was upon him. -</p> - -<p> -"Ask instant pardon of your mamma, sir!" -was the command. -</p> - -<p> -"I won't—she is not my mamma." -</p> - -<p> -"I tell you, sir, she is," and the blows -fell like a hailstorm about the head and -shoulders of Derval. But not a tear came -from his eyes now; his lips were firmly -compressed, his face was deadly pale, and he -regarded his father with a steady and -unflinching eye. -</p> - -<p> -"Go to your room, sir, and remain there -till you are sent for." -</p> - -<p> -Under this unjust treatment the boy became -sullen and resentful; thus, when a little pool -he had constructed in the garden, to hold a -shoal of minnows, by her order was emptied -and filled up, he revenged himself by poodling -her favourite Persian cat, the gift of her -aunt, Mrs. Rookleigh, and for this she -resolved to inflict condign punishment, with -great form and ceremony. -</p> - -<p> -She armed herself with her riding switch -(for Greville now kept a pretty pad for her) -and desired the groom to bring Master Derval -to the stable, and as she did so, in her silly -malignity, her very handsome face had a very -tiger-like expression, and she grasped the -jewelled handle of the switch resolutely in -her large white hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Lock the door on the inside," said she -when Derval was brought before her. "Off -with his jacket and tie up his hands to the -knob on that heelpost." -</p> - -<p> -And almost before Derval could realise -the situation, he found himself a prisoner, -denuded of his jacket, a halter-rope looped -round his wrists, and himself "seized up," -for deliberate punishment, standing almost -on tip-toe, and with considerable tension. -</p> - -<p> -"Will that do, mum?" asked the groom, -who thought the situation an amusing one, -"a rum start," as he afterwards said in the -kitchen, adding that he never thought so -"handsome a lady could be so downright -savage." -</p> - -<p> -Derval turned his head half round with an -appealing expression on his sweet boyish -face—a look that reminded her of the expression -of Mary's eyes in her banished portrait,—but -at that instant she swung the elastic switch -round, and it fell with a smart and stinging -thud upon his shoulders, which had no -protection now save his little shirt. Derval -winced, but set his teeth firmly together, -determined to die rather than give her the -satisfaction of hearing him cry out or -supplicate for mercy. -</p> - -<p> -With steady and regular sweep the switch -descended on Derval's quivering shoulders -again and again; but not a cry escaped him, -and enraged anew by his fortitude, or -"obstinacy," as she deemed it, Mrs. Hampton -exerted herself afresh, and Derval, while -clenching his teeth and breathing hard, -boy-like, thought of the cruel enchantress who -used to whip the bare back of the helpless -young king of the Black Isles in the Arabian -Nights, and longed for some such punishment -to fall on his tormentor as fell on that -remarkable lady. -</p> - -<p> -We know not how many strokes were -administered, but Mrs. Hampton was becoming -somewhat breathless, and the tension of the -rope that bound her victim to the heelpost -seemed as if dragging his arms out of their -sockets. -</p> - -<p> -"Do stop, please mum, the little lad is -fainting," exclaimed the groom. -</p> - -<p> -"Nonsense, he is shamming, he is as cunning -as a fox!' she exclaimed; but it was -as the groom said, for Derval's head drooped -on his breast and he hung on the rope like -a dead weight, while no motion was made by him. -</p> - -<p> -"Untie him; dear me, I had no idea of -this," said Mrs. Hampton, becoming suddenly -alarmed, while the groom released the passive -hands of Derval, and tenderly carried him -into the stable-yard, where the fresh air -fanned his face, which was now bathed with -cold water from a fountain into which -Mrs. Hampton dipped her cambric handkerchief. -</p> - -<p> -"He will revive in a few minutes," said -she, becoming certainly still more alarmed -at the pallor of his face and seeing that his -eyes remained closed. -</p> - -<p> -"Lord, mum," said the groom, who rather -enjoyed her growing terror, "I hope we -won't be having a crowner's 'quest in the -house!" -</p> - -<p> -"Fool!" said she, darting an angry look -at the speaker, and then applying her little -bottle of aromatic vinegar to Derval's -nostrils. He revived, however, rapidly, put -his jacket on, and walked sullenly but -unsteadily away. -</p> - -<p> -For the first time in her life she feared -her husband—was glad of his absence, and -hoped that Derval's back, which she anointed -when he was sound asleep, would bear no -trace of what he had undergone when Greville -Hampton returned. -</p> - -<p> -"Flogged like a black nigger for poodling -a dirty cat—my eyes!" was the comment of -the groom, when relating the episode in the -kitchen; and poor old Patty Fripp wept tears -of rage when she heard of it. -</p> - -<p> -Derval's back was still stiff and painful, -and his tender wrists were excoriated, when -his father returned a day or two after, but -the idea of complaining about what he had -undergone never occurred to him; in fact, -he was too much accustomed to systematic -ill-usage now. -</p> - -<p> -He longed to be old enough to run away -and be a soldier or a sailor—he cared not -which—and he would sit by his mother's -grave brooding over such thoughts, till led -away by Mr. Asperges Laud, or found by -Patty Fripp. -</p> - -<p> -As he grew older he became painfully -conscious, however, of the different treatment of -his younger brother and himself; he saw -how he was permitted to go threadbare and -shabby, with tattered cap and seamy boots, -while little Rookleigh—or Rook as he called -him—was kept like a princeling in purple -and fine linen, and all the while their father -seemed careless or oblivious of the difference. -</p> - -<p> -"I'll not stay here, Patty," said Derval -one day in great soreness of heart, while -smarting under some new affront; "I'll run -away." -</p> - -<p> -"Run away, child, and let the Pixies or -the Long Cripple get thee!" exclaimed his -old nurse. -</p> - -<p> -But Derval had nearly ceased to fear these -things now, and he had no dread of any -created thing, though he did shrink from the -malice and the severe and vindictive eyes -of his stepmother, and from contending with -the low forces of her small and narrow mind. -</p> - -<p> -Had Greville Hampton shown more, or -even any remarkable preference for his -first-born than for little Rookleigh, there might -have been some reason for her jealousy though -none for her cruelty; but so absorbed was he, -as we have said, in the novel and pleasant -task of money-making, that he never gave a -thought at all to Derval. -</p> - -<p> -As the latter approached boyhood, and -Rookleigh childhood from mere infancy, the -continued difference in the treatment of both, -in food, raiment, and even in toys, was -perceptible to all. Derval shunned alike the -dining-room and drawing-room, for <i>she</i> was -sure to be in either one or other. He lurked -in the stable, the gardens, on the sea-shore, -anywhere to be away from her, and his father -never missed him apparently. -</p> - -<p> -Rookleigh, petted, master, and more than -master of the establishment, grew up a froward, -petulant, sullen and cunning child—a greedy -one too, who ate his cakes and sweetmeats in -secrecy and haste, sharing none and nothing -with his elder brother or anyone else; and in -many ways, as her own peculiar rearing, he -was becoming the counterpart of his mother. -</p> - -<p> -Again and again had the latter hinted at -sending Derval away somewhere, to hoard or -be bound apprentice, she cared not to what; -but time passed on, till he attained his -fourteenth year, and his half-brother was seven -years old, with his mother's chestnut hair and -her cunning yellow-hazel eyes, but with a -strange shifty expression in them. -</p> - -<p> -At home in his father's house, Derval was -beginning to feel homeless now. Though -impulsive and enthusiastic, what to him were -now the leafy rustle of the woods and apple-orchards -of Finglecombe; the trill of the lark -above his head, the white-flecked azure of the -summer sky, the cornfields ripe for the sickle, -the glare of the golden sunshine, the soft curve -of the distant hills, the bold rocky coast of -Devon, and the sea that lapped it? -</p> - -<p> -He only longed to be far away from them -all and from "that woman," for Finglecombe -was no longer home to him; no welcome was -there, and love had departed. -</p> - -<p> -Often did the boy visit the ruins of the old -castle of Oakhampton, and wander there, as -he had been wont to do in happier times, when -led by his father's hand, longing to be the lord -of it, or of some such place—but of it more -than all. For he had been told it was theirs -by right, and the coat of arms above the -mouldering portal, the shield with its three -choughs, and the motto <i>Clarior e Tenebris</i>, was -theirs also. -</p> - -<p> -The grim stone vaults, the dimly-lighted -chamber, the roofless hall, he peopled in -imagination with mail-clad soldiers, their pikes -glittering and banners waving, as his mind -filled with feudal fancies and monastic -longings, and he loved the old walls, which had -been the cradle of his race, especially when -they, and the masses of dark-green ivy that -clothed them, were steeped in the redness of -the setting sun, and the gathering shadows -of evening added to their melancholy, their -stillness, and gloom. -</p> - -<p> -He felt his heart swell with romance and -pride, as he recalled all his father and even -Patty Fripp had told him of the Hamptons of -other days, and of the rights he had lost, and -bold and daring were the fancies that filled the -mind of the brave boy at times, for he was -now at the age when all life is illusion. -</p> - -<p> -The sea-shore was his other favourite resort, -and he spent hours there listening to the lap, -lapping of the waves upon the shingle, and -marvelling of other lands that were far, far -away; and there was one morning, the -excitement of which he never forgot, when a -nameless and unknown wreck was found floating -in the bay, a mastless and battered -hulk—battered by the fury of some great storm, in -which the water had contended with the -spirits of the air, till all on board had -perished. -</p> - -<p> -Another haunt was a ruined and unused -mill at Mill-brook, where the old wheel, -covered with green moss and grey lichens, -looked so picturesque, while the brook foamed -and boiled unheeded beneath it, and some -ancient trees with drooping branches cast a -shadow over the ivied walls, where all, so busy -once, was now silent, and made up a picture -of which Derval never wearied in his childish -rambles, though the pixies were said to grind -their corn there at night, when the old wheel, -so silent and still by day, was seen revolving -furiously in the light of the moon. -</p> - -<p> -Thus, a strange and shadowy expression—induced -by his loneliness—began to come into -the boy's eyes, as if he had thoughts no one -understood, or cared to understand, and as if -by day he dreamed of things unthought of by -others. Mr. Asperges Laud saw all this in his -face, and longed to see the little lad away -from Finglecombe and its influence, and the -wish was likely to be soon gratified. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -ON BOARD THE GOOD SHIP "AMETHYST." -</h3> - -<p> -At last there comes a crisis in the affairs of -Derval Hampton. -</p> - -<p> -"How often am I to urge that this boy of -yours should be sent to a boarding school or—to -sea, dearest Greville," he heard his step-mother -say decisively, but in a suave manner -she was cunning enough to adopt with his -father, when she had some important end in -view, just as he took his seat at a side-table -for breakfast to which he had been -permanently banished, while little Rookleigh -perched in a baby-chair (held in by a cross-bar) -sat by his mamma's side and got tiny bits -of the best of everything from her own hands. -</p> - -<p> -As her husband made no immediate reply, -but sat immersed in the "money article" of -the <i>Times</i>, she repeated her observation or -suggestion in a louder key, when he said, -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Anne?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because I cannot have him at home here -any longer, and what is more, dear Greville, -I shall not!" -</p> - -<p> -"You will not?" said he, laying down his -paper, while Derval listened with a -quick-beating heart. -</p> - -<p> -"Once and for all—no." -</p> - -<p> -"I ask again, why?" -</p> - -<p> -"He is so unfinished—worse—unmannerly—a -mere Devonshire lout, I am sorry to say, -and will corrupt my darling little Rookleigh -if they grow up together." -</p> - -<p> -"Say <i>ours</i>, Anne." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, ours, of course, darling." -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot see that poor Derval is all you -say." -</p> - -<p> -"But I do, and to sea let him go; we -can't have him growing up to manhood an -idle, hulking fellow here." -</p> - -<p> -"Everyone thinks Derval a very well-bred -boy, and Mr. Asperges says he is the best -behaved of all his choir." -</p> - -<p> -"He poodled the cat, however, steals the -fruit and the jam, and is so full of tricks and -strange eccentric ways, that he should be -permanently banished to the kitchen," -continued Mrs. Hampton, forgetting her suavity -and warming up with her subject; "but -here is the very thing we want!" she -exclaimed, turning to an advertisement in the -<i>Times</i>, as if her eye had only caught it for -the first time. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>The Sea</i>.—Introduction given—free of all -charge—to one of the oldest ship-owning -firms in the city requiring respectable youths -on board of three splendid ships just launched, -for the West Indian and Colonial trades. -Midshipman's uniform worn. Apply, Dugald -Curry & Co," &c. "I think you should lose no -time in writing, love," she added coaxingly. -</p> - -<p> -"Would you like this, Derval?" asked -Greville Hampton, with a little softer cadence -in his voice than usual. -</p> - -<p> -Of course he liked it; and a great flush of -happiness and longing rose up in his heart, the -ideas of the "splendid ship" and "middy's -uniform," combined with a young Briton's -in-born tastes and visions of the sea—the sea, -with its perils, glories, and wonders; of -Robinson Crusoe, and lonely isles full of fruits and -flowers and coral caves, of gold to find and -savages to fight—now filled the whole mind -of Derval; and all that the lives of adventurous -voyagers and intrepid seamen—all that -the stories contained in naval history and the -novels of Marryat and others have sown in -the souls of our schoolboys, were there to -rouse his native enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -So the matter was soon accomplished, and -a correspondence with Messrs. Dugald Curry -& Co. ended in Derval finding himself elected -to seek his bread upon the waters as middy -on board the good ship <i>Amethyst</i> of London, -700 tons register, Captain Philip Talbot -commander, bound for Rio Janeiro. -</p> - -<p> -From this we may fully gather that the -once tender husband that loved so well the -gentle Mary, and whose whole thought was -the future welfare of their only child, was -a sorely changed man now, under the -influence of another woman and his new -surroundings. -</p> - -<p> -With the removal of the picturesque little -cottage of Finglecombe and the erection of a -florid and pretentious villa in its place, the -old life had passed away, and with it many -a memory of the innocent and loving, if -anxious, past. Greville Hampton had become -almost callous in his worldliness; a slave -to chance impulses, to gratified avarice, to -feverish acquisitiveness, and the love that had -whilom been absorbed by the son of Mary, -was now shared, and more than shared, -yea, usurped, by the younger born of Anne -Rookleigh. -</p> - -<p> -Derval, whom he was sending forth into the -cold and bitter world so early in life, in his -tender years, as a poor sailor boy, was the -same son for whom, in the days of his more -limited means, he had longed for wealth, and -now—now when wealth was coming upon -him—he could look on Anne's face, and into -her false eyes of golden hazel, and thrust -back the thoughts that at times reproached -him. -</p> - -<p> -Could it really be that he—Greville -Hampton—was doing this without a necessity -therefor? But true it is, that "one's memory -is apt to grow rusty with respect to one's old -self, and we nearly always look upon ourselves -as the products of certain causes, setting down -anything unsatisfactory to the charge of -training and circumstances." Yet, as in -every parting there is an image of death, -in the departure of Derval it seemed for a -time to Greville Hampton as if Mary was -dying again. -</p> - -<p> -The day before he was to leave, Derval -went alone to her grave, to read again the -words—how well he knew them!—on the -little cross at the head of the dear mound, -and to take farewell of her, as it were—that -turfy mound, to him the most hallowed spot -on earth, yea, hallowed as that on which the -Angel of God once alighted; and waves of -feeling seemed to swell painfully up in his -little heart as he turned slowly to leave the -spot, for years—perhaps for ever. -</p> - -<p> -Often in the lonely watches of the night, -under the glory of the southern skies, or in -dark and stormy hours, when the bleak wind -blustered aloft and bellied out the close-reefed -topsails, when giant waves came thundering -from windward to wash the deck and gorge -the lee-scuppers, making the stout ship reel -like a toy in the perilous trough of the sea, -did the sailor boy's thoughts fly back to that -peaceful grave and his farewell visit there. -</p> - -<p> -And now the last night came that Derval -was to spend under the roof of his father, and -for a time the heart of the latter really did go -forth to him; the present wife was almost -forgotten; dead Mary came back to his soul, -and seemed to take her place again. Fain -would he have gone with his boy to London, -to have seen him off, or into safe hands on -board his future home; but Mrs. Hampton -said no—she could not and would not be left -alone just then. -</p> - -<p> -How tenderly old Patty wept over her -"darling's things," and folded them carefully -and neatly for the last time, and packed his -little portmanteau, yearningly as his own -mother would have done, and thought truly, -with a great sob, that had she lived he would -not now have been "going into the world as a -sailor boy." And for that dead mother's sake -she kissed him many times, and with her old -scissors snipped off a lock of his once golden -curls, that were gradually turning to rich dark -brown like his father's; but Derval had the -crisp hair that indicates character, firmness, -and decision of purpose. As he was to depart -in the early morning, he kissed and hung over -his brother, "little Rook," as he called him, -whom he was not permitted to waken; and -the episode of the lonely boy doing this moved -the heart of his father; but Mrs. Hampton -looked coldly on, for hers was hard as flint to -him and cold as iron. -</p> - -<p> -At last it was all over, and in the early -hours of the next morning he found himself, -as one in a dream, in the train for London, -and leaving fast behind every feature of the -landscape with which he had been familiar -from infancy. Already Finglecombe, with all -its groves and little church tower had vanished, -and now Bideford, with its wide and airy -streets that shelve towards the water, came -and went as the train swept on, and after -that, all his wistful eyes looked on was new -to him. -</p> - -<p> -It was an inauspicious morning on which to -begin the world, being a dull and raw one in -February; the rain fell aslant the grey sky, -and reedy fens and lonesome marshes, where -the bittern boomed, were full of water, and -the rooks were cawing in the leafless elms as -they built their nests. The orchards were -leafless, and the furrows in the ploughed -fields were like long narrow runnels filled with -water; but despite all this, the novelty of -Derval's situation, a certain sense of freedom, -and being the lord of his own proper person, -kept up his spirits for a time. -</p> - -<p> -The last hand in which his hand had -lingered was that of Mr. Asperges Laud, and -in fancy he seemed still to see his kind and -earnest face, his Roman collarino, broad hat, -and long-skirted coat, as he stood on the -platform and gave a farewell wave, like a -wafted blessing, after the departing train. -</p> - -<p> -The railway journey was precisely like any -other; he saw many places new to him, -Taunton, with all its pleasant villages and -beautiful orchards, and Salisbury with its -wonderful spire, among others, and after a -run of two hundred and twenty miles his train -ran clanking into Waterloo Station. After -traversing miles of streets (which he thought -would never come to an end), about ten at -night, and with a heart beating almost painfully -with excitement, young Derval found himself -in the mighty wilderness of London, and -surrounded by more people than he thought the -world contained, and an appalling bustle, -strange lights and sights and sounds, and -where all men seemed to be engaged in a race -with time and for bare existence. -</p> - -<p> -By the guard who had him in charge he was -taken to an hotel; excitement rendered him -incapable of eating, and weary with intense -thinking he went supperless to bed. Sooth to -say, he felt very friendless and miserable. He -dearly loved his father, despite his later -abstraction and coldness, and already he was -longing to see his face again, and the face, -too, of Patty Fripp, who had been a mother -to him. He had left home but that morning, -and already ages seemed to have lapsed since -then. -</p> - -<p> -The thoughts of Robinson Crusoe, Captain -Cook, Peter Simple, and so forth, failed now -to keep up his spirits in the unutterable -loneliness of his condition; already he wept for the -home he had so lately quitted and loathed, -and from which he had been literally driven; -but he had no anger at any one there now—not -even Mrs. Hampton; and folding his -hands, he repeated the prayers, from which -mockery was soon to make him refrain when -on board the good ship <i>Amethyst</i>. -</p> - -<p> -George Eliot says truly that "daylight -changes the aspect of misery to us, as of -everything else, for the night presses on -our imagination—the forms it takes are false, -fitful, exaggerated; in broad day it sickens -our sense with the dreary persistence of -measurable reality." -</p> - -<p> -The day that dawned was scarcely one calculated -to rouse the ardour or spirits even of a -lad, as it was one of the Cimmerian darkness, -a London fog, when the omnibuses ceased to -ply, and not even the boldest cabby would -undertake to convey Derval to the West India -Docks, a state of things which greatly -perplexed him, as the yellow opaqueness that -now surrounded him was so different from -the thin white mists that came at times from -the Bristol Channel. -</p> - -<p> -It was one of those horrible fogs peculiar -to London and to London only, when there is a -doubly blinding nature in it, which puts the -thrust-down smoke into a state of atmospheric -solution, obscuring all things, and causes the -oppressed eyes to tingle, smart, and fill with -irrepressible tears, and blinds them to the dim -objects that might perchance otherwise be -visible; that compels at midday, and often -all day long, a vast consumption of candles -and lamp oil, gas and torches, and nearly all -locomotion is brought to a standstill; when -the trees and railings become white as if -snowed upon, carriages are relinquished and -links and lanterns resorted to at the West End, -and the street perils of the East are fearfully -increased, and many a vehicle is found -half-wrecked by the kerb-stone; and when the -terrible poisonous smoke-fog in its descent -from the very sky, as it were, penetrates -houses, and makes dark and obscure, damp -and comfortless, even the cosiest and brightest -of rooms. -</p> - -<p> -The mind is usually affected by external -circumstances. Thus, never more than now -in this dark and apparently awful day, did -Derval, cowering in the corner of a coffee-room, -sigh in heart for the touch of the loving -hand and the sound of the caressing voice -that the grave had closed over for ever. -</p> - -<p> -At last, as evening drew near, the tiresome -fog lifted a little, and a cab was brought for -him. To Derval's timidly expressed "hope -that he knew the way," the bloated visage of -the Jehu of the "four-wheeler" responded by -a smile of half amusement, half contempt; -and to the inquiry if the fog was often like -this, he was told that it was "ever so, from -year's end to year's end." -</p> - -<p> -After traversing a mighty labyrinth of -streets, narrow, dirty, and of most repellent -aspect, the cabman drew up, descended, and -opened the door; though aware that he had -to deal with "a precious green 'un," he was -actually content with thrice his legal fare, -and depositing Derval at a gate of the -Dock—a wilderness of kegs, masts, and ships, and -all manner of strange things to him—left him -with his portmanteau to find out the -<i>Amethyst</i>—his future home—as best he could. -</p> - -<p> -By the assistance of a good-natured porter, -after great delay and trouble, he found her, -and by a gangway proceeded on board in the -mist and damp, unnoticed and bewildered to -whom to address himself. -</p> - -<p> -A prodigious noise and bustle prevailed -everywhere, but to Derval's excited imagination -they seemed to culminate on board the -<i>Amethyst</i>. Several black gaping hatches were -open, and a mighty multitude of casks, boxes, -bales, and filled sacks, were descending into -them, by ropes and chain run through the -blocks shipped on derricks (in spars supported -by stays, and used for slinging up or lowering -down goods), with a terrible creaking and -rattling, amid much expenditure of breath in -the way of "yo-heave-oing" by gangs of -peculiarly dirty-looking fellows, with jersey-sleeves -rolled up, and who looked like gipsies -or vagrants, but were simply unwashed and -unkempt dock-labourers and porters. -</p> - -<p> -The deck and the entire ship seemed, to -lad's unprofessional eyes, a mass of -irremediable confusion. The former was -encumbered with casks and cases, and the mud -brought from the shore by the feet of dock-people -and visitors had not added to its comfort -or cleanness. Everybody seemed bustling -about, with some distinct object in view; but -Derval stood aside with his little portmanteau -and a travelling-bag, pushed to and fro by every -passer, lost, bewildered, and not unfrequently -sworn at. -</p> - -<p> -At last he took courage to address a young -man, tall, surly, and saucy in aspect, who was -smoking a short pipe, but who wore a naval -cap, and though he had his shirt-sleeves rolled -up as if he had been at work, seemed in some -authority, for Derval heard him spoken of as -the third mate, and he was greatly shocked -to find such an official attired thus, while -superintending cargo going into the open hold. -</p> - -<p> -"Please, sir," said Derval, "I have come -to join the ship as a midshipman—where -shall I put these things of mine?" -</p> - -<p> -"Don't chuck them down here, youngster, -whatever you do," was the somewhat surly -response, while he gave Derval a casual yet -critical glance. "You are young—young—what -the devil is your name?" -</p> - -<p> -"Derval Hampton, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, ah—yes," replied the other, touching -the peak of his cap in mockery, and for a -moment taking his short pipe from his mouth. -"I am Paul Bitts, the third mate; we have -been looking for you for ever so long; you'll -excuse the ship not being decorated to receive -you." -</p> - -<p> -"Certainly, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"That is very good of you. I hope you -left your esteemed papa and mamma very -well?" -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, thank you." -</p> - -<p> -"A very greenhorn, by Jove!" muttered -this would-be witty young gentleman. "Is -your wife coming to see you off? I hope -not, as I can't stand women's tears—lovely -woman in distress and all that sort of -thing." -</p> - -<p> -"Who's this?" asked a smart-looking -seaman with a fringe of curly brown whiskers, -and a good-natured face—a man about -forty-five—as he came forward. The new-comer -had the cut of a genuine seaman, and wore -his clothes as no landsman could ever -wear them. His trousers were loose and -round at the feet but tight at the waist; he -wore a well-varnished and low-crowned black -hat, with a long blue ribbon hanging over the -left eye, a black silk handkerchief peculiarly -knotted round his bare brown throat, that -had been tanned by the sun of many a land -and sea; a jack-knife hanging by a lanyard -thread was his only ornament, unless we -except a clumsy gold ring, and he displayed a -superabundance of check shirt. He had a -wide step, a rolling gait, and half-open hands -that seemed always ready to tally on to -anything. "Who is this?' he repeated, eyeing -Derval. -</p> - -<p> -"A greenhorn—a land-crab—come with -the owner's compliments," said Mr. Paul -Bitts, bowing low ironically; "allow me to -introduce Mr. Derval Hampton—Mr. Joe -Grummet, our boatswain; Mr. Joe -Grummet—Mr. Derval——" -</p> - -<p> -"Stow that 'ere nonsense," said the other -bluntly; "welcome aboard, my little lad, and -if any man in the <i>Amethyst</i> can make a sailor -of you, I am he." -</p> - -<p> -Then Joe Grummet shook Derval's hand -very cordially indeed. -</p> - -<p> -"Take him aft to the captain," said Mr. Bitts; -"but before you go, youngster, hand -over all the cakes and jam-pots the old woman -at home gave you." -</p> - -<p> -"I have none, and if I have, why should I -give them to you?" asked Derval, beginning -to resent the other's offensive tone. -</p> - -<p> -"Because you might be a naughty boy -and get so sea-sick—so hand them over, and -I'll find fellows to eat them for you." -</p> - -<p> -"I have none, I tell you," replied Derval, -with sparkling eyes; "and who do you mean -by the 'old woman'?" -</p> - -<p> -"Your mother, of course." -</p> - -<p> -"I have—none!" replied Derval, in a -changed voice that Joe Grummet was not slow -to detect, and taking up Derval's portmanteau -and bag, he desired him to follow, whispering -as they went: -</p> - -<p> -"Look 'ee, Hampton lad, there isn't a -saucier fellow in the ship than Paul Bitts, but -he is senior to you, and you won't gain -anything by running foul of his hawse, so give -him a wide berth always." -</p> - -<p> -And now, by a very handsome companion-way -and mahogany stair, they descended to -the cabin of the ship, which was plainly and -neatly furnished, the chief features, to Derval's -eyes, being a rack or two of arms and a -brass tell-tale compass, that swung in the -square skylight. -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Hampton—just come aboard, sir," -said Joe Grummet, removing his hat; and -Derval found himself kindly welcomed by -Captain Talbot, a man about thirty, with a -handsome open countenance, a bright cheerful -expression, and a stout well-set figure, and -his two other mates, Mr. Girtline and -Mr. Tyeblock, who pressed him to join them in a -glass of sherry and a biscuit, of which they -were partaking before going on shore. -</p> - -<p> -Captain Talbot questioned him kindly -about his parents and home as if to acquire -his confidence and inspire him therewith; -about his education, and if he had a genuine -liking for the sea, or if it was only a flight -of boyish fancy born of story books; but -Derval, unable to tell that anywhere was -better than home to him, answered with great -reserve and much shyness, while sooth to -say, as he had never heard of the Royal -Naval Reserve, to which Captain Talbot and -his two mates belonged, their costumes -puzzled him very much. -</p> - -<p> -They wore gold epaulettes, and half-inch -gold lace in wavy lines around the cuffs, laced -trousers, sword and belts like naval officers, -Captain Talbot having two medals glittering -on his broad chest for saving human life; and -he and his two mates were now departing in -"full fig," as Joe Grummet informed him, to -a great entertainment given by the Lord -Mayor, and ere they left the ship, the -captain, who knew probably the proclivities -of Mr. Paul Bitts, who was left in charge -there, specially directed the boatswain to -have an eye to the comforts of the new-comer. -</p> - -<p> -So while showing him his berth and where -to stow his things, Joe solved to him the -mystery of the handsome uniforms, and fired -his enthusiasm thereby. He told him that no -less a personage than the Prince of Wales -was at the head of the Royal Naval Reserve; -that Captain Talbot had the rank of -Lieutenant there, and Mr. Girtline and -Mr. Tyeblock that of sub-lieutenants among the -officers, who among their number included -several marquises and lords, as the <i>Navy List</i> -showed; and that in consequence of the -<i>Amethyst</i> having among her crew, which -consisted of twenty-five all told (exclusive of -officers), ten seamen of the Royal Naval -Reserve (of whom he, Joe, was one), she was -entitled to carry at her gaff-peak, the blue -ensign of Her Majesty's fleet, prior to first -hoisting of which, she was duly provided with -an Admiralty warrant. -</p> - -<p> -The uniform which he had now unpacked -and the contemplation of six brass 9-pounders -on deck, polished like jeweller's gold, with -black tompions in their muzzles and -canvas-covered lashings white as snow, afforded -Derval as much delight as the rifles with -sword-bayonets, the cutlasses and pistols that -were racked round the mizenmast in the -cabin and against the rudder case; for in the -seas the <i>Amethyst</i> might have to traverse, were -risks to be run that rendered lethal weapons -necessary at times; and he longed, with all -an enthusiastic lad's longing, for the day -when he, like Joe Grummet and the rest, -would be qualified to have his turn of drill -and gunnery practice on board H.M.S. <i>President</i> -in the West India Docks. And he hoped -too, that in time to come he might be -captain of just such another fine and stately ship -as the <i>Amethyst</i> of 700 tons register, A.1 at -Lloyds, perfect in the grace of her rigging, -beautiful in mould, and made for fast sailing—for -slipping through the sea "a-head of her -reckoning." -</p> - -<p> -Her rigging was beautifully fitted, every -rope lying in the chafe of another, her decks -were flush and level, and when at sea any -loose rope was neatly coiled away and laid -down in a regular man-of-war fashion that -came of the recent training of Joe Grummet -and others on board H.M.S. <i>President</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"The skipper has specially requested me -to take you in tow, Mr. Hampton," said the -boatswain. -</p> - -<p> -"In tow?" queried Derval. -</p> - -<p> -"In charge, don't you know; so there is -one piece of advice I'll give you, keep to -windward if you can of Mr. Paul Bitts; he is -often crank, and over-fond of colting the -youngster, and who yaws a bit in way of -doing duty." -</p> - -<p> -To this mysteriously worded advice, Derval -replied that he should endeavour to please -that gentleman in all things. -</p> - -<p> -"The captain, of course, will take care that -you are not put upon, but then he is not -always at hand. He is a fine fellow, Phil -Talbot, who can crack his joke and his -biscuit on the same head," continued the -boatswain manipulating a quid between the hard -palms of his hands prior to inserting it in the -back recesses of his mouth. "Many a lunar -he and I have worked together when mere -ship-boys long ago—for there wer'nt no -middies—no reefers—in the merchant service in -those days, and many who sailed with us then -have gone aloft for ever. But come lad—supper -waits," he exclaimed as a bell was -heard to jingle; "a jolly British leg of -mutton with caper sauce—gad boy, I have eaten -capers off the bushes many a time on the -shore of the Black Sea." -</p> - -<p> -At supper were Dr. Strang, the young -Scotch surgeon, who in despair of a practice -ashore was fain to ship as a "medico" in the -<i>Amethyst</i>; and two middies, Harry or Hal -Bowline, a frank fair-haired and cherry-cheeked -young fellow with a confident and -often defiant air; and little Tommy -Titford,—usually called Tom Tit—a quiet, dark-eyed, -and gentle lad about Derval's age, and who -was the peculiar object of the malevolence of -Mr. Paul Bitts, then busily engaged in slicing -down the mutton, of which he reserved all the -best cuts for himself. -</p> - -<p> -He gruffly told Derval to make haste and -finish his supper, as he had a message for him -to execute; and Derval, anxious to make -himself useful, and also to conciliate this -personage, bolted his food, and nearly choked -himself with a can of ale handed to him by -the good-natured boatswain. -</p> - -<p> -"Got any sisters, Hampton?" asked -Bowline, who thought himself a wag. -</p> - -<p> -"No," replied Derval. -</p> - -<p> -"Sorry for that; because we would have -stuck their photos all over the place, and set -them up to auction now and then." -</p> - -<p> -"Your message, please sir?" said Derval. -</p> - -<p> -"The harbour watch is set, so go forward -and send the cook's shifter to me." -</p> - -<p> -"Where shall I find him?" -</p> - -<p> -"In the starboard binnacle." -</p> - -<p> -"Very good, sir." And Derval vanished. -</p> - -<p> -"He is as big a gull as ever picked up a bit -of biscuit!" said Bitts with a horse-laugh in -which the others joined, especially young -Bowline, and after some time Derval returned -looking rather tired, flushed, and confused, to -say he had been all over the ship, inquired of -everyone, and could find neither the person -nor the place referred to, at which there was -a fresh burst of laughter; for by some he -had been informed that the cook's shifter -had gone on shore to be married, by others -that he was busy polishing the chain cable, -and that the starboard binnacle was at -present in the captain's hat-box, and so -forth. -</p> - -<p> -Many similar, and many silly jokes against -which the boatswain failed to protect him, -and perhaps was not disinclined to join in, -were perpetrated on Derval, ere, thoroughly -weary with a long and, to him, exciting day, -he retired to his berth, which he thought -had a moist and musty odour, and certainly -its sheets had not the dried lavender and -camphor scents of Patty Fripp's store presses -at Finglecombe. -</p> - -<p> -Betimes came the morrow with its troubles, -and the tyranny of Mr. Bitts among them. -</p> - -<p> -"Come youngster, tumble up," shouted that -individual, "it is six bells." -</p> - -<p> -"What have bells to do with me, sir?" -asked Derval timidly. -</p> - -<p> -"By Jingo, I'll soon let you know, through -the medium of a good colt. Rouse—that is all!" -</p> - -<p> -Now that gentleman was in charge of the -deck, and when Derval came upon it, at -6 A.M., Bitts was again in his shirt-sleeves, -and still superintending the stowage of cargo, -swearing at the dock labourers, until the -appearance of Derval gave a turn to his -thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -"On deck at last, Hampton. By Jove, you -look as if you had been cooked and stewed -up again!" he exclaimed; "now, away aloft -and get the fresh air about you. The sooner -you learn to sit astride the main cross-trees, -the better for yourself." -</p> - -<p> -And to Derval's dismay the speaker indicated -two little spars, that looked as slender -as walking-canes, resting on the trestle-trees, -where the topmast and topgallantmast are -connected. -</p> - -<p> -"Please, sir, I cannot do that just yet," -urged Derval, turning very white. -</p> - -<p> -"Into the maintop then," continued the -bully; "away aloft youngster, and hold on -with your eyelids if your hands fail you. -By Jove, you'll soon find that you are -like a young bear, with all your sorrows to -come! Here you, Tom Tit, show this son -of a shotten herring how to mount the -rigging." -</p> - -<p> -In obedience to these orders the boys -began to ascend the main rattlins at once, -little Titford leading the way and saying -many pleasant things to give Derval courage -and confidence. -</p> - -<p> -"Not through the lubber's hole," shouted -Paul Bitts; "up by the futtock shrouds!" -</p> - -<p> -Derval knew well that the sooner he -mastered all this kind of work the better for -himself. He had climbed many a tall elm -when seeking rooks' eggs at Finglecombe, -and many a taller cliff when after those of the -cormorants, choughs, and gannets; but this -was very different work, even though the ship, -moored beside the quay, was motionless as -St. Pauls; and he thought of what this task -would be at sea, in a storm perhaps, when the -ship became the fulcrum of the swaying -masts, and his heart stood still at the terrible -anticipation; yet he mounted bravely up, -step for step with young Titford, encouraged -by the latter's voice, and the clapping of -hard horny palms below. -</p> - -<p> -But now they had reached the top of the -long shrouds, to where the futtock-shrouds -come down from the top and are bound to -the mast by a hoop of iron. -</p> - -<p> -"Up you go now—if you go through the -lubber's hole, I'll be the death of you!" cried -Bitts from below, for as the captain and other -two mates were still on shore, he was in all -the plenitude of his power. -</p> - -<p> -"Hold on fast and follow me," cried little -Titford, and active as a squirrel, with his -body bent backward at an angle of forty-five -from the mast, he continued mounting until -he found himself in the maintop—<i>i.e.</i> the -platform placed over the head of the lower -must. -</p> - -<p> -Panting, and perspiring at every pore, with -agitation, exertion, and an emotion of no -small dismay to see the deck and the men -thereon seem so small and so far down below, -Derval, with tingling fingers, while a prayer -rose to his lips, grasped the futtock-shrouds, -surmounted them as one in a dream, and -found himself safe beside Titford. There -came a time when this task was as easy to -him as sitting down to table, but the novelty -of it filled him with great alarm then, and -when the descent began, despite his terror of -Mr. Paul Bitts, he deliberately left the top -through the lubber's hole—an aperture in the -top grating—as an easier mode of progression -while Titford went down by the futtock-shrouds. -</p> - -<p> -On seeing this Paul Bitts grinned with -delight, and produced from his pocket a -colt—a piece of rope eighteen inches long, -knotted at one end and whipped at the -other—which he was wont to carry for the benefit -of the ship-boys. -</p> - -<p> -Derval perceived this; a spirit of mischief, -caused by revulsion of feeling, rose within -him, and the moment he reached the deck, -all encumbered as it was by boxes, barrels, -bales, and gangways, dock labourers and -porters, he gave Mr. Bitts a chase that excited -the laughter of all and roused the fury of that -personage, by darting hither and thither, with -all a boy's agility, round the masts and -hatchways till he reached the quarter-deck, at a -part of which the side-netting was being -repaired; consequently a portion of it was -open and the moulded plankshere (a plank -which runs all round the timber heads) was -hinged up. -</p> - -<p> -While Derval stood here irresolute, and -thinking of capitulation, Bitts made a dart at -him, on which the latter instantly shrank -aside, and his tormentor, in his blind fury -failing to perceive the gap in the bulwark, went -head foremost overboard and into the water. -</p> - -<p> -Amid shouts of laughter he came to the -surface, black as a negro, with the filthy mud -and ooze of the harbour bottom, into which he -must have been wedged to the shoulders. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my eye!" shouted Harry Bowline, -who danced a few steps of a hornpipe, "here's -a lark—Bitts in the water—man overboard—rope, -rope! cut away the life-buoy—man a -boat!" -</p> - -<p> -Puffing like a grampus and half choked, the -third mate scrambled on board by the mizen -chains, minus his colt, and rather more than -crestfallen, and while he went below to alter -his costume, Derval, after paying his "footing" -to the crew—their perquisites for his first -going aloft—was sent into a part of the hold -where a gang of men were stowing away cases, -and where, as it was very dark, his duty -consisted in holding a candle to show a light -when required. -</p> - -<p> -In an atmosphere and amid features and -occupations so new and strange, perhaps -Derval thought as little now of the Oakhampton -title, the ruined castle, and Wistmanswood, -as his father did amid his fast growing -wealth; but the time might come for both to -lay such matters to heart, and this the future -will show. -</p> - -<p> -It was somewhat of a red-letter day for -Derval when he first donned his uniform—a -gold-laced cap and blue Oxford jacket with -gilt anchor buttons, gold anchors on the -collars, and ditto lace upon the cuffs—and -went on shore, bearer of a letter to Messrs. Dugald -Curry & Co., and feeling indifferent -to the anxious inquiries of Mr. Bitts, as to -whether he thought he resembled Lord Nelson, -K.C.B., whether his mamma knew he was -absent from home, and at what church he was -to meet his intended, and much more to the -same purpose. -</p> - -<p> -In time the cargo was all on board, the -hatches battened down, the boats secured -and inspected, the bills of lading -signed—documents whereby the captain of a vessel -acknowledges receipt of goods shipped on -board, and binds himself ("dangers of accidents, -the seas, fire, enemies, &c., excepted") -to deliver them in good order to those to -whom they are addressed, on payment of the -stipulated freight. -</p> - -<p> -The <i>Amethyst</i> was hauled out of dock, and -with the blue ensign of the Royal Naval -Reserve flying at her gaff-peak, and Blue Peter -at the foremast-head, was taken by tug down -the river, and came to anchor off Tilbury Fort. -Next day began the bustle of preparing for -sea; the canvas was fully bent, the royal -yards crossed, the studding sail gear rove, the -powder brought on board; and in many ways -Derval made himself so active, even up -aloft, that he quite won the heart of Joe -Grummet. -</p> - -<p> -"I knew you would drop into your place in -a day or two, youngster," said he, "and -you've already done it." -</p> - -<p> -"When shall we reach the ocean?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, very soon—a deuced deal too soon for -you," said Mr. Bitts. -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow a tug will take us to the Nore, -and next day will find us in the Channel—and -here comes old Toggle the Pilot," said -Grummet, as a stout personage, enveloped in many -coats and wraps, came tumbling over the side, -with a rubicund and weatherbeaten face, and -made his way direct for the grog, which as a -preliminary to everything, waited him, as he -knew, in the cabin. -</p> - -<p> -It is not an uncommon thing for the captain -of a sea-going ship, calling the roll, to find -several of his men absent, having been either -too intoxicated to sail, or having broken their -articles and disappeared, and such deficiencies -are then made up by the crimps at Gravesend, -as no vessel can go to sea short-handed; but -this was never the case with Phil Talbot, who -was one of the most popular merchant -commanders belonging to the mighty Port of -London. -</p> - -<p> -Ere long the Nore was left behind, and -Derval had his first instalment of the odious -mal-du-mer amid the heavy seas of the English -Channel, and with a longing and somewhat of -an envious heart, he saw old Toggle the Pilot -quit the ship and go off to Deal in his boat, -waving a farewell with his tarpaulin hat—the -last link with old England. -</p> - -<p> -Even the glorious sea is becoming somewhat -prosaic now in these our days of steam, -telegraphy, and extreme colonisation; yet it was -the fortune of Derval Hampton to see much -that was stirring, perilous and even terrible, -ere he had the down of manhood on his -upper lip. -</p> - -<p> -The family at Finglecombe knew that the -<i>Amethyst</i>, had sailed for Rio de Janeiro. Greville -Hampton, who was neither destitute of -humanity nor of natural interest in his -first-born, duly announced the fact, as seen among -the "Shipping Intelligence" in his morning -paper, and it set Mrs. Hampton -thinking—thinking—as she fondled her rather -cross-tempered little Rookleigh. -</p> - -<p> -She thought on the contingencies consequent -to a sailor's life, separated from death -by a six-inch plank, as Juvenal has it—an idea -reproduced by Dr. Samuel Johnson—the -collisions, fires, founderings, the chances of -lee-shores, of floating hulls and icebergs in the -dark; the countless chances too of drowning or -dying by climate and disease. She had read -too in the papers that "in the five years -ending June last, 5,028 ships had gone to the -bottom with every man on board, making -6,469 souls," and she thought there were a -good many chances against Derval Hampton—the -eldest born—ever darkening his father's -door again. -</p> - -<p> -But there was one chance, or mischance -rather, on which she had not calculated, and -which startled the soul of Greville to its -inmost depth, when he read on another -morning a paragraph worded thus:— -</p> - -<p> -"The ship <i>Amethyst</i> of London, outward -bound, spoken with in Latitude 13° 17' S. and -Longitude 33° 27' W., by Curry & Co.'s ship -<i>Wanderer</i>, all well, save that a death had -happened. A boy had fallen from aloft and -perished." -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS. -</h3> - -<p> -The voyage of the <i>Amethyst</i> towards tropical -seas and shores was far from monotonous, -and more than one startling event occurred -during its progress. With her snowy canvas -spread, her rigging all a-taut (to use a cant -nautical phrase), and her deck, whilom so wet, -slippery, and foul in dock, well holystoned -and swabbed till it was—as Joe Grummet -said—white as a lady's hand, the <i>Amethyst</i> -was in all her beauty now—all the more so -to Derval, who got rid of his sea-sickness ere -she cleared the Channel. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, my little man," said Captain Talbot -one day, when Joe Grummet was teaching -him the use of the quadrant, "how do you -feel on your sea legs—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"Happy, sir—very happy," replied Derval, -turning his bright young face, which was -flushed by the keen breeze, laden by the -iodine of many thousand miles of the fresh, -glorious, and open ocean. -</p> - -<p> -"That's right, my lad." -</p> - -<p> -"I have not been so happy for many a year -past," said Derval, thinking, perhaps, of his -mother. -</p> - -<p> -"Come, come, youngster, it is rather early -in life for you to talk of many years, and of -happiness in the past tense," said the Captain, -amused by a quaintness in the manner of -Derval—a manner born of the kind of -isolation in which he had lived in his father's -house; and save for the annoyance -occasionally given to him by the wasp-like nature -of Paul Bitts, he would have had nothing to -complain of, for the good example and gentlemanly -bearing of Captain Talbot and the first -and second mates, affected all the ship's -company advantageously. -</p> - -<p> -As for the self-won ducking in the West -India Dock, Derval hoped Mr. Bitts would -forget that and get over it in time; but he -never did, and in many ways pursued the feud -which he had declared, apparently, on the -day Derval first joined the ship. -</p> - -<p> -One morning, when he and Derval were in -the middle watch (<i>i.e.</i> from 12 to 4 A.M., as the -ship was nearing the Azores), the latter, -overcome by the heavy saline atmosphere of -the sea, by youth and the lateness of the hour, -began insensibly to doze, with his head resting -on the gunnel of the quarter-deck, and in a -kind of half-waking dream he thought himself -at Finglecombe: young rabbits scudded past -in the grass; the hum of the wind in the -rigging aloft, suggested that of bees and -insects in the sunshine, and the air seemed -to become laden with the familiar fragrance -of the apple orchards and garden flowers, -till a heavy thwack from the new colt of the -inevitable Mr. Paul Bitts awoke him with a -nervous start. -</p> - -<p> -"Sleeping are you—on your watch, too! -You'll come to the gallows, you young -villain!" exclaimed his senior officer, with a -malicious gleam in his closely set and serpent-like eyes; -"that will teach you to snore like -one of Circe's swine. Now go to windward—keep -a bright look-out for the revolving light on -Cape Flyaway, and if you see the great -sea-serpent, don't forget to call the morning -watch." -</p> - -<p> -And, with a chuckle, he coiled away the -colt in a pocket of his pea-jacket. -</p> - -<p> -"Keep your weather-eye open," he added in -a bullying tone; "and don't let me catch you, -in the dark, stealing eggs out of the hen-coops!" -</p> - -<p> -"Please, sir," said Derval, rubbing his -shoulders, "I never was a thief." -</p> - -<p> -"But thieving begins sometimes, and -opportunity is the devil's game." -</p> - -<p> -Under the special tutelage of Joe Grummet, -who conceived a great regard for him, Derval, -in conjunction with little Tom Titford, learned -to hand, reef and steer, to mount away aloft -with ease and confidence, and with both to -lie out on the arms of a topgallant yard; to -use the marling-spike, to splice and knot, and -make a grummet. He knew the name of -every part of the ship, of every spar and of -all the standing and running rigging; for he -had great aptitude, and proved a smart -scholar at this kind of work; thus, in a little -time, it was evident that he would be able -to take sights, work a reckoning by log and -compass, and calculate variation and leeway. -He was taught how to be ready for any -emergency of wind or weather; to consider -nothing too trivial for consideration, and to -remember, as Joe said, "how a little leak -may sink a great ship." -</p> - -<p> -Yet his sweet boyish nature still remained; -and now, when far away at sea, he thought, -in the warmth of his affection, of the -handsome pipe he would "bring home for papa"; -of the beautiful shells for his little -half-brother; and he had visions, too, of a -wonderful cap, all over ribbons, for old Patty -Fripp. -</p> - -<p> -Overhead the sky was now of the cerulean -blue that England never knew, and never -will know. -</p> - -<p> -Captain Talbot made his men strictly -observe the "clean-shirt-days," as the sailors -call Thursday and Sunday; on the latter -he always read prayers at the capstan-head -to his crew, who were sure to be -neatly dressed, and there was much of that -silence which prevails in a man-of-war on -that day. -</p> - -<p> -On one of these occasions, just after -prayers, Mr. Bitts, to Derval's great surprise, -approached under the lee of the long-boat, -amidship, and said, "Come, youngster—here -is a glass of grog for you—just a -thimble-full; the sun is over the fore-yard long -ago." -</p> - -<p> -Derval shrank from the beverage, which -was proffered in a tumbler, but seeing -Mr. Bitts' hand in his pocket wherein the colt -was coiled, he drank it off, though nearly -choked by the effort, and after that, his -perceptions of everything were very vague -indeed. -</p> - -<p> -The ship seemed to be sailing round and -round upon an axis; he tried to speak, but -the difficulty of articulation became great, -and the half-uttered nonsense he talked -hung upon his lips; he felt alternately -maudlin and defiant, especially with young -Harry Bowline, who greeted him with shouts -of laughter, yet good-naturedly endeavoured -to get him below, and a struggle ensued -between them. -</p> - -<p> -"What is the matter there, forward?" -cried the Captain, in surprise, from the -quarterdeck. -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Hampton taken suddenly ill, sir," -replied Mr. Bitts with a gratified grin. -</p> - -<p> -"Strang, see what is the matter." -</p> - -<p> -The young Scots doctor went amidships, -and returned laughing, to report that which -was really the case, "Young Hampton as -screwed as an owl!" -</p> - -<p> -"The deuce he is!" exclaimed the Captain -with great annoyance; "how came this to -pass?" -</p> - -<p> -"The grog as Mr. Bitts gave him has been -too strong for him, sir," said Joe Grummet, -who took in the whole situation and resented -it accordingly; "riglar thumb-grog it must -have been, to my mind." -</p> - -<p> -Bitts furtively darted a vicious glance at -the boatswain, who received it with perfect -equanimity. -</p> - -<p> -"What can that boy know about grog?" -said the Captain angrily. -</p> - -<p> -"How to get jolly drunk on it apparently," -replied the unabashed Paul Bitts; "he is -rather a greenhorn yet." -</p> - -<p> -"Shame on you, sir! this is your fault, not -his; and mark me, if it ever happens again, it -will be the worse for you and your certificate!" -</p> - -<p> -With this threat, the Captain turned and -walked aft. -</p> - -<p> -It may be safely recorded that this never -happened again, and Derval, full of shame for -the occurrence, did all in his power, by proper -and zealous behaviour, to wipe off the stain, -for such he deemed it, brought upon him by -the malevolence of the third mate. -</p> - -<p> -On the watch by night, under skies where -new constellations—new to his eyes at least—were -studding heaven, he always felt to the -full the awful impressiveness, the utter -silence of the sea! Then his thoughts fled -home—to that which had latterly been no -home to him—and again, in fancy, he saw -the lovely dell of Finglecombe, the bay -glittering in the sunny distance, the grim rocky -portal of the Horses' Hole, the Pixies Parlour, -the stately ruins of Oakhampton, the lone -waste of Wistmanswood, the cob-cottages, -and the old haunted mill at the Mill brook, -with its silent and mossy wheel. -</p> - -<p> -What a vast time seemed to have elapsed -since he left all these behind him! -</p> - -<p> -One day, when the <i>Amethyst</i> was near the -tropic of Cancer, and ploughing the Sargasso -Sea, about daybreak, Tom Tyeblock, the -second mate, who had the morning watch, -reported a sail, with a signal flying on the -lee-bow, so the <i>Amethyst</i> was edged down -towards her. -</p> - -<p> -She was a large brig, with her sails in -considerable disorder. The peak halyards of the -spanker gaff had given way, and the sail lay -flapping against the mainmast; her spars -were topped about in various ways; the -maintopsail was full, but the foretopsail lay -in the wind; not a soul was to be seen on -board, and yet she had signals flying, that -said, "Can you send a boat on board?" -</p> - -<p> -When near her, the <i>Amethyst</i> lay to, and -Captain Talbot ordered Mr. Bitts to take a -brace of revolvers with him and go off to the -stranger, with Derval and six men, who -hazarded all manner of conjectures as to the -vessel. -</p> - -<p> -Had her crew all perished of some terrible -disease, or been poisoned by a rascally black -cook? If so, terrible sights would await -them, of corpses lying about, or festering in -bunks and berths. Had there been a -mutiny, and had she been scuttled, to sink -in time? She did look rather deep in the -water, Paul Bitts remarked, adding that she -might sink suddenly when they were on -board, or alongside, and so carry them down -in the vortex she made. Had some dreadful -crime compelled her crew to abandon her? -</p> - -<p> -As they neared her, stroke by stroke, the -silent, voiceless, and crewless craft, floating -in utter silence upon the glassy tropical sea, -became an object calculated to impose awe -and a solemn sense of great mystery on the -boat's crew. At last they were alongside, -and as it might have been dangerous to hook -on the painter to any part of her, the -coxswain held on by boat-hook to the forechains, -while with their pulses accelerated by -excitement, Paul Bitts and Derval clambered up -and leaped on board, the soul of the latter -already recoiling within him at anticipation of -some sight of horror. -</p> - -<p> -The deck was deserted, but ropes, &c. lay -about everywhere in confusion. The -longboat was missing, but its chocks remained -over the main hatch. The quarter-boat, too, -was gone, and the fall-tackles swung idly at -the davit-heads. -</p> - -<p> -They descended to the cabin: it was empty; -but a fixed lamp was burning on the table, -and a clock ticked at the bulkhead; some -books, wine-glasses, and a couple of decanters -had evidently slipped off the table, and lay in -a heap to leeward. A paroquet, in a gilt cage, -hung in the skylight. Save this bird, there -was no living thing on board. -</p> - -<p> -The cabin berths had not been slept in, -and they, as well as the forecastle bunks, were -empty. There was no appearance of corpses, -no blood, no weapons, or sign of outrage -anywhere. No ship's papers could be found, -but her name was the <i>Bonnie Jean of</i> ... and -the rest was painted out! -</p> - -<p> -After making certain that there was no one -on board the derelict, as the weather was -becoming squally, and Captain Talbot had a -signal flying "to return," Mr. Bitts quitted -the brig, and shoved off. Boy-like, Derval had -possessed himself of the paroquet—a beautiful -little love-bird, half green and scarlet—in its -pretty cage, thinking of it as a gift for his -little brother at home; but with a malediction, -Paul Bitts told him to "let it alone," and as -he delayed, he took it out of the cage and -tossed it away to leeward, when it soon -disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -What could the emergency have been that -caused the still flying signal, now answered -too late, "Can you send a boat?" to be -hoisted, and to what ship had it been -exhibited? It could have been to no town or -fort in that latitude and longitude. -Moreover, the burning lamp showed that the -desertion had been most recent. Where, then, -were her crew? -</p> - -<p> -Conjectures were endless; a sharp look-out -was kept from aloft, but no boats were seen, -and as the <i>Amethyst</i> hauled her wind and -pursued her course, every eye was turned ever -and anon to the floating derelict till she was -hull down, and even till her topsails sank -beneath the dim and blue horizon astern. -</p> - -<p> -Derval recalled to memory the old and sea-worn -wreck he had seen floating in Barnstaple -Bay, and the mysterious interest it had excited -in his childish mind, when he never thought -that a day would come and find him a sailor -and far away on tropical waters. -</p> - -<p> -The episode was duly recorded in the ship's -log, and it formed the staple object for comment -in the forecastle for the next twenty-four -hours, eliciting the narration of many a quaint -personal adventure from the seamen, and one -of these, a somewhat ghastly one, was told by -Joe Grummet. -</p> - -<p> -"You must know, Mates," said he, "that -when I was a foremastman aboard the <i>Boomerang</i> -of Liverpool, bound from Newfoundland -to Waterford, in latitude 47 north and -longitude 45 west, the look-out men reported a -boat in sight, on a dark-grey squally day in -April, and bearing about half a mile on the -lee-bow, and in the stern-sheets of that -identical boat, far out in mid-ocean, sat a man, -steering it with an oar! There warn't no -vessels in sight, but an iceberg or two, for we -were leaving the floes astern going north with -the Gulf stream, so the air, you may believe, -was bitterly keen and cold. We edged down -towards him, but as he seemed to take no -notice of us, or heeded a shout or two, I was -sent off with three hands in the quarter-boat -to overhaul him. My eye! we found as that -'ere boat was steered by a corpse! In her -stern-sheets he sat stiff, motionless, lifeless, -frozen hard as a rock, but with his head -drooping a little forward. He was rigidly upright, -with the oar over the back-board of the stern, -as if he had been a-sculling, and so hard were -his hands frozen to it, that we failed to get it -from the death-grasp. The boat had been -half full of water that had turned to ice, in -which he was wedged to his knees. Over his -head and shoulders the spray and spoon-drift -of the sea had been washing again and again, -freezing as it came. How long he must have -been dead, or whence or how he came there, -there was nothing to tell us. We held the -water with our oars, and held our breath too, -as the boat with its terrible occupant, on a -current and before the impetus of the wind, -went bobbing past us, and we struck out for -the ship, anxious only to see the last of that -ghastly boatman." -</p> - -<p> -Clear, warm, and sunny was the weather -as the <i>Amethyst</i> ploughed the tropical seas, -when Derval saw in the sky the wonderful -constellation of six stars named the Southern -Cross, which, though coeval with the universe, -was first seen with awe by Christian eyes in -the fifteenth century, when Cada Mosto, the -Venetian, steered his caravel into the Southern -Sea. -</p> - -<p> -One fine day Captain Talbot and his three -mates were amusing themselves with revolver -practice, at a quart-bottle slung from the -foreyard-arm, at which they fired from the -quarterdeck, but as the motion of the ship was -considerable, as she was then going before -the wind with all her yards square, and -consequently rolled heavily, such was the -oscillation of the object, that after some -twenty shots it was only broken by Mr. Paul -Bitts, who was greatly inflated by the -circumstance and the applause it won him and now -ensued thereon, an event somewhat illustrative -of the strange doctrine of chances—a thing -happening by luck, without expectation or -prevision. -</p> - -<p> -As Mr. Bitts was dropping fresh cartridges -into the chambers of his breech-loading pistol, -with the air of a candle-snuffer at twenty -paces, his eyes fell on Derval, who, with the -other two middies, was regarding him with -some interest, if it was not a very warm one. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, young fellow, do you think you -could do that—eh?" he asked with a grin. -</p> - -<p> -"I should like to try, sir," replied Derval, -colouring. -</p> - -<p> -"Oho! the deuce you would! Why, you -young——" -</p> - -<p> -"Give him a shot," said Captain Talbot, -interrupting some abusive epithet; "take my -revolver, Hampton. Grummet, run up another -bottle to the yard-arm." -</p> - -<p> -"It will save trouble to let him have a shy -at the neck—that is enough for such a -marksman!" sneered Paul Bitts. -</p> - -<p> -Derval nervously took the Captain's pistol, -for he had never had such an implement in -his hand before, raised it, aimed, and while -thinking the report was all he would make, -fired, and, by a most astounding "fluke," -smashed the bottle-neck which was yet -dangling from the yard-arm! -</p> - -<p> -A burst of astonishment escaped the crew, -while the Captain, who evidently knew how it -all came to pass, laughed heartily; but not so -Mr. Bitts, who felt in this a fresh cause for -hatred, and retired aft, sulkily muttering: -</p> - -<p> -"A sly young beggar, who, I believe, knows -more of the world, the flesh, and the devil, -than the ship's crew all told, for all that his -face and manner are so devilish meek!" -</p> - -<p> -But resting on the reputation so suddenly -won, Derval did not, for a long time, indulge -in any more pistol-shooting. -</p> - -<p> -Now came the time for crossing the line, -and from all he had heard of the rough jokes -perpetrated on that occasion Derval had a -genuine terror of Mr. Bitts, for the absurdities -practised often became insulting and cruel. -But such is the improvement now wrought -among seamen by the spread of education and -general progress of refinement, that these coarse -sports are decidedly on the wane, and Captain -Talbot contenting himself with ordering extra -grog to all to drink the health of Neptune, -the equator was passed quietly, and many -schemes formed secretly by Mr. Paul Bitts -for shaving and sousing in slush both Derval -and his chum Tom Titford, ended in nothing, -to the great relief of both. -</p> - -<p> -After the <i>Amethyst</i> was some days' sail -beyond the equator and running on a wind, -with her topsails set and starboard tacks on -board, the weather became peculiarly gloomy -and squally, and one day, when it was Derval's -watch with Mr. Tyeblock, the Captain, who had -been studying the barometer below, came -suddenly on deck, and looked aloft and at the sky. -</p> - -<p> -"Trim the yards anew, Mr. Tyeblock," said -he; "the wind is getting more ahead." -</p> - -<p> -"Very good, sir," and the tacks and sheets -were promptly attended to. -</p> - -<p> -Joe Grummet and other old seamen were -now seen looking occasionally to windward, -for they knew well by the dark clouds that -were coming banking up from the horizon -that they had foul weather to prepare for; but -it came slowly. Two or three days of sunless -gloom followed, during which no sights could -be had or reckoning properly worked, and the -doubts concerning the latter were fated to -have a perilous solution. -</p> - -<p> -Night was closing amid mist and obscurity, -the sea was rising, the vessel rolling heavily, -and all was in considerable confusion in the -cabin below, where everything that was not -made fast <i>fetched away</i>, and went crashing to -leeward and got jammed or broken. -</p> - -<p> -Coiled on a chest in the companion-way, -Derval had been courting a little sleep, when -he heard the hoarse voice of Joe Grummet -shouting: -</p> - -<p> -"All hands, ahoy! all hands, ahoy! tumble -up and take in sail!" -</p> - -<p> -Thick and fast the rain-drops were now -pouring on the deck, gorging the foaming -scuppers, rushing as they only do in the -tropics; and rolling from side to side, as if -she would dip her yard-arms in the mountain-like -billows that ran towards her, the <i>Amethyst</i>, -with her courses set and topsails nearly -close-reefed, was ploughing before the wind through -a black and midnight sea. Loud and repeated -orders rang confusedly on the rising blast, -together with the trampling of feet, the -creaking of blocks, the bellowing of the wind -through the strained rigging, where loose -ropes were flying wildly about, and there were -the roar, the wash, and fierce incessant gurgle -of the sea as it burst over the bows and boiled -away beneath the counter. -</p> - -<p> -"Close-reef topsails!" cried Captain Talbot, -while the storm deepened; and with others, -Derval and Tom Titford, under Mr. Bitts, -ascended, to do their part of this task, by -the fore-rigging, often as they went embracing -the shrouds with their legs and arms; and -the ill-conditioned third mate was heard using -terrible language as he urged them all up to -the cross-trees and out upon the yard. -</p> - -<p> -"Out you go to the starboard ear-ring, you -wretched little biscuit-nibbler, and don't look -as if you had joined the Shakers!" he -exclaimed, administering a blow with his -clenched hand to poor Tom Tit, who turned -his little white face upbraidingly towards him, -and then lay out manfully on one yard-arm as -Derval did on the other, and aided by the -strong hands of the seamen at the centre of -the spar, got the heavy wet canvas tied hard -and fast with the reef points. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Tom "lay out" on the yard with a -will, above the black and seething deep, with -all his strength; but in the fury of the wind -it began to fail him, or it might be that in -the force of the gale he lost his presence of -mind, and when the men began their descent -he remained, with his hands convulsively -clutching the yard, and his feet on the -slippery foot-ropes or in the stirrups thereof. -</p> - -<p> -"Now then, stupid! are you going to sleep -there?" cried Paul Bitts from the crosstrees, -"or must I rouse you with my colt, and make -you dance the binnacle hornpipe when I get -you on deck?" -</p> - -<p> -"Mother—oh, Mother!" the boy was heard -to shriek, his small voice sounding weirdly on -the skirt of the howling blast, as he slipped -from the yard-arm, and vanishing into the -wrack and obscurity below, was seen no more! -</p> - -<p> -Derval felt his blood grow cold; and as one -in a dreadful dream, from which he must -waken to find Tom Tit by his side, he made -his way, he knew not how, but mechanically, -to the deck, where the tragedy was reported -to the Captain. But there was not a moment -now, either for comment, explanation, or -regret, for there came aft a terrible cry from -the look-out man at the bowsprit. -</p> - -<p> -"Breakers ahead! breakers on <i>both</i> bows!" -</p> - -<p> -"In the name of heaven, how came breakers -here!" exclaimed Captain Talbot, for a -moment forgetting that for many hours past -he had been unable to verify his whereabouts. -Proceeding forward in haste, the Captain -went out to the cap of the bowsprit. In peril -he was a man whose nerves became as iron! -Steadily he looked around him, but even his -cheek blanched then, though none could -perceive it. -</p> - -<p> -Through the black gloom, a blacker barrier -of mighty rocks was rising right ahead. -Boiling fiercely before a northern blast, the -sea was breaking on them wildly, dashing its -white spray as high as the maintop, and, as -the waves receded, the sable fronts of two -particular or insulated masses were plainly -visible from time to time, with a mass of froth -between them; while accelerated by the wind -astern, and no doubt by the indraught in the -reef, for a reef it appeared to be, the stately -<i>Amethyst</i> seemed to increase her speed from -ten knots an hour to something far beyond it. -</p> - -<p> -Clinging to a belaying pin on the port side, -as the ship rushed on, there came into -Derval's uninitiated mind only the fear of -immediate death, with a quickened circulation of -the blood and a painful tightness of the chest, -and in this emotion men far his seniors -shared, at that dreadful crisis; but now the -voice of Captain Talbot, who had obtained -his trumpet, was heard even amid the roar of -the breakers, and a clear and manly voice it -was. -</p> - -<p> -In that tropical region the water and spray -that swept over the ship were warm nearly as -new milk, and by this time the poultry and -pigs were all washed overboard and drowned. -</p> - -<p> -"There is an opening in the reef, three -points before the port beam," said the -Captain; "Mr. Tyeblock, take the wheel and -steer for it—three points, remember! There -may be water there to carry us through. -Hands to the braces; brace the yards, forward!" -</p> - -<p> -Then, as the <i>Amethyst</i> sprang to the blast, -the waves boiled over her lee gunnel; but -finding a terrible strain aloft,— -</p> - -<p> -"Let fly the topsail sheets!" was now the -order of Captain Talbot, and then, as the -canvas flew to ribbons that cracked like -thunder in the gale, the topmasts were saved. -</p> - -<p> -"Hard up with the helm now, Tyeblock! -Hands to the braces and square away the -yards." -</p> - -<p> -Headlong careered the ship on her way -through the narrow passage which Talbot's -eye had detected, and splendidly was she -steered in the skilful hands of Tyeblock, who -exultingly declared that he could turn her on -a sixpence. -</p> - -<p> -"The reef is astern, we are safe, thanks be -to God!" exclaimed Captain Talbot, whose -emotion of prayerful gratitude was shared by -all who heard him. -</p> - -<p> -Deep water ahead, was reported by Girtline, -the second mate, who was in the bows with -the hand-lead. -</p> - -<p> -"Heave to, till dawn comes!" was now -the Captain's order, and the ship was accordingly -hove to, about two miles to leeward of -the reef, and a keen look-out was kept in -every direction for breakers. -</p> - -<p> -On sounding the well, Joe Grummet reported -that the ship had sprung a leak, and -the water was rising at the rate of two feet -an hour; so the chain pumps were rigged, -and all idlers—such as the carpenter, cook, -steward, and others—took the first spell -thereat, to be immediately followed by a -fresh gang, so that the leak made little -way. -</p> - -<p> -The gale abated as day came in with its -tropical rapidity and splendour, and Captain -Talbot knew instantly that the reef they had -so nearly perished on, was one of those -between the numerous rocky and barren little -islets that stud the whole coast around the -island of Fernando-de-Noronha, which lies -about seventy leagues north-east from the -Cabo de San Roque, on the coast of Brazil. -</p> - -<p> -In the full glory of the morning sun, -towered up the Campanario (or Belfry), a -steep mountain of the isle, a thousand feet in -height, and of a form so remarkable, that on -one side the upper portion overhangs its base. -The Portuguese flag was hoisted on Fort -Remedios, as the <i>Amethyst</i> passed on the -north-west side of the island, with a soft and -pleasant breeze, while the hands were aloft, -bending a new set of topsails, or attending to -the leak and other damages of the eventful -night. -</p> - -<p> -While sent aloft, for practice, to assist in -bending on the new foretopsail, Derval had -not much time either for reflection on the -catastrophe of the past sleepless night, or -observing the wonderful multitude of turtle's -eggs which cover all the rocks and shore -thereabout between the months of December -and April; but when excitement and work -were over, he, like others, had leisure to think -over poor Tom Titford, whose maritime career, -to which he had looked forward in all the -delight of youth, was thus ended ere it had -well begun. -</p> - -<p> -His empty berth and vacant place at table, -his uniform cap hanging on a peg, and his -little trunk with all his worldly goods -remained; but his soft smiling face and his -earnest honest eyes were gone from human -gaze for ever, and Derval and Hal Bowline -were very sad on the subject of his sudden -loss, which made them somehow closer -friends, while each felt that the victim might -have been himself or the other; and both -instinctively clenched their fists when they -heard Bitts say, with a silent laugh, that -"even if the body were found, there would be -no coroner's inquest in the latitude of -Pedro-de-Noronha, and that young lubbers when -they went aloft should remember the maxim -of 'one hand for myself, and one for my -owners.'" -</p> - -<p> -So the middy, of whose death the passing -ship brought tidings, was not Derval Hampton, -but little Tom Titford. Had it been -himself, he thought, who would have sorrowed -for him? and it cannot seem strange that -the image of old Patty Fripp occurred to -the lonely lad even before that of his own -father. -</p> - -<p> -For days after the storm, he felt his legs -and arms stiff from the effect of bruises and -abrasions sustained in clasping the shrouds -when going aloft to reef the topsails. -</p> - -<p> -Days of light breezes and bright weather -followed each other now, and on a fine -morning in March the cheerful cry of "Land in -sight," passed from mouth to mouth on board -the <i>Amethyst</i>. To Derval's eye, the faint blue -mass that rose west-north-west about four -miles distant, seemed an island; but to Talbot -and many of the crew it was familiar as Cape -Frio, a promontory on the Brazilian coast, -sixty-four miles eastward of their destination; -and with all that interest and curiosity excited -by the appearance of a new and strange -country, he watched the oval-shaped mass of -granite cliff that terminates a long range of -mountains, and all its features were distinct by -five in the evening, when it was only seven -miles distant. -</p> - -<p> -With midnight came squally weather, with -thunder and red flashes of lightning, against -which, "instant seen and instant lost," rose -the black outline of the heavy waves, serrated -like the teeth of a saw; but when day came -in, the <i>Amethyst</i> was standing in for the Bay of -Rio de Janeiro, under full sail, with a steady -breeze from the sea. Long ere this, the -watch on deck had been busy getting the -cables out of the tier, laying them in French-fake -on the deck, a peculiar method adopted -to let them run out freely, precluding all -danger of the links getting foul. They were -then bent to the anchors, which were hoisted -over the bows and hung by the ring ready -for use. -</p> - -<p> -The flag of the Royal Naval Reserve was -now run up in a round ball to the gaff, where -it was shaken loose, and then "the blessed bit -o' bunting," as Joe Grummet admiringly and -affectionately called it, floated gallantly on -the breeze. -</p> - -<p> -By noon Captain Talbot gave the order to -shorten sail; the courses were hauled up; the -warm breeze swept through the open rigging; -the anchor was let go—the cable swept with -a roar through the hawse-hole, and the ship -rode at her moorings, in eight fathoms water, -while the hands and apprentices went aloft to -furl everything fore and aft. -</p> - -<p> -Around was now the noble bay of Rio, -studded by fully eighty islets, with the city -and all its shipping in the foreground; and -the high range of beautiful mountains, clothed -with wood to their summits, called the Corcovado, -that bound its western plain, in the -background. Along the beach lies the main -street, called the Rua Dirieta, from which all -the others branch off and form a city of -palaces, for such it is; and high over all its -edifices, conspicuous on a hill that juts into -the sea between it and the Praya de Flamingo, -towers Nossa Senhora da Gloria, the greatest -of the sixty churches in Rio, where eternal -spring and summer reign together. -</p> - -<p> -But we do not mean to "do Guide Book," -and dwell on the beauties and wonders of Rio -de Janeiro; neither do we mean to linger on -the <i>debĂ»t</i> of Derval or his probationary life as -a sailor, for we have much to relate of his -future career. Suffice it now, that "bulk" -was soon broken on board the <i>Amethyst</i>; the -cargo started and sent ashore, to be replaced -by another for Van Dieman's Land, and by -the labour of slaves, who in Rio are made -veritable beasts of burden, and are to be seen -with iron collars about their necks, and often -with masks of tin, that conceal the lower -portion of their faces and are secured behind by a -common padlock; and the last day of March -saw the <i>Amethyst</i> standing out of the bay, with -a land breeze, under a press of sail, once more -to plough the world of waters. -</p> - -<p> -Ere the vessel sailed Derval felt, but for the -last time, the colt of Mr. Paul Bitts, who called -him "the lazy scum of a fish-pond," and who -delighted in malignant cruelty and the torture -of his own species, and highly resented the -circumstance of the lad being a little absorbed -in a letter from home, brought by the mail -steamer. His father had heard of his safety, -through the owners, Curry & Co., and no -doubt the fright he had received caused him -to reproach himself, for a time—but a time -only—with his coldness and neglect of his -firstborn, and lack of that affection which -latterly he had denied him and bestowed -entirely on the other son; and poor Derval's -honest heart grew very, very full indeed, as he -read and re-read the lines his father's hand -had traced, and which he valued more than -the twenty-pound note he enclosed to him, -and which could not be of much use while -on the waters of the Southern Sea. -</p> - -<p> -Fortunately he had been well grounded in -Euclid and algebra, by the kind tutelage of -Mr. Asperges Laud, to whom his thoughts -ever went home gratefully; and in the knowledge -of his profession he made rapid progress -under Joe Grummet, a tutor of a very different -kind; while his mind, as active as his body, -required and delighted in scientific research. -He became a prime favourite with the seamen, -knew and understood their characters, and -was all the more in favour that he quickly -knew the whole parts of the ship from stem to -stern, and could act by turns cooper and -carpenter, sailmaker and ropemaker, so clever -was his head and so skilful was he with his -hands. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -<br /><br /> -AFTER LONG YEARS. -</h3> - -<p> -Four years have elapsed since we last saw -Derval, and since then the <i>Amethyst</i> had been -freighted to so many parts of the world, that -he had seen a vast deal of it and won much -skill and experience, but had never once been -near his home. -</p> - -<p> -Great were the changes which time and -circumstances had effected there. -</p> - -<p> -From the hour Greville Hampton began to -speculate, it seemed as if everything he -touched turned to gold. He had bought and -sold, sold and bought, and speculated, till he -was becoming one of the richest men in -Devonshire or Cornwall, and all this growing -good fortune he somehow insensibly connected -with his second marriage, and poor Mary was -as completely forgotten, apparently, as if she -had never existed. -</p> - -<p> -His success was great; it astonished himself -and others too; and, after the fashion of -the toadying world, he was greatly looked up -by many who, at one period of his life, knew -him not. -</p> - -<p> -The last of the humble cob-cottages had -disappeared, and with it the last of the -aboriginal inhabitants of Finglecombe; the -villa residences of Bayview Terrace were in -great request, and a handsome sea-wall, called -the Grand Promenade, occupied the shingly -shore on which the ocean had freely rolled for -ages. -</p> - -<p> -Finglecombe was now inhabited by a circle -of families who dined and tea-ed each other, -and, moreover, closely criticised each other, -for "pig-iron always looks down on tenpenny -nails"; who attended church and, frequently -uninvited, each others' marriages, baptisms, -and funerals; and more than all, a great hotel -was built, with a gin-palace as an adjunct, -and the once secluded Combe began rapidly to -approach the dignity of a cockney watering-place, -in every way, however, a source of -wealth to its lord and proprietor. -</p> - -<p> -The thatched parsonage and the little -church of the middle ages alone remained -unchanged, though Mr. Asperges Laud was -more silver-haired, and he had, under the -influences of surrounding gentility, ventured to -light two candles on his altar. -</p> - -<p> -The wayside booth, dignified by the name -of a railway station, that boasted of but one -porter, who often travelled to and fro per -train, and acted as deputy stoker, &c., had -now been replaced by one of imposing aspect, -with a spacious platform, a staff of officials, and -an airy young damsel to superintend its buffet. -</p> - -<p> -Mrs. Hampton's carriage was one of the -features of the new settlement, but though to -the poor of Finglecombe, or its vicinity -rather, she was, as ever, no friend, her name -appeared often in print as a patron of local -charities. -</p> - -<p> -Of all these wonderful changes the toiler of -the sea knew little, if anything at all; his -half-brother Rookleigh was now a pampered -and very precocious boy of eleven, and already, -under his mother's influence, he was beginning -to be infected by an idea that if Derval—the -fact of whose existence was referred to -occasionally—ever did return, he could not -but view him, elder though he was, as an -interloper and intruder where he was not -wanted, all the more as the family lawyers had -begun to foster her pride by some confident -surmises concerning ousting the Lord -Oakhampton out of his title in her husband's -favour. -</p> - -<p> -The perils of the sea, the chances of climate, -and many chances militated (thought -Mrs. Hampton) against Derval ever returning -again; and she comfortably, with a view to -her pet's interests, made up her mind that too -probably he never would return, and that all -his father had made and was yet amassing, -would eventually go to her own and only son -Rookleigh. -</p> - -<p> -Towards the end of the fourth year of her -absence from home, the <i>Amethyst</i> was running -from Rio de Janeiro to Bermuda; and time -had seen some changes in her. Many of the -old hands had shipped on board other craft; -but Captain Talbot still held his post, as did -Joe Grummet and Mr. Gritline; but Harry -Bowline had been promoted as second mate, -and Derval, now past his eighteenth year, was -third, <i>vice</i> the ill-conditioned Mr. Paul Bitts, -who had come to an untimely end, when -Derval nearly lost his life in trying to save -him. -</p> - -<p> -While in the act of endeavouring to -stimulate with his inevitable colt an apprentice boy, -who was at work greasing the sheaves of the -starboard catblock, Bitts fell overboard. The -ship, which was going before an easy breeze, -was promptly thrown in the wind, and, aware -that Bitts was unable to swim, Derval, without -a thought or consideration, threw off his -jacket, and plunged in to save or assist him. -</p> - -<p> -This occurred within a day's sail of Tristan -d'Acunha. The height from which he leaped—the -top-gallant forecastle, as the short upper -deck forward is named—made him go very -deep into the water, and when he came to the -surface a cry of horror escaped him, for he -could see only one of the man's hands above -it, while all around was crimsoned with -blood! -</p> - -<p> -In a moment he knew that a shark had -taken him, and every instant he expected the -same fate. The breath seemed to leave his -body at the terrible anticipation, and thus he -sank more than once, nearly paralysed. -</p> - -<p> -Promptly though the mainyard had been -backed, the <i>Amethyst</i> had forged some distance -ahead, and Derval gave himself up for lost, -though he heard the clamour on board each -time he rose to the surface, and the rattle of -the fall-tackles, with the splash, as a quarter-boat -was being lowered and shoved off towards -him. -</p> - -<p> -As if to add to his horror he saw—or -thought he saw—the black dorsal fin of the -monster standing steadily above the water -about twenty yards distant. -</p> - -<p> -"God help me! God spare me!" escaped -his lips, for death in an awful shape seemed -terribly close indeed, and every action of his -past life seemed to come in memory vividly -before him, compressed into the narrow space -of a minute or two. -</p> - -<p> -Half senseless with actual fear, he was -dragged into the boat, and he was barely on -board the ship when no less than four sharks, -all seeking for prey, were seen under the -starboard counter, where they continued to follow -her for some time after the yard-heads were -filled, and she once more stood on her course. -</p> - -<p> -The crew crowded round Derval, and Captain -Talbot shook him warmly by the hand. -</p> - -<p> -"You are a brave, good lad!" said he, "and -had you saved the poor fellow, should have -had such a medal as I now wear. I have -twice saved human life at sea, but never in the -face of peril such as this. Poor Paul Bitts! he -was never a friend of yours, certainly; but -he has come to a most awful end, with all his -imperfections on his head." -</p> - -<p> -After a little time the Captain decided that -on getting a certificate he should be his -successor. -</p> - -<p> -For many a day and night after this did -Derval shudder at the thought of what he had -gone through, and recal the acute agony of -his emotions in the water; but other events -came to pass, and gradually the horror lessened -in his memory. -</p> - -<p> -Now past eighteen years of age, Derval's -face was decidedly of a handsome cast, -inherited, like his well-knit figure, from his -father, and he had the soft, gentle, and -earnest eyes of his mother—the tender Mary, -whose grave was under the shadow of Finglecombe -Church, but on which no loving hand -laid a chaplet now. He was intelligent and -experienced far beyond his years, and had, in -the opinion of Joe Grummet, only one defect -as a sailor—a fancy for sedulously cultivating -on his upper lip something that Joe stigmatised -as "fluff"; but it was certainly adding -fast to the character of a very fine cast of -features. -</p> - -<p> -So it was as third mate, and as such keeping -a bright look-out ahead, while assisting -Mr. Girtline to conn, or direct the steerage, -that, on a brilliant afternoon in autumn—though -there is no autumn in those isles of -eternal summer—Derval saw the Bermudas, -to all appearance like a range of low sterile -hills, at the base of which the ocean is dashed -into a line of white foam, rise gradually on -the lee-bow, while cheerily the afternoon -watch were singing, as they got the "ground -tackle" ready and bent to the anchors. -</p> - -<p> -These isles are so numerous that there is -said to be one for every day in the year—some -writers say four hundred and more—and -as the ship neared them the short greensward -that covers them, their dark cedar-trees, and -pretty, but low, white dwellings, rapidly -became visible, together with the masts of -several vessels of war, as the group serves as -a summer station for some of our American -squadron, and also as a rendezvous for the -great steamers of the Royal Mail Steam -Packet Company; but the whole of these -isles, which are formed by the zoophyte, or -coral worm, are so completely hemmed in by -perilous rocks, that it is only with extreme -caution that a vessel of even ten tons burden -can enter the roads. The water, however, is -so beautifully clear and pellucid that the -pilots can make their way with considerable -facility between the coral reefs. -</p> - -<p> -There is but one channel for large vessels -into the principal anchorage, and through that -the <i>Amethyst</i> was guided by a native pilot at -flood-tide, for at low-water the whole of the -rocks are nearly dry. -</p> - -<p> -After the cargo was out, there was some -delay about getting a freight for England, as -the main dependence of the colony is upon -the naval and military establishments that -have been formed there, and on the shipyards -and saltworks; and now there had been a -falling off in onions and whale oil, which are -among the chief exports of the "vexed -Bermoothes." -</p> - -<p> -To this delay was added another. The -<i>Amethyst</i> had sprung her maintopmast in a -sudden gale of wind, one of those "Bermuda -squalls" so dreaded by all navigators of those -seas, and she had suffered other damages, -which compelled the Captain to place her in -the hands of the dockyard people; thus, as -there was plenty of leave-going, Derval was -frequently on shore, and on one of these -occasions a rather curious adventure befel -him. -</p> - -<p> -Joe Grummet had prepared Derval for seeing -much that was novel in these Summer -Isles, as they were not inaptly named from Sir -George Summers, who was driven there in a -storm in 1609, and whose heart is buried in -one of them; but Joe could not prevail upon -him to accept the genuine old nautical idea -that the land and the coral crust composing it -is so thin as to be easily broken, even by a -stroke of the foot. But so many wrecks took -place among their shoals, that the Spaniards -of old named them Devils Isles, and Joe knew -by tradition the strange story regarding a -mighty multitude of rats, that came, no one -knew from where, and, multiplying exceedingly, -swarmed over all the isles, and ate up -the corn, the fruit, and all green things for a -period of five years, after which came a cloud -of ravens out of the sky and destroyed them -in turn, since when no raven has been seen in -the Bermudas.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* This story is told in the <i>Atlas Geographus</i>, 1717, -vol. v. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Derval saw whales trapped and harpooned -among the coral reefs, while the very sharks -contended with the natives for the blubber in -the warm shoal water, and more than once he -had climbed Tibbs Hill, the highest elevation -there, only a hundred and eighty feet in -altitude; and he had seen the gangs of -natives toiling at the cisterns in which -rain-water is preserved for the shipping, for there -are few wells and no fresh-water streams, but -the dew-point ranges very high indeed. -</p> - -<p> -One day, in his rambles, Derval came upon -a little spot of remarkable beauty near the -sea-shore. Many caverns, the roofs of which -sparkle with brilliant spars, and having -fantastic stalactites formed of the dripping -water—genuine coral caverns, beautiful as the -transformation scene in a pantomime, with -their reflected lights, colours, shadows and -uncertainties—are to be found in many parts -of these isles, having in them pools of cool -water delicious to bathe in. -</p> - -<p> -Through one of these from the sea-shore—one -in which it is said the poet Waller wrote -a portion of his poetical description of -Bermuda, when in exile there he penned his -insipid "Battle of the Summer Isles,"—Derval -wandered to where its inner end -opened on a beautiful little dell, an -amphitheatre of coral cliffs and verdure, at the -bottom of which lay a salt pool filled always -by the sea at each flood tide, and therein he -was certain that more than once he saw a -stealthy shark gliding. -</p> - -<p> -Bordering it were the palmetto palms, with -luscious fruit like plums in colour, and those -enormous leaves, each of which are of such -amazing length that they are used to roof -houses; the oak, the ash, bananas, orange, -lemon, mahogany and caoutchouc trees all -growing in luxuriance together, and the coffee -plant flourishing wild under the lofty cedars. -</p> - -<p> -Delighted with the beauty of the cool and -shady place, Derval stretched himself at -length upon the velvet sward, and proceeded -to enjoy a cigar, while watching, high above -his head, the struggles of a small bird which -was caught in the web of a spider—one of -those spiders there so remarkable for their -size and a peculiar kind of beauty, and the -webs of which are, in colour and substance, -a veritable raw silk. -</p> - -<p> -His attention was next attracted by the -appearance of a lady and a young girl walking -slowly on the summit of a coral rock, or cliff, -that overhung the salt pool. The lady, who -carried a large white sunshade, was proceeding -leisurely, reading a book, while the girl went -hither and thither gathering flowers. -</p> - -<p> -"Take care, Clara darling," he heard the -lady say; "keep back from the edge of the -rocks." -</p> - -<p> -"Do let me gather these flowers," was the -entreating reply, "and I shall make you such -a lovely bouquet." -</p> - -<p> -"Stay, I insist upon it," said the lady. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I shall be so very careful," replied -the sweet little English voice, which sounded -so pleasantly to the ears of the listener,—but -a shriek closed the sentence. -</p> - -<p> -When venturing to the verge to gather the -coveted trifle, the girl had fallen over, and -vanished from the eyes of her horrified -companion—her governess, as she eventually -proved to be—who fled, uttering wild and -breathless cries for assistance, for she knew -that the little one had fallen from a height of -nearly a hundred feet. -</p> - -<p> -At the same moment a half stifled cry -escaped Derval, who, with the keenest alarm, -saw that in her descent a stump of laurel -projecting from the cliff had caught a portion -of the girl's dress, a species of muslin scarf -that went round her waist, and there she -hung, blind with terror and silent in her -agony, some fifty feet above the rocks that -shelved steeply downward to the pool or -salt-water tarn. -</p> - -<p> -"Keep still, girl, keep still!" cried Derval, -who saw that already her frail protection was -beginning to rend, while he instantly -commenced to climb towards her, and as only a -British sailor can climb, finding footing and -things to grasp where a landsman would have -found none. -</p> - -<p> -At last he reached her, but not without -incredible difficulty and great peril, at the -very instant when the delicate scarf had -nearly parted, and she must have perished -miserably on the rocks or in the water below. -To make assurance doubly sure, he grasped -one part of her dress with his teeth, another -with his left hand, winding it at the same -time round his arm, and holding her thus, -while she clutched his neck, he began his -descent to the base, breathless and silent; for -to ascend, though the way was shorter, proved -impossible, as the rock over which she had -fallen was an impending one. -</p> - -<p> -The base at last was reached, when Derval -could scarcely respire, and was trembling in -every fibre with exertion and anxiety; and -intent on conveying his half-senseless charge -to her friends without delay, as he knew that -their grief would be intolerable, he deemed -his quickest way would be through the cavern -to the sea-shore; but he had not proceeded, -far, when he found the flood tide was already -coming in so fast, that to pass or repass was -impossible, and he could but clamber up into -a recess, and place her there on a dry shelf of -the coral formation till the tide ebbed again; -and in that strange shelter there was a -reflected light from the rising water at both -ends, that while it produced some very curious -and picturesque effects of colour and shadow, -enabled them to see distinctly around them. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you, thank you, sir,—oh so much, -so very much!" sobbed the child (she did not -seem to be yet in her teens), and after the -terror and prolonged shock she had undergone, -she wept bitterly and hysterically, with -her beautiful little head on Derval's shoulder, -while his arm yet encircled her; but his -voice and manner were so kind, tender, and -reassuring, that after a time she became -soothed, and "disengaging" herself from him, -as the novels have it, so shyly, so prettily, -and like a little lady, said: -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, what a fright my poor papa will be in, -when Miss Sampler tells him of my fall! -How will he ever be able to thank you, sir!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thank Heaven, thank Heaven—not me—that -you are safe," said Derval, earnestly. -"Poor child! what a fate you have escaped!" -he added with a shudder as he looked at the -tender and delicate form, the soft violet eyes, -the rich brown hair, and mignonne face, -flushed with excitement, and thought of what -might have been, had he not been there—had -he been too late, or failed in his courageous -attempt! -</p> - -<p> -He gazed on her with all the interest the -great service he had rendered, her great -beauty, and her present helplessness all -seemed to excite, and he said, half to himself: -</p> - -<p> -"Had you fallen to the base, you had been -instantly killed; if into the water, the -sharks——" and shudderingly he thought of his -recent episode near Tristan d'Acunha. "I -shall ever bless heaven I was so near you, -child!" -</p> - -<p> -"I am not a child," said she with a pout on -her rosy lip, as her colour came back; "I am -twelve years old." -</p> - -<p> -"And who was the lady with you—your mamma?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh no; my dear mamma is dead." -</p> - -<p> -"Who, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"My governess, Miss Sampler. Do you -live near this?" she asked. -</p> - -<p> -"I am a sailor, and live in my ship. She -is now in the dockyard. And you—you must, -of course, live near this?" he added, seeing -that she was without a head-dress. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; in the large white house that has -great cannons in front of it, and where a pretty -flag is always flying till sunset, when boom! goes -one of the cannon, and down it comes." -</p> - -<p> -"It is a garrison, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh no; it is papa's house. Oh, how papa -will thank you for saving his little girl—he -loves me so much!" Her voice trembled and -her soft eyes filled as she said this, and added -prettily, "I am the only one he has now; all -my sisters are buried beside mamma." -</p> - -<p> -"Where?" -</p> - -<p> -"In England, far, far away—in Devonshire." -</p> - -<p> -"I know Devonshire well!" exclaimed -Derval with growing interest. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you?" she asked, while her earnest -eyes dilated. -</p> - -<p> -"May I ask your name?" -</p> - -<p> -"Clara." -</p> - -<p> -"A pretty name! Clara what?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hampton. And yours?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hampton too." -</p> - -<p> -"How very, very odd!" -</p> - -<p> -Derval laughed, as the little "situation" -began to have "its charm," in one way, but -not quite in another. In their hiding-place, -the whole floor of which was now a stretch of -deep and shining water, the sound of excited -voices reached them, as from a distance, from -time to time—the voices of those who, no -doubt, were in search of the lost one, and with -whom Derval could not communicate, for -there—either brought in by the flood-tide from -the sea, or by it out of the pool—he could -see, at no great distance from the perch -occupied by himself and his shrinking companion, -the back or dorsal fin of a great shark above -the surface of the smooth dead water, while -the whole of its awful length was visible -beneath it. -</p> - -<p> -The monster swam slowly to and fro—Derval, -sailor-like, never doubting but it heard -their voices, and was only waiting if -opportunity served, or the water rose, to make a -mouthful of each of them; but he felt safe and -secure, as they were above high-water mark, -as he could see by the colour of the coral -walls; and when, ultimately, the tide did -begin to ebb, Jack Shark passed out with it, -and eventually disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -Before this came to pass, Derval and the -rescued had conversed on many things; and -he found that, young though she was, there -was a sweet, womanly sympathy about her, -that led him, unconsciously, to tell her much -concerning himself and his affairs, and how -and why he left pleasant Devonshire to -become a sailor; how quickly he had risen -to be third mate of a handsome ship, what -a fine fellow Captain Talbot was, and so -forth, and as the little lady listened to -him, her soft eyes filled with interest and -wonder. -</p> - -<p> -At last the ebbing tide left the floor of -the cavern, and the shingly beach without it, -completely dry, when the red sinking sun -was nearly level with the sea, all crimsoned -now; and giving his hand to his pretty -namesake, he led her forth, and she at once -indicated a path that led from the shore to -her home. Ascending this, and passing -through a grove of Palmetto palms, they -found themselves on the plateau of the rock -from whence she had fallen, and the appearance -of the place made her shrink to Derval's -side, while his arm went kindly and -instinctively round her. But they had not -proceeded far when they came upon a group -of excited searchers, perhaps the same whose -voices Derval had heard, and among them -were officers in undress, soldiers from the -garrison, seamen from the ships, planters, -clerks, and blacks, their white teeth and eyes -gleaming, screaming, hallooing, and all bearing -ladders, ropes, poles, drags, and even lanterns, -for the darkness was close at hand now. -</p> - -<p> -"Papa, Papa!" suddenly exclaimed the -young lady, and snatching her hand from -that of Derval, she sprang like an antelope -into the open arms of a careworn and -haggard, but tall and distinguished-looking -man, who had a decided air of good birth -and breeding his planter-like costume, of a -broad straw hat and white linen coat and -trousers, failed to mask; and in his close -embrace she sobbed hysterically. -</p> - -<p> -"Safe, Clara—safe, my child!" said he in -a broken voice; and then there was a minute's -pause, during which the haggard lines grief -and alarm had suddenly drawn on his face -began already to fade out. "Oh, my darling, -my darling!—what miracle is this?" -</p> - -<p> -"That gentleman saved me, Papa; saved -me, saved me!" was the sobbing reply. -</p> - -<p> -"But how is she harmless after such a -fall?" asked her father shudderingly of those -around him, and as if unable to believe the -evidence of his own senses, while the crowd -closed round. -</p> - -<p> -Derval briefly and modestly related all that -had occurred. -</p> - -<p> -Then the father of the rescued girl wept -as he pressed and retained Derval's hands in -his; but failed to find language in which to -thank him coherently. After a time he asked: -</p> - -<p> -"Do you belong to a ship of war, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"To what, then?" asked the other, glancing -at the uniform. -</p> - -<p> -"To the ship <i>Amethyst</i>, of London, carrying -the flag of the Royal Naval Reserve," replied -Derval, touching his cap, for somehow the -bearing of him he addressed bore the impress -of one in no small authority. -</p> - -<p> -The latter drew a handsome ring from -his finger, and presented it to Derval, -saying: -</p> - -<p> -"I beg that you will accept of this, and -wear it in remembrance of one whose -gratitude you have won for life." -</p> - -<p> -The stone was a magnificent onyx, and -Derval saw, with a start, how that it bore a -shield with three choughs, and the motto -<i>Clarior e Tenebris</i>. He bowed, and placed it -on his finger, saying: -</p> - -<p> -"May I ask whom I have the honour of -addressing?" -</p> - -<p> -"This," said an officer (an aide-de-camp -apparently), who stood near, "is Lord -Oakhampton, Governor of the Bermudas." -</p> - -<p> -His remote kinsman and his father's -enemy! Confusion, astonishment, and then -something of gratification filled the heart of -Derval by turns, and all together. -</p> - -<p> -"I am deeply grateful to you, young gentleman, -for the great service you have rendered -to me; but may I, in turn, ask your name, -that I may never forget it?" -</p> - -<p> -"My name, like yours, my lord, is -Hampton—Derval Hampton." -</p> - -<p> -"Are you a Devonshire man?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, my Lord; my father lives at Finglecombe." -</p> - -<p> -Lord Oakhampton coloured, and a cloud -came over his decidedly handsome face, as he -was well aware who Greville Hampton was, -and what his pretensions were; and now, -with a little more of hauteur that hospitality -in his manner, he said: -</p> - -<p> -"Dine with me at Government House to-morrow; -eight is the hour, and I shall be -glad to see you then." -</p> - -<p> -Derval muttered his thanks, and lifted his -cap, but ere he retired Lord Oakhampton -shook his hand, Clara gave him hers -confidently and pleasantly, and the interview -terminated, for the night had fallen and -Derval had to make his way back to the ship. -</p> - -<p> -The episode in all its details gave him -much food for thought, as he proceeded -slowly homeward. He knew not, till then, -that Lord Oakhampton was in the Colonial -Service at all; neither did he know that by -extravagance the peer had found the salary of -Governor of the "vexed Bermoothes," some -thousands per annum, a comfortable addition -to a shattered income, while his estates were -at dry-nurse. Derval knew now, however, -that he had done an act demanding a supreme -amount of gratitude, from a proud and rather -repellent man, who would, perhaps, rather -have been indebted therefor to any other -person in the world, than the son of Greville -Hampton; while, on the other hand, Derval -had been taught to view his lordship as his -hereditary enemy, the usurper of his father's -rights, though why, or how, Derval could -not define; and that, more than all, in the -days of his father's unexpected penury and -obscurity at Finglecombe, he had sedulously -withheld all countenance and assistance from -him. -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove!" thought he; "sharks, sea-lawyers, -the sailor's natural foes, seem to be -my friends! One gets me promotion, <i>vice</i> -poor Paul Bitts, and I have the honour of -saving a peer's daughter from another—my -little kinswoman, too. I wonder in what -degree she is so—a charming little creature, -too!" -</p> - -<p> -His father seemed of late to have taken but -little interest in his movements or his -success; but perhaps this startling episode might -kindle some emotion of revengeful triumph -that great good had been rendered for evil -done. -</p> - -<p> -Derval duly presented himself at Government -House next evening, and was received -by Lord Oakhampton with considerable -impressment, and by him was presented, as the -rescuer of his child from a dreadful peril—all -Hamilton now rang with the story, though -none knew precisely who the hero was—to a -select circle, composed of the heads of -departments, civil and military, the Chief Justice, -the two puisne judges, and so forth; and as -Derval was a gentleman by birth, education, -and breeding, all were agreeably impressed by -his appearance, for added thereto, he had now -that easy and perfectly self-possessed manner -which is only to be acquired by intercourse -with the world, by travel, and some experience -of life; and there were many things combined, -which made Derval Hampton, in expression -and bearing, older than his years. -</p> - -<p> -Modest and reserved by nature and habit, -he was, for a time, rather abashed to find -himself somewhat the lion of the evening, -and was glad when a little change was made -in the current of the conversation, by the -appearance of Clara Hampton and her -governess with the dessert; and wonderfully -bright and brilliant the little lady looked, all -trace of yesterday's alarm and shock having -passed away; but, though she accorded him -her pretty hand very frankly, and with a -wonderful smile of pleasure and welcome, she was -very shy with him now, as contrasted with the -mutual confidences they had exchanged in the -cavern, "while Jack Shark was swimming to -and fro, keeping a species of blockade upon -them," as Derval laughingly said. -</p> - -<p> -After a time she drew close to his side, and -with great, yet childlike gracefulness, -presented him with a flower from her dress, -saying: -</p> - -<p> -"I made this bouquet for you. Papa says -no one can make a button-hole—why he calls -it so, I don't know—like me." -</p> - -<p> -So Derval gallantly kissed the little bouquet, -and placed it in the lapelle of his naval -coat. -</p> - -<p> -Ere he left, Lord Oakhampton, thawing -considerably in his somewhat measured -manner—a manner born, as Derval knew, of -circumstances far remote from -Bermuda—assured him, that if he could do aught for -him in anyway, to command his services. -Very pleasant all this, thought Derval, who -supposed he had no true friends in the world -save his shipmates on board the <i>Amethyst</i>; -but remembering his father's feud and claims, -he returned thanks very reservedly and took -his departure. -</p> - -<p> -For certain reasons, chiefly family -considerations, and his own dislike of all fuss -and speculation, Derval said nothing of his -adventure, or his visit to Government House, -on board the <i>Amethyst</i>, which lay at Ireland -Island, the chief place there for shipping; -thus, great was the astonishment of his -"skipper," when an officer in undress military -uniform arrived from Hamilton, the chief -town of these isles, with an official letter -addressed to "Captain Talbot, H.M. Royal -Naval Reserve." -</p> - -<p> -"For you, sir," said the aide-de-camp. -</p> - -<p> -"From whom, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"His Excellency the Governor." -</p> - -<p> -Captain Talbot was rather, as he afterwards -told, "taken aback," but he said: -</p> - -<p> -"Won't you have a glass of sherry and a -biscuit, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, very much—no," replied the -other, and stepped on shore, while the -surprise of Talbot increased very much when he -read the letter twice over, and then starting -up, ordered Joe Grummet to "pipe all hands," -and bring them aft, "and run the ensign up -to the gaff." -</p> - -<p> -"Hats off, my lads," said the Captain, his -face glowing with pleasure; "for this comes -from the Queen's representative." -</p> - -<p> -The letter, of which we only give an outline, -proved to be from "His Excellency Lord -Oakhampton, K.C.B., Governor of the -Bermuda Islands, &c. &c.," warmly -recommending Mr. Derval Hampton to his captain -and owners for his gallant conduct, which -was fully detailed therein; and -congratulating Captain Talbot on having such an -officer under him in the <i>Amethyst</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Whereupon Joe Grummet took off his old -battered tarpauline hat, from a head that was -getting grey now, and led the van of three -stentorian cheers for the third mate; and -Derval heard them, as he had heard the letter, -with cheeks flushing scarlet, like those of a -school-girl, and a wildly beating heart. -</p> - -<p> -And in honour of the whole event, which -Hal Bowline duly engrossed on the ship's log, -Joe Grummet's whistle was next heard, -summoning all hands to "splice the main-brace," -an invitation never unattended to by sailors, -as they are ever ready for a glass of grog. -</p> - -<p> -The ship was now getting ready for sea, -the hatches were being battened down, the -boats hoisted in, the studding-sail gear rove, -the royal yards crossed, &c., and Derval was -compelled to spend much of his time on board -of the <i>Amethyst</i>; and now came the last day -he could pass, perhaps, on shore. -</p> - -<p> -Unconsciously he wandered to the little dell -of the palmetto and other trees, the coral cliff -and the salt pool, all of which impressed him -so deeply as the scene of a startling adventure. -A fragment of Clara's muslin dress yet -fluttered from the laurel stump by which -her fall had been arrested, either on the rocks -below or into the pool, where sharks were -as usual swimming whenever the flood tide -floated them in; and as Derval surveyed the -cliff up which he had clambered to her -assistance, now, when he had not the impetus of -excitement, he thought himself a very clever -fellow, but doubted whether he could achieve -the same feat again. -</p> - -<p> -Something glittering at the foot of the -cliff caught his eye. It was a locket of gold, -the size of a florin, with the name <i>Clara</i> in -pearls on one side—an ornament doubtless -lost by Miss Hampton on the day in question, -and he speedily possessed himself of it. -Opening it, he found that it was empty, but -prepared at once to restore it, and do what -the rules of society required, to leave with -it a farewell card at Government House. -</p> - -<p> -On going thither he was informed that Lord -Oakhampton had gone to open the Assembly -of Representatives (consisting of thirty-six -in number, four of whom are elected by each -parish), so he inquired if he could see Miss -Clara Hampton. -</p> - -<p> -The valets, who knew the service he had -rendered her, ushered him at once into the -drawing-room, where he found her, with all -her rich brown hair loose for coolness, and -fanning herself with a large circular fan, -composed of the snow-white feathers of some -rare tropical bird, and intently conning some -task set her by Miss Sampler. -</p> - -<p> -"I have come to bid adieu to your papa -and yourself," said Derval. -</p> - -<p> -"I am so sorry he is from home," she -replied, as she gave him her hand, and with -more self-possession than she might have had, -if a few years older, invited him at once to be -seated. The soft mignonne face seemed to -Derval's eyes more beautiful than ever in its -childlike purity, and her violet eyes with their -long lashes were full of a bright and earnest -expression. -</p> - -<p> -After a little pause, he placed the locket in -her hand. -</p> - -<p> -"This, of course, is yours; I found it -to-day at the place where—where—I first -had the pleasure of meeting you," said he, -seeing that she shivered and half closed her -eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, do not speak of that place!" she -exclaimed, lifting up her hands; "I shall -never, never forget you or it either." -</p> - -<p> -"I am sorry that the memory of me -should be combined with a thought of -horror." -</p> - -<p> -"Do not imagine I shall think of <i>you</i> in -that way," she said very earnestly; "and as -for the locket—will you accept it—will you -permit me to give it to you? Pray do. Papa -will be so pleased!" -</p> - -<p> -And springing to his side, the engaging creature, -with rapid and deft little fingers, attached -it to his watch-chain, exclaiming gleefully: -</p> - -<p> -"Now, does it not look pretty?' -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, my dear Miss Clara," said -Derval, looking almost tenderly into her -bright upturned face; "but there is something -that would make it look prettier and -enhance its value to me." -</p> - -<p> -"What?" -</p> - -<p> -"A tiny lock of your hair, as a souvenir -when I am far away from Bermuda." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh—is that all!" she exclaimed, and with -the scissors that lay near her she snipped off -a tress and coiled it into the locket, laughing -merrily the while. "You will come and see -Papa again to-morrow, and let him thank -you for me again," said she, interrupting -Derval's thanks, and seeing that he had risen -from his chair. -</p> - -<p> -"For me there is no to-morrow, of leave -at least—we must sail ere the tide ebbs, and -make a good offing by sunset. And now," he -added, yet lingeringly, "I must say good-bye." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Bon voyage</i>, Miss Sampler would say; but -a pleasant voyage home to England I wish -you with—with all my heart, Mr. Hampton," -she said, as her smile died away, for recalling -the episode which made them acquainted, the -young girl's heart grew very full, and her -beautiful eyes too. -</p> - -<p> -"Will you give me one kiss ere I go?" said -Derval, considering she was but a child he -addressed. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh yes!" was the frank response, as she -innocently held up her mouth, and the memory -of the kiss given by those sweet rosebud-like -lips, haunted Derval pleasantly for many a -month to come, when many a league of ocean -lay between him and the Summer Isles. -</p> - -<p> -Next day saw the <i>Amethyst</i> in the pilot's -hands, working out of the tortuous channel -between the reefs, her yards being braced up -sharp, and her tacks being carried far aft to -port and starboard alternately. As she passed -in view of Government House the ports were -triced up and she fired nineteen rounds from -her brass nine-pounders in honour of Lord -Oakhampton, the flag on whose residence was -dipped to her three times in farewell. -</p> - -<p> -By that time she was clear of all the rocks; -her yards were squared, and with a fair wind -she bore away north-eastward into the evening -sea, the watery highway to "Old England." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Some two months after this found Derval, -after quitting the <i>Amethyst</i> at the West India -Dock—ever in his mind associated with the -awful day of London fog in which he first -saw it—hastening homeward on a few weeks' -leave, and having with him, sailor-like, -presents for all there: a tiger-skin from the Cape -for his father's study; furs of the platypus, -soft and grey, from Australia, to make muffs -and cuffs for Mrs. Hampton, and a shawl -for her too; a shark's skull for Mr. Asperges -Laud; a model junk for little Rookleigh; -several cosy things for old Patty Fripp; and, -moreover, he had shells, horns, idols, queer -ornaments, and all the curious <i>omnium gatherum</i> -which sailors usually pick up—the gathered -spoil of years of wandering and affection. -</p> - -<p> -He disliked to carry the locket where Clara's -hands had hung it. A day might come—nay, -surely would come—when he might have to -discard the gift, lest treasuring a woman's -locket, with her name upon it and her hair -within it, might alarm some one dearer to him -than life, and lead to serious complications, -although he had not met her yet—or thought -so; thus the locket was consigned to one of -his secret repositories. -</p> - -<p> -"Home—home!" he exclaimed to himself, -and clapped his hands with glee as the swift -express train went tearing on through North -Devon, and the vale of Taunton, with its -foliaged slopes, Coddon Hill and St. Peter's -ancient spire, came in sight; on and on yet, -and ere long he should be at Finglecombe! -</p> - -<p> -Breathlessly he stood at the window of the -carriage, in his eagerness hailing each -successive familiar feature in the view. It was the -close of a summer day, and his heart felt full -as when he had knelt at his mother's knee -to lisp the prayers she taught him. There -seemed to be something in the white clouds -flecking the blue sky; in the sweet fresh breath -of the land breeze, laden with the perfume of -the orchards, the green leaves, and the -flowers; in the joyous song of the birds; in -the pretty farms, in field after field as he saw -them, like great green seas of grass, studded -with golden buttercups and snow-white daisies; -in the groups of children, in the herds of cattle -going to the pools to drink; in the voice of the -lark soaring aloft; in the familiar peal of the -old church bell, like the voice of an early -friend: that all spoke to his brimming heart of -England and of home! -</p> - -<p> -At last the train went clanking into the -station, where porters and passengers were -hurrying to and fro, and in their hot haste -jostling each other. Could this be Finglecombe? -Changes were being effected, and in -progress, when he left; but he was by no -means prepared for all he saw now. There was -no one to receive him on the platform, about -which he looked as one in a dream. He -arrived, as he had departed, unseen by the eye -of a kinsman; and now, for the first time, -something of the old chill he had felt so often -years ago, fell upon his heart. -</p> - -<p> -A flaring placard, with views of Finglecombe, -its terraces, villas, sea-wall, and various -projected improvements then caught his eye. It -was described as one of the most rising places -on the western coast, in a beautiful district, -commanding a view of the Bristol Channel; -for yachtsmen and canoeists possessing an -unrivalled field, and attractive walks and drives -for the excursionist or pedestrian; a hotel, -telegraph, and railway station, "advantages -showing that, as a centre or head-quarters for -the tourist, Finglecombe was unrivalled -indeed; combining, as it did, cheapness of -transit, and every means for amusement, with -great natural beauty of situation." -</p> - -<p> -Had his father found the lamp of Aladdin -to produce all this? thought Derval, as -memory went back to the solitary little -cottage in the Combe, where a slice of brown -bread, a pat of golden butter, and a foaming -jug of beer, were once deemed a luxurious -supper. -</p> - -<p> -The Hampton family had a carriage now; -but Derval, though expected, was left to -make his way home, how he chose or how -he could. -</p> - -<p> -A porter put his portmanteaus on a truck, -and, when desired to follow him to -Mr. Hampton's house, received the order with -profound respect. He was a stranger, and -knew not Derval, whose own mother might -not have recognised him now—tall, developed -in every muscle, brown and manly in visage, -with a dark, if slight, moustache; but amid -the "improvements" at the Combe he became -so bewildered, that he was fain to "drop -astern" and let the porter pilot him. -</p> - -<p> -The handsome entrance gates were reached, -and through the sweeping approach, gravelled -to perfection, and bordered by shrubbery and -flower-beds in all their splendour, Derval -proceeded till he found himself, as one in a -dream, before the beautiful villa; and as a -portion of that dream, too, he found himself -face to face with his father, who grasped his -hand, yet gazed upon him with an expression -in which astonishment at the change in his -appearance, too evidently exceeded the -emotion of welcome; nor was it till Patty Fripp -threw her arms round his neck, weeping over -and kissing him, in an obstreperous fashion -all her own, that the spell seemed broken, -and that tears sprang to his own eyes, as the -ready flood-gates of affection opened. -</p> - -<p> -"His mother's darling! his mother's -darling and mine!" she continued to exclaim. -"Oh, Master Derval, Master Derval, how -glad we are to have you safe home again!" -</p> - -<p> -Derval felt a sense of mortification and -disappointment. Of all the sudden and -wonderful changes around him, he, the wandering -sailor, had been kept in utter ignorance! -Why was this? As a surprise for him, -perhaps, hope suggested. -</p> - -<p> -He found his father grayer, but less lined -in visage than he could remember him, for -prosperity had smoothed out many a line that -Mary had seen growing, to her sorrow. -Derval thought his manner nervous, and that -he welcomed him, perhaps with affection, but -certainly with outward constraint, especially -when under the cold and observant eyes of -Mrs. Hampton; and when the latter put her -large, if white and shapely, hand into that -of Derval, there flashed back upon his memory -that which he had long forgotten—how -viciously she flogged him in the stable with -her riding-switch for poodling the cat. -</p> - -<p> -She seemed quite unchanged since then, as -young and handsome as ever, for no thought, -care, or consideration would ever write a line -on her smooth forehead and certainly brilliant -face. -</p> - -<p> -"This is your younger brother, Derval," -said his father, as Rookleigh came to take his -place at the late dinner table. He had his -mother's expression of face; her light hazel -eyes, only a little more green in tint and -shifty in expression, with short white lashes. -Derval went to him cordially, though he was -no longer like the sleeping baby over whom -he had wept on the morning he left home, -but a big hulking boy of eleven years old. -</p> - -<p> -Rook, as they named him, eyed his elder -brother sullenly, distrustfully, and even -malevolently, for already had his mother -contrived to implant in his dawning mind, that -this tall sailor was a species of natural enemy; -but his face lighted up and his manner -softened, when this enemy put a handful of silver -in his hand, and produced the model junk, -some packets of sweetmeats, a jack-knife, -shells, and many knick-knacks, brought -specially for him from far beyond the sea; and -eventually Master Rook, who coveted everything -that Derval had to give, contrived to -"screw" loose change out of him on every -available occasion. -</p> - -<p> -Greville Hampton listened with a curiously -mingled expression in his face—disdain of, -and indignation at, Lord Oakhampton, when -Derval related the episode at Bermuda; and -then something of real gratification stole into -his features on thinking that the peer's -daughter should owe her life and existence -to the skill and prowess of <i>his</i> son! While, -to anything in which Derval shone with -credit, Mrs. Hampton listened coldly, with -disdain nearly expressed in her light-coloured -eyes, and had no word of womanly or well-bred -approbation for the feat he had performed, -and of which the only trophy he -chose to show, was the signet ring of Lord -Oakhampton, with the three choughs under -a coronet, at which Greville gave an angry -grimace, and sat slowly stroking a huge -beard he had cultivated since Derval last -saw him. -</p> - -<p> -"And so you like Captain Talbot and your -ship, my boy?" said he, when Mrs. Hampton -and her peculiar care had betaken them to -the drawing-room, and to change the subject -of the astounding alterations at Finglecombe, -on which Derval had naturally been expatiating. -</p> - -<p> -"Like the Captain? He is a genuine -brick!" said Derval; "and as for our ship, -no better sails the sea!" -</p> - -<p> -"Fill your glass, Derval—that Burgundy -is better than any we used to have long ago." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, Papa—'Governor,' I suppose I -should call you in the parlance of the present -day—even Rook, I perceive, has adopted it." -</p> - -<p> -"Bad form, I deem it—very." -</p> - -<p> -"Whatever I call you, you will ever be the -same dear old man to me!" exclaimed Derval, -as his eyes filled, and he wrung his father's -hand. "But I should like you to see the -<i>Amethyst</i> under full sail before the wind, or even -close hauled with her tacks aboard!" he -added, with all a seaman's genuine enthusiasm -in a really good craft. "She does indeed skim -the waves, as if she were the work of magic. -I have often watched her, as Scott describes -the Mertouns watching Cleveland's vessel, as -'that rare masterpiece by which human genius -aspires to surmount the waves and contend -with the winds,' and you must know that we -sailors think that a ship, like a woman, has a -will of her own, yet knows what the helmsman -wants of her; so right was he who said 'she -walks the waters like a thing of life'—and this -is precisely what the <i>Amethyst</i> does. Buoyant -as a duck, when before the wind, I have seen -her yard-arms nearly touch the great rollers on -each side alternately." -</p> - -<p> -So multifarious were his father's engagements, -and so much was he pre-occupied by -his schemes, that Derval soon found his own -society could be spared, and one of his first -acts was to visit the quaint old parsonage of -the Tudor times, and present to Mr. Asperges -Laud the grim natural curiosity he had for -him—the head of a shark caught by Joe -Grummet off Tristan d'Acunha, and which he -had scraped and polished till he had rendered -it, as he thought, a very high work of art -indeed. -</p> - -<p> -To reach the parsonage, he had to pass his -mother's grave, and as he approached the -well-known spot, with his head uncovered, he -experienced somewhat of a shock, it seemed -so neglected and forgotten; when under the -Southern Cross, and far beyond the equator, -how often had his prayerful thoughts come -here, and how did he find it now? -</p> - -<p> -The tiny, but pretty monumental cross, -erected by his father in the days of their -limited means—then almost penury—had -fallen down, and the little patch of grass -under which she lay was choked with weeds! -</p> - -<p> -Even Mr. Asperges Laud had failed in the -work of clearing and weeding it again and -again—often with his own hands. But Derval -resolved that not another day should pass, ere -this desecration should end. -</p> - -<p> -The kind old curate received him warmly -and affectionately, as if he had been his own -father, and with tears in his eyes, held up his -hand to bless him. -</p> - -<p> -Incidentally, he told him of the growing -wealth of Finglecombe, and of the great -fortune his father was amassing. Derval, who -had naturally inferred that such was the case, -now heard it distinctly for the first time, -though he had been kept in ignorance of it; -and, as naturally, he again asked of himself, -why was this the case? -</p> - -<p> -He strove to crush down the unpleasant -suspicions of—he knew not what—that would -occur to him again and again, and sought to -enjoy to the full the brief term of his leave of -absence. He sought all his old haunts, but only -to find changes; the shingly shore, which he -had been wont to seek for hours, and whence -he saw the old weedy hull floating silently in -the bay, was now giving place to a sea-wall -and marine parade; the Druidical stones that -formed the Pixies Parlour had become road -metal, and the new hotel occupied its site; -the haunted mill with its moss-grown wheel -had given place to a new villa of astounding -design; and he found nothing unchanged but -the Tiws-stone, or rock, named after the -Saxon god (of the third day of the week), on -the summit of a hill, where in the deep snows -of winter, it is said, that on certain nights are -traced the marks of a naked human foot, and -of a cloven hoof, while the shrieks of the -"whist hounds" are heard with the winding -of unearthly horns, in the hollow below the -hill. -</p> - -<p> -So for a time, a very little time, he gave -himself up to the full enjoyment of the sleepy -country life, which was so unlike what he -had been leading for fully four years past. -</p> - -<p> -Yet in his father's house he felt singularly -homeless; by the side of him whose blood he -inherited and of the brother whose blood he -partly shared, he felt as one without kindred, -and ever and anon the thought occurred to -him, "What brought me here? I had no -pressing invitation certainly; let me get back -to the <i>Amethyst</i> again!" -</p> - -<p> -Still stronger grew this desire, when one day -he overheard his step-mother say: -</p> - -<p> -"Greville dear, we must not have him with -us long—with his sea manners and ways; his -oaths, no doubt, will come in time, and the -mode of treating the servant-maids too; for -even they, and the ladies he may meet, are so -different to all he is accustomed to." -</p> - -<p> -"Who sent him to sea?" asked her husband -curtly, for her remarks were alike unjust -and untrue; but though they had a circle of -rather fashionable friends now, Derval was -conscious that none were invited to meet -him; and thus coldness on the part of those -who should have made him welcome, requests -often refused, and lectures from Mrs. Hampton, -in a tone unsuited to a lad past eighteen -years, provoked a certain spirit of resistance -in Derval. So far were slights carried, that -one day during his father's absence young -Rookleigh was placed at the head of the -table. To see a boy of eleven years of age -there, made Derval laugh; but, as Selden -says, "you may see by a straw which way -the wind is," and the preference was only a -part and parcel of her whole system. -</p> - -<p> -One morning, shortly before the time for his -departure came, there occurred two events—or -one, we should say, as each was but a part -of the other—which gave Derval some food -for reflection. -</p> - -<p> -Among the letters for post on the hall-table, -he saw one in Mrs. Hampton's handwriting, -addressed to "Reeve Rudderhead, -Esq., Mate, Ship <i>Amethyst</i>, West India Dock, -London." -</p> - -<p> -"Who the dickens is he?" thought Derval; -"we have no such man, and it is improbable -that there are two ships of the same name in -the same dock." -</p> - -<p> -He inquired of Mrs. Hampton who this -Rudderhead was. -</p> - -<p> -"He has succeeded Mr. Girtline in your ship." -</p> - -<p> -"As first mate?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Who told you of this?" -</p> - -<p> -"My aunt Rookleigh, by letter." -</p> - -<p> -"And about what are you writing to -him?" asked Derval, so abruptly or suspiciously, -that she coloured with annoyance and -said: -</p> - -<p> -"That is <i>my</i> business; besides, he is my -cousin-german, and was an admirer of mine -in my girlish days," she added, and left -the room. -</p> - -<p> -Soon after Derval was in the library, penning -a letter to Hal Bowline, and while doing -so, the appearance of his own name on the -blotting-pad, several times, in Mrs. Hampton's -handwriting, attracted his attention, -and very naturally excited his curiosity. -The blotting-paper was new, yellow tinted, -and clean otherwise, and anxious to know in -what way she was interested in his affairs, he -deemed himself quite entitled to examine into -the matter; and he could make out, by the -address which was thereto, that the fragments -he could decipher were part of his -step-mother's letter to her nautical cousin, -Mr. Reeve Rudderhead, and though unconnected, -they ran thus:— -</p> - -<p> -"<i>... so Derval, you see, is ... y, and for -the old love you bore me ... good round sum, rid -... him in any way ... lad and evil ... see -him no more, again ....</i>" -</p> - -<p> -Derval read these strange fragments between -him and the light again and again, till -he fairly committed them to memory. He -could not make out the mystery, or why she -should be writing about him in any way. He -quite failed to understand it, nor could he -exactly speak of it; but he had good reason -to remember it when several degrees of -latitude lay between him and Finglecombe. -</p> - -<p> -He felt that his visit there had been a -mistake; that his father was all but alienated -from him by a step-mother who wickedly -hated him; that his step-brother was a -greedy, sullen, and most unlikeable youth. -Thus, more than ever, was his loving heart -thrust back upon itself. Why was all this? -What had he done beyond the crime of being -the eldest son of his father, that his own flesh -and blood should treat him thus? -</p> - -<p> -He had but one unalloyed satisfaction -during his visit. He received the Albert -Medal for saving the life of Lord Oakhampton's -daughter, and as he looked on it, his -heart reverted again to the bright little maid -in that isle of "Vexed Bermoothes," and he -wished that the <i>Amethyst</i> had been bound for -that region again, instead of Van Dieman's -Land, or Tasmania as we name it now. -</p> - -<p> -So the hour of his departure came, and -with heedlessness and mortification curiously -mingling in his heart, he once more quitted -his home, on the very day preceding one -which Mrs. Hampton had fixed for a brilliant -dinner-party, and when she knew that Derval -must, without fail, be on board his ship. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> -London: Printed by W. H. Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, S.W. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DERVAL HAMPTON, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> -<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/65143-h/images/img-cover.jpg b/old/65143-h/images/img-cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 34f0728..0000000 --- a/old/65143-h/images/img-cover.jpg +++ /dev/null |
