replaced on the davits, the good-natured fellow ran down to Greaves's cabin, and found him sitting dejected, with his head down.

6

Cheer up, Mr. Greaves,' cries Castor; luck is changed. Here is a fair wind, and every rag set, and the loveliest woman I ever clapped eyes on has been and written you a letter; and there it is.'

'It is from her!' cried Greaves, and began to open it all in a tremble. She is in trouble, Castor. I saw it in her face.'

6

'Trouble! not she. Schooner A 1, and money in both pockets.'

Trouble! I tell you; and great trouble, or she would never have written to me.' By this time he had opened the letter, and was busied in the contents. It wasn't to me she wrote,' he

6

sighed. How could it be?'

banded it to Castor.

The letter ran thus:-

He read it through; and then

'I have written this, in hopes I may be able to give it to some lady on board the "Phoebe," or to one of the officers, that something may be done to rescue me, and prevent some terrible misfortune.

'My husband is a madman. It is his mania to pass for a pirate, and frighten unarmed vessels. Only last week we fell in with a Dutch brig; and he hoisted a black flag with a white Death's-head and cross-bones, and fired a shot across the Dutchman's bows. The Dutchman hove to directly, but took to his boats. Then Mr. Laxton thought he had done enough, so he fired a gun to leeward, in token of amity; but the poor Dutchman did not understand; and the crew pulled their boats towards Java-head, full ten miles off, and abandoned their ship. I told him it was too cruel; but he spoke quite harshly to me, and said that lubbers, who didn't know the meaning of a gun to leeward, had no business afloat. All I could persuade him to was to sail quite away, and let the poor Dutchmen see they could come back to their ship. She could not fly from them, because she was hove to.

'He tried this experiment on the "Phoebe," and got the men to join him in it. He told me every word I was to say to the officer. The three who were put in irons had a guinea apiece for it, and double grog. He only left off because the officer who came on board was such a brave man, and won his respect directly, for he is as brave as a lion himself. And that is the worst of it; if a frigate caught him playing the pirate, and fired at him, he would be sure to fire back, and court destruction.

His very crew are so attached to him, and so highly paidfor he is extremely rich-and sailors are so reckless, that I am afraid they would fight almost anybody, at a distance. But I think if they saw an officer on board in his uniform, and he spoke to them, they would come to their senses; because they are many of them men-of-war's-men. But, indeed, I fear he bribed some of them out of the Queen's ships; and I don't know what those men might not do; because they are deserters.

It is my hope and prayer that the captain and officers of the "Phoebe " will, all of them, tell a great many other captains, espe cially of armed vessels, not to take the "Rover" for a real pirate, and fire on him; but to come on board, and put him under reasonable restraint, for his own sake, and that of others at sea.

'As for myself, I believe my own life is hardly safe. He has fits of violence, which he cannot help, poor fellow, and is very sorry for, afterwards; but they are becoming more frequent, and he is getting worse in every way.

'But it is not for myself I write these lines, so much as to prevent wholesale mischief. I behaved ill in marrying him, and must take my chance, and perhaps pay my penalty.

ELLEN LAXTON.'

'Well, Castor,' said Greaves eagerly, 'what shall we do? Will the Captain let you take volunteers, and board her?'

'Certainly not! Why, here's a fair wind, and stunsels set to catch every puff.'

'For Heaven's sake, take him her letter, and try him.'

I'll do that; but it is no use.'

He took the letter, and soon came back with a reply that Captain Curtis sympathised with the lady, and would make the case known to every master in his service.

And that is all he is game for!' said Greaves contemptuously. 'Castor, lend me your arm. I can hobble on deck well enough.' He got on deck; and the schooner was three miles to leeward, and full a mile astern, with nothing set but her topsails and

flying-jib.

Greaves groaned aloud. He means to part company. We shall never see her again.' He groaned, and went down to his cabin again.

He was mistaken. Laxton was only giving the ship a start, in order to try rates of sailing. He set his magnificent mainsail, and foresail, and main-jib, and came up with the ship hand over head, the moderate breeze giving him an advantage.

Castor did not tell Greaves; for he thought it would only put him in a passion, and do no good.

So the first intimation Greaves got was at about 4 P.M. He was seated, in deep sorrow, copying his lost sweetheart's letter, in order to carry out her wishes, when the shadow of an enormous. jib-sail fell on his paper. He looked up, and saw the schooner gliding majestically alongside, within pistol-shot.

He flew on deck, in spite of his lame foot, and made the wildest propositions. He wanted a broadside fired at the schooner's masts, to disable her-wanted Captain Curtis to take the wind out of her sails, and run on to her, grapple her, and board her.

To all this, as might be supposed, Captain Curtis turned a deaf ear.

'Interfere, with violence, between man and wife, sir! Do you think I am as mad as he is? Attack a commander, who has just breakfasted with me, merely because he has got a tile loose? Pray compose yourself, Mr. Greaves, and don't talk nonsense. I shall keep my course, and take no notice of his capers. And, Mr. Greaves, I am sorry for you.-You are out of luck.—But every dog has his day. Be patient, man, for God's sake, and remember you serve Her Majesty, and should be the last to defy the law. You should set an example, sir.'

This brought that excellent officer to his bearings, and he sat down all of a heap and was silent, but tears of agony came out of his eyes; and presently something occurred that made him start up in fury again.

For Laxton's quick eye had noticed him and his wild appeals, and he sent down for Mrs. Laxton. When she came up, he said, 'My dear, there's a gentleman on deck who did not breakfast with There he sits, abaft the main-mast, looking daggers at us: you know him?'

us.

do

Ellen started.

Ah, you do know him! Tell me his name.'

'His name is Arthur Greaves.'

'What, the same that was spoony on you, when I sailed into Tenby Harbour?'

'Yes, yes. Pray, spare me the sight of the man I wronged so wickedly.'

Spare you the sight, you lying devil! why, you raised your veil to see him the better.' With these words he caught her hastily round the waist with his powerful arm, and held her in that affectionate position whilst he made his ironical adieux to the ship he was out-sailing.

During the above dialogue, the schooner being directly under the

ship's lee, the wind was taken out of the swifter craft's sails, and the two vessels hung together a minute; but soon the schooner forged ahead, and glided gradually away, steering a more southerly course; and still those two figures were seen interlaced upon her deck, in spite of the lady's letter in Greaves's possession.

The hell of impotence,' says an old writer. Poor Greaves suffered that hell, all the time the schooner ran alongside the ship, and nobody would help him board her, or grapple her, or sink her. Then was added the hell of jealousy; his eyes were blasted, and his soul sickened, with the actual picture of his old sweetheart embraced by her lord and master before all the world. He had her letter, addressed, though not written, to him; but Laxton had her, and the picture of possession was public. Greaves shook his fist at him with impotent fury, howled impotent curses at him, that everybody heard, even the ladies, who had come on deck well pleased, seeing only the surface of things, and were all aghast when Greaves came up all of a sudden, and stormed, and raged, at what to them was that pretty ship, and justly affectionate commander; still more aghast when all this torrent came to a climax, and the strong man fell down in a fit, and was carried, gnashing, and foaming, and insensible, to his cabin.

On board the schooner all was not so rosy as it looked. Mrs. Laxton, quietly imprisoned by an iron hand, and forced into a pictorial attitude of affection, quite out of character with her real sentiments-which, at that moment, were fear, repugnance, remorse, and shame-quivered and writhed in that velvet-iron embrace her cheeks were red, at first, with burning blushes; but by degrees they became very pale; her lips quivered, and lost all colour; and, soon after Greaves was carried below, her body began to collapse, and, at last, she was evidently about to faint; but her changeable husband looked in her face, uttered a cry of dismay, and supported her, with a world of tenderness, into the cabin, and, laying her on a sofa, recovered her with all the usual expedients, and then soothed her with the tenderest expressions of solicitude and devotion.

It was not the first time his tyranny had ended in adoration and tenderness. The couple had shed many tears of reconciliation: but the finest fabric wears out in time; and the blest shade of Lord Byron must forgive me if I declare that even Pique her and soothe by turns' may lose its charm by what Shakspeare calls ' damnable iteration.' The reader, indeed, might gather as much, from Mrs. Laxton's reply to her husband's gushing tenderness. ‘There—there—I know you love me, in your way; and, if you do, please leave me in peace, for I am ouite worn out.'

'Queen of my soul, your lightest word is a command,' said the now chivalrous spouse, impressed a delicate kiss upon her brow, and retired backwards, with a gaze of veneration, as from the presence of his sovereign.

This sentiment of excessive veneration did not, however, last twenty-four hours. He thought the matter over, and, early next morning, he brought a paint-pot into the cabin, and, having stirred some of his wife's millefleur into it, proceeded to draw, and then paint, a certain word, over a small cupboard, or locker, in the state cabin.

Mrs. Laxton came in, and found him so employed. horrid smell!' said she pettishly. Paint!'

What a

'What, do you smell it?' said he, in a humble, apologetic tone. I thought I had succeeded in disguising it with something more agreeable to the nostrils of beauty-the essence of a thousand flowers.'

You have not, then; and what are you doing?'

'Painting a word on this locker. A salutary word. Behold, queen of this ship and your husband's heart;' and he showed her the word 'DISCIPLINE' beautifully written in large letters and in an arch.

She began to quake a little; but, being high spirited, she said, 'Yes, it is a salutary word, and, if it had been applied to you when a boy, it would be all the better for you now-and for me too.' 'It would,' said he gravely. But I had no true friend to correct the little faults of youth. You have. You have a husband, who knows how to sail a woman; "suaviter in modo, fortiter in re," that's the rule, when one is blessed, and honoured, and tormented, with the charge of capricious beauty.'

Then Mrs. Laxton took fright, and said, cajolingly, she really believed he was the wisest man upon the seas.

As he was, at all events, one of the vainest, this so gratified him that no further allusion to her faults was made that day.

The next morning, two sailors had a fight for the affections of Susan Tucker, Mrs. Laxton's Welsh maid, whom he had made her colour, and rig out as Zulema, in that little comedy with Castor.

Thereupon Laxton complained to her, and said, 'I cannot have the peace of the vessel disturbed by that hussy. I shall discharge her.'

'What, into the sea, dear?' said Mrs. Laxton rather pertly. 'No, love. Though I don't see why I shouldn't launch her in an open Loat, with a compass, and a loaf, and a barrel of water, and a bottle of hair oil-she uses that, the nasty little pig. That sort of thing has been done, on less provocation, to Captain Blyth, and