Year: 1874

ing.


"Kyle will hear I refused him anC
come back. He'll never leave me so. Ell,
must ask my pardon first" thought the


weeping beauty that night.


He did not ask pardon, however, MOI


come back. The Olinda sailed, three


days later, and Faiths two lovers sailed


IN 1t. Kyle had beautiful black re-


triever, which he had been used to leave


behind to take care of his lassie love


while he was gone" He took it with


hum this time and Faith nearly wept


her lovely eyes out. that she had been


too proud to own her own folly and


seek a reconciliation before he went.


Patience !! it would be only six weeks,


or at the most eight, and then he would


be back, and she would be good-so


good and meek. He must forgive her


then.


Eight weeks had passed-eight weeks


all but two days-when the sun went


down IN stormy grandeur, one cold


evening, on the Irish sea. It had been


blowing great guns all day, and for
/ many nights before and the waves had


wrestled terribly with crazy barque


which, with creaking timbers and leak


ing pores, with strained and naked


masts bending beneath the gale, till at


every lurch they seemed like to bury


themselves in the foam-crested waves


tumbling mountain-high around them,


had str1ven like living thing to wealth


er the cruel storm.


Where aOaS she nOaOs The huge


breakers, crested still with foam, turbid


and purple-stained, dashed themselves,
| md


and iron bound cliffs of the Welsh


coast, finging up great fragments of
| timber, torn and twisted scraps of sail
cloth, and battered, shapeless things,
too awful in their piteous mutilation
for any human name, against the pitt
less rocks, only to suck them back again
| into the black and boiling gulf below.
Above, great storm-rent clouds, black
too, but fringed with fire, were gather
ing thickly over the threatening vault;
and low on the horizon the sun, like a
blOod-red hand, pointed from between
them to something black and broken,
over which the sea was breaking in unre-
sisted fury-the stem of avessel with the
broken bowsprit and foremast just visi-
bic among the foam and spray. Greatly
as the wind bad lessened, that sail.
looking red now before the angry sun,
was all the captain of the pilot-cutter
cared to show even now to it's tender
mercies. 1t had been a work of danger
to get near the wreck at all, hanging as
she did in a nest of rocks and there
was a look of relief on more than one
hardy, sunburnt face, when the order
was given to tack and bout ship again.
Suddenly the captain caught up his spy
glass, which was lying beside him, and
after hasty glance through it, roared
to the men to "hold all hard"


"There's summat living arter all, ;"
he said, pointing to a ridge of 10 Y, out
lying rocks, where some object was
plainly discernible even by the naked |
eye. "There just above the line O.
high water. Can't none O. ye see?"


GA man down on all-fours - cried |
one of the crew. Look, he's moved |
a bit higher. Poor fellow he must be |
a rare plucked un surely to ha' KEEP |
life in him so long"


Clover the boat" said the captain |
sharply. "Now, my lads, ready all.
jim" (to an old pilot, "give us coil
O. that line. We mayn't be able to get |
over-near him; an ! say, one o you
lubbers, chuck bottle O. rum inter the |
stern-sheets-quick


They are brave, kindly men, those
Welsh pilots ; [ have owed my life to
them, and know but am afraid they
thought their courage and kindness
wasted when they found the object of
it was-only dog They hauled him
into the boat none the less, almost too
much spent, poor fellow, to second their
efforts and then, while he was trying
ve1y feebly to lick the hands that had
saved him, his beautiful eyes full of
dogs gratitude, they saw he had a tin
flask tied to his collar.


The captain opened it. "To Miss
Faith Morgan, Amlwch," he said read
ing something within; and then, not
took the paper out, and opened and
read that. This was what it said:


"Boat just left with the crew and
Philip Denbigh. No room for me but
nc wish for it. Remember that. I
give mine on board, with willing heart,
to him you gave it to ashore. God
bless you, sweetheart. Forgive my
rude words as forgive your falsehood.
There's Savior more merciful than we
are, an to him I pray to care for you,
an make you happy, as [ would ha'
tried to, had he been willed to let me. "


They gave that paper, with the dog
a beautiful black retrieTer-to Faith
Morgan. It was all that ever came to
port of the ill-fated Pride of the West,
the ramshackle old barqUe, which had
been hastily patched up, and thought
good enough for one last voyage more.
Boat and crew were never heard of again.
They must have perished with their fine
young owner in the vain attempt to
reach land, that stormy night; and
there was no tongue left to tell of those
bitter eight weeks when the 'sweet-
spoken" gentleman strove, by every
vulgar boast and innuendo, to torture
the man whom he considered his sue
cessful rival-the man who was no gen
tleman, but who had the grand old
knightly feelings that would have made
him bear anything rather than, by word
or retort, drag the name of the woman
he loved into an unseemly dispute-the
man whose answering discipline and
tireless energy had : lone preserved
them even so long-the man who, when
the ship had struck, and the cowardly
scoundrel who owned it was clinging in
frantic, helpless terror to his knees,
when the men were shouting for
the captain to join them and cast of,
lifted in he miserable wretch first with
MS own SGrOQg arms anu IHeuy seeing
there was no room for more, cut the
rope that held the boat to the sinking
ship, and stayed alone-to die


And Faith Faith is living still. I
met her yesterday, coming up the high
street at Amlwch, with her married
daughter, each holding a hand of wee,
toddling, brown-eyed thing between
them. A bright, bonny old woman she
is too, with as comely face as if the
eyes had never been washed in salt
tears, the brow never wrinkled under a
cloud of care.


81 must be goin' home to my old
man." she said, stopping at the corner.
" Kiss grannie, sweetuns," and then
turned just at the church-yard wall
where stands rough stone cross, "To
the memory of the captain and crew of
the Pride of the West.


Kyle's prayer has been granted-per-
haps better by his death than if he had
lived to carry it out. As Faith says


"He was rare good man, but hard,
overheard and stern for ordinary folk"