Part 25 (1/2)

”Ah, noill rest quietly,” he thought, as he laid himself down on a crevice of the ice filled with snow

Fro the women, one toiled on with a child in her arms Many of the seamen offered to carry it; but she would not part with her treasure

On and on she , then scarcely articulate She ceased at length to speak Still she advanced The snow fell thicker The road became more uneven Each person had to exert hiht not of the poor wo thetheir comrades No one at the time exactly kne No one saw them fall They were by the side of those who still walked on alive one one

Paul kept near Devereux They conversed together as e, it appeared, with fatigue and cold, were revived, it seemed, and proceeded with as an to grow very weary, and to long to lie down and rest

”If I could stop back for three ht to himself; yet he did not like to h to believe, would not agree to it

Poor Paul, was this to be the terlory, to sink down and die on a frozen sand-bank, within a few miles of a spot where you may obtain food, shelter, and warer, Ispot between two slabs of ice, quite an arm-chair I must sit in it, if only for two hts, or probably observed the irregular and faltering steps he washihness--

”Come, rouse up, Paul, my dear fellow! We must have none of this folly

I did not expect it from you”

The words had their due effect By a powerful effort Paul threw off his lethargy, and once e his companions

Still no one could tell whether or not they should ever reach their destination The snow fell thicker than ever, and not a windmill, a spire, or a , or any of the objects which adorn the shores of the Elbe, could be seen to indicate that they were approaching the haunts of men It was too evident thattheht follow Many were co bitterly of the cold, and others had ceased to coer conscious of the effect it was producing

Suddenly there was a shout from those in advance The rear ranks hurried on A house was seen, then another, and another They were in the e Kind people came out of their houses to inquire what had occurred; and at once there was no lack of hearty invitations, and the whole party were soon enjoying warreater nuh some who had been frost-bitten required considerable attention before they were set to rights

The next day the stored as furiously as before, and so it continued for nearly a week, and all had reason to be thankful that they had reached a place of safety At length, the weathervery scarce, the ambassador and his suite, and half of the shi+p's coreat difficulty and hazard, to Cuxhaven, while the rest re so the latter were Devereux, Paul, and O'Grady, with Reuben Cole

The next day they, with a party of men, volunteered to visit the wreck, to report on her condition, and to bring back soreatly in need They succeeded in getting on board, and found the shi+p in even a worse condition than they had expected She was on her beam ends, with upwards of seven feet of water in her, apparently broken asunder, the quarter-deck separated six feet froether by the ice frozen round her Their task accomplished, with a few articles of value and a supply of bread, they returned to the shore

Considering that the risk was very great, the captain decided that no further visits should be paid to the shi+p

However, oneunderstood that the captain had not actually prohibited a visit to the shi+p, Devereux, Paul, and O'Grady, with Cole and another man, set off to pay, as they said, the old barkie a farewell visit The captain, as ill in bed, only heard of their departure too late to recall them

The frost was so severe that the ice ell frozen, and thus they ot on board; but it was supposed that they had re made their return i, but no tidings caot up, and their shi+pmates, as they sat by the fires of their hospitable host, trereater nue of her could be seen The tide and wind rising together must have carried down the masses of ice with terrific force, and completely swept her decks

When Captain Order heard of this, his feelings gave way ”To have lost h,” he exclai fellows on a useless expedition is more than I can bear It will be the cause of my death”

The few officers who remained with the captain could offer no consolation The pilots and other people belonging to the place were consulted They declared that from the condition of the shi+p when last visited, it was impossible that she could withstand the nuht ainst her, that she had probably been cut down by degrees to the water's edge, and that thus the ice must have swept over her

They said that if even those on board had been able to launch a boat, no boat could have lived a ice; and that even, had she escaped fro at the mouth of the river Probably, when the weather , portions of the wreck would be found thrown up on the shore, and that was all that would ever be known of her fate The captain, after waiting soate or the lost officers andsufficiently recovered, proceeded with the remainder of the crew to Cuxhaven

Devereux, Paul and O'Grady were general favourites, and their loss caused great sorrow a shi+p days, had little tione where they knew that they theht soon be called on to follow Some honest tears were shed to their memory, and the captain with a heavy heart wrote his despatches, giving an account of the loss of his shi+p, and of the subsequent allant and pro officers The ambassador and his suite had for some time before taken their departure, as the French were known to be advancing eastward, and ht have, had they delayed, intercepted them For the same reason Captain Order and his officers and crew anxiously looked forward to the arrival of a shi+p of war to take the off their adventures by being made prisoners and marched off to Verdun, or some other unpleasant place, where the French at that tith a sloop of war arrived, and they reached England in safety Captain Order and his officers had to undergo a court-ate, when they were not only honourably acquitted, but were complimented on the admirable discipline which had been ate, the _Dido_, lately launched, and fitting with all possible dispatch for sea

But there were sad hearts and weeping eyes in one humble home, where the loss of two deeply loved ones was mourned; and even in the paternal hall of O'Grady, and in the pretentious mansion of Devereux, sorroas expressed, and some tears were shed for those who had thus early been cut off in their career of glory We will not atterief which existed in Gerrard's home It did not show itself by loud cries and lamentations, but it was very evident that from one heart there all joyousness had for ever flown Still Mary bore up wonderfully All her attention see to her mother, who, already delicate, felt Paul's loss dreadfully Her young brothers and sisters, too, required her care As usual, she taught them their lessons, made and mended their clothes, helped to cook their dinners, and attended thes did she for a day leave undone, and even Sarah and John, whispering together, agreed that Mary could not have cared so very much for Gilbert, and still less for poor Paul

Some weeks passed on, when one day, when Mary was out , Mrs Gerrard received a letter curiously e Fortunately she had just enough to pay for it

She read it ood Mary!” she exclaireat

I kno h others don't”