rolling their sides slowly to and fro,
their tall masts reflected in the mirror-like ocean, it being necessary
even for the boats to be lowered to keep them apart. The opportunity
was taken by many to visit each other's ships. Vaughan went with his
brother on board the _Rainbow_, and Mistress Cicely welcomed him in a
way which made him wish that he might continue the voyage with her; but
he remembered that his mother and sister were on board the _Sea
Venture_, and that duty required him to be with them, that, should any
mishap occur, he might be at his post to protect them as far as he had
the power. Roger Layton received a similar welcome from Lettice;
although he had not spoken to her, she was perfectly well acquainted
with the state of his heart, and knowing that he was equally well
acquainted with hers, she remained satisfied that God would order all
for the best. Mistress Audley was well pleased with the young sailor;
she had discerned his good qualities, and the wealth he would inherit
from his father was sufficient for the position in life she desired for
her daughter. There is an old saying that "the course of true love
never did run smooth;" in this instance it seemed, however, that the
proverb was not to prove a correct one.

As darkness was coming on, the admiral ordered the boats to return to
their respective ships, and the lights in the lanterns on the stern of
the _Sea Venture_ were kindled for the guidance of the fleet at night.
Towards morning there was a change in the weather. Dark clouds were
chasing each other rapidly across the sky; the sea, of a leaden hue,
tossed and tumbled with foaming crests; the seamen were busy aloft
furling sails, and the ships, which had hitherto kept close together,
now, for safety's sake, separated widely. The wind whistled in the
shrouds; the waves dashed against the lofty sides of the _Sea Venture_,
whose fortunes we must now follow. Still the stout ship kept her
course, under reduced canvas.

"I told you, Ned, that it was not always calm and sunshine," observed
Gilbert, while he and his friends clung to the weather-bulwarks as the
ship plunged into the heavy seas. "I wonder how the other ships are
faring? Let us climb into the main-rigging and see."

Fenton, Oliver, and he did as proposed, and holding on to the shrouds
they gazed over the storm-tossed ocean. Every instant the wind was
increasing in strength, and the waves in height, amid which the other
sh