wenty minutes elapsed in a profound silence,
during which Sir Gervaise did not stir, fancying that his friend again
dozed. But it was ordered that Bluewater was never to sleep again, until
he took the final rest of the dead. It was the mind, which had always
blazed above the duller lethargy of his body, that buoyed him thus up,
giving an unnatural impulse to his physical powers; an impulse, however,
that was but momentary, and which, by means of the reaction,
contributed, in the end, to his more speedy dissolution. Perceiving, at
length, that his friend did not sleep, Sir Gervaise drew near his bed.

"Richard," he said, gently, "there is one without, who pines to be
admitted. I have refused even his tears, under the impression that you
felt disposed to sleep."

"Never less so. My mind appears to become brighter and clearer, instead
of fading; I think I shall never sleep, in the sense you mean. Whoever
the person is, let him be admitted."

Receiving this permission, Sir Gervaise opened the door, and Geoffrey
Cleveland entered. At the same moment, Galleygo, who came and went at
pleasure, thrust in his own ungainly form. The boy's face betrayed the
nature and the extent of his grief. In his mind, Admiral Bluewater was
associated with all the events of his own professional life; and, though
the period had in truth been so short, in his brief existence, the vista
through which he looked back, seemed quite as long as that which marked
the friendship of the two admirals, themselves. Although he struggled
manfully for self-control, feeling got the better of the lad, and he
threw himself on his knees, at the side of his bed, sobbing as if his
heart would break. Bluewater's eye glistened, and he laid a hand
affectionately on the head of his young relative.

"Gervaise, you will take charge of this boy, when I'm gone," he said;
"receive him in your own ship. I leave him to you, as a very near and
dear professional legacy. Cheer up--cheer up--my brave boy; look upon
all this as a sailor's fortune. Our lives are the--"

The word "king's," which should have succeeded, seemed to choke the
speaker. Casting a glance of meaning at his friend, with a painful smile
on his face, he continued silent.

"Ah! dear sir," answered the midshipman, ingenuously; "I knew that _we_
might all be killed, but it never occurred to me that an admiral could
lose his life in battle. I'm sure--I'm sure you are the very first that
has met with this accide