showed seldom glanced aft, and then with
such an air of respect as was excessively refreshing after the narrow,
inquiring and continuous inspection we had been honoured with aboard
the _Carthusian_. The quietude of a man-of-war was in the life of the
yacht; the seamen spoke low; if ever one of them smoked a pipe he kept
himself out of sight with it. In fact, it was like being aboard one's
own vessel, and now that we were fairly going home, being driven
towards the English Channel at a steady pace of some twelve or thirteen
knots in the hour by the steady resistless thrust of the propeller, we
could find heart to abandon ourselves to every delightful sensation
born of the sweeping passage of the beautiful steamer, to every emotion
inspired by each other's society, and by the free, boundless, noble
prospect of dark blue waters that was spread around us.

We were uninterrupted till five o'clock. The captain then advanced,
and saluting us with as much respect as if we had been the earl and his
lady, he inquired if we would have tea served in the cabin. I answered
that we should be very glad of a cup of tea; but that he was to give
himself no trouble; the simplest fare he could put before us we should
feel as grateful for as if he sat us down to a mansion house dinner.

He said that the steward had been left ashore at Madeira, but that a
sailor, who knew what to do as a waiter, would attend upon us.

"Who would suppose, Grace," said I, when we were alone, "that the ocean
was so hospitable? Figure us finding ourselves ashore in such a
condition as was our lot when we thought the _Spitfire_ sinking under
us--in other words, _in want_! At how many houses might we have
knocked without getting shelter or the offer of a meal? This is like
being made welcome in Grosvenor Square, and you may compare the
_Carthusian_ to a fine mansion in Bayswater."

"I have had quite enough of the sea, Herbert," she answered. "Its
hospitality is not to my taste; and yet, if you owned such a steamer as
this, I believe I should be willing to make a voyage in her with you
when we are married."

I let this pass, holding that I had already said enough as to the
legitimacy of our shipboard union.

And now what follows I need not be very minute in relating. The
captain contrived for "tea," as he called it, as excellent a meal as we
could have wished for; white biscuit, good butter, bananas, a piece of
virgin corned-beef, and preserved milk