e at that time. For there would be at least
two hundred fishing vessels in Brassy Sound at that time, and with
most of the fishermen Peter either had had business, or might have in
the future.

"For three days we will keep the feast for all who choose to come," he
said; and so, when the procession formed for the church, nearly six
hundred men and women were waiting to follow Jan and his bride. Then
Jan led her to the front of it, and there was a murmur of wonder and
delight. Her dress was of the richest white satin, and her heavy
golden ornaments--the heirlooms of centuries--gave a kind of barbaric
splendor to it. The bright sunlight fell all over her, and added to
the effect; and Jan, with a bridegroom's pardonable pride, thought she
looked more than mortal.

Going to the church, the procession preserved the gravity of a
religious rite; but on the return, some one touched lightly the
strings of a violin, and, in a moment, hundreds of voices were
chanting:

"It is often that I have said it: In the night thou art my dream, and
my waking thought in the morning.

"I loved thee always; not for three months, not for a year, but I
loved thee from the first, and my love shall not wither, until death
part us.

"Oh, my beloved! My wife! Dearer to me than the light of the day!
Closer to me than my hands and feet! Nothing but death shall part thee
and me, forever!"

The singing opened their hearts; then came the feast and the dance,
that endless active dance which is the kind of riot in which grave
races give vent to the suppressed excitement of their lives. It did
not please Margaret; she was soon weary of the noise and commotion,
and heartily glad when, on the eve of the third day, she was called
upon to give the parting toast:

"Here's to the men who cast the net, and the long line," she cried,
lifting the silver cup above her head. "And may He hold His hand about
them all, and open the mouth of the gray fish!"

"And here's to the bride," answered the oldest fisher present, "and
may God give her a blessing in both hands!"

Then they separated, and some went to their homes in Lerwick and
Scalloway, and others sailed to Ireland and Scotland, and even
Holland; but Peter knew that however much the feast had cost him, it
was money put out at good interest, and that he would be very likely
to find it again at the next fishing season.

CHAPTER II.

A LITTLE CLOUD IN THE SKY.

"All the flowers of Love and Happ