ot a young couple by
any means, yet the eyes of the passengers followed their movements with
interest, for they were not only exceedingly good to look upon, but had
an air of enjoyment in their surroundings and in each other's society
which is unfortunately not universal among middle-aged couples. The man
was tall and slight, with the weather-beaten, dried-up skin which tells
of a long residence under burning suns, and he had a long nose, and eyes
which appeared almost startlingly blue against the brown of his skin.
They were curious eyes, with a kind of latent fierceness in their good
humour, but just now they shone in holiday mood, and softened into
tenderness as he waited on his wife.

No sooner had this interesting couple seated themselves in their chairs
than a chirrup of welcome sounded in their ears, and a beaming little
figure in grey alpaca darted forward to greet them. Though the majority
of passengers in an ocean-going boat may be unsociably inclined at the
start, there are always one or two exceptions to the rule to be found,
in the shape of ultra-friendly souls, who, willy-nilly, insist upon
playing the part of devoted friends to some unresponsive stranger, and
the old lady in question was one of these exceptions. She had begun
operations the night before by quarrelling violently over the possession
of a cabin, had then proceeded to borrow half-a-dozen necessities of the
toilet which she had forgotten, and had advanced to the length of terms
of endearment before the bell sounded for dinner. It was only natural
then that she should exhibit a breathless anxiety to know how her new
friend had fared during the night, and the invalid braced herself to
bear the attack with composure.

"So glad to see you up this morning, dear!" she cried. "I was afraid
you might be ill, but I asked your daughter about you, and was so
relieved to hear good news. We met on deck before breakfast, and had a
nice, long talk. Such a sweet creature! So different from the fast,
loud-voiced specimens one meets nowadays. Quite an old-world girl, I
declare; sweet, and mild, and gentle... `A violet by a mossy dell,
half-hidden from the eye'--as dear old What's-his-name has it! It does
me good to be with her, and feel her restful influence. You are to be
congratulated on owning such a daughter!"

"Thank you!" said the mild girl's mother softly. She dropped her
eyelids, and twisted the rings round and round on her slender finger