d would you have thought
that she would have dared what no man dared to do--that she would have
defied those elements raging in their might, and have snatched their
prey from their very grasp? Did I ever imagine, when I brought her as a
helpless baby on shore, that she would ever have repaid the debt with
such interest, or that such a weak instrument should have been chosen by
the Lord to save one who otherwise must have perished? But His ways are
not our ways, and He works as He thinks fit. Bless you, bless you, my
Bessy--and may your fond heart never be again put to such trial! Is she
not beautiful, Tom? just like a piece of cold marble. Thank Heaven, she
is not dead, but sleepeth!"

I certainly never did look upon Bessy with so much interest; there was
something so beautifully calm in her countenance as she lay there like
an effigy on a tomb, hardly appearing to breathe; and when I thought of
the courage and devotion shown but a few hours before by the present
almost inanimate form, I bent over her with admiration, and felt as if I
could kneel before the beautiful shrine which contained such an
energetic and noble spirit. While this was passing through my mind,
Bramble had knelt by the bed-side, and was evidently in prayer. When he
rose up he said, "Come away, Tom: she is a maiden, and may feel ashamed
if she awaken and find us men standing by her bed-side. Let me know
when she wakes up, Mrs Maddox, and tell her I have been in to see her;
and now, Tom, let's go down. I never felt the want of a pipe so much as
I do now."

CHAPTER FORTY THREE.

A SCENE IN THE HOSPITAL, AND A STRANGE DISCOVERY.

In a very few days Bramble and Bessy were sufficiently recovered to
resume their usual avocations; but the former expressed no willingness
to embark again, and Bessy's persuasions assisted to retain him at the
cottage. With me it was different: I was still restless and anxious for
change; my feelings toward Bessy were those of admiration and esteem,
but not yet of love. Yet I could not help recalling to mind the words
of Bramble, "Observe how she performs those duties which fall to her
lot; if she is a good daughter she will make a good wife." I felt that
she would make a good wife, and I wished that I could have torn from my
bosom the remembrance of Janet, and have substituted the form of Bessy
in her place. We had been at the cottage nearly a week, when I received
a letter from Anderson; he informed me tha