h sides
for one of the ladies. What with canvas, and flags, and some planks, I
very soon had some fair accommodation for them. My own cot I had slung
in another part of the vessel. The younger lady, when she returned on
deck, after inspecting the arrangements I had made, thanked me with a
look which made ample amends for all the trouble I had taken. The elder
one did not deign to take any notice of the matter. I had been anxious
to know their names. I had seen that of Tarleton on one of the trunks,
so I addressed the elder lady as Mrs Tarleton, which she seemed to
acknowledge as her proper appellation, so I took the chance of being
right, and called the other Miss Tarleton; but she with a smile
observed--

"No; that is not my name. I am called Madeline Carlyon. That lady is
the wife of my mother's brother. She, as you see, is very strongly
opposed to the Royalist party. She has reason, for she has suffered
much from them. I am very much attached to her, for she is an
excellent, noble-minded person, though she has, as you see, her
peculiarities."

"And are you, Miss Carlyon, equally opposed to the Royalists?" I asked.

I felt that I was venturing on dangerous ground.

"Some of my family are Royalists, though some of them are in opposition,
and are what you, I fear, would call rebels. I do not like the word."

"Nor do I," I answered warmly. "Though I am a naval officer, and
fighting is my vocation, I wish that this dispute were settled. I would
rather have any other enemies than those we are now fighting with."

"I am glad to hear you utter that sentiment, sir," said Mrs Tarleton,
who had overheard the last part of our conversation, as she continued
her never-ceasing walk on deck. "Cherish it, for it may produce
wholesome fruit in time to come."

The wind held fair, and with the prize in tow, and the Lady Parker,
which could easily keep up with us in company, we steered a direct
course for the then small town of Newport, off which I hoped to find the
admiral. After the conversation I have described above, the ice in Mrs
Tarleton's manner gradually thawed. She began to regard me with some
degree of interest, and to look on me simply as a misguided young man
whom she might hope to win over to the cause to which she herself was so
warmly attached. I certainly did my best to obtain her good opinion, as
well as that of her niece, and I felt that at all events I was winning
that of the latter.

Deli