erpool and
Birkenhead. We were very glad to be at sea again. The weather was hot,
and running about all day was tiring work. Leaving the river, we
steered along the Lancashire coast, but did not put into any of its
numerous harbours, contenting ourselves with looking at the chart and
reading a description of each place as we came off it. Our course was
for the Mull of Galloway, the most southern point of Scotland; but we
could not steer directly for it, as we should have run down the Isle of
Man, "and sunk it, for what we could tell," as Dick observed. We had
therefore to keep to the eastward of that island. Among the places we
passed were Lytham, Blackpool, and Fleetwood; and then, crossing
Morecambe Bay, we passed Walney, to the south of the river Duddon. From
Fleetwood a number of vessels run across to the Isle of Man. We were
much amused on coming on deck in the morning to hear Dick Pepper remark:

"Hullo! what's become of the land?"

It was the first time that we had been actually out of sight of land.

"How shall we manage to find our way now?" he asked.

I pointed to the compass.

"That will take us there," I answered.

"Oh, yes; but suppose it made a mistake? We should be running on to
some coast or other before we knew where we were."

"We crossed the big sea," observed Nat, "and for days and days together
we did not see any land."

I got out the chart, and showed Dick the point of Ayr, the most northern
part of the Isle of Man, towards which we were now directing our course.

"We shall see it in the course of the morning. If you were to go to the
mast-head, you would probably make out the land to the south of it."

"Are we to touch at the Isle of Man?" asked Dick. "I should _very_ much
like to see some of the places described by Sir Walter Scott."

"Papa says that we have no time," I replied. "If we don't make more
speed than we have hitherto done, we shall not get round England before
the summer is over; and the east coast is not to be trifled with.
Although he says that we shall be unable to see many of the places he
would like to visit, we shall nevertheless obtain a general view of the
country."

I have not said much about Nat. Poor little fellow! He was quite
reconciled to his lot, and had become completely one of us. We had as
much affection for him as if he had been our brother. I took a special
interest in him, as he was my pupil; and I devoted a part of every day
to teach