ness and beauty of the evening, and
offered me a cigar; upon which, responding to his friendly overtures, I
turned, and we proceeded to quietly pace the deck together; the
baronet--for such he proved to be--confiding to me, in an easy, chatty
manner, the circumstances that had led to the family undertaking the
voyage.

At length, when the dusk of evening had fairly merged into the darkness
of night, and the illimitable vault above us had become spangled and
powdered with stars innumerable of every magnitude, a delicate sheen
appeared on the eastern horizon, glowing faintly and softly at first as
the tremulous shimmer of summer lightning, but brightening by
imperceptible degrees until it revealed a hitherto invisible bank of
fleecy vapour lying low along the horizon's margin, the rounded edges of
which it daintily touched here and there with glowing silver. Rapidly,
yet with the most subtle mutations, the glow increased in strength and
splendour, the colour at the same time deepening to a warm orange hue;
and presently, above the upper edge of the cloud-bank, the sharp rim of
the moon's broad disc soared into view, ruddy as a shield of burning
gold, while simultaneously a wavering line of ruddy gold flashed across
the gleaming surface of the water almost to the ship's side. Slowly and
majestically, as befits the movements of the stately queen of night, the
glowing orb rose clear of the cloud-bank, her orange beams flowing
softly into the shadows of the night and revealing here and there in
clear but delicate outline the forms and details of craft that had
before appeared but as black shapeless blots against the starlit
heavens; while the hull and canvas of our craft, that had hitherto worn
the aspect of a huge black shadow upon sky and water, now glowed faint
but clear in the warm light, with rich touches of ruddy gold here and
there where the radiance struck and was reflected from the dew-wetted
bulwarks, the glistening spars, the taut rigging, or the polished brass
and glass about the deck fittings and skylights.

The misty light now revealed to us that we were in the very heart of a
fleet numbering some two hundred and fifty sail, most of which were at
anchor, many with their canvas more or less snugly stowed; but there
were a few--perhaps a dozen in all--on board which the canvas hung in
the brails, all ready for sheeting home and hoisting away at a moment's
notice. There were also a few--obviously outward-bound,