le overtook
them, and, drowning the rest, cast four of them alive on the coast
near Mogador, where the Moors fell on them and sold them into
slavery, to masters living wide apart. Yet, and howsoever the others
perished, in the mouth of this one man the story lived and came after
many days to ears that understood it.

"For Prince Henry, hearing the pilot's tale, believed verily that
this must be the island for which his sea-captains had been
searching, and in 1420 sent Zarco forth again to seek it, with the
old man on board. They reached Porto Santo, where they heard of a
dark line visible in all clear weather on the southern horizon, and
sailing for it through the fogs, came to a marshy cape, and beyond
this cape to high wooded land which Morales recognized at once from
his fellow-prisoner's description. Yes, and bringing them to shore
he led them, unerring, to the wooden cross above the beach; and
there, over the grave of these lovers, Zarco took seizin of the
island in the name of King John of Portugal, Prince Henry, and the
Order of Christ.

"From this," my father concluded, "we may learn, first, that human
passion, of all things the most transient, may be stronger and more
enduring than death; of all things the unruliest and most deserving
to be chastened, it may rise naked from the scourge to claim the
homage of all men; nay, that this mire in which the multitude wallows
may on an instant lift up a brow of snow and challenge the Divinity
Himself, saying, 'We are of one essence, Shall not I too work
miracles?' Secondly--"

"Your pardon, master," put in Billy, "but in all the fine speeches
about Love and War and suchlike that I've heard you read out of books
afore now, I could never make out what use they be to common fellows
like myself. Say 'tis a battle: you start us off with a shout, which
again starts off our betters a-knocking together other folks' heads
and their own: but afterwards, when I'm waiting and wondering what
became of Billy Priske, all the upshot is that some thousand were
slaughtered and maybe enough to set some river running with blood.
Likewise with these seamen, that never ran off with their neighbours'
wives, but behaved pretty creditable under the circumstances, which
didn't prevent their being spilt out of boats and eaten by fishes or
cast ashore and barbecued by heathen Turks--a pretty thing this Love
did for them, I say. And so to come to my own case, which is where
this talk sta