o the eastward of the port to which the cutter belonged.

Close to the spot where Paul and his crew landed, on the shore of a
romantic bay, stood the residence of Sir Baldwin Treherne, known as the
Manor House. Sir Baldwin was lord of the manor--a kind, warm-hearted,
generous man. He had himself been at sea in his youth, but on coming
into his estate had given up the profession. He had learned when at
sea, probably from experiencing some of the hardships sailors have to
endure, to sympathise with them, and to feel for their sufferings. He
had seen through his telescope, while dressing in the morning, the wreck
on the reef, and had immediately set off to find out what assistance
could be rendered to the crew. He met the old pilot and his people not
far from the shore, and insisted on their coming at once to the Manor
House to be warmed and fed. Paul Petherwick would indeed have been
unable to have reached his own home, as his strength and spirits were
already exhausted. As the day advanced the wind again increased, and
when the tide rose the _Sea-Gull_, battered by the waves, was seen
quickly to disappear.

Great was old Paul's grief as he watched the destruction of the vessel.
"God's will be done," he said, bowing his head. "My poor wife and
children, what will become of them? With her goes all the means I have
of supporting them, and part of her cost is still unpaid."

The kind baronet overheard him. "Paul, we have known each other a good
many long years," he said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "I should
like to make you a Christmas-box. Let you and me go off to Plymouth
to-morrow, and see if we cannot fall in with as fine a cutter as the
_Sea-Gull_. It won't do to be letting our ships knock about the chops
of the Channel this winter weather without you to show them the way up;
so I'll find you a craft, and may she have better luck than the poor
_Sea-Gull_!"

"Oh, Sir Baldwin, you are very good; so good, I shall never be able to
repay you," exclaimed Paul Petherwick, respectfully pressing the kind
baronet's hand.

"I am paid beforehand with all the blessings I enjoy," answered Sir
Baldwin. "They came to me without my having toiled for them, far less
deserved them; I am bound to make the best use of them in my power, so
say no more about the matter."

A new cutter was found and purchased, and named the _Lady Isabel_, after
Sir Baldwin's wife; and for many a day, in summer and winter, Paul
Pether