s men were hurrying to
and fro, sailors were shouting to each other, and friends were hastily
clambering up the plank and springing on deck to remain a few minutes
longer, if possible, with those from, whom they were so soon to be
severed, "it might be for years, and it might be forever."

But the bell has rung once, twice, its warning note, and now, for the
third time, it peals out on the clear air. The last clasp of the hand,
the hurried embrace, the fervent "God bless you," is given, and those
who are to remain have trodden the plank, regained the wharf, and now
turn, before departing to their respective homes, to take a farewell
glance at the steamer, as she moves slowly and gracefully away, bearing,
it may be, from many their heart's most cherished idols. The passengers
are assembled on deck, watching the receding shores, and many
handkerchiefs are waving a last response to those eager glances, an
adieu which, alas, few there dream shall prove final to so many.

At the farther end of the deck, close by the railing, is seated a lady
in travelling costume. She is alone, for her companion, an elderly
gentleman, has left her to salute a friend whose face he had just
recognized among the crowd of passengers.

"A lady accompanies you, I see," was the remark made to Mr. Cameron by
his friend, the Rev. Mr. Dunseer, after the first salutations were over.

"Yes, Miss Wiltshire, from B----.

"Miss Wiltshire? I thought I recognized the countenance as one I had
seen before."

"Ah, so you have had a previous acquaintance with her."

"Yes; for I am sure it is the same person. She is the niece, is she not,
of Mr. Denham, of B----; but I first met her when she was visiting the
part of the country in which I was stationed for a year or two."

"I remember perfectly the time," was the reply. "Her relatives had
become alarmed at her failing health, and change of air had been ordered
by the physician."

"And so she is going to H----."

"Yes, on a visit to her mother's brother, Mr. Edwards. His only daughter
is about to be married, and they have sent for her to be bride's maid.
Miss Wiltshire has never seen any of the family as yet, with the
exception of Mr. Edwards, who came to B----, on business, and then, for
the first time, had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with his
niece."

"It is rather singular," was the reply, while a smile lighted up the
fine countenance of the speaker, "that I am on a somewhat similar
erra