his friend interrupted him.

"I cannot forgive when I have nothing to forgive! Say no more about
that. But, now I come to consider of it, I grant your second request
conditionally. If my mother agrees to accompany me to Albion, you may
expect to see me some day or other--perhaps a year or two hence. You
see, since my father and brother were slain in the last fight with our
neighbours, I am the only one left to comfort her, so I cannot forsake
her."

"Then this will be our final parting," returned Bladud, sadly, "for your
mother will never consent to leave home."

"I don't know that," returned Dromas with a laugh. "The dear old soul
is intensely adventurous, like myself, and I do believe would venture on
a voyage to the Cassiterides, if the fancy were strong upon her. You
have no idea how powerfully I can work upon her feelings. I won't say
that I can make much impression on her intellect. Indeed, I have reason
to know that she does not believe in intellect except as an unavoidable
doorway leading into the feelings. The fact is, I tried her the other
day with the future of cats, and do you know, instead of treating that
subject with the gravity it merits, she laughed in my face and called me
names--not exactly bad names, such as the gods might object to--but
names that were not creditable to the intelligence of her first-born.
Now," continued Dromas with increasing gravity, "when I paint to her the
beauty of your native land; the splendour of your father's court; the
kindliness of your mother, and the exceeding beauty of your sister--fair
like yourself, blue-eyed, tall--you said she was tall, I think?"

"Yes--rather tall."

"Of course not _quite_ so tall as yourself, say six feet or so, with a
slight, feminine beard--no? you shake your head; well, smooth-faced and
rosy, immense breadth of shoulders--ah! I have often pictured to myself
that sister of yours--"

"Hilloa!" shouted Captain Arkal in a nautical tone that might almost
have been styled modern British in its character.

It was an opportune interruption, for Dromas had been running on with
his jesting remarks for the sole purpose of crushing down the feelings
that almost unmanned him.

With few but fervently uttered words the final farewells were at last
spoken. The oars were dipped; the vessel shot from the land, swept out
upon the blue waves of the Aegean, the sail was hoisted, and thus began
the long voyage to the almost unknown islands of t