vidly on the gilding of the
prows, the streaks of red and white along the sides, and the splendid
decorations of the poop lanterns. Noble and mighty ships they
were--ships of size such as Nisida had never seen before, and in
comparison with which all the merchant-vessels she had beheld at Leghorn
were but mere boats. There was no need to raise a signal to invite them
to approach--for that fleet was evidently steering toward the island.
Whence did this fleet come? whither was it bound? to what nation did it
belong? and would those on board treat her with attention and respect?

Such were the thoughts which flashed across her brain--and her heart
beat with anxiety for the arrival of the moment which should solve those
questions. Absorbed as she was in the contemplation of the noble
ships--those mighty but graceful swans of the ocean--she did not forget
to cast, from time to time, a rapid glance around, to see if Fernand
were retracing his way toward her. Alas! no--he came not--and she must
quit the isle without embracing him--without assuring him of her
constant love--without renewing her oft-repeated promise to return. Ah!
a thought struck her: she would leave a note for him in the hut! No
sooner was the project determined on than she set about its execution;
for there were writing materials amidst the stores saved from the
corsair-wreck. A brief but tender letter was hastily penned, and then
secured in a place where she knew he must find it should he revisit the
rude tenement in which they had so often slept in each other's arms. And
that he would revisit it she both fondly hoped and firmly
believed--revisit it so soon as the excitement and the terror, under the
influence of which he had parted from her, should have subsided. Her
mind was now much easier, and her beauty was wonderfully enhanced by the
glow of animation which suffused itself over her countenance, giving
additional light to her ever brilliant eyes, and rendering her noble
aquiline face resplendent to gaze upon.

The ships came to anchor at a distance of about two miles from the
shore: and though the banners of each were fluttering in the breeze, yet
Nisida was not well skilled enough in discriminating the flags of
different nations to be able immediately to satisfy herself to which
country that fleet belonged. But as she stood with her eyes fixed on the
foremost vessel, which was also the largest, she observed that there was
a gilt crescent in the middle