we never meet again,
but shouldst thou return hither and find this note, receive it
as a proof of the unchanging affection of thy

"FERNAND."

The letter was placed in the hut, in precisely the same spot where the
one written by Nisida had been left; and Wagner then hastened to the
boat, which he had no difficulty in pushing away from the shore. Without
being able to form any idea of the direction in which the island of
Sicily lay, but trusting entirely to the aid of Heaven to guide him to
the coast whither his destiny now required him to proceed, he hoisted
the sail and abandoned the boat to the gentle breeze which swept the
surface of the Mediterranean.

* * * * *

The state-cabins--they might more properly be called spacious
apartments--occupied by the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, on board the
ship of the lord high admiral, were fitted up in a most sumptuous and
luxurious manner. They consisted of two large saloons in a suit, and
from each of which opened, on either side, a number of small cabins,
tenanted by the officers immediately attached to the grand vizier's
person, and the page and slaves in attendance on him.

The first of the two large saloons was lighted by a handsome conical
skylight on the deck: the innermost had the advantage of the stern
windows. The drapery--the curtains, the carpets, the sofas, and the
hangings were all of the richest materials; the sides and ceilings of
the cabin were beautifully painted and elaborately gilded, and the
wood-work of the windows was incrusted with thin slabs of
variously-colored marbles, on which were engraved the ciphers of the
different lord high admirals who had hoisted their flags at any time on
board that ship. For the state-apartments which we are describing
properly belonged to the kapitan-pasha himself; but they had been
surrendered to the grand vizier, as a mark of respect to the superior
rank of this minister, during his stay on board.

The little cabins communicating with the large saloons were in reality
intended to accomodate the ladies of the kapitan-pasha's harem; but
Ibrahim did not turn them to a similar use, because it was contrary to
Ottoman usage for the Princess Aischa, being the sultan's sister, to
accompany her husband on any expedition; and he had received so menacing
a warning in the fate of Calanthe not to provoke the jealousy of Aischa
or the ve