ics of strength as were still left to
him, and to consult his friends in Glasgow on the doubtful question of
his life to come.

The prospect was a serious one. Dermody was quite unfit for any
sedentary employment; and the little money that he had saved was not
enough to support his daughter and himself. The Scotch friends were
willing and kind; but they had domestic claims on them, and they had no
money to spare.

In this emergency, the passenger in the wrecked vessel (whose life
Dermody had saved) came forward with a proposal which took father and
daughter alike by surprise. He made Mary an offer of marriage; on the
express understanding (if she accepted him) that her home was to be her
father's home also to the end of his life.

The person who thus associated himself with the Dermodys in the time
of their trouble was a Dutch gentleman, named Ernest Van Brandt. He
possessed a share in a fishing establishment on the shores of the
Zuyder Zee; and he was on his way to establish a correspondence with the
fisheries in the North of Scotland when the vessel was wrecked. Mary had
produced a strong impression on him when they first met. He had lingered
in the neighborhood, in the hope of gaining her favorable regard, with
time to help him. Personally he was a handsome man, in the prime of
life; and he was possessed of a sufficient income to marry on. In making
his proposal, he produced references to persons of high social position
in Holland, who could answer for him, so far as the questions of
character and position were concerned.

Mary was long in considering which course it would be best for her
helpless father, and best for herself, to adopt.

The hope of a marriage with me had been a hope abandoned by her years
since. No woman looks forward willingly to a life of cheerless celibacy.
In thinking of her future, Mary naturally thought of herself in the
character of a wife. Could she fairly expect in the time to come to
receive any more attractive proposal than the proposal now addressed
to her? Mr. Van Brandt had every personal advantage that a woman could
desire; he was devotedly in love with her; and he felt a grateful
affection for her father as the man to whom he owed his life. With no
other hope in her heart--with no other prospect in view--what could she
do better than marry Mr. Van Brandt?

Influenced by these considerations, she decided on speaking the fatal
word. She said, "Yes."

At the same time, she spok