d at a more fitting
moment, should the ecclesiastical authorities consent to the same; a
most improbable thing in itself.

Mr. Rotherham availed himself of the statute inflicting the penalty, as
an excuse for not officiating. His real motive, however, was understood,
and the chaplain of the Plantagenet, a divine of character and piety,
was substituted in his place. Bluewater had requested that as many of
the captains of the fleet should be present as could be collected, and
it was the assembling of these warriors of the deep, together with the
arrival of the clergyman, that first gave notice of the approach of the
appointed hour.

It is not our intention to dwell on the details of a ceremony that had
so much that was painful in its solemnities. Neither Wycherly nor
Mildred made any change in their attire, and the lovely bride wept from
the time the service began, to the moment when she left the arms of her
uncle, to be received in those of her husband, and was supported from
the room. All seemed sad, indeed, but Bluewater; to him the scene was
exciting, but it brought great relief to his mind.

"I am now ready to die, gentlemen," he said, as the door closed on the
new-married couple. "My last worldly care is disposed of, and it were
better for me to turn all my thoughts to another state of being. My
niece, Lady Wychecombe, will inherit the little I have to leave; nor do
I know that it is of much importance to substantiate her birth, as her
uncle clearly bestowed what would have been her mother's property, on
her aunt, the duchess. If my dying declaration can be of any use,
however, you hear it, and can testify to it. Now, come and take leave of
me, one by one, that I may bless you all, and thank you for much
undeserved, and, I fear, unrequited love."

The scene that followed was solemn and sad. One by one, the captains
drew near the bed, and to each the dying man had something kind and
affectionate to say. Even the most cold-hearted looked grave, and
O'Neil, a man remarkable for a _gaite de c[oe]ur_ that rendered the
excitement of battle some of the pleasantest moments of his life,
literally shed tears on the hand he kissed.

"Ah! my old friend," said the rear-admiral, as Parker, of the Carnatic,
drew near in his customary meek and subdued manner, "you perceive it is
not years alone that bring us to our graves! They tell me you have
behaved as usual in these late affairs; I trust that, after a long life
of patient