nt!"

"Not by many, my poor Geoffrey. As there are but few admirals, few fall;
but we are as much exposed as others."

"If I had only run that Monsieur des Prez through the body, when we
closed with him," returned the boy, grating his teeth, and looking all
the vengeance for which, at the passing instant, he felt the desire; "it
would have been _something_! I might have done it, too, for he was quite
unguarded!"

"It would have been a very bad _thing_, boy, to have injured a brave
man, uselessly."

"Of what use was it to shoot you, sir? We took their ship, just the same
as if you had not been hurt."

"I rather think, Geoffrey, their ship was virtually taken before I was
wounded," returned Bluewater, smiling. "But I was shot by a French
marine, who did no more than his duty."

"Yes, sir," exclaimed the boy, impatiently; "and _he_ escaped without a
scratch. _He_, at least, ought to have been _massacred_."

"Thou art bloody-minded, child; I scarce know thee. _Massacred_ is not a
word for either a British nobleman or a British sailor. I saved the life
of that marine; and, when you come to lie, like me, on your death-bed,
Geoffrey, you will learn how sweet a consolation can be derived from the
consciousness of such an act; we all need mercy, and none ought to
expect it, for themselves, who do not yield it to others."

The boy was rebuked, and his feelings took a better, though scarcely a
more natural direction. Bluewater now spoke to him of his
newly-discovered cousin, and had a melancholy satisfaction in creating
an interest in behalf of Mildred, in the breast of the noble-hearted and
ingenuous boy. The latter listened with respectful attention, as had
been his wont, until, deceived by the tranquil and benevolent manner of
Bluewater, he permitted himself to fall into the natural delusion of
believing the wound of the rear-admiral less serious than he had
supposed, and to begin to entertain hopes that the wounded man might yet
survive. Calmed by these feelings, he soon ceased to weep; and,
promising discretion, was permitted by Sir Gervaise to remain in the
room, where he busied himself in the offices of a nurse.

Another long pause succeeded this exciting little scene, during which
Bluewater lay quietly communing with himself and his God. Sir Gervaise
wrote orders, and read reports, though his eye was never off the
countenance of his friend more than a minute or two at a time. At
length, the rear-admiral aroused