left it with Hubert Oliphant and Frank
Oldfield as fellow-passengers. Alas! how different were the feelings of
the latter now, from those with which he trod the deck of that vessel
when preparing for his temporary exile. Then, though sad, he was full
of hope; now he was both heartless and hopeless; he knew he was the
bond-slave of the drink, and, whatever he might say to others, he felt
in his own heart that it was useless any longer to try and cheat himself
with the transparent phantom of a lie. Yet he could not for shame
acknowledge thus much to others, nor would he allow his conscience to
state it deliberately to himself; he still clung to something, which was
yet neither conviction nor hope, that he might even now master his
besetting sin. Alas! he desired the good end, but he would not use the
only means to that good end; and so, when he landed on the soil of the
old country again, it was with the settled determination, (though he
would not have believed his own handwriting, had he put down that
determination on paper) not to give up the drinking of intoxicating
liquors at present. How then should he face his parents and Mary
Oliphant? He could not face them at all as yet. He could not at once
make up his mind what to do. Happily for him, Juniper Graves had been
cut off before he had been able to effect a complete spoliation of his
master, so that Frank had still rather more than two hundred pounds in
his possession. While this money lasted, he resolved to stave off the
evil day of taking any decided step. He would not write to his mother
or Mary till he had quite made up his mind what course he was intending
to pursue. He was also well aware that the family of Bernard Oliphant
could give him no welcome with his present habits of excess still upon
him. So, on the day of reaching Liverpool, he said to Jacob Poole,--

"Well, Jacob, are you quite tired of my service, or will you stay by me
a little longer? I've no right or wish to stand in your way, and if you
would like to make another voyage with Captain Merryweather, or can find
any other situation that will suit you better than mine, I would not
have you consider yourself bound to me at all."

"Mayster Frank," was Jacob's reply, "I'm not going to leave you now,
unless you wish to part with me yourself. I don't feel happy in leaving
you to go by yourself nobody knows where."

"Really, Jacob, you make a capital nurse," said the other, laughing;
"you