by had no employment, and work could not be easily
obtained at that time in the town, so there was no other resource left
him but to go to sea. This he did in a small coasting sloop belonging
to an old friend, who gave him part of his wages in advance to enable
him to leave his mother a small provision, at least for a short time.

This, however, was not all that the widow had to depend on. Minnie Gray
was expert with her needle, and for some years past had contributed not
a little to the comforts of the household into which she had been
adopted. She now set herself to work with redoubled zeal and energy.
Besides this, Mrs Brand had a brother, a retired skipper, who obtained
the complimentary title of Captain from his friends. He was a poor man,
it is true, as regarded money, having barely sufficient for his own
subsistence, but he was rich in kindliness and sympathy, so that he
managed to make his small income perform wonders. On hearing of his
brother-in-law's death, Captain Ogilvy hastened to afford all the
consolation in his power to his sorrowing sister.

The captain was an eccentric old man, of rugged aspect. He thought that
there was not a worse comforter on the face of the earth than himself,
because, when he saw others in distress, his heart invariably got into
his throat, and absolutely prevented him from saying a single word. He
tried to speak to his sister, but all he could do was to take her hand
and _weep_. This did the poor widow more good than any words could have
done, no matter how eloquently or fitly spoken. It unlocked the
fountain of her own heart, and the two wept together.

When Captain Ogilvy accompanied Ruby on board the sloop to see him off,
and shook hands as he was about to return to the shore, he said--"Cheer
up, Ruby; never say die so long as there's a shot in the looker. That's
the advice of an old salt, an' you'll find it sound, the more you ponder
of it. W'en a young feller sails away on the sea of life, let him
always go by chart and compass, not forgettin' to take soundin's w'en
cruisin' off a bad coast. Keep a sharp lookout to wind'ard, an' mind
yer helm--that's _my_ advice to you lad, as ye go:--

"`A-sailin' down life's troubled stream,
All as if it wor a dream.'"

The captain had a somewhat poetic fancy (at least he was impressed with
the belief that he had), and was in the habit of enforcing his arguments
by quotations from memory. When memory failed he supplem