se would have been different, for,
enthusiastic himself, he might easily have been won over by the
colonel's persuasive powers. Dinner was soon announced. Jack and
Terence, who were very hungry, did ample justice to the solids as well
as to the numerous West Indian delicacies and rich fruits pressed on
them by their fair hostesses--the shaddocks, the mangos, and, above all,
the granadillos, which were pronounced like strawberries and cream, but
superior to any such mixture ever tasted in Europe. They enjoyed, too,
a most pleasant evening, several friends having come in, among them Mr
and Mrs Raven, nice young people, full of life and spirits. Mrs Raven
was glad, she said, to make the acquaintance of Lieutenant Murray's
brother officers, of whom she had heard from her mother, Mrs Houghton,
and only regretted that he himself was unable to come.

"However," she added, "we may hope to see him frequently by-and-by, on
his return from his cruise."

They had dancing, of course, as young people never think of meeting in
the West Indies without it; and some delightful music, for the younger
girls had been taught by Fanny, who was highly accomplished. Mr
Bradshaw observed that they did pretty well considering that they had
not the advantages of their elder sister. Times were changed in
Jamaica, and he could not afford to pay three hundred a year for the
education of each of them, as he had done for her.

"No; but they are better housekeepers, and understand far more about
preserving and pickling than she does, and there is not a bird or a
flower on the estate, or, indeed, in any part of the island, with which
they are not acquainted," remarked Mrs Bradshaw, with motherly pride.
"Thanks to Fanny, too, they are really, considering their ages, not so
very much behind her in book knowledge. We need not regret having kept
them with us."

"I agree in all you say, Mrs B," rejoined her husband, rubbing his
hands and laughing; "and as I am eighteen hundred pounds the richer, or,
let me see, in three years, with the addition of their voyages and
dress, the cost of sending them home would have amounted to three
thousand or more. I do not complain, I assure you."

The young officers listened with surprise, and not a little amusement,
at this eulogium on the young ladies, and the accompanying remarks--
uttered they believed correctly without any ulterior object. It gave
them some idea of the expense to which West Indian parents