ell
worn and crumpled.

"Ah that I had followed her advice, that I had listened to her
entreaties, I should not have been brought to this pass!" he muttered to
himself.

The letter was from his mother. For many years he had preserved it, and
at his last moments it was not forgotten. I promised to write to her,
and to tell her that he had died repentant. It is not, I hope,
presumptuous in me to suppose, that it might have been owing to his
kindness to Eva, to his one redeeming virtue, that he was allowed thus
to die with one who could speak to him on matters of religion; or,
perchance, a mother's earnest prayers might have been heard at the
throne of grace. So earnestly was I talking, that I did not observe the
change which had come over the heavens. Suddenly, to my surprise and
horror, the pirate sat bolt upright--his hair stood on end--his eyeballs
rolled terrifically--his hand pointed towards the ocean.

"I knew it! I knew it! They come! they come!" he exclaimed, in a
hollow voice, trembling with fear. "Such as I could not die like other
men. Oh! mercy! mercy!"

Dark rolling clouds in fantastic forms came rushing over the sky. His
voice was drowned in the loud roar of the tempest as it swept over the
rocks. One shriek of agony alone was heard joining with the wailing of
the fierce blast, and the wretched being by my side fell back upon his
rude couch a livid corpse.

It was long ere I could erase from my memory the agonised expression of
his countenance, as I beheld it when I attempted to draw the lids over
his starting eyeballs. The storm was as furious as it was sudden.
Thunder in rattling peals rolled through the sky; vivid lightning darted
from the clouds; and rain in deluges came down, and drove me for shelter
to the farthermost corner of the cavern. I could just distinguish my
schooner through the sheet of water which was falling before me. The
squall struck her; she heeled over to it, and for an instant I feared
she would never have risen again but answering her helm she paid off,
and away she flew before the gale. When I looked again, she had run far
out of sight, under bare poles. My position was very disagreeable; but
as there were food and water in the island, it might have been much
worse. My chief concern was for Prior, Fairburn, and the boat's crew.
There had been plenty of time for them to get on board; but I questioned
whether they had remained there, or endeavoured to return on