and Mrs Joe Davidson and her baby. It was a big
old-fashioned carriage capable of holding six inside, and Billy Bright
"swarmed" upon the dickey.

Arrived at the cottage, which had a fine lawn in front and commanded a
splendid view of the sea, Captain Bream got down, took up a position at
the garden-gate, and, shaking hands with each guest as he or she
entered, bade him or her welcome to "Short Blue Cottage!"

"'Tis a pleasant anchorage," he said to the sisters Seaward as they
passed in, "very pleasant at the end of life's voyage. Praise the Lord
who gave it me! Show them the way, Nellie; they'll know it better
before long. You'll find gooseberry bushes in the back garden, an' the
theological library in the starboard attic. Their own berths are on the
ground-floor."

You may be sure that with such a host the guests were not long in making
themselves at home.

Captain Bream had not invited the party merely to a wedding feast. It
was the season of fruits and flowers, and he had set his heart on his
friends making a day of it. Accordingly, he had made elaborate
preparations for enjoyment. With that practical sagacity which
frequently distinguishes the nautical mind, he had provided bowls and
quoits for the men; battledore and shuttlecock for the younger women;
football and cricket and hoops, with some incomprehensible Eastern games
for the children, and a large field at the side of the cottage afforded
room for all without much chance of collision.

The feast was, of course, a strictly temperance one, and we need
scarcely say it was all the more enjoyable on that account.

"You see, my friends," said the host, referring to this in one of his
brief speeches, "as long as it may please God to leave me at anchor in
this snug port, I'll never let a drop o' strong drink enter my doors,
except in the form of physic, and even then I'll have the bottle
labelled `poison--to be taken under doctor's prescription.' So, my
lads--my friends, I mean, beggin' the ladies' pardon--you'll have to
drink this toast, and all the other toasts, in lemonade, ginger beer,
soda water, seltzer, zoedone, tea, coffee, or cold water, all of which
wholesome beverages have been supplied in overflowing abundance to this
fallen world, and are to be found represented on this table."

"Hear! hear!" from John Gunter, and it was wonderful to hear the
improvement in the tone of Gunter's voice since he had left off strong
drink. His old foe, but