he sea to the
watch--looked for the last time at the sea--and saw the EIGHTH ship.

She never moved, she never spoke. The death of thought, the death of
feeling, seemed to have come to her already. She put back the poison
mechanically on the ledge of the window and watched, as in a dream, the
ship gliding smoothly on its silent way--gliding till it melted dimly
into shadow--gliding till it was lost in the mist.

The strain on her mind relaxed when the Messenger of Life had passed
from her sight.

"Providence?" she whispered faintly to herself. "Or chance?"

Her eyes closed, and her head fell back. When the sense of life returned
to her, the morning sun was warm on her face--the blue heaven looked
down on her--and the sea was a sea of gold.

She fell on her knees at the window and burst into tears.

* * * * *

Toward noon that day, the captain, waiting below stairs, and hearing no
movement in Magdalen's room, felt uneasy at the long silence. He desired
the new maid to follow him upstairs, and, pointing to the door, told her
to go in softly and see whether her mistress was awake.

The maid entered the room, remained there a moment, and came out again,
closing the door gently.

"She looks beautiful, sir," said the girl; "and she's sleeping as
quietly as a new-born child."

CHAPTER XIV.

THE morning of her husband's return to North Shingles was a morning
memorable forever in the domestic calendar of Mrs. Wragge. She
dated from that occasion the first announcement which reached her of
Magdalen's marriage.

It had been Mrs. Wragge's earthly lot to pass her life in a state of
perpetual surprise. Never yet, however, had she wandered in such a maze
of astonishment as the maze in which she lost herself when the captain
coolly told her the truth. She had been sharp enough to suspect Mr.
Noel Vanstone of coming to the house in the character of a sweetheart
on approval; and she had dimly interpreted certain expressions of
impatience which had fallen from Magdalen's lips as boding ill for the
success of his suit, but her utmost penetration had never reached as far
as a suspicion of the impending marriage. She rose from one climax of
amazement to another, as her husband proceeded with his disclosure. A
wedding in the family at a day's notice! and that wedding Magdalen's!
and not a single new dress ordered for anybody, the bride included! and
the Oriental Cashmere Robe totally unavailable on the occasion when
she mi