ming
this little pinafore for Miss Josey, I will tell you the tale of my
early grief.

"My father was a native of this town, and captain of a small vessel
employed in the coal-trade, which plied constantly between this port and
Newcastle and Shields. He owned most of the shares in her, was reckoned
an excellent sailor, and was so fortunate as to have escaped the usual
dangers attendant upon the coast trade, never having been wrecked in his
life,--which circumstance had won for him the nickname of 'Lucky
Billy,' by which he was generally known in all the seaport towns along
the coast.

"I was the eldest of a large family, and the only girl. My mother died
when I was fourteen years of age, and all the cares of the household
early devolved upon me; my father was very fond of me, and so proud of
my good looks, that his ship was christened the _Pretty Betsy_, in
honour of me.

"Father not only earned a comfortable living, but saved enough to build
those two neat stone cottages on the East-cliff. We lived in the one
which my brother now occupies; the other, which is divided from it by a
narrow alley, into which the back doors of both open, was rented for
many years by the widow of a revenue officer and her two sons.

"Mrs. Arthur's husband had been killed in a fray with the smugglers, and
she enjoyed a small Government pension, which enabled her to bring up
her boys decently, and maintain a respectable appearance. My father
tried his best to induce Mrs. Arthur to be his second wife, but she
steadily refused his offer, though the family continued to live on terms
of the strictest friendship.

"Mrs. Arthur's sons, John and David, were the handsomest and cleverest
lads of their class, between this and the port of Y----. They both
followed the sea, and after serving their apprenticeships with my
father, John got the command of the _Nancy_, a new vessel that was
employed in the merchant trade, and made short voyages between this and
London. David, who was two years younger, sailed with his brother as
mate of the _Nancy_.

"David and I had been sweethearts from our school-days,--from a child in
frocks and trowsers, he had always called me 'his dear little wife.'
Time only strengthened our attachment to each other, and my father and
his mother were well-pleased with the match. It was settled by all
parties, that we were to be married directly David could get captain of
a ship.

"Mrs. Arthur was very proud of her sons; but