the other. His body was put in the
ground with reverence. Soon afterwards a cheque for five hundred pounds
was received by his widow.
Mr Macvie and his wife lived to a ripe age in a very unpretentious way.
Years later I came across my old commander and owner seated outside a
small cottage which faced the sea in a remote part of Northumberland.
The common in front of him was ablaze with shining flowers, and the
sweet song of the lark swelled in the air. A sad, pensive look hallowed
his comely face, which made me hesitate to interrupt the reverie; but
he realized my presence and asked me to share his seat. He began to
tell me that his mind was reviving some of his early experiences at
sea.
"Ah!" said he, "I was thinking what a terrible end Curly and the old
vessel came to. Poor Jake, he was a fine, swaggering fellow; a smart
sailor, and as brave as a Turkish Bashi-Bazouk. He was very wayward at
times, but always faithful as a mastiff dog to me. His apparent
disregard for breaking the Sabbath grieved me, and when I rebuked him
for it he frequently took me in a sort of humorous way as though it
were a good joke to talk to him of religion. But he had periods of
despondency and remorse which brought out visions of spiritual life. He
would speak of death coming to take him from his wife and little girl
in the most piteous way, and then I had to say to him, 'Do not be so
irreverent to your Creator. Think of His imperishable goodness in
saving you and me from the abysses that have so often confronted us.
Think of those piratical throat-cutters whom He assisted us in
vanquishing, and remember when God wants to take you He will take you.'
I often quoted to him these words: 'I will lift up mine eyes unto the
hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which
made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that
keepeth thee will not slumber.' I do hope he remembered to say, when
the hurricane woke out of the sky and was bearing them to destruction,
'Into Thine hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God
of Truth.'"
"I never realized the intensity of your attachment to him, Captain
Macvie," I interjected.
"Yes, it was very great," he soliloquised, "and the memory of his long
association with me and the perilous life that he led and the horror of
the tragic finish has caused my mind to revert to an occasion which
nearly ended in the same way. We were caught by a heavy sout
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