hed to it. The offer was gratefully accepted, but this did not in
any way interfere with the steady progress of the propaganda, and in a
few years the character of the men and women who would have thrown him
into the sea when he first came amongst them changed from hatred into
affection. Gambling, drunkenness, wife-beating, profanity, all had
disappeared.

As soon as his sons were old enough they left the district, and ere
long some of them were heard of in the metropolis of England, and had
succeeded in carving out distinguished careers for themselves. Two of
them gladdened the old man's heart by choosing the sea as a profession,
but no discrimination in point of affection was ever shown, though when
he heard the hoarse moaning of the wind on troubled nights, he never
failed to put in a supplementary prayer for his two seafarers. He had
passed through the dangers himself, and had a steadfast belief that
close communion with God was a strong safeguard against disaster. The
homecoming of these sailor lads, who frequently brought friends with
them, was a great joy to the Burnsides, and also to those of the
villagers with whom they associated. Both lads were very sailorly, and
it was well known that they never failed to make things hum with mirth
and mischief, as soon as they had taken their bearings and found the
coast clear of "squires" and "parsons." It was a pretty sight to see
their two sisters rush out of the house as soon as their brothers were
seen in the distance crossing the long stretch of moor and run to meet
and fondly greet them. This had been one of the fundamental points in
their training, that they were to be affectionate to each other, and
lengthened separation did not diminish the well instilled habit. But
the joy of the young people's meeting was only second to that of seeing
their reunion with their parents, and great were Mrs Burnside's
bewildering exploits of cookery. The first night was generally spent in
telling queer stories of their skippers, mates and shipmates, whilst
the father sat smiling placidly and obviously living over again his
youthful days when he also was a sailor lad relating the same kind of
stories in the same old way. The girls asked all sorts of questions,
and the merry babble was kept up until Mrs Burnside reminded her
husband that it was long past the usual time for prayers, and that they
had better postpone the narrative until the morrow. A chapter suitable
for the occasion wa