s wanting. He found his mother the reputable widow of
a reputable man, of a class in life quite equal to his own, living on a
property that was small, certainly, and involved, but property that had
been long in her family. The truth was, Marble felt so much at this
unlooked-for appeal to his gentler feelings, that one of his stern nature
did not know how to answer it on the emergency; and the obstinacy of his
temperament rather induced him to resist, than to yield to such unwonted
sentiments, I could see he was satisfied with his mother, while he was
scarcely satisfied with himself; and, with a view to place both parties in
truer positions, I desired Moses to walk down and look at the boat, while
I remained alone with his new-found parent. This was not done, however,
until all the explanations had been made, and the mother had both blessed
and wept over her child. It was done, indeed, principally to relieve
Marble from the oppression of feeling created by this very scene.

As soon as alone with Mrs. Wetmore, I explained to her my own connection
with Marble, and gave her a sort of apologetic account of his life and
character, keeping down the weak points, and dwelling on the strong. I set
her mind at ease, at once, on the subject of the farm; for, should the
worst happen, her son had double the amount of money that would be
necessary to discharge the mortgage.

"The debt was incurred, my dear Mrs. Wetmore, in his behalf; and he will
be happy to discharge it on the spot. I would advise you to pay the money
at once. Should the receipt ever be found, this Van Tassel will be obliged
to refund; for, though the law winks at many wrongs, it will not wink at
one so atrocious as this, provided you can satisfy it with proof. I shall
leave Moses----"

"His name is Oloff, or Oliver," interrupted the old woman easerly "I named
him after my own father, and had him duly christened, before he was
entrusted to the nurse, in the hope it might soften his grandfather's
heart, when he came to know of my marriage. Oloff Van Duzer Wetmore is his
real name."

I smiled to think of Marble's sailing under such an appellation, and was
about to suggest a compromise, when the subject of our discourse returned.
The mate had regained his composure during the half-hour he had been
absent; and I saw by the kind glance he threw on his mother, whose look
answered his own more naturally than I could have hoped, that things were
getting right; and, by way