tepped into the boat which was to reconvey him to his vessel, "you
may cut out one or two of them, for they sail wide apart, and the
frigate keeps heaving ahead, and laying-to for the lubberly sailers."

And with a touch of his hat, and a wave of his hand to the fair Julia,
on whom his eye lingered as if she had reminded him of another as
bright and fair as she, whom he had left behind him, the gallant boy
sprung into the boat, and was soon upon his own deck, which he left
only for the deep bosom of the ocean, when, not long afterward, the
Hornet went down with all sail standing, and the stars and stripes at
her mast-head, in the midst of a terrible storm, against which she
could not stand. There were eyes that long looked anxiously for the
return of the loved and lost--hearts that sighed, and spirits that
sunk with the sickness of hope deferred; but there was no return for
those who slept

"Full many a fathom deep,
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried!"

CHAPTER VIII.

FLORETTE.

In consequence of the information obtained from the Hornet, the head
of the Raker was turned more to windward, in order to intercept the
convoy of merchantmen; but, owing to miscalculations of their
bearings, she lost them entirely, and after keeping her course several
days, hauled up again, and bore off on her former track.

Florette had wasted away like a flower in midsummer. Each succeeding
hour seemed to bear off upon its wings some portion of her beauty and
bloom, as the winds steal away the fragrance from the rose, and leave
it at length withered and dying. Her mind seemed also to waste with
her body--her brain was fevered, and the form of the pirate seemed to
be always before her gaze.

The night had set in calm and beautiful, though the wind blew strong,
and the waves were high, yet the heavens were cloudless, and the
bright stars glided along the upper deep, like bubbles bathed in
silver light.

Julia sat by the side of Florette, in the cabin, gazing with anxious
melancholy upon her wan yet beautiful countenance, and striving to
direct her wandering thoughts by her own counsel.

"Florette, you seem happier to-night?"

"O, yes! I am happier--do you not see how he smiles upon me; his face
is not dark to me. See! he beckons me to follow him!"

And rising, she began to ascend the steps that led from the cabin.

"Florette, where are you going?"

"With William."

Julia seized her hand and led her gently back