seemed doubtful, the General became, for a time, quite silent; and, on glancing covertly at him, and being struck with the gloom and dejection of his countenance, Herbert concluded that it was meant to express disapproval of his own conduct. Nothing was farther from the truth, as he himself soon discovered; for, just as they were about to enter the house, his uncle laid a detaining finger upon his arm, and, looking most kindly into his face, said hurriedly, “O Herbert! how thankful I should feel if you could only induce Reginald to follow your example! his conduct at times causes me intense anxiety.”

“Then you do not blame me?" asked Herbert, in evident surprise. "Blame you!" said the General, in a voice of indescribable pathos. "Oh, no! I almost feel it in my heart to envy you."

CHAPTER VIII.

IN PERILS IN THE SEA.

"Your look and gestures frighten me!
If evil is afloat,

I'll bear the news, whate'er they be ;
So tell me on the spot."

WITH a very thankful heart, Herbert shut himself into his own room, to enjoy a brief season of quiet meditation before he should be summoned to dinner.

Never, perhaps, had his uncle's voice sounded so pleasantly in his ear as when he uttered that brief, albeit emphatic, sentence,—" I almost feel it in my heart to envy you;" and fervently did the young man pray that ere long he also might participate in those joys which afforded himself such consolation and delight.

From the General his thoughts naturally passed on to Reginald; and then, for the first time, he began to wonder whether he and his friends had yet returned. After listening intently for a few seconds, he became convinced that they had not, and, starting quickly from his seat, he rang the bell.

"Browning," said he to Mr. Seymour's valet, who presently appeared at the door, "I suppose you have heard nothing of the boating party ?

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Nothing, sir," he answered in apparent surprise. "I did not even know that the young gentlemen intended

"Ah!" exclaimed Herbert, a sudden suspicion crossing his mind, "Have you seen Wright lately?

The man's surprise seemed to be increased at this question; but he merely said, "I thought you knew that Wright went off by the train last evening, sir, and is not expected home again until to-morrow." "Are you sure?" asked Herbert, in perplexity.

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; and Mr.

Quite sure, sir. He received a letter informing him of the dangerous illness of his sister, who resides at HReginald advised him to lose no time in going to see her." "But how is it that my uncle was not made aware of this? " returned Herbert, gravely.

"The General was out at the time, I believe; but Mr. Reginald promised to explain everything to him as soon as he should return. Had it not been for this promise," continued the loquacious Browning, "Wright would not have gone; for he seemed at first quite puzzled to find out what particular reason the young gentleman could have for treating him with such an unusual degree of consideration. However, at length Mr. Reginald managed to satisfy him." Herbert scarcely waited to hear the conclusion of this speech, so eager was he to go forth in quest of his heedless relative.

Browning," ," he said, as he took up his hat previous to leaving the house, “if my mother should inquire for me, you will know what

to tell her."

"Shall I say you are on the sands?"

"Yes. And, Browning

"Sir?"

“As the General is not at present aware of Wright's absence, it will perhaps be as well to say nothing about it; otherwise he might feel uneasy."

"Yes, sir; I understand," was the ready response. "But, Mr. Herbert," added the servant, in a low voice, "you do not, I hope, think they will run into any danger?

"I trust not," replied Herbert, in the same tone; "but I confess I am beginning to wish them safe at home; for the wind is gradually rising, and

Browning never knew what the remainder of the sentence was; for before its completion Herbert was some distance from the house.

A few minutes sufficed to bring him through the plantations which skirted General Clare's grounds, and immediately afterwards he stood upon one of the overhanging cliffs, from whence could be obtained a very extensive view.

About a hundred feet below him lay the ocean, grand and beautiful as ever; its snowy waves now dashing with a loud, deep, rushing sound against the rocky shore, and anon receding with a gentle plaintive murmur.

The wind was, as Herbert had said, gradually rising; but in other respects there seemed nothing to justify his apprehensions: yet he was still far from satisfied, for he had seen many instances of Reginald Grafton's fiery rashness and precipitation, and, knowing that he was a most unsuitable person to have the management of a boat, he could quite understand General Clare's extreme reluctance that he should ever venture out in one, unless accompanied by his faithful attendant, Wright.

While Herbert was thus speculating on the cause of their delay, and anxiously, but vainly, trying with the aid of his pocket-telescope to see some sign of the missing boat, he descried a seaman-like man on the sands, and, rapidly descending by a steep rugged path, he was soon at his side.

"It will be a stormy night, I'm thinking, sir," said the man, doffing his cap respectfully, when he saw him; for Herbert was well known to the sailors, as he had on several occasions found opportunities of usefulness among them.

"Do you think so, my friend?

he exclaimed uneasily.

"Look there, sir," and the stranger pointed to the sky, which had suddenly grown black and threatening," in half an hour the waves will be

"Have you seen anything of General Clare's boat?" asked Herbert, interrupting him in considerable alarm.

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General Clare's boat," repeated the other, fixing his earnest gaze upon a distant sail, which his more experienced eye had just discovered crossing round a projecting rock; "is not that it?"

"Thank God!" aspirated Herbert, heaving a sigh of intense satisfaction, as he watched the tiny vessel gliding swiftly towards them, "they are safe!"

His companion said nothing. With Herbert's telescope he continued narrowly to observe the boat's approach.

"They seem wonderfully merry," he muttered to himself at length; and at the same moment the sounds of loud laughter, intermingled

with snatches of foolish songs, were wafted to Herbert's ear, making his face glow with a mixture of shame and sorrow.

"I greatly fear," remarked the sailor in the same unconscious manner, that the young gentlemen have been drinking."

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"Oh, surely not!" cried Herbert, almost inclined to resent such an insinuation.

"I beg your pardon, sir," returned the man, looking rather confused; "I am sometimes in the habit of speaking my thoughts aloud; but, indeed, it is well known that, whenever Mr. Grafton and his friends go out in the boat, they take a supply of wine with them; and from the appearance of things to-day, I suspect they have had more than usual."

He spoke civilly, but decidedly; and Herbert, fearing that what he said was only too probable, thought it advisable to change the subject.

The boat, meanwhile, was every moment drawing nearer and nearer, while the wind growled angrily, and the scudding clouds grew darker and denser, until both sea and shore seemed enveloped in gloom, and a few large drops of rain warned Herbert and his companion that the storm was fast approaching.

"Fools!" muttered the latter between his teeth; "have you no eyes?" Then, raising his stentorian voice, he shouted to them to take down the sail.

Again and again he repeated his words, but all to no purpose. The Sabbath-breakers paused for an instant, and appeared, by their gestures, to understand his warning; but, without paying the least attention to his instructions, they began to laugh and sing as before.

Scarcely a minute elapsed, and Herbert, who was watching them with the keenest anxiety depicted on his countenance, saw Reginald Grafton rise from his seat, and totter over to the other side of the boat, apparently with the intention of enforcing some joke he had just uttered. Ere he could regain his seat, a furious gust of wind swept over land and sea. The frail boat was instantly capsized, and Reginald and his companions, with one wild, despairing cry, sank into the pitiless waves.

Quick as thought Herbert disembarrassed himself of some of his clothing, and, deaf to the remonstrances of those around him,-for by this time quite a crowd had collected on the beach,-with a prayer in his heart, he plunged into the sea.

"O Mr. Herbert! for God's sake, come back!" shouted Browning, who just then approached the scene of action, having been despatched by Mrs. Seymour to gain some intelligence of her son. "Men!" he added, turning fiercely to the bystanders, "how could you suffer him to go out in such a sea as this? He will never be able to swim so far; and to think that his life should be sacrificed. Oh, it is too bad!"

"We did our best to prevent him from making the attempt," said Herbert's late companion. "But he would not listen to our words.

He is a brave fellow!"

"He is, he is!" was the general response; and then every eye was again directed seaward, and every tongue hushed in the breathless silence of expectancy.

Browning did not wait to see the result. With a heavy heart he

turned, and rapidly reascended the cliff; then, hurrying onward, without once pausing to take breath, he chose the shortest path through the before-mentioned plantations, sprang hastily across the lawn and into the house, and from thence proceeded to the diningroom, where General Clare and Mr. Seymour were sitting over their wines, the ladies having left the table a few minutes previously. "O sir-the boat," he gasped.

Both gentlemen sprang up in alarm, and an expression of the deepest anguish appeared on the General's countenance.

"What is it Browning? Tell us quickly," said Mr. Seymour, advancing towards him, and speaking in his usual tone of firmness and decision. "Or, stay-drink this first," he added, pouring out a glass of wine, when he perceived that the man was really incapable of further speech. "Now, rouse yourself, and be brief and collected. What has happened to the boat?"

A groan burst from the General's lips. "All?" he repeated huskily.

"Yes, sir; but just as I left the sands, they were preparing to send a boat in search of them, and I trust they will all be brought home safely. I hurried back as quickly as possible, in order to assist in getting things ready for them."

Though, with the view of alleviating General Clare's sorrow, he spoke thus hopefully, his looks belied his words, especially when adding, "Mr. Herbert

"Well! what of him?" asked Mr. Seymour, impatiently. "I presume he was not among them."

"No; but he discovered, on his return from church this afternoon, that Mr. Reginald and his friends had gone off without Wright; and, becoming alarmed at their absence, he went to look for them. While on the sands, he observed the accident, and immediately jumped into the sea, hoping to reach some of them by swimming." "Good heavens!" exclaimed Mr. Seymour. danger also!"

-

"Then he is in

Not another word did he utter, except to issue a few concise orders to the servants which orders, notwithstanding their brevity, included everything that was necessary to be attended to from the least to the greatest; and then, taking a supply of brandy and other restoratives with him, he strode forth silent and stern-preceded by a man carrying some warm blankets on his arm, accompanied by the General, and followed by Browning, whose anxiety would not permit him to remain longer in the house.