rections, and before Ned could interfere the sorcerers who had advised his death were seized and strangled upon the spot, and their bodies were dragged outside the town to be devoured by the hyenas that prowled around the entrance during the night.

The king and all his people were now thoroughly convinced that the birth of the double twins was the work of Ned's magic, and he was looked upon as the most wonderful sorcerer that had ever been known: thus from that day he had the highest position in the state, and he was hourly tormented by applicants of both sexes for charms and talismans against every imaginable evil.

With all this influence he had been unable to inculcate the true ideas of religion in their savage minds. Some few indeed professed to believe in the Great Spirit that had darkened the sun; but the death of a goat or a cow was in all cases sufficient to dispel their belief in a God who allowed their cattle to die.

Prisoners in this land of heathens, and apparently cut off from the rest of the world forever, and from his loved home and Edith, we must leave Ned and Tim and return to other

scenes.

CHAPTER XVII.

FIVE years had passed away since the memorable day

when the body of the brave Dick Stone had been committed to the waves, and the dismasted Polly had been towed into Falmouth by the British cruiser. The gallant defense of the lugger against a superior force, and the dexterous escape of the crew from a French prison through the intervention of Léontine, had made a great sensation at a time when hardly a week passed in England without some deed of daring that claimed the admiration of the world. Léontine, upon her arrival in Falmouth, had found herself in the position of a heroine rather than a prisoner, and upon her devotion and brave conduct being made known to the authorities she was rewarded by the freedom of her brother Victor, who was in the Falmouth jail. It was a happy day for Léontine when the order for his release arrived, and she was permitted to visit the prison and throw herself in her brother's arms as his unexpected deliverer. She had been kindly received by the mayoress of the town, who had supplied her with clothes, and after a few weeks' delay both she and her brother, with other French prisoners, were forwarded to France in exchange for British sailors who had been captured in merchant vessels.

In the mean time, while Léontine had been rendered happy, a cloud of misery had shrouded the cottage on the cliff at Sandy Cove. The few men who had remained among the Polly's crew after the fatal engagement returned to the Cove from Falmouth, and the wailing of women in the lit

tle village for husbands and sons lost in the action was the first sound that had struck upon Polly Grey's ears a few minutes before Joe Smart arrived and gently broke the dreadful intelligence. Paul Grey had been seen to fall in the heat of the fight, and there could be no doubt of his death.

Polly was stunned by the shock of this overwhelming affliction; her heart was withered by the blow, as all the fond hopes with which she had comforted herself in her husband's absence were thus crushed forever. It was long before she could weep, and for days she sat upon the terrace-wall and gazed at the barren sea, as though she still hoped that the well-known sail would reappear, and that she might once more clasp her arms around Paul's neck. She would then retire to her cottage and open the drawers and look at the clothes in which she had often seen him; every thing that he had worn had become dear to her, and all that had been his was now sacred; there was the red woolen comforter that she had knitted for him, and this she took in her hands, and letting it fall upon the ground she fell upon her knees, and burying her face upon the bed, she sobbed bitterly:

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"O God! I am a widow, and my boy Ned is also gone!" she cried, as she appealed in the agony of her grief to Him for comfort.

In this hour of deep affliction she was not alone: she had a devoted friend and comforter in Edith, who loved her fondly, and who strove with affectionate care to soothe her distress. Mrs. Jones, who had passed through a similar bitter trial, showed her the greatest kindness, and it was resolved that the cottage at Sandy Cove should be sold, as the scene of the old home only served to awaken painful recollections.

When a few weeks had passed, and the first burst of grief was over, Polly mournfully turned her thoughts to her late

husband's affairs. She was in debt to Captain Smart, as he had advanced considerable sums to liquidate various claims. She therefore proposed that all the effects, together with the cottage, should be sold, and that the Polly should be put up to auction at Falmouth, as it would be useless to enter upon the expense of the necessary repairs.

It went to Polly's heart to part with Paul's old lugger; but as Joe Smart was her counsellor, and he declared it to be positively necessary, she at length decided, and it was sold at Falmouth for £160.

The cottage remained; and, this, together with the furniture and nets, etc., was shortly advertised for auction, and upon the appointed day the people of the neighborhood assembled at the sale. Joe Smart was not only the active manager of the affair, but he had determined to become the purchaser of the cottage, which would thus relieve him from the unpleasantness of receiving money from the widow of his friend Paul for sums that he had advanced. He therefore outbid the highest offer, and became the proprietor, not only of the cottage, but of the principal articles of furniture.

When all the little property was realized through the care and industry of Joe Smart, Polly found herself possessed of about £300. Although the interest of this small sum was only fifteen pounds a year, it was sufficient for her simple wants, as she resided with Mrs. Jones and Edith at. the rectory as one of their family, while Captain Smart called twice a week to arrange the accounts of the estate.

As some months passed by Joe Smart appeared to find an increase of business that claimed a greater share of his attention; at all events his visits became more frequent at the rectory, and Mrs. Jones felt at some moments qualms of uneasiness as she imagined that she was the object of more than his ordinary attention.

Years had passed, and the widow, Mrs. Jones, had long since thrown off her weeds, and had quite resolved that Captain Smart's constant visits to the rectory were directed specially to herself. In the mean time Polly Grey had never forsaken her mourning; although saddened in manner, she still retained the sweetness of her youth with much of her original beauty; she devoted herself chiefly to visiting the poor of the neighborhood, and attending to the village school, trusting that the charitable duties of life would afford pleasures to compensate in some measure for a past happiness that could never be renewed. The world might have supposed that Polly had no care except the recollection of old times, but she had one cause of deep anxiety-Joe Smart loved her. She was the love of his boyhood, and he had proved his affection through life with unvarying devotion; he had been her adviser and guide in Paul's absence; and since his death she was under countless obligations to him, as he had stood more in the position of a brother than a friend. Is was natural that Polly should regard Joe Smart with warm affection: on the other hand, although he loved her with devotion, he almost dreaded to declare his feelings, lest she should consider that she was forced to accept him after the numerous obligations she owed to him. At length the warmth of his passion overcame this generous delicacy of feeling, and Joe Smart declared his love, and offered her as honorable and manly a heart as ever beat in a sailor's breast.

It was with real sorrow that Polly witnessed the effect of her refusal. The active and sprightly Joe Smart became an altered man: his early hopes had been destroyed by her marriage with Paul, and with unchanging love he had almost worshiped her; in the distress of her widowhood he had been her comforter, and he had looked forward not only to complete his own happiness but to render her once more