A Modern Telemachus

elm he sat, s

ever on his e

leiads, tard

Bear, call'd

polar prison

ards Orion

s never to th

ey (C

ime enugh for that-in wi' ye.' And fancying there was some alarm, he sprang in, and to his amazement found Yusuf instantly at his side, taking the ru

laimed Arthur, clasping the merchant'

like yersel' and the wean there win

given up a

ona were gane, I hadna the heart to gang thereawa', nor quit the sound o' the bonny Scots tongue. I wad

fear of

he mule. The Moors at El Aziz are not seafaring; and gin the morn they jalouse what we have done, we have the start of them. Na, I'm not feared for them; but forbye that, this is no the season for an open boatie wi' a crew of three and a wean. Gin we met an Alger

will scarce leave us now. I feel three times the man that I was when I lay down this ev

t the currents are in this same sea, or d

used to see it in Scotland that he hardly recognised his old friend; but, as he watched the studded belt of the Hu

y cold-wild blasts coming down from the mountains; but Arthur crept under the woollen mantle that had been laid over Ulysse, and was weary enough to sleep soundly. Both were awakened by the hauling down of the mast; and the little boy,

light, beautiful to behold, though the voyagers

we made, Yusuf?

ed the noo; and if I were farther beyant the grip of them

boat was steered into a narrow channel between two which stood up like the fangs of a great tooth, and afforded a pleasant shade; but there was such a screaming and calling of gulls, terns, cormorants, and all manner of other birds, as they entered the little s

d creatures, and no less so at the wonderful sea-anemones and starfish in the poo

at Tam Armstrong produced, and for which all had appetites, which had to be checked,

little fish, Arthur did his best to restore him to his natural complexion, and tried to cleanse the little garments, which showed only too plainly the lack of any change, an

ir shelter. Arthur had forgotten the child's prayers and his own, but Ulysse connected them with dressing, and the alarm of the passing ship had recalled them to the young man's mind, though he felt shy as he found that Tam Armstrong was

anding would have been satisfied for ever; but there had been strange yearnings within him ever since he had lost his wife and children, and these had not passed away when Arthur Hope came in his path. Like many another renegade, he could not withstand the attraction of his native tongue; and in this case it was doubled by the feudal attachment of the district to the family of Burnside, and a gra

uth, when brought face to face with apostacy, had been ready to give life or liberty rather than deny his Lord; and deepened by that great decision, he could hold up that Lord and Redeemer in colours that m

, thae Moors might ha' preached their thrapples sair for Tam. Mashallah! Maister Arthu

gives all who come to Him-and

I am a vessel of wra

ould have put it there but God, the Holy Spirit? I believe myself He was leading you all the time, though you did not know it; maki

into his mouth, but he felt them with all

d make his devotions as usual, and after nearly kneeling down on the flat sto

Only let it be i

d's Prayer-then, under a spell of bashfulness, mu

much from the north that they could not raise the sail. The oars were taken by Tam and Fare

ut in their Moorish garments and in perfect ignorance of Italian, strangers might fare no better in Sardinia or Sicily than in Africa, and Spain might be no better; but Tam endeavoured to keep a north-westerly course, thinking from what Arthur had said that in this direction there was more chance of being picked up by a French vessel. Would their strength and provisions hold out? Of this there was serious doubt. Late in the year as it was, the heat and glare were as distressing by day as was the cold by night, and the continued exertion of rowing produced thirst, which made it very difficult to husband the water in the skins. Tam and Fareek were both tough, and inured to heat and privation; but Arthur, scarce yet com

was all the response Tam made; but

eize the young Scot; he began scarcely to heed what was to become of them, and had not energy to try to console Ulysse, who, having in an unwatched moment managed to swallow some sea water, was crying and wa

'that is not the

, sir,' cried Tam, but said n

e ruddy wings of the Algerine or Italian, but the square white castle-like tier

her colours and build were not yet discernible. 'Mashal

nd while he and Fareek plied their oars with might and main, he bade Arthur fire off

not ere Arthur cried, 'They are slackening sa

red an Arabic and then

istakable Algerine, with the crescent flag, was

e British flag?' cried Arthur.

urned Tam, grimly. 'Mair by token, they guess what we are, and will hold on to hae my life's bluid if naething mair! Here!

els and a little foul-smelling drink, took the second oar, while double force seemed given to the long arms lately so weary, and both pulled on in silent, grim desperation. Ul

nderbuss; but it was no longer necessary to use this as a signal, since

flying like a falcon towards its prey. It was a fearful race. Arthur's head began to swim, his breath to labour, his arms to move stiffly as a t

he enemy. There was a louder cheer, several shots from the English boat, a cloud from the ship's side. Then Arthur was sensible of a relaxation of effort, an

faint, giddy, and astounded by the cheers around him, and the

ho are you, my little man? And what's t

in one flash of horror, at the sight of Ta

He is Scottish too,' cried

We'll have him aboard in a minute, and see what the doct

and M. Arture and I swam away together. The Moors were good to us, and wanted to make us Moors; but M. Arture said it would be wicked. And Yusuf bought him for a slave; but that was only from faire la comédie. He is bon Chrétien after all, and so is poor Fareek, only he is dumb. Yusuf-that is, Tam-made me all black, and changed m

e been towed alongside of the frigate, and poor Tam was hoisted on board, and the surgeon was instantly at hand; but he

s own importance; but presently the captain returned, and beckoned to Arthur, who had been kneeling beside poor Tam, moistening his lips, and ba

in, in a tentative manner, as if doubtful whether he should be u

is mother to join his father when w

h?' said the captain,

xwell Hope. I was to have go

could not understand what the boy sa

ome of her suite on a rock. Captain Beresford was horrified at the idea of a Christian child among the wild Arabs. His station was Minorca, but he had just been at the Bay of Rosas, where poor Comte de Bourke's anxiety

articulate speech from poor Tam. Arthur turned has

ster Ho

r Tam, if I could do a

aid Tam, with a sound of a

ng he was wandering, but the other hand sought one

siller. Four hunder piastres of Tunis, n

them to any on

at hame that wad own puir Tam. The leddy, your mither, an' you hae been mair

l and everything

tear fell on his face. 'Wha wad hae said,' murmured he, 'that

have you not saved me fr

ay but thae

r if I had a Bible to

ur heard him not, and was saying what prayers came to his mind in this stress, when, even as the captain returned, the last struggle came on

ng more,' said the doctor. '

nd hand as he gained his feet. 'Sir,' he said, as the tears gushed t

died a Christian. He shall have Christian burial. And this fellow?' p

r he had now time to feel how sun-scorched and exhausted he was, with giddy, aching head, and legs cramped and stiff, arms strained and shoulders painful after his

p, after which, on a promise of being called in due time, he con

wever, he dressed and was just ready, when the surgeon came to see whether he were in condition to be summoned, for it was near sundown, and all hands were piped up to attend po

lians themselves could not have ventured on any out-door rites; and Arthur was thus doubly struck and impressed, when, as the corpse, sewn in sail-cloth and heavily weighted, was launched into the blue waves, he heard th

the virtues he had learnt among the Moslems. At any rate Arthur often had reason to declare