"Look up, my dear child," said M. de Silva; "see, your ship is flying
in, and will soon be safely at anchor."
Isabella raised her head from the shoulder of Madam de Silva, and
applying the glass to her tear-dimmed eye, was convinced of the folly of
her grief. They sat down to watch the gallant ship as she rapidly
approached the "roads." Before the sun was hid behind the hills in the
rear of the town, they had the pleasure of seeing the Albatross commence
reducing her sails; presently the topsails were clewed up, and the jib
hauled down, the ship "rounded to," her anchor let go, and in a moment
the men were seen clustering upon the lower and topsail yards. A minute
or two afterwards Isabella plainly distinguished, by the help of her
glass, the well-known whale-boat sweeping round the ship's stern, and
rowing swiftly towards the shore. A deep blush announced that the glass
had also informed her who was, in midshipman's language, the "sitter,"
the person in the stern-sheets, to wit, and she immediately proposed
returning to the house. Morton, on landing, informed her that the ship
would get under weigh the next morning at day-break, and that it would
be most advisable, as the ship could approach no nearer than five miles
to the town when beating out of the bay, to go on board as soon as
possible that evening, to which she, of course, assented, and, having
taken an affectionate leave of her Macao friends, who insisted upon
supplying her with "sea-stores" enough to fit out half a dozen sail of
Liverpool packets, she accompanied Morton to the boat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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