"From the old church-tower the joy bells rung, Flowering wreaths were before her flung; Youth was gay, but the aged sighed-- 'She had better been the minstrel's bride; And Harold wept as he troll'd his lay-- 'Clouds come over the brightest day.' "Years have fled, and the moonbeams fall On the roofless towers of the baron's hall; The owl hath built in the chapel aisle, And the bat in the silent campanile, And the whispering ivy seems to say-- 'Clouds come over the brightest day.' "Years have fled, and that soft light shines On a quiet cot where the woodbine twines. A lonely heart, in a distant clime, On that sweet cot thinks, and the warning rhyme, Treasures of earth will fade away-- 'Clouds come over the brightest day.'" The next morning the sea was calm enough for to make it safe for the visitors to cross over, and they prepared to leave the island-home in which they had been so kindly and hospitably entertained. They did so with some reluctance, being sorry to lose the friends whom they had found. The parting was especially hard to Grace, who had been living in a new world during the last two days; but Miss Dudley comforted her, by expressing a hope that they would meet again. "Will you come and stay with us, Grace, before we leave Tynemouth," she asked. "I should like to do so very much," said Grace, "if father and mother will consent." "I will get the permission of Mr. and Mrs. Darling before I go," replied Miss Dudley. She did so; and though the anticipations of the girls were not to be realised, the hope made the parting more easy than it would otherwise have been. Mrs. Darling and Grace both went down to the beach to see the last of their friends, and it was not until after many loving farewells, that Miss Dudley could break away. The two young men thanked Mrs. Darling most heartily, while they warmly shook hands with her, for her motherly care and kindness. Then Mr. Darling took his station in the boat, and William assisted the friends into it. "Good-bye, good-bye, God bless you." "Write to me soon, Grace." The little boat went dancing away over the laughing waters, leaving behind--as boats so often do--loneliness and regret. Mrs. Darling went back to her work in the lighthouse, but Grace remained on the beach until the coble that bore her friend away had passed completely out of sight. She might be forgiven if, for that day, her usual cheerfulness forsook her, and she felt as if she could not settle down to the monotony of her life. She was glad when toward evening her father and brother returned, and she could learn all the latest particulars of her friend. They described the rapturous joy of Major Dudley at the re-appearance of the son and daughter whom he had mourned as lost. At first the meeting seemed too much for him, and he trembled, and he turned pale; but afterward he caressed them most passionately, and loaded the Darlings with presents and thanks.