"Mother is lost," he answered, at last. "But let me start fair." I was pleased to mark the boy spake with an easy address, for I hate the taint of servility above all things. "Ever since I had grown up I have been begging her to let me get to sea, and at length she yielded, in part to my entreaties, and in part to the wishes of some members of The Society who had settled in Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts, and agreed to come out to them. For me, anything answered that would give me my wish, and I did not see that it mattered whether she was among Methodists in England, or among Methodists in America." "You are right, my lad; I imagine they would make the world much of a likeness wherever they might be." He answered nothing to my observation, but went on: "At length all our preparations were complete, and we left in June last in a wretched old craft, called the _African Chief_, so ill found that she was dismasted and disabled in the first gale we met with. "We were captured, or rather rescued, three days later by this very ship I have just come in, and the hulk was rerigged and sent back to France a prize, with her unfortunate crew and passengers as prisoners. From this fate my mother and I were preserved through the kindness of a French lady, who took compassion on mother as the only woman on board, and offered to take her as her waiting-woman, and I was allowed to accompany her. Anything was better than the certainty of a prison in France." "What was the lady's name, Kit? I may know her." "'Pon my word, sir, I am ashamed to say I don't know myself. There were no others of her condition on board, and she was addressed by every one simply as 'Madame.' and I never thought of asking my mother." "Never mind; go on." "We were treated with every kindness, and Madame showed every conceivable consideration for my poor mother, while I made friends with all on board, and soon learned enough French to find my way about ship. Madame and my poor mother found the length of the voyage tedious to a degree, but I loved every hour of it. We unfortunately ran short of water, as our casks had so strained during a heavy gale we encountered they lost all or most of their contents. Besides this mischief, the gale drove us so far out of our course to the north, that our captain determined to run into the Baie des Chaleurs for a fresh supply of water.