"What do you think of the storm, captain?" inquired Madeline. "We shall have a fierce tempest, my dear young lady; but we have a good strong ship, don't be alarmed." Aunt Matilda betook herself to the cabin, and, covering herself up in her berth, trembled with apprehension. Mrs. Douglass and Madeline committed themselves quietly to the care of their Father in Heaven, and Roland paced the deck, with his eye turned anxiously upon the warring elements, and ever and anon walking near the cabin door, hoping to see something of Madeline. "Is that you, Miss Hamilton?" said the young man, as he thought he distinguished her standing at the cabin door, in the dim light below. "Shall I come up, Mr. Bruce? it is very close in the cabin." "Throw on a cloak and hood; I want you to see the storm." Madeline joined Roland on deck, and, looking around, was awe-struck at the scene. The wind was whistling through the canvas, and the ship reeling to and fro like a drunken man, seeming, to Madeline's fears, almost unmanageable. "Is there danger, Roland?" she asked, clinging closer to his protecting arm. "There is always danger in a storm like this, and none are safe but those who are anchored on the Rock of Ages, Madeline," and Roland drew her closer to him, and threw his arm around her to keep her from falling. "This is a grand spectacle, Roland; we never saw the ocean in such a ferment. How insignificant we seem! how powerless!" "You remember, Madeline, the sublime verses from the Psalms of David, where he describes the life of the seaman? 'For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.'" Madeline listened to the rich, deep voice repeating these beautiful words, until, calm and tranquil, she leaned upon that strong arm for security, knowing how he trusted in the Lord. But the hurricane increased, the rain beat fearfully around them, the waves rose mountain high, and, washing over the deck, compelled them to seek shelter below. "Shall I come in, Madeline?" asked Roland, when he reached the cabin door. "Yes, yes, Mr. Bruce! come in, don't leave as!" called out Aunt Matilda, who was suffering agonies. "We shall all be lost! oh, hear the wind, how it howls! And how the vessel rocks! Listen! listen, Mr. Bruce, to the crackling timbers! Can the vessel stand this storm?" and Aunt Matilda wrung her hands in despair.