Mr. Buckstone promptly interposed, and saved the wife from further peril, but only to draw down upon himself the vengeance of the demon. He defended himself with skill and decision, using no more violence than was necessary to save himself from the wrath of his opponent. He was soon joined by Ross Kingman, the son; and the old man, now overcome by the liquor and the excitement, was borne to his bed. Mary was weeping bitterly when the artist joined her; but for years had she suffered as she was suffering now. Mr. Buckstone was all sympathy and tenderness. He consoled her, and soothed her mortified pride, by telling her that he had witnessed the same scenes in the house of his own father, and he knew what it was. She felt his kindness, and later in the day, when he took her hand, she did not resist. She was so wounded by disappointment, so broken down by domestic sorrow, that it was sweet to have a friend near her in such an hour. Twenty years before, Captain Kingman had been what was called a “smart man,” though even then, he was occasionally the worse for liquor. The island was his farm, and at that time he had been the owner of a good coasting schooner, which he sailed himself. But his bad habits increased upon him. In coming into port, after he had drank too much, he ran his schooner upon the Ledge, in a sharp blow, and she became a total wreck. This event opened his eyes, and he was a comparatively steady man for several years, and sailed in the employ of other owners. Just before the wreck, he had lost his first wife, the mother of Mary and Ross, an excellent, well-bred, refined woman, who sorrowed herself to death as the wife of a drunkard. He married another, his present wife, an easy, good-natured woman, of no force of character, though with a capacity for suffering which was now tried to its utmost. Captain Kingman soon relapsed into even a lower depth of vice. No one would trust him now with the command of a vessel, for he had lost another schooner when there was no excuse for him. He was poor, for he spent what little money he made in drink. Without Ross and Mary, the family could not have been kept together. Mary had for several years received a salary as a teacher. Her position in the High School had been a good one; but several times her father had come to the school in a state of beastly intoxication, and abused her shamefully. Her sensitive nature could not endure what she was unable to prevent, and she had resigned her situation, with the intention of obtaining another place, at a distance from home. She was waiting for such a position at the present time.