She then drank some of the delicious water of the fountain, and returned to seat herself at the repast, which was another surprise for her.

We all made an excellent dinner; and at the dessert, I handed my Canary wine round in shells; and then Ernest rose and sung us very prettily, to a familiar air, some little verses he had composed:-- On this festive happy day, Let us pour our grateful lay; Since Heaven has hush'd our mother's pain, And given her to her sons again.
Then from this quiet, lovely home Never, never, may we roam.
All we love around us smile: Joyful is our desert isle.
When o'er our mother's couch we bent, Fervent prayers to Heaven we sent, And God has spared that mother dear, To bless her happy children here.
Then from this quiet, lovely home, Never, never, may we roam; All we love around us smile, Joyful is our desert isle.
We all joined in the chorus, and none of us thought of the ship, of Europe, or of anything that was passing in the world.

The island was our universe, and Tent House was a palace we would not have exchanged for any the world contained.

This was one of those happy days that God grants us sometimes on earth, to give us an idea of the bliss of Heaven; and most fervently did we thank Him, at the end of our repast, for all his mercies and blessings to us.
After dinner, I told my wife she must not think of returning to Falcon's Nest, with all its risks of storms and the winding staircase, and she could not better recompense her sons for their labours than by living among them.

She was of the same opinion, and was very glad to be so near her kitchen and her stores, and to be able to walk alone with the assistance of a stick in the colonnade, which she could do already; but she made me promise to leave Falcon's Nest as it was.