But painful conjectures respecting his present situation, at length engrossed every thought; and the recollections of happiness, and dreams of hope, were alike absorbed in the suspense and anxiety which, for many days, had gathered gloomily around her.

She involuntarily glanced across the bay, as if expecting that some messenger would approach with tidings; and she started with joyful surprise, on observing a vessel just below, and, at that moment, on the point of anchoring.

She gazed earnestly for a short time, and her heart throbbed audibly as she saw a small boat leave its side and steer directly towards the fort; two persons were in it, and the dark flowing garments of father Gilbert could not be mistaken.
Love, it is said, though notoriously blind in the main, is quick-sighted on such occasions; and another glance assured Lucie, that the companion of the holy father, who plied the oars with so much diligence, was no other than Arthur Stanhope.

The little boat glided swiftly on its course; it soon neared the shore, and Lucie screened herself behind a clump of trees, when she found it verging to a cove, hard by, which formed a sheltered harbour for such light vessels..