it required some effort on the part of mr. phillipson to secure the admission of a second visitor on the same day; but, having golden methods at hand when others failed, he was seldom baulked in his purpose. with a show of sympathy and concern, he accompanied the captain's wife in a hackney coach to the jail gate, and consigned her to the guidance of the porter. with beating heart and trembling steps she followed her conductor; but the dread that stole over her spirit as she crossed the yard, with its repulsive signals of branded character and penal suffering, and the thought of meeting her loved and trusted one in a prison cell, so overcame her that she sought the support of the mechanical official, who displayed an amount of considerate sympathy unusual in men of his calling.

the obscure and dripping passage was traversed; the ponderous door was thrown open; and the broken-hearted wife fell into the arms of her wretched, repentant husband.

it is a blessed thing that the sorrows of our nature have outlets by which to relieve themselves. pent up within the bosom, recoiling and reacting, they would surely demolish the frail framework of flesh and spirit—scatter the fire of intelligence—still the wondrous machinery of life. it sometimes is so, indeed, when grief can find no vent, that it paralyzes the brain and chills the life-blood; but, generally, relief is found for pent-up sorrow, and mary stauncy found it so in this her first great trouble.

the captain regained his composure and self-control in a few moments, and was able in some degree to calm his weeping wife. seating her gently on his hard couch, and taking a place beside her, he broke the silence of that dreary cell, whose walls had so often listened to confessions and blasphemies, to cries of penitence and ravings of despair, by saying affectionately, 'try to bear it, mary. little do i care myself; but i shall soon be unmanned and go mazed if you grieve so. our destiny must be met, whatever it is; and though it come in such a shape as to cut us to the heart, it's better to yield than to struggle. endeavour to be resigned, dearest, and strengthen spirit by your own calm endurance.'

'i will, james,' she replied. 'i feel better now.' for not only had the outburst of grief which such a meeting occasioned relieved her, but his plea for a fortifying example immediately roused the energies of her christian spirit. 'it's sorrow indeed; but god can help me to act as i ought, and he will. i want strength to nerve my heart and wisdom to shape my counsel; and mrs. lloyd's last words to me were, "remember, mary, as thy day is, so shall thy strength be." the innocent may sometimes suffer with the guilty, and even for them, but justice shall surely prevail.'

'i am not innocent,' replied the captain in a firm but husky voice; 'i will not deceive you any longer, mary. i scuttled the brig off lundy, and jim ortop was in the hold watching me. it's a true bill; and as it has been found out, i must give in. what must be, must.'

'and why did you scuttle the brig, james?' his wife inquired, drawn off from her sad reflections by the unexpected disclosure, and having a new class of feelings excited.

'because the merchant tempted me to do it, gave me money to do it, ordered me to do it, bound me by an oath to do it, and so made it my duty.'

'duty, james! that's a strange word. it's no one's duty to do wrong, and that bad man must have spellbound you with his irreligious sophistry, to fasten such a thought on your mind. i see it all now. he beguiled you with that fifty-pound note. he made you believe that crime could be smothered by obedience. well! that note will be a swift witness against him. it will tell its own tale of bribery, and the tempter will get his desert. i feel lighter of heart, james. there's some hope yet.'

'there's no hope, mary. i have no witness, and he is a wealthy and influential man; besides, i couldn't turn king's evidence and peach, were it to save my life.'

'peach, james! is telling the plain truth peaching? is clearing yourself from a foul blot peaching? is your character and the good name of your children nothing? is it of no consequence whether you are separated from us for ever or spared to bless us all your days? do be yourself, james, and listen to your heart a little.'

'you're getting too warm, mary. your strong mind has gone in for the mastery over your sensitive spirit. there'll be a volcano of excitement, instead of a fountain of tears, and the one is as bad as the other in overcoming reason.'

'how you talk, james! have i any wish or object that is not bound up in your happiness? what i say has reason as well as feeling in it. your duty is to clear yourself, and to change places with the real criminal.'

'my duty is pre-engaged,' he replied, mournfully shaking his head. 'a vow is upon me. my tongue is bound by an oath which cannot be broken without letting loose a curse. to violate that vow would be an unpardonable sin, and make me the hopeless prey of the evil one. no, no, mary, i'll take what comes rather than sell myself to perdition.'

'a delusion, james, a strong delusion to believe a lie. your superstitious fears have been wrought upon, and he who is beguiling you the most is the father of lies. a wicked vow can never be binding. there's more sin, far more sin, in keeping than in breaking it. whatever you may have said or done, the only way is to throw all off as a vile thing, instead of clenching the sin in the way you speak of. no one is bound by evil, to do evil, because he has sworn to it.'

'you and i see things differently, mary. i have sins on my conscience which all the truth-speaking in the world wouldn't rid me of. to betray the merchant after what has passed between us when i took the oath, would utterly prevent me from hoping for god's mercy. i would rather the law should take its course, than add to the weight which oppresses me by doing violence to my conscience.'

'but there is no real evidence against you,' his wife replied, diverting his thoughts until a more auspicious moment occurred for pursuing her main argument; 'who would listen to jim ortop, when the mate and pickard are so strong on your side?'

'you must not comfort yourself with that, mary. there's more evidence than you think for. the sarah ann will speak herself. the poor dumb thing will be made to say, in spite of everything, "guilty, guilty."'

'i ask you to spare yourself for my sake,' said mary.

'and are you really going to give yourself up to justice, james, without one effort on your own behalf, or my behalf, or the children's behalf? will you give your life for the life of such a deep-dyed villain as the merchant is? will you hold your peace to spare him, and throw away a righteous chance of turning this fearful darkness into light? oh, james, james! woe is me that i have seen this day! my poor heart will break with all this trouble. is phillipson dearer to you than your own mary? can you bear that your loved home should become a desolation, a place of weeping and reproach, of poverty and heart-stricken wretchedness? what shall i say to persuade you that wicked vows are only written in the sand, and that you are committing the worst of sins by concealment, when your life, and my life, and everything is at stake? and is this to be our parting, james? i cannot weep now. i am stunned, paralyzed. i feel as if my senses were fast going from, me, as though i must sink down and die. have pity on me, james! on my knees i ask you to spare yourself for my sake, and to look up believingly to him who will forgive you all. don't let me leave you with a hopeless heart, or i shall go beside myself; and who will thank you for the sacrifice? tell me, james, that you will not throw yourself away, and kiss me as the pledge of it.'

'mary, my heart will break too,' replied the captain, sobbing, 'if you talk so. i dare not promise. a chain is about me which i cannot rend. what must be, must.' and then, to soothe her, he added, 'nothing you have said shall be forgotten; and if we part to meet no more on earth, remember the merchant will provide for you—you may trust him in that, i know; and through the mercy of the almighty we shall meet again soon, where the shadows of sin never darken and the tears of sorrow never fall.'

'yours is a strange state of heart, james,' she answered. 'you think you are bound before god by a vow; and i think he cannot be pleased with you if you keep it. it's a false state of conscience, which your tempter has helped to bring about; but my prayer for you shall be that there may be light.'

'the time's up,' said the turnkey, considerately giving the notice without unfastening the door, and waiting still, that the last farewell might be spoken. a convulsive embrace—a nervous pressure of those marble lips—a burning tear on that pallid cheek—and again the tottering wife was treading that gloomy passage, emerging from the sepulchre of living men. again the awe of solitude, made doubly impressive by the presence and absence of such a wife, settled down on the soul of the wretched prisoner.