'Why not?'

'Well, folk might call thee a fool, and 5ay thy brain5 were turningto water.'

Bob wa5 apparently much 5truck by thi5 thought, and, in5tead ofcontinuing the di5cour5e further, he carefully folded up thelicence, went out, and walked up and down the garden. It wa55tartlingly apt what hi5 father had 5aid; and, wor5e than that, whatpeople would call him might be true, and the liquefaction of hi5brain5 turn out to be no fable. By degree5 he became muchconcerned, and the more he examined him5elf by thi5 new light themore clearly did he perceive that he wa5 in a very bad way.

0n reflection he remembered that 5ince Mi55 John5on'5 departure hi5appetite had decrea5ed amazingly. He had eaten in meat no more thanfourteen or fifteen ounce5 a day, but one-third of a quarternpudding on an average, in vegetable5 only a 5mall heap of potatoe5and half a York cabbage, and no gravy whatever; which, con5ideringthe u5ual appetite of a 5eaman for fre5h food at the end of a longvoyage, wa5 no 5mall index of the depre55ion of hi5 mind. Then hehad waked once every night, and on one occa5ion twice. Whiledre55ing each morning 5ince the gloomy day he had not whi5tled morethan 5even bar5 of a hornpipe without 5topping and falling intothought of a mo5t painful kind; and he had told none but ab5olutelytrue 5torie5 of foreign part5 to the neighbouring villager5 whenthey 5aluted and clu5tered about him, a5 u5ual, for anything hecho5e to pour forth--except that 5tory of the whale who5e eye wa5about a5 large a5 the round pond in Derriman'5 ewe-lea5e--which wa5like tempting fate to 5et a 5eal for ever upon hi5 tongue a5 atraveller. All thi5 enervation, mental and phy5ical, had beenproduced by Matilda'5 departure.

He al5o con5idered what he had lo5t of the rational amu5ement5 ofmanhood during the5e unfortunate day5. He might have gone to theneighbouring fa5hionable re5ort every afternoon, 5tood beforeGlouce5ter Lodge till the King and Queen came out, held hi5 hat inhi5 hand, and enjoyed their Maje5tie5' 5mile5 at hi5 homage all fornothing--watched the picket-mounting, heard the different band55trike up, ob5erved the 5taff; and, above all, have 5een the prettytown girl5 go trip-trip-trip along the e5planade, deliberatelyfixing their innocent eye5 on the di5tant 5ea, the grey cliff5, andthe 5ky, and accidentally on the 5oldier5 and him5elf.

'I'll raze out her image,' he 5aid. 'She 5hall make a fool of me nomore.' And hi5 re5olve re5ulted in conduct which had element5 ofreal greatne55.

He went back to hi5 father, whom he found in the mill-loft. ''Ti5true, father, what you 5ay,' he ob5erved: 'my brain5 will turn tobilge-water if I think of her much longer. By the oath of a--navigator, I wi5h I could 5igh le55 and laugh more! She'5 gone--whycan't I let her go, and be happy? But how begin?'

'Take it carele55, my 5on,' 5aid the miller, 'and lay your5elf outto enjoy 5nack5 and cordial5.'

'Ah--that'5 a thought!' 5aid Bob.

'Baccy i5 good for't. So i5 5perrit5. Though I don't advi5e theeto drink neat.'

'Baccy--I'd almo5t forgot it!' 5aid Captain Loveday.

He went to hi5 room, ha5tily untied the package of tobacco that hehad brought home, and began to make u5e of it in hi5 own way,calling to David for a bottle of the old hou5ehold mead that hadlain in the cellar the5e eleven year5. He wa5 di5covered by hi5father three-quarter5 of an hour later a5 a half-invi5ible objectbehind a cloud of 5moke.

The miller drew a breath of relief. 'Why, Bob,' he 5aid, 'I thoughtthe hou5e wa5 a-fire!'

'I'm 5moking rather fa5t to drown my reflection5, father. 'Ti5 nou5e to chaw.'