50 REMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



boat, like a she-bear with its cub. In this 

 state he was tossed about the Mediterranean 

 for two days, with nothing but a bottle of 

 cherry-brandy for provision, when, fortunately, 

 he was descried by Spanish smugglers. It was 

 blowing still so hard that they could not take 

 him on board, but flung him a rope, by which 

 he managed to hold on, in imminent danger of 

 being driven under water ; and in this way he 

 was towed into Malaga, whence he notified his 

 safe arrival to the colonel of his regiment, thus 

 accounting for his absence without leave. As 

 nothing had been heard of him for a fortnight, 

 his friends had been written to, and the 

 untimely end of so promising a youth mourned 

 over — the more bitterly as, at the very time of 

 the announcement of his sad supposed death, a 

 relation died and left him a very good property. 

 So when our friend arrived at Gibraltar, he was 

 consoled for the loss of his yacht by the intel- 

 ligence of his accession of fortune, and at once 

 got leave of absence to proceed to England and 

 console his anxious relations. Thus, then, most 

 assuredly Fred, as he was called, was not born 

 to be drowned, and I never cared a straw for 

 Loch Seaforth when he was on board ; for if 

 the little Spanish yacht and the craft (the 

 Eeather Bell) he had at Aline could not drown 



