He who acted the part of mediator in this extraordinary ceremony, bowed and advanced to the book, which, with an air of deep reverence, he consulted, reading, or appearing to read, from its pages.
“You are asked here, in return for that you inquire, if she you seek is sought in sincerity?”
Ludlow reddened; the manliness of the profession to which he belonged, however, overcame the reluctance natural to self-esteem; and he answered, firmly—
“She is.”
“But you are a mariner; men of the sea place their affections, often, on the fabric in which they dwell. Is the attachment for her you seek, stronger than love of wandering, of your ship your youthful expectations, and the glory that forms a young soldier’s dreams?”
The commander of the Coquette hesitated. After a moment of pause, like that of self-examination, he said—
“As much so, as may become a man.”
A cloud crossed the brow of his interrogator, who advanced and again consulted the pages of the book.
“You are required to say, if a recent event has not disturbed your confidence in her you seek?”
“Disturbed—but not destroyed.”