The DUNCAN was to sail out with the tide at three o'clock on
the morning of the 25th of August. But before starting, a touching
ceremony was witnessed by the good people of Glasgow. At eight
o'clock the night before, Lord Glenarvan and his friends,
and the entire crew, from the stokers to the captain, all who were
to take part in this self-sacrificing voyage, left the yacht
and repaired to St. Mungo's, the ancient cathedral of the city.
This venerable edifice, so marvelously described by Walter Scott,
remains intact amid the ruins made by the Reformation;
and it was there, beneath its lofty arches, in the grand nave,
in the presence of an immense crowd, and surrounded by tombs
as thickly set as in a cemetery, that they all assembled to implore
the blessing of Heaven on their expedition, and to put themselves
under the protection of Providence. The Rev. Mr. Morton conducted
the service, and when he had ended and pronounced the benediction,
a young girl's voice broke the solemn silence that followed.
It was Mary Grant who poured out her heart to God in prayer
for her benefactors, while grateful happy tears streamed down
her cheeks, and almost choked her utterance. The vast assembly
dispersed under the influence of deep emotion, and at ten o'clock
the passengers and crew returned on board the vessel.


CHAPTER VI AN UNEXPECTED PASSENGER


THE ladies passed the whole of the first day of the voyage
in their berths, for there was a heavy swell in the sea,
and toward evening the wind blew pretty fresh, and the DUNCAN
tossed and pitched considerably.