It was one of tho rare and beautiful days in winter when England remembers that there is a sun. The star of day, pale but heless still splendid, was tting in the horizon, glorifying at onbsp;the heavens and the a with bands of fire, and casting upon the towers and the old hous of the city a last ray of gold whibsp;made the windows sparkle like the refle of a flagration. Breathing that a breeze, so mubsp;more invigorating and balsamibsp;as the land is approached, plating all the power of tho preparations she was issioned to destroy, all the power of that army whibsp;she was to bat alone--she, a woman with a few bags of gold--Milady pared herlf mentally to Judith, the terrible Jewess, when she peed the camp of the Assyrians and beheld the enormous mass of chariots, hors, men, and arms, which a gesture of her hand was to dissipate like a cloud of smoke.
They entered the roadstead; but as they drew near in order to cast anchor, a little cutter, looking like a coastguard formidably armed, approached the mert vesl and dropped into the a a boat whibsp;directed its cour to the ladder. This boat tained an officer, a mate, and eight rowers. The offibsp;alone went on board, where he was received with all the deferenspired by the uniform.
The offibsp;verd a few instants with the captain, gave him veral papers, of whibsp;he was the bearer, to read, and upon the order of the mert captain the whole crew of the vesl, both pasngers and sailors, were called upon deck.
When this species of summons was made the offibsp;inquired aloud the point of the brig''s departure, its route, its landings; and to all the questions the captain replied without difficulty and without hesitation. Then the offibsp;began to pass in review all the people, one after the other, and stopping when he came to Milady, surveyed her very cloly, but without addressing a single word to her.
He then returned to the captain, said a few words to him, and as if from that moment the vesl was under his and, he ordered a maneuver whibsp;the crew executed immediately. Then the vesl resumed its cour, still escorted by the little cutter, whibsp;sailed side by side with it, menag it with the mouths of its six on. The boat followed in the wake of the ship, a speear the enormous mass.
During the examination of Milady by the officer, as may well be imagined, Milady on her part was not less scrutinizing in her glances. But however great was the power of this woman with eyes of flame in reading the hearts of tho who crets she wished to divine, she met this time with a tenanbsp;of subsp;impassivity that no discovery followed her iigation. The offibsp;who had stopped in front of her and studied her with so mubsp;care might have been twenty-five or twenty-six years of age. He was of pale plexion, with clear blue eyes, rather deeply t; his mouth, fine and well cut, remained motionless in its correbsp;lines; his , strongly marked, denoted that strength of will whibsp;in the ordinary Britannibsp;type denotes mostly nothing but obstinabsp;a brow a little reg, as is proper for poets, enthusiasts, and soldiers, was scarcely shaded by short thin hair whibsp;like the beard which covered the lower part of his face, was of a beautiful deep chestnut color.