'
'I see the towers of Porto Venere,' said Cadurcis directing the sail;
'we shall soon be on shore. I think, too, I recognise Venetia. Ah! my
dear Herbert, your daughter is a poem that beats all our inspiration!'
CHAPTER IX.
One circumstance alone cast a gloom over this happy family, and that
was the approaching departure of Captain Cadurcis for England. This
had been often postponed, but it could be postponed no longer. Not
even the entreaties of those kind friends could any longer prevent
what was inevitable. The kind heart, the sweet temper, and the lively
and companionable qualities of Captain Cadurcis, had endeared him to
everyone; all felt that his departure would occasion a blank in
their life, impossible to be supplied. It reminded the Herberts also
painfully of their own situation, in regard to their native country,
which they were ever unwilling to dwell upon. George talked of
returning to them, but the prospect was necessarily vague; they
felt that it was only one of those fanciful visions with which an
affectionate spirit attempts to soothe the pang of separation. His
position, his duties, all the projects of his life, bound him to
England, from which, indeed, he had been too long absent. It was
selfish to wish that, for their sakes, he should sink down into a mere
idler in Italy; and yet, when they recollected how little his future
life could be connected with their own, everyone felt dispirited.
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