CHAPTER XII.
MAN PROPOSES, BUT GOD DISPOSES--THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION--CONQUEROR--ORATOR--ASTRONOMER--COMPOSER--PAINTER--POET--VILLAGE CURATE--THE KAFIRS--OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN--THE ALPHA AND OMEGA OF THE SEA.
To the storm succeeded one of those diluvian showers that have already been described.

Rain being merely a result of evaporation, it was evident that sea and land in those climates must perspire at an enormous rate to effect such cataclysms.

In consequence of this deluge, the proposed excursion was indefinitely postponed.

The provisions, the marvellous kits, the waggon, were all ready; but Nature, as often happens under such circumstances, had assumed a menacing attitude, and for the present forbade the execution of the project.
A sort of vague sadness, that generally accompanies a gloomy atmosphere, weighed upon the spirits of the colonists.

Recollections of the _Nelson_ and her sudden disappearance thrust themselves more vividly than ever upon their memory; and Willis was observed to throw his sou'-wester unconsciously on the ground--a proof that remembrances of the past occupied his thoughts.
One of the ladies was occupied in the needful domestic operations of the household, whilst the other sat with a stocking on her left arm, busily occupied in repairing the ravages of tear and wear upon that useful though humble garment.