"
"Did she? dear Erminia! it is just like her. I could almost laugh to
remember the eagerness with which I doffed my signs of wealth, and put on
those of poverty. I sold my watch when I got into Liverpool--yesterday,
I believe--but it seems like months ago. And I rigged myself out at a
slop-shop with suitable clothes for a steerage passenger. Maggie! you never
told me the name of the vessel you were going to sail in!"
"I did not know it till I got to Liverpool. All Mr. Buxton said was, that
some ship sailed on the 15th."
"I concluded it must be the Anna-Maria, (poor Anna-Maria!) and I had no
time to lose. She had just heaved her anchor when I came on board. Don't
you recollect a boat hailing her at the last moment? There were three of us
in her."
"No! I was below in my cabin--trying not to think," said she, coloring a
little.
"Well! as soon as I got on board it began to grow dark, or, perhaps, it was
the fog on the river; at any rate, instead of being able to single out your
figure at once, Maggie--it is one among a thousand--I had to go peering
into every woman's face; and many were below. I went between decks, and
by-and-by I was afraid I had mistaken the vessel; I sat down--I had no
spirit to stand; and every time the door opened I roused up and looked--but
you never came. I was thinking what to do; whether to be put on shore in
Ireland, or to go on to New York, and wait for you there;--if was the worst
time of all, for I had nothing to do; and the suspense was horrible.
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