thing which adorns the mind; and withal possessing a naïve effrontery, which, leading her, as it often did, into an awkward position, seldom failed to bring her out again, at the cost of a smile or a titter, which she invariably attributed to her wit, not to her folly.

With this insight into her character, it will be easily understood why Mrs. Brown's first consideration upon entering the packet was to take manual possession of the red box, which, independent of its valuable contents, her husband had taught her to consider no bad voucher of gentility in societies where some mark of separation from the "profanum vulgus" was advantageous. Her second consideration equally intelligible-was to reconnoitre her fellow-passengers, and locate herself in that quarter which appeared to promise the most genteel neighbourhood. In this attempt, however, she was most unsuccessful, and was not long in discovering the very obvious fact, that not only was she surrounded by passengers who were not at all genteel, but that part of them were horridly vulgar, and some rude.

Mrs. Brown very sagaciously, therefore, resolved to seek an asylum amidst the pile of luggage which occupied the midships of the steamer. Here, little doubting that her husband would turn up again somewhere, she composed her mind to the toleration of present troubles. Whilst she was arriving at this philosophical conclusion, her eye accidentally rested upon a bonnet-box, upon which was inscribed, "The Dowager Lady Essex." Now, she shrewdly conjectured that the box must belong to the personage whose name it bore; and, moreover, that as there was no address appended to the name, the Dowager Lady Essex herself was actually in the packet.

"Oh! what would I give to find her out!" said Mrs. Brown to herself, as she fidgeted about between the paddle-boxes.

Heretofore Mrs. Brown's proceedings had been confined to the fore part of the packet, and it was only at this moment that she discovered the passengers "aft." Poor Mrs. Brown, on entering the packet, had gone "forward," being quite unconscious of the advantage, or even the existence, of such a place as the quarter-deck. The discovery was quite as gratifying to her as that of the bonnetbox; for, with her constant tendency to the genteel, she immediately concluded that the superior style of bonnets and shawls betokened a superior style of wearers. Again she paced up and down by the paddle-box; till at last, taking up the object of her repeated attention, she deliberately proceeded to break the ligature of narrow tape with which it was bound, and ransacked the contents. This was soon done, as it contained nothing but a pair of shoes, a pair of black silk stockings, a cap, a comb, a small hair-brush, some curl-papers which had been used, and though last, not least small parcel directed, "The Dowager Lady Essex, Broadstairs."

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This was confirmatory of the actual proprietorship of the box, and fully answered Mrs. Brown's expectations. She now bundled the contents into the box again, took it "aft," and proceeded to inquire from the most likely female passengers as to its ownership. After several unsuccessful attempts, she at last accosted a lady attired in black silk, a Leghorn bonnet, black lace veil, black silk mantilla lined with scarlet, a real sable boa rather the worse for wear, a gold watch and gilt chain duly festooned to her waistband, and an eyeglass suspended by a delicate fabrication of brown silk, who, although she was eating pears, had a somewhat distinguished air,

and was rather good-looking. To Mrs. Brown's oft-repeated question, "Pray, ma'am, do you own this here box?" she at last received the welcome affirmative, immediately succeeded by the justifiable inquiry, "What are you doing with it?"

The very emphatic tone of the answer, and the petulant abruptness of the question, rather disconcerted Mrs. Brown; but she reconciled it to her feelings, on the score of its being undoubtedly aristocratic, and replied, with becoming humility,

"Why, my lady, I saw the box upon the floor of the ship, with the string broken somehow or other; and, as I dare say, ma'am,your ladyship, I mean,-will find the things prettily tumbled, I considered it my duty to bring the box to your ladyship, and tell your ladyship all about it, ma'am."

"Oh! I'm vastly obleeged to you. Are you the stewardess?" "I certainly have the honour of holding that situation, ma'am-I mean, my lady," replied Mrs. Brown.

Now, Mrs. Brown being anxious to play off the most dignified pretensions she had, referred to the situation she had filled, with great satisfaction to herself, of one of the stewardesses of the Orphans'benevolent-clothing-and-putting-out-in-the-world-Society, of " Ragton-super-naturalibus," a hamlet of the parish in which she resided; consequently she replied to this question with an air of pride.

Hem," said the lady; "I'll tell you what, good woman, — just tie the tape round the box again, and put it where you found it." "Oh! of course," replied Mrs. Brown; "anything to oblige your ladyship, my lady." And Mrs. Brown did as she was bidden.

The lady Mrs. Brown had contrived to introduce herself to was, as we shall find in the sequel, a person of consequence, and apparently by no means unaccustomed to be addressed by the titular distinction which Mrs. Brown at once attributed to her.

The opportunity of improving such an aristocratic acquaintance now became a paramount consideration with Mrs. Brown; therefore, as soon as she had deposited the box as ordered, she returned to her new acquaintance, who was smartly pacing the deck; for the wind blew keenly up the river.

As Mrs. Brown approached, she was relieved from a little anxiety as to how she should resume the conversation, by the lady taking that upon herself.

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Now, Mrs. Thingumty," said she,-" stewardess, get me a glass of brandy and water, hot, with one lump of sugar;-mind, only one."

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Certainly," replied Mrs. Brown. "I put your ladyship's box away quite safe. It really gives me great pleasure to be of service to so distinguished a lady."

She had again reached the funnel before the object of her second mission exactly impressed itself upon her perceptions, when she was suddenly posed to know where brandy and water was to be had. For once she took the right way to find out, by asking one of the crew, who to her inquiry answered, "Go a-aft, ma'am, and a-ask below."

He accompanied his lucid reply by pointing "aft," which was the only part of his explanation Mrs. Brown understood; for she considered his words as neither more nor less than downright insult. She went "aft," and was more successful in her inquiry from an elderly stout gentleman in a Macintosh jockey-cap, who politely showed her the way to the saloon.

"What! down this hole?" exclaimed Mrs. Brown; "down into the cellar must I go?"

"Yes, ma'am.

It isn't called the cellar, but the saloon."

So down went Mrs. Brown in true sailor-like fashion; and when she reached the bottom she was both surprised and pleased,—such a capital cold "set-out," and everything so comfortable, as she afterwards told her husband.

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When she turned round and stood in the saloon entrance, she was confronted by another stout man, but by no means the counterpart of the one above. This was a rubicund, burley, Nimrod-looking fellow, at least six feet three inches high, and weighing certainly not less than twenty stone. He was dressed in a green cut-away" riding-coat, with gilt buttons, white cord breeches, leather continuations, strong shooting-shoes, a blue silk cravat with white spots, and a low-crowned, broad-brimmed, white felt hat, knowingly set forward and on one side, so as to shade his right eye, which, with the eyebrow, was rather the worse for sixty years' wear, and a slight paralytic affection which had deranged its utility a few years before. This gentleman sat astride a short bench, something in the way a crab might be supposed to do; one hand was thrust into the pocket of a striped cotton waistcoat, and the other held a glass of the very beverage Mrs. Brown wanted.

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Pray, sir," said Mrs. Brown, " are you

the landlord?"

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Why, ma'am, as for that, I live upon my own little farm of 123 acres, and have no other tenant but myself. But why?"

"O dear me! I beg your pardon, sir; I did not mean that. I thought perhaps you could give me a glass of brandy and water."

"What,-stand treat, aye? "Well, I don't care about that; but I'd as leave you 'd been rather younger, and rather better looking."

Mrs. Brown shrank from this unpalatable familiarity, and was perplexed to know how she was to accomplish her errand, when one of the steward's boys, always on the qui vive for a customer, presented himself to her with the question, "Brandy and water?

"Oh! yes, if you please," replied Mrs. Brown; "I do want a glass of brandy and hot water, with one lump of sugar in it."

The word passed "Hot with," and before Mrs. Brown had time to take a second glance at the saloon, the brandy and water was forthcoming, and a shilling duly paid for the same. Mrs. Brown returned to deck again, and found her friend as impatient as a very cold lady ought to be, whose brandy and water does not arrive with that alacrity usually characterizing the movements of stewardesses of steamers.

When the lady had expressed herself somewhat aristocratically upon this point, Mrs. Brown was despatched below a second time for a plate of sandwiches, with an emphatic caution, to be quicker in her movements, a hint which her former experience enabled her to profit by. The sandwiches were produced with a celerity which admitted no reasonable cause of complaint; and, by the time this was done, her ladyship considered that a second glass of brandy and water might be disposed of to her bodily comfort. Down went Mrs. Brown a third time, and, singular as it may appear, it was with considerable satisfaction she handed over the second potation to her friend, and perceived no disposition to repay her the four shillings which she had disbursed for all these creature-comforts; "for," as Mrs. Brown argued with herself, "this trifling obligation is sure to

be remembered by her ladyship at some future time, and will most certainly secure the pleasure of her distinguished civilities at a time when they may perhaps be worth any money."

The conversation between Mrs. Brown and the lady had hitherto been upon indifferent subjects, and, as we have seen, interrupted. Mrs. Brown had one important piece of information to obtain, which the near approach of the packet to Margate made it desirable to elicit. This was the destination of her lady-friend; for she had determined to regulate, as far as she could, the movements of herself and Mr. Brown-if she should happily meet with him again-by those of her ladyship.

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"I suppose," said Mrs. Brown, opening at once upon the main subject, that your ladyship intends to spend a few days at Margate?

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Lawk! you wretched old stewardess!" exclaimed her friend, holding up both hands, brandy and water and all, and turning up her eyes very hysterically, "how could you suppose I should dream of anything so 'orrid? Stay at Margate, indeed! For my part, I shall be wretched till I get a mile out of the place, and shall not feel quite comfortable till I have been a day at Broadstairs. I generally travel with the carriage, and avoid these fishy places."

"Dear me! only think!" said Mrs. Brown, in astonishment, at her friend's account of Margate; "how shocking! So your ladyship is determined to go to Broadstairs?"

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Certainly," replied the lady. "It's the only place in these parts fit for decent people to be seen at; and we have been there several weeks, and-"

Bang came the bows of the steamer against Margate pier-head, with somewhat more violence than usual, the effect of which threw the moiety of my lady's second glass of brandy and water into Mrs. Brown's lap, and abruptly concluded their conversation.

A few slight screams, and a great many inelegant oaths, were speedily overruled by the din of debarkation.

A swarm of useful impositions, called ticket-porters, pervaded the deck from stem to stern, and sought for the employment of their services with most vociferous diligence.

Mrs. Brown extricated herself without much difficulty from the prevailing confusion; and with the aid of a ticket-porter, safely established herself and "things" upon the pier.

The porter had deposited "the things" on his barrow, but Mrs. Brown strenuously resisted his stirring an inch with them; stating that she should not go from the spot where she was, until a gentleman arrived that she was expecting. In vain did the porter offer to go and inquire for the gentleman,-in vain did he propose that Mrs. Brown should go to an inn, and wait for him; she would neither give any explanation, or budge an inch. Down she sat upon the barrow, and no argument could move her.

Her attention was in less than an hour attracted to the near approach of another steamer, which, as it was evidently making the pier, occasioned Mrs. Brown to entertain lively anticipations that it contained her husband. They were not unfounded. In a few minutes Mr. Brown stepped from the deck of the Red Rover. Mrs. Brown presented the red box and herself, at the pier side, the safety of which, being ocularly demonstrated to Mr. Brown, he submitted himself to, nay, even returned the tender embrace of Mrs. Brown, with a cordiality rather unusual in such situations.

When Mr. Brown inquired of the porter which was the best inn to go to, he was cut short, and failed in obtaining any opinion whatever upon that point, by Mrs. Brown's most decisive declaration, that she would not put her head into a Margate house. No-not upon any consideration whatever; moreover, she insisted upon quitting the place instantly; let the cost be what it would. Fortunately, she was enabled to carry her intention into effect with all possible expedition, and at no great cost.

One of those machines, like half an omnibus, was about to start. Their luggage was, therefore, soon transferred from the barrow to the roof of the vehicle, and Mr. and Mrs. Brown were deposited in the interior, with one other gentleman, who immediately invited acquaintance with them, by expressing how sorry he felt that some unlucky circumstance appeared to have brought them into collision with some rude people.

This touched a chord to which the heart of Mrs. Brown responded. She was excessively obliged to receive expressions of sympathy from a well-bred gentleman, and soon entered upon a detailed account of her voyage from London to Margate. Nothing could be more à propos than this opportunity of relating the account, as it at once amused the gentleman, informed her husband of that which up to that time he had not learnt the details of, and afforded herself a glorious opportunity of talking, and especially of communicating how gratified she was at having formed the acquaintance of "The Dowager Lady Essex," in a manner which, she had reason to believe, was mutually cordial and permanent.

Mr. and Mrs. Brown having arrived at Broadstairs, were met at the entrance of the Albion Hotel by Mr. Ballard himself, the civil, attentive, obliging young landlord of the house; who assured them