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Willing to spare her own horses, Miss Emmerson
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had already sent to the city for the keeper of a
livery-stable, to come out and contract with her for
a travelling carriage, to convey her to the Falls of
Niagara. The man came, and it is no wonder that
Julia, under her impressions, chose to be present at
the conversation.
"Well then," said Miss Emmerson to the man, "I will
pay you your price, but you must furnish me with
good horses to meet me at Albany--remember that
I take all the useless expense between the two
cities, that I may know whom it is I deal with."
"Miss Emmerson ought to know me pretty well by
this time," said the man; "I have driven her
enough, I think."
"And a driver," continued the lady, musing, "who am
I to have for a driver?" Here Julia became all
attention, trembling and blushing with
apprehension.
"Oh, a driver!" cried the horse-dealer; "I have got
you an excellent driver, one of the first chop in the
city."
{first chop = first rank, highest quality}
Although these were not the terms that our heroine
would have used herself in speaking of this
personage, yet she thought they plainly indicated
his superiority, and she waited in feverish suspense
to hear more.
"He must be steady, and civil, and sober, and
expert, and tender-hearted," said Miss Emmerson,
who thought of any thing but a hero in disguise.
"Yes--yes--yes--yes--yes," replied the stable-
keeper, nodding his head and speaking at each
requisite, "he is all that, I can engage to Miss
Emmerson."
"And his eyesight must be good," continued the
lady, deeply intent on providing well for her
journey; "we may ride late in the evening, and it is
particularly requisite that he have good eyes."
"Yes--yes, ma'am," said the man, in a little
embarrassment that did not escape Julia; "he has
as good an eye as any man in America."
"Of what age is he?" asked Miss Emmerson.
"About fifty," replied the man, thinking years would
he a recommendation.
"Fifty!" exclaimed Julia, in a tone of
disappointment.
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"'Tis too old," said Miss Emmerson; "he should he
able to undergo fatigue."
"Well, I may be mistaken--Oh, he can't be more
than forty, or thirty," continued the man, watching
the countenance of Julia; "he is a man that looks
much older than he is."
"Is he strong and active?"
"I guess he is--he's as strong as an ox, and active
as a cat," said the other, determined he should
pass.
"Well, then," said the aunt, in her satisfied way,
"let every thing be ready for us in Albany by next
Tuesday. We shall leave home on Monday."
The man withdrew.
Julia had heard enough--for ox she had substituted
Hercules, and for cat, she read the feathered
Mercury.
CHAPTER V.
THE long expected Monday at length arrived, and
Miss Emmerson and Julia, taking an affectionate
leave of their relatives in the city, went on board
the steam-boat under the protection of Charles
Weston. Here a new scene indeed opened on our
heroine; for some time she even forgot to look
around her in the throng in quest of Antonio. As the
boat glided along the stream, she stood leaning on
one arm of Charles, while Miss Emmerson held the
other, in delighted gaze at the objects, which they
had scarcely distinguished before they were passed.
"See, dear Charles," cried Julia, in a burst of what
she would call natural feeling--"there is our house--
here the summerhouse, and there the little arbour
where you read to us last week Scott's new novel--
how delightful! every thing now seems and feels
like home."
"Would it were a home for us all," said Charles,
gently pressing her arm in his own, and speaking
only to be heard by Julia, "then should I be happy
indeed."
Julia thought no more of Antonio; but while her
delighted eye rested on the well known scenes
around their house, and {as} she stood in the
world, for the first time, leaning on Charles, she
thought him even nearer than their intimacy and
consanguinity made them. But the boat was famous
for her speed, and the house, garden, and every
thing Julia knew, were soon out of sight, and she,
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by accident, touching the picture which she had
encased in an old gold setting of her mother's, and
lodged in her bosom, was immediately restored to
her former sense of things. Then her eye glanced
rapidly round the boat, but discovering no face
which in the least resembled disguise, she
abandoned the expectation of meeting her lover
before they reached Albany. Her beauty drew many
an eye on her, however, and catching the steady
and admiring gaze of one or two of the gentlemen,
Julia's heart beat, and her face was covered with
blushes.
She was by no means sure that Antonio would
appear as a coachman--this was merely a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]