Mrs. Elton in America by Diana Birchall

Author:Diana Birchall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2008-10-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

The Medusa set sail from Liverpool the second week in June, with Mr. and Mrs. Elton, their three children, and their two servants aboard. Her first sight of the dock was a considerable shock to Mrs. Elton. As the family stood closely together, with their portmanteaux and boxes arrayed about them, she was conscious of a rising sense of discomfort. The Eltons were not being distinguished in any way among the throng, or treated as passengers of pre-eminent importance. People of all sorts and kinds, large families of emigrants, sailors and stewards, visitors and pet animals, dogs, cats, and parrots in cages, caused a scene of bustling confusion that could not fail to bewilder those fresh from a quiet place like Highbury; and the Eltons stood at a loss, without a conductor or any one at all to receive them, or to tell them what to do or where they should be. Mr. Elton saw the expression of dismay upon his wife's face, and made an attempt to cheer her spirits.

"Only look, what a fine ship ours is, my dear. Is it not trim, and stout? Quite a beauty, I declare. Although I ought not to say 'it'; a ship is usually referred to as 'she' you know."

Mrs. Elton shifted her apprehensive gaze from the dock and the people around her, to the ship itself, and her expression did not vary. "It is so small," she protested. "How ever can all these people, and their goods, be carried inside, with safety? I am sure it cannot be safe, Philip."

"Depend upon it, Augusta, the seamen know their business," her husband said with confidence. "It is larger than it looks. Do not be afraid."

"Papa, papa, is that the ship? Shall we sink in it?" asked little Philip Augustus in piercing tones, that raised a shudder in several anxious-appearing persons standing about.

"Hush! hush, my dear, of course we shall not sink, what a thing to say. It is perfectly safe. Only see, the captain over there, with his brass buttons - that is Captain Jennings. He will not let anything happen to us."

"Do you think he is a very safe man?" Mrs. Elton queried nervously.

"Certainly, certainly so. Captain Jennings is as safe as houses. He has a fine reputation. Do you know what a reputation is, little Philip?"

Somehow, with all the confusion and swarms of people, order was in the course of the morning duly brought out of chaos, and passengers and belongings alike were stowed aboard. There was another bad moment when the Eltons perceived that the private, first class cabin they had taken, was a mere bolt hole, scarcely broad enough to fit themselves inside, with the three children in one tiny bunk and Mr. and Mrs. Elton in the other. The servants must fare as best as they might in the common steerage quarters below. To make things worse, a terrible creaking of boards was heard, as the ship moved about in its berth, weighted heavily down by freight and human cargo.

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