r's aunt; she has never married; Miss Beamish
she is called. I believe that I am the only human male-being she cares
for, except two tom cats and a dog, and one of them isn't a tom; at
least, it had kittens, and they are not human either. Whenever I go
home, I always go and see Aunt Priscilla, and carry her all sorts of
things, and feed the cats, and take the little dog out to walk; but when
I went, I never intended to stay there long, because, you see, she and I
are not much of companions to each other, and yet, somehow or other,
what with telling her my adventures, and reading to her, and playing
backgammon and such like things, we used to get on wonderfully well
together. Then my coming was always a signal for her to give a series
of tea-parties; they were not very large ones, because her room wouldn't
hold many people at a time, and then I used to have to tell my stories
to each set of guests. Aunt Priscilla was never tired of listening to
them, and I found out by the way she corrected me if I made the
slightest variation. I had, therefore, to be very particular the first
time I told a story, so that I might not afterwards be caught tripping.
Yes; dear, good Aunt Priscilla, I am sure that she will be anxious when
she finds that the old tea-chest hasn't arrived at the time expected.
There's one comfort, I shall be able to give her notice of my safety
before she hears positively of the fate of the ship."

Though Charley White did not talk of himself, I was able to form a very
fair judgment of his character from the way he spoke of the old lady,
and I found afterwards that I was correct. We found him a very pleasant
addition to our family party on board, and I soon got to look on him
like one of my own sons; he was, besides, of great assistance to us in
navigating the little schooner. The gale at length ceased, and we stood
for Table Bay. I was afraid of venturing the run across the Indian
Ocean without landing at Cape Town, lest we might get short of water; a
want, which besides exposing us to suffering, would have caused the
destruction of all our sheep. We remained but a few days at Cape Town.
Charley White wrote home an account of the loss of the ship, and sent a
letter to his Aunt Priscilla assuring her of his safety. I expected,
and thought of it with much regret, that he would here leave us. I
invited him, however, to cast in his fortunes with ours, and without
hesitation, much to the satisfaction of a