d, and lay
there, dumb with the horrors of such a voyage.

'Just the thing for you, my poor old dear. Think of the balmy airs of
Sicily, the oranges, the flowers. Then a delicious month or two at
Sorrento, with no east winds, no slush, no spring cleaning. We shall be
as merry as grigs, and get as buxom as dairy-maids in a month,' said the
sprightly Amanda.

'You promised to go, and if you back out we are lost, for we _must_ have
a duenna. You can lie round in Europe just as well as here, and I have
no doubt it will do you a world of good,' added Matilda.

'I shall keep my word; but you will bury me in the Atlantic, so make up
your minds to it. Do you suppose that I, a poor, used-up old invalid,
who can't look at a sail-boat without a qualm, can survive thirty days
of standing on my head, and thirty nights of sail-splitting, as we go
slamming and lurching across two or three awful oceans?' demanded
Lavinia, with the energy of despair.

Before anyone could reply, Amanda's little Mercury appeared with a note.

'The "Wasp" will _not_ take passengers, and no other fruit-ship sails
this spring,' read Amanda.

'Oh dear!' sighed Matilda.

'Saved!' cried Lavinia.

'Be calm: we shall go, sooner or later, if I buy a ship and sail her
myself;' with which indomitable remark Amanda went forth to grapple with
and conquer untoward circumstances.

A month of plans, vicissitudes, and suspense followed, during which
Amanda strove manfully; Matilda suffered agonies of hope and fear; and
Lavinia remained a passive shuttlecock, waiting to be tossed wherever
Fate's battledore chose to send her.

'Exactly two weeks from to-day, we sail with a party of friends in the
French steamer "Lafayette," from New York for Brest. Will you be ready?'
demanded Amanda, after a protracted wrestle with aforesaid adverse
circumstances.

'But that is exactly what we didn't mean to do. It's expensive and
fashionable; France and not Italy, north and not south.'

'That's because I'm in the party. If you take a Jonah nothing will go
well. Leave me behind, and you will have a charming trip,' said Lavinia,
who had an oyster-like objection to being torn from her bed.

'No matter, we are going, live or die, sink or swim; and I shall expect
to meet you, all booted and spurred and fit for the fight, April
first,' said the unwavering Amanda.

'A most appropriate day for three lone women to start off on a
wild-goose chase after health and pleasure,' groane