Poor Fanny was
altogether cast down, and shed tears, either from regret at leaving her
native land, or dread of sea-sickness, or general despondency, being a
person of no spring of spirits. I waited till the captain came on board,
--a middle-aged or rather elderly man, with a sensible expression, but,
methought, with a hard, cold eye, to whom I introduced my wife,
recommending her to his especial care, as she was unattended by any
gentleman; and then we thought it best to cut short the parting scene.
So we bade one another farewell; and, leaving them on the deck of the
vessel, J----- and I returned to the hotel, and, after dining at the
table d'hote, drove down to the railway. This is the first great
parting that we have ever had.
It was three o'clock when we left Southampton. In order to get to
Worcester, where we were to spend the night, we strode, as it were, from
one line of railway to another, two or three times, and did not arrive at
our journey's end till long after dark.
At Worcester we put ourselves into the hands of a cabman, who drove us to
the Crown Hotel,--one of the old-fashioned hotels, with an entrance
through an arched passage, by which vehicles were admitted into the
inn-yard, which has also an exit, I believe, into another street. On one
side of the arch was the coffee-room, where, after looking at our
sleeping-chambers on the other side of the arch, we had some cold
pigeon-pie for supper, and for myself a pint of ale.
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