the whole of the floor--no doubt to the
exceeding discomfort of the artist and his wife;--this the more
especially as the tar or paint with which it was lettered in sprawling
capitals, emitted a strong, disagreeable, and, to _my_ fancy, a
peculiarly disgusting odor. On the lid were painted the words--"_Mrs.
Adelaide Curtis, Albany, New York. Charge of Cornelius Wyatt, Esq. This
side up. To be handled with care."_

Now, I was aware that Mrs. Adelaide Curtis, of Albany, was the artist's
wife's mother; but then I looked upon the whole address as a
mystification, intended especially for myself. I made up my mind, of
course, that the box and contents would never get farther north than the
studio of my misanthropic friend, in Chambers Street, New York.

For the first three or four days we had fine weather, although the wind
was dead ahead; having chopped round to the northward, immediately upon
our losing sight of the coast. The passengers were, consequently, in
high spirits, and disposed to be social. I _must_ except, however, Wyatt
and his sisters, who behaved stiffly, and, I could not help thinking,
uncourteously to the rest of the party. _Wyatt's_ conduct I did not so
much regard. He was gloomy, even beyond his usual habit--in fact he was
_morose_--but in him I was prepared for eccentricity. For the sisters,
however, I could make no excuse. They secluded themselves in their
staterooms during the greater part of the passage, and absolutely
refused, although I repeatedly urged them, to hold communication with
any person on board.

Mrs. Wyatt herself was far more agreeable. That is to say, she was
_chatty_; and to be chatty is no slight recommendation at sea. She
became _excessively_ intimate with most of the ladies; and, to my
profound astonishment, evinced no equivocal disposition to coquet with
the men. She amused us all very much. I say "_amused_"--and scarcely
know how to explain myself. The truth is, I soon found that Mrs. W. was
far oftener laughed _at_ than _with_. The gentlemen said little about
her; but the ladies, in a little while, pronounced her a "good-hearted
thing, rather indifferent-looking, totally uneducated, and decidedly
vulgar." The great wonder was, how Wyatt had been entrapped into such a
match. Wealth was the general solution--but this I knew to be no
solution at all; for Wyatt had told me that she neither brought him a
dollar nor had any expectations from any source whatever. "He had
married," he