t female visitor in the
room.

With a scream of surprise, followed by a perfect hurricane of laughter,
the venerable dame received the precious gift from Betty's hand, and
holding it towards the astonished mother, exclaimed, "Truly, my dear
friend, this is a dish fit to set before a king. Our beloved sovereign
would have no objection of seeing a dish so filled with royal fruit,
placed at the head of his own table."

The laugh became general; and poor Betty comprehending the blunder she
had committed, not only fled from the scene, but dreading the jokes of
her fellow-servants, fled from the house.

CHAPTER XXII.

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAINS.

The Lyndsays, to their infinite mortification and disappointment, found
upon their arrival at Leith, that the _Chieftain_, in which vessel their
places had been taken for Canada, had sailed only two days before. To
make bad worse, Mrs. Waddel confidently affirmed, that it was the very
last vessel which would sail that season.

Lyndsay, who never yielded to despondency, took these contrary events
very philosophically, and lost no time in making inquiries among the
ship-owners, to ascertain whether Mrs. Waddel was right.

After several days of anxious and almost hopeless search, he was at last
informed that the _Flora_, Captain Ayre, was to leave for Canada in a
fortnight. The name seemed propitious, and that very afternoon he walked
down with his wife to inspect the vessel.

The _Flora_ was a small brig, very old, very dirty, and with wretched
accommodations. The captain was a brutal-looking person, blind of one
eye, and very lame. Every third word he uttered was an oath; and instead
of answering Mr. Lyndsay's inquiries, he was engaged in a blasphemous
dialogue with his two sons, who were his first and second mates. The
young men seemed worthy of their parentage; their whole conversation
being interloaded with frightful imprecations on their own limbs and
souls, and the limbs and souls of others.

They had a very large number of steerage passengers engaged, for the
very small size of the vessel, and these emigrants were of the very
lowest description.

"Don't let us go in this horrible vessel," whispered Flora to her
husband. "What a captain! what a crew! we shall be miserable, if we form
any part of her live cargo!"

"I fear, my dear girl, there is no alternative. We may, perhaps, hear of
another before she sails. I won't engage places in her until the last
moment.