m were a
great many little bed rooms, called state rooms. These state rooms were
all very beautifully finished, and were furnished with every convenience
which passengers could require. Mr. George selected two of these state
rooms. They were two that were adjoining to each other, and they were
connected by a door. There were two beds, or rather bed _places_, in
each state room, one above the other. Mr. George chose the lower berth
in one state room for Rollo, and the lower one in the next state room
for Jane. When he had chosen the berths in this manner, he wrote the
name of each of the children on a card, and then pinned the cards up
upon the curtains of the respective berths.

"There!" said he. "That is all right. Now perhaps some lady will take
the other berth in Jane's room, and some gentleman that in Rollo's. Then
they will both have company in their rooms. Otherwise I must find
somebody to take care of them both."

Mr. George then left the ship and went back to the office in Wall
Street, to engage the berths and pay the passage money. The office was
spacious and handsomely furnished, and there were several clerks in it
writing at desks. There were two rooms, and in the back room was a
table, with large plans of the ship upon it, on which all the cabins and
state rooms of the several decks were represented in their proper
positions. The names of the various passengers that had engaged passage
in the ship were written in the several state rooms which they had
chosen. The clerk wrote the names, _Master Holiday_ and _Miss Holiday_,
in the state rooms which Mr. George pointed out to him, and, when he had
done so, Mr. George looked over all the other names that had been
written in before, to see if there were any persons whom he knew among
them. To his great gratification he found that there were several such.

"Yes," said he, as he rose up from the examination of the plan, "there
are several gentlemen there who will be very ready, under the
circumstances of the case, to do Mr. Holiday the favor of looking after
his children during the voyage."

Being thus, in a measure, relieved of all solicitude, Mr. George walked
about the room a few minutes, examining the pictures of the several
steamers of the line which were hanging on the walls, and then went
away.

CHAPTER II.

THE EMBARKATION.

The time fixed for the sailing of the steamer was on Tuesday morning;
and Mr. George, in order to have time to communi