them,--

"What a quantity of children we have on board this ship! I hate children
on board ship, they are so noisy and troublesome."

Jane did not say any thing in reply to this, but she thought that she
and Rollo, at least, did not deserve such censures, for they had
certainly not been noisy or troublesome.

Presently Jane saw the beautiful girl, who has been already spoken of,
rise and come toward them. She was very glad to see this, for now,
thought she, we have a friend coming. The young lady came walking along
carelessly toward them, and when she came near she looked at them a
moment, and then said, in a pert and forward manner,--

"What are you sitting here for, children, so long, all alone? Where is
your father?"

"My father is in Liverpool, I suppose," said Rollo.

"Well, your mother, then," said the young lady, "or whoever has the care
of you?"

"My mother is in Liverpool, too," said Rollo "and there is nobody who
has the care of us on board this ship."

"Why, you are not going to cross the Atlantic all by yourselves, are
you?" said the young lady, in a tone of great astonishment.

"Yes," said Rollo, "unless we find somebody to be kind enough to help
us."

"La! how queer!" said the young lady. "I am sure I'm glad enough that I
am not in your places."

So saying, the beautiful young lady walked on.

All the beauty, however, which she had before possessed in Jane's eyes
was entirely dissipated by this heartless behavior. Both Jane and Rollo,
for all the rest of the voyage, thought her one of the ugliest girls
they had ever seen.

It was some minutes after this before any other person approached the
children. Jane observed, however, that the other young lady--the one who
had appeared to her so plain--looked frequently toward her and Rollo,
with an expression of interest and kindness upon her countenance. At
length she rose from her seat, and came across the cabin, and sat down
by Jane's side.

"May I come and sit by you?" said she to Jane. "You seem to be all
alone."

"Yes," said Jane; "we don't know any body in this ship."

"Not any body?" said the young lady. "Then you may know me. My name is
Maria. But your father and mother are on board the ship, are they not?"

"No," said Rollo. "There is not any body on board this ship that belongs
to us."

Maria seemed very much astonished at hearing this, and she asked the
children how it happened that they were sent across the Atlantic alone.
Upon