High-perched in an upper berth, she did not like disturbing the other
occupants of the cabin till daylight appeared. Then she descended and
dressed, and went on deck; the vessel was just passing the rocky coast of
Elba, and the sky was flushed with rosy light, that made the shadows on
the island of the most exquisite purple. The sea still heaved with
yesterday's storm, but the motion only added to the beauty of the
sparkles and white foam that dimpled and curled on the blue waters. The
air was delicious, after the closeness of the cabin, and Ellinor only
wondered that more people were not on deck to enjoy it. One or two
stragglers came up, time after time, and began pacing the deck. Dr.
Livingstone came up before very long; but he seemed to have made a rule
of not obtruding himself on Ellinor, excepting when he could be of some
use. After a few words of common-place morning greeting, he, too, began
to walk backwards and forwards, while Ellinor sat quietly watching the
lovely island receding fast from her view--a beautiful vision never to be
seen again by her mortal eyes.
Suddenly there was a shock and stound all over the vessel, her progress
was stopped, and a rocking vibration was felt everywhere. The quarter-
deck was filled with blasts of steam, which obscured everything. Sick
people came rushing up out of their berths in strange undress; the
steerage passengers--a motley and picturesque set of people, in many
varieties of gay costume--took refuge on the quarter-deck, speaking
loudly in all varieties of French and Italian _patois_.
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