Mrs. Woodward and Gertrude—God bless them!—had never studied the subject. They knew no better than to sit in the nasty cabin, surrounded by boxes, stewards, porters, children, and abominations of every kind, holding each other's hands, and pressing damp handkerchiefs to their eyes. The delay, the lingering, upset even Gertrude, and brought her for a moment down to the usual level of leave-taking womanhood. Alaric, the meanwhile, stood leaning over the taffrail with Charley, as mute as the fishes beneath him.
'Write to us the moment you get there,' said Charley. How often had the injunction been given! 'And now we had better get off—you'll be better when we are gone, Alaric,'—Charley had some sense of the truth about him—'and, Alaric, take my word for it, I'll come and set the Melbourne Weights and Measures to rights before long—I'll come and weigh your gold for you.'
'We had better be going now,' said Charley, looking down into the cabin; 'they may let loose and be off any moment now.'
'Oh, Charley, not yet, not yet,' said Linda, clinging to her sister.
'You'll have to go down to the Nore, if you stay; that's all,' said Charley.
And then again began the kissing and the crying. Yes, ye dear ones—it is hard to part—it is hard for the mother to see the child of her bosom torn from her for ever; it is cruel that sisters should be severed: it is a harsh sentence for the world to give, that of such a separation as this. These, O ye loving hearts, are the penalties of love! Those that are content to love must always be content to pay them.
'Go, mamma, go,' said Gertrude; 'dearest, best, sweetest mother—my own, own mother; go, Linda, darling Linda. Give my kindest love to Harry—Charley, you and Harry will be good to mamma, I know you will. And mamma'—and then she whispered to her mother one last prayer in Charley's favour—'she may love him now, indeed she may.'
Alaric came to them at the last moment—'Mrs. Woodward,' said he, 'say that you forgive me.'
'I do,' said she, embracing him—'God knows that I do;—but, Alaric, remember what a treasure you possess.'
And so they parted. May God speed the wanderers!