When there came a pause in the conversation Juliet said to her mother, "Mr. Robert was very kind, and would like to take you and me and father in a boat on the river some day soon. And he would like to go on Saturday afternoon if he is well enough. And he thinks Mrs. Bosher's brother would come too, and if Mr. Robert is not well enough to row, Mrs. Bosher's brother will row, and Mr. Robert will steer; and Mr. Robert says we are to meet him at the lock at three o'clock, which is between luncheon and dinner."
"And I hope you will have a nice trip," were Mrs. Johnson's last words as she said good-bye at the gate.
Juliet felt quite frightened at her good fortune; it seemed to make her want to cry more than poverty and trouble had done. And she said her prayers more earnestly than she had said them when she was naughty and unhappy. As the days went by and all was well, her father growing stronger, the children rosier, the house more comfortable, she did feel very deeply that the great blessings showered upon her had not been deserved, but were sent to make her better in the future than she had been in the past.
There was yet one more thing that she desired; that was to take her parents down the river to the place where she had been almost shipwrecked in the Fairy. They, too, wished to see the spot where their daughter had narrowly escaped a terrible death, which they shuddered even to think of.
Three o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday saw the whole Mitchell family at the lock. The children came to see their elders off, and to spend the afternoon with Philip and Emily.
"Glad to see you out in the daylight," said Mr. Rowles to Mr. Mitchell. "You are twice the man you were, now that you are keeping better hours."
Mitchell only smiled; he did not think it possible to quite overcome Rowles's prejudice.
"Here's the tub which Phil has brought up from the ferry. He thought you would like a flat-bottomed tub, Mary."
Mrs. Mitchell looked about, expecting to see a round thing similar to a washing-tub.
But her husband knew better. "Yes," said he, "when I was a young man I used to go to Battersea on holidays, I and some others, and nothing would suit us but outrigged gigs, randans, and such like; but now I'm growing old, and a flat-bottomed tub suits us better, my missus and me. Shall we get in, do you think, Ned?"