Arrived at Port Said, she put off in a boat with her maid and her parrot, and found her godchild, who did not expect her, on deck, entranced with all she saw.
Yes! of course Port Said is a sink of iniquity and a place of odours and a fold for native wolves in sheep's clothing; also a centre for antiquities made in Birmingham, or by the vendor himself in the hot weather; and a market for things which should not be sold, much less bought.
In fact, in one short sentence, it is a deal of cosmopolitan wrong-doing.
All the same, you need not buy and you need not listen nor look, and if it is the first bit of the Orient you have meet with for the first time in your life, well! it is the East, and jolly exciting and interesting, too.
Damaris rushed at the old lady, and having curtsied to her, gathered her up in her strong arms and hugged her tightly, just as Captain X, who during one trip had had the duchess as passenger and therefore loved her, came along.
As they turned in the direction of the dining-saloon, the girl looked over her shoulder at the two maids, and smiled.
With a great love of their respective mistresses as their sole bond in common they stood, otherwise divided, staring at each other.
"Pleased to meet you again," volunteered country-bred Jane, offering a plump hand.
"Hoping you are in good health," responded Maria Hobson, making a corner in strawberry-leaves as she just touched the finger-tips.
"Wellington, you have met Dekko, I think," laughed the girl.