Now, had I been
holding this idle talk with Lucy, the dear, honest creature would have
laughed, blushed ever so little, possibly, and nodded her head in
frank assent; or, perhaps, she would have said "oh! certainly," in a
way to show that she had no desire to affect so silly a thing as to
wish one to suppose she thought young people would not get married at
Marble Land, as well as Clawbonny, or New York. Miss Merton, however,
saw fit to change the discourse, which soon turned on her father's
health. On this subject she was natural and full of strong
affection. She was anxious to get the Major out of the warm
latitudes. His liver had been touched in the West Indies, but he had
hoped that he was cured, or he never would have accepted the Bombay
appointment. Experience, however, was giving reason to suspect the
contrary, and Emily wished him in a cold climate as soon as possible,
and that with an earnestness that showed she regarded all that had
been said about the island as sheer pleasantry. We continued the
conversation for an hour when, returning to the tent, I left my fair
companion with a promise to be as active as possible, in order to
carry the ship into a higher latitude. Still I did not deem the island
a particularly dangerous place, notwithstanding its position; the
trades and sea breezes, with its ample shades, rendering the spot one
of the most delightful tropical abodes I had ever been in.
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