596 The Dobson Family. 



arrangement?, whilst at home the misses, so eager were they, set 

 about packing up the thousand little things that are absolutely neces- 

 sary to the existence of the greater portion of the fair sex, though 

 Juliana, who was on her knees before a huge trunk as if in the very 

 act of worshipping those modern penates, the toilet necessaries, has 

 just said, " Man wants but little here below ;'' and poor|Mrs. Dobson 

 below stairs, was bustling about, considering whether the Rhine 

 could be much farther off than Richmond, and if so, whether it would 

 be expedient to take the six large pots of raspberry and the four 

 small, and the three pots of currant jelly, and the five bottles of 

 walnut ketchup, and the pickles ; and, in short, thinking was not poor 

 Mrs. Dobson's forte ; so, as she expressed it, she was soon completely 

 bothered. The count, true to his intentions, called early, and was to 

 his awful dismay informed, that Mr. Dobson was out, and the young 

 ladies were packing up. Visions of landlords and tailors' bills rose 

 like the witches in Macbeth before his mind's eye, arrayed in the 

 most hideous colours, and with an oath of despair he turned from the 

 door. There are, perhaps, few situations of more real downright 

 misery than that of the speculator who, having placed his whole 

 hopes of success and prospects in life on one bold chance, suddenly 

 finds himself ruined, not only in prospects but in name. Such was the 

 situation in which Dennis O'Sullivan found himself. The boat in 

 which he had hoped to weather the wave-beaten point of poverty, 

 and gain the safe harbour of affluence, was shattered on the breakers, 

 and he was left without a shilling in his pocket, or the means of pro- 

 curing one. He had hitherto got money from the Jews, at an enor- 

 mous interest, to be paid on his marriage ; and now he was ruined. 

 That very night he left London and has not since been heard of. 

 To return, however, as Mr. Dobson did to the family. After hold- 

 ing a council of war, it was resolved that they should set out in a 

 few days for Calais, armed with all the needful, in the shape of 

 dresses, books, maps, &c. &c. We shall now take leave of them 

 until on board the Calais packet. 



Les voila eri route : the packet has just left the Tower : away they 

 go through the black dingy shipping. Julianna is determined, 

 however, to admire every collier and lighter that with torn main- 

 sail and yellow jib, is, as she says, " walking the water like a thing of 

 life" at the rate of about half a mile an hour. The old gentleman 

 (that is her Dobson) is reading the newspaper Miss Emily is sitting 

 with her veil drawn, looking over the side of the boat in order to 

 conceal the half inch of Kalydor with which she has buttered her 

 face, as the advertisement has apprized her, that sea air is injurious 

 to the complexion, and that the aforesaid Kalydor is a certain remedy. 

 Mrs. Dobson is sitting with her hands before her, and her thoughts 

 in the before-mentioned pots of jam. 



They went rapidly down the river. Julianna was so delighted at 

 the beauty of the scenery of the Corringham and Fobbing marshes, 

 that one might have thought she had been a wild duck. As they 

 drew near the mouth of the river there was an "gly cross sea run- 

 ning ; and the boat began to pitch violently. Most of the ladies 

 went below. Not so Julianna : she was enchanted at being " o'er 



