I had, ere this, looked on the thought of death with a quiet eye.
Prepared, then, for any consequences, I formed a project.
That same evening I obtained from my friend, the waiter, information respecting, the sailing of vessels for a certain continental port, Boue-Marine.

No time, I found, was to be lost: that very night I must take my berth.

I might, indeed, have waited till the morning before going on board, but would not run the risk of being too late.
"Better take your berth at once, ma'am," counselled the waiter.

I agreed with him, and having discharged my bill, and acknowledged my friend's services at a rate which I now know was princely, and which in his eyes must have seemed absurd--and indeed, while pocketing the cash, he smiled a faint smile which intimated his opinion of the donor's _savoir-faire_--he proceeded to call a coach.

To the driver he also recommended me, giving at the same time an injunction about taking me, I think, to the wharf, and not leaving me to the watermen; which that functionary promised to observe, but failed in keeping his promise: on the contrary, he offered me up as an oblation, served me as a dripping roast, making me alight in the midst of a throng of watermen.
This was an uncomfortable crisis.