Miss Goold'-- he held out his hand as he spoke--'I'm a plain fellow'-- he did not look in the least as if he thought so--'I've led too rough a life to be any good at making pretty speeches, but I'm glad I've seen you and talked to you.
If I'm knocked on the head out there I shall go under satisfied, for I've met a woman fit to be a queen--a woman who is a queen, the queen of the heart of Ireland.' It is likely that Augusta Goold, though she was certainly not a fool, was a little excited by the homage, for she refused to say good-bye, declaring that she would see the boat off next morning.

It was a promise which would cost her something to keep, for the mail steamer leaves at 8 a.m., and Miss Goold was a lady who appreciated the warmth of her bed in the mornings, especially during the early days of March, when the wind is likely to be in the east..