68 THE DOLL AND HER FRIENDS.

given to Willy. And a sailor-friend, who had been
all over the world, used to come and describe Ma-
deira as one of the most beautiful of all the beau-
tiful places he had visited, and tell of its blue sea,
fresh and bright, without storms; its high mountains,
neither barren nor bleak; and its climate, so warm
and soft, that Willy might sit out all day in the beau-
tiful gardens under hedges of fragrant geraniums.
And when Willy talked of enjoying the gardens
while his stronger sisters were climbing: the hills,
there was more to be told of cradles borne upon
men’s shoulders, in which Willy could be carried
to the top of the highest hills as easily as his sisters
on their mountain ponies.

And now the packing was all finished, and
the luggage sent on board, and every body was
anxious to follow it; for the ship was reported as
quite comfortable, and the house was decidedly the
reverse. Margaret and her father had been on
board to arrange the cabins, accompanied by their
sailor-friend, who professed to know how to fit up a
berth better than any body. He had caused all
‘the furniture to be fastened » or, as he called it,
cleated to the floor, that it might not roll about
in rough weather. The books were secured in the
shelves by bars, and swinging tables hung from the
ceilmgs. Willy’s couch was in the most airy and