Page:The woman in battle .djvu/580

520 and myself were compelled to succumb to seasickness, which, although it did not affect us as violently as it did some of the other passengers, was sufficiently unpleasant to absorb all our thoughts. My sister-in-law, being a hardened traveller, escaped, but the negro girl, who acted as nurse for the children, was taken very badly, and between her agony and her fright she was a most ludicrous object. In a couple of days I was well enough to enjoy myself; and my brother, who had made the acquaintance of the doctor, introduced him to me. This gentleman was a fair-haired Anglo Saxon, and he appeared to think it incumbent upon him to pay me particular attention. I was quite willing to cultivate his acquaintaince, and he was so much encouraged by my amiable demeanor towards him, that he very speedily began to be even unpleasantly polite, and I was anxious to devise some means of getting rid of him. I did at length succeed in finding a rival to him in a somewhat odd fashion. Among the passengers were two quite handsome young Spaniards, who kept pretty much to themselves, apparently for the reason that no one was able to talk to them. I noticed that one of them followed me a good deal with his eyes, and resolved, if a favorable opportunity offered, to strike up an acquaintance with him.

One morning, after breakfast, I and my friends came up on deck, and the doctor, who bad been acting as my escort, excused himself to go and make his sick calls. The two young Spaniards stood leaning on the guards, and from the way they looked at me I judged that I was the subject of their conversation.

Leaving my brother and his wife, I went and seated myself near them, but gave no indication that I was noticing them particularly. They had heard me speak English to my brother and sister, and the others with whom I had engaged in conversation, and had no reason to think that I understood any other language.

I had scarcely taken my seat, when they commenced to talk about me in Spanish, commenting upon my elegant dress, and the sparkling diamonds which adorned my person, and expressing a desire to know who I was. At length one of them said, "O, how I would like to speak the American language!