Rollo in Holland | Page 8

always prevails in the waters that
lie around Great Britain.
So Mr. George and Rollo, who neither of them liked to be seasick,
determined to go another way. They concluded to go down by railway
to Dover, and then to go to Calais across the strait, where the passage is
the shortest. Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had set off several days before
them, and Mr. George supposed that by this time they were far on their
way towards Holland. But they had been delayed by Mrs. Parkman's
desire to go to Brighton, which is a great watering place on the coast,
not far from Dover. There Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had spent several
days, and it so happened that in going from Brighton to Dover they met,
at the junction, the train that was bringing Mr. George and Rollo down
from London; and thus, though both parties were unconscious of the
fact, they were travelling along towards Dover, after leaving the
junction, in the same train, and when they stepped out of the carriages,
upon the Dover platform, there they were all together.

Mr. Parkman and Mr. George were very glad to see each other; and
while they were shaking hands with each other, and making mutual
explanations, Mrs. Parkman went to the door of the station to see what
sort of a place Dover was.
She saw some long piers extending out into the water, and a great many
ships and steamers lying near them. The town lay along the shore,
surrounding an inner harbor enclosed by the walls of the piers. Behind
the town were high cliffs, and an elevated plain above, on which a great
number of tents were pitched. It was the encampment of an army. A
little way along the shore a vast promontory was seen, crowned by an
ancient and venerable looking castle, and terminated by a range of lofty
and perpendicular cliffs of chalk towards the sea.
"What a romantic place!" said Mrs. Parkman to herself. "It is just such
a place as I like. I'll make William stay here to-day."
Just then she heard her husband's voice calling to her.
"Louise!"
She turned and saw her husband beckoning to her. He was standing
with Mr. George and Rollo near the luggage van, as they call it in
England, while the railway porters were taking out the luggage.
Mrs. Parkman walked towards the place.
"They say, Louise," said Mr. Parkman, "that it is time for us to go on
board the boat. She is going to sail immediately."
"Ah! but, William," said Mrs. Parkman, "let us stay here a little while.
Dover is such a romantic looking place."
"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will stay if you like. Are you
going to stay, Mr. George?"
"Yes," said Mr. George; "Rollo and I were going to stay till this
afternoon. There is a boat to cross at four o'clock."

It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when this conversation
occurred. The porter stood by all the time with Mr. Parkman's two
trunks in his charge, waiting to have it decided when they were to go.
"I should think, sir," said the porter, "that as you have a lady with you,
you would find this boat better. This is a tidal steamer, but the four
o'clock is the mail boat, and it will be pretty rough this afternoon. There
is a breeze coming up."
"O, never mind the breeze," said Mrs. Parkman. "We are used to it,
porter. We've crossed the Atlantic."
"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will wait until four o'clock."
"Then I'll put the luggage in the luggage room," said the porter, "and
take it to the boat at half past three. That's the way to the hotel," he
added, pointing the way.
There are several very nice hotels in Dover, but the one which the
porter referred to is one of the finest and most beautifully situated
hotels in Europe. It is a large and handsome edifice, built in modern
style, and it stands close to the railroad station, on a point of land
overlooking the sea. The coffee room, which, unlike other English
coffee rooms, is used by both ladies and gentlemen, is a very spacious
and splendidly decorated apartment, with large windows on three sides
of it, overlooking the sea and the neighboring coasts. Each sash of these
windows is glazed with one single pane of plate glass, so that whether
they are shut or open there is nothing to intercept the view. The room is
furnished with a great number of tables, each large enough to
accommodate parties of four or six, and all, except two or three in
different parts of the room that are reserved for reading and writing, are
covered with neat white table cloths,