, &c. I am well aware of the proneness
of volunteer counsellors to frighten and excite one, and have
generally disregarded them. But this time I feel a trembling
solicitude on account of my child, and am doubtful, harassed, almost
ill." And again, under date of April 21, she says: "I had intended,
if I went by way of France, to take the packet-ship _'Argo_,' from
Havre; and I had requested Mrs. ---- to procure and forward to me some
of my effects left at Paris, in charge of Miss F----, when, taking
up _Galignani_, my eye fell on these words: 'Died, 4th of April, Miss
F----; 'and, turning the page, I read, 'The wreck of the _Argo_,'--a
somewhat singular combination! There were notices, also, of the loss
of the fine English steamer _Adelaide_, and of the American packet
_John Skiddy._ Safety is not to be secured, then, by the wisest
foresight. I shall embark more composedly in our merchant-ship,
praying fervently, indeed, that it may not be my lot to lose my boy
at sea, either by unsolaced illness, or amid the howling waves; or, if
so, that Ossoli, Angelo, and I may go together, and that the anguish
may be brief."
Their state-rooms were taken, their trunks packed, their preparations
finished, they were just leaving Florence, when letters came, which,
had they reached her a week earlier, would probably have induced them
to remain in Italy.
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