great deal of discussion about the fifteen pretty girls and about the "dragon." As the officers on board The Tub were gentlemen whom an ordinary person might speak to, a delegation of one was deputed to go to the purser's room and find out all that could be learned in relation to the young and lovely passengers.
The purser said that the dragon's name was Mrs. Scrivener- Yapling, with a hyphen. The hyphen was a very important part of the name, and Mrs. Scrivener-Yapling always insisted upon it. Anyone who ignored that hyphen speedily fell from the good graces of Mrs. Scrivener-Yapling. I regret to say, however, in spite of the hyphen, the lady was very generally known as the "dragon" during that voyage. The purser told us, further, that Mrs. Scrivener-Yapling was in the habit of coming over once a year with a party of girls, whom she trotted around Europe. The idea was that they learned a great deal of geography, a good deal of French and German, and received in a general way a polish which Europe is supposed to give.
The circular which Mrs. Scrivener-Yapling issued was shown to me once by one of the girls, and it represented that all traveling was first class, that nothing but the very best accommodations on steamers and in hotels were provided, and on
