All these misfortunes left us stranded in New York at the end of the season。 It was then that I conceived the idea of going to London。After the Windsor Hotel fre we were without baggage， without even a necessary change of clothes。My engagement with Augustin Daly and my experiences when dancing before the smart set at Newport， and the New York Four Hundred， had left me in a state of bitter disillusion。I felt that if this was all the response America had to make， it was useless to knock any longer upon a door so closely shut， before so cold an audience。My great desire was to reach London。
The family was now reduced to four。 Augustin， when on one of his journeys with a small road company， playing Romeo， had fallen in love with a sixteen?year?old child who played Juliet， and one day he came home and announced his marriage。This was taken as an act of treason。For some reason that I could never understand， my mother was furious。She acted in much the same way as she had done on the frst visit from my father， which I have already described。She went into another room and slammed the door。Elizabeth took refuge in silence and Raymond became hysterical。I was the only one who felt any sympathy。I told Augustin， who was pale with anguish， that I would go with him to see his wife。He took me to a drearylodging?house in a side street， where we climbed five fights of stairs to the room where we found Juliet。She was pretty and frail and looked ill。They confided to me that they were expecting a baby。
So， in our plans for London， Augustin was necessarily left out。 The family seemed to regard him as one who had fallen by the wayside and unworthy of the great future that we were seeking。
And now， once again， we found ourselves in a bare studio， with no funds， at the beginning of the summer。 I had then a brilliant idea of soliciting the rich women， in whose salons I had danced， for a sum sufficient to take us to London。First of all I visited a lady who lived in a palatial mansion on 59th Street， overlooking Central Park。I told her of the Windsor Hotel fire， and how we had lost all our belongings， and of the lack of appreciation in New York， and of my certitude of finding recognition in London。
At last she moved towards her desk， and， taking up her pen， began to write out a cheque。 She folded the cheque and gave it to me。I left her with tears in my eyes and skipped out of the house—but， alas！On reaching Fifth Avenue I found the cheque was for only fifty dollars， a sum quite insufficient to take the family to London。
I next tried the wife of another millionaire， who lived at the foot of Fifth Avenue， and I walked the ffty blocks between 59th Street and her palace。 Here I was received even more coldly by an elderly woman who administered a rebuke on the impractibility of my request。She alsoexplained to me that if I had ever studied ballet dancing she would have felt diferently about it， and that she once knew a ballet dancer who had made a fortune！In the heat of pressing my suit I became quite faint and fell over sideways。It was four o'clock in the afternoon， and I had had no lunch。At this the lady seemed rather perturbed， and rang for a magnificent butler， who brought me a cup of chocolate and some toast。My tears fell into the chocolate and on to the toast， but I still tried to persuade the lady of the absolute necessity of our trip to London。
“I shall be very famous some day，”I told her，“and it will redound to your credit that you recognized American talent。”
At length this possessor of about sixty millions also presented me with a cheque—again for fifty dollars！But she added：
“When you make money， you will send this back to me。”I never sent it back， preferring rather to give it to the
poor。
In this way I canvassed most of the millionaire's wives in New York， with the result that one day we had the magnificent sum of three hundred dollars for our trip to London。 This sum was not enough for second?class tickets on an ordinary steamer， if we were to arrive in London with any money whatever。
It was Raymond who had the bright idea of searching round the wharves until he found a small cattle?boat going to Hull。The captain of this ship was so touched byRaymond’s story that he consented to take us as passengers， although it was against the regulations of his ship， and one morning， with only a few handbags， for our trunks had all been burned in the Windsor Hotel fire， we embarked。I believe that it was this trip which was the great infuence in making Raymond a vegetarian， for the sight of a couple of hundred poor struggling beasts in the hold， on their way to London from the plains of the Middle West， goring each other with their horns and moaning in the most piteous way， night and day， made a deep impression on us。
I have often thought of that voyage on the cattle?boat when I have been in my luxurious cabin on one of the big liners， and of our irrepressible merriment and delight， and I have wondered if after all a continual atmosphere of luxury does not cause neurasthenia。Our nourishment was only salt beef and tea that tasted like straw， the berths were hard， the cabins small and the fare meagre， but we were very happy during the two weeks’journey to Hull。We were rather ashamed of going on this boat under our own name， so we signed under the name of my mother’s mother—O’Gorman。I called myself Maggie O’Gorman。
The first mate was an Irishman， with whom I spent the moonlit nights， up in the lockout， and he often said to me，“Sure， Maggie O'Gorman， I'd make a good husband to you if you would allow it。”On some other nights the captain， who was a fine man， would produce a bottle of whiskey and make us all hot toddies。 Altogether it was a very happy time， in spite of the hardships， and only the bellowings andmoanings of the poor cattle in the hold depressed us。I wonder if they still bring cattle over in that barbarous fashion。
The O'Gormans landed in Hull on a May morning， took the train， and a few hours later the Duncans arrived in London。 I think it was through an advertisement in The Times that we found a lodging near the Marble Arch。The first days in London were spent entirely in driving about on penny buses， in a state of perfect ecstasy， and， in the amazement and delight of everything around us， we absolutely forgot how very limited were our resources。We went in for sightseeing， spending hours in Westminster Abbey， the British Museum， the South Kensington Museum， the Tower of London， visiting Kew Gardens， Richmond Park， and Hampton Court， and coming home to our lodgings excited and weary， behaving， in fact， exactly like tourists with a father in America to send us funds。It was not until some weeks had passed that we were awakened from our tourist dream by an irate landlady asking for her bill to be paid。
And then one day we returned from the National Gallery， where we had been hearing a most interesting lecture on the Venus and Adonis of Correggio to find the door slammed in our faces and the little baggage we had， inside， while we ourselves were on the doorstep。 On examining our pockets we realised that we had about six shillings left between us。We turned towards the Marble Arch and Kensington Gardens， where we sat down on a seat to consider our next step。