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Untitled Article
t that the season there had not commenced ; so , after a brief conversation with a Brother , whom I took to be the Tyler , I returned to my hotel .
After breakfast the next morning , I strolled forth to see the " Argo" come into the dock , — -a fine screw steamer from Australia . The sight is doubtless common-place enough to many ; but to me it presented several features of deep interest . Crowds pressed upon the barriers erected by the Custom House officials , watching eagerly for friends about to disembark . The earnest solicitations of the
cabmen and porters from the divers hotels served to interest for awhile amidst the varied scenes attending the debarkation of a large number of passengers . Just as I was strolling away , a particularly clean and intelligent-looking seaman came on shore , having finished his work and dressed himself in his holiday habiliments for the occasion . There was none of that rapturous greeting vouchsafed to
him , which was accorded to many who had preceded him in landing ; he appeared unknown , but a peculiarly interesting and joyous expression played over his countenance , as he ran down the plank from the side of the vessel to the quay ; impatient of the few
remaining steps he sprang upon the shore , and he audibly exclaimed to himself , as his feet once more rested upon terra jlrma , "God be praised ! It ' s many long months since I put my foot on this blessed shore ! " He disappeared amongst the crowd , and I went
away . The rest of the forenoon I whiled away on board the magnificent yacht belonging to the Egyptian government . It was their dinnerhour , and the vast crowds of Egyptian sailors in their singular dresses were giving themselves up to boyish and boisterous merriment .
Later in the day I put my portmanteau on board the Jersey packet , secured a berth , and spent the rest of the afternoon in listening to the amusing " yarns" of an " old salt , " whose boat I chartered for " a sail" amidst the picturesque scenery of the farfamed " Southampton water . " The weather was delightfully fine , there was not much wind , but we had a very pleasant little excursion , and at twelve o ' clock I went on board the steamer . The mail
tram had arrived , and busses and cabs soon enlivened the half-deserted pier . After a few moments of excitement and squabbles with cabmen , and porters , and the like , our passengers came on board , and we steamed quietly out of the shades of the pier on to the exquisitely placid and majestic bosom $ f " Old Ocean . " After a
brief space had elapsed , we came to the " Needles , " which sparkled in the moonbeams like mighty silver mountains , and when at length we lost sight of land , the scene was most magnificent , calling forth from the midst of our poetic reminiscences those beautiful words of Byron , evidently dictated bv som £ similar scene : —
" Thou glorious mirror , where the Almighty s form Glasses itself in tempests , in all time Calm or convulsed—in breeze , or gale , or storm , Icing the pole , or . in the torrid clime ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
t that the season there had not commenced ; so , after a brief conversation with a Brother , whom I took to be the Tyler , I returned to my hotel .
After breakfast the next morning , I strolled forth to see the " Argo" come into the dock , — -a fine screw steamer from Australia . The sight is doubtless common-place enough to many ; but to me it presented several features of deep interest . Crowds pressed upon the barriers erected by the Custom House officials , watching eagerly for friends about to disembark . The earnest solicitations of the
cabmen and porters from the divers hotels served to interest for awhile amidst the varied scenes attending the debarkation of a large number of passengers . Just as I was strolling away , a particularly clean and intelligent-looking seaman came on shore , having finished his work and dressed himself in his holiday habiliments for the occasion . There was none of that rapturous greeting vouchsafed to
him , which was accorded to many who had preceded him in landing ; he appeared unknown , but a peculiarly interesting and joyous expression played over his countenance , as he ran down the plank from the side of the vessel to the quay ; impatient of the few
remaining steps he sprang upon the shore , and he audibly exclaimed to himself , as his feet once more rested upon terra jlrma , "God be praised ! It ' s many long months since I put my foot on this blessed shore ! " He disappeared amongst the crowd , and I went
away . The rest of the forenoon I whiled away on board the magnificent yacht belonging to the Egyptian government . It was their dinnerhour , and the vast crowds of Egyptian sailors in their singular dresses were giving themselves up to boyish and boisterous merriment .
Later in the day I put my portmanteau on board the Jersey packet , secured a berth , and spent the rest of the afternoon in listening to the amusing " yarns" of an " old salt , " whose boat I chartered for " a sail" amidst the picturesque scenery of the farfamed " Southampton water . " The weather was delightfully fine , there was not much wind , but we had a very pleasant little excursion , and at twelve o ' clock I went on board the steamer . The mail
tram had arrived , and busses and cabs soon enlivened the half-deserted pier . After a few moments of excitement and squabbles with cabmen , and porters , and the like , our passengers came on board , and we steamed quietly out of the shades of the pier on to the exquisitely placid and majestic bosom $ f " Old Ocean . " After a
brief space had elapsed , we came to the " Needles , " which sparkled in the moonbeams like mighty silver mountains , and when at length we lost sight of land , the scene was most magnificent , calling forth from the midst of our poetic reminiscences those beautiful words of Byron , evidently dictated bv som £ similar scene : —
" Thou glorious mirror , where the Almighty s form Glasses itself in tempests , in all time Calm or convulsed—in breeze , or gale , or storm , Icing the pole , or . in the torrid clime ,