ON BOARD BARK "VICTORIA" 77 



We all sat on deck until nearly eleven o'clock, and men 

 and women alike enjoyed the pleasant evening', enter- 

 taining each other with jokes, songs and general merry- 

 making. 



Today it is raining— pouring, I should call it— as if 

 the water were emptied upon us by the bucketful. While 

 I am penning these lines the clouds seem to grow thinner 

 and here and there are indications of a -clear sky for the 

 afternoon— due perhaps to the ardent supplications of 

 Hamburg maidens who have set their hearts on airing a 

 new bonnet or even a brand-new dress on this, the open- 

 ing day of the season. And woman is the same the world 

 over. The wind is blowing from the west which gives us 

 little hope for an early start. We have been surrounded 

 by thirty or more larger or smaller vessels, in course of 

 time, all like ourselves are waiting for favorable wind to 

 speed along. Nothing is more discouraging than to be 

 nailed to one spot and to feel a breeze overhead without 

 being able to utilize it, as the Elbe, though very wide to 

 the naked eye, is but a narrow water in which ships like 

 the Victoria cannot course about to great advantage. 

 There remains nothing but to patiently await a favorable 

 turn of the wind. Meanwhile there is plenty of time to 

 plan and execute our preparations for the long trip which 

 is before us. 



Tuesday, June 10th, 1851. 

 At 9 a. m. 

 My hope that the weather might clear up during the 

 afternoon of Pentecost Sunday was only realized in part 

 to allow us an evening recreation on deck, which oc- 

 currence brings the individuals closer to each other, and 

 shows a variety of amusing intellects which would sur- 

 prise you. Yesterday we encountered a genuine North- 

 sea storm. Of course, there was no possibility of sailing 

 on Sunday, and all the vessels which had come down the 



"clog's days," which lasts four long weeks and not as we have it, 

 threw whole months, is joyfully welcomed by the young. — Transl. 



