LETTER NO. XIV 



New York, Oct. 22, 1868. 



My Beloved Marie:— Before these lines will reach you, 

 the news of my safe arrival will have been communicated 

 to you by Dubois, who promised faithfully to send notice 

 as soon as the landing of the ' ' Allemannia " would be 

 known at the ships broker's office. It is therefore not 

 impossible that you have knowledge of my well-being at 

 this very moment. 



We arrived yesterday morning at ten o'clock, exactly 

 fourteen days after leaving Hamburg. By the time land- 

 ing was accomplished and the Custom-House formalities 

 satisfactorily gone through, it was four o'clock. This 

 and the fact that I desired to outline to you my intended 

 trip to San Francisco, led me to wait till now to write this 

 letter. 



My trip across the Atlantic was neither fast nor agree- 

 able, though we did not suffer any hardships. 



Our voyage through the North Sea was fine and all were 

 in the best of spirits when we anchored at Southampton, 

 between an English man-of-war and the Royal Mail 

 Steamer "La Plata." Our short stay was for the pur- 

 pose of coaling and exchanging mail and passengers. 

 There was a constant communication with the shore, as 

 little steamers go to and fro at short intervals. Besides 

 this, the " Jackies" on the man-of-war amused themselves 

 and lookers-on by target shooting, while the boys on the 

 Royal Mail Steamer, like our own, were busy enough get- 

 ting things in ship-shape. The "La Plata," bound for 

 Lisbon and Brazil, left Port just ahead of us. At Nee- 

 dles we found ourselves alongside of the "La Plata" 

 again and enjoyed an hour's communication, while a 

 friendly race kept us the more amused, as our handsome 



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