THE JOURNEY. I/ 



At length comparative calm reigned, and I found 

 a moment in which to look about me, and to note the 

 forms and faces of those gathered upon the deck and 

 in the waiting-room of our little steamer all of 

 whom were eager for her departure. What a jolly 

 set they were, these strange forms and faces! Old 

 men and young men, elderly ladies and young, fair 

 maidens. A varied group indeed, yet, for all, it 

 looked like an agreeable one. 



When the second whistle sounded, a particularly 

 shrill and startling one it seemed to me, what a scene 

 ensued; what a profusion of hand-shakings and 

 good-byes were given and taken upon every side; 

 slowly the tide of humanity poured down the boat's 

 side and on to the wharf below. And now the steam- 

 er had completed its load. The dull beat of her 

 paddles and her heavy column of black smoke an- 

 nounced that we had left the pier and were on the 

 move. One by one the wagons started leaving the 

 wharf; one by one the scattered groups of people 

 turned from the dock and followed; then, finally, 

 wharf, people, and wagons grew further and further 

 away as, with regular puff and plunge, the little 

 "Helen Augusta" steamed quietly away from the 

 dull, hot city, and out into a clearer atmosphere 

 upon the fair, heaving bosom of the bay. 



