THE JOURNEY. I 5 



joyed the scene. It seemed to have a fascination for 

 me that was irresistible. 



Then I turned my attentioni.to the wharf itself, 

 which, like most of the others I could see about me, 

 was built far into the water. It was covered with 

 heaps of boards, new and bright, old and dingy, 

 some immense plank, others thin deal, and one very 

 old pile came tumbling down with a noise like thun- 

 der, as I accidentally stumbled over several pieces 

 which extended far beyond the rest; with barrels, ap- 

 parently of oil and tar, whose blue sides and red 

 ends, thickly streaked with an abundance of the same 

 material as that composing their contents, showed 

 up on all sides; and with piles of old iron, ballast- 

 stones and spars and masts of vessels; all of which, 

 with many other things of a like nature, lay scattered 

 everywhere around in endless confusion. 



At the farther end of the wharf were a group of 

 dirty, bare-footed little urchins, who were amusing 

 themselves with all sorts of doings, one could, at 

 first sight, barely distinguish them from the brown, 

 dirty logs or barrels amongst which they played, and 

 whose hands and faces, as well as their clothes, 

 seemed equally bedaubed and grimy. Some of them 

 were playing at marbles, while others, mere lookers 

 on, were lying about in the mud and dirt, like so 

 many flounders off the pier head at low tide, watch- 

 ing the progress of the games. On a low, narrow 

 stairway, leading to the water, sat several youthful 

 fishers, who appeared in high glee over four or five 

 poor little fishes, barely as many inches long, which 

 they had succeeded in catching with the most primi- 

 tive pole, hook, and line imaginable, and only after 

 long and patient waiting, doubtless, upon their part. 

 On the very end corner of the pier, a most wretched- 

 ly dirty, ragged, and diminutive urchin was amusing 

 himself by throwing stones at the numberless small 

 chips of wood which were tossing about upon the 

 rippling waters beneath him, or occasionally "skip- 

 ping" some particularly smooth, flat pebble, which 



