14 PENIKESE. 



moment. At length, tired of watching the bright, 

 roguish sunbeams, and animated by a lusty-sounding 

 gong, which seemed to be beaten directly in front of 

 my door, and, consequently, for my express benefit, 

 I sprang from the bed and quickly dressed for break- 

 fast. After the morning's meal I hastened to place 

 my baggage in the hands of the porter whose duty it 

 was to take it on board the little steamer, which was 

 so soon to convey us to our island home, and then 

 started for a stroll about this quiet, quaint, old- 

 fashioned city, there being yet several hours to 

 spare before our departure. 



I will not attempt to describe New Bedford, as I 

 was in it for so short a time; but I wandered along 

 one or two of its principal avenues, admiring the 

 noble dwellings with their rich, handsome lawns, 

 which, like miniature parks, fronted the streets at 

 the farther end of the town, and then, returning, en- 

 tered one of the small, dirty by-streets that led to a 

 neighboring wharf, to which I directed my steps. 

 What a sight here met my gaze. Vessels of all kinds 

 and sizes, from full-rigged ships to perfect swarms 

 of boats and dories, lay about me in every direction. 

 It seemed as if there were thousands of them, though 

 doubtless barely as many hundreds. Two full-rigged 

 men-of-war, which had just arrived from France, as 

 I learned afterwards, anchored some distance in the 

 bay beyond the rest, seemed like monstrous guard- 

 ians of whaling vessels, steamers large and small 

 brigs, barks, and schooners of all sorts and kinds. 

 Vessels, almost new, shone resplendent with recent 

 coats of bright paint above the rest, but most were so 

 old and worn that you could almost have believed 

 them to be veritable "Noah's Arks." I could not 

 but admire several beautiful pleasure yachts that lay 

 at anchor in the bay. I could see them, rolling 

 about from side to side, showing their smooth planks 

 and well made forms, and bending their masts grace- 

 fully i.n the air or dipping their handsome prows far 

 into the waters which surrounded them. How I en- 



