ENGLISH CHANNEL. 29 



agined (as the dull-eyed said) darker spots of wood and lighter 

 spots of houses, and which we called Ireland. We saw also, at 

 some distance, the steamer which left Liverpool the day before, 

 for Cork. She was very long and low, and more clipper-like in 

 her appearance than our sea-going steamers of the same class. 

 At sunset we were out of sight of land again and driving on at 

 a glorious rate, passing rapidly by several large British ships 

 going .the same course. 



I was up two or three times during the night, and found the 

 captain all the while on deck in his India-rubber clothes, the mate 

 on the forecastle, look-outs aloft, every thing drawing finely, and 

 nothing to be seen around us but fog, foam and fire-flashing surges. 

 At three o'clock this morning, John called me, and I again came 

 on deck. It was still misty, but there was LAND dark and dis- 

 tinct against the eastern glow no more " imagination." It was 

 only a dark ledge of rocks, with a white light-house, and a streak 

 of white foam between it and the dark blue of the sea ; but it 

 seemed thrillingly beautiful. In a few minutes the fog opened 

 on our quarter, and disclosed, a few miles off, a great, sublime 

 mountain, its base in the water, its head in the clouds. The rock 

 was the Skerrys; the mountain, Holyhead. Very soon, high, 

 dark hills, piled together confusedly, dimly appeared on our right 

 dimly and confused, but real, substantial, unmistakable, solid 

 ground none of your fog-banks. These were on the island of 

 Anglesea. Then, as the ship moved slowly on, for the wind was 

 lulling, past the Skerrys, the fog closed down and hid it all again, 

 and we went below. When again we came up it was much 

 lighter, and the brown hills of Anglesea were backed up by the 

 blue mountains of Wales distinct against the gray cloud behind 

 them. Soon a white dot or two came out, and the brown hill- 

 sides became green, with only patches of dark brown- ploughed 

 ground real old mother earth. As it grew still lighter, the 



