CHAPTER XXI. 



Nassau Reoisited. Lack of Confidence in the Northern March. Missing 

 Trunks— Man and His Clothes. The New York and Nassau Steamboat Line. 

 The Western Texan. Notable Passenrjers. The Fountain of Youth on Litch- 

 field Hill. Fernandina. Picturesque Shores. Sea-birds. The Mouth of the 

 St. John's— its Bar and Breakers. A Visit to St. Nicholas. Incidents and 

 Scenes in the Gulf of Florida. ' ' Bank Sha7'ks." Porpoises. Crossing the 

 Oulf Stream. Dolphins. Sun-set Views. Arrival at Nassau. 



" Once more upon the water! yet once more ! 

 And the waves roll beneath me like a steed 

 That knows its rider — welcome to their roar I" — Byeon. 



Whek we awoke Thursday morning, March 4th, 1880, the air 

 was filled with the melody of the birds of early spring, and the 

 soft sweet notes of the blue birds were especially noticeable. The 

 air was as warm and genial as that of a pleasant morning in May. 

 Gentle zephyrs sported with the leafless branches of the orchard 

 and forest trees, and lovingly kissed and quickened with a new 

 energy the arbutus, the crocus, the dalfodil and other flowers, 

 that were courageously pushing their long buried licads out of 

 the ground to see if winter, their natural enemy, had retreated 

 to its arctic home. What folly, we exclaimed, to leave the 

 shores of Connecticut and encounter the perils of an ocean voy- 

 age in search of a summer that is already here ! But we had 

 good reason to mistrust appearances. Tlie northern March has 

 an established reputation. Its record is as old as the centuries 

 that have passed away. Though it approached concealed in the 



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