THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



185 



tory which occurred in my own day and 

 recollection. 



"This busy harbor formed the theatre 

 of action for the only invasion of a 

 northern port by the enemy, dining the 

 war of the RebeUion, when the revenue 

 cutter Caleb Gushing was 'cut out' from 

 under the guns of the now obsolete fort 

 on the right, by an armed force, who, at 

 midnight, 1863, overpowered her crew 

 and succeeded in getting away with the 

 craft, an armed "sailing schooner of 

 modest size." 



No doubt the Gushing would have 

 been turned into a privateer by her cap- 

 tors, had not her absence been discov- 

 ered at da)break from the obsei-vatory. 

 Pursuit was made in two steamers, the 

 Forest City and the Chesapeake, tlie 

 latter of the Portland, New York line 

 was herself afterward captured on the 

 high seas, by a band of confederates, 

 who joined the ship as passengers, took 

 possession, and sailed to an English 

 port. 



These two steamers pursued the cut- 

 ter, overtook her becalmed about twenty 

 miles from shore, where the cutting out 

 party, with the crew as prisoners, aban- 

 doned the ship after firing her magazine, 

 blowing the trim little schooner into 

 fragments." 



Our good ship has now reached the 

 wharf and made fast. It is the privi- 

 lege of passengers to remain all night 

 aboard if they desire, and many take 

 advantage of this privilege, as it saves 

 the expense of one night at the hotel. 

 I went ashore for a walk. 1 naturally 

 turned into State street, and presently 

 found myself in State St. square which 

 contains a fine bronze statue of the poet 

 Longfellow, the first erected in his honor 

 save the bust at Westminster Abbey. 

 This is his birthplace and early home ; 

 just under the shadow of this statue, a 

 band of Salvationists were preaching to a 

 motley cwowd and telling in their way 

 "The old, old story of Jesus and His love. 



I passed on to the hotel '"The Preble 

 House," and there supplied the inner- 

 man with such things as were necessary 

 for his enjoyment of life in Portland. 



A little more history here will describe 

 Portland better than I can. 



"Founded in 1632 under the Indian 

 title Machigonne, the now city of Port- 

 land, during the earlier days of settle- 

 ment, was the scene of many a fierce en- 

 counter between its haidy pioneers and 

 the redmen. After three bloody as- 

 saults, the settlement finally in the year 

 16S9, succumbed to these Indian attacks 

 and those who escaped death by the 

 tomahawk and arrow, fled, leaving the 

 deserted ruin of fort and home to bird 

 and wild beast for a period of twenty-five 

 years, when a number of sturdy vete- 

 rans, from the disbanded garrison along 

 the coast, made their homes here, and 

 when the Indians once more came down 

 to pay their compliments, they found a 

 line of fortified streets and strong guards 

 at every point. 



The town now bore the name of Fal- 

 mouth, and enjoyed a flourishing com- 

 merce with the West Indies, when 

 disaster again visited it in the form of 

 Gaptain Mowatt's British fleet which 

 sailed up its harbor one bright morning 

 during the Revolutionary period 1775, 

 and after a destructive bombardment of 

 eight hours, landed a party of red coats 

 who firetl all the buildings spared by the 

 red hot shots of the ships. 



Falmouth again sank in ruins, yet 

 to appear again, and like the reconstruct- 

 ed ciiy of Portland to go through a third 

 fiery ordeal upon the glorious 4th, 1866, 

 when a carelessly thrown fire cracker 

 started a conflagration, which, burning 

 with fatal steadiness for sixteen hours, 

 destroyed ten millions of property. To- 

 day it has a population approaching forty 

 thousand, and a valuation of as many 

 million of dollars, four daily newspapers, 

 half a dozen National banks and thirty 

 odd churches." 



With a fragrant Havana for a com- 

 panion, I now wended my way back to 

 the steamer for a night's lodging. 



My time being limited, I was obliged 

 to be up betimes in the morning for an 

 early start on my journey West. The 

 morning proved fine, and I enjoyed a 

 walk across the city to the Union depot, 



