CHAPTER XXI. 
Nassau Revisited. Lack of Confidence in the Northern March. Missing 
Trunks—Man and His Clothes. The New York and Nassau Steamboat Line. 
The Western Texas. Notable Passengers. 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 ané 
Scenes in the Gulf of Florida. ‘‘ Bank Sharks.” Porpoises. Crossing the 
Gulf 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!”—Bygon. 
WHEN 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 daffodil and other flowers, 
that were courageously pushing their long buried heads 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. The 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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