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“more like a whale!” 
we could not avoid giving vent to our disappointment. 
Instead of thanks to a merciful Providence who had con- 
ducted us thus far in our coffin-like craft with safety to 
our bones and lives, we indulged in such ejaculations as 
the following : — 
“Why, hillo !” said one : “this can’t be the place we’ve 
been looking forward to with such pleasure for such a 
long time,” 
“I don’t see any streets to be lit with gas!” put in a 
second. 
“I wonder if that’s the population waiting for us on 
the wharf?” asked a third. 
“That big fellow looks very much like a Russian 
count,” remarked a fourth. 
“ More like a whale !” put in a fifth. 
“llush! he’ll hear us!” said another. “I’ll tell you 
what, he looks as if he lived well. I hope his larder is 
solid.” 
Here the boat’s keel grated sharply on the shelving 
beach of slaty shingle, and as we got out we were warmly 
received by four persons in European costume, while some 
half-dozen others, in strange dress and wdth the strongly- 
marked features of the Cossack, lingered in the rear. 
The gentleman who looked like a Russian count, ac- 
cording to one of our party, and like a whale, according 
to another, addressed us in perfectly good English, intro- 
ducing himself as the agent for the Russian Eur Com- 
pany, Mr. Freighburg, and one of his companions as 
Dr. j of the same service. The remaining two, much 
to our surprise, proved to be old acquaintances, — members 
of that numerous tribe of restless Americans who live in 
