"It was a little cloudy, so that we saw the sun only 'all flecked with
bars,' and caught sight of the phenomenon at intervals.

"We were at a coal-landing at the time, and not far from Madrid. The
boat stopped so long to take in an immense pile of corn-bags that our
passengers went on shore--such of them as could climb the slippery bank.

"When we saw them coming back laden with peach-blossoms, and saw the
little children dressing their hats with them, we were seized with a
longing for them, and Mr. S. offered to go and get us some; we begged to
go too, but he objected.

"We were really envious of his good luck when we saw him jump into a
country wagon, drawn by oxen which trotted off like horses, and, waving
his handkerchief to us, ride off in great glee. He came back with an
armful of peach-tree branches. Whose orchard he robbed at our
instigation I cannot say. A little girl, the daughter of the captain,
pulled some blossoms open, and showed us that the fruit germs were not
dead, but would have become peaches if we had not coveted them.

"The 25th was also our first night steam-boating. After passing Cairo
the river is considered safe for night travel, and the boat started on
her way at 8.30 P.M. We had been out about half an hour when a lady who
was playing cards threw down her cards and rushed with a shriek to her
stateroom. I perceived then that there had been a peculiar motion to the
boat and that it suddenly stopped. We found that one of the
paddle-wheels was caught in a snag, but there was no harm done. It made
us a little nervous, but we slept well enough after it.