Toronto as soon as a letter could get there. I resolved to telegraph
from New York, upon my arrival there, so as not to take them altogether
by surprise.

The morning of the 11th of October found me on board the _Southern
Cross_, where I shook hands with Mr. Redpath and several other
friends who accompanied me on board for a last farewell. The
particulars of the voyage to England are not pertinent to the story,
and may be given very briefly. I took the Red Sea route, and arrived at
Marseilles about two o'clock in the afternoon of the 29th of November.
From Marseilles I travelled by rail to Calais, and so impatient was I
to reach my journey's end without loss of time, that I did not even
stay over to behold the glories of Paris. I had a commission to execute
in London, which, however, delayed me there only a few hours, and I
hurried down to Liverpool, in the hope of catching the Cunard Steamer
for New York. I missed it by about two hours, but the _Persia_ was
detailed to start on a special trip to Boston on the following day. I
secured a berth, and at eight o'clock the next morning steamed out of
the Mersey on my way homeward.

The voyage from Liverpool to Boston consumed fourteen days. All I need
say about it is, that before arriving at the latter port I formed an
intimate acquaintance with one of the passengers--Mr. Junius H. Gridley,
a Boston merchant, who was returning from a hurried business trip to
Europe. He was--and is--a most agreeable companion. We were thrown
together a good deal during the voyage, and we then laid the foundation
of a friendship which has ever since subsisted between us. Before the
dome of the State House loomed in sight he had extracted a promise from
me to spend a night with him before pursuing my journey. We landed at
the wharf in East Boston on the evening of the 17th of December, and I