assigned to all but a stray man or two wandering about in search of some
Mr. Brown or Mr. Jones, whose room he was to share. Climbing into my
berth, I soon fell asleep; but only for a few moments. The shrill
whistle, the vehement ringing of the captain's bell, the heavy beat of
the paddles, roused me; and as we left the wharf and steamed out from
among the ships and small craft dotting the water on every side, "Off at
last!" was shouted from the crowded decks. Then the opening bars of "God
save the Queen" were sung heartily and not inharmoniously, followed by
three cheers for her Majesty, three for her Imperial Highness, three for
her popular representative Lord Dufferin, and so on, till the enthusiasm
culminated in "He's a jolly good fellow;" the monotony of which sent me
to sleep again.

At four o'clock next morning I scrambled out of my berth at the imminent
risk of broken bones, wondering why the inventive powers of our Yankee
neighbours had not hit upon some arrangement to facilitate the descent;
dressed, and went in search of fresh air. Picking my steps quietly
between sleeping forms--for men in almost every attitude, some with
blankets or great-coats rolled round them, were lying on the floor and
lounges in the saloon--I reached the deck just as the sun rose above the
broad blue waters, brightening every moment the band of gold where sky
and water met. Clouds of ink-black smoke floated from our funnel, tinged
by the rising sun with every shade of yellow, red, and brown. Mirrored in
the calm water below, lay the silent steamer--silent, save for the
ceaseless revolution of her paddles, whose monotonous throb seemed like
the beating of a great heart.

For an hour or more I revelled in the beauty of water and sky, and ceased
to wonder why people born on the coast love the sea so dearly, and pine
for the sight of its waves. When the men came to wash the decks, a