t of the whole matter.

I advised the raft-men to take her to Berlin, for exhibition as "the
German raft from America," for such she is; but they persisted in their
scheme for showing her in London, where folks are already tired of
"flotsam and jetsam" from the West. Their enterprise failed; and the
poor Germans had to depart from England deep in debt instead of laden
with money, and their raft was left for sale.

Since the 'Nonpareil,' there has come to England from America another
floating monstrosity, a boat called the 'John T. Ford,' worse "found" in
every sense than the others, and which had three men drowned on the
passage, and one nearly starved--a sad finale to the failures of the
'Henrietta,' 'Red, White, and Blue,' and 'Nonpariel,' as speculations.
Another craft came in with man and wife as crew. Finally in July, the
two Andrews came in the 'Nautilus.'

Every day at Cowes the yawl Rob Roy was under way for a sail, and
sometimes in good breezes she would thread in and out among thickly
clustered yachts, so as to show her handiness. Certainly, without
previous practice, it would be highly improper to attempt this sort of
cruising; for the yachts, with bowsprits run out, and jiggers and
mizen-booms projecting, are at anchor here on the implied understanding
that no one will wantonly endanger a collision by sailing about in the
crowd, merely for fun. After practice, however, for weeks in the same
craft, the operation of guiding her safely through a maze of boats, and
on a strong cross-tide, becomes like the unnoticed and nearly involuntary
muscular efforts of the body which carry us safely through a crowd on
shore. I recollect once seeing some very dignified Arab Chiefs, who for
the first time in their lives had to go up-stairs, and their awkward
stumbling, even in the ascent of a few steps, showed how much our nerves
and limbs have to learn before we can do so ordinary a thing without even
a thought.

One day the Rob Roy sailed to Portsmouth, and into all the creeks and
crannies, and through all the channels and guts she could find in that
complicated waterway, and then anchored near the 'Duke of Wellington,'
with the old 'Victory' close beside. There also was the 'Serapis,' one
of the magnificent troop-ships, of a size and build found to be the best
success of our last naval efforts. By the quay was the 'Warrior,' the
first sea-going iron-clad, and of beauty indisputable, and the celebrated
'Wyvern,'