e. I merely mention the fact for the purpose
of observing that the captain, and others to whom I have spoken since,
unanimously agree in condemning the position of the lighthouse; first,
as not being placed on the point a vessel from Europe would make,
inasmuch as that point is further north and east; and secondly, because
vessels coasting northwards are not clear of danger if they trend away
westward after passing the light. There may be some advantages to the
immediate neighbourhood, but, for the general purposes of navigation,
its position is a mistake, and has, on more than one occasion, been very
nearly the cause of the wreck of one of our large steamers[C].

Early on the morning of the tenth day I heard voices outside my cabin
saying, "Well, they've got the pilot on board," _ergo_, we must be
nearing our haven. In the Channel at home you know a pilot by a
foul-weather hat, a pea-coat, broad shoulders, and weather-beaten
cheeks; here, the captain had told me that I could always know them by a
polished beaver and a satin or silk waistcoat. When I got on deck, sure
enough there was the beaver hat and the silk vest, but what struck me
most, was the wearer, a slim youth, hardly out of his teens. In the
distance, the New York pilot-boat, a build rendered famous by the
achievements of the "America," at Cowes, lay on the water like a duck,
with her canvas white as snow, and taut as a deal board. The perfect
ease and nonchalance of the young pilot amused me immensely, and all
went on smoothly enough till the shades of evening closed in upon us; at
which time, entering the Narrows, the satin-vested youth felt himself
quite nonplused, despite his taking off his beaver, and trying to
scratch for knowledge; in short, had it not been for Captain Harrison,
who is a first-rate seaman and navigator, as all who ever sail with him
are ready to testify, we might have remained out all night: fortunately,
his superior skill got us safe in, and no easy task I assure you is it,
either to find the channel, or to thread your way through hosts of
shipping, in one of these leviathan steamers.

I confess I formed a very low estimate of New York pilots, which was not
heightened by one of the mates showing me an embossed card, with his
address, which our pilot had presented to him, accompanied with an
invitation to come to a _soiree_. As the mystery was subsequently
solved, I had better give you the solution thereof at once, and not let
the co