d out below into boundlessness, bringing
visions of the ocean and a thrill of remembered delight. The rain had
ceased. The breeze rolled the clouds into snow-balls, pure white against
the blue of the sky. Over the narrow stream came the twitter of birds,
hidden in the hawthorn hedge all abloom. Everything smiled, and beamed,
and glistened without, though far out to sea the white caps crowned the
dancing waves. When night fell, and the lights glimmered all through the
town, we drew the heavy curtains, lighted the candles in the shining
candlesticks, whose light cast a delusive glow over the dingy dustiness
of the room, bringing out cheerfully the little round tea-table in the
centre, with its bright silver and steaming urn, over which we lingered
a long hour, measuring and weighing our comfort, telling tales, seeing
visions, and dreaming dreams of home.

The clock struck nine as we crossed the plank to the Alexandra, trying
in vain to find in its toy appointments some likeness to our ocean
steamer of delightful memory. The train whizzed in from London, bringing
our fellow-voyagers. The sheep were separated from the goats by the
officer at the foot of the plank, who asked each one descending, "First
or second cabin?"--sending one to the right, the other to the left. The
wind swept in from the sea raw and cold. The foot-square deck was
cheerless and wet. Even a diagonal promenade proved short and
unsatisfactory, and in despair we descended the slippery, perpendicular
stairs between boxes and bales, and down still another flight, to the
cabin. A narrow, cushioned seat clung to its four sides, divided into
lengths for berths. "Will it be a rough night?" we carelessly asked the
young stewardess. "O, no!" was the stereotyped reply, though all the
while the wicked waves were dancing beneath the white caps just outside.
We divested ourselves of hats, and wraps, and useless ornaments,
reserving only that of a meek and quiet spirit, which, under a nameless
fear, grew every moment meeker and more quiet. We undid the interminable
buttons of our American boots, and prepared for a comfortable rest, with
an ignorance that at the time approximated bliss. There was leisure for
the working out of elaborate schemes. Something possessed the tide.
Whether it was high or low, narrow or wide, I do not know; but there at
the wharf we were to await the working of its own will, regardless of
time. Accordingly we selected our places with a delibera