steamer of another line was lying moored
to her pier, waiting for her own sailing day. Now, as the Pacific passed
by this other steamer, the men on board of the latter, having previously
made every thing ready for the ceremony, fired two guns as a salute to
her, by way of bidding her farewell and wishing her a good voyage. Of
course, it was proper to respond to the compliment, and this called for
two guns more. This made, in fact, a fourth farewell, which having been
spoken, the firing was over. The Pacific, having thus taken leave of the
city, and also of her sister steamer on the Jersey shore, had now
nothing to do but to proceed as fast as possible down the harbor and
out to sea.

The scenes which are presented to view on every hand in passing down New
York Harbor and Bay are very magnificent and imposing. Ships, steamers,
long ferry boats, tugs, sloops, sail boats, and every other species of
water craft, from the little skiff that bobs up and down over the waves
made by the steamboat swell to the man-of-war riding proudly at anchor
in the stream, are seen on every hand. The shores, too, present
enchanting pictures of rich and romantic beauty. There are villas and
cottages, and smooth grassy lawns, and vast fortifications, and
observatories, and lighthouses, and buoys, and a great many other
objects, which strongly attract the attention and excite the curiosity
of the voyager, especially if he has been previously accustomed only to
travelling on land.

While the children were looking at these scenes with wonder and
admiration, as the ship passed down the harbor, a young-looking man, who
appeared to belong to the ship, came to them and told them that, if they
wished to remain on deck, they had better go and sit upon the settees.
So saying, he pointed to several large and heavy-looking settees, which
were placed near the middle of the deck, around what seemed to be a
sort of skylight. These settees were all firmly secured to their places
with strong cords, by means of which they were tied by the legs to some
of the fixtures of the skylights. In obedience to this suggestion, the
children went and took their places upon a settee. Jane carried the
cage, containing Tiger, which she had kept carefully with her thus far,
and put it down upon the settee by her side. The man who had directed
the children to this place, and who was a sort of _mate_, as they call
such officers at sea, looked at the kitten with an expression of