the Narrows, the entrance to the inner bay so
called, the wind grew so unpromising that a party of us decided to
engage the pilot vessel to take us as far as Staten Island, which they
"calculated" they could reach before the departure of the steamer for
New York.

Bidding adieu to the Europe, away we dashed in the little witch of a
pilot, a craft of some eighty tons' burthen, but, viewed from a short
distance, not looking more than half that size, so snug was her build,
as well as from the absence of every kind of hamper; her shrouds were
without ratlins, and her deck without even the protection of a
rough-tree--a nakedness I should by no means like in bad weather. The
afterpart, however, or stern-sheets, is sunk about four feet; and as the
bowsprit is a mere stump, and the sheets of both foresail and jib lead
aft, all the work may be done here when under snug sail.

The necessity, during our trip in the schooner, of working up between
the shores of Long and Staten Islands, was a chance that added to the
charm of our approach.

Standing into the Narrows, under the guns of a formidable fort, the
pretty-looking village of Staten, where quarantine is performed, first
presented itself: the smoke of the steamer assured us she had not yet
departed, and two or three tacks brought us within signaling distance,
just as she broke away from the shore: our desire was readily
understood, and, slightly changing her course, she soon after received
us in addition to her already crowded freight.

I found the upper deck of the Bolivar, the name of our steamer,
uncommonly hot, but it afforded a good place from which to view the
harbour and city as they were now rapidly unfolded: here, therefore, I
planted myself, all eyes; and certainly have rarely been better repaid
for a broiling.

As we neared the Battery, we were afforded a passing glance up the East
and North Rivers,--the great waters which give wealth to Manhattan, and
jealously clip her beauty about, in equal participation. The _coup
d'oeil_ thus taken is very imposing, and at once awakens the stranger
to a sense of the commercial importance of the _entrepot_ whose walls he
perceives shaded by such a forest of lofty masts.

NEW YORK.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE CITY.

On landing at the Battery, our first visit was to an office of the
customs here; and, instead of the dogged, sulky, bribe-demanding scowl,
too commonly encountered from our own low-class officials,