"
As the Luebeck boat was not to leave until the morrow, I went to Wilkin's
to get my supper. This famous establishment occupies a low-ceiled
basement, which is divided into cabinets ornamented with more show than
taste. Oysters, turtle-soup, a truffled filet, and a bottle of Veuve
Cliquot iced, composed my simple bill of fare. The place was filled,
after the Hamburg fashion, with edibles of all sorts; things early and
things out of season, dainties not yet in existence or having long
ceased to exist, for the common crowd. In the kitchen they showed us, in
great tanks, huge sea-turtles which lifted their scaly heads above the
water, resembling snakes caught between two platters. Their little horny
eyes looked with uneasiness at the light which was held near them, and
their flippers, like oars of some disabled galley, vaguely moved up and
down, as seeking some impossible escape. I trust that the personnel of
the exhibition changes occasionally.
In the morning I went for my breakfast to an English restaurant, a sort
of pavilion of glass, whence I had a magnificent panoramic view. The
river spread out majestically through a forest of vessels with tall
masts, of every build and tonnage. Steam-tugs were beating the water,
towing sailing-vessels out to sea; others, moving about freely, made
their way hither and thither, with that precision which makes a
steam-boat seem like a conscious being, endowed by a will of its own,
and served by sentient organs.
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