Her deck was thronged with human beings,
filled with impatient curiosity to see the gallant boat launch forth,
and pursue her way over the waste of waters.
Little thought that gaping multitude of the rich freight that was on
board that floating bark, that was now to try its giant strength upon
the billowy waves, the ocean of human mind broader, deeper than the
watery waste of the wide Atlantic. O, no, they thought not of those
priceless treasures, but it was the boat and her noble bearings that
attracted all eyes and was the absorbing theme of conversation.
Near by lay the proud Oregon, apparently boasting that she had tried
her strength, and was now willing to contest the point with the
stranger boat, and be her pilot down the Sound. Her decks, too, were
crowded with passengers anxious for the approaching race, for which
every preparation was making.
The sun was sinking towards the west, and shed his subduing beams over
the face of nature. No cloud hung its fleecy curtains over the canopy
of heaven, but the arch of cerulean blue hung in deep solemn grandeur
over the gathered crowd, over the boats at their moorings, and over
the rippling waves that mirrored back its placid smile from their own
tranquil bosom.
The hour came, the cheerful bells pealed their cordial invitation for
all to come on board, and so they hastened on; the second bell rang
its departure to the multitude on the shore, and soon the sound of the
fierce steam whistle, the noise of the machinery, and the splash of
the waters, told that the boats were moving like a thing of life
over the bounding billows.
Pages:
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208