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ih" A ‘x’LX
:
as if he felt it an jextreme diflicult one to answer. ‘He
was relieved from his embarrassment by Martin himself,
who said, as he stretched himself upon his back again
and resumed the. book he had been reading :
“ But what is the use of my putting such a case to you, i
.when the.vcry.esscnce of what Ihave been saying; is,
.that you cannot ‘by possibility understand it 1% .Make
me a little brandy-and-water-cold and very weak-and
give me a biscuit, and.tell your friend, who is a nearer
neighbour of ours than '1 could wish,‘ to try and keep her
,that’s a good fellow..”- :-
children a little quieter to;-night than she did last night ;
Mr. Tapleyset himself to obelyfthesle ‘orders great
alacrity,s and . pending ytheir ,’ execution, , it may be pre-
sumed his flagging spirits revived: inasmuch as he sev-
eral times observed,.be1ow his breath, that in- respect of‘
its powerof imparting a credit to jollity; the Screw un-
questionably. had somerdecidcd advantages .over the
Dragon. He also remarked, that itwas a high - gratifica-
tion to him to reflect that he would carry its main excel-
lence ashore withihim, and have it constantly beside him
wherever he went ; but what he mcantby these consol-
atorythoughts he did not explain. " w I ‘ - - . f" i I,
And now.a general . excitement began 'to prevail ‘on
board; and yarious,predictions relative to. the precise
‘day, and even the precise hour at which they would reach
New York, were freely broached. There was infinitely
more crowding on deck and looking over the ship's side
than there had been before ; and an epidemic broke out
for. packing up’ things every morning,,which required
unpacking again every night; ,Thoso who had any lot-
ters to deliver, or any-friends’ to,meet, or any settled
plans of going anywhere or doing anything, discussed
thcirvprospects a hundred times a day‘; and as this class
of passengers was very smal1,und the number of those
who had no prospects whatever,-was [very large,vthero
were plenty of listeners and few talkers. . Those who
had been ill all along, got well now, and those who had
been well got better. An'American gentleman in the
after-cabin, who had been wrapped up in fur and oilskin
the whole passage, unexpectedly appeared in avery shiny,
tall, black hat, andconstantly overhauled a very little
valise of pale leather, which contained his clothes, linen,
brushes, shaving apparatus, books, "trinkets, and other
baggage. lle likewise stuck his hands deep into’ his
pockets and walked the deck with his nostrils dilated, as
already inhaling the air of Freedom which carries death
to all tyrants, and can [never under any circumstances
worth mentioning) be, breathe by slaves. H An English
gentlemaurwho was strongly suspected of having run
away from,a bank, with something in his possession be-
, longincr to its strong box besides the key, rew eloquent
upon t e subject ofgthe rights of man, an bummed the
Marseillaise Hymn constantly. . In a word, one great sen-
sationpervadcd the whole ship, and the soil of America
lay close before them : so close at last,,that, upona cer-
tain starlight might, they; .took a .pilot on board, and
within a few hours afterwards, lay to unti1.the morning,
awaiting thc,arrival,of asteamboat in which the pas-
sengers were to beconveyed ashore: . r ' " 4
Off she came, soon after it was. light next morning,
and, lying alongside. an hour, or more--during which
period her very firemen were objects of hardly less in-'
terest and curiosit-y,5than "if they had been so many
angels, good or bad,-took all her living freight, aboard.’
Among them, Mark, who still had his friend. and her
three children under his close protection; and Martin,
who had once more dressed himself inhis usual attire,
but were a soiled, oldcloalr above his ordinary clothes,
until such time at he should separate for ever from his
late cornpzmionss ’ - ; r V V
The steamer-which, with its machinery on deck,
looked, as it worked its long slim legs, like some enor-
mouslyinagnificd insect orantcdiluvian monster-dashed
at great speed up a. beautiful bay: and presently they
saw some heights, and islands, and‘ a long, fiat, strag-
gling city. ’ -r . '
“ And this,” said Mr. Tapley, looking far ahead, ‘‘is
the Land of Liberty, is it? Very well. vl’m agreeable.‘
Any land will do for me after so much water I’ '
D
ZIIARTIN UHUZZLEWIT. T
' Mark twisted his face into a tight knot, and with his H
hcad very much on one side pondered upon this question ‘
I
1021
r T CHAPTER "XVI; '
Harlin diisevnbarl-is‘ from that noble and fast-sailing Line-of-1mcK'et
Ship. The Screw, at the Port of New )'orl', in tire Ilniled Sralrs
Izf America. He nza.l:52.9-vo77ze Acquaiiztanws, and dams at a Board-
iny-house. The Partzcularsqf those T7'ansactton5. ‘
SOME trifling excitement prevailed upon the very brink
and margin of the land of liberty ; for-an alderman’ had
been elected the day‘ before ;‘a.ud Party Feeling natu-
rallyrrunning rather. high on such an exciting occasion,
the friends of ‘the disappointed candidate had found it
necessary to assert the great principles of Purity of Elec-
tion and Freedom of Opinion by breaking a few legs and
arms, and furthermore pursuing one obnoxious gentle-
man’ through the streets with the design of slitting‘ his
nose. These good-hurnoured little outbursts of- the
popular fancy were not in themselves sufliciently remark-
able to' create any great stir after the lapse of a whole
night; but they found fresh life and notoriety in the
breath of the news-boys, who notronlyiproclaimcdthcm
with shrill‘-yellsin all the highways and byeways of
the town, upon ‘the wharves and among the shipping,
but on the‘ deck and down in the cabins of the steam-
boat; which, before she touched the shore, was boarded
and overrun by a. legion of those young citizens.
r -“ Hcre’s this morning's New York Sewer l” cried one.
.“ Here's this morning’s New York Stabbcr l llcrc’s the
New York Family Spy 1 Here’s the New York’ Private
Listener! Here's ‘the New-York4Peepcrl Ilcre’s the
New York ‘Plunder l vHere’s the New York Keyhole
Reporter 1 Here’s - the New York Rowdy Journal l
Here's all the New York papers I Here's full particulars
of the patrioticlocofoco movement yesterday, in which
the whigs was-so chawcd up; and the last7>A1abama.
gouging case ;,aud the‘ interesting Arkansas dooel with
Bowie knives ;'-and all the Political,‘ Commercial, and
Fashionable 'News. Here. they arel ‘Here they arcl
lIere’s the papers, hcre’s the papers I’’ '
-' “ Here’s, the Sewer l ” cried another. - "Here’s the
New York Sewer I Herc,-’s some of the twelftlrthousand
of to-day’s Sewer, with the best accounts of the mar-
kets, and all the shipping news, and four whole columns
of country correspondence, and ‘a full account: of the
Ball at Mrs.‘ ,White’s last night, where all the beauty
and fashion of New York was assembled ; ' with tho
Scwer’s own particulars of the private lives of all the
ladies that was there I Here's the Sewer l Hcrc’s some
of twelfth thousand of the New York Sewcrl Here's
the Scwcr’s exposure of the ‘Vail Street Gang, and the
Sewer’s exposure’ of v the lVashington Gang; and tho
Sewer’s exclusive account of a flagrant act of dishonesty
committed by the Secretary of the State whcn.hc was
eight years old ; now communicated, at a great expense,
by his own nurse. Here’s the Sewer I Hcre’s the New
York Sewer, in its twelfth thousand, with a whole col-
umn of New Yorkers to be shown up, and all their
names printed] Here's’ the Sewer’s article upon the
J udgo that-tried him, day afore yesterday, for libel, and
the Sewer’s tribute to the independent Jury that didn’t
convict him, and the Sewer’s account of what they
might have expected if they had! Here's the Sewer,
here's thc>Sewerl llere’s the wide-awake Sewer; al-
ways on the look-out ; the leading Journal of the United
States, now in its twelfth thousand, and still a printing
off :-Here's the New York Sewer!” ' r " ' H ‘ '
“ It is in such enlightened mcans,”, said a voice almost
in‘Martin’s ear, “ that the bubbling passions of my coun-
try find a vent I" A - ' ’
Martin turned involutarily, and saw, standing close at
his side, a sallow gentleman, with sunken checks, black
hair, small twinkling eyes, and a singular expression hov-
ering about that region ‘of his face, which was not 9.
I frown, not a leer, and yet might have been mistaken at
first glance for either. Indeed, it would have been diffi-
cult, on a much closer acquaintance, to describe it in any
more satisfactory terms ‘than as a mixed expression of
vulgar cunning and conceit. This gentleman wore a
rather broad-brirmned hat for the greater wisdom of his
appearance ; and had his arms folded for the greater im-
pressivcnessof his attitude.‘ ‘He was somewhat sliabbily
dressed in a blue surtout reaching nearly to his ankles,
short looso trousers of the same colour, and a faded buff