THE morning was just breaking, when the cry of "land" was first heard below, and except Harlande not a passenger had as yet left his berth; he indeed, as a sportsman, and as a lover of nature, had from his early childhood been accustomed to rise even before the lark; and many a time had his elastic tread brushed the dew from his own heathclad hills, while the stars were yet glimmering in the cold sky, as he hurried with his favorite dogs to the wild haunts of the moorfowl. Nor had his wonted desire to taste the breath of morning, while it is yet untainted by the pollutions of human life and human sorrow, now deserted him, when his range was confined to the narrow limits of the deck.

They, who are sad in spirit, rarely or never love the pillow, after the earliest dawn has found them watchful. There is something in deep misery, which makes them ever seek for rapid motion rather than for rest, for thrilling excitement rather than for inaction, or ease. The occurrences of the day too frequently influence the imaginations of the night,-the thoughts of the waking mind are too intimately connected with its fantasies, when wrapt in what is so falsely termed the oblivion of sleep,-to suffer the wish for protracted slumbers to dwell in the bosom of the mourner. Who, that has ever felt grief, true, deep, heart-consuming grief, knows not that most wretched sensation of half obscured consciousness, which haunts even the visions of night, whispering that the fancied elysium, in which some dream has lapped the cradled soul, is but a fantastic and unreal shadow? No! The rich, the luxurious, and the happy may turn again upon their downy cushions, and seek a renewal of their repose; but the poor, the oppressed, and the miserable, when they have once started from perturbed and unrefreshing slumber, go forth at once into the sad realities of life, rather than endure the more terrible conceptions, the more bitter disappointments of their sleeping hours.

Painful as were the reflections of the banished youth by day, they were nevertheless easy and agreeable when compared with the thoughts that rendered his rest horrible;-after tossing his feverish limbs from side to side for a few endless hours, as they appeared to him, he would arise, while the skies were yet gray, and go forth to watch the glorious luminary coming up out of the east, and to mark his effect on all the myriads of living beings that cleave the ocean with viewless fins, or fan the air with unnumbered and upnoted pinions. He had been long abroad when that shout was heard; and before one of the eager crowds,-who hurried to the VOL. I.

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deck, burning to catch the first glimpse of their native land,-had appeared, -he had climbed to the head of the giddy topmast, to look out-not in joy, but in deep anxiety-on that land, where he believed his lot was cast, till he should "shuffle off this mortal coil," and till all countrics should be as one, to the inanimate and senseless clod, which once boasted itself a

man.

From the mast-head a long dark bank was visible, scarcely elevated above the tops of the ragged waves when first beheld, but gradually rising more and more distinct against the pale atmosphere, as the good ship close hauled on a stiff breeze breasted the waters with the ease and grace of some bird floating on its native element, till the highlands were clearly seen, even by the naked eye, stretching their continuous line across the near horizon. Winter had set in sharply, and the hills were covered with a deep coating of snow, but the general effect of the scene was nevertheless dark and monotonous, and by the aid of the glass-now in general requisition-it was easy to perceive that the dense forest of pine and brush, which is still spread over the coasts of America, veiled the snowy stratum from which it sprang, except where some occasional clearing of the adventurous settler, or some windrow, swept bare by the breath of the tempest, permitted the eye to penetrate into the bosom of the land. Ere long, a snowy sail was perceived in the distance bearing down upon them, and a moment afterwards a second. "They are the news boats racing for the first intelligence," said the captain-"now you will see, Mr. Harlande,— if you are not too patriotic to own it-such craft as swim not in the seas that gird your island, no! not in the service of your king." And in truth they did come down gallantly, flying over the long swell more like living creatures, than mere machines of wood and iron, now showing the whole of their low and beautifully moulded hulls as they topped the waves, and now buried almost to the tops of their taunt and raking masts, as they plunged into the trough of the sea. It seemed but a moment, from their first appearnce till they hove to, and sent their hardy mariners aboard for the latest news. "I confess the truth of your words,"-cried Harlandethough not much of a seaman, I have been something of a yachter in my day,—readily will I admit that not the proudest peer in the club can show such a model as that boat, even if he were to buy her at her weight in gold! -If they are as good on a trial, as they are beautiful in appearance, no boats in the world can match them,"-"No boats in the world can match them sir," was the answer,-" whether on a wind, or before it!—In the lightest air they will beat the fastest frigate in our navy, and in the heaviest gale, when ably handled, will ride like a duck on a mill pond !"—He had scarcely done speaking, ere the news collectors had performed the object of their visit, were again aboard, had trimmed their sails, and were already under way. It was a glorious sight, to watch them, cutting their way through the heavy sea that was running, their sharp bows almost buried in the spray, which drove over them at every plunge; now stooping to the stiff gale, and now rising again with their white canvas glittering like silver, in the rays of the morning sun. The packet, on which Harlande stood, was noted for her speed;-her best sailing was on a wind ;-nor had the young man been a month on board, without knowing her qualities almost as well as the veteran seaman, who commanded, and loved her almost as if

she were his chosen bride.

What then was his astonishment to see the little schooners shoot from her, like greyhounds from the slip, going at least two points nearer the wind, and leaving her

"As darts the dolphin from the shark,

Or the deer before the hounds."

Scarcely a cable's length apart, and having left the ship at the same instant, they strove to the utmost to weather each other, leaping as it were from sea to sea,-like mettled horses struggling to the goal,—neither gaining any perceptible advantage, till they had sunk into the distance whence they had risen, and whither they had returned like meteors. Hundreds of races had Lindley witnessed, in the narrow channel, and beneath the sheltering heights of lovely Ryde, or woodgirt Cowes:-races between vessels built for the noblest and wealthiest of his land,-manned by crews selected from the ablest seamen, and manœuvered with the nicest skill, yet never had he seen, for the far-famed Cup, so closely contested a trial as this between the two boats, which worked by a few men and boys, were flying to announce the approach, and convey the tidings of the tardier though rapid ship.

The land now rose before and around them; the narrow strip of glittering sand, the stunted trees, the occasional buildings, with their map-like spots of cultivation reclaimed from the barren wilderness, no longer showed like glittering patches on the dark and indistinct horizon, but assumed their natural and definite proportions. It was such a morning as is rarely seen in the denser climate, whence Harlande had so lately departed. From east to west there was not the vestige of a cloud to be seen, he discovered not even a speck of vapour hovering above the land; the whole vault of heaven was as pure and as transparent, as though it had been carved from a vast aquamarine, the sun riding in a blaze of glory, which no eye could brook, on its eastern verge, and casting a flood of light even to the zenith; while the ocean below reflected his broad disk in a long and ragged line, broken into ten thousand fantastic shapes, by the wild vagaries of its billows-the heavy roll of the surf,-so awful to the ears of the mariner when heard beneath the sullen fall of night, with the dread accompaniments of a howling tempest and lee shore,-now came on the fresh breath of morning, like a harbinger of pleasure, and hope; hundreds of gulls were on the wing, now fanning the very crests of the breaking waves, now soaring till their forms were lost in liquid distance, and again swooping, from their pitch with fatal aim, and the lightning's speed, upon their scaly prey. Nor was the the lofty ship as heretofore, alone on the bosom of the deep; many a sail varied the animated scene, from the light coasters of those shores, to the vast and complicated fabrics that now traverse the Atlantic with nearly the same regularity, as the sun performs his daily course. All on board was merriment and joyful anticipation; even those uncongenial souls, who, during the voyage, had shunned all intercourse, beyond a passing civility with their fellows, now opened their hearts and lips, to tell of their anxiety to meet friends, children, parents, wives,-all those ties which bind the heart to the beloved home with tenfold attractions; to be absent from whom renders all happiness incomplete, and to be restored to whose longing arms makes all past toils forgotten, and all future cares unheeded. Nor, in this general burst of feeling, was the young and friendless stranger overlooked; many who had already formed habits of intimacy

with him, expressed their earnest wish, "that those habits might not be suffered to decline iuto formality, now that the accidental circumstances which had induced them were about to pass away ;"-many more who had no thought beyond the impulse of the moment, and who cared not whether they should ever again behold his face, hoped-" that Mr. Harlande would find his way to the house in Bond-street, or the office in Pearl-street,-always glad to see a fellow passenger." Each invitation duly acknowledged, and the full force of each clearly discriminated, Lindley appeared to partake in the exhilaration of those about him, for well did he know that his real feelings would not be comprehended, and that to suffer the grief,-which was gnawing at his heart,-to appear in his countenance, would be but to draw upon himself observation, and perhaps dislike; so apt are men to consider those who do not weep with the mourner, and rejoice with him that rejoiceth, in the light of enemies,-without for a moment considering the causes, which may have saddened the spirit of one, while it has brought balm to the afflictions of the many.

The broad banner of the States, with its stars and stripes, was fluttering proudly from its haulyards at the gaff, while the private signal streamed from the main, wooing the observation of the telegraph, and probably already known on change, in the distant city.-Harlande was standing alone on the quarter-deck, with his eye intently watching, as it seemed, the glancing folds of that "star spangled" flag, though in truth his mind was far away, when, one of the companions of his voyage, a gentleman already far advanced in years,-whose deep-lined brow told the history of many a hardship undergone, while the firm curve of his expressive mouth, no less plainly told that they had been combated by a high and manly spirit,→ touched his elbow-"Even our ship puts on holyday this morning, Mr. Harlande," he said pointing with a kindly smile to the gay bunting"but, if I am as good a judge as I have thought myself, of the mind of man, there is no holyday in your heart!-Come, come"--he proceeded with increased warmth, as he perceived, by the quivering lip of his auditor, that he had struck the true chord-"my young friend-if you will permit me so to call you this must not be!-suffer not your spirit to sink before imaginary evils-life has enough of real misery."-"You know not to whom you speak, sir"-replied Lindley, in a deep suppressed voice-"you know not what are the sorrows to which you allude!--But you mean kindly to me, and I thank you, how you have read my thoughts, I know not, but do you call it an imaginary evil, that there"-pointing to the land-"in that vast, and free, and happy world, to which we are hastening,-I alone shall be solitary and unfriended,-all, but I, are hurrying to the homes of their relations, to their own bright and happy hearths, to their own native land, with all the calls of interest, ambition, and glory, to incite them to exertion; and all the sweet influences of friendship, affection, and love, to sooth in affliction ;--while I, to whom you speak, am torn by hard necessity from all that is most dear to me; am about to be cast away, as it were, on a shore, desert to me alone of all its inhabitants,-homeless, hopeless, and friendless?" It was the first time, he had unburthened his sorrows to a human ear, and now-he knew not wherefore-he felt irresistibly impelled to open the secrets of his heart to the kind old man, who listened with benevolent sympathy to the eloquent sorrows of the stranger. "Not friendless, Mr. Har

lande, do not say friendless!-I am not one to tender my esteem on light grounds, nor do I wish to pry into aught, which prudence, no less than nature, may incline'you to veil,—but I have seen enough of you, sir, in our past sojourn, and I have not observed you lightly, nor am I often deceived in my opinions, to make me wish to see yet more!—I do not ask you, "to make my house your home," for I know that your spirit would disdain a favor from one, with whom you are so slightly acquainted,—but I do beg you, as a personal kindness to an old man, to let me see you very often-I will call on you at your hotel to-morrow, and then we will endeavor to know each other better,-Stop, Mr. Harlande," he continued, as he perceived that he was about to reply-"Give me no confidence now!-your feelings are moved by unexpected attention from a stranger, and your judgment is controlled by your passions; I will hear nothing till to-morrow!--But now, if you want an example by which to cheer your desponding spirits, look before you! Look at America!-Time was-when her vast territories, her endless rivers, and her noble seas, were subject to the dominion of a foreign land. The mother country, proved a step mother! The daughter, for a period lay in the very dust, an oppressed, and a miserable colony !-The hour came, and she arose from her degradation,—and behold her now

"As a fair vestal throned in the West."

Compare her former lowliness, with her present sublimity; think of the difficulties apparently insurmountable, the dangers, the miseries, through which she struggled to fame, and liberty, and power!-But I shall tire you with my sermon, and see we have taken the pilot, and are already passing the Hook; let us ascend the hurricane house and I will be your chaperon and introduce to the country which is to be for a time your home!

"There is the Sandy Hook light, and her beacons-there is the cove, the scene of Mr. Cooper's Water Witch,—you have read it, I doubt not;-but you cannot see the Neck, which,-though so unknown in the days of Queen Anne; is now crossed by many an honest trader, and many a smart sea boat, when the spring tide and heavy weather from the eastward have converted the peninsula into an island.-Now, sir, you see before you our boasted bay, which you may have heard compared to that of Naples, although in truth, there being no similarity, there can be no comparison.-Both are surpassingly beautiful, but their beauty is of an order as distinct as the delicate loveliness of a girl, from the manly charms of her lover, or as the power of the oak, from the pliancy of the willow."

"I have never seen Naples,"-was the reply" but this is lovely-how sweet must be these wood-fringed shores, in spring, or in your many-colored American autumn-how beautiful they are even now, with their glittering icicles, and fringed branches." The ship was flying past the swelling knolls of Staten Island, and was fast nearing the point, where the bold banks jut forward as if to meet the rival heights of Long Island, fortifying the inner bay with the natural bulwarks of liberty.-"You have some powerful batteries, and I doubt not heavy metal there," said Lindley,—as they swept majestically between the dark fort, named after the noblest and the best among the foreign auxiliaries of freedom, the good and gallant Lafayette, and the lower works on the western side of the narrows-" But I am no believer in the strength of batteries-the mightiest safeguard of America, must be the vast space which divides her from all other nations, and the