attention of the Pirate, but made every possible effort in defensive preparations. An hour elapsed, but there was no further symptoms of hostility on her part, and we could not make out what she was about.

She was now within two miles ahead of us, and the captain again ordered the colours to be hoisted, and we were rather surprised to see that she exhibited in return the American flag. It was now concluded that she was a trading ship, and we could, by the aid of our glasses, see that her deck was quite destitute of guns; and the few hands that we saw, convinced us of her being far from what we had suspected her to be.

A boat was immediately sent on board, in order to learn what news she had brought from America. Our friend the purser, the second officer, with three other passengers, went with it, and the account they brought was, that she was an American barque, bound for the African coast, for the purpose of seal fishery: she had no later news than what we had had at St. Helena, and her condition was not worth noticing, and having mistaken us at first for a ship of war, she purposely concealed her colours. A breeze having sprung up at night, we lost sight of her the next morning.

We entered the English Channel with a favorable wind, and on the 20th of August, at five in the afternoon, we descried the land, and in the evening saw the light of the Eddystone lighthouse; and the joy, evinced by all the people on

board on seeing the shores of their native land after such a long and monotonous passage, and the anticipated pleasure of seeing their friends and families after a long privation, may be more readily conceived than described.

We arrived at Dover with a favourable and fresh westerly gale, and it was a beautiful sight to see the ship move at the rate of eight knots an hour with double-reefed topsails; a great many of the passengers left the ship; our friend Mr. Stuart also went on shore to proceed to London, and from thence to send two steamers to tow us into the Thames River. From here we took a pilot on board, and came to anchor at the Nore, with the assistance of a steamer that arrived to tow us.

We should have mentioned, the cliffs at Dover are high and chalky, and the celebrated castle called Dover Castle, is seen standing on the highest part; immediately below it, to the west, is situated the town of Dover. This place is considered of the greatest importance in a military point of view, as it defends the entrance to the rivers Thames and Medway; the fortifications have received many improvements during the last French revolution, and it was made a military station. It has extensive excavated barracks, which would contain upwards of three thousand

men.

The strait of Dover divides England and

France, and the castle is about 21 miles distant from the coast of France, which is in sight.

Here we were greatly surprised to see the amazing number of ships going out and pouring into the Thames, and steamers every now and then running backwards and forwards; we cannot convey to our countrymen any idea of this immense number of vessels, and the beauty of the sight. You will see colliers, timber ships, merchantmen, steamers, and many other crafts, from all parts of the world, hastening, as it were, to seek refuge in a river, which is but a stream compared to the Ganges and the Indus, or the still larger rivers of America. We thought it a great wonder that such a small and insignificant a speck as England appears on the map of the world, can thus attract so many nations of the world towards her; and we asked ourselves, why should not those mighty rivers and countries, which have naturally much better accommodations for commerce than England, be not frequented as much. But a moment's reflection satisfied us on this point-the answer presented itself and we will tell our countrymen that it is the persevering habits of the English, it is the labour and skill of that people, that is the cause of such attraction. They are never satisfied with any one thing unless it is brought to perfection, it does not matter at what sacrifice. They are ever ready to receive improvements, and thus they have

attained that celebrity in their manufactures that countries which grow materials bring them here to be converted into useful things, which are distributed all over the world; and while other countries were satisfied with what they had, England was eager to augment her resources. And how has she effected this? What has been the principal means of her doing it? Why, by knowledge or science put in practice, because knowledge is power; and it is by the power of knowledge alone, and not by the power of arms, that she has so many means of attracting the world to her, and extending the spread of her manufactures: however, this is a digression-we will speak of it another time, and now return to our voyage. Another steamer arrived the next day, and we were taken to Gravesend by their joint efforts. Thus ended our voyage, and we returned thanks to our Creator in thus conducting us safely through the numerous perils of the ocean. Before we take leave of the subject, we have to acknowledge the uniform kindness and attention we received from our good friend Captain Hopkins, as well as the trouble he always took in studying our comforts during the voyage; and we feel equally sensible of the civility we received from his officers, to all of whom we would wish to return our sincere thanks.

CHAPTER II.

ARRIVAL AT GRAVESEND, AND PASSAGE TO

LONDON.

On the 27th of August, 1838, the Buckinghamshire arrived at Gravesend, at five o'clock in the afternoon, and we immediately went on board a commodious steam-vessel belonging to the "Diamond" Company, in order to proceed to London; the distance between these two places is thirty miles. This was the first time we were ever on board a steam-vessel going from one place to another, and we were very much struck with the good accommodations for so short a passage. There are three cabins, or saloons; the one nearest the stern is appropriated to the female passengers (who pay 2s. each for their passage), fitted all round with handsome sofas; and there is also a large cabin adjoining, called the grand saloon, where both males and females, who pay 2s., are mingled together. This is elegantly fitted up; handsome couches all around. A large mirror is over the fire-place, and a number of mahogany tables are distributed about the saloon, which has a most beautiful appearance. There is also a very