I augured ill of the attempt, and was watching her movements, when, either impelled by an innate love of liberty, or lured by some fragrant odour borne on the air from the distant woods of Florida, she made a bold flight in the direction of the land, and fell into the sea a little distance a-head of the ship.
Poll was a favourite, and Captain Collins a kind-hearted man: the Shakspeare was brought by the wind, and various efforts made to near the silly bird; but all in vain: we went rapidly past her, and left her to the fate her presumption had courted. The efforts the little creature made to approach the vessel were incessant, and almost painful to regard: from the instant she touched the waves, her head was kept to the ship, which she strove to regain by flapping along the surface with her maimed short-clipped pinions. I felt that I could have saved her; and only for shame, and the great trouble it would have necessarily caused, I should assuredly have slipped over the side after the miserable little fool.
Our fair wind sticks to us, and the gulf-stream is calculated to be from three to three miles and a half in our favour; so that we are making short work of it. All alive and well.
_Tuesday, 7th._--We last night got inside the Hook, but were blown off, not being able to get a pilot. We are now thrashing at it with a bitter head-wind. A great number of ships of all kinds are beating through the bay, as well as numbers coming out with it all their own way. The Shakspeare proves worthy the name, as she weathers and goes a-head of every craft beating with us. A very smart ship, called the "Washington Irvine," held our Billy a stout tug, but, after reading the name as she went about a-head of us for many turns, we at last crawled to windward, and Shakspeare took the lead, as even the "Washington Irvine" must admit was perfectly proper.
At the quarantine station we landed our sick passenger, and were permitted to proceed. By four P.M. I once more set my foot on the dock-side of New York, after an absence of five months, and felt as though I had again reached home.
Let me here remark, that during these five months I had travelled through the roughest part of these States in every sort of conveyance, and had been thrown amongst all classes of the community, yet never received one rude word or encountered an inconvenience, save those inseparable from the condition of the roads. Even the Southern mail, the discomforts of which I have painted exactly as I experienced them, I must in fairness admit is well managed, when the difficulties to be encountered at the season of my journey are justly taken into consideration. Their object is to get on; this, as long as possible, at any risk, they are bound to do. It will be seen that, when a coach cannot be dragged through, they nail a few boards on the axle, and proceed with this lighter and less ticklish vehicle: it is true the passengers suffer much; but only those exceedingly desirous to proceed travel at such times, and without such a resort the machinery must stand still.