Rollo on the Atlantic

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UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL

00022092502

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2013

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PREFACE

In the series of narratives to which his vol-
ume pertains, we offer to the readers of the
RoUo Books a continuation of the history of
our little hero, by giving them an account of
the adventures which such a boy may be sup-
posed to meet with in making a tour in Europe.
The books are intended to be books of instruc-
tion rather than of mere amusement; and in
perusing them, the reader may feel assured
that all the information which they contain,
not only in respect to the countries visited, and
to the customs, usages, and modes of life that
are described, but also in regard to the general
character of the incidents and adventures that
the young travelers meet with, is in most strict
accordance with fact. The main design of the
narrative is, thus, the communication of use-
ful knowledge ; and everything which they con-
tain, except what is strictly personal, in rela-
tion to the actors in the story, may be
depended upon as exactly and scrupulously
true.

3

95B479

PRINCIPAL PERSONS OF THE STORY.

RoLLO : twelve years of age.

Mr. and Mrs. Holiday : Rollo's father and mother, trav-
eling in Europe.
Thanny: RoUo's younger brother.

Jane: Rollo's cousin, adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Holiday.
Mr. George: a young gentleman, RoUo's uncle.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE, PAOB.

I. Taking Passage 7

II. The Embarkation 22

III. Departure 38

IV. Getting Settled 50

V. On Deck 63

VI. A Conversation 75

VII. Incidents 90

VIII. The Storm 109

IX. The Passengers' Lottery 128

X. The End of the Lottery 149

XL The Arrival 160

6

\

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

CHAPTER I.

TAKING PASSAGE.

When RoUo was about twelve years of age,
he made a voyage to Europe under rather ex-
traordinary circumstances. He went alone;
that is to say, he had no one to take care of
him. In fact, in addition to being obliged to
take care of himself, he had also his little sis-
ter Jane to take care of; for she went with
him.* The way it happened that two such
children were sent to sea on such a long voy-
age, without any one to have them in charge,
was this :

Rollo's father and mother had gone to
Europe to make a tour, a year before this
time, and had taken Rollo's brother Nathan,
or Thanny, as Rollo used most frequently to
call him, with them. They had gone partly

*It ought here to be stated, that Jane was not really
Rollo's sister, though he always called her and consid-
ered her so. She was really his cousin. Her father and
mother had both died when she was about six years old,
and then Mr. and Mrs. Holiday had adopted her as their
own child, so that ever since that time she had lived
with Rollo and Nathan as their sister. She was very
nearly of the same age with Nathan.

7

8 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

for pleasure, but more especially on account of
Mr. Holiday's health, which was not good. It
was thought that the voyage, and the recrea-
tion and pleasure of traveling in Europe, would
be a benefit to him. In certain cases where a
person's health is impaired, especially when
one is slowly recovering from past sickness,
nothing is found to have a more beneficial
effect upon the patient than for him to go away
somewhere and have a good time. It was de-
termined to try the effect of this remedy upon
Mr. Holiday, and so he went to Europe. Mrs.
Holiday went with him. They took Thanny,
too, to be company for them on the way.
Thanny was at this time about seven years
old.

A child of that age, for a traveling compan-
ion, is sometimes a source of great pleasure,
and sometimes, on the other hand, he is the
means of great annoyance and vexation. This
depends upon whether he is obedient, patient,
quiet, and gentle in his manners and demeanor,
or noisy, inconsiderate, wilful, and intractable.
A great many children act in such a manner,
whenever they take a journey or go out to ride
with their parents, that their parents, in self
defense, are obliged to adopt the plan of almost
always contriving to leave them behind.

It was not so, however, with Nathan. He
was an excellent boy in traveling, and always
made the ride or the journey more .pleasant
for those who took him with them. This was
the reason why, when it was determined that
Mr. and Mrs. Holiday should go to England,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 9

that Mrs. Holiday was very desirous that Na-
than should go, too. And so far as Nathan
was concerned, the voyage and the tour proved
to be all that Mr. and Mrs. Holiday expected
or desired. In regard to other points, how-
ever, it was less successful. Mr. Holiday did
not improve in health, and he did not have a
good time. Mrs. Holiday was anxious about
her husband's health, and she was uneasy, too,
at being separated so long from her other two
children — RoUo and little Jane, especially lit- ^
tie Jane — whom she had learned to love as if
she were really her daughter. So, before the
year was ended, they both heartily Wished
themselves back in America again.

But now Mr. Holiday's health grew worse,
and he seemed too ill to return. This was in
the month of May. It was decided by the
physician, that it would not be best for him to
attempt to return until September, and per-
haps not until the following spring. Mrs. Hol-
iday was herself very much disappointed at
this result. She, however, submitted to it very
cheerfully. J|rJ rnii<;t be as good as Thanny, "
said she. * gayskbmits patiently to his disap-
pointments, and why should not I submit to
mine. His are as great, I suppose, for him to
bear as mine are for me. "

When Mrs. Holiday found that she could not
go to her children, she began to be very desir-
ous that her children should come to her. She
was at first almost afraid to propose such a
thing to her husband, as she did not see how
any possible plan could be formed for bringing

10 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

RoUo and Jane across the wide and boisterous
Atlantic alone. She, however, at length one
day asked Mr. Holiday whether it would not
be possible in some way to accomplish it.

Mr. Holiday seemed half surprised and half
pleased when he heard this proposal. At first
he did not appear to know exactly what to say,
or even to think. He sat looking into the fire,
which was blazing in the grate before him,
lost apparently in a sort of pleasing abstrac-
tion. There was a faint smile upon his coun-
tenance, but he did not speak a word.

**That is an idea!" he said, at length, in a
tone of satisfaction. **That is really an idea!*'

Mrs. Holiday did not speak. She awaited in
silence, and with no little anxiety, the result
of her husband's meditations.

**That is really quite an idea!*' he said at
length. **Let us get RoUo and Jane here, and
then we shall feel entirely easy, and can re-
turn to America whenever we get ready, be it
sooner or later. We shall be at home at once
where we are. ' '

**I suppose it will cost something to have
them come over," said Mrs. Holiday. She
was not so anxious to have the children come
as to desire that the question should be decided
without having all the objections fully consid-
ered. Besides, she was afraid that if the ques-
tion were to be decided hastily, without proper
regard to the difficulties that were in the way,
there would be danger that it would be recon-
sidered after more mature reflection, and the
decision reversed. So she wished that every-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 11

thing that could be brought against the project
should be fully taken into the account at the
outset.

'*I suppose," said she, *'that their expenses
in coming out, and in returning, and in remain-
ing here with us, in the interim, would amount
to a considerable sum.'*

**Yes,** said Mr. Holiday, **but that is of no
consequence."

**I don't know what we should do about hav-
ing them taken care of on the passage, ** added
Mrs. Holiday.

*'0, there would be no diJBficulty about that, "
said Mr. Holiday. George could easily find
some passenger coming out in the ship, who
would look after them while at sea, I have no
doubt. And if he should not find any one, it
would be of no consequence. Rollo could take
care of himself. *'

**And of Jane, too?" asked Mrs. Holiday.

•*Yes," replied Mr. Holiday, '*and of Jane,
too; that is, with the help of the chamber-
maids. They have excellent chambermaids on
board the Atlantic steamers."

So it was concluded to send for Rollo and
Jane to embark on board the steamer at New
York, and sail for Europe. Mr. Holiday wrote
to Rollo's uncle George, requesting him to
make the necessary arrangements for the voy-
age, and then to take the children to New
York, and put them on board. He was to com-
mit them, if possible, to the charge of some
one of the passengers on board the ship. If,
for any reason, he should not succeed in find-

12 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

ing any passenger to take care of them, he was
to state the case to the captain of the ship,
that he might see to them a little from time to
time ; and, in addition to this, he was to put
them tinder the special charge of one of the
chambermaids, promising her that she should
be well rewarded for her services, on the ar-
rival of the ship in Liverpool.

The important tidings of the determination
which had been made, that Rollo and Jane
should actually cross the Atlantic, were first
announced to the children one evening near
the end of May. They were eating their sup-
per at the time, seated on a stone seat at the
bottom of the garden, where there was a
brook. Their supper, as it consisted of a
bowl of bread and milk for each, was very
portable, and they had accordingly gone
down to their stone seat to eat it, as they
often did on pleasant summer evenings. The
stone seat was in such a position that the set-
ting sun shone very cheerily upon it. On this
occasion, Rollo had finished his milk, and was
just going down to the brook by a little path
which led that way, in order to see if there
were any fishes in the water; while Jane was
giving the last spoonful of her milk to their
kitten. On the stone near where Jane was sit-
ting was a small bird-cage. This cage was one
which Jane used to put her kitten in. The
kitten was of a mottled color, which gave to
its fur somewhat the appearance of spots ; and
so J ane called the little puss her tiger. As it
War> obviously proper that a tiger should be

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 13

kept in a cage, Jane had taken a canary bird-
cage, which she found one day in the garret,
and had used it to put the kitten in. As she
took the precaution never to keep the prisoner
shut up long at a time, and as she almost
always fed it in the cage, the kitten generally
made no objections to going in whenever Jane
desired it.

**Here comes uncle George," said Rollo.

Jane was so busy pouring the spoonful of
milk through the bars of the cage into a little
shallow basin, which she kept for the purpose
within, that she could not look up.

*' He is coming down through the garden,"
said Rollo; "and he has got a letter in his
hand. It's from mother, I know."

So saying, Rollo began to caper about with
delight, and then ran off to meet his uncle.

Jane finished the work of pouring out the
milk as soon as possible, and then followed
him. They soon came back again, however,
accompanying their uncle, and conducting him
to the stone seat, where the children sat down
to hear the letter.

** Rollo," said Mr. George, **how should you
like to go to England?"

**To go to England?" said Rollo, in a tone of
exultation; **very much, indeed."

'* Should you dare to go alone?" said Mr.
George; ''that is, with nobody to take care of
you?"

•*Yes, indeed!" said Rollo, emphatically.
••I should not need anybody to take care of
me."

14

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

**I don't know but you will have togo, "
said Mr. George; *'and not only take care of
yourself, but of Jane besides/*

*'Why, am I to go, too?" asked Jane. As
she said this, she began to look quite alarmed.

*'How should you like the plan?" said Mr.
George.

**0, I should not dare to go, *' said Jane,
shaking her head with a very serious air. **I
should not dare to go at all, unless I had some-
body to take care of me bigger than Rollo. "

**Ha!" exclaimed Rollo, ''I could take care
of you perfectly well. I could buy the tickets
and show you down to supper, and help you
over the plank at the landings, and everything
else."

Rollo's experience of steamer life had been
confined to trips on Long Island Sound, or up
and down the Hudson River.

**I suppose you would be dreadfully sick on
the way," said Mr. George.

'*0, no," said Rollo, should not be sick.
What's the use of being sick? Besides, I never
am sick in a steamboat."

**No," said Jane, shaking her head and look-
ing quite anxious; *'I should not dare to go
with you at all. I should not dare to go unless
my mother were here to go with me ; or my
father, at least."

**I am afraid you will have to go," said Mr.
George, ** whether you are afraid to or not."

**That I shall have to go?" repeated Jane.

•'Yes," replied Mr. George. **Your father
has written me that he is not well enough to

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC, 15

come home, and I am to send you and Rollo
out in the next steamer. So that you see you
have nothing to say or to do about it. All you
have to do is to submit to destiny."

Jane did not know very precisely what was
meant by the phrase, submitting to destiny ;
but she understood very well that, in this case,
it meant that she must go to England to join
her father and mother, whether she liked the
the plan or not. She was silent a moment,
and looked very thoughtful. She then put
forth her hand to her kitten, which was just at
that moment coming out of the cage, having
finished drinking the milk which she had put
there for it, and took it into her lap, saying at
the same time :

**Well, then, I will go; only you must let me
take my Tiger with me. * *

*'That you can do," said Mr. George. **I am
very willing to compromise the matter with
you in that way. You can take Tiger with
you, if you choose. * '

**And the cage, too?" said Jane, putting her
hand upon the ring at the top of it.

**Yes," said Mr. George, **and the cage, too."

**Well!" said Jane, speaking in a tone of
great satisfaction and joyousness, **then 1 will
go. Get into the cage, Tiger, and we'll go
and get ready."

The steamer was to sail in about a week
from this time. So Mr. George proceeded
immediately to New York to engage passage.
When Rollo's aunt, who had had the care of
him and Jane during the absence of Mr. and

16 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

Mrs. Holiday, heard how soon the steamer
would sail, she said that she did not think
that that would afford time enough to get the
children ready.

**0, it takes no time," said Mr. George, •'to
get people ready to go to Europe. Put into
a trunk plenty of plain common clothing for
the voyage, and the work is done. As for the
rest, people can generally find pretty much
everything they want on the other side."

Mr. George went to New York to engage the
passage for the children. And inasmuch as
many of the readers of this book who reside
in the country may never have had the oppor-
tunity of witnessing the arrangements con-
nected with Atlantic steamers, they may per-
haps like to know how this was done. In the
first place, it was necessary to get a permit to
go on board the ship. The crowds of people
in New York, who are always going to and
fro, are so great, and the interest felt in these
great steamships is so strong, that if everybody
were allowed free access and egress to them,
the decks and cabins of the vessels would be
always in confusion. So they build a bar-
ricade across the great pier at which the ships
lie, with ponderous gates, one large one for
carts and carriages, and another smaller one
for people on foot, opening through it, and no
one is admitted without a ticket. Mr. George
went to the office in Wall Street and procured
such a ticket, wliich one of the clerks in at-
tendance there gave him, on his saying that

ROtLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 11

he wished to go on board to select a state room
for some passengers.

Provided with this ticket, Mr. George took
an omnibus at Wall Street and rode up to
Canal Street. At Canal Street he took another
omnibus, which carried him nearly to the
East River. There he left the omnibus, and
proceeded the rest of the way on foot. The
crowd of people on the sidewalks going and
coming, and of carts, drays, wagons, and
coaches in the street, was immense. There
was one crossing where, for some time, Mr.
George could not get over^ so innumerable
and closely wedged together were the vehicles
of all descriptions that occupied the way.
There were many people that were stopped
with him on the sidewalk. Among them was
a servant girl, with a little boy under her
charge, whom she was leading by the hand.
The girl looked very anxious, not knowing how
to get across the street.

'*Let me carry the child across for you, *' said
Mr. George.

So saying he took the child up gently, but
quickly, in his arms, and watching a momen-
tary opening in the stream of carriages, he
pressed through, the servant girl following
him. He set the boy down upon the sidewalk.
The girl said that she was very much obliged
to him, indeed: and then Mr. George went on.

Just then a small and ragged boy held out
his hand, and with a most woe-begone expres-
sion of countenance and a piteous tone of voice,
begged Mr. George to give him a few pennies,

2 Atlantic

1§ ROLLO on the ATLANTIC.

to keep him from starving. Mr. George took
no notice of him, but passed on. A moment
afterward he turned round to look at the boy
again. He saw him take a top out of his
pocket, and go to spinning it upon the side-
walk, and then, suddenly seeing some other
boys, the young rogue caught up his top and
ran after them with shouts of great hilarity
and glee. He was an imposter. Mr. George
knew this when he refused to give him any
money.

Mr. George then went on again. He came,
at length, to the great gates which led to the
pier. There was a man just within the gate,
walking to and fro, near the door of a sort
of office, or lodge, which he kept there. Mr.
George attempted to open the gate.

*' Please show your ticket, sir,*' said he.

Mr. George took out his ticket and gave it to
the porter, whereupon the porter opened the
gate and let him in.

Mr. George found himself under an enor-
mous roof, which spread itself like a vast
canopy over his head, and extended from side
to side across the pier. Under this vast shed
laborers were wheeling boxes and bales of
merchandise to and fro, while small steam
engines of curious forms and incessant activity
were at work hoisting coal on board the ships
from lighters alongside, and in other similar
operations. There were two monstrous steam-
ships lying at this pier, one on each side. Mr.
George turned toward the one on the left
There was v. long flight of steps leading up

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 19

from the pier to the decks of this ship. It was
formed by a staging, which extended from the
pier to the bulwarks of the ship, like a stair-
case, with a railing on each side. Mr. George
ascended these steps to the bulwarks, and
thence descended by a short flight of steps to
the deck itself, and then went along the deck
till he came to the door leading to the cabins.

He found within quite a number of cabins,
arranged on different floors, like the different
stories of a house. These cabins were very
resplendent with gilding and carving, and
were adorned with curtains and mirrors on
every side. They presented to Mr. George,
as he walked through them, a very imposing
spectacle. Along the sides of them were a
great many little bed rooms, called state
rooms. These state rooms were all very beau-
tifully finished, and were furnished with every
convenience which passengers could require.
Mr, George selected two of these state rooms.
They were two that were adjoining to each
other, and they were connected by a door.
There were two beds, or rather bed places, in
each state room, one above the other. Mr.
George chose the lower berth in one state
room for Rollo, and the lower one in the next
state room for Jane. When he had chosen
the berths in this manner, he wrote the name
of each of the children on a card, and then
pinned the cards up upon the curtains of the
respective berths.

''There!" said he. ''That is all right. Now
perhaps some lady will take the other berth

20

ROLLO ON THE AtLANTIC

in Jane's room, and some gentleman that in
Rollo's. Then they will both have company
in their rooms. Otherwise I must find some-
body to take care of them both."

Mr. George then left the ship and went back
to the office in Wall Street, to engage the
berths and pay the passage money. The office
was spacious and handsomely furnished, and
there were several clerks in it writing at
desks.

There were two rooms, and in the back room
was a table, with large plans of the ship upon
it, on which all the cabins and state rooms of
the several deciis were represented in their
proper positions. The names of the various
passengers that had engaged passage in the
ship were written in the several state rooms
which they had chosen. The clerk wrote the
names. Master Holiday and Miss Holiday, in
the state rooms which lAr. George pointed out
to him, and, when he had done so, Mr. George
looked over all :.he other names that had been
written in before, to see if there were any
persons whom he knew among them. To his
great gratification he found that there were
several such.

**Yes," said he, as he rose up from the exam-
ination of the plan, ** there are several gentle-
men there who will be very ready, under the
circumstances of the case, to do Mr. Holiday
the favor of looking after his children during
the voyage."

Being thus, in a measure, relieved of all solic-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 21

itude, Mr. George walked about the room a
few minutes, examining the pictures of the
several steamers of the line which were hang-
ing on the walls, and then went away.

22 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

CHAPTER 11.

THE EMBARKATION.

The time fixed for the sailing of the steamer
was on Tuesday morning; and Mr. George,
in order to have time to communicate with
some of the gentlemen to whose care he in- *
tended to intrust the two children, planned
his journey to New York so as to arrive there
in good season on Monday. He supposed that
he should be able, without any difficulty, to
find one or the other of them in the afternoon
or evening of that day.

'*And if worst comes to the worst,** added
he to himself, in his reflections on the subject,
**I can certainly find them at the ship, by going
on board an hour or two before she sails, and
watching the plank as the passengers come up
from the pier.**

Worst did come to the worst, it seems ; for
when Mr. George came home at nine o'clock
in the evening, on Monday, and RoUo came
up to him very eagerly in the parlor of the
boarding house, to ask him whom he had
found to take charge of them, he was forced
to confess that he had not found any one.

**I am glad of it!** exclaimed Rollo, joyfully.
'*I am glad of it! I like it a great deal bet-
ter to take care of ourselves."

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 23

He then began dancing about the room, and
finally ran off in great glee, to inform Jane
of the prospect before them. Rollo was very
ambitious of being considered a man.

He found Jane sitting on the stairs with
another child of her own age, that she had
become acquainted with at the boarding house ;
for it was at a boarding house, and not at a
hotel, that Mr. George had taken lodgings for
his party. This child's name was Lottie;
that is, she was commonly called Lottie, though
her real name was Charlotte. She was a beau-
tiful child, with beaming black eyes, a radiant
face and dark glossy curls of hair hanging down
upon her neck. Jane and Lottie were playing
together in a sort of recess at a landing of the
stairs, where there was a sofa and a window.
They had Tiger and the cage with them. The
door was open and Tiger was playing about
the cage, going in and out at her pleasure.

'*Jane,*' said Rollo, **uncle George cannot
find anylDody to take care of you, and so I am
going to take care of you. * '

Jane did not answer.

**Are you going to England?" asked Lottie.

•*Yes," replied Jane, mournfully; **and
there is nobody to go with us, to take care
of us.'*

*'I went to England once," said Lottie.
**Did you?" asked Jane; *'and did you go
across the Atlantic Ocean?"
**Yes," said Lottie.

** Of course she did," Sraid Rollo; '* there is
jio other way."

24 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

**And how did you get along?** said Jane.

*'0, very well,** said Lottie; '*we had a very
good time playing about the decks and cabins."

Jane felt somewhat reassured by these dec-
larations of Lottie, and she even began to think
that if there was nothing to be done in cross-
ing the Atlantic but to play about the decks
and cabins all the way, there was a possibility
that Rollo might be able to take care of her.

"My uncle is going on a voyage, too, to-
morrow,** added Lottie.

**What uncle?*' asked Jane.
, '*My uncle Thomas,'* said Lottie. ''He
lives in this house. He is packing up his trunk
now. He is going to Charleston. I wish I
were going with him.'*

**Do you like to go to sea?** asked Jane.

**Yes,** said Lottie, pretty well. I like to
see the sailors climb up the masts and rig-
ging ; and I like the cabins, because there are
so many sofas in them, and so many places to
hide.'*

Little Jane felt much less uneasiness at the
idea of going to sea after hearing Lottie give
such favorable accounts of her own experience.
Still she was not entirely satisfied. As for
Rollo, his eagerness to go independent of all
supervision did not arise wholly from vanity
and presumption. He was now twelve years
of age, and that is an age which fairly qualifies
a boy to bear some considerable burdens of
responsibility and duty. At any rate, it is an
age at which it ought to be expected that the
powers and characteristics of manhood should,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 25

at least, begin to be developed. It is right,
therefore, that a boy at that age should begin
to feel something like a man, and to desire that
opportunities should arise for exercising the
powers which he finds thus developing them-
selves and growing stronger every day within
him.

The fact that Lottie's uncle Thomas was
going to embark for Charleston on the same
day that had been fixed for Rollo's embarka-
tion for Europe might seem at first view a very
unimportant circumstance. It happened, how-
ever, that it led, in fact, to very serious conse-
quences. The case was this. It is necessary,
however, first to explain, for the benefit of
those readers of this book who may never have
had opportunities to become acquainted with
the usages of great cities, that there are two
separate systems in use in such cities for the
transportation respectively of baggage, and
of persons, from place to place. For bag-
gage and parcels, there are what are called
expresses. The owners of these expresses
have offices in various parts of the city, where
books are kept, in which a person may go and
have an entry made of any trunk, or bag, or
other package which he may wish to have con-
veyed to any place. He enters in the book
what the parcel is, where it is, and where he
wishes to have it taken. The express man
then, who has a great number of wagons
employed for this purpose, sends for the parcel
by the first wagon that comes in.

For persons who wish to be conveyed from

26 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

place to place, there are carriages all the time
standing at certain points by the sides of the
streets, ready for any one who calls them, and
there are also stables where carriages are
always in readiness. Now, it so happened
that Lottie's uncle Thomas had concluded to
have his trunk taken down to the Charleston
ship by the express, intending to walk to the
pier himself from his office, which was in the
lower part of the city, not far from the pier
where his ship was lying. So he went to an
express office, and there, at his dictation, the
clerk made the following entry in his book —

Trunk at 780 Broadway, to steamer Caro-
lina, Pier No. 4, North River. To-morrow, at
half past nine o'clock.

On the other hand, Mr. George, as he
required a carriage to take the children down,
did not go to the express office at all. He
intended to take their trunk on the carriage.
So he went to the stable, and there, at his
dictation, the clerk made on the book there the
following entry —

Carriage at 780 Broadway. To-morrow, at
half past nine o'clock.

In accordance with this arrangement, there-
fore, a little after nine o'clock, both the trunks
were got ready at the boarding house, each in
its own room. The chambermaid in Rollo's
room, when she saw that the trunk was ready,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

27

offered to carry it down, which, as she was a
good strong Irish girl, she could very easily
do. She accordingly took it up in her arms and
carried it down stairs to the front entry, and
put it down near the door. One of the waiters
of the house was standing by when she did this.

•*What is that, Mary?" said he.

*'It is a trunk to go to the steamer, ' ' said
Mary. *' There is a man coming for it pretty
soon "

She meant, of course, that it was to go to
the Liverpool steamer, and the man who was
to come for it was the driver of the carriage
that Mr. George had engaged. She knew
nothing about any other trunk, as the room
which Lottie's uncle occupied was attended by
another chambermaid.

«

Mary, having deposited the trunk in its
place, returned up stairs, to assist in getting
RoUo and Jane ready. A moment afterward
the express man, whom Lottie's uncle had sent
for his trunk rang the door bell. The waiter
opened the door.

**I came for a trunk," said the man, **to take
to the steamer.**

**Yes," said the waiter. **Here it is, all
ready. They have just brought it down."

So the express man took up the trunk, and,
carrying it out, put it on his wagon; then,
mounting on his seat, he drove away.

Five minutes afterward, the carriage, which
Mr. George had engaged arrived at the door.
Mr. George and the children came down the

^ ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

stairs. Mr. George, as soon as he reached the
lower hall, inquired, —
Where is the trunk

**The man has taken it, sir, *' said he.

**Ah, he has, has he? That is all right."

So Mr. George and the children got into the
carriage, the driver holding the door open for
them as they did so. As the drivei was about
to shut the door, Mr. George said, —

** Steamer Pacific, foot of Canal Street."

The driver, taking this for his direction,
mounted his box, and drove rapidly away.

When the party arrived at the gates which
led to the pier they found a great concourse
of people and a throng of carts and carriages
blocking up the way. The great gate was open,
and a stream of carriages containing passen-
gers, and of carts and express wagons convey-
ing baggage, was pouring in. Mr. George's
carriage was admitted, at length, in its turn,
and drove on until it came opposite the long
stairway which led on board the ship. Here
it stopped, and Mr. George and the children
got out.

Where is the trunk?" said Mr. George,
looking before and behind the carriage.
**Why, where is the trunk? You have lost the
trunk off of the carriage, driver, in coming
down. ' *

'*No, sir," said the driver; ** there was no
trunk."

** There certainly was," said Mr. George;
**and they told me that you had put it on."
*'No» sir," said the driver. **Tbis is the

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 29

first time I have heard anything about any
trunk. * *

Mr. George was now quite seriously alarmed.

He looked about this way and that, and did
not seem to know what to do. In the mean-
time the line of carriages from behind pressed
on, and the drivers of them began to call out
to clear the way. Mr. George found himself
compelled to decide upon something very
promptly.

** Drive over to the other side of the pier,"
said he, '*and wait there till I come.**

Then, taking the two children by the hand,
he began to lead them up a long plank by
which the people were going on board.

Mr. George said nothing, but continued to
lead the children along, the throng before and
behind them being so dense that they could
not see at all where they were going. When
they reached the top of the stairway, they
descended by a few steps, and so came on
board. The children then found themselves
moving along what seemed a narrow passage
way, amid crowds of people, until at length
they came to a short and steep flight of steps,
which led up to what seemed to Jane a sort of
a roof. The balustrade, or what served as
balustrade for these steps, was made of rope,
and painted green. By help of this rope, and
by some lifting on the part of Mr. George,
Rollo and Jane succeeded in getting up, and,
at length, found themselves in a place where
they could see.

They were on what was called the promenade

30 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

deck. There were masts, and a great smoke-
pipe, and a great amount of ropes and rigging
rising up above them, and there were many
other curious objects around. The children
had, however, no time to attend to these things,
for Mr. George led them rapidly along to that
part of the promenade deck which was opposite
to the long plank, where the people were com-
ing up from the pier. Mr. George left the chil-
dren here for a minute or two, while he went
and brought two camp stools for them to sit
upon. He placed these stools near the edge
of the deck. There was a railing to keep them
from falling off.

There, children,*' said he. **Now you can
sit here and see the people come on board. It
is a very funny thing to see. I am going after
the trunk. You must not mind if I don't come
back for a long time. The ship will not sail
yet for two hours. You must stay here, how-
ever, all the time. You must not go away
from this place on any consideration."

So saying, Mr. George went away. A
moment afterward the children saw him going
down the plank to the pier. As soon as he
reached the pier he forced his way through the
crowd to the other side of it, where the carri-
age was standing. The children watched him
all the time. When he reached the carriage,
they saw that he stopped a moment to say a
few words to the driver, and then hastily got
into the carriage. The driver shut the door,
mounted upon the box, and then drove out
through the great gate and disappeared.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. SI

What Mr. George said to the driver was this.

'*Now, driver, we have got just two hours to
find that trunk. I pay you full fare for the
carriage for the two hours at any rate, and if
we find the trunk and get it on board that ship
before she sails, I pay you five dollars over.
Now take me up to 780 Broadway as quick as
you can go.'*

When the children found themselves thus
left, they could not help feeling for a moment
a very painful sensation of loneliness, although
they were, in fact, surrounded with crowds,
and were in the midst of a scene of the great-
est excitement. Even RoUo found his cour-
age and resolution ebbing away. He sat for
a little time without speaking, and gazing upon
the scene of commotion which he saw exhibited
before him on the pier with a vague and bewil-
dered feeling of anxiety and fear. Presently
he turned to look at Jennie. He saw that she
was trying to draw her handkerchief from her
pocket, and that tears were slowly trickling
down her cheek.

Jennie," said he, don't cry. Uncle
George will find the trunk pretty soon, and
come back,

It might, perhaps, be supposed that Rollo
would have been made to feel more dispirited
and depressed himself from witnessing Jennie's
dejection ; but the effect was really quite the con-
trary of this. In fact, it is found to be uni-
versally true, that nothing tends to nerve the
heart of man to greater resolution and energy
in encountering and struggling against the

32 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

dangers and ills that surround him, than to
have a woman near him and dependent upon
him, and to see her looking up to him for pro-
tection and support. It is true that Rollo was
not a man, nor was Jennie a woman. But
even in their early years the instincts and sym-
pathies, which exercise so powerful a control
over human heart in later periods of life, began
to develop themselves in embryo forms. So
Rollo found all his courage and confidence
coming back again when he saw Jennie in
tears.

Besides, he reflected that he had a duty to
perform. He perceived that the time had now
come for him to show by his acts that he was
really able to do what he had been so eager to
undertake. He determined, therefore, that
instead of yielding to the feelings of fear and
despondency which his situation was so well
calculated to inspire, he would nerve himself
with resolution, and meet the emergencies of
the occasion like a man.

The first thing to be done, as he thought,
was to amuse Jane, and divert her attention,
if possible, from her fears. So he began to
talk to her about what was taking place before
them on the pier.

'*Here comes another carriage, Jennie," said
he. "Look, look! See what a parcel of
trunks they have got on behind. That passen-
ger has not lost his trunks, at any rate. See
all these orange women, too, Jennie, standing
on the edge of the pier. How many oranges
they have got. Do you suppose they will sell

o
>

H
>

r
>
z
o
w
o

2:

o
JO

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 33

them all? O Jennie, Jennie, look there! See
that great pile of trunks going up into the
air."

Jane looked in the direction where Rollo
pointed, and saw a large pile of trunks and
boxes, eight or ten in all, slowly rising into
the air, being drawn up by means of a mon-
strous rope, which descended from a system of
pulleys and machinery above. After attain-
ing a considerable height, the whole mass
slowly moved over toward the ship, and after
reaching the center of the deck it began to
descend again, with a great rattling of chains
and machinery, until it disappeared from view
somewhere on board.

•*That is the way they get the baggage on
board, Jennie,'* said Rollo. I never should
have thought of getting baggage on board in
that way; should you, Jennie? I wonder
where the trunks go to when the rope lets
them down. It is in some great black hole, I
have no doubt, down in the ship. The next
load of trunks that comes I have a great mind
to go and see."

**No, no!** said Jane, ** you must not go away.
Uncle George said that we must not move
away from here on any account."

"So he did, " said Rollo. ''Well, I won*t go. *'

After a short time, Jennie became so far
accustomed to her situation as to feel in some
degree relieved of her fears. In fact, she
began to find it quite amusing to watch the
various phases which the exciting scene that
was passing before her assumed. Rollo endeav.

8 Atlantio

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

ored still more to encourage and cheer her, by
frequently assuring her that their uncle would
soon come back. He did this, indeed, from
the best of motives; but it was not wise or even
right to do so, for he could not possibly know
when his uncle would come back, or even
whether he would come back at all.

In the meantime, the crowd of carriages and
people coming and going on the pier was con-
tinually increasing as the time for the depart-
ure of the ship drew nigh. There were more
than one hundred passengers to come on
board, and almost every one of these had many
friends to come with them, to bid them good
by; so that there was a perpetual movement
of carriages coming and going upon the pier,
and the long plank which led up to the ship
was crowded with people ascending and
descending in continuous streams. The paddle
wheels were all the time in motion, though
the ship, being yet fastened to the shore, could
not move away. The wheels, however, pro-
duced a great commotion in the water, cover-
ing the surface of it with rushing foam, and at
the same time the steam was issuing from the
escape pipe with a roaring sound, which
seemed to crown and cover, as it were, without
at all subduing the general din.

Rollo had one very extraordinary proof of
the deep and overwhelming character of the
excitement of this scene, in an accident that
occurred in the midst of it, which, for a
moment, frightened him extremely. The pier
where the steamer was lying was surrounded

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 35

by other piers and docks, all crowded with
boats and shipping. It happened that not
very far from him there lay a small vessel, a
sloop, which had come down the North River,
and was now moored at the head of the dock.
There was a family on board this sloop, and
while Rollo was by chance looking that way,
he saw a small child, perhaps seven or eight
years old, fall off from the deck of the sloop
into the water. The child did not sink, being
buoyed up by her clothes ; and as the tide was
flowing strong at that time, an eddy of the
water carried her slowly along away from the
sloop toward the shore. The child screamed
with terror, and Rollo could now and then
catch the sound of her voice above the roaring
of the steam. The sailors on board the sloop
ran toward the boat, and began to let it down.
Others on the shore got ready with poles and
boat hooks, and though they were probably
shouting and calling aloud to one another,
Rollo could hear nothing but now and then the
scream of the child. At length a man came
running down a flight of stone steps which led
from the pier to the water in a corner of the
dock, throwing off his coat and shoes as he
went down. He plunged into the water, swam
out to the child, seized her by the clothes with
one hand, and with the other swam back with
her toward the steps and there they were both
drawn out by the bystanders together.

This scene, however, exciting as it would
have been under any other circumstances, pro-
duced very little impression upon the great

36 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

crowd that was engaged about the steamer.
A few boys ran that way to see how the affair
would result. Some others, standing on the
deck of the ship or on the pier, turned and
looked in the direction of the child. Other-
wise everything went on the same. The car-
riages went and came, the people walked
eagerly about among each other, exchanging
farewells. The paddle wheels continued their
motion, the steam pipe kept up its deafening
roar, and the piles of trunks continued to rise
into the air and swing over into the ship, with-
out any interruption.

The time passed rapidly on, and Mr. George
did not return. At length but few new carri-
ages came and the stream of people on the
great plank seemed to flow all one way, and
that was from the ship to the pier; while the
crowd upon the pier had increased until it had
become a mighty throng. At length the officer
in command gave orders to rig the tackle to
the great plank stair, with a view to heaving
it back upon the pier. The last, lingering vis-
itors to the ship, who had come to take leave
of their friends, hastily bade them farewell
and ran down the plank. The ship, in fact,
was just on the point of casting off from the
pier, when suddenly Mr. George's carriage
appeared at the great gate. It came in among
the crowd at a very rapid rate ; but still it was
so detained by the obstructions which were in
the way, that before it reached its stopping-
place the plank had begun slowly to rise into

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 87

the air, and the men on the pier had begun to
throw off the fastenings.

*'You are too late, sir/' said a man to Mr.
George. ** You cannot get on board. "

**Put that trunk on board,'* said Mr. George.
''That's all."

The man took up the trunk, which was by no
means heavy, and just succeeded in passing it
through into a sort of porthole, near the engine,
which happened to be open. Mr. George then
looked up to the place where he had left the
children, and shouted out to them, —

"Good by, children; don't be afraid. Your
father will come to the ship for you at Liver-
pool. Good by, Jennie. Rollo will take excel-
lent care of you. Don't be afraid. ' *

By this time the ship was slowly and
majestically moving away from the pier; and
thus it happened that Rollo and Jennie set out
on the voyage to Europe, without having any
one to take them in charge.

1

&8 ROLLO ON THE ATLANtlC.

CHAPTER III.

DEPARTURE.

The moving away of the steamer from the
pier had the effect of producing a striking illus-
ion in Jane's mind.

**Why, RoUo!" she exclaimed, looking up to
RoUo, quite alarmed, ''the pier is sailing away
from us, and all the people on it."

''O, no,** said Rollo, "the pier is not sailing
away. We are sailing away ourselves.'*

Jane gazed upon the receding shore with a
look of bewildered astonishment. Then she
added in a very sorrowful and desponding tone :

*'0, RoUo! you told me that uncle George
would certainly come back ; and now he is not
coming back at all. * *

*'Well, I really thought he would come
back,*' said Rollo. "But never mind, Jennie,
we shall get along very well. We shall not
have to get out of this ship at all till we get to
Liverpool ; and we shall find father at Liver-
pool. He will come on board for us at Liver-
pool, I am sure, before we land; and mother,
too, I dare say. Just think of that, Jennie!
Just think of that!*'

This anticipation would doubtless have had
considerable influence in calming Jennie's
mind, if she had had any opportunity to dwell

kOLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 39

upon it; but her thoughts were immediately
diverted to the spectacle which was exhibiting
itself on the pier. The great throng of people
which had assembled there seemed to be press-
ing on toward the end of the pier, accompany-
ing the ship, as it were, in its motion, as it
glided smoothly away. As they thus crowded
forward, all those who had opportunity to do
so climbed up upon boxes and bales of mer-
chadise, or on heaps of wood or coal, or on
posts or beams of wood, wherever they could
find any position which would raise them above
the general level of the crowd. This scene,
of course, strongly attracted the attention both
of RoUo and of Jane.

And here it must be remarked, that there
are three distinct scenes of bidding farewell
that an Atlantic steamer passes through in put-
ting to sea. In the first place, the individual
voyagers take leave of their several friends, by
tvords of good-by and other personal greetings,
on the decks and in the cabins of the ship, be-
fore she leaves the pier. Then, secondly, the
company of passengers, as a whole, give a
good-by to the whole company of visitors, who
have come to see the ship sail, and who remain
standing on the pier as the vessel goes away.
This second good-by cannot be given by words,
for the distance is too great to allow of words
being used. So they give it by huzzas, and
by the waving of hats and handkerchiefs.

This second farewell was now about to be
given. The gentlemen on the pier took off
their hats, and, waving them in the air,

40 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. /

shouted hurrah in concert, three times, with
great energy. The company of passengers on
board the ship then responded, by shouting
and waving their hats in return. The ladies,
both on the pier and in the ship, performed
their part in this ceremony by waving their
handkerchiefs and clapping their hands. By
this time the steamer, which had been rapidly
increasing the speed of its motion all the
while, was now getting quite out into the
stream, and was turning rapidly down the
river. This change in the direction in which
the steamer was going carried the pier and all
the people that were upon it entirely out of the
children's view, and they saw themselves glid-
ing rapidly along the shore of the river, which
was formed of a long line of piers, with for-
ests of masts surmounting them, and long ranges
of stores and warehouses beyond. Nearer to
the steamer on the water of the river, and on
either had, were to be seen sloops, ships, ferry
boats, scows and every other species of water
craft, gliding to and fro in all directions.
While gazing with great interest on this scene
as the steamer moved along, Jane was suddenly
sartled and terrified at the sound of a heavy
gun, which seemed to be fired close to her ear.
It was soon evident that the gun had been fired
from on board the steamer, for a great puff of
smoke rose up into the air from the bows of
the vessel, and slowly floated away. Immedi-
ately afterward another gun was fired, louder
than the first.
I have said that there were three farewells.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 41

The first is that of the individual passengers
to their individual friends. The second is that
of the whole company of passengers to the
company of spectators on the pier. The third
is the ship's farewell to the city. Of course,
for a ship to speak to a city, a very loud voice
is required. So they provide her with a gun.
In fact, a great steamer proceeding to sea may
be considered as, in some respects, like a
mighty animal. The engine is its heart ; the
paddle wheels are its limbs ; the guns are its
voice; the captain is its head; and, finally,
there is a man always stationed on the lookout
in the extreme forward part of the ship, who
serves the monster for eyes. Jane was quite
terrified at the sound of the guns.

*'0, Rollo!** exclaimed she, '*I wish they
would not fire any more of those dreadful
guns."

*'I don't think they will fire any more,' said
Rollo. **In fact, I am sure they will not, for
they have fired two now, and they never fire
more than two."

Rollo was mistaken in this calculation,
though he was right in the general principle
that the number of guns usually discharged
by a steamer going to sea, as its parting
salute, is two. In this case, however, the
steamer, in passing on down the river, came
opposite to a place in Jersey City, where a
Steamer of another line was lying moored to
her pier, waiting for her own sailing day.
Now, as the Pacfiic passed by this other steam-
er, the men on board of the latter, having pre-

42 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

viously made everything ready for the cere-
mony, fired two guns as a salute to her, by way
of bidding her farewell and wishing her a good
voyage. Of course, it was proper to respond
to the compliment, and this called for two guns
more. This made, in fact, a fourth farewell,
which having been spoken, the firing was over.
The Pacific, having thus taken leave of the
city, and also of her sister steamer on the Jer-
sey shore, had now nothing to do but to pro-
ceed as fast as possible down the harbor and
out to sea. ^

The scenes which are' presented to view on
every hand in passing down New York Harbor
and Bay are very magnificent and imposing.
Ships, steamers, long ferry boats, tugs, sloops,
sail boats, and every other species of water
craft, from the little skiff that bobs up and
down over the waves made by the steamboat
swell to the man-of-war riding proudly at an-
chor in the stream, are seen on every hand.
The shores, too, present enchanting pictures
of rich and romantic beauty. There are villas
and cottages, and smooth grassy lawns, and
vast fortifications, and observatories, and light-
houses, and buoys, and a great many other
objects, which strongly attract the attention
and excite the curiosity of the voyager, espe-
cially if he has been previously accustomed only
to traveling on land.

While the children were looking at these
scenes with wonder and admiration, as the
ship passed down the harbor, a young-looking
man who appeared to belong to the ship, came

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 43

to them and told them that if they wished to
remain on deck, they had better go and sit
upon the settees. So saying, he pointed to
several large and heavy-looking settees, which
were placed near the middle of the deck,
. around what seemed to be a sort of skylight.
These settees were all firmly secured to their
places with strong cords, by means of which
they were tied by the legs to some of the fix-
tures of the skylights. In obedience to this
suggestion, the children went and took their \
places upon a settee. Jane carried the cage,
containing Tiger, which she had kept carefully
with her thus far, and put it down upon the
settee by her side. The man who had directed
the children to this place, and who was a sort
of mate, as they call such officers at sea, looked
at the kitten with an expression of contempt
upon his countenance, but said nothing. He
took the camp stools which the children had
left, and carried them away.

**I am sure I don't know what we are to do
next," said Jane, mournfully, after sitting for
a moment in silence.

'*Nor I," rejoined Rollo, **and so I am going
to follow uncle George's rules.'*

Mr. George had given Rollo these rules, as a
sort of universal direction for young persons
when traveling alone :

1. Do as you see other people do.

2. When you cannot find out in this or in
any other way what to do, do nothing.

In accordance with this advice, Rollo con-
cluded to sit still upon the settee, where the

44 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

ship's officer had placed him, and do nothing.
In the meantime, however, he amused himself
in watching the ships and steamers which he
saw sailing to and fro about the harbor, and in
pointing out to Jane all the remarkable objects
which he observed from time to time along the
shores.

Among other things which attracted his at-
tention, he noticed and watched the movements
of a man who stood upon the top of one of the
paddle boxes on the side of the ship, where he
walked to and fro very busily, holding a speak-
ing trumpet all the time in his hand. Every
now and then, he would call out, in a loud
voice, a certain word. Sometimes it was port,
sometimes it was starboard, and sometimes it
was steady. Rollo observed that it was always
one or the other of those three words. And
what was still more curious, Rollo observed
that, whenever the man on the paddle box
called out the word, the officer on the deck,
who kept walking about there all the time to
and fro, would immediately repeat it after him,
in a loud but in a somewhat singular tone.
While he was wondering what this could mean,
a gentleman, who seemed to be one of the pas-
sengers, came and sat down on the settee close
by his side. Rollo had a great mind to ask
him who the man on the paddle box was.

''Well, my boy," said the gentleman, "you
are rather young to go to sea. How do you
like it?"

"Pretty well, sir," said Rollo.

**We are going out in fine style," said th^

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 45

gentleman. *'We shall soon be done with the
pilot."

**The pilot?" said Rollo, inquiringly.

**Yes," said the gentleman. ** There he is,
on the paddle box. ' *

**Is that the pilot?" asked Rollo. **I thought
the pilot was the man who steered."

*'No," replied the gentleman, **he is the
man who gives directions how to steer. He
does not steer himself. The man who steers
is called the helmsman. There he is."

So saying, the gentleman pointed toward the
stern of the ship where there was a sort of plat-
form raised a little above the deck, with a row
of panes of glass, like a long narrow window,
in front of it. Through this window Rollo
could see the head of a man. The man was
standing in a recess which contained the wheel
by means of which the ship was steered.

*'The pilot keeps a lookout on the paddle
box," continued the gentleman, ** watching the
changes in the channel, and also the move-
ments of the vessels which are coming and go-
ing. When he wishes the helm to be put to
the right, he calls out Starboard! When he
wishes it to be put to the left, he calls out Port!
And when he wishes the ship to go straight
forward as she is, he calls out Steady!"

Just then the pilot, from his lofty lookout on
the paddle box, called out, **Port!"

The officer on the deck repeated the com-
mand, in order to pass it along to the helms-
man, **Port!"

The helmsman then repeated it again, by

46

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

way of making it sure to the officer that he
had heard it and was obeying it, *'Port!*'

There were two or three dashing-looking
young men walking together up and down the
deck, and one of them, on hearing these com-
mands, called out, not very loud, but still in
such a manner as that all around him could
hear, and imitating precisely the tones in
which the pilot's order had been given,
'\Sherry!*'

Whereupon there was a great laugh among
all the passengers around. Even the stern and
morose-looking countenance of the officer re-
laxed into a momentary smile.

*'Now look forward at the bows of the ship, "
said the gentleman, *'and you will see her
change her course in obedience to the command
of the pilot to port the helm/*

Rollo did so, and observed the effect with
great curiosity and pleasure.

*'I thought the captain gave orders how to
steer the ship,*' said Rollo.

**He does,'* said the gentleman, *'after we
get fairly clear of the land. It is the captain's
business to navigate the ship across the ocean,
but he has nothing to do with directing her
when she is going in and out of the harbor.'*
The gentleman then went on to explain that at
the entrances of all rivers and harbors there
were usually rocks, shoals, sand bars, and
other obstructions, some of which were contin-
ually shifting their position and character,
and making it necessary that they should be
studied and known thoroughly by some one

a

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. A1

who is all the time upon the spot. The men
who do his are called pilots. The pilots of
each port form a company, and have estab-
lished rules and regulations for governing all
their proceedings. They go out to the mouth
of the harbor in small vessels called pilot
boats, where they wait, both in sunshine and
storm, for ships to come in. When a ship
approaches the coast and sees one of these pilot
boats, it makes a signal for a pilot to come, on .
board. Tfhe pilot boat then sails toward the .
ship, and when they get near enough they let r
down a small boat, and row one of the pilots
on board the vessel, and he guides the ship in.
In the same manner, in going out of port, the
pilot guides the ship until they get out into
deep water, and then a pilot boat comes up
and takes him off the ship. The ship then
proceeds to sea, while the pilot boat continues
to sail to and fro about the mouth of the har-
bor, till another ship appears.

**And will this pilot get into a pilot boat and
go back to New York?** asked RoUo.

**Yes, '* replied the gentleman, ''and the
passengers can send letters back by him, if
they wish. They of ten do. "

*'And can I?** asked RoUo.

*' Yes, replied the gentleman. ** Write yduT
letter, and I will give it to him. "

Rollo had a small inkstand in his pocket,
and also a pocketbook with note papers folded
up, and envelopes in it. This was. an appar-
atus that he always carried with him when he
traveled. He took out one of his sheets of

48 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

note paper, and wrote upon it the following
letter : —

Dear Uncle George:

This is to inform you that we have found a
good seat, and are getting along very well.
Your affectionate nephew,

R. Holiday.

Rollo made his letter shorter than he other-
wise would have done, on account of having
been informed by the gentleman, when he had
just written the first line, that the pilot boat
was coming in sight. So he finished his writ-
ing, and then folded his note and put it in its
envelope. He sealed the envelope with a
wafer, which he took out of a compartment of
his pocketbook. He then addressed it to his
uncle George in a proper manner, and it was
all ready. The gentleman then took it and
carried it to the pilot, who was just then com-
ing down from the paddle box and putting on
his coat.

By this time the pilot boat had come pretty
near to the ship, and was lying there upon the
water at rest, with her sails flapping in the
wind. The engine of the ship was stopped.
A small boat was then seen coming from the
pilot boat toward the ship. The boat was
tossed fearfully by the waves as the oarsmen
rowed it along. When it came to the side of
the ship a sailor threw a rope to it, and it was
held fast by means of the rope until the pilot
got on board. The rope was then cast off, and
the boat moved away. The engine was now

5

t3d

>
JO

o

>

o
o

>

w
H

>

w
1—1

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 49

put in motion again, and the great paddle
wheels of the ship began to revolve as before.
RoUo watched the little boat as it went bound-
ing over the waves, afraid all the time that it
would be upset, in which case his letter would
be lost. At length, however, he had the satis-
faction of seeing the skifiE safely reach the pilot
boat, and all the men climb up safely on
board.

''There!" exclaimed Rollo, in a tone of great
satisfaction, "now he will go up to the city
safe, and I am very glad he has got that letter
for uncle George."

In the meantime the captain mounted the
paddle box where the pilot had stood, and,
with his speaking trumpet in his hand, began
to give the necessary orders for the vigorous
prosecution of the voyage. The sails were
spread, the engines were put into full opera-
tion, the helmsman was directed what course to
steer, and the ship pressed gallantly forward
out into the open sea.

4 Atlautic

\

50 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

CHAPTER IV.

GETTING SETTLED.

The gentleman v^ho had so kindly explained
the pilot system to Rollo did not return to the
settee after having given the pilot the letter,
but went away, and for a few minutes Rollo
and Jane were left alone. They observed,
too, that a great many of the passengers had
disappeared, and now there were very few
about the deck. Rollo wondered where they
had gone. He soon received some light on
the subject, by overhearing one gentleman say
to another, as they passed the settee on their
promenade, —

'*Come, Charley, let us go down and get
some lunch. "

* ' They are going to lunch, * * said Rollo, ' * We
will go, too. I am beginning to be hungry.*'

**So am I hungry,'* said Jane. *'I did not
think of it before; but I am, and I have no-
doubt that Tiger is hungry, too.'*

So Jane took up her cage, and then she and
Rollo, walking along together, followed the
gentlemen who had said that they were going
down to lunch. They walked forward upon
the promenade deck till they came to the
short flight of stairs, with the green rope bal-
ustrade, which led down to the deck below.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 51

These stairs were so steep that the children
were obliged to proceed with great caution in
descending them, in order to get down in
safety. They, however, at length succeeded;
and then, passing along where they saw that
the gentlemen went who preceded them, they
entered into a long and narrow passage way,
with doors leading to state rooms on either
hand. Following this passage way, they came
at length to a sort of entry or hall, which was
lighted by a skylight above. In the middle
of this hall, and under the skylight, was a
pretty broad staircase, leading down to some
* lower portion of the ship. As the men whom
they were following went down these stairs,
the children went down, too. When they got
down, they found themselves in a perfect maze
of cabins, state rooms, and passage ways, the
openings into which were infinitely multiplied
by the large and splendid mirrors with which
the walls were everywhere adorned.

**Put Tiger down there,*' said Rollo, point-
ing to a place near the end of the sofa, **and
we will bring her something to eat when we
come from lunch.**

Jane was very anxious to take the kitten
with her; but she knew that, under the cir-
cumstances in which she was placed, it was
proper that she should follow implicitly all of
Rollo*s directions. So she put the cage down,
and then she and Rollo went on together
through a door where the gentlemen who had
preceded them had gone.

They found themselves in another long and

62 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

narrow passage way, which led toward the for-
ward part of the ship. The passage way was
so narrow that they could not walk together.
So RoUo went first, and Jane came behind.
The vessel was rocking gently from the motion
of the waves, and Jane had to put her hands
out once or twice, first to one side and then to
the other of the passage way, in order to
steady herself as she passed along. Presently
they came to a place where they had to go up
five or six steps, and then to go immediately
down again. It was the place where the main
shaft passed out from the engine to the paddle
wheel. After getting over this obstruction,
they went on a little farther, and then came
into a large dining saloon, where several long
tables were spread, and a great many passen-
gers were seated, eating their luncheons.

There were a number of waiters in different
parts of the room, standing behind the guests
at the tables; and one of these waiters, as
soon as he saw Rollo and Jane come in, went
to them, and said that he would show them
where to sit. So they followed him, and he
gave them a good seat at one of the tables.
As soon as the children were seated, the'waiter
said, addressing Rollo:

**Will you have soup?"

*'Yes,'' said Rollo.

*'And will the young lady take soup, too?"
he asked again.

*'Yes," said Rollo; **both of us."

While the waiter was gone to get the soup,
Rollo and Jane had an opportunity of looking

ROLL0 ON THE ATLANTIC.

53

around the room and observing how very
different it was in its fixtures and furniture
from a dining-room on land. Instead of win-
dows, there were only round holes in the sides
of the ship, about a foot in diameter. For a
sash, there was only one round and exceed-
ingly thick and strong pane of glass, set in an
iron frame, and opening inward, on massive
hinges. On the side of this frame, opposite
the hinges, was a strong clamp and screw, by
means of which the frame could be screwed
up very tight, in order to exclude the water
in case of heavy seas. The tables were fitted
with a ledge all around the outside, to keep
the dishes from sliding off. Above each table,
and suspended from the ceiling, was a long
shelf of beautiful wood, with racks and sockets
in it of every kind, for containing wine-
glasses, tumblers, decanters, and such other
things as would be wanted from time to time
upon the table. Every one of these glasses
was in a place upon the shelf expressly fitted
to receive and retain it ; so that it might be
held securely, and not allowed to fall, how-
ever great might be the motion of the ship.

There were no chairs at the tables. The
seats consisted of handsomely cushioned set-
tees, with substantial backs to them. It was
upon one of these settees, and near the end of
it, that Rollo and Jane were seated.

When the soup was brought, the children
ate it with great satisfaction. They found it
excellent; and, besides that, they had excel-
lent appetites. After the soup, the waiter

54 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

brought them some roasted potatoes and but-
ter, and also some slices of cold roast beef.
When the roast beef came, Jane exclaimed to
Rollo :

**Ah! I am very glad to see that. It is just
the thing for Tiger. *'

Then she turned round and said to the
waiter:

**Can I take a piece of this meat to give to
my kitten?*'

'*Your kitten?*' said the waiter. •*Have you
got a kitten on board?"

**Yes/' said Jane.

** Where is she?*' asked the waiter.

•*I left her in the cabin," said Jane, **by the
end of a sofa. She is in her cage. "

The waiter smiled to hear this statement.
Jane had been, in fact, a little afraid to ask for
meat for her kitten, supposing it possible that
the waiter might think that she ought not to
have brought a kitten on board. But the truth
was, the waiter was very glad to hear of it.
He was glad for two reasons. In the first
place, the monotony and dullness of sea life
are so great, that those who live in ships are
usually glad to have anything occur that is
extraordinary or novel. Then, besides, he
knew that it was customary with passengers,
when they gave the waiters any unusual
trouble, to compensate them for it fully when
they reached the end of the voyage; and he
presumed, therefore, that if he had a kitten
to take care of, as well as the children them-
selves, their father, whom he had no doubt

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 55

was on board, would remember it in his fee.
So, when Jane told him where the kitten was,
he said he would go and bring her out into the
dining saloon, and give her some of the
meat there, as soon as the passengers had
finished their luncheon, so that he could be
spared from the table.

Accordingly, when the proper time arrived,
the waiter went aft, to the cabin, and very
soon returned, bringing the cage with him.

He seemed quite pleased with his charge;
and several of the passengers, who met him
as they were going out of the saloon, stopped
a moment to see what he had got in the cage,
and Jane was much gratified at hearing one of
them say:

**What a pretty kitten! Whose is it, wait-
er?'*

The waiter put the cage down upon a side
table, and then carried a plate of meat to the
place, and put it in the cage. Jane and Rollo
went to see. While the kitten was eating her
meat, the waiter said that he would go and get
some milk for her. He accordingly went away
again ; but he soon returned, bringing a little
milk with him in a saucer. The kitten, having
by this time finished eating her meat, set her-
self eagerly at the work of lapping up the
milk, which she did with an air of great satis-
faction.

** There!" said the waiter, ** bring her out
here whenever she is hungry, and I will always
have something for her. When you come at
ineal times^ you will see me at the table. If

56 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

you come at any other time, and you don*t see
me, ask for Alfred. My name is Alfred. *'

Jane and Rollo both said to Alfred that they
were very much obliged to him, and then,
observing that nearly all the passengers had
left the dining saloon and had returned to the
cabin, they determined to go, too. So they
went back through the same passageway by
which they had come.

There were two principal cabins in the ship,
the ladies' cabin and the gentlemen's cabin.
The ladies' cabin was nearest to the dining
saloon, the gentlemen's cabin being beyond.
A number of ladies and gentlemen turned into
the ladies' cabin, and so Rollo and Jane fol-
lowed them. They found themselves, when
they had entered, in quite a considerable apart-
ment, with sofas and mirrors all around the
sides of it, and a great deal of rich carving in
the panels and ceiling. Several splendid
lamps, too, were suspended in different places,
so hung that they could move freely in every
direction, when the ship was rolling from
side to side in rough seas. Rollo and Jane
took their seats upon one of the sofas.

**Well, Rollo," said Jane, **I don't know
what we are going to do next."

"Nor I," said Rollo; *'but we can sit here a
little while, and perhaps somebody will come
and speak to us. It must be right for us to sit
here, for other ladies and gentlemen are sit-
ting in this cabin."

Jane looked about the cabin on the different
sofas to see if there were any persons there

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 57

that she had ever seen before. But there
were none.

Among the persons in the cabin, there were
two who particularly attracted Jane's attention.
They were young ladies of, perhaps, eighteen
or twenty years of age, but they were remark-
ably different from each other in appearance.
One was very beautiful, indeed. Her hair was
elegantly arranged in curls upon her neck, and
she was dressed quite fashionably. Her coun-
tenance, too, beamed with an expression of
animation and happiness.

The other young lady, who sat upon the
other end of the same ^ofa, was very plain in
her appearance, and was plainly dressed. Her
countenance, too, had a sober and thoughtful
expression which was almost stern, and made
Jane feel quite disposed to be afraid of her.
The beautiful girl she liked very much.

While the children were sitting thus upon
the sofa, waiting to see what was next going
to happen to them, several persons passed
along that way, taking a greater or less degree
of notice of them as they passed. Some
merely stared at them, as if wondering how
they came there, and what they were doing.
One lady looked kindly at them, but did not
speak. Another lady, apparently about forty
years of age, walked by them with a haughty
air, talking all the time with a gentleman who
was with her. Jane heard her say to the gen-
tleman, as soon as she had passed them :

**What a quantity of children we have on

58 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

board this ship! I hate children on board
ship, they are so noisy and troublesome.**

Jane did not say anything in reply to this,
but she thought that she and Rollo, at least,
did not deserve such censures, for they had
certainly not been noisy or troublesome.

Presently Jane saw the beautiful girl, who
has been already spoken of, rise and come
toward them. She was very glad to see this,
for now, thought she, we have a friend com-
ing. The young lady came walking along
carelessly toward them, and when she came
near she looked at them a moment, and then
said, in a pert and forward manner:

**What are you sitting here for, children, so
long, all alone? Where is your father?*'

**My father is in Liverpool, I suppose," said
Rollo.

*'Well, your mother, then,*' said the young
lady, '*or whoever has the care of you?**

**My mother is in Liverpool, too," said
Rollo, *'and there is nobody who has the care
of us on board this ship. * '

**Why, you are not going to cross the Atlan-
tic all by yourselves, are you?*' said the young
lady, in a tone of great astonishment.

**Yes," said Rollo, unless we find some-
body to be kind enough to help us.**

*'La! how queer!** said the young lady. **I
am sure I*m glad enough that I am not in
your places."

So saying, the beautiful young lady walked
on.

All the beauty, however, which she had b§-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC, 5^

fore possessed in Jane's eyes, was entirely dis-
sipated by this heartless behavior. Both Jane
and RoUo, for all the rest of the voyage,
thought her one of the ugliest girls they had
ever seen.

It was some minutes after this before any
other person approached the children. Jane
observed, however, that the other young lady
—the one who had appeared to her so plain —
looked frequently toward her and Rollo, with
an expression of interest and kindness upon
her countenance. At length she rose from her
seat, and came across the cabin, and sat down
by Jane's side.

'*May I come and sit by you?'* said she to
Jane. **You seem to be all alone."

*'Yes, " said Jane; **we don't know anybody
in this ship. ' '

**Not anybody?" said the young lady.
**Then you may know me. My name is Maria.
But your father and mother are on board the
ship, are they not?"

'*No," said Rollo. ** There is not anybody
on board this ship that belongs to us. "

Maria seemed very much astonished at hear-
ing this, and she asked the children how it hap-
pened that they were sent across the Atlantic
alone. Upon which Rollo, in a very clear and
lucid manner, explained all the circumstances
of the case to her. He told her about his
father being sick in England, and about his
having sent for him and Jane to go to England
and meet him there. He also explained what
Mr. George's plan had been for providing them

60 ROLLO GN THE ATLANTIC

with a protector on the voyage, and how it
had been defeated by the accident of the loss
of the trunk. He also told her how nari >wly
they had escaped having the trunk itseli left
behind. He ended by saying that there were
several of his father's friends on board, only
he did not know of any way by which he could
find out who they were.

*' Never mind that,'* said Maria. **I will
take care of you. You need not be at all
afraid ; you will get along very well. Have
you got any stateroom?"

**No," said Rollo.

**Well, I will go and find the chambermaid,
and she will get you one. Then we will have
your trunk sent to it, and you will feel quite
at home there."

So Maria went away, and presently returned
with one of the chambermaids.

When the chambermaid learned that there
were two children on board without any one
to take care of them, she was very much inter-
ested in their case. Rollo heard her say to
Maria, as they came up together toward the
sofa where the children were sitting:

**0, yes, I will find them a stateroom, if
they have not got one already. Children,"
she added, when she came near, **are you sure
you have not got any stateroom?"

**Yes," said Rollo. **I did not know where
the captain's office was."

**0, you don't go to the captain's office,"
said the chambermaid. *'They pay for the pas-
sage and get the tickets in Wall Street."

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 61

** Perhaps this is it, then," said Rollo. And
so saying, he took out his wallet, and there,
from one of the inner compartments, where
his uncle George had placed it away very care-
fully, he produced a paper. The chambermaid
opened it, saying, *'Yes, this is all right.
Berths sixteen and eighteen. Come with me,
and ril show you where they are."

So the two children, accompanied by Maria,
followed the chambermaid, who led the way
across the cabin, and there, entering a passage-
way, she opened a door, by means of a beauti-
ful porcelain knob which was upon it. They
all went in. They found themselves in a small
room, no bigger than a large closet, but they
saw at a glance that it was very beautifully
finished and furnished. On the front side was
a round window like those they had seen in
the dining saloon. Under this window was a
couch, with a pillow at the head of it. Qn the
back side were two berths, one above the other,
with very pretty curtains before them.

** There!" said the chambermaid, ''sixteen.
That lower berth is yours."

"And whose is the upper berth?" asked
Maria.

"That is not taken, I think," said the cham-
bermaid.

"Then ! will take it," said Maria. "I will
come into this stateroom, and then I can look
after Jennie all the time. But where is RoUo's
berth?"

"In the next stateroom," said the chamber-
maid*

62 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

So saying, she opened a door in the end o£
the room, and found another stateroom com-
municating with the first, where she pointed
out Rollo's berth. There was another entrance
to RoUo's stateroom from the passage leading
into the cabin, on the farther side of it.

** There,'* said the chambermaid, **now you
can settle yourselves here as soon as you
please. Nobody can come in here to trouble
you, for you have these little rooms all to your-
selves, ril go and find a porter, and get him
to look up your trunk and send it in.**

So Rollo went into his stateroom, and Jane
sat down upon the couch in hers, by the side
of Maria, looking very much pleased. She
opened the door of the cage, and let the kitten
out. The kitten walked all about the room,
examining everything with great attention
She jumped up upon the marble washstand,
and from that she contrived to get into the
round window, where she stood for a few min-
utes looking out very attentively over the wide
sea. Not knowing, however, what to make of
so extraordinary a prospect, she presently
jumped down again, and, selecting a smooth
place at the foot of the couch, she curled her-
self up into a ring upon the soft covering of it,
and went to sleep.

♦

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 68

CHAPTER V.

ON DECK.

As soon as Rollo and Jane found themselves
thus established in their staterooms, they be-
gan to examine the furniture and fixtures
around them with great curiosity. They were
particularly interested in observing the pre-
cautions which had been taken in securing
everything which the staterooms contained,
from the danger of being thrown about by the
motion of the ship. The wash basin was made
of marble, and was firmly set in its place, so as
to be absolutely immovable. There was a hole
in the bottom of it, with a plug in it, so that, by
drawing out the plug, the water could be let
off into a pipe which conveyed it away. There
was a small chain attached to this plug, by
means of which it could be drawn up when
any one wished to let the water off. The
pitcher was made broad and flat at the bottom,
and very heavy, so that it could not be easily
upset; and then there was a socket for it in the
lower part of the washstand, which confined it
effectually, and prevented its sliding about
when the ship was rolling in a heavy sea.

The tumbler was secured in a more curious
manner still. It was placed in a brass ring,
which projected from the wall in a comer over

64 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

the washstand, and which was made just large
enough to receive it. The soap dish and the
brush tray were also placed in sockets cut to
receive them in the marble slab, which formed
the upper part of the washstand. The looking-
glass was round, and was screwed to the wall
by means of a stem and a ball or socket joint,
in such a manner that it could be set in any
position required, according to the height of
the observer, and yet it could not by any pos-
sibility fall from its place. There were very
few pegs or pins for hanging clothes upon, be-
cause, when clothes are thus hung, they are
found to swing back and forth whenever the
ship is rolling in a heavy sea, in a manner that
is very tiresome and disagreeable for sick pas-
sengers to see. Nor were there many sheb'^es
about the stateroom ; for if there had been, the
passengers would be likely to put various arti-
cles upon them when the sea was smooth; and
then, when the ship came to pitch and roll in
gales of wind, the things would all slide off
upon the floor. So instead of shelves there
were pockets made of canvas or duck, several
together, one above another. These pockets
formed very convenient receptacles for such
loose articles as the passengers might have in
their staterooms, and were, of course, per-
fectly secure.

There were two shelves, it is true, in Jen-
nie's stateroom — one over each of the two
washstands — but they were protected by a
ledge about the edges of them, which would

i

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC,

65

effectually prevent such things as might be
placed upon them from sliding off.

By the time that Rollo and Jane had exam-
ined these things, a porter came into the state-
room, bringing their trunk upon his shoulder.
Maria told the children that they had better
open the trunk and take out all that they would
be likely to require while on board, and then
stow the trunk itself away under the lower
berth, in one of the staterooms.

''Because,'* said she, *'as soon as we get out
upon the heavy seas we shall all be sick, and
then we shall not wish to move to do the least
thing.*'

"When will that be?" asked Jane.

**I don't know," replied Maria. ''Sometimes
we have it smooth for a good many days, and
then there comes a head wind and makes it
rough, and all the passengers get sick and very
wretched."

"I don't think that I shall be sick," said
Rollo.

"You can't tell," said Maria. "Nobody can
tell anything about it beforehand."

In obedience to Maria's directions, Rollo
opened the trunk and took out from it all the
clothing, both for day and night, which he
thought that he and Jennie would require dur-
ing the voyage. The night dresses he put un-
der the pillows in the berths. The cloaks, and
coats, and shawls which might be required on
deck in the day he placed on the couches.
Those which belonged to him he put in his
stateroom, and those that belonged to Jennie

5 Atlantio

66

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

in hers. While engaged in these operations,
he pulled up from one of the lower corners of
his trunk a small leather purse or bag full of
money.

*'What shall I do with this?" he asked, hold-
ing it up to Maria.

*'What is it?*' asked Maria.
Money," said Rollo.

**How much is there?" said Maria.

'*I don't know," replied Rollo. •'Uncle
George put it in here. He said I ought to
have some money to carry with me, in case of
accidents. I don't suppose it is much."

** You had better count it, then," said Maria,
**so as to ascertain how much it is. You and
Jane may count it together."

So Rollo and Jane sat down upon the couch,
and Rollo poured out the money into Jennie's
lap. It was all gold. Maria said that the coins
were sovereigns and half sovereigns. The
large ones were sovereigns, and the small ones
were half sovereigns. Rollo proposed that he
should count the sovereigns, and that Jennie
might count the half sovereigns. It proved,
when the counting was completed, that there
were thirty sovereigns and twenty half sover-
eigns.

'*That makes forty sovereigns in all," said
Maria. **That is a great deal of money. '*

•*How much is it?" asked Rollo.

**Why, in American money," said Maria, ''it
makes about two hundred dollars."

**Two hundred dollars!" repeated Rollo,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 67

with astonishment. **What could uncle George
think I could want of all this money?"

**It was in case of accidents," said Maria.
•*For example, suppose this ship should be
cast away on the coast of Nova Scotia, and all
the passengers and baggage be saved, what
could you do there without any money?"

**Why, I should think that somebody there
would take care of us," replied Rollo.

**Yes," said Maria, '*I suppose they would;
but it is a great deal better to have money of
your own. Besides, suppose that when you
get to Liverpool, for some reason or other,
your father should not be there. Then, hav-
ing plenty of money, you could go to a hotel
and stay there till your father comes. Or you
could ask some one of the passengers who is
going to London to let you go with him, and
you could tell him that you had plenty of
money to pay the expenses. ' '

•*Yes," said Rollo, ^'though I don't think
there is any doubt that my father will be in
Liverpool when we arrive."

**I hope he will be, I am sure," said Maria.
**But now, put up the money again in the purse,
tie it up securely, and replace it in the trunk.
Then you must keep the trunk locked all the
time and keep the key in your pocket."

Rollo felt quite proud of being intrusted
with so much money ; so he replaced the bag in
the trunk with great care, and locked it safely.

••Now," said Maria, '^this is your home
while you are on board this ship. When you
choose, you can come here and be alone; and

68 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

you can lie down and rest here whenever you
are tired. At other times you can ramble
about the ship, in all proper places. **

**How shall I know what the proper places
arer ' asked Rollo.

**Why, you will see where the other passen-
gers go," replied Maria; '*and wherever you
see them go, you can go yourself. That is as
good a rule as you can have.

**Well,*' said RoUo, **and now, Jane, let us
go up on deck and see what we can see."

Jane was pleased with this proposal; so she
followed Rollo to the deck. Maria said that
she would come by-and-by, but for the present
she wished to go and see her brother. She
said that she had a brother on board who was
quite out of health. He was going to Europe
in hopes tnat the voyage would restore him.
At present, however, he was very unwell, and
was confined to his berth, and she must go and
see him.

So Rollo and Jane went to see if they could
find their way up on deck alone. Rollo went
before, and Jane followed. They ascended
the steep stairs where they had gone up at
first, and then walked aft upon the deck until
they came to the settees where they had been
sitting before the luncheon. They sat down
upon one of these settees, where they had a
fine view, not only of the wide expanse of sea
on every hand, but also of the whole extent of
the decks of the ship. They remained here
nearly two hours, ooserving what was going
on around them, and they saw a great many

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 69

things that interested them very much, indeed.
The first thing that attracted their attention
was the sound of a bell, which struck four
strokes very distinctly, and in a very peculiar
manner, near where the helmsmarf stood in
steering the ship. This bell has already been
mentioned. It hung directly before the helms-
man's v/indow, and it had a short rope attached
to the clapper of it. The helsman, or the man
at the wheel, as he is sometimes called, from
the fact that he steers the ship by means of a
wheel, with handles all around the periphery
of it, had opened his widow just after Rollo
and Jane had taken their seats, and had pulled
this clapper so as to strike four strokes upon
the bell, the strokes being in pairs, thus:

Ding — ding ! Ding — ding !

In a minute afterward, Rollo and Jane heard
the sound repeated in precisely the same man-
ner from another bell, that seemed to be far in
the forward part of the ship.

Ding — ding ! Ding — ding !

*'I wonder what that means?" said Rollo.

**I expect it means that it is four o'clock, "
said Jane.

^ **I should not think it could be so late as
four o'clock," said Rollo.

"I have a great mind to go and ask the
helmsman what it means," he added, after a
moment's pause.

**No," said Jane, **you must not go."

It is difficult to say precisely why Jane did
not wish to have Rollo go and ask the helms-
man about the bell, but she had an instinctive

70 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

feeling that it was better not to do it. So Rollo
sat still. His attention was very soon turned
away from the bell by Jane's calling out to
him to see some sailors go up the rigging.
There were regular shrouds, as they are called,
that is, ladders formed of ropes, which led up
on each side of the masts part way to where
the sailors seemed to wish to go. Above the
top of the shrouds there were only single ropes
and Rollo wondered what the sailors would do
when they came to these. They found no
difficulty, however, for when they reached the
top of the shrouds they continued to mount by
the ropes with very little apparent effort
They would take hold of two of the ropes that
were a little distance apart with their hands,
and then, curling their legs round them in a
peculiar manner below, they would mount up
very easily. They thus reached the yard, as it
is called, which is a long, round beam, extend-
ing along the upper edge of the sail, and,
spreading themselves out upon it in a row,
they proceeded to do the work required upon
the sail, leaning over upon the yard above,
and standing upon a rope, which was stretched
for the purpose along the whole length of it
below.

**I wonder if I could climb up there," said
Rollo. **Do you suppose they would let me
try?''

**No, indeed!" said Jane, very earnestly;
'•you must not try, by any means."
** I believe that I could climb up there," said

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 71

Rollo; **that is, if the vessel would stop rock-
ing to and fro, and hold still. "

Presently, however, a boy, who appeared to
be about eighteen or nineteen years of age,
and who was upon another mast, accomplished
a feat which even Rollo himself admitted that
he should not dare to undertake. It seemed
that he had some operation to perform upon a
part of the rigging down some fifteen feet from
where he was ; so, with a rope hung over his
shoulder, he came down hand over hand, by a
single rope or cable called a stay, until he
reached the place where the work was to be
performed. Here he stopped, and, clinging to
the rope that he had come down upon with his
legs and one hand, he contrived with the other
hand to fasten one end of the short rope which
he had brought with him to the stay, and then,
carrying the other end across, he fastened it to
another cable which was near. He then seated
himself upon this cross rope as upon a seat,
and clinging to his place by his legs, he had
his hands free for his work. When he had fin-
ished his work he untied the cross rope, and
then went up the cable hand over hand as he
had come down.

'*I am sure I could not do that," said Rollo.
**And I should not think that anybody but a
monkey could do it, or a spider. "

In fact, the lines of rigging, as seen from
the place where Rollo and Jane were seated,
looked so fine, and the men appeared so small,
that the whole spectacle naturally reminded
one of a gigantic spider's web, with blagk

72 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

spiders of curious forms ascending and descend-
ing upon them, so easily and adroitly did the
men pass to and fro and up and down, attach-
ing new lines to new points, and then running
off with them, as a spider would do with her
thread, wherever they were required. But
after all, in respect to the power of running
about among lines and rigging, the spider is
superior to man. She can not only run up and
down far more easily and readily wherever she
wishes to go, but she can make new attach-
ments with a touch, and make them strong
enough to bear her own weight and all other
strains that come upon them ; while the sailor,
as Rollo and Jane observed on this occasion,
was obliged in his fastenings to wind his ropes
round and round, and tie them into compli-
cated knots, and then secure the ends with
*'spun yarn.

While Rollo and Jane were watching the
sailors, they saw them unfurl one after another
of the sails, and spread them to the wind ; for
the wind was now fair, and it was fresh
enough to assist the engines considerably in
propelling the ship through the water. Still,
as the ship was going the same way with the
wind, the breeze was scarcely felt upon the
deck. The air was mild and balmy, and the
surface of the sea was comparatively smooth,
so that the voyage was beginning very pros-
perously. Rollo looked all around the horizon,
but he could see no land in any direction.
There was not even a ship insight; nothing
but one wide and boundless waste of waters.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 73

**I should think that there would be some
other ships going to England to-day," he said,
** besides ours."

Jane did not know what to think on such a
subject, and so she did not reply.

**Let us watch for whales/* said RoUo. **Per-
haps we shall see a whale. You watch the
water all along on that side, and I will on this
side; and if you see any whale spout, tell me. "

So they both kept watch for some time, but
neither of them saw any spouting. Jane gave
one alarm, having seen some large, black-look-
ing monsters rise to the surface not far from
them on one side of the ship. She called out
eagerly to Rollo to look. He did so, but he
said that they were not whales; they were por-
poises. He had seen porpoises often before, in
bays and harbors.

Just then the bell near the helmsman's win-
dow struck again, though in a manner a little
different from before; for after the two pairs
of strokes which had been heard before there
came a single stroke, making five in all,
thus: —

Ding — ding! Ding — ding! Ding.

Immediately afterward the sound was
repeated in the forward part of the ship, as it
had been before.

Ding — ding! Ding — ding! Ding.

**I wonder what that means," said Rollo.

Just then an officer of the ship, in his walk
tip and down the deck, passed near to where
Rollo was sitting, and Rollo instinctively deter-
mined to ask him.

74 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

"Will you please tell me, sir, what that strik-
ing means?"

**It's five bells," said the man; and so
walked on.

V

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 75

CHAPTER VI.

A CONVERSATION.

Rollo at first felt quite disappointed that the
officer seemed so little disposed to give him
information ; but immediately after the officer
had gone another man came by, one of the
passengers, as Rollo supposed, who proved to
be more communicative. He wore a glazed
cap and a very shaggy greatcoat. He sat down
by the side of Jennie, Rollo being on the other
side, and said, —

**He does not seem inclined to tell you much
about the bells, does he, Rollo?"

**No, sir," replied Rollo; **but how did you
know that my name was Rollo?"

**0, I heard about you down in the cabin,"
replied the stranger; ''and about you too,
Jennie, and your beautiful little kitten. But I
will explain the meaning of the bells to you.
I know all about them. I belong on board
this ship. I am the surgeon. "

*'Are you?" said Rollo. **I did not know
that there was any surgeon in the ship. "

**Yes, " replied the gentleman. **It is quite
necessary to have a surgeon. Sometimes the
seamen get hurt, and require attendance; and
then sometimes there are cases of sickness
among the passengers. I have got quite a

76 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

little apothecary's shop in my state room. I
will show it to you by and by. But now about
the bells.

**You must know/* continued the surgeon,
**that people strike the time at sea in a very
different manner from that which is customary
on land. In the first place, they have a man
to strike it; they cannot have a clock."

"I do not see why not,*' said Rollo.

** Because at sea," rejoined the surgeon, **the
time changes every day, and no clock going
regularly can keep it. Time depends upon the
sun, and when the ship is going east she goes
to meet the sun J and it becomes noon, that is,
midday, earlier. When the ship is going west,
she goes away from the sun, and then it
becomes noon later. Thus noon has to be
fixed every day anew and a clock going regu-
larly all the time would be continually getting
wrong. Then, besides, the rolling and pitch-
ing of the ship would derange the motion of
of the weights and pendulum of the clock. In
fact, I don*t believe that a clock could be made
to go at all — unless, indeed, it were hung on
gimbals."

**What are gimbals?" asked Rollo.

*'They are a pair of rings,** replied the sur-
geon, **one within the other, and each mounted
on pivots in such a manner that any thing
hung within the inner ring will swing any way
freely. The lamps down in the cabin are hang
on gimbals."

"Yes," said Rollo, ''I saw them."

**Thea, besides,*' continued the surgeon if

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 77

the men strike the bells themselves, the sound,
coming regularly every half hour, proves that
they are at their posts and attending to their
duties. So that, even if a machine could be
invented to strike the time on board ship every
so truly, I do not think they would like to adopt
it.

**Another difference in striking the time on
board ship," continued the surgeon, **is, that
they strike it by half hours instead of by hours.
Scarcely any of the ship's company have
watches. In fact, watches are of very little
use at sea, the time is so continually changing
from day to day. The sailors, therefore, and
nearly all on board, depend wholly on the
bells; and it is necessary, accordingly, that
they should be struck often. Every two bells,
therefore, means an hour; and a single bell at
the end means half an hour. Now, I will
strike the bells for you, and you may tell me
what o'clock it is. We begin after twelve
o'clock.

'*Ding!*'

''Half past twelve, said Rollo.
**Ding — ding!" said the surgeon again, imi-
tating the sound of the bell with his voice.
'*One o'clock," said Rollo.
*'Ding — ding! Ding!" said the surgeon.
"Half past one o'clock. "
** Ding — ding ! Ding — ding !"
•* Two o'clock!"

•*Ding — ding! Ding — ding! Ding!"
•'Half past two."

**Ding— ding! Ding — ding! Ding — ding!* ^

78

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

**Three!''

**Ding — ding! Ding — ding! Ding — dingl
Ding!**

•*Half past three."

**Ding — ding! Ding — ding! Ding — ding!
Ding — ding!"
**Four o'clock."

•*Yes," said the surgeon, **that is eight bells,
and that is the end. Now they stop and begin
again with one bell, which means half past
four; and so they go on to eight bells again,
which makes it eight o'clock. The next eight
bells is twelve o'clock at night, and the next is
at four o'clock in the morning, and the next at
eight o'clock. So that eight bells means four
o'clock, and eight o'clock, and twelve o'clock,
by day; and four o'clock, and eight o'clock,
and twelve o'clock, by night."

**Yes, " said RoUo, **now I understand it. "

'*Eight bells is a very important striking,"
continued the surgeon. **It is a curious fact
that almost everything important that is done
at sea is done at some eight bells or other."

**How is that?" asked Rollo.

**Why, in the first place," replied the sur-
geon, **at eight bells in the morning, the gong
sounds to wake the passengers up. Then the
watch changes, too; that is, the set of men that
have been on deck and had care of the ship
and the sails since midnight go below, and a
new watch, that is, a new set of men that have
been asleep since midnight, take their places.
Then the next eight bells, which is twelve, is
luncheon time. At this time, too, the captain

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. M

finds out from the sun whereabouts we are on
the ocean, and also determines the ship's time
for the next twenty-four hours. The next
eight bells is at four o'clock, and that is dinner
time. The next eight bells is at eight o'clock,
and that is tea time. At all these times the
watches change too; and so they do at the
eight bells, which sound at midnight. ' '

**Yes," said RoUo, *'now I understand it. I
wished to know very much what it meant, and
I had a great mind to go and ask the helms-
man."

**It was well that you did not go and ask
him," said the surgeon.
'*Why?" asked Rollo.

** Because the officers and seamen on board
ships," replied the surgeon, "don't like to be
troubled with questions from landsmen while
they are engaged in their duties. Even the
sensible questions of landsmen appear very
foolish to seamen ; and then, besides, they com*
monly ask a great many that are absolutely
very foolish. They ask the captain when he
thinks they will get to the end of the voyage ;
or, if the wind is ahead, they ask him when he
thinks it will change, and all such foolish ques-
tions ; as if the captain or anybody else could
tell when the wind would change. Sailors
have all sorts of queer answers to give to these
questions, to quiz the passengers who ask
them, and amuse themselves. For instance, if
the passengers ask when anything is going to
happen, the sailors say, *The first of the
month. ' That is a sort of proverb among

80 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

them, and is meant only in fun. But if it hap-
pens to be near the end of the month, the pas-
sengers, supposing the answer is in earnest,
goes away quite satisfied, while the sailors
wink at each other and laugh.

*'Yes/' said Roilo. **I heard a lady ask the
captain, a short time since, when he thought
we should get to Liverpool. "

*'And what did the captain say?" asked the
surgeon.

**He said/' replied Rollo, **that she must go
and ask Boreas and Neptun^, and some of
those fellows, for they could tell a great deal
better than he could."

**The captain does not like to be asked any
such questions," continued the surgeon. **He
cannot possibly know how the wind and sea
are going to be diiring the voyage, and he does*
not like to be teased with foolish inquiries on
the subject. There is no end to the foolish-
ness of the questions which landsmen ask when
they are at sea. Once I heard a man stop
a sailor, as he v/aj going up the shrouds, to
inquire of him wh ther he thought they would
see any whales on that voyage. "

'*And what did the sailor tell him?" asked
Rollo.

**He told him," replied the surgeon, **that
he thought there would be some in sight th
next morning about sunrise. So the passenger
got up early the next morning and took his
seat on the deck, watching everywhere for
whales, while the sailors on the forcastle, who

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 81

had told the story to one another, were all
laughing at him.**

Rollo himself laughed at this story.

'* These questions, after all, are not really so
foolish as they seem,*' said the surgeon. **For
instance, if a passenger asks about seeing
whales, he means merely to inquire whether
there are whales in that part of the ocean, and
whether they are usually seen from the ships
that pass along ; and if so, how frequently, in
ordinary cases, the sight of them may be
expected. All this, rightly understood, is
sensible and proper enough; but sailors are
not great philosophers, and they generally see
nothing in such inquiries but proofs of ridicu-
lous simplicity and chances for them to make
fun.

'*You can tell just how it seems to them
yourself, Rollo,*' continued the surgeon, '*by
imagining that some farmer's boys lived on a
farm where sailors, who had never been in the
country before, came by every day, and asked
an endless series of ridiculous questions. For
instance, on seeing a sheep, the sailor would
ask what that was. The farmer's boys would
tell him it was a sheep. The sailor would ask
what it was for. The boys would say they kept
sheep to shear them and get the wool. Then
presently the sailor would see a cow, and would
ask if that was a kind of a sheep. The
farmer's boys would say no, it was a cow.
Then the sailor would ask if they sheared cows
to get the wool No, the boys would say, we
milk cows. Then presently he would see a

6 Atlantic

£2 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

horse, and he would ask whether that was a
cow or a sheep. They would say it was
neither; it was a horse. Then the sailor would
ask whether they kept horses to milk or to
shear them and so on forever/*

RoUo laughed loud and long at these imagin-
ary questionings. At last he said, —

'*But I don't think we ask such foolish ques-
tions as these. "

*'They do not seem so foolish to you,"
replied the surgeon, '*but they do to the sailors.
The sailors, you see, know all the ropes and
rigging of the ship, and everything seen at sea,
just as familiarly as boys who live in the coun-
try do sheep, and cows, and wagons, and other
such objects seen about the farm ; and the total
ignorance in regard to them which landsmen
betray, whenever they begin to ask questions
on board, seems to the sailors extremely ridic-
ulous and absurd. So they often make fun of
the passengers who ask them, and put all sorts
of jokes upon them. For instance, a passenger
on board a packet ship once asked a sailor
what time they would heave the log. 'The
log,* said the sailor, *they always heave the
log at nine bells. When you hear nine bells
strike, go aft, and you'll see them.' So the
passenger watched and counted the bells every
time they struck, all the morning, in the hopes
to hear the nine bells, whereas they never
strike more than eight bells. It was as if a
man had said, on land, that such or such a
thing would happen at thirteen o'clock/*

Rollo and Jennie laughed.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 83

**So yon must be careful, " continued the sur-
geon, '*what questions you ask of the officers
and seamen about the ship; and you must be
careful, too, what you believe in respect to the
things they tell you. Perhaps it will be the
truth they will tell you, and perhaps they will
be only making fun of you. You may ask me,
however, anything you like. I will answer you
honestly. I am at leisure, and can tell you as
well as not. Besides, I like to talk with
young persons like you. I have a boy at home
myself of just about your rating. "

** Where is your home?" asked Rollo.

**It is upon the North River," said the sur-
geon, **about one hundred miles from New
York. And now I must go away, for it is
almost eight bells, and that is dinner time. I
shall see you again by and by. There's one
thing more, though, that I must tell you before
I go ; and that is, that you had better not go to
any strange places about the ship where you do
not see the other passengers go. For instancfe,
you must not go up upon the paddle boxes.'*

** No,'* said Rollo, "I saw a sign painted,
saying that passengers were not . allowed to go
upon the paddle boxes "

. *'And you must not go forward among the
sailors, or climb up upon the rigging,'* contin-
ued the surgeon.

*'Why not?" asked Rollo.

** Because those parts of the ship are for the
seamen alone, and for others like them, who
have duties to perform on shipboard What
should you think," continued the surgeon, **i£

84 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

some one who had come to make a visit at your
house were to go up stairs, looking about in all
the chambers, or down into the kitchen, exam-
ining everything there to see what he could
find?'*

•'I should think it was very strange, " said
Jennie.

*' Certainly," said the surgeon, **and it is the
same on board ship. There are certain parts
of the ship, such as the cabins, the state rooms,
and the quarter decks, which are appropriated
to the passengers ; and there are certain other
parts, such as the forecastle, the bows, and the
rigging, which are the domains of the seamen.
It is true that sometimes a passenger may go
into these places without impropriety, as, for
example, when he has some business there, or
when he is specially invited ; just as there may
circumstances which v:ould render it proper
for a gentleman to go into the kitchen, or into
the garret, at a house where he is visiting.
But those are exceptions to the general rules,
and boys especially, both when visiting in
houses and when they are passengers on board
ships, should be very careful to keep in proper
places."

**I am glad I did not go climbing up the rig-
ging," said Rollo.

"Yes," replied the surgeon. "Once I knew
a passenger go climbing up the shrouds on
board an East Indiaman, and when he had got
half way up to the main top, and began to be
afraid to proceed, the sailors ran up after him,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 85

and, under pretence of helping him, they tied
him there, hand and foot, with spun yarn."

*^Ha!" said Rollo. *^And what did he do?''

**He begged them to let him down, but they
would not. They said it was customary, when-
ever a landsmen came up into the rigging, for
him to pay for his footing bj'' a treat to the sail-
ors; and that they would let him down if he
would give them a dollar for a treat."

**And did he give it to them?'* asked Rollo.

'*Yes, he said he would," replied the sur-
geon, **if they would untie one of his hands, so
that he could get the dollar out of his pocket.
So they untied one of his hands, and he gave
them the dollar. Then they untied his other
hand and his feet, and so let him go down."

**Why did not he call the captain?" asked
Rollo.

'*0, the captain would not have paid any
attention to such a case," replied the surgeon.
'*If he had been on deck at the time he would
have looked the other way, and would have
pretended not to see what was going on ; but he
would really have been pleased. He would
have considered the passenger as justly pun-
ished for climbing about where he had no busi-
ness to go. * *

Rollo was greatly interested in this narra-
tive. He thought what a narrow escape he had
had in deciding that he would not attempt to
climb up the shrouds, and he secretly deter-
mined that he would be very careful, not only
while he was on board the steamer, but also
on all other occasions, not to violate the pro-

86

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

prieties of life by obtruding himself into places
where he ought not to go.

The surgeon now went away, leaving Rollo
and Jane on the settee together.

wish/* said Rollo, *'that I had asked him
what he meant by heaving the log."

"No," said Jane, **you must not ask any
questions."

Yes," replied Rollo, **I may ask him ques-
tions. He said that I might ask any questions
that I pleased of him. "

**Well, " said Jane, "then you must ask him
the next time you see him. "

**I will," said Rollo. ** And now let us go
down into our state room and find Maria, and
get ready to go to dinner."

''Well," said Jane, *'only let me go first
alone. I want to see if I cannot find my way
to the stateroom alone."

Rollo acceded to this proposal, and he accord-
ingly remained on the settee himself while
Jane went down. Jane looked up toward him
when she turned to go down the steep flight of
stairs which led from the promenade deck,
with a smile upon her countenance which
seemed to say, *'You see I am right so far,"
and then, descending the steps, — holding on
carefully all the time by the green rope, — she
soon disappeared from view. Rollo waited a
proper time, and then followed Jane. He
found her safe upon the couch in her state
room, with Maria seated by her side.

In a very few minutes after Rollo came into
the state room eight bells struck, and §o they

I

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 87

all went out to dinner. At first, Jennie said
that she did not wish to go. She did not wis^
for any dinner. In fact, RoUo perceived, in
looking at her, that she was beginning to be
a little pale. Maria told her, however, that
she had better go and take some dinner.

*'The rule at sea,'* said Maria, ** always is, to
go to the table if you possibly can."

So they all went out into the dining saloon
through the long and narrow passages that
have been already described. They were
obliged to put their hands up to the sides of
the passage ways, first to one side and then to
the other, to support themselves, on account
of the rolling of the ship, for there now began
to be considerable motion. When they
reached the saloon they staggered into their
places, and there sat rocking gently to and
fro on the long swell of the sea, and prepared
to eat their dinner.

The dinner was very much like a dinner in
a fine hotel on land, except that, as every-
thing was in motion, it required some care to
prevent the glasses and plates from sliding
about and spilling what they contained. Be-
sides the ledges along the sides of the tables,
there were also two running up and down in
the middle of it, partitioning off the space
where the various dishes were placed, in the
center, from the space along the sides where
the plates, and knives, and forks, and tum-
blers of the several guests were laid. This
arrangement served, in some measure, to
teep everything in its place ; but notwith-

88 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

Standing this, there was a good deal of sliding
and jingling among the glasses whenever an
unusual sea came rolling along. In one case,
a tumbler, which the person whom it belonged
to had not properly secured, came sliding
down toward him, while his hands were busy
taking care of his soup plate ; and when it
came to the ledge which formed the edge of
the table, the bottom of it was stopped, but
the top went over, and poured all the water
into the gentleman's lap. Upon this all the
passengers around the place laughed very
heartily.

•'There, RoUo," said Jane, •'you had better
be careful, and not let your tumbler get
upset."

*'Why, it is nothing but water, replied
RoUo. **It won't do any harm. I would as
lief have a little water spilled on me as not."

'*I should not care about the water so much,"
replied Jennie; '*but 3 would not as lief have
everybody laughing at tne as not."

This was a very important distinction, and
RoUo concluded that it was, after all, better
to be careful. He watched the movements of
the other passengers when the seas came, and
observed the precautions which they took to
guard against such accidents, and by imitat-
ing these he soon became quite adroit. The
dinner took a good deal of time, as there were
many courses, all served with great regu-
larity. First, there was soup; then fish of
various kinds; then all sorts of roasted meats,
such as beef, mutton, chickens, and ducks,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 89

with a great variety of vegetables. Then came
puddings, pies, jellies, ice creams, and pre-
serves; and, finally, a dessert of nuts, raisins,
apples, almonds, and oranges. In fact, it wa^
a very sumptuous dinner, and what was very
remarkable, when at last it was ended, and
the party rose from the table to go back to the
cabin, Jennie said that she had a better appe-
tite at the end of the dinner than she had had
at the beginning.

90 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

CHAPTER VII.

INCIDENTS.

By the time that Rollo and Jennie had been
two days at sea, they had become accustomed
to their novel position, and they began to feel
quite at home on board the ship. They
formed acquaintance with several of the pas-
sengers, and they went to and fro about the
cabins and decks, and visited their friends in
their state rooms quite freely, sometimes alone
and sometimes together. The sky was clear,
and the water was comparatively smooth. It
is true that there was a long swell upon the
surface of the sea, which produced a contin-
ual, though gentle, rocking of the ship, that
made many of the passengers sick and uncom-
fortable. Rollo and Jane, however, felt for
the most part quite well. Sometimes, for a
short period, one or the other of them looked
pale, and seemed dispirited. At such times
they would lie down upon the couch in their
state room, or upon a sofa in one of the
saloons, and remain quietly there an hour at a
time. Jennie usually in such cases was accus-
tomed to lie on the couch in her state room,
on account of the seclusion of it ; while Rollo,
on the other hand, seemed to prefer the
saloon. He, being a boy, did not g^r^ so much

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

about the seclusion. On the contfary, it
amused him to see the people going to and fro
and to watch the reflections of their forms in
the mirrors about him. Sometimes, also, it
would happen that there were two or more of
the passengers seated near him and engaged
in conversation, that it entertained him to
hear; especially when it related, as it often
did, to adventures and incidents that they had
met with at sea on former voyages. It was
necessary, however, that persons thus convers-
ing should be seated very near, in order that
Rollo should hear them ; for the ship kept up
a continual creaking in all its joints, from the
rolling of the sea, which made it very difficult
to hear what was said across the cabin.

The mirrors, however, and the reflections in
them, produced the most singular illusions,
and were a source of continual interest to
Rollo's mind, as he lay upon the sofa sur-
rounded by them. There were so many of
these mirrors, that the saloon, and all that
pertained to it, were reflected a great many
times, and thus produced the most wonderful
effects. Long passages were seen running off
in all directions, and cabin beyond cabin, in
an endless perspective. So bright and dis-
tinct, too, were the reflections, that it was
difficult to tell whether what you were looking
at was real, or only an imagined reflection of
it. Sometimes Rollo would see, apparently
at a great distance, a man walking along
among carved columns in some remote passage
way, and then, in an instant, the man would

92 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

pass directly by his sofa. He had been near
all the time, and it was only some third or
fourth reflection of him that RoUo had seen.

On the afternoon of the second day of RuUo's
voyage, just before eight bells, which would *
be the time for dinner, as Rollo was lying on
a sofa in the saioon, feeling very miserably,
and extremely disinclined to speak or to move,
two young men came along, talking in a loud
and somewhat noisy manner. They stopped
opposite to him, and one of them began punch-
ing Rollo with the curved head of his cane,
saying,—

*'Well, Rollo, what's the matter with you?
Sick? O, get up, boy, and drive about. Don't
lie moping here like a landlubber. Get up,
and go and eat some dinner. It is almost
eight bells."

Rollo wished very much that these visitors
would leave him alone. He made very little
reply to them, only saying that he did not wish
for any dinner. In fact, he felt sure that, if
he were to go to the table, he could not eat
anything.

The men, after laughing at him, and punch-
ing him, and teasing him a little longer, went
away.

A few minutes after this, Maria and Jennie
came into the saloon. They were ready to go
to dinner, and so they came into the saloon to
wait there till the gong should sound. When
they saw Rollo lying upon the sofa, they went
up to him, but did not speak. Rollo opened
his eyes and looked at them- Maria smiled,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 9S

but still did not speak. Rollo smiled in return,
though somewhat faintly, and then shut his
eyes again. Then Maria led Jennie away,
gently.

**You see," said Maria to Jennie, when they
had gone out of Rollo's hearing, *'he feels a
1 ctle sick, and when a person feels seasick they
do n t like to talk. I am going to get him a
bowl of broth. *'

**Well,** said Jennie, '*let me go and ask
him if he would like some. "

"No," said Maria. '*If you were to ask
him, he would say no. He would think that
he could not eat it; and yet, if I bring it to
him, without saying anything about it, when he
tastes it perhaps he will like it. In fact, when
people are sick, it is always better not to ask
them too much about what they would like.
It is better to consider what we think they
would like, and bring it to them, without say-
ing anything about it beforehand."

So saying, Maria rang the saloon bell. The
chambermaid came in answer to the summons.
Maria then sent the chambermaid to the din-
ing saloon to bring a bowl of chicken broth to
her. The chambermaid went out, and pres-
ently returned, bringing the broth, just as the
gong was sounding for dinner. Maria carried
the broth to Rollo.

When she offered it to him, Rollo thought
at first that he should not be able to take but
two or three spoonfuls of it, but on tasting it
he found that he liked it very much. He ate

U ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

it all, and, as he lay down again upon his sofa,
he said that he felt a great deal better.

Maria then told him that he might lie still
there as long as he pleased ; adding, that she
and Jennie were going to dinner. Maria and
Jennie then went away, leaving Rollo alone
again.

Rollo felt so much better for the broth that
he had taken, that pretty soon he rose from
his recumbent position, and began to sit up.
Presently he said to himself, *'How much bet-
ter I do feel ; I believe I will go and get some
dinner.'*

So he rose from the sofa, and began to stag-
ger along toward the door of the saloon. He
found, however, that after all he felt some-
what giddy and light headed; and he con-
cluded, therefore, that, instead of going to
dinner, he would go up on deck and see how
the wind was. He accordingly turned to the
staircase which led up to the main deck, and
steadying himself by the hand rail as he
ascended the steps, he went up.

At the head of the stairs was a passage way,
and at the end of the passage way there was a
space upon the deck, which was half enclosed;
it being shut in by an awning on the windy
side, and open on the other. This space was
often resorted to by passengers who were sick,
and who wished for more fresh air than they
could have below. There was a row of settees
on one side of this space, and, at the time
that Rollo came up there, there was a lady
lying on one of these settees, apparently in a

ROtLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

very forlorn condition. She looked very pale,
and her eyes were shut. She was lying upon
a mattress, which had been put upon the set-
tee for her, and was covered up with blankets
and shawls.

A gentleman, who seemed to be her hus-
band, was standing before her, attempting to
persuade her to get up. He did this, however,
as Rollo thought, in rather a rough and heart-
less manner.

'*0, get up! get up!*' said he. **You never
will be well if you lie here. Come, go with me
and get some dinner.**

The lady said, in a mournful tone, that she
could not get up, and that she had no appetite
for dinner.

**Well,'* said her husband, **I am going."

**I wish you could tell me something about
Hilbert,** said the lady. **I feel very anxious
about him. I am afraid that he will get into
some trouble. He is so careless."

'*0, no,'* said her husband. **Don*t disturb
yourself about him. He*s safe enough some-
where, I dare say.*'

So saying, the gentleman went away.

Rollo immediately conceived the idea of
performing for this lady the kind service
which Maria had so successfully performed for
him. So, without speaking to her at all, he
went immediately down into the cabin again,
and thence followed the long passages which
led to the dining saloon, until he came to the
door of it. He looked in, and saw that the
people were all seated at the table, eating

96 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

their dinners. He went to one of the waiters,
and asked him if he would bring him a bowl
of chicken broth, to carry to a lady who was
sick.

The waiter said that he would do so, and
immediately went to get the broth. When he
came back with it, he said to RoUo, —

**You had better let me take it to the lady."

"No,*' said Rollo, "I can take it myself. I
know exactly where she is. "

So Rollo took the bowl, and began to carry
it along. He did this without much difficulty,
for it was not by any means full. Bowls of
broth intended to be carried about ship at sea
are never entirely full.

When, finally, he came to the place where
the lady was lying on the settee, he stood there
a moment holding the bowl in his hand, with-
out speaking, as he thought the lady was
asleep; for her eyes were shut. In a moment,
however, she opened her eyes. Rollo then
said to her, —

''Would not you like a bowl of broth, lady?
I have brought some for you.*'

The lady gazed at Rollo a moment with a
sort of bewildered look, and then, raising her-
self up upon the settee, she took the broth, and
began to eat it with the spoon. At first, she
seemed to take it cautiously and with doubt;
but presently, finding that she liked it, she
took spoonful after spoonful with evident
pleasure. Rollo was extremely delighted at
the success of his experiment. The lady said
nothing to him all the time though she looked

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

Up at him repeatedly with a very earnest gaze
while she was taking the broth. At length
she finished it, and then gave Rollo back the
bowl, saying as she did it, —

''Did my husband send you with that bowl
of broth to me?"

*'No,*' said Rollo, brought it myself."

** And what put it into }^ourhead to do that? *
added the lady.

*'Why, Maria brought some to me when I
was sick," replied Rollo, "and it did me good;
and so I thought it would do you good."

The lady looked at him a moment more with
an earnest gaze, and then lay down again, and
shut her eyes. Presently she opened them a
moment and said, —

*'Do you know my son Hilbert?"

**I have seen a boy about the ship," said
Rollo, **not quite so big as I am. Is that
he?"

**With a blue jacket?" said the lady.

**Yes," said Rollo, '*and a bow and arrows."

** That's he," said the lady. ''If you will go
and find out where he is, and ask him to come
to me, you will do me a great deal of good."

Rollo had seen this boy several times in
different places about the ship; but as he
seemed to be rather rude and boisterous in his
manners, and very forward and free withal in
his intercourse with the passengers who
chanced to speak to him from time to time,
Rollo had not felt much disposed to form an
acquaintance with him. The boy had a bow
and arrows, with which he had often amused

7 Atlantic

98

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

himself in shooting about the decks. He did
this with so little consideration, that at last,
one of the officers of the ship told him that he
must not shoot any more in those parts of the
ship where the ladies were, but that he must
go forward, among the sailors, if he wished to
practice archery. So the boy went forward,
and from that time he spent most of his time
on the forward deck among the sailors, and in
the midst of the ropes and the rigging.

Rollo now went in pursuit of him, and after
looking for him in many places, both before
and aft, he finally went down into the dining
saloon, and there he found Hilbert seated at
the table, eating dinner, with his father. His
bow and arrows were on the seat by his side.
Rollo went up to the place where Hilbert was
isitting, and in a timid and cautious manner
informed him that his mother wished to see
him.

**My mother!" repeated Hilbert, looking up
surprised.

"Yes," replied Rollo; **she asked me to tell
you. But I suppose that she can wait until
you have finished your dinner."

**0, no," said Hilbert, can't go at all.
Go tell her I can't come. "

Rollo was greatly astonished at receiving
such a message as this from a boy to his
mother.

''Hilbert," said his father, in a very stern
and threatening manner, "go to your mother
directly."

"No," said Hilbert, in a sort of begging and

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

99

whining tone. *'No, if I do, sheUl make me
stay there all the afternoon."

** No matter for that," said his father; * 'go
directly."

Hilbert did not move, but went on eating
his dinner.

** At least," said his father, **you must go
immediately when you have done your
dinner. "

Hilbert muttered something in reply, but
RoUo did not hear what it was. In fact, he did
not wish to hear any more of such a dialogue
as this between a child and his father. So he
went a\^/ay. He was not at all inclined to
go back to the lady and inform her what Hil-
bert had said ; but he thought that he ought
at least to go and tell her that he had found
Hilbert, as he had been taught that it was
always his duty to go back with a report when
sent on a message. So he went back to the
lady, and told her that he had found Hilbert,
and that he was at dinner with his father.

**And what did he say about coming to me?"
asked the lady.

**His father told him that he must come as
soon as he had finished his dinner," replied
Rollo.

**Very well," said the lady, *Hhat will do."

So saying, she turned her head away and
shut her eyes again, and so Rollo withdrew.

It would be a very nice and delicate point to
determine whether Rollo* s answer in this case
was or was not as full as strict honesty re-
quired. He certainly did not state anything

100

ROLLO ON THE ATLANT C.

that was not true; nor did he, in Vvhat he said,
convey any false impression. He, however,
withheld a very important part of what the
lady must have desired to know. It is un-
doubtedly sometimes right for us to conceal or
withhold the truth. Sometimes, indeed, it is
our imperious duty to do so. RoUo's motive
for doing- as he did in this case was to avoid
giving a sick mother pain, by reporting to her
the undutiful conduct of her son. Whether it
would or would not have been better for him
to have communicated the whole truth, is a
point which must be left for the readers of
this book to discuss among themselves.

After dinner Hilbert, instead of going to his
mother, went up upon the deck, leaving his
bow and arrows, however, down in the cabin.
As Rollo and Jennie were, at that time, seated
near the after part of the promenade deck, he
came and sat down near them. Rollo had a
great desire to get up and go away, taking
Jennie with him; but he feared that it would
be impolite for him to do so; and while he was
considering what he should do, the surgeon
came along that way, and said to them, —
Children, have you seen the little bird?**

"What bird?*' exclaimed the children, all to-
gether.** **Why, there has a bird came on
board,** replied the surgeon. **He belongs in
Nova Scotia, I suppose. That is the nearest
land. He is forward, somewhere, among the
sailors. ' '

The children immediately hurried out to the
most forward part of the promenade deck,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

101

near the great smoke pipe, to a place from
which they could look down upon the forward
deck. There they saw the little bird perched
upon a coil of rigging. He was perfectly still.
Some sailors were standing near, looking at
him. The bird, however, appeared to take no
notice of them.

*Toor little thing!'* said Rollo. '*I expect
he is tired flying so far. I wonder how far it
is to Nova Scotia.**

Rollo turned round as he said this, to see if
the surgeon was near, in order to ask him
how far the poor bird was from home. The
surgeon was not there, but he saw that both
Jennie and Hilbert had suddenly started to-
gether to go back toward the stairway, as if
they were going below.

* 'Jennie/' said Rollo, ** where are you
going?*'

Jennie did not answer, but hurried on. Hil-
bert seemed equally eager. In fact, it was
evident that they had both been seized with
some new idea, though Rollo could not at
first imagine what it was. At length, he
said, —

*'Ah! I know. They are going down where
the bird is, to see it nearer. I'll go with
them. ' •

So saying, Rollo hurried away too.

He was mistaken, however, in supposing
that Hilbert and Jennie were merely going to
the forward deck so as to get nearer the bird.
Jennie was going down into the cabin to shut
up her kitten. The instant that she saw the

102

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

bird she was reminded of Tiger, having some-
times seen Tiger run after little birds in the
yards and gardens at home. They could
escape from her by flying away, but this poor
bird seemed so tired that Jennie was afraid
the kitten would catch it and kill it, if she
came near ; and so she went off very eagerly to
shut the kitten up.

She found the kitten asleep on a sofa in the
cabin. She immediately seized her, waking
her up very suddenly by so doing, and hurried
her off at once to her cage. Jennie put the
kitten into the cage, and then shut and fas-
tened the door.

•'There, Tiger," said she, **you must stay
in there. There is something up stairs that
you must not see.*'

Then Jennie took the cage up, by means of
the ring which formed the handle at the top,
and carried it into her state room. She
pushed aside the curtains of the lower berth,
and, putting the cage in, she deposited it upon
a small shelf in the end of the berth. Then,
drawing the curtains again very carefully, she
came out of the state room and shut the door.

**Now, Tiger," said she, as she tried the
door to see if it was fast, **you are safe; and
you must stay there until the little bird goes
away. ' *

The kitten, when she found herself thus left
alone in such seclusion, stood for a moment
on the floor of the cage, looking toward the
curtains, in an attitude of great astonishment;
then, knowing well, from past experience,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 103

that it was wholly useless for her to speculate
on the reasons of Jennie's doings, she lay
down upon the floor of the cage, curled herself
into a ring, and went to sleep again.

As for Hilbert, who had set off from the
smoke pipe deck at the same time with Jennie,
and in an equally eager manner, his going be-
low had been with an entirely different intent
from hers. He was going to get his bow and
arrows, in order to shoot the little bird. Hp
found them on the seat where he had left
them. He seized them hastily, and ran up by
the forward gangway, which brought him out
upon the forward deck not very far from
where the bird was resting upon the coil of
rigging. He crept softly up toward him, and
adjusted, as he went, his arrow to his bow.
Several of the sailors were near, and one of
them, a man whom they called Hargo, imme-
diately stopped the operation that he was en-
gaged in, and demanded of Hilbert what he
was going to do.

am going to pop one of my arrows into
that bird,'* said Hilbert.

*'No such thing," said the sailor. **You
pop an arrow into that bird, and I'll pop you
overboard."

Sailors will never allow any one to molest or
harm in any way the birds that alight upon
their ships at sea.

** Overboard!" repeated Hilbert, in a tone
of contempt and defiance. *'You would not
dare to do such a thing. ' *

So saying, he went on adjusting his arrow,

104 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

and, creeping up toward the bird, began to
take aim.

Hargo here made a signal to some of his
comrades, who, in obedience to it, came up
near him in a careless and apparently unde-
signed manner. Hargo then, by a sudden and
unexpected movement, pulled the bow and
arrow out of Hilbert's hand, and passed them
instantly behind him to another sailor, who
passed them to another, each standing in such
a position as to conceal what they did en-
tirely from Hilbert's sight. The thing was
done so suddenly that Hilbert was entirely be-
wildered. His bow and arrow were gone, but
he could not tell where. Each sailor, the in-
stant that he had passed the bow and arrow to
the next, assumed a careless air, and went on
with his work with a very grave and unmean-
ing face, as if he had not been taking any
notice of the transaction. The last man who
received the charge was very near the side of
the ship, and as he stood there, leaning with a
careless air against the bulwarks, he slyly
dropped the bow and arrow overboard. They
fell into the water just in advance of the pad-
dle wheel. As the ship was advancing
through the water all this time with tremen-
dous speed, the paddle struck both the bow
and the arrow the instant after they touched
the water, and broke them both into pieces.
The fragments came out behind, and floated
off unseen in the foam which drifted away in
a long line in the wake of the steamer.

Hilbert was perfectly confounded. He

r

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 105

knew nothing of the fate which his weapons
had met with. All he knew was, that they
had somehow or other suddenly disappeared as
if by magic. Hargo had taken them, he was
sure ; but what he had done with them, he
could not imagine. He was in a great rage,
and turning to Hargo with a fierce look, he
demanded, in a loud and furious tone, —
**Give me back my bow and arrow.**
**I have not got your bow and arrow," said
Hargo.

So saying, Hargo held up both hands, by
way of proving the truth of his assertion.

Hilbert gazed at him for a moment, utterly
at a loss what to do or sav, and then he looked
at the other sailors who were near, first at one,
and then at another ; but he could get no clew
to the mystery.

**You have got them hid behind you," said
Hilbert, again addressing Hargo.

'*No," saidhe. **See.'*

So saying, he turned round and let Hilbert
see that the bow and arrow were not behind
him.

**Well, you took them away from me, at any
rate," said Hilbert; and saying this, he turned
away and walked off, seemingly very angry.
He was going to complain to his father.

He met his father coming up the cabin stairs
and began, as soon as he came near him, to
complain in very bitter and violent language
of the treatment that he had received. Hargo
had taken away his bow an arrow, and would
not give them back to him.

106 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

**Very well/' replied his father, quietly,
•*you had been doing some mischief with
them, I suppose. *'

*'No," said Hilbert, **I had not been doing
anything at all.'*

**Then you were going to do some mischief
with them, I suppose," said his father.

**No," said Hilbert, **I was only going to
shoot a little bird. ' '

**A little bird!" repeated his father, sur-
prised. **What little bird?"

**Why, a little bird that came on board from
Nova Scotia, they said," replied Hilbert.
**He came to rest."

**And you were going to shoot him?" said
his father, in a tone of surprise. Then, after
pausing a moment, he added, **Here, come
with me. "

So saying, Hilbert's father turned and
walked down the cabin stairs again. He led
the way to his state room, which, as it hap-
pened, was on the opposite side of the cabin
from that which Jennie occupied. When he
reached the door of the state room, he opened
it, and standing on one side, he pointed the
way to Hilbert, saying sternly, —

**Go in there!"

Hilbert went in.

**You will stay there, now," said his father,
**as long as that bird sees fit to remain on
board. It won't do, I see, for you both to be
on deck together."

So saying, Hilbert's father shut the state

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 107

room door, and locked it; and then, putting
the key in his pocket, went away.

The bird was now safe, his two enemies —
the only enemies he had on board the steamer
— being shut up in their respective state
rooms, as prisoners, one on one side of the
cabin, and the other on the other. He did
not, however, rest any the more quietly on
this account; for he had not at any time been
conscious of the danger that he had been in,
either from the kitten or the boy. He went
on reposing quietly at the resting-place which
he had chosen on the coil of rigging, until at
last, when his little wings had become some-
what reinvigorated, he came down from it, and
went hopping about the deck. Jennie and
Maria then went down below and got some
bread for him. This they scattered in crumbs
before him, and he came and ate it with
great satisfaction. In about two hours he
began to fly about a little; and finally he
perched upon the bulwarks, and looked all over
the sea. Perceiving that he was now strong
enough to undertake the passage home to his
mate, he flew off, and ascending high into
the air, until he obtained sight of the coast,
he then set forth with great speed in that
direction. It was several hundred miles to
the shore, and he had to rest two or three
times on the way. Once he alighted on an
English ship-of-war that was going into Hali-
fax; the next time upon a small fishing boat
on the Banks. He was not molested at either
of his resting-places; and so in due time he

108 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

safely reached the shore, and joined his mate
at the nest, in a little green valley in Nova
Scotia. He was very glad to get home. He
had not intended to have gone so far to sea.
He was blown off by a strong wind, which
came up suddenly while he was playing in the
air, about five miles from shore.

The two prisoners were liberated from their
state rooms after having been kept shut up
about two hours. Tiger did not mind this
confinement at all ; for her conscience being
quiet, she did not trouble herself about it in
the least, but slept nearly the whole time. It
was, however, quite a severe punishment to
Hilbert; for his mind was all the time tor-
mented with feelings of vexation, self-reproach
and shame.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. lOl

CHAPTER VIII.

THE STORM.

The navigation of the Atlantic by means of
the immense sea-going steamers of the present
day, with all its superiority in most respects,
is attended with one very serious disadvantge,
at least for all romantic people, and those who
particularly enjoy what is grand and sublime.
To passengers on board an Atlantic steamer,
a storm at sea — that spectacle which has, in
former times, been so often described as the
most grand and sublime of all the exhibitions
which the course of nature presents to man —
is divested almost entirely of that imposing
magnificence for which it was formerly so
renowned.

There are several reasons for this.

First, the height of the waves appears far
less impressive, when seen from on board an
Atlantic steamer, than from any ordinary ves-
sel ; for the deck in the case of these steamers
is so high, that the spectator, as it were, looks
down upon them. Any one who has ever
ascended a mountain knows very well what
the effect is upon the apparent height of all
smaller hills, when they are seen from an ele-
vation that is far higher than they. In fact, a
country that is really quite hilly is made to

110 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

appear almost level, by being surveyed from
any one summit that rises above the other
elevations. The same is the case with the
waves of the sea, when seen from the prome-
nade deck of one of these vast steamers.

The waves of the sea are never more than
twelve or fifteen feet high, although a very
common notion prevails that they run very
much higher. It has been well ascertained
that they never rise more than twelve or fif-
teen feet above the general level of the water,
and if we allow the same quantity for the depth
of the trough, or hollow between two waves,
we shall have from twenty-five to thirty feet
as the utmost altitude which any swell of water
can have, reckoning from the most depressed
portions of the surface near it. Now, in a
first-class Atlantic steamer, there are two full
stories, so to speak, above the surface of the
sea, and a promenade deck above the upper-
most one. This brings the head of the spec-
tator, when he stands upon the promenade
deck and surveys the ocean around him, to the
height of twenty-five or thirty feet above the
surface of the water. The elevation at which
he stands varies considerably, it is true, at
different portions of the voyage. When the
ship first comes out of port she is very heavily
laden, as she has on board, in addition to the
cargo, all the coal which she is to consume dur-
ing the whole voyage. This is an enormous
quantity — enough for the full lading of what
used to be considered a large ship in former
days. This coal being gradually consumed

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. Ill

during the voyage, the steamer is lightened;
and thus she swims lighter and lighter as she
proceeds, being four or five feet higher out of
the water when she reaches the end of her voy-
age than she was at the beginning. Thus the
height at which the passenger stands above the
waves, when walking on the promenade deck
of an Atlantic steamer, varies somewhat dur-
ing the progress of the voyage ; but it is
always, or almost always so great as to bring
his head above the crests of the waves. Thus
he looks down, as it were, upon the heaviest
seas, and this greatly diminishes their ap-
parent magnitude and elevation. On the con-
trary, to one going to sea in vessels as small as
those with which Columbus made the voyage
when he discovered America, the loftiest bil-
lows would rise and swell, and toss their foam-
ing crests far above his head, as he clung to
the deck to gaze at them. They would seem
at times ready to overwhelm him with the vast
and towering volumes of water which they
raised around him. Then, when the shock
which was produced by the encounter of one of
them was passed, and the ship, trembling from
the concussion, rose buoyantly over the swell,
being small in comparison with the volume of
the wave, she was lifted so high that she
seemed to hang trembling upon the brink of it,
ready to plunge to certain destruction into the
yawning gulf which opened below.

All this is, however, now changed. The
mighty steamer, twice as long, and nearly four
times as massive as she ship, surpasses the

112 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

seas now, as it were, in magnitude and momen-
tum, as well as in power. She not only tri-
umphs over them in the contest of strength,
but she towers above and overtops them in
position. The billow can now no longer toss
her up so lightly to the summit of its crest ;
nor, when the crest of it is passed, will she
sink her so fearfully into the hollow of the sea.
The spectator, raised above all apparent dan-
ger, and moving forward through the scene of
wild commotion with a power greater far than
that which the foaming surges can exert, sur-
veys the scene around him with wonder and
admiration, it is true, but without that over-
powering sensation of awe which it could once
inspire.

Then there is another thing. A sailing ves-
sel, which is always in a great measure depend-
ent upon the wind, is absolutely at its mercy
in a storm. When the gale increases beyond a
certain limit, she can no longer make head at
all against its fury, but must turn and fly — or
be driven — wherever the fury of the tempest
may impel her. In such cases, she goes bound-
ing over the seas, away from her course, to-
ward rocks, shoals, breakers, or any other dan-
gers whatever which may lie in the way,
without the least power or possibility of resist-
ance. She goes howling on, in such a case,
over the wide waste of waters before her,
wholly unable to escape from the dreadful fury
of the master who is driving her, and with no
hope of being released from his hand, until he
chooses, of his own accord, to abate his rage.

(

} - - - ^

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 113

All this, top, is now changed. This terrible
master has now found his master in the sea-
going steamer. She turns not aside to the right
hand or to the left, for all his power. Boreas
may send his gales from what quarter he
pleases, and urge them with whatever violence
he likes to display. The steamer goes steadily
on, pointing her unswerving prow directly .
toward her port of destination, and triumphing
easily, and apparently without effort, over all
the fury of the wind and the shocks and con-
cussions of the waves. The worst that the
storm can do is to retard, in some degree, the
swiftness of her motion. Instead of driving
her, as it would have done a sailing vessel, two
or three hundred miles out of her course, away
over the sea, it can only reduce her speed in
her own proper and determined direction to
eight miles an hour instead of twelve.

Now, this makes a great difference in the
effect produced upon the mind by witnessing
a storm at sea. If the passenger, as he sur-
veys the scene, feels that his ship, and all that
it contains, has been seized by the terrific
power which he sees raging around him, and
that they are all entirely at its mercy — that it
is sweeping them away over the sea, perhaps •
into the jaws of destruction, without any pos-
sible power, on their part, of resistance or es-
cape— his mind is filled with the most grand
and solemn emotions. Such a flight as this,
extending day after day, perhaps for five hun-
dred miles, over a raging sea, is really sub-
lime.

S AtXantic

lU ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

The Atlantic steamer never flies. She
never yields in any way to the fury of the gale,
unless she gets disabled. While her machinery
stands, she moves steadily forward in her
course, and so far as any idea of danger is con-
cerned, the passengers in their cabins and state
rooms below pay no more regard to the storm
than a farmer's family do to whistling and
howling of the wind among the chimneys of
their house, in a blustering night on land.

So much for the philosophy of a storm at sea,
as witnessed by the passengers on board an
Atlantic steamer.

One night, when the steamer had been some
time at sea, Rollo awoke, and found himself
more than usually unsteady in his berth.
Sometimes he slept upon his couch, and some-
times in his berth. This night he was in his
berth, and he found himself rolling from side
to side in it, very uneasily. The creaking of
the ship, too, seemed to be much more violent
and incessant than it had been before. Rollo
turned over upon his other side, and drew up
his knees in such a manner as to prevent him-
self from rolling about quite so much, and then
went to sleep again.

His sleep, however, was very much broken
and disturbed, and he was at last suddenly
awakened by a violent lurch of the ship, which
rolled him over hard against the outer edge of
his berth, and then back against the inner edge
of it again. There was a sort of cord, with
large knobs upon it, at different distances,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 115

which was hung like a bell cord from the back
side of the berth. RoUo had observed this
cord before, but he did not knov/ what it was
for. He now however, discovered what it was
for, as, by grasping these knobs in his hands,
he found that the cord was an excellent thing
for him to hold on by in a heavy sea. By
means of this support, he found that he could
moor himself, as it were, quite well, and keep
himself steady when a heavy swell came.

He was not long, however, at rest, for he
found that his endeavors to go to sleep were
disturbed by a little door that kept swinging
to and fro, in his state room, as the ship rolled.
This was the door of a little cupboard under
the washstand. When the door swung open,
it would strike against a board which formed
the front side of the couch that has already
been described. Then, when the ship rolled
the other way, it would come to, and strike
again upon its frame and sill. Rollo endured
this noise as long as he could, and then he re-
solved to get up and shut the door. So he put
his feet out of his berth upon the floor — which
he could easily do, as the berth that he was in
was the lower one — and sat there watching for
a moment when the ship should be tolerably
still. When the right moment came, he ran
across to the little door, shut it, and crowded
it hard into its place ; then darted back to his
berth again, getting there just in time to save ^
a tremendous lurch of the ship, which would
have perhaps pitched him across the state

Xl6 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

room, if it had caught him when he was in the
middle of the floor.

Rollo did not have time to fasten the little
door with its lock ; and this seemed in fact un-
necessary, for it shut so hard and tight into its
place that he was quite confident that the fric-
tion would hold it, and that it would not come
open again. To his great surprise, therefore,
a few minutes afterward, he heard a thump-
ing sound, and, on turning over to see what
the cause of it was, he found that the little
door was loose again, and was swinging back-
ward and forward as before. The fact was,
that, although the door had shut in tight at
the moment when Rollo had closed it, the
space into which it had been fitted had been
opened wider by the springing of the timbers
and framework of the ship at the next roll, and
thus set the door free again. So Rollo had to
get up once more ; and this time he locked the
door when he had shut it, and so made it
secure.

Still, however, he could not sleep. As soon
as he began in the least degree to lose con-
sciousness, so as to relax his hold upon the
knobs of his cord, some heavy lurch of the sea
would come, and roll him violently from side
to side, and thus wnke him up again. He
tried to brace himself up with pillows, but he
had not pillows enough. He climbed up to
the upper berth, and brought down the bolster
and pillow that belonged there; and thus he
packed and wedged himself in. But the in-
cessant rolling and pitching of the ship kept

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 117

everything in such a state of motion that the
pillows soon worked loose again.

After making several ineffectual attempts to
secure for himself a quiet and fixed position in
his berth, Rollo finally concluded to shift his
quarters to the other side of the state room
and try the couch. The couch had a sort of
side board, which passed along the front side
of it, and which was higher somewhat than the
one forming the front of the berth. This board
was made movable, so that it could be shifted
from the front to the back side, and vice versa,
at pleasure. By putting this side board back,
the place became a sort of sofa or couch, and it
was usually in this state during the day; but
by bringing it forward, which was done at
night, it became a berth, and one somewhat
larger and more comfortable than the perma-
nent berths on the other side.

So Rollo began to make preparations for a
removal. He threw the bolster and pillows
across first, and then, getting out of the berth,
and holding firmly to the edge of it, he waited
for a moment's pause in the motion of the
ship ; and then, when he thought that the right
time had come, he ran across. It happened,
however, that he made a miscalculation as to
the time, for the ship was then just beginning
to careen violently in the direction in which
he was going, and thus he was pitched head
foremost over into the couch, where he floun-
dered about several minutes among the pillows
and bolsters before he could recover the com-
mand of himself.

118 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

At last he lay down, and attempted to com-
pose himself to sleep ; but he soon experienced
a new trouble. It happened that there were
some cloaks and coats hanging up upon a
brass hook above him, and, as the ship rolled
from side to side, the lower ends of them were
continually swinging to and fro, directly over
Rollo*s face. He tried for a time to get out of
the way of them, by moving his head one way
and the other; but they seemed to follow him
wherever he went, and so he was obliged at
last to climb up and take them all off the hook,
and throw them away into a corner. Then he
lay down again, thinking that he should now
be able to rest in peace.

At length, when he became finally settled,
and began to think at last that perhaps he
should be able to go to sleep, he thought that
he heard something rolling about in Jennie's
state room, and also, at intervals, a mewing
sound. He listened. The door between the
two state rooms was always put open a little
way every night, and secured so by the cham-
bermaid, so that either of the children might
call to the other if anything were wanted. It
was thus that Rollo heard the sound that came
from Jennie's room. After listening a mo-
ment, he heard Jennie's voice calling to him.

*' Rollo," said she, **are you awake?"

'*Yes," said Rollo.

**Then I wish you would come and help my
kitten. Here she is, shut up in her cage, and
rolling in it all over the room. ' '

It was even so. Jennie had put Tiger into

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 119

the cage at night when she went to bed, as she
was accustomed to do, and then had set the
cage in the corner of the state room. The vio-
lent motion of the ship had upset the cage, and
it was now rolling about from one side of the
state room to the other — the poor kitten mew-
ing piteously all the time, and wondering
what could be the cause of the astonishing
gyrations that she was undergoing. Maria
was asleep all the time, and heard nothing of
it all.

Rollo said he would get up and help the kit-
ten. So he disengaged himself from the wedg-
ings of pillows and bolsters in which he had
been packed, and, clinging all the time to
something for support, he made his way into
Jennie's state room. There was a dim light
shining there, which came through a pane of
glass on one side of the state room, near the
door. This light was not sufficient to enable
Rollo to see anything very distinctly. He,
however, at length succeeded, by holding to
the side of Jennie's berth with one hand, while
he groped about the floor with the other, in
finding the cage and securing it.

**I've got it," said Rollo, holding it up to the
light. '*It is the cage, and Tiger is in it.
Poor thing ! she looks frightened half to death.
Would you let her out?"

*'0, no," said Jennie. She '11 only be rolled
about the rooms herself. ' '

'*Why, she could hold on with her claws, I
should think," said Rollo.

**fTo^" said Jennie, ** keep her in the cage,

120 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

and put the cage in some safe place where it
can't get away.**

So RoUo put the kitten into the cage, and then
put the cage itself in a narrow space between
the foot of the couch and the end of the state
room, where he wedged it in safely with a car-
pet bag. Having done this, he was just about
returning to his place, when he was dreadfully
alarmed at the sound of a terrible concussion
upon the side of the ship, succeeded by a noise
as of something breaking open in his state
room, and a rush of water which seemed to
come pouring in there like a torrent, and fall-
ing on the floor. Rollo*s first thought was
that the ship had sprung a leak, and that she
was filling with water, and would sink imme-
diately. Jennie, too, was exceedingly alarmed ;
while Maria, who had been sound asleep all
this time, started up suddenly in great terror,
calling out, —

*'Mercyonme! what's that?"

'*I'm sure I don*t know," said Rollo, **unless
the ship is sinking. * *

Maria put out her hand and rung the bell
violently. In the meantime, the noise that
had so alarmed the children ceased, and noth-
ing was heard in Rollo*s room but a sort of
washing sound, as of water dashed to and fro
on the floor. Of course, the excessive fears
which the children had felt at first were in a
great measure allayed.

In a moment the chambermaid came in with
a light in her hand, and asked what was the
matter.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 121

•* I don't know,'* said Maria. ''Something
or other has happened in Rollo's state room.
Please look in and see. "

The chambermaid went in, and exclaimed,
as she entered, —

•'What a goose!"

"Who's a goose?" said Rollo, following her.

"I am," said the chambermaid, "for forget-
ting to screw up your light. But go back ;
you'll get wet, if you come here."

Rollo accordingly kept back in Jennie's state
room, though he advanced as near to the door
as he could, and looked in to see what had hap-
pened. He found that his little round window
had been burst open by a heavy sea, and that
a great quantity of water had rushed in. His
couch, which was directly under the window,
was completely drenched, and so was the floor;
though most of the water, except that which
was retained by the bedding and the carpet,
had run off through some unseen opening
below. When Rollo got where he could see,
the chambermaid was busy screwing up his
window tight into its place. It has already
been explained that this window was formed
of one small and very thick pane of glass, of
an oval form, and set in an iron frame, which
was attached by a hinge on one side, and made
to be secured when it was shut by a strong
screw and clamp on the other.

"There," said the chambermaid. "It is safe
now; only you can't sleep upon the couch any
more, it is so wet. You must get into your

122 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

berth again. I will make you up a new bed in
the couch in the morning. "

RoUo accordingly clambered up into his
berth again, and the chambermaid left him to
himself. Presently, however, she came back
with a dry pillow and bolster for him.

**What makes the ship pitch and toss about
so?'* said Rollo.

**Head wind and heavy sea/* said the cham-
bermaid; * 'that's all.

The chambermaid then, bidding Rollo go to
sleep, passed on into Jennie's state room, on
her way to her own place of repose. As she
went by, Maria asked if there was not a storm
coming on.

**Yes, said the chambermaid, **a terrible
storm."

**How long will it be before morning?" asked
Jennie.

**0, it is not two bells yet," said the cham-
bermaid. *'And you had better not get up
when the morning comes. You'll only be
knocking about the cabins if you do. PU
bring you some breakfast when it is time."

So saying, the chambermaid went away, and,
left the children and Maria to themselves.

Rollo tried for a long time after this to get
to sleep, but all was in vain. He heard two
bells strike, and then three, and then four.
He turned over first one way, and then the
other; his head aching, and his limbs cramped
and benumbed from the confined and uncom-
fortable positions in which he was obliged to
keep them. In fact, when Jennie QU one occa-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

123

sion, just after four bells struck, being very
restless and wakeful herself, ventured to speak
to him in a gentle tone, and ask him whether
he was asleep, he replied that he was not; that
he had been trying very hard, but he could not
get anything of him asleep except his legs.

,At length the gray light of the morning
began to shine in at his little round window.
This he was very glad to see, although it did
not promise any decided relief to his misery;
for the storm still continued with unabated vie-
lence. At length, when breakfast time came,
the chambermaid brought in some tea and toast
for Maria and for both the children. They
took it, and felt much better for it — so much
so, that RoUo said he meant to get up and go
and see the storm.

*'Well,*' said the chambermaid, **you may
go if you must. Dress yourself, and go on the
next deck above this, and walk along the pas-
sage way that leads aft, and there you'll find a
door that you can open and look out. You'll
be safe there. "

**Which way is aft?'* asked Rollo.

**That way,*' replied the chambermaid,
pointing.

So Rollo got up, and holding firmly to the
side of his berth with one hand, and bracing
himself between his berth and the side of his
was stand cupboard with his knees, as the
ship lurched to and fro, he contrived to dress
himself, though he was a long time in accom-
plishing the feat. He then told Jennie that he
was going up stairs to look out at some window

124 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

or door, in order to see the storm. Jennie did
not make much reply, and so Rollo went
away.

The ship rolled and pitched so violently that
he could not stand alone for an instant. If he
attempted to do so, he would be thrown against
one side or the other of the cabin or passage-
way by the most sudden and unaccountable
impulses. He finally succeeded in getting up
upon the main deck, where he went into the
enclosed space which has already been
described. This space was closely shut up now
on all sides. There were, however, two doors
which led from it out upon the deck. In order
to go up upon the promenade deck, it was
necessary to go out at one of these doors, and
then ascend the promenade deck stairway.
Rollo had, however, no intention of doing this,
though he thought that perhaps he might open
one of the doors a little and look out.

While he was thinking of this, he heard steps
behind him as of some one coming up stairs,
and then a voice, saying, —

* 'Halloo, Rollo! Are you up here?"

Rollo turned round and saw Hilbert. He
was clinging to the side of the doorway. Rollo
himself was upon one of the settees.

Just then one of the outer doors opened, and
a man came in. He was an officer of the ship.
A terrible gust of wind came in with him.
The officer closed the door again immediately,
and seeing the boys, he said to them, —

*'Well, boys, you are pretty good sailors, to
be about the ship such weather as this."

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 125

**l'tn going up on the promenade deck/* said
Hilbert.

**No," said the officer, **you had better do
no such thing. You will get pitched into the
lee scuppers before you know where you are. * '

'*Is there any such place where we can look
out and see the sea?" said RoUo.

'*Yes, " replied the officer; *'go aft, there,
along that passage way, and you will find a
door on the lee quarter where you can look
out."

So saying, the officer went away down into
the cabin.

Hilbert did not know what was meant by
getting pitched into the lee scuppers, and RoUo
did not know what the lee quarter could be.
He however determined to go in the direction
that the man had indicated, and see if he could
find the door.

As for Hilbert, he said to RoUo that he was
not afraid of the lee scuppers or any other
scuppers, and he was going up on the promen-
ade deck. There was an iron railing, he said,
that he could cling to all the way.

Rollo, in the meantime, went along the pas-
sage way, bracing his arms against the sides of
it as he advanced. The ship was rolling over
from side to side so excessively that he was
borne with his whole weight first against one
side of the passage way, and then against the
other, so heavily that he was every moment
obliged to stop and wait until the ship came up
again before he could go on. At length he
came into a small room with several door?

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

opening from it. In the back side of this room
was the compartment where the helmsmen
stood with his wheel. There were several men
in this place with the helmsmen, helping him to
control the wheel. Rollo observed, too, that
there were a number of large rockets put away
in a sort of frame in the coil overhead.

He went to one of the doors that was on the
right-hand side of this room, and opened it a
little way; but the wind and rain came in so
violently that he thought he would go to the
opposite side and try that door. This idea
proved a very fortunate one, for, being now
on the sheltered side of the ship, he could open
the door and look out without exposing himself
to the fury of the storm. He gazed for a time
at the raging fury of the sea with a sentiment
of profound admiration and awe. The surface
of the ocean was covered with foam, and the
waves were tossing themselves up in prodigious
heaps; the crests, as fast as they were formed
being seized and hurled away by the wind in
a mass of driving spray, which went scudding
over the water like drifting snow in a wintry
storm on land.

After Rollo had looked upon this scene until
he was satisfied he shut the door, and returned
along the passage way, intending to go down
and give Jennie an account of his adventures.
As he advanced toward the little compartment
where the landing was, from the stairs, he
heard a sound as of some one in distress, and
on drawing near he found Hilbert coming in
perfectly drenched with sea water. He was

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 127

moaning and crying bitterly, and, as he stag-
gered along, the water dripped from his clothes
in streams. Rollo asked him what was the
matter; but he could not answer. Hilbert
pressed on sullenly, crying and groaning as he
went down to find his father.

The matter was, that, in attempting to go
up on the promenade deck, he had unfortun-
ately taken the stairway on the weather side ;
and when he had got half way up, a terrible
sea struck the ship just forward of the paddle
box. A portion of the wave, and an immense
mass of spray dashed up on board the ship, and
a quantity equal to several barrels of water
came down upon the stairs where Hilbert was
ascending. The poor fellow was almost
strangled by the shock. He however clung
manfully of the rope railing, and as soon as he
recovered his breath he came back into the
cabin.

28 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

CHAPTER IX.

THE passenger's LOTTERY.

One morning, a few days after the storm
described in the last chapter, RoUo was sitting
upon one of the settees that stood around the
sky-light on the promenade deck, secured to
their places by lashings of spun yarn, as has
already been described, and was there listen-
ing to a conversation which was going on
between two gentlemen that were seated on
the next settee. The morning was very pleas-
ant. The sun was shining, the air was soft
and balmy, and the surface of the water was
smooth. There was so little wind that the
sails were all furled — for, in the case of a
steamer at sea, the wind, even if it is fair, can-
not help to impel the ship at all, unless it moves
faster than the rate which the paddle wheels
would of themselves carry her; and if it moves
slower than this, of course, the steamer would
by her own progress outstrip it, and the sails, if
they were spread, would only be pressed back
against the masts by the onward progress of the
vessel, and thus her motion would only be
retarded by them.

The steamer, on the day of which we are
speaking, was going on very smoothly and
rapidly by the power of her engines alone, and

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 129

all the passengers were in excellent spirits.
There was quite a company of them assembled
at a place near one of the paddle boxes where
smoking was allowed. Some were seated upon
a settee that was placed there against the side
of the paddle box, and others were standing
around them. They were nearly all smoking,
and, as they smoked, they were talking and
laughing very merrily. Hilbert was among
them, and he seemed to be listening very
eagerly to what they were saying. Rollo was
very strongly inclined to go out there, too, to
hear what the men were talking about; but he
was so much interested in what the gentlemen
were saying who were near him, that he con-
cluded to wait till they had finished their con-
versation, and then go.

The gentlemen who were near him were talk-
ing about the rockets — the same rockets that
Rollo had seen "^hen he went back to the stern
of the ship to look out at the sea, on the day of
the storm. One of the men, who had often
been at sea before, and who seemed to be well
acquainted with all nautical affairs, said that
the rockets were used to throw lines from one
ship to another, or from a ship to the shore, in
case of wrecks or storms. He said that some-
times at sea a steamer came across a wrecked
vessel, or one that was disabled, while yet there
were some seamen or passengers still alive on
board. These men would generally be seen
clinging to the decks, or lashed to the rigging.
In such cases the sea was often in so frightful
a commotion that no boat could live in it; and

9 Atlantic

130 ROLLO on tHE ATLANTIC.

there was consequently on way to get the unfor-
tunate mariners off their vessel but by throw-
ing a line across, and then drawing them over
in some way or other along the line. He said
that the sailors had a way of making a sort of
sling, by which a man could be suspended
under such a line with loops or rings, made of
rope, and so adjusted that they would run
along upon it; and that by this means men
could be drawn across from one ship to another,
at seai, if there was only a line stretched across
for the rings to run upon.

Now, the rockets were used for the purpose
of throwing such a line. A small light line
was attached to the stick of the rocket, and
then the rocket itself was fired, being pointed
in such a manner as to go directly over the
wrecked ship. If it was aimed correctly, it
would fall down so as to carry the small line
across the ship. Then the sailors on board the
wrecked vessel would seize it, by means of it
would draw the end of a c^trong line over, and
thus effect the means of making their escape.
It was, however, a very dreadful alternative,
after all; for the rope forming this fearful
bridge would of course be subject all the time
to the most violent jerkings, from the rolling
and pitching of the vessels to which the two
extremities of it were attached, and the
unhappy men who had to be drawn over by
means of it would be perhaps repeatedly struck
and overwhelmed by the foaming surges on the
way.

While RoUo was listening to this conversa-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 131

tion, Hubert's father and another gentleman
who had been walking with him up and down
the deck came and sat down on one of the
settees. Very soon, Hilbert, seeing his father
sitting there, came eagerly to him, and said,
holding out his hand, —

**Father, I want you to give me half a sov-
ereign."

**Half a sovereign," repeated his father;
**what do you want of half a sovereign?"

A sovereign is the common gold coin of Eng-
land. The value of it is a pound, or nearly
five dollars; and half a sovereign is, of course,
in value about equal to two dollars and a half
of American money.

"I want to get a ticket," said Hilbert.
**Come, father, make haste," he added, with
many impatient looks and gestures, and still
holding out his hand.

"A ticket? what ticket?" asked his father.
As he asked these questions, he put his hand
in his pocket and drew out an elegant little
purse.

**Why, they are going to have a lottery
about the ship's run, to-day," repHed Hilbert,
"and I want a ticket. The tickets are half a
sovereign apiece, and the one who gets the
right one will have all the half sovereigns.
There will be twenty of them, and that will
make ten pounds. "

"Nearly fifty dollars, " said his father; "and
what can you do with all that money, if you
get it? O, no, Hibby ; I can't let you have any
money for that. And besides, these lotteries,

132 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

and the betting about the run of the ship, are
as bad as gambling. They are gambling, in
fact."

**Why, father," said Hilbert, "you bet, very
often."

Mr. Livingston, for that was his father's
name, and his companion, the gentleman who
was sitting wtih him, laughed at hearing this ^
and the gentleman said, —

*'Ah, George, he has you there."

Even Hilbert looked pleased at the effect
which his rejoinder had produced. In fact, he
considered his half sovereign as already gained.

**0, let him have the half sovereign," con-
tinued the gentleman. ** He'll find some way
to spend the ten pounds, if he gets them, I'll
guarantee."

So Mt. Livingston gave Hilbert the half
sovereign, and he, receiving it with great de-
light, ran away.

The plan of the lottery, which the men at
the paddle box were arranging, was this. In
order, however, that the reader may under-
stand it perfectly, it is necessary to make a lit-
tle preliminary explanation in respect to the
mode of keeping what is called the reckoning
of ships and steamers at sea. When a vessel
leaves the shore at New York, and loses sight
of the Highlands of Neversink, which is the
land that remains longest in view, the mari-
ners that guide her have then more than two
thousand miles to go, across a stormy and
trackless ocean, with nothing whatever but
the sun and stars, and their own calculation of

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 133

theif motion, to guide them. Now, unless at
the end of the voyage they should come out
precisely at the lighthouse or at the harbor
which they aim at, they might get into great
difficulty or danger. They might run upon
rocks where they expected a port, or come
upon some strange and unknown land, and be
entirely unable to determine which way to turn
in order to find their destined haven.

The navigators could, however, manage this
all very well, provided they could be sure of
seeing the sun every day at proper times, par-
ticularly at noon. The sun passes through
different portions of the sky every different
day of the year, rising to a higher point at
noon in the summer, and to a lower one in the
winter. The place of the sun, too, in the sky,
is different according as the observer is more
to the northward or southward. For inasmuch
as the sun, to the inhabitants of northern lati-
tudes, always passes through the southern part
of the sky, if one person stands at a place one
hundred or five hundred miles to the south-
ward of another, the sun will, of course,
appear to be much higher over his head to
the former than to the latter. The farther
north, therefore, a ship is at sea, the lower in
the sky, that is, the farther down toward the
south, the sun will be at noon.

Navigators, then, at sea, always go out upon
the deck at noon, if the sun is out, with a very
curious and complicated instrument, called a
sextant, in their hands; and with this instru-
ment they measure exactly the distance from

134 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

the sun at noon down to the southern horizon.
This is called making an observation. When
the observation is made, the captain takes the
number of degrees, and minutes, and goes
into his state room ; and there, by the help of
certain tables contained in books which he
always keeps there for the purpose, he makes
a calculation, and finds out the exact latitude
of the ship ; that is, where she is, in respect to
north and south.

There are other observations and calcula-
tions by which he determines the longitude ;
that is, where the ship is in respect to east
and west. When both these are determined
he can find the precise place on the chart
where the vessel is, and so — inasmuch as he
had ascertained by the same means where she
was the day before — he can easily calculate
how far she has come during the twenty-four
hours between one noon and another. These
calculations are always made at noon, because
that is the time for making the observations
on the sun. It takes about an hour to make
the calculations. The passengers on board
the ship during this interval are generally full
of interest and curiosity to know the result.
They come out from their lunch at half past
twelve, and then they wait the remaining half
hour with great impatience. They are eager
to know how far they have advanced on their
voyage since noon of the day before.

In order to let the passengers know the re-
sult, when it is determined, the captain puts
up a written notice, thus:—'

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 135

Latitude, 44° 26".
Longitude, 16^ 31*^.
Distance, 270.

The passengers, on seeing this notice, which
is called a bulletin, know at once, from the
first two items, whereabout on the ocean they
are ; and from the last thev learn that the dis-
tance which the ship has come since the day
before is 270 miles.

This plan of finding out the ship's place
every day, and of ascertaining the distance
which she has sailed since the day before,
would be perfectly successful, and amply suffi-
cient for all the purposes required, if the sun
could always be seen when the hour arrives
for making the observation ; but this is not the
fact. The sky is often obscured by clouds for
many days in succession; and, in fact, it
sometimes happens that the captain has
scarcely an opportunity to get a good observa-
tion during the whole voyage. There is,
therefore, another way by which the navigator
can determine where the ship is, and how fast
she gets along on her voyage.

This second method consists of actually
measuring the progress of the ship through
the water, by an instrument called the log and
line. The log — which, however, is not any
log at all, but only a small piece of board,
loaded at one edge so as to float upright in the
water — has a long line attached to it, which
line is wound upon a light windlass called a
reel. The line, except a small portion of it at

136 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

the beginning, is marked off into lengths by
small knots made^ in it at regular intervals.
There are little rags of different forms and
colors tied into these knots, so that they may
easily be seen, and may also be distinguished
one from the other.

When the time comes for performing the op-
eration of heaving the log, as they call it, the
men appointed for the purpose bring the log
and the reel ' to the stern of the ship. One
man holds the log, and another man the reel.
There are two handles, one at each end of the
reel, by which the man who serves it can hold
it up over his head, and let the line run off
from it. Besides the two men who hold the
log and the reel, there is a third, who has a
minute glass in his hand. The minute glass
is like an hour glass, only there is but just
sand enough in it to run a minute. The man
who has the minute glass holds it upon its
side at first, so as not to set the sand to run-
ning until all is ready.

At length the man who holds the log throws
it over into the water, and the ship, sailing
onward all the time, leaves it there floating
edge upward. The man who holds the reel
lifts it up high, so that the line can run off
easily as the ship moves on. As soon as the
first rag runs off, which denotes the beginning
of the marked point of the line, he calls out
suddenly, —

**Turn!"

This is the command to the man who holds
the minute glass to hold it so as to set the

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 137

sand to running. He accordingly instantly
changes the position of the glass, and holds it
perpendicularly, and immediately sets himself
to watching the running out of the sand.
The instant it is gone, he calls out, —
'•Stop!"

The man who is holding the reel, and an-
other who stands by ready to help him, in-
stantly stop the line, and begin to draw it in.
They observe how many knots have run out,
and they know from this how many miles an
hour the ship is going. Each knot goes for a
mile.

They do not have to count the knots that
have run out. They can always determine,
by the form and color of the last one that
passes, what knot it is. One of the men goes
immediately and reports to the captain that
the ship is going so many knots, and the cap-
tain makes a record of it. The other men at
once begin to draw in the line, which brings
the log in also at the end of it. This line
comes in very hard, for the friction of so long
a cord, dragged so swiftly through the water,
is very great. It generally takes for or five
men to pull the line in. These men walk
along the deck, one behind the other, with the
line over their shoulders ; and at first they have
to tug very hard. The reel man winds the
line upon the reel as fast as they draw it in.
It comes in more and more easily as the part
that is in the water grows shorter; and at
length the log itself is soon skipping through
the foam in the wake of the ship, until it

138 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

comes up out of the water and is taken on
board.

They heave the log every two hours, — that
is, twelve times for every twenty-four hours,
— and from the reports which the captain re-
ceives of the results of these trials, it is easy
for him to calculate how far the ship has come
during the whole period. As he knows, too,
exactly how far the pilot has been steering by
the compass all this time, he has both the
direction in which the ship has been sailing,
and the distance to which she has come ; and
of course from these data he can calculate
where she must now be. This mode of deter^
mining the ship's place is called by the
reckoning. The other is called by observa-
tion.

The intelligent and reflecting boy who has
carefully read and understood the preceding
explanations will perceive that the two oper-
ations which we have been describing are in
some sense the reverse of each other. By
the former, the navigator ascertains by his
measurements where the ship actually is to-
day, and then calculates from that how far,
and in what direction, she has come since yes-
terday. Whereas, by the latter method, his
measurements determine directly how far,
and in what direction, the ship has come ; and
then he calculates from these where she now
is. Each method has its advantages. The
former, that by observation, is the most sure
and exact ; but then it is not always practic-
able, for it may be cloudy. On the other hand,

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

139

the latter — that is, by the reckoning — never
fails, for the log can always be thrown, be the
weather what it may ; but it cannot be fully
relied upon, on account of the currents in the
water and the drifting of the vessel. Conse-
quently, on board all ships they keep the reck-
oning regularly every day. Then, if they get
a good observation, they rely upon that. If
they do not, they go by the reckoning.

We now return to the story. And here, I
suppose, is the place where those sagacious
children, who, when they are reading a book
in which entertainment and instruction are
combined, always skip all the instruction, and
read only the story, will begin to read again,
after having turned over the leaves of this
chapter thus far, seeing they contain only ex-
planations of the mode of navigating a ship,
and saying nothing about Hilbert and Rollo.
Now, before going any farther, I wish to
warn all such readers, that they will not be
able to comprehend at all clearly the compli-
cated difficulties which Hilbert and the others
got into in respect to the lottery without un-
derstanding all that has been explained in the
preceding pages of this chapter. I advise
them, therefore, if they have skipped any of
it, to go back and read it all, and to read it
slowly too, and with the utmost attention.
And I advise them, moreover, if they do not
perfectly understand it all, to ask some older
person to read it over with them and explain it
to them. If they are not willing to do this,
but insist on skipping the first part of the

140 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

chapter, I advise them to make complete work
of it, and skip the last half too ; for they cer-
tainly will not understand it.

When Hilbert went back to the paddle box
with his half sovereign, it was about eleven
o'clock. The observation was to be made at
twelve ; and the results, both in respect to the
observation and reckoning, were to be calcu-
lated immediately afterward. The lottery
which the men were making related to the
number of miles which the ship would have
made during the twenty-four hours. The men
were just making up the list of subscribers to
the tickets when Hilbert went up to them.
He gave his half sovereign to the man who
had the list. This man, whom they called the
Colonel, took the money, saying, ** That's
right, my lad," and put it in a little leather
purse with the other half sovereigns.

''What's your name. Bob?" said he.
• * 'Livingston, " said Hilbert.

•'Bobby Livingston," said the Colonel, writ-
ing down the name on his list.

"No," said Hilbert, contemptuously, "not
Bobby Livingston. Hilbert Livingston."

"O, never mind," said the Colonel; "it's all
the same thing. Bobby means boy. "

The plan of the lottery was this: It was
generally supposed that the ship's run would
be about 270 miles; and it was considered
quite certain, as has already been stated, that
it would not be more than 280, nor less than
260. So they made twenty tickets, by cutting
five of the Colonel's visiting cards into quar-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 141

ters, which tickets were to represent all the
numbers from 261 to 280, inclusive. They
wrote the numbers upon these cards, omitting,
however, the first figure, namely, the 2, in
order to save time ; for rs that figure came in
all the numbers, it was considered unneces-
sary to write it. When the numbers were writ-
ten thus upon the card, the cards themselves
were all put into a cap and shaken up, and
then every one who had paid a half sovereign
drew out one, the colonel holding the hat up
high all the time, so that no one could see
which number he drew. This operation was
performed in the midst of jokes and gibes and
loud shouts of laughter, which made the
whole scene a very merry one. When Hil-
bert came to draw, the merriment was re-
doubled. Some called on the Colonel to hold
down the cap lower, so that Bob could reach
it. Others said that he was sure to get the
lucky number, and that there was no chance
at all for the rest of them. Others, still, were
asking him what he would take for his ticket,
or for half of it, quarter of it, and so on. Hil-
bert was half pleased and half ashamed at
being the object of so much coarse notoriety;
while Rollo, who had drawn up toward the
place, and was looking on from a safe distance
at the proceedings that were going on, was
very glad that he was not in Hilbert's place.

The ticket that Hilbert drew was marked
67. It denoted, of course, the number 267;
and that, being pretty near to the number of
miles which it was thought the ship would

m ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

probably make, was considered quite a valu-
able ticket. The owners of the several
tickets, as soon as the drawing was completed,
began to compare them and talk about them,
and to propose bargains to one another for
buying and selling them, or exchanging them.
In these negotiations each man was endeavor-
ing to outwit and circumvent his friend, in
hopes of buying his ticket for a moderate sum,
and drawing the whole prize with it. Others
were engaged in betting on particular tickets.
These bets, when they were made, they re-
corded in little memorandum books kept for
the purpose. In fact, a very noisy and tumul-
tuous scene of bargaining, and betting, and
barter ensued.

Hilbert was very much pleased with his
ticket. He went to show it to Rollo. He said
he verily believed that he had got the exact
ticket to draw the prize. He did not think
the ship would go quite 270 miles.

**And if she does not,'* said he, **and should
happen to go only 267 miles, then I shall have
ten pounds; and that is almost fifty dollars. ' *

So saying, Hilbert began to caper about the
deck in the exuberance of his joy.

His antics were, however, suddenly inter-
rupted by the Colonel, who just then came up
to him and asked to see his ticket. Hilbert
held it up so that the Colonel could see the
number upon it.

Sixty-seven," said the Colonel. *' That is
not worth much. Nobody thinks she'll go
less than 270. However,** he added, in a care-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 143

less tone, give you twelve shillings for it.
That is two shillings over what you paid for it
— nearly half a dollar. You'd better make
sure of half a dollar than run the risk of losing
everything on such a poor ticket as that. **

** Would you?'* said Hilbert, turning to RoUo.

**I don't know," replied Rollo, shaking his
head. **1 don't know anything about it."

"No," said Hilbert, turning to the Colonel
again; **I believe I'll keep my ticket, and
take my chance."

The Colonel said, *'Very well; just as you
please;" and then went away. Hilbert had,
after this, several other offers, all of which he
declined ; and in about a quarter of an hour
the Colonel met him again, as if accidentally,
and began to talk about his ticket. He said
that all the tickets under 270 were selling at a
low price, as almost everybody believed that
the ship's run would be more than that; but
still, he said, he would give a pound for Hil-
bert's ticket, if he wished to sell it. **Thus,"
he said, '^you'll get back the half sovereign
you paid, and another half sovereign besides,
and make sure of it. "

But the more the people seemed to wish to
buy Hubert's ticket, the less inclined he was
to part with it. So he refused the Colonel's
offer, and put the card safely away in his wal-
let. In one sense he was right in refusing to
sell his chance ; for as the whole business of
making such a lottery, and buying and selling
the tickets afterward, and betting on the result,
is wrong, the less one does about it the better.

144 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

Every new transaction arising out of it is a new
sin. It could easily be shown, by reasoning on
the philosophy of the thing, why it is wrong,
if there were time and space for it here. But
this is not necessary, as every man has a feel-
ing in his own conscience that there is a wrong
in such transactions. It is only bad charac-
ters, in general, that seek such amusements.
When others adventure in them a little, they
make apologies for it. They say they are not
in the habit of betting, or of venturing in lot-
teries, or that they don't approve of it — but
will do it this once. Then, when people lose
their money, the chagrin which they feel is
always deepened and embittered by remorse
and self-condemnation; while the pleasure
which those feel who gain is greatly marred by
a sort of guilty feeling, which they cannot
shake off, at having taking the money of their
friends and companions by such means. All
these indications, and many others which
might be pointed out, show that there is a
deep-seated and permanent instinct in the
human heart which condemns such things ; and
nobody can engage in them without doing vio-
lence to this instinct, and thus committing a
known wrong.

In regard to most of the men who were
engaged in the lottery, they had so often done
such things before that their consciences had
become pretty well seared and hardened.
There was one man, however, who decided to
take a ticket against considerable opposition
that was made to it by the moral sentiments of

1

ROLLO 0^ THE ATLANTIC. 145

his heart. This was Maria's brother. He had
been confined to his berth most of the voyage,
but was now better; and he had been walking
up and down the deck with a friend. He
looked pale and dejected, however, and seemed
still quite feeble.

His friend, whom he called Charles, seeing
that they were going on with a lottery near
the paddle boxes, proposed that they should
both go and buy tickets.

*'Come,*' said he, **Chauncy, that will amuse
you.*'

**0, no," said Mr. Chauncy^

*'Yes, come,** said Charles. ** Besides, we
ought to do our part to assist in entertaining
one another.*'

So saying, Charles led Mr. Chauncy along,
tod partly by persuasion and partly by a little
gentle force, he made him take out his purse
and produce a half sovereign, too. He also
subscribed himself, and then drew both the
tickets. He gave one of them to Mr. Chauncy,
and the other he kept himself ; and then the
two friends walked away. Mr. Chauncy 's
ticket was 66, the number immediately below
that which Hilbert had drawn.

Mr. Chauncy, being now tired of walking,
went to sit down upon one of the settees next
to where Hilbert and Rollo had just gone to
take a seat. Mr. Chauncy was next to Hilbert.
He immediately began to talk with Hilbert
about the lottery.

**Have you got a ticket in this lottery?** he
asked.

10 Atlantic

V

146 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

**Yes,'* said Hilbert, **mine is 267. What is
yours?**

don't know/' said Mr. Chauncy, **I did
not observe.*' As he said this, however, he
took his ticket out of his pocket, and said,
reading it, ** Ninety-nine. **

He was holding it wrong side upward, and
so it read 99.

*'Ho!*' said Hilbert, **that will not get the
prize. We shall not go 299 miles. I would
not exchange mine for yours on any account."

**No," said Mr. Chauncy, **nor would I ex-
change mine for yours."

'•Why?** said Hilbert. **Do you think there
is any chance of the ship's making 299?"

*'No," replied Mr. Chauncy, **and that is
the very reason I like my ticket. If I had
yours, I should be afraid I might get the
prize."

•'Afraid?*' repeated Hilbert.

•'Yes,*' said Mr. Chauncy.

•'Why should you be afraid?*' asked Hilbert,
much surprised.

•'Because," said Mr. Chauncy, "I should not
know what to do with the money. I would
not put it in my purse ; for I don*t let anything
go in there but honest money. I don*t know
who I could give it to. Besides, I should not
like to ask anybody to take what I should be
ashamed to keep myself. I should really be
in a very awkward situation. * '

As he said this, Mr. Chauncy held his ticket
between his thumb and finger, and looked at
the number. Neither he nor Hilbert suspected

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 14t

for a moment that there was any mistake in
reading it ; for, not having paid any attention
to the scheme, as it is called, of the lottery,
they did not know how high the numbers went.

** There is a possibility that I may get it,
after all," said Mr. Chauncy at length, mus-
ing. '*We have had fine weather, and have
been coming on fast. The best thing for me
to do is to get rid of the ticket Have you got
a ticket, Rollo.^** said he, turning to Rollo.

•'No, sir," said Rollo.

*'I have a great mind to give it to you,
then."

'*No, sir," said Rollo; **I would rather not
have it."

**That is right," said Mr. Chauncy. like
you the better for that. I know what I will
do with it. Do you remember an Irish woman
that you see sitting on the forward deck some-
times with her two children?"

**Yes," said Rollo, **she is there now."

**Very well," said Mr. Chauncy, carry this
to her, and tell her it is a ticket in a lottery,
and it may possibly draw a prize. Have you
any conscientious scruples about doing that?"

"No, sir," said Rollo.

"Then take the ticket and go," said Mr.
Chauncy. "Tell her she had better sell the
ticket for two shillings, if she gets a chance.
There may be somebody among the gamblers
that will buy it."

So Rollo took the ticket and carried it to the
Irish woman. She was a woman who was re-
turning to Ireland as a deck passenger. She

148 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

was quite poor. When Rollo tendered her the
ticket, she was, at first, much surprised. Rollo
explained the case fully to her, and concluded
by repeating Mr. Chauncy's advice — that she
should sell the ticket, if she could get a chance
to sell it for as much as two shillings. The
woman, having been at sea before, understood
something about such lotteries, and seemed to
be quite pleased to get a ticket. She asked
Rollo to tell such gentleman as he might
meet that she had 99 to sell for two shillings.
This, however, Rollo did not like to do, and so
he simply returned to the settee and reported
to. Mr. Chauncy that he had given the woman
the ticket and delivered the message.

Mr. Chauncy said he was very much obliged
to him; and then, rising from his seat, he
walked slowly away, and descended into the
cabin.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 149

CHAPTER X.

THE END OF THE LOTTERY.

In almost all cases of betting and lotteries
the operation of the system is, that certain per-
sons, called the knowing ones, contrive to man-
age the business in such a way, by secret
manoeuvres and intrigues, as to make the re-
sult turn out to their advantage, at the expense
of those parties concerned who are ignorant
and inexperienced, or, as they term it,
green. " Very deep plans were laid for ac-
complishing this object in respect to the lottery
described in the last chapter; though, as it
happened in this case, they were fortunately
frustrated.

The principal of these manoeuvres were the
work of the man whom they called the Colonel.
He had formed the plan, with another man, of
secretly watching the operation of heaving the
log every time it was performed, and making
a note of the result. By doing this, he thought
he could calculate very nearly how many miles
the ship would make, while all the other pas-
sengers would have nothing to guide them but
such general estimates as they could make
from recollection. He accordingly arranged it
with his confederates that one or the other of
them should be on deck whenever the men

V

150 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

were called to heave the log, and, without
appearing to pay any particular attention to
the operation, carefully to obtain the result,
and make a memorandum of it. This plan was
sufficient for the daytime. For the night — in-
asmuch as it might excite suspicion for them
to be up at unseasonable hours to watch tho
operation — they resorted to another method.
They bribed one of the seamen of each watch
to find out the result of each trial during his
watch, and to give them the answers in the
morning. When the last time for the heaving
the log, previous to making up the accounts for
the day, came, which was at ten o'clock, they
took that result, and then, shutting themselves
up in their state room, they made a calcula-
tion, and ascertained pretty certainly, as they
thought, that the distance would be about 267
miles. It might possibly be 266, or 268; but
they thought that they were sure that it would
be one of these three numbers. The next
thing was to circulate statements, and to ex-
press opinions in private conversation here and
there among the passengers, in a careless sort
of way, to produce a general impression that
the rate of the ship would not be less than 270
miles. This was to lead the owners of the
tickets, and the bettors generally, not to attach
a high value to the number below 270. By
doing this, they expected to depress the value
of these tickets in the general estimation, so
that they could buy them easily. They calcu-
lated that, if their plans succeeded, they could
buy 266, 267 and 268 for about a sovereign

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 151

apiece — the holders of them being made to sup-
pose, by their manoeuvres, that those numbers
would have very little chance of obtaining the
prize.

The plan was very deeply laid, and very skil-
fully executed ; and the men were so far suc-
cessful in their efforts that they did produce a
general impression that the ship's run could
not be below 270. They also bought ticket
268, though they had to give two sovereigns for
it. It has already been shown how their at-
tempts to get possession of 267 failed, by Hil-
bert's refusal to sell it. They, of course, also
failed to get 266, for that ticket was not to be
found. They could not make any very open
and public inquiries for it, as it was necessary
that everything which they did should be per-
formed in a verv unconcerned and careless
manner. They, however, made repeated in-
quiries privately for this ticket, but could not
get any tidings of it. A certain sailor told
some of the bettors that an Irish woman on
the forward deck had a ticket which she offered
to sell for two shillings ; but when, on being
asked what the number was, he answered 99,
they laughed at him, supposing that somebody
had been putting a hoax upon the poor Irish
woman, as there was no such number as that
in the lottery.

Besides the manoeuvres of these two confed-
erates, there was another man who was devis-
ing a cunning scheme for obtaining the prize.
This was the mate of a merchant ship that had
put into the port of New York in a damaged

152 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

condition, and had there been sold. The mate,
being thus left without a vessel, was now re-
turning as a passenger in the steamer, to Scot-
land, where he belonged.

This man was accustomed to navigation;
and he had the necessary books for making
the computations in his trunk. He conceived
the idea of being present on deck at twelve
o'clock, when the captain made his observa-
tion, and of learning from him, as it were acci-
dentally, what the sun's altitude was observed
to be. This he could very easily do, for it was
customary to have the observation made not
only by the captain, but one or two of the
chief officers of the ship also, at the same time,
who are all always provided with sextants for
the purpose. The results, when obtained, are
compared together, to see if they agree— each
observer telling the others what altitude he
obtains. Thus they are more sure of getting
the result correctly. Besides, it is important
that these officers should have practice, so that
they may be able to take the observation when
the captain is sick, or when they come to com-
mand ships themselves.

Now, the mate above referred to thought
that, by standing near the captain and his
officers when they made the observations, he
could overhear them in comparing their re-
sults, and then that he could go down into his
state room immediately; and that there, by
working very diligently, he could ascertain the
run of the ship before it should be reported on
the captain's bulletin, and so know beforehand

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 153

what ticket would gain the prize. Or, if he
could not determine absolutely what the pre-
cise ticket would be — since his computation
might not agree precisely with that made by
the captain — he could determine within two
or three of the right one, and then buy three
tickets — that is, the one which agreed with
his calculation, and also the one above and be-
low it — ^for perhaps a sovereign or so apiece :
he would thus get the ten sovereigns by an
expenditure of three or four. His plan, in fact,
was similar to that of the Colonel ; only his
estimate was to be based on the observation,
while that of the Colonel was based on the
dead reckoning. They both performed their
computations in a very skilful manner, and
they came to nearly the same result. The
mate came to the conclusion that the run of
the ship would be 266 miles; while the Col-
onel, as has already been stated, made it 267.
While, therefore, the Colonel, to make sure of
the prize, wished to buy tickets 266, 267 and
268, the mate wished to secure 265, 266 and
267. The mate, after making some inquiry,
found who had 265 ; and, after some bargain-
ing, succeeded in buying it for two sovereigns
and a half. But he could not hear anything of
266. As for 267, he discovered that Hilbert
had it, just as the bell rang for luncheon. He
told Hilbert that if he wished to sell his ticket
he would give him thirty shillings for it, which
is a sovereign and a half. But Hilbert said no.

It is, however, time that this story of the
lottery should draw to a closo, w^re it not so.

154 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

a great deal more detail might have been given
of the manoeuvres and contrivances which both
the Colonel and the mate resorted to, to induce
Hilbert to sell his ticket. These efforts at-
tracted no special attention, for all the others
were buying and selling tickets continually,
and making offers for those which they could
not buy. Some were put up at auction, and
sold to the highest bidder, amid jokes, and
gibes, and continual shouts of laughter.

At length, when the time drew nigh for the
captain's bulletin to appear, the mate offered
Hilbert three pounds for his ticket, and Hil-
bert went and asked his father's advice about
accepting this offer. His father hesitated for
some time, but finally advised him not to sell
his ticket at all. Hilbert was satisfied with
this advice, for he now began to be quite sure
that he should get the prize.

At length, about fifteen minutes after the
party had come up from luncheon, and were
all assembled around the paddle-box settee, a
gentleman came up one of stairways with a
slip of paper in his hands, and, advancing to
the group, he attempted to still the noise they
were making, by saying, —

**Order, gentlemen, order. I've got the bul-
letin."

Everybody's attention was arrested by these
words, and all began to call out ** Order" and
* 'Silence !" until at length something like quiet
was restored. The persons assembled were all
very much interested in learning the result ;
for, in addition to the prize of the lottery, there

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 155

were a great many bets, some of them quite
large, pending, all of which were to be decided
by the bulletin.

When, at length, the gentleman found that
he could be heard, he began to read in a very
deliberate voice, —

'^Latitude forty-eight, thirty-one."

**Never mind the latitude,** exclaimed the
company. **The distance. Let's have the
distance. * '

'^Longitude," continued the reader, **ten,
fourteen. **

'^Nonsense!" said the company. **What's
the distance?"

* 'Distance," continued the reader, in the
same tone, **two hundred and sixty-six."

**Sixty-six!" they all exclaimed together;
and great inquiries were immediately made for
the missing ticket. But nobody knew any-
thing about it. At last, Mr. Chauncy's com-
panion, Charles, who happened to be there,
said, —

**Why, Chauncy had 66, I believe." Then
calling out aloud to Mr. Chauncy, who had
come up on the deck after luncheon, and was
now sitting on one of the settees that stood
around the skylight, he added, —

**Chauncy! here! come here! Where is
your ticket? You have got the prize. "

**No, " said Mr. Chauncy, in a careless tone,
without, however, moving from his seat. *'I
have not any ticket."

Two or three of the gentlemen, then, headed
by Charles, went to the place where Mr.

156 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

Chauncy was sitting, to question him more
particularly.

** Where's your ticket?" said Charles.

**I gave it to one of the deck passengers/*
said Mr. Chauncy.

•'You did!*' said Charles. **Well, it has
drawn the prize. What was the number of
it?"

•'Ninety- nine, I believe," said Mr. Chauncy.

"Ninety-nine!" repeated Charles, contemp-
tuously. "Nonsense! There was no ninety-
nine. It was sixty-six."

Then, shouting with laughter, he said, *'0,
dear me! that's exactly like Chauncy. He
gives half a sovereign for a tcket, then reads it
upside down, and gives it away to an Irish-
woman. O Gemini!"

So saying, Charles, and those with him,
went away, laughing vociferously at Chauncy 's
expense.

The remainder of the adventurers in the lot-
tery had in the meantime dispersed, having
slunk away, as is usual in such cases, to con-
ceal their mortification and chagrin. It was
not merely that they had each lost a half sov-
ereign; but they had all calculated, with
greater or less certainty, on getting the prize ;
and the vexation which they experienced at
the disappointment was extreme. Some of
them had bought up several tickets, in order to
make sure of the prize. These were, of course,
doubly and trebly chagrined. Some had been
offered good prices for their tickets, but had
refused to accept them, hoping, by keeping the

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 1S7

tickets, to get the prize. These persons were
now vexed and angry with themselves for not
accepting these offers. Then there was a feel-
ing of guilt and condemnation which mingled
with their disappointment, and made it very
bitter and hard to bear.

The Colonel and the mate, when they learned
that the Irishwoman held the winning ticket,
both immediately began to saunter slowly
along toward the stairways that led down to
the forward deck, each having formed the plan
of going and buying the ticket of the woman
before she should hear that it had gained the
prize. They moved along with a careless and
unconcerned air, in order not to awaken any
suspicion of their designs. They were sus-
pected, however, both of them, by Mr. Chauncy.
He accordingly walked forward, too, and
reached a part of the promenade deck that was
near the smoke pipe, where he could look down
upon the place where the woman was sitting.
He reached the spot just as two men came
before her, one having descended by one stair-
case, and the other by the other. When they
met each other, close before where the woman
was sitting, they each understood in an instant
for what purpose the other had come. They
knew, too, that it would defeat the object alto-
gether if they both attempted to buy the ticket;
and yet there was no time or opportunity to
make any formal stipulation on the subject
between them. Such men, however, are
always very quick and cunning, and ready for
all emergencies. The mate, without speaking

158 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

to the woman, gave a wink to the Colonel, and
said in an undertone, as he sauntered slowly
along by him, —

^Xolonel! half!"

**Done!" said the Colonel.

So the mate passed carelessly on, leaving the
Colonel to manage the negotiation, with the
understanding that they were to share the
profits of the transaction between them.

Just at this moment, Mr. Chauncy, who was
looking down upon this scene from above,
called out to the woman, —

**My good woman, your ticket has drawn the
prize. The Colonel has come to pay you the
money. **

The Colonel was overwhelmed with astonish-
ment and vexation at this interruption. He
looked up, with a countenance full of rage, to
see from whom the sound proceeded. There
were one or two other gentlemen standing with
Chauncy as witnesses of the scene; and the
Colonel saw at once that his scheme was
defeated. So he made a virtue of necessity,
and, taking out the purse, he poured the ten
sovereigns into the poor woman's lap. She
was overwhelmed and bewildered with aston-
ishment at finding herself suddenly in posses-
sion of so much money.

As for Hilbert, there were no bounds to the
vexation and anger which he experienced in
the failure of all his hopes and expectations.

**What a miserable fool I was!" said he. **I
might have had that very ticket. He as good
as offered to exchange with me. Suqh a stupid

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 169

dolt as I was, not to know when it was upside
down! Then, besides, I was offered two
pounds for my ticket, sure — and I believe I
should have taken it, if my father had not
advised me not to do it. That would have
come to almost fifteen dollars, and that I
should have been sure of. So much for taking
my father's advice. I hope they'll get up
another lottery to-morrow, and then Til buy a
ticket and do just as I please with it, and not
take anybody's advice. I shall be sure to
make fifteen dollars, at least, if I don't do any
better than I might have done to-day."

The rest of the company felt very much as
Hilbert did about their losses and disappoint-
ments, though the etiquette of gambling,
which they understood better than he, forbade
their expressing feelings so freely. In fact,
one source of the illusion which surrounds this
vice is, that the interest which it excites, and
the hilarity and mirth which attend it during
its progress, are all open to view, while the dis-
appointment, the mortification, the chagrin,
and the remorse are all studiously concealed.
The remorse is the worst ingredient in the
bitter cup. It not only stings and torments
those who have lost, but it also spoils the pleas-
ure of those who win. That is, in fact, always
the nature and tendency of remorse. It ag-
gravates all the pain and suffering that it min-
gles with and poisons all the pleasure.

160 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

CHAPTER XL

THE ARRIVAL.

Day after day of the voyage thus glided away,
the time being beguiled by the various inci-
dents which occurred, until at length the ship
began to draw near toward the land. As the
time passed on, the interest which the passen-
gers felt in their approach toward the land
began to be very strong. Some of them were
crossing the Atlantic for the first time ; and
they, of course, anticipated their first view of
the shores of the old world with great anticipa-
tions of delight. The first land to be **made,"
as the sailors say, that is to be seen, was Cape
Clear — the southern port of Ireland. There
is a light-house on this point ; and so well had
the captain kept his reckoning, and so exact
had been his calculations in his progress over
the mighty waste of waters, that on the morn-
ing of the last day he could venture to predict
to an hour when the light would come into
view. He said it would be between nine and
ten. When Maria and the two children went
to their berths, Maria asked the chambermaid
to come and tell them when the light was in
sight. She accordingly did so. RoUo, in order
to know how near the captain was in his calcu-
lations, asked her what o'clock it was. She

ROLLO GN THE ATLANTIC. 161

said twenty-five minutes after eight. How
astonishing must be the accuracy of the instru-
ments and the calculations which can enable a
man to guide a ship across so utterly trackless
a waste aiming at a light-house three thousand
miles away, and not only come out exactly
upon it, but come there, too, so exactly at the
time predicted by the calculation !

When the children went on deck the next
morning, the southern coast of Ireland was all
in full view. Those who feel an interest in
seeing the track the ship, will find, by turning
to a map of Great Britain and Ireland, that
her course in going in from the Atlantic toward
Liverpool lay at first along the southern coast
of Ireland, and then along the western coast
of Wales. This route, though it seems but a
short distance on the map, requires really a
voyage of several hundred miles, and more
than a day in time, for the performance of it.
The voyage of the ship is, therefore, by no
means ended when she reaches the land at Cape
Clear. There is still a day and a night more for
the passengers to spend on board the vessel.
The time is, however, very much beguiled dur-
ing this last day's sail by the sight of the land
and the various objects which it presents to
view — the green slopes, the castle-covered
hills, the cliffs, the lines of beach, with surf
and breakers rolling in upon them ; and some-
times, when the ship approaches nearer to the
shore than usual, the pretty little cottages,
covered with thatch, and adorned with gardens
and shrubbery,

11 Atlantic

162

ROLLO On the AtLAisrf It.

' The children stood by the railing of the deck-
for some time after they came up from below,
gazing^ at the shores, and admiring the various
pictures of rural beauty which the scene pre-
sented to the eye. At length, becoming a
little tired, they went and sat down upon one
of the settees, where they could have a more
comfortable position, and still enjoy a good
view. Not long afterward, the captain, who
had been walking up and down the deck for
some time, came and sat down by them.

*'Well, children,*' said he, "are you glad to
get to the end of the voyage?**

*'Yes, sir,** replied Jennie. ** I am glad to
get safe off of the great sea.**

''And I suppose that you must be very glad,
sir,** added Rollo, *'to get to the end of your
responsibility.**

*'Ah, but I have not got to the end of my
responsibility yet, by any means,*' said the
captain.

As he said this, he rose from his seat, and
looked out very attentively forward for a min-
ute or two, A length he seemed satisfied, and
sat down again.

**Well, you have got through all the danger,
at any rate,** said Rollo, '*now that we are
inside the land.**

**On the contrary,** said the captain, **we
are just coming into the danger. There
is very little danger for a good ship, whether
it is a sailing ship or a steamer, out in the open
sea. It is only when she comes among the
rocks, and shoals, and currents, and other dan-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 163

gers which thicken along the margin of the
land, that she has much to fear. Ships are
almost always cast away, when they are cast
away at all, near or upon the land. "

**Is that the way?** replied Rollo. **1
thought they were cast away at sea. I am
sure it looks a great deal safer here than it
does out in the middle of the ocean. ' *

*'I suppose so, to your eyes,** replied the
captain. **But you will see, by reflecting on
the subject, that it is, in fact, just the con-
trary. If a very violent storm comes up when
the ship is out in the open sea, it can ordinarily
do no harm, only to drive the ship off her
course, or perhaps carry away some of her
spars or sails. If there is no land in the way,
she is in very little danger. But it is very
different if a gale of wind comes up suddenly
in such a place as this. "

**And how is it here?" asked Rollo.

*'Why, in the case of a good steamer like
this,** said the captain, *'it makes no great
difference here; for we go straight forward on
our course, as long as we can see, let it blow
as it will. But a sailing vessel would very
probably not be able to stand against it, but
would be driven off toward any rocks, or sand
banks, or shores that might happen to be in
the way. **

**And so she would certainly be wrecked, '*
said RqIIo.

**No, not certainly,** replied the captain.
**As soon as they found that the water was
shoaling, they would anchor.'*

164 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC

**How do they know when the water is shoal-
ing?" asked Rollo.

'*By the lead,'* replied the captain. **Pid
you never sound with the lead and line?"

'*No, sir,'* replied Rollo.

**Well, they have a lead, and a long line,"
rejoined the captain, **and they let the lead
down to the bottom by means of the line, and
so learn how deep the water is. The lead is
round and long. It is about as large round,
and about as long, as Jennie's arm, from her
elbow to her wrist, and there is a small cavity
in the lower end of it. "

•*What is that for?" asked Rollo.

**That is to bring up some of the sand, or
mud, or gravel, or whatever it may be, that
forms the bottom, " replied the captain. *'They
put something into the hole, before they let the
lead down, to make the sand or gravel stick.
When they see the nature of the bottom in this
way, it often helps them to determine where
they are, in case it is a dark night, or a foggy
day, and they have got lost. It is very easy
to measure the depth of the sea in this way,
where it is not over a few hundred fathoms."
**How much is a fathom?" asked Rollo.

'*Six feet," replied the captain; that is as
far as a man can reach by stretching out both
hands along a wall. If the water is only a few
hundred fathoms deep, " continued the captain,
''we can sound; but if it is much deeper than
that, it is very difficult to get the lead down."

"Why, I should think," said Rollo, 'Hhat the

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 165

lead would go down to the bottom of itself, no
matter how deep the water was.*'

*'It would,** said the captain, **wereitnot
for the line. But the line has some buoyancy;
and, besides, it makes a great deal of friction
in being drawn through the water; so that,
when the line begins to get very long, it
becomes very difficult for the lead to get it
down. As they let out the line from the ship,
it goes more and more slowly, until at last it
does not seem to move at all. * *

'*Then the lead must be on the bottom," said
Rollo.

**No, that is not certain," said the captain.
**It may be only that the quantity of line that
is out is sufficient to float the lead. Besides
that, the currents in the water, which may set
in different directions at different depths, carry
the line off to one side and the other, so that it
lies very crooked in the water, and the weight
of the lead is not sufficient to straighten it."

*'Then they ought to have a heavier lead, I
should think," said Rollo.

*'Yes,'* said thecaptrdn; **and for deep-sea
soundings they do use very heavy sinkers.
Sometimes they use cannon balls as heavy as a
man can lift. Then they take great pains, too,
to have a very light and small line. Still, with
all these precautions, it is very difficult, after
some miles of the line are run out, to tell when
the shot reaches the bottom. In some of the
deepest places in the sea, the line, when they
attempt to sound, is all day running out. I
knew one case where they threw the shot over-

166 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

board in the morning, and the line continued
to run out, though slower and slower, of
course, all the time, until night. It changed
its rate of running so gradually, that at last
they could not tell whether it was running or
not. It seemed to float idly in the water, sink-
ing slowly all the time; and yet they could not
tell whether it was drawn in by the drifting of
the portion of the line already down, or by the
weight of the shot. So they could not tell cer-
tainly whether they had reached bottom or
not.

** There is another thing that is curious about
it,*' added the captain; **and that is, that,
when a line is let out to such a length, they
can never get it back again. *'

**Why not?'* asked RoUo.

*'It is not strong enough,** said the captain,
**to bear the strain of drawing such an immense
length out of the water. There is a very con-
siderable degree of friction produced in draw-
ing a line of any kind through the water; and
when the line is some miles in length, and has,
besides, a heavy ball at the end of it, the resist-
ance becomes enormous. Whenever they
attempt to draw up a sounding line of such a
length, it always parts at a distance of a few
hundred fathoms from the surface, so that only
a small part of the line is ever recovered.**

**I should not suppose it would be so hard to
draw up the line,'* said Rollo. **I should
have thought that it would come up very
easily. ' '

**No,'* said the captain. **If you draw even

I

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC 167

a whiplash through the water, you will find
that it draws much harder than it does on the
grass; and if a boy's kite were to fall upon a
pond at a great distance from the shore, I
don't think he could draw it in by the string.
The string would break, on account of the
friction of the string and of the kite in the
water. Sometimes, in naval battles, when
a ship is pretending to try to escape, in order
to entice another ship to follow her, away
from the rest of the fleet, they tow a rope
behind, and this rope, dragging in the water,
retards the ship, and prevents her from going
very fast, notwithstanding that all the sails are
set, and she seems to be sailing as fast as she
can "

**That*s a curious way of doing it," said
RoUo; 'Msn't it, Jennie?"

Jennie thought that it was a very curious
way indeed.

* 'There is no difficulty," said the captain,
resuming his explanations, **in finding the
depth of the sea in harbors and bays, or at any
place near the shore ; for in all such places it is
usually much less than a hundred fathoms. So
when in a dark night, or in a fog, the ship is
driven by the wind in a direction where they
know there is land, they sound often; and
when they find that the water is shoal enough,
they let go the anchor."

*'And so the anchor holds them," said
Jennie, **I suppose, and keeps them from
going against the land."

*'yes," said the captain, generally, but

/

/

168 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

not always. Sometimes the bottom is of
smooth rock, or of some other hard formation,
which the flukes of the anchor cannot pene-
trate, and then the ship drifts on toward the
land, dragging the anchor with her. * *

''And what do they do in that case?" asked
Rollo.

*'Very often there is nothing that they can
do," said the captain, ''except to let out more
cable, cautiously, so as to give the anchor a
better chance to catch in some cleft or crevice
in the bottom. Sometimes it does catch in
this manner, and then the ship is stopped, and,
for a time the people on board think they
are safe. "

"And are they safe?" asked Rollo.

"Perhaps so," replied the captain; "and yet
there is still some danger. The anchor may
have caught at a place where the cable passes
over the edge of a sharp rock, which soon cuts
it off, in consequence of the motion. Then
the ship must go on shore.

"At other times," continued the captain,
"the ground for the anchor is too soft, instead
of being too hard ; and the flukes, therefore,
do not take a firm hold of it. Then the
anchor will drag. Every sea that strikes the-
ship drives her a little in toward the shore,
and she is, of course, in great danger."

The captain would, perhaps, have gone on
still further in his conversation with the
children, had it not happened that just at this
time, on rising to look out forward, he saw a
large ship, under full sail, coming down the

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 169

channel. So he rose, and went tip upon one
of the paddle boxes, to see that a proper look-
out was kept, to avoid a collision.

The seas which lie between England and
Ireland are so wide, and they are so provided
with lighthouses and buoys, that no pilot is
necessary for the navigation of them ; and the
pilot boats, therefore, which contain the pilot
who is to take the vessel into port, generally
await the arrival of the ship off the mouth of
the Mersey, at a place which the steamer
reaches about twenty-four hours after making
Cape Clear. When the steamer in which
RoUo made his voyage arrived at this place,
almost all the passengers came on deck to wit-
ness the operation of taking the pilot on board.
There were ships and steamers to be seen on
every side, proceeding in different directions —
some going across to Ireland, some south-
wardly out to sea; and there were others, still,
which were, like the steamer, bound in to
Liverpool. Among these, there was a small
vessel at a distance from the steamer, with a
certain signal flying. This signal was to show
that this boat was the one which contained the
pilot whose turn it was to take the steamer in.
The captain gave the proper orders to the
helmsman, and the steamer gradually tarned
from her course, so as to approach the spot
where the pilot boat was lying. As she came
near, a little skiff was seen at the stern of the
pilot boat, with men getting into it. In a
moment more, the skiff pushed off and rowed
toward the steamer. A sailor §tpQd on a sort

/

/

170 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

of platform abaft the wheel house to throw
the men in the skiff a rope when they came
near. The engine was stopped, and the
monstrous steampipe commenced blowing off
the steam, which, being now no longer em-
ployed to work the engine, it would be danger-
ous to keep pent up. The steam, in issuing
from the pipe, produced a dense cloud of
smoke and a terrific roaring.

In the meantime, the skiff approached the
ship, and the men on board of it caught the
rope thrown to them by the sailor on the plat-
form. By this rope they were drawn up to the
side, of the ship at a place where there was a
ladder; and then the pilot, leaving the skiff,
clambered up and came on board. The men
in the skiff then pushed off and turned to go
back toward the pilot boat. The roaring of
the steam suddenly ceased, the paddle wheels
began again to revolve, and the ship recom-
menced her motion. The pilot went up upon
the paddle box and gave orders to the helms-
man how to steer, while the captain came
down. His responsibility and care in respect
to the navigation of the ship for that voyage
was now over.

In fact, the passengers began to consider
the voyage ended. They all went to work
packing up their trunks, adjusting their
dresses, changing their caps for hats, and mak-
ing other preparations for the land.

As the time drew nigh for going on shore,
Jennie began to feel some apprehension on
the subject, inasmuch as, judging from all th§

ROLLO OxN THE ATLANTIC. 171

formidable preparations which she saw going
on around her, she inferred that landing in
Liverpool from an Atlantic steamer must be
a very different thing from going on shore at
New York after a voyage down the Hudson.
As for RoUo, his feelings were quite the
reverse from Jennie's. He not only felt no
solicitude on the subject, but he began to be
quite ambitious of being ashore alone — that is,
without anyone to take charge of him.

*'We shall get along, Jennie, very well
indeed,*' said Rollo. asked one of the pas-
sengers about it. The custom-house officers
will come and look into our trunks, to see if
we have got any smuggled goods in them.
They won't find any in ours, I can tell them.
Then all I have got to do is, to ask one of the
cabmen to take us in his cab, and carry us to
a hotel."

"To what hotel?" asked Jennie.

**Why — I don't know," said Rollo, rather
puzzled. **To the best hotel. I'll just tell
him to the best hotel. "

**Well," said Jennie, '*and what then?"

**Well, — and then," — said Rollo, looking a
little perplexed again, and speaking rather
doubtingly, — **then, — why, I suppose that
father will send somebody there to find us.'*

Jennie was not convinced ; but she had noth-
ing more to say, and so she was silent.

Rollo's plan, however, of taking care of him-
self in the landing seemed not likely to be
realized; for there were not less than three
different arrangements made, on the evening

172 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

of the arrival, for taking care of him. In the
first place, his father and mother were at the
Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, awaiting the
arrival of the steamer, and intending to go on
board as soon as the guns should announce her
coming. In the second place, Mr. Chauncy,
Maria's brother, said that they should go with
him and Maria. He would take the children,
he said, to a hotel, and then take immediate
measures to find out where Mr. Holiday was.
In the third place, the captain came to Rollo
just after sunset, and made a similar proposal.

Rollo, not knowing anything about his
father's plan, accepted Mr. Chauncy 's offer;
and then, when the captain came, he thanked
him for his kindness, but said that he was
going with Mr. Chauncy and Maria.

**Then you will go in the night,'* said the
captain; **for Mr. Chauncy is the bearer of
dispatches."

Rollo did not understand what the captain
meant by this, though it was afterward ex-
plained to him. The explanation was this:
Every steamer, besides the passengers, carries
the mails. The mails, containing all the let-
ters and papers that are passing between the
two countries, are conveyed in a great number
of canvas and leather bags, and sometimes in
tin boxes; enough, often, to make several cart-
loads. Besides these mails, which contain the
letters of private citizens, the government of
the United States has always a bag full of
letters and papers which are to be sent to the
American minister in London, for his instruc-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 173

tion. These letters and papers are ealled the
government dispatches. They are not sent
with the mails, but are intrusted usually to
some one of the passengers — -a gentleman
known to the government as faithful and trust-
worthy. This passenger is called the bearer
of dispatches.

Now, the steamers, when they arrive at
Liverpool, cannot usually go directly up to
the pier, because the water is not deep enough
there, except at particular states of the tide.
They accordingly have to anchor in the stream,
at some distance from the shore. As soon as
they anchor, whether it is by day or by night,
a small steamer comes alongside to get the
mails and the dispatches; for they must be
landed immediately, so as to proceed directly
to London by the first train. The bearer of
dispatches, together with his family, or those
whom he has directly under his charge, are,
of course, allowed to go on shore in the small
steamer with the dispatch bag, but the rest
of the passengers have to wait to have their
trunks and baggage examined by the custom-
house ofRcers. If the vessel gets to Liverpool
in the night, they have to wait until the next
morning. This was what the captain meant
by saying, that, if the children went on shore
with iVLr. Chauncy, they would go in the night;
for he then expected to get to his anchoring
ground so that the boat for the mails would
come off to the ship at about half past twelve.

Accordingly, that evening, when bedtime
came, Maria and the children did not go to

It4 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

bed, but they lay down upon the couches and
in their berths, in their dayclothes, awaiting
the summons which they expected to receive
when the small steamer should come. In the
meantime, the ship went on, sometimes going
very slowly, and sometimes stopping alto-
gether, in order to avoid a collision with some
other vessel which was coming in her way.
The night was foggy and dark, so that her pro-
gress, to be safe, was necessarily slow. At
length, Maria and the children, tired of wait-
ing and vS'atching, all three fell asleep. They
were, however, suddenly aroused from their
slumbers about midnight by the chambermaid,
who came into the state room and told them
that Mr. Chauncy was ready.

They rose and hurried up on deck. Their
trunks had been taken up before them. When
they reached the deck, they found Mr.
Chauncy there and the captain, and with them
two or three rather rough-looking men, in
shaggy coats, examining their trunks by the
light of lanterns which they held in their
hands. The examination was very slight.
The men merely lifted up the things in the
corners a little, and, finding that there ap-
peared to be nothing but clothing in the
trunks, they said, **A11 right!" and then shut
them up again. All this time the steampipe
of the little steamer alongside kept up such a
deafening roar that it was almost impossible to
hear what was said.

The way of descent to get down from the
deck of the great steamer to the little one was

ROLLO ON THE AtLANttC 175

very steep and intricate, and it seemed doubly
so on account of the darkness and gloom of
the night. In the first place, you had to climb
up three or four steps to get to the top of the
bulwarks; then to go down a long ladder,
which landed you on the top of the paddle box
of the steamer. From this paddle box you
walked along a little way over what they called
a bridge; and then there was another flight of
stairs leading to the deck. As all these stairs,
and also the sides of both the steamers, were
painted black, and as the water looked black
and gloomy too, the whole being only faintly
illuminated by the lurid glare of the lanterns
held by the men, the prospect was really very
disheartening. Maria said, when she reached
the top of the bulwarks and looked down, that
she should never dare to go down there in the
world.

She was, however, a sensible girl, and as she
knew very well that there could not be any
real danger in such a case, she summoned all
her resolution and went on. Men stood below,
at the different landmg-places, to help her,
and her brother handed her down from above.
Mr. Chauncy, as soon as he saw that she had
safely descended, was going to attend to the
children, but just at that instant he missed his
dispatch bag. He asked where it was Some
said they believed it had gone down the slide.
There was a sort of slide by the side of the
ladder, where the mails and trunks had been
sent down. Some said it had gone down this
slide; others did not know. So he directed

m ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

the children to wait a moment while he went
down to see. He acco'rdingly descended the
ladder, and began to look about in a hurried
manner to see if he could find it. The men on
board the steamer, in the meanwhile, were
impatient to cut loose from the ship, the mail
agent having called out to them to make haste,
or they would be too late for the train. Accord-
ingly, some of them stood by the ladder,
ready to take it down; while others seized the
ropes and prepared to cast them off at a mo-
ment's notice, as soon as they should hear that
the dispatch bag was found. They did not
know that the children were at the top of the
ladder, waiting to come on board ; for it was
so dark that nothing could be seen distinctly
except where the lanterns were directly shin-
ing, and the noise made by the roaring of the
steamer was so great that very little could be
heard

. Mr. Chauncy found the dispatch bag very
soon in the after part of the vessel, where
somebody had put it in a safe place. As soon
as he saw it, he said, "Ah, here it is. All
right!*'

*'A11 right r all right!" said the sailors
around him, repeating his words in a loud
tone, when they heard him say that the dis-
patch bag was found. Mr. Chauncy immedi-
ately hurried back to go up the ladder to the
children; but he was too late. On hearing
the words all right!" the men had immedi-
ately drawn down the ladder, and cast off the
fastenings, so that, by the time that Mr.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. Ill

Chatincy reached the paddle box, the noise of
the steam pipe had suddenly stopped, the pad- -
die wheels were beginning to revolve, and the
little steamer was gliding rapidly away from
the vast and towering mass under which it had
been lying.

**The children!" exclaimed Mr. Chauncy,
•* the children!"

** Never mind," said the captain, in a very
quiet tone. **It's too late now. I'll take care
of them to-morrow morning. ' *

The captain spoke in a manner as calm and
unconcerned as if the children being left in this
way was not a matter of the slightest conse-
quence in the world. In fact, the commanders
of these steamships, being accustomed to en-
counter continually all sorts of emergencies,
difficulties, and dangers, get in the habit of
taking everything very coolly, which is,
indeed, always the best way.
' Then, turning to the children, he said:

**It*s all right, children. Go below and get
into your berths again, and I will send you on
shore to-morrow morning when the rest of the
passengers go."

So Rollo and Jennie went below again. The
chambermaid was surprised to see them com-
ing back ; and when she heard an explanation
of the case, she advised them to undress them-
selves and go to bed regularly. This they did,
and were soon fast asleep.

The next morning, very soon after sunrise,
another steamer came off from the shore,
bringing several customhouse officers to exam-

12 Atlantic

178

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

ine the passengers' baggage. By the time that
this steamer had arrived, a great many of the.
passengers were up, and had their trunks ready
on deck to be examined. Among the rest was
Hilbert with his trunk, though his father and
mother were not yet ready. Hilbert was very
anxious to get on shore, and so he had got his
trunk up, and was all ready on the deck half
an hour before the steamer came.

When the tug came alongside, Hilbert, who
was looking down upon her from the prome-
nade deck, observed a neatly-dressed looking
man on board of it, who seemed to be looking
at him very earnestly. This was Mr. Holiday's
servant. His name was Alfred. When Mr.
Holiday had gone to bed the night before, he
had given Alfred orders that in case the
steamer should come in in the night, or at a
very early hour in the morning, before it
would be safe for him, as an invalid, to go out,
he, Alfred, was to go on board, find the chil-
dren, and bring them on shore. Accordingly,
when Alfred saw Hilbert, and observed that
he was of about the same size as Rollo had
been described to him to be, he supposed that
it must be Rollo. Accordingly, as soon as the
tug was made fast, he came up the ladder, and
immediately made his way to the promenade
deck, to the place where Hilbert was standing.
As he approached Hilbert, he touched his hat,
and then said, in a very respectful tone :

'*Beg pardon, sir. Is this Master Holi-
day?"

"Rollo, do you mean?" said Hilbert. **No.

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 179

Rollb went ashore last night with the bearer
of dispatches. "

, Hilbert knew that this was the arrangement
which had been made, and he supposed that it
had been carried into effect.

Alfred, who was a very faithful and trust-
worthy man, and was accustomed to do every-
thing thoroughly, was not fully satisfied with
this information, coming as it did from a boy ;
but he waited some little time, and made in-
quiries of other passengers. At last, one gen-
tleman told him that he was sure that Rollo
had gone on shore, for he saw him and his sis-
ter pass up out of the cabin when the mail tug
came. He was sitting up in the cabin reading
at the time. Alfred was satisfied with this
explanation, and so he called a small boat
which was alongside, and engaged the boat-
man to row him ashore.

Thus the second plan for taking care of Rollo .
and Jennie, in the landing, failed.

All this time Rollo and Jennie were both
asleep — for the chambermaid, thinking that
they must be tired from having been up so late
the night before, concluded to let them sleep
as long as possible. While they were sleep-
ing, the waiters on board the ship were all em-
ployed in carrying up trunks, and boxes, and
carpet bags, and bundles of canes and umbrel-
las, from all the state rooms, and spreading
them about upon the decks", where the custom-
house officers could examine them. The decks
soon, of course, presented in every part very
bustling and noisy scenes. Passengers were

180 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

hurrying to and fro. Some were getting their
baggage together for examination ; some were
unstrapping their trunks; and others, having
unstrapped theirs, were now fumbling in their
pockets, in great distress, to find the keys. It
is always an awkward thing to lose a trunk
key ; but the most unfortunate of all possible
times for meeting with this calamity is when a
customhouse officer is standing by, waiting to
examine what your trunk contains. Those
who could not find their keys were obliged to
stand aside and let others take their turn. As
fast as the trunks were inspected, the lid of
each was shut down, and it was marked with
chalk ; and then, as soon as it was locked and
strapped again, a porter conveyed it to the
tug, where the owner followed it, ready to go
on shore.

In the midst of this scene the captain came
on deck, and began to look around for the chil-
dren whom he had promised to take care of.
He made some inquiries for them, and at length
was told that they had gone ashore.

'*At least, I think they have gone, " said his
informant. **I saw Mr. Holiday's coachman
here, inquiring for them, a short time ago.
And he seems to be gone. I presume he has
taken them ashore. * '

**He can't have taken them ashore," said
the captain. ** There is nothing to go ashore
till this tug goes. However, I presume he has
got them under his charge somewhere."

So the captain dismissed the subject from his
mind; and after remaining a few minutes on

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 181

deck, and seeing that everything was going on
well, he went below into his state room, in
order to write a letter to the owners of the
ship, to inform them of the safe termination of
the voyage.

It was about this time that the chambermaid
waked Rollo and Jennie. They rose immedi-
ately, and were soon dressed. On going up
upon the deck, they were somewhat surprised
to witness the bustling scenes that were enact-
ing there ; and they stood for a few minutes
surveying the various groups, and watching
with great interest the process of examining
the baggage. ,At length, after following the
process through in the case of one of the pas-
sengers, who was just opening his trunk when
they came up, Rollo turned to Jennie, and
said:

*'It is nothing at all, Jennie. I can do it as
well as anybody. "

So he looked about till he found his trunk,
and, leading Jennie there, he took his station
by the side of it, and immediately proceeded
to unstrap and unlock it. He took out some
of the largest things from the top of the trunk
and put them on a settee near, so that the
officer could easily examine the rest. By the
time he had done this an officer was ready.

**Is this your trunk, my lad?" said the officer,
at the same time lifting up the clothes a little
at the corners.

**Yes, sir," said Rollo.

**A11 right," said the officer, and he shut
down the lid, and marked the top with a P.

182 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

Rollo opened his trunk again to put the
other things in, and then locked and strapped
it. A porter then took it and carried it on
board the tender. Rollo and Jennie followed
him.

In about half an hour the tender put off from
the steamer and went to the shore. On the
way, Jennie, who could not help feeling some
anxiety about the result of these formidable
proceedings, said, timidly:

'*I don't see what we are going to do, Rollo,
when we get to the shore. "

**We will do what the rest do," said Rollo.
As soon as the steamer touched the pier and
began to blow off her steam, a terrific scene of
noise and confusion ensued. Rollo and Jennie
stood near their trunk, overawed and silenced ;
but yet Rollo was not, after all, much afraid,
for he felt confident that it would all come out
right in the end. He was right in this suppo-
sition ; for as soon as some fifty of the most
impatient and eager of the passengers had got
their baggage, and had gone ashore, the tu-
mult subsided in a great measure. At length,
a porter, after taking away a great many
trunks near Rollo, asked him if that trunk,
pointing to Rollo's, was to go on shore. Rollo
said that it was. So the porter took it up and
went away, Rollo and Jennie following him.

They made their way through the crowd,
and across the plank, to the pier. When they
had got upon the pier, the porter turned and
said, '*Do you want a carriage?" Rollo
anwered, '*Yes;" and then the porter immedi-

ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. 183

ately put the trunk upon the top of a small
carriage which was standing there in a line
with many others. He then opened the door,
and Rollo and Jennie got in.

'*How much to pay, sir?'* said Rollo.

** Sixpence, if you please, sir,** said the por-
ter.

Rollo, who had the precaution to provide
himself with silver change, so as to be ready,
gave the man a sixpence. Of course, it was
an English sixpence.

** Thank you, sir,'* said the porter. ** Where
shall he drive?*'

**To the hotel,'* said Rollo.

'*To what hotel?" said the porter.

*'Why— I don't know, " said Rollo. **To— to
the best hotel. "

'*To the Adelphi,** said the porter to 'the
coachman. So saying, he shut the door, and
the coachman drove away.

When they arrived at the door of the hotel,
the landlord, who came out to see who had
come, supposed at once that his new guests
must be Mr. Holiday's children; so he sent
them up immediately to their father's parlor,
where the breakfast table had been set, and
their father and mother, and Thanny were
waiting for them. The joy of their parents at
seeing them was unbounded, and they them-
selves were almost equally rejoiced in finding
their long voyage brought thus to a safe and
happy termination.

In respect to Tiger, however, the end of the
voyage was unfortunately not so propitious.

1

184 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.

In the confusion of the landing she was forgot-
ten, and left behind; and Jennie was so excited
and overjoyed at meeting her mother that it
was nearly noon before she thought of the kit-
ten at all. Her father then sent Alfred on
board the ship to see if he could get her. He
came back with the cage, but he said that the
kitten Wj^s nowhere to bo found. He made
diligent inquiry, but he could obtain no tidings
of her — and no tidings were ever afterward
heard. WWSther she fell overboard and was
drowned ; or whether the waiters on the ship
took a fancy to her, and hid her away some-
where in the forecastle in order to keep her for
their pet and plaything in future voyages ; or
whether she walked over the plank to the pier,'
when the ship came alongside of it, and there
got enticed away by the Liverpool cats into
the various retreats and recesses which they
resort to among the docks and sewers — could
never be known. At all events, neither Jennie
nor RoUo ever saw or heard of her again.

/ / o -

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