had been built between Castle Baynard and the Amen! quoth he that beshrewed the Mair's very house of the Preaching Friars-i. e. Newgatestreet.]

1

A silver tomb, all starry lit,
With jewelled lamps hung over it;
Saints that you take for gods, astride
Of pedestals, with pagan pride;
Huge coloured webs of pictures hung,
Where the white-clad eunuchs sung;-
Christ everywhere thrust clean aside,
By Mammon, Priestcraft, Pomp, and Pride.
Procession!-silks and peacock plumes,
Banners upborne by crimson grooms.
And one throned 'neath a canopy-
"God's regent," shout the crowd, "'tis he !"-
No humble fisherman, but now

A bad man, with a conqueror's brow.
The nets are torn and lost; 'tis said
A sword waves in his hand instead.
"Oh, ill," the hermit cried, "I fare,
Seeking Christ's footsteps everywhere-
"From Cæsar's palace to his prison:
He is not HERE: Lo! he is risen."

crew.

Whilst this mustering was going on, small steamers, filled with gentlemen and ladies, sported round the leviathan like so many dolphins admiring a whale. Most of these steamers had bands on board, playing Yankee Doodle and God save the Queen, their passengers now and then cheering and waving handkerchiefs.

At last, all was ready; the captain on the bridge, and officers standing along the whole ship on the roofs of the different houses on deck, acting as telegraphs, conveying the orders of the captain to the officer at the helm. When I read about the magnetic wires by the means of which the leviathan was to be commanded, I did not imagine such a primitive telegraph. The benignant gentlemen with the geraniums, who had inspected the ship and declared everything to be exceedingly comfortable and complete, left our ship in the tender along with the pilots.

When we passed Liverpool, we saw all the wharfs crowded by people. All the steeples and tops of houses, every place where a human

AN EQUINOCTIAL TRIP IN THE GREAT being could perch, was occupied. The sailors

EASTERN.

On the morning of the 10th of September last, all Liverpool was astir to see the great ship off. Arriving in a cab at the pier, I wedged myself through the dense crowd of passengers, sailors, and lookers-on, to the tender which was to convey us to the leviathan, lying off some few miles up the Mersey.

We arrived very soon under the shadow of the monster, and, looking up to her four stories high black wall, our little steamer appeared to me like a King Charles dog at the side of a giant on horseback. A large square hole in the side of the leviathan was connected, by means of very insecure bridges, with the deck of our tender. These bridges consisted partly of a small board without railings. Standing in the middle of this board, trunk in hand, some officer called out, "Show your ticket!" and in attempting to obey him I was nearly thrown into the Mersey. At last I succeeded in entering the ship safely.

Another tender arrived and disgorged its freight of passengers, boxes, and trunks.

of the ships we passed were in their respective riggings, and saluted us by cheers, flags, and guns, and we answered in the same manner. It was a fine day, and all the passengers were in good spirits. The large ship glided along like a Rhine steamer, and none of us felt the slightest inconvenience. We all enjoyed the beauty of the coast of Wales, and anticipated a very pleasant voyage. Some passengers who had come over in the Great Eastern from Quebec, and were now returning home, said their passage had been delightful, and that they all regretted its being so short.

There were about four hundred of us; a great number of ladies and children, who had been anxious to cross the Atlantic without sea-sickness. I had a snug cabin to myself, but with the inconvenience that the occupants of two other cabins had to pass through mine. Two of my neighbours were Frenchmen from Louisiana; secessionists, and, I believe, slave-owners. They were sensible and agreeable men, and we went on very well together. They had a young girl under their charge, who had been By-and-by, the general confusion which dis- educated at Rouen, and was returning to the tracted me when I arrived on board became more United States. Two other neighbours were, settled, and the crew collected in knots, or were one a thorough-bred Yankee, the other a young marshalled in a line. They were, for the greater Oxonian, whose curled hair was parted in the part, good weatherbeaten sturdy sailors, whose middle with painful accuracy. Just opposite to me faces filled me with satisfaction, although I was was a jolly nest of Frenchmen, who all day long, rather displeased with their clothes. They had and even during a great part of the night, were not the trim look of British sailors; but were, chatting and singing. There were three of them. for the greater part, black, greasy, and oily. The most conspicuous and most noisy of that In the centre of them I saw two portly gen- French colony was a commercial traveller from tlemen, with complacent after-dinner faces, and Paris, whom I recognised by his close resemred geraniums in their button-holes. They blance to the commercial travellers painted by were directors of the Great Ship Company Paul de Kock. He was a man of about thirty-five -Limited; and I had a suspicion that their years of age, rather tall and stout. His round knowledge of nautical matters might be as bullet-shaped head, sparingly covered with hair, limited as their legal liability. Close at their elbows were standing the captain and the purser, handling very unwieldy fluttering books, from which they read out the names of the

and his good-humoured face, together with his jolly round eyes, told many tales of merry nights. Another of these Frenchmen was very young, and innocent beyond belief. He had been edu

cated by Jesuits in New Orleans, and had by so many hundreds of persons, the captain passed some years in Vienna, preparing himself ought to be easily recognisable by every one. for a diplomatic career. He was a good-looking Notwithstanding all this disorder, the Great young fellow, but brought up as if the world did Eastern sped along satisfactorily at the rate of not belong to eighteen hundred and sixty-one, about fourteen knots an hour. In the evening but to one thousand three hundred. He con- the moon shone, and most of the ladies were demned the wickedness of the bold assertion that on deck. Some of them had nestled under a our earth moved round the sun. I thought he bench on the paddle-box protected from the was joking when I heard him express that keen wind, when I ascended the staircase to opinion, but by his stammering and blushing I enjoy the evening and the view of the waves saw that he was in sober earnest. from my favourite seat. As I was challenged by a musical tittering, I retired and went into the gorgeous grand saloon, where gentlemen and ladies lounged on velvet sofas, and where a black-whiskered Italian played on the piano.

The luncheon was a very paltry affair, but we good humouredly excused the scantiness and confusion, and hoped better for the dinner. It was difficult to secure a place at table, for the steward did not understand his business.

At dinner my vis-à-vis was an old English gentleman, whom I liked the better the more saw of him. His hair was quite white, but his high-coloured, beardless, and exceedingly well shaven face, did not look old. His clothes, linen, and all belonging to him, was fresh and clean, even under circumstances which might have excused some trifling negligence. Yet, there was not the slightest foppery about him; he was one of those English old bachelor gentlemen whom I consider (I am a foreigner) to be the most amiable of the English nation, and who ought to be kept always travelling abroad, to promote in the world a good feeling towards England. At the head of our table sat a gentleman who appeared to be the elder brother of the jolly commis-voyageur. He, too, was a traveller, doing business for a tract society, and had already begun his labours, by popping a whole pile of tracts in French, into the hands of the young lady fresh from the Rouen boardingschool. He also had managed to tumble down a staircase, and his head and eye were bandaged in the most scientific manner by our good and skilful doctor.

At night we all slept exceedingly well: almost better than in our own beds. We did not feel the slightest movement, and the noise of the engine could only be heard when pressing the ear close to the pillow. The morning of Wednesday, the 11th of September, was fine, the coast of Ireland in view. Most of us were early on deck to enjoy the fresh air, but we were very hungry, and called in vain for a cup of coffee. We had to wait till nine o'clock for breakfast.

Somehow, we had by this time all derived a notion that the arrangements of the big ship did not work kindly together. Even an inexperienced eye could see that things were not managed properly. At starting, the blue peter in being hauled down got entangled, and a young sailor had to go up and liberate it. When sail was to be made or shortened, it was done with great difficulty. Of the officers, none seemed to know his proper place. One of them who had the personal comfort of the passengers under his particular charge attended only to his own comfort. I did not like, either, to see the captain always in plain clothes. I think on board so enormous a ship inhabited for a time

On Thursday morning the 12th of September -we all had good reason to remember the date I-there was a smart breeze. The great ship, which on the previous day had taken no notice of the waves, was gracefully dancing now, occasionally rolling to the right and the left. I took my place on the paddle-box and watched the waves leaping over each other, as if anxious to have a peep at the deck of the leviathan. Breakfast over, the gale increased, and it began to rain. A polite gentleman with an opera-glass appeared on deck all waterproof, from his oilskin suit down to his india-rubber boots. I had the pleasure of catching his loose cap-cover several times, and the polite gentleman enjoyed his waterproof condition very much.

At luncheon we found the table provided with a storm apparatus: a framework with openings for plates, bottles, and glasses. The dishes in the middle of the table, however, which were not secured in that way, began chasing each other about very unpleasantly, and chairs behaved like American rocking-chairs. I thought it wise to tie my right leg to a leg of the table, and therefore lunched in peace. There is in the first dining-saloon over the entrance from the great staircase, a long glass sideboard, filled with plates, teapots, dishcovers, and similar things. Some dozen china plates jumped over the edges of the tables placed on the banisters, and fell on the windows which gave light to the intermediate deck; forks and knives were darting about, and my bottle of stout mistook my legs for a tumbler by emptying its contents upon them. We were all rather astonished, for we had entertained the superstition that the Great Eastern was much too grand to be affected by the waves, and we had read scientific proofs of the impossibility of her rolling or pitching.

On the previous morning I had visited our two milch cows, and admired the skill of a sailor in milking. Both of them, together with two swans emigrating to America, were lodged in a very slightly-built shed immediately over the ladies' saloon, and leaning against the back of the staircase house. The poor cows were now terribly knocked about, and one of them was dashed through the wall of her shed, and, probably fancying she had a right to a place in the ladies' saloon, popped her horned head through

one of the windows, and would have landed on a sofa if, poor creature, she had not broken one of her legs. The two swans tried to avail themselves of the opening made by their landlady the cow, but fell down heavily and broke their long necks. I had a suspicion that we had them afterwards for dinner; if so, they were horribly tough.

A gentleman who attempted to go down the staircase, slipped on the brass placed there to prevent slipping, and, landing under a table, broke his nose. Broken noses became quite the fashion on board; I noticed a great many of them; and being fond of my own nose, took very great care of it.

When we left Liverpool, I, and several gentlemen on board, had expressed a desire to see the leviathan in a storm. Our wish was now gratified. The captain was on the bridge roaring orders. The chief engineer joined him there and made a suggestion, as I was told, about half speed, from which his superior dissented. The consequences suddenly followed; there was a horrible crash, and afterwards a curious grating sound. The port paddle was disabled and grated against the side of the ship, which now became quite frantic. We were tossed up and down seven or eight times each minute; sometimes the leviathan forming an angle of forty-five degrees with the level of the sea. One of the passengers had a tall stag-hound on board, and, instead of securing him somewhere, he allowed him to be on deck. The poor brute, frightened almost to death, knocked against masts and gunwales; his claws becoming sore and bleeding in the attempt to stand still. He took refuge in one of the staircase houses, but its cruel occupants turned him

out.

into my cabin; one struck my leg, another almost broke my cabin window. This I had screwed close the day before, because the spray of the wheel came into my cabin and soaked my sofa.

The storm increased; but I cautiously went on deck again to see how matters looked. Our only paddle had become disabled and its engine stopped. I saw many anxious faces, but none of those dramatic storm scenes described in sea novels. We all behaved very well; and if my polite friend with the patent life-belt, and my Oxonian, were a little frightened, they did not show it much.

By-and-by, while again in my cabin, my attention was attracted by a curious sound coming from the dining saloon; it was as if rocks were there, shifted to and fro by an angry surf, and amidst that noise was to be heard, now and then, the jingling of glass and china. To set my mind at rest, I got up again and blundered to the sofa of a neighbour's cabin, from which I could look through a window opening into the dining saloon. All the heavy dining tables, which had been fastened only by very small nails to the floor, were on their backs. Their polished surface was gliding along the smooth carpet, as if it were on ice. Chairs rushed madly amongst the legs of tables, or got entangled amongst themselves and broke each other's legs. A large board, suspended over a dining-table, jumped with all its glasses and decanters into the midst of the wooden revellers. The black serious stove in the middle had been rocking itself about, like a bear preparing for a dance, and the heavy candelabra, swinging on their gilt chains, beat time. Now and then, the mad dancers paused for a moment, as if reflecting what new figures they should execute next. Then, all at once, went rushing, like a Presently the scene became sublime. The seven regiment of horse charging a square of infantry, hundred feet-long ship flew up and down, right against the nicely-turned rails protecting the skyand left, like an eggshell. The waves concen- lights of the intermediate deck. These snapped trated all their power to crush the proud levia-like glass. The stove rolled amidst the wreck, than. They played with her as girls toss a ball; but her ribs are too stout and well knit to break; though, to the dismay of every soul on board, the rudder post, a column of solid iron twelve inches in diameter, snapped asunder like a lucifer-match. It is true the screw still worked; but with one paddle only, the Great Eastern resembled a lame duck. She rocked with fearful velocity, and the sea dashed furiously over her deck. Our state began to become alarming. To steady the ship, the jib-sail was set. We heard a succession of reports like gun-shots; the ropes of the sail had broken, and the sail itself was split into ribbons. Food was out of the question. In pantry and dining saloon we heard the clinking of plate and glass, as if a hundred bulls were enjoying themselves in one china shop. I succeeded in getting a bottle of stout and some biscuit, and in carrying it off to my cabin. There was an attempt made for breakfast; Tying myself by means of a scarf to my sofa, I but without success, for neither tea nor coffee tried to dine on this simple fare. One of my was to be had, and nothing but hard biscuits slave-dealing neighbours had a box filled with in open boxes lashed here and there. Some large hard pears; on opening this box the chambermaids and nurses entering the diningpears jumped and ricocheted like cannon-balls | saloon with longing eyes, reminded me of the

and, the rails being quite demolished, chairs, plates, knives, forks, teapots, and covers, were hurled down into the intermediate deck into the water, which stood there about a foot deep.

Early next morning I ventured on deck. The captain had been there all night, and they were trying to make a steering apparatus by means of a large spar, weighing four tons. By this means the captain hoped to be able to get again in the track of passing vessels, out of which we had been drifted. Water had entered the ship through the portholes, by tons, and the pumps were at work. Besides the noise they made, we heard sounds of all kinds below, and nobody knew what to make of them. Some tallow-casks and the enormous chain-cable had broken loose somewhere, and were bumping against the ship's sides.