rushed
to the hills ; others mounted horses, and riding to the cliff, watched the little cloud of smoke under the sky- line thicken and blacken ; watched the vessel emerge as first the smoke-stack and spars, and then the hull appeared above the horizon ; watched the little speck grow into a great leviathan, as lazily — oh ! how lazily as it appeared to those on shore as well as those on board — it ploughed the sea and entered the Golden Gate ; then returning, watched the little boats as they put out from shore to board the monster — the quar- antine officer's boat, perhaps, with the yellow flag, the Merchant's Exchange boat, and the express compa- nies' boats; watched the white smoke from the steamer's gun curl up and float away in clouds, while the report reverberating through the streets roused the more abstracted occupants from their soul-absorb- ing work.
Then a stream of hacks, and wagons, and drays, and men on foot, hotel-runners, working-men, busi- ness-men, and loafers, set in toward the wharf Proudly the great ship sweeps round the bay to the city front, as if conscious of the admiring gaze of the multitude; leisurely, and with majestic dignity, as if disdaining to make an exhibition of her strength. Now she stops her wheels, and yawns, and blows, and stretches her neck, after her fortnight's journey ; then as she drops into her berth, the crowds on ship and shore begin their noisy jests and salutations. Hearts are there heavy with anxiety, waiting for tidings it may be which will affect their entire future ; but on that sea of upturned faces you find no lowering clouds; the rippling waves are wreathed in smiles, and the stron-J-er surges break into hilarity and badinage. Some' are there to meet their friends, others from curiosity ; some have climbed from small boats up the side of the vessel while she was approaching the wharf; others stand on the tops of piers, and when the ship is within a few feet leap on to the deck, where there
