American Notes by Charles Dickens
Author:Charles Dickens
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: ManyBooks.net
CHAPTER IX
- A NIGHT STEAMER ON THE POTOMAC RIVER. VIRGINIA ROAD, AND A BLACK DRIVER. RICHMOND. BALTIMORE. THE HARRISBURG MAIL, AND A GLIMPSE OF THE CITY. A CANAL BOAT
* * *
WE were to proceed in the first instance by steamboat; and as it is usual to sleep on board, in consequence of the starting-hour being four o'clock in the morning, we went down to where she lay, at that very uncomfortable time for such expeditions when slippers are most valuable, and a familiar bed, in the perspective of an hour or two, looks uncommonly pleasant.
It is ten o'clock at night: say half-past ten: moonlight, warm, and dull enough. The steamer (not unlike a child's Noah's ark in form, with the machinery on the top of the roof) is riding lazily up and down, and bumping clumsily against the wooden pier, as the ripple of the river trifles with its unwieldy carcase. The wharf is some distance from the city. There is nobody down here; and one or two dull lamps upon the steamer's decks are the only signs of life remaining, when our coach has driven away. As soon as our footsteps are heard upon the planks, a fat negress, particularly favoured by nature in respect of bustle, emerges from some dark stairs, and marshals my wife towards the ladies' cabin, to which retreat she goes, followed by a mighty bale of cloaks and great- coats. I valiantly resolve not to go to bed at all, but to walk up and down the pier till morning.
I begin my promenade - thinking of all kinds of distant things and persons, and of nothing near - and pace up and down for half-an- hour. Then I go on board again; and getting into the light of one of the lamps, look at my watch and think it must have stopped; and wonder what has become of the faithful secretary whom I brought along with me from Boston. He is supping with our late landlord (a Field Marshal, at least, no doubt) in honour of our departure, and may be two hours longer. I walk again, but it gets duller and duller: the moon goes down: next June seems farther off in the dark, and the echoes of my footsteps make me nervous. It has turned cold too; and walking up and down without my companion in such lonely circumstances, is but poor amusement. So I break my staunch resolution, and think it may be, perhaps, as well to go to bed.
I go on board again; open the door of the gentlemen's cabin and walk in. Somehow or other - from its being so quiet, I suppose - I have taken it into my head that there is nobody there. To my horror and amazement it is full of sleepers in every stage, shape, attitude, and variety of slumber: in the berths, on the chairs, on the floors, on the tables, and particularly round the stove, my detested enemy. I take another step forward, and slip on the shining face of a black steward, who lies rolled in a blanket on the floor.
Download
American Notes by Charles Dickens.mobi
American Notes by Charles Dickens.azw3
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
How to Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea (Natural Navigation) by Tristan Gooley(2893)
Full Circle by Michael Palin(2792)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer(2723)
How to Read Nature by Tristan Gooley(2675)
The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs by Tristan Gooley(2292)
In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin(2287)
Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes by Daniel L. Everett(2230)
City of Djinns: a year in Delhi by William Dalrymple(2146)
L'Appart by David Lebovitz(2126)
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin(2123)
Venice by Jan Morris(2062)
The Big Twitch by Sean Dooley(2052)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini(2024)
Tokyo Geek's Guide: Manga, Anime, Gaming, Cosplay, Toys, Idols & More - The Ultimate Guide to Japan's Otaku Culture by Simone Gianni(1956)
A TIME OF GIFTS by Patrick Leigh Fermor(1858)
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black(1778)
Come, Tell Me How You Live by Mallowan Agatha Christie(1777)
INTO THE WILD by Jon Krakauer(1741)
Iranian Rappers And Persian Porn by Maslin Jamie(1720)