Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/285

Rh boats of any kind, no human beings, excepting ourselves, the Florida travellers. Here is infant land, nay, almost wild land still. But how glad I am to be now in the poetical wilderness of Florida, to have seen something of its marvellous, natural poetry!

St. Matthew proved a good apostle to us; and on the afternoon of the 18th received us all into his bosom, poor, stranded sinners as we were, but who nevertheless did not experience any want, and were not much to be pitied, excepting that it was tiresome to lie quiet in a steamer on a neck of land, in the midst of the hot sunshine. Our captain, however, was mostly to be pitied, so were some of the men, who were already taken ill. Our deliverer, St. Matthew, did not come very near to us, but had us fetched off in a boat. Four negroes rowed us. I was thinking that they were rowing well, and with great precision, when our dominant lady, who is known to be very philanthropic to white sinners, and was keeping a sharp look out on the blacks, said, the very next moment, in a stern voice:—

“Why do you not row with more vigour?” and then turning to me, she added—

“One can see by their chests and their breathing whether they exert themselves as much as they are able.”

The dominant lady thus sate and watched the respiration of the negroes, with her eyes rivetted upon their bare chests, to ascertain whether they exerted themselves to their utmost to serve her and us. I am obliged to confess that this lady was from one of the States of New England. Such is the philanthropy of many American women.

Our dominant lady in the meantime did not get any one to concur in her remarks and admonitions. The negroes rowed calmly, but regularly and well, the heavily loaded boat; and we all came happily on board the