Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-07-13
CITY AND STATE NEWS.

thick s,nokc rolls racing; up from : black fun
rci in oily and nurisy ulasSr*. and there is
c!anking of iron GOWN below. and L huge wall;
: irg beam Ills itself azily IRON its Siunbcr
in .hc hoi;l, and the giant heart of tic might,
engine begins TO beat audibly. and the Curt;
Peck begins to walk occau-ward like :; thin.
Of life
.ind nGw the great heart Of the good steam
CT thrnbs faster and faster, as if in sylnpath,
with thc hearts Of passengers throbbing Will
pleasure at being "ict 90. from the care:
Of city life; and the city is soon shut out from
view, an;! beneath is the paci'l river looking
with It's fringe Of trees like great ribbon o
pale ground and dark green borders stretched
wndirgiy out, but above there are clouds
gathering in storm array, and :hcre are drops
OF rain and wc leave the deck 10 tie pilot, and
so below.
Gently tinkliny--l!ot willy ringing like an
alarm ul ire, a. wo have seen it many
boatS-a bell in the hands Of i negro, who
calls on You in Il low AMI quiet voice, announces
that the Captain is ready To take your fare,
and, standing al 4 wiIrlow large enough to af
ford You view Of his whole person, and not
bent behind :; little o,ice, fit for prison gatc.
rs We have also Sceu OH other steamers, 4 gen
tleinan Of medium size pleasing features, very
quiet manners, aud polite without being affect
cd and frank without being in the slightest de-
gree rude, in fact, Il trlc sailor and gentleman,
who, for three and thirty years has followed
the sea, takes your fare and thanks you there.
for.
! The rain HOW patlcrs on the hurricane deck,
and lights suddenly CLEAN in the cabin, and a
buZ OF voices engaged in pleasant chat springs
up and crnone cnlivcns the scene, whcn hist,
there is another tinkling. and there spread
through the vessel very pleasant odors, and at
tractcd by them we go still further below. and
here are rows Of tables loaded with things
| fresh from the land and fresh from the sea, and
rows OF ebony walters wait for the word, and
passengers take their seats, and then there is
L dark face pccring over your shoulder eager
to know. "What will you have, sir::' and you
do really sit down TO Il capital supper, varied
plentiful and wcl-cooked, and at which you
have not to wait for lazy or impudent servants,
but are waited on with the greatest prompti-
tudc and attentlon--a supper, which from the
remarks we heard made amongst the passengers,
gave the greatest satisfaction.
And now the dark cloud is still darker but
the rain has ceased and cigars are lit, and in
coZy corners smokers chat, and in the cabin
checkers and backgammon and pleasant con.
vcrsation lead us far into the night, and finally
10 our berths, where We dream it away until
near the dawn Of day, undiSturbcd by accident
or aught uncomfortable
'Tis near the dawn of day and we are
awaked gently 10y one of the good steamers
servants. We are on The glorious bay-the
wind is fresh. and thiri; laden with the deli.
,.;, ,l,.,, h.. an
of the sea CLEANS in the waves as they rush
( bright light high above the deep, guiding the
mariner inward or outward bound
The steam whistle sounds It's wild note. and
We are soon beside wharf This is Old Point.
4 short walk. ard we are in hotel, where we
cndeavor to sleep until halfpast seven, when
breakfast is served, and then we 90 abroad in
search Of sea mir ard adventures.
\ long belt of bare sand trcndng eastward
and terminated by Il piny point, great fort,
some bathing houses fortified against sharks,
GY pTivatc ifiiiit nT,IGals ana dee? emiowe.cd in
lnyl!riant p'an;s: ami !'Iia4c<, constitute "Ihe
Point
!: - o'r,uc!k We saw :! review Of Uncle Sans
trnn,rS ~ the Fortress. There was good band,
viii, decidedly the best stepping Drum Major
wr have for :, i,ng tine seen. There was
forming in line, which might have, perhaps,
l,.rl very little more accurate; and then there
WAS tie manual Of arEIS--thc rHFTy, the ch0Iye
hiyoaf'. ainl the orlcr drmS being particularly
,ig. Tie or.irr was done without sh0ck, and
except That tic li,;s of some Of the mllskcts
protrGtlc, ''lcctlc too much, was perfection
itself; bnt there Mas that deep silence and strict
attention in the ranks, without which all pa
rades are humhug. We saw one company
which we believe WAS about to perform guard
duty, very closely inspected and the inspection
of arms was no Joke, for from but to bavonct.
! top It was Us sharp is could be, and we trcm-
! bed some times Tor some Of the men whose
lu,lSkets we saw held 4ui!c long in the hands
of the officers
The fort is very fine Nearly all round it
/ shows Il fierce row Of teeth which grin over L
great dixie of water and within is 4 beautiful
/ >war dotted with trees ard pretty houses, and
neat quarters for tie soldiers all screened with
/ flowers and loliagr.
/ Ou the beach stan,iS the lighthouse, with a
neat franc.ho,iSc for the keeper; beside 1t and
on the long belt Of sand arc some Of Uncle
Sans wares. such ;rs great guns, shot, shells,
and pcnt houses, Slrcwn, if we may say so, here
! and there and seine Of them in such disnan'
tied and scattered condition that if it were not
for their great weight we would suppose they
! were wrecks thrown up by the ocean.
But the ocean, the glorious ocean, there II
! far out tiough-with soft, ticccy clouds
hanging over it, and a glorious sun lighting uI
here and there, and many sail fitting where
s:. and sky united; and in from it came rolling
slowly green waves, until they mingled will
the fresh waters Of the many rivers, and broke
in Il brackisl state on the sands Of the Point
In the evenin. the breeze freshened, and sal
after sail swept by; and then crinoline, lirln:
at the Point as it does at home that Is, ockct
up in doors, began to creep out little, very
little, Just to take distant look at the CnrtI'
Peck as size came at half past six O'Clock tt
carry us back to Richmond.
lIamptorl, some lew miles oil, some OF ou
friends who visited it during the day, described
as sweet place, where there are pleasant com
panv. various comforts, and moderate charge
at the hotels.
AT o'clock we we're homeward bound
leaving rcgrctfully behind US Mr.. Freeman
Col IIaskins' first lieutenant As he is cailct
who, We Observed was exceedingly courteous
kind and attentive to the passengers; ana ono
. more vc were in the hands Of our eHceliets
CAPTAIN. Gifia,tl-once more cid we sit at lii
excellent supper table and feel at ho'"e-onc
more did we sleep with perfect reliance ina
careful watch was being kept on board, and a
the dawning Of the day We bndc the Curt'
Peek farewell at her dock 1t Rockets
And now, reader, we 20 honestly recomlnen
to vou the Curtis Peck and Captain Giiior
and Mr. Freeman as being in e"cry reSpet
worthy of your confidence You will find tn tn
boat swift and safe, and the gentlemen we nav
named are just the persons to take charge
. yon on the waters and you will find 1t we
: : worth the while, too, TO so down to the poT
f on Saturday night, and next day see lhe lo'
and sea and Hampton. "ris as cheap an
, health.giving trip as YOU can make, and
you like you can see Norfolk and Portsmout
onthc way.
THE LYScnruR AgTILLEgY.-ThiS comp
ny made their first public appearance q