The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-06-11
4 SUMNER TRIP ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.
A "REMINISCENCES
ny ONE WHO HEnPED TO LAY THH cADLB.

DRAR MARCUs-1Ou, VINO nave AsVeheu
with oredulity to the whisperings Of wise
acres. and have followed with eagerness the
foreboding phantoms of mock wisdom-who
have expected that time would fulfil the
despairing prophecies of the newspapers, and
that the disasters of last year would be re-
peated in this, attend to the tale of the sue
cessful laying of the Atlantic cable.
dare say now that you have read so far,
your wonder at receiving so big parcel by
the post is little allayed. Ipresume you do
not forget the promise you exacted from me
in lime last. when you bade me good-by ON
board the Great Eastern. As you were leaV-
ing the ship, with certain sweet thing (who
shall be nameless) upon your arm, you SAID,
tGood-bv. old fellow mind you drop us
line when you get back, and tell us all
about it," Now do you rememberY
To tell you all about it would be simply
ridiculous. am well aware that, in common
with all other Christian gentlemen, you see
the Times daily, and that you have read the
accounts forwarded to that paper from time
TO time by our historian, Mr.. Deane. shall,
therefore, oonfne myself to such matters
as have not been narrated in the
daily papers. and will endeavor to amuse you
for a few minutes with a little "Great East
ern" gossip and try to give you some insight,
however slight, into the daily life on board the
great ship.
A small paper packet accompanies this let
ter. Do not throw it away. 1t is of exceed
ing value, pearl Of great price. 1t is not one
Of DR.. GTegory's far famed powders, nor is 1T
a portion of sand scraped from the road
side. 1t is something far more precious,
though it may not appear so to the naked
eye. II is ooze from the bed of the
Atlantic Ocean, that came up on one of the
grappling-ropes and which picked out from
the interstices of the same, by means of great
patience, an old penknife, and the point of a
breastpin. If you do not appreciate it your
SELF make handsome present to some of
your scientific friends, and they will love you
and venerate your name forever after. will
give you, however, one word Of advice. Do
not let the world in general know that
you are the possessor of such an invaluable
treasure, or you will be tormented out
of your life. Every post will bring
letters in strange handwritings, that
will worry man of your nervous tempera-
ment into a fever. There comes a rat-tat at
the door, and in a minute budget of letters
is handed in, in all kinds of envelopes aud
external coverings, and directed in every
species photographic character, with none of
which you are acquainted. You have vague
idea that the big blue letter is gentle re-
minder from Mr.. Snippit, "that you would
greatly oblige him by settling his little
account" but on opening it you find, to your
delight and amazement, that it is only from
little Mudlark the amateur geologist, whom
you once met for five minutes during a morn
ing call, and who, strange to say has taken
upon himself to write to you. Through
four sides of a sheet of note-paper he goes on
to say that, Through the medium of the daily
press he has watched the progress of the truly
national work with great interest; that he is
sure that your untiring zeal and energy have
mainly contributed towards the glorious sue
cess; and that when grateful government
raises you to the peerage, no one will rejoice
more sincerely than Theophilus Mudlark and
and could you oblige me with small guam
tity-only few grains-of ooze 7" This is
a fair sample of the curiosity begging let
ter, but they are numerous in number, and
diverse in sentiment. One correspondent (of
course LADY, ventures to ask 'if she may
enrich her Photographic album with the coun-
terfeit presentment Of so distinguished char
acter as yourself" another would feel more
than grateful if you would give him short
piece of the "magic rope" for the Snoozleum
Museum; and a third requests small present
of some kind, say ga model of the paying-out
gear" "the grapnel," or ga yard of the grap-
pling-rope" Take warning, therefore, and
keep discreet silence on the subject of
the ooze.
The trip round the Channel, from Sheerness
to Beerhaven, was a lark; in fact, it was four
days yachting in the finest yacht that ever
foated. The weather was glorious; the
spirits of all on board were at the
highest point; a generous board of
directors had looked nobly after our creature
comforts, and, in addition to all this, there
were some twelve or fourteen ladies on board,
who added materially to the elegance. the
comforts, and the pleasures of this part of our
voyage. Perhaps the best fun we had going
round was the performance of the ''Field
Glass" burlesque, in fact, by Messrs.
Woods and Parkinson. This was q good
humored skit on the whole of the undertak-
ing, and occasioned not little laughter and
merriment, more especially as no one who
was at all prominently connected with the en-
terprise escaped the good-natured lash of
the satirist The performance was most
grand. By means Of union Jacks and en-
signs we rugged up first-rate theatre in the
grand saloon, with a row of footlights, and an
orchestra, quite like the genuine article. The
gentlemen OF the press occupied several of the
front seats, and when the curtain rose and
discovered two lovely mermaids and a Triton
enjoying siesta, there was quite burst of
applause, that reminded one of Boxing-nigbt'
How those sweet mermaids got dressed will
always remain to me mystery. They were
sort of composition ladies, half bauet-girls.
and half John Bright to look at, but lovely
withal If their waists were a trife bigger than
would be admitted as Correct in the pages of
the "Follet, why let us say that it was the
fault of the dress; and if the size of their shoes
was something over 'six and half ladies, " let
us put down the fact to the score of the
maker. Whatever individual faults carping
critics may have detected, | am positively
certain that the tout ensemble was perfect and
even at this distance of time my pen trembles
as l write on the subject of those truly elegant