ere wonderfully fine in all the
departments--Durham, Hereford, Devons, and Channel Island. The last are
very nice animals for a paddock, and give good milk. The horses were
good; and I longed to bring home one or two that I saw, and felt
strongly tempted. But the sheep and swine were the most remarkable
things there. Really, we know little about sheep. They are monstrous,
and yet very symmetrical and beautiful; whilst there are pigs, strange
as you may think it, that have established high claims to beauty and
perfection. I greatly preferred the Sussex breed to any other. Never was
a town so crowded as this same Windsor. Thousands upon thousands were
flocking into it; and how and where they fed I cannot divine. Money
seemed useless, and waiters hardly looked at half crowns for retaining
fees.

Letter 55.

NEW YORK, August 3,1851.

DEAR CHARLEY:--

We are, through the goodness of Providence, safely returned. We had a
good voyage, in a capital ship, and under the charge of as good a
captain as ever sailed the ocean. Our passengers were about one hundred
and thirty in number, and very agreeable--some few were our old
voyagers in the Arctic. With an exception or two, our way was as
pleasant as it could have been; and there were some cheerful spirits
that knew how to create sunshine at all hours. I cannot tell what
travellers can desire in a steamer which they will not find in the
Collins line. It seems to us that we have had the full worth of the
money paid for passage. How different it is to come to New York in ten
days, instead of being on the ocean for sixty-four days, as I have in a
sailing packet! Well, this saving of time and feelings is worth the
difference of the passage price. I am at a loss to understand how
Americans who have to cross the ocean should think of supporting the
English steamers in preference to our own superior ships. The influence
of every English agent, of course, goes out in behalf of the old line;
and all sorts of stories are told about winter passages, the importance
of boats especially built for strength, and the advantages of
experience. Now, the history of the American line is a perfect
refutation of all this twaddle. The truth is, that all voyaging is
connected with exposedness to some danger; and up to this moment the
Americans have had, in all their ocean steam voyages, the full measure
of success. They have lost no boat, they have sacrificed no lives, and
they present a flee