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Dressive tightness at the top of Jim bead , whioh , Wever , went off . He speaks of his wurse as wgsag , but will not attempt to describe it . He then says : — " One place I shall never forget . A Urge square mass of . now . -which to say the least considerably enlarged my idea ,, though not sufficiently so to enable me to realize its ' massiveness . -about ss large as a hundred of the largest houses I ever saw ( as it appeared ) , leant over our way : to give you a little idea of its size , if it had fallen it woullhave completely covered the whole of our « n « rlP fileconsisting of about thirty-eight people , one to
, , behind the other at some distance , attached by ropes each other . As I was regarding it in utter astonishment my guide touched me , and pointing to a crevasse between it and us whispered , ' There three guides were lost the year before last , ' and I heard a guide say to my friend behind , Here it was I lost my father / You may imagine how all this tended to add the intensest solemnity to the ncene ; and , if anything was wanted to increase it , it was found in the advice of my guides not to speak , for fear of bringing down an avalanche , though this I suspect is humbug . "
When the sun rose they put on their blue and green spectacles . On reaching Route Rouge , ^ Albert Smith is reported as " perfectly done up . " * d having to be * ' dragged the reat of the way" : — " Passing round the Route Rouge the dome of Mont Blanc , which is as regular as St . Paul ' s , came in sight , and I frit as if I could have climbed him were he twice as far off . The whole of our stepa were now cut with a hatchet in the ice , and the being tied together was of the greatest use . htving saved each of our lives about three times , for if you slipped you were immediately held up and saved from going down into some yawning crevice . At nine o ' clock in the morning we stepped on
the top , and you must endeavour to conceive the thrill of delight , —shaking hands all round , congratulating each other , opening champagne bottles , lighting cigars , pulling chickens to pieces , and all the effects of the wildest irmsport . Having partly recovered from this I proceeded to examine the view , of which I shall only say it had the appearance of a large sea , of which the waves were mountain tops , far , far below me , each mountain like a small wave , and yet each mountain one of the highest in Europe . I shall wait till I can talk to you to give you some of my impressions . I thought of you all at home just sitting down to breakfast , and how little you thought where my mother ' s son was at that time . "
On the summit they remained about twenty-five minutes , and then commenced a rapid and successful descent , enjoying the " splendid fun" of sliding down , Mr . Floyd being sure he " never went so fast , even on a railway " : — " Some ladies who watched us with the glasses from Cbamouni quite gave us up ( or lost , saying , that they saw little dots falling with tremendous velocity down the precipices , which must have been the effect produced , for in ascending the glasses could not perceive any progress in our dots . This will give you some idea of our speed .
" In descending the guides pulled up to look at a very remarkable sight , through a tremendous wall of ice , which seemed to end in the sky ; it large natural arch had formed itself in the bluest crystal , through which you looked down a seemingly interminable depth of valleys till your eye lost itself in the distance . This struck me as much as anything , particularly as the arch through which you caught the view was comparatively of very small span , or rather as small as things are up in those regions where you lose all idea of comparison . "
The vivacious epistle and the enterrmse close in a spirit worthy of the achievements : — " The news of a party having ascended Mont Blanc brought hundreds ol people to Chamouni , and , sadly against our will , we were forced to enter on mules in tiiumph ( aa Mr . Albert Smith remarked , ' We are once more on the Grands Mulcts ' ) . You may imagine the enthusiasm when I tell you that directly we came iu sight cannons were tired in a manner regardless of expense . If we entered a wood we were sure to be naluted directly ve came insight ; again , if we turned a comer , ditto :
and two nice girls , otherwise shy , ruttlud frantically and seized both my handn ; all the street * of Chamouni were crowded , bands of music , firework *) , cannons , all going oil' at once ; and , having arrived at the hotel-court , we daw a regular little altar prepared with candles , flower * , and champagne , which the master of the hotel made um drink—to be looked at—when I was uncommonly glad to escape and get into a bath and proceed to dinner . Next morning 1 left Chamouni , and really almost cried whilst shaking hands all round with the guideu—uplendid fel-Iowb , with whom I could go anywhere . "
On the name day , but somewhat later , Mr . Vnnbittart ancended to the summit . He wna blind for two days on his return , but after that he perfectly recovered hia eyesight .
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TRANSATLANTIC MAILS . By the arrival of the Niagara on the 21 th anJ the Pucific on the 27 th , we have papers from the United States bringing intelli gence also from Cuba , California , and the Isthmus . With respect to Cuba the accounts are still conflicting . That the Creole population is much disaffected is clear ; but that the insurgents of Puerto del Principe have gained any advantages over the troops is not at all elear . The only new fact i . s that a meeting lias been held at New Orleans in favour of
the Cuban insurrection , and a considerable subscription made to promote it . Two steamers , with 1000 men , have sailed under Lopez ; 250 men have sailed from near Savannah , and the same from Mobile ; the former anchored in Los Mimbros Roads on the 1 st of August , and sailed on the following morning , intending , as it was supposed , to oHect a landing in the Bay of Nuevitas — a harbour on the north e-mat of Cuba , not far distant from Puerto del Principe . The United States Government have sent a war ( steamer to the coast of Cuba ; and u Spanish squadron had suilcd Irom Havannah to intercept Lopez . idea of the
Some state of feeling in the Southern States may be gathered from the following letter written by a young . Englishman ai New Orleans , of the date July 28 , and published in the Times : — "I write now , in the midst of ull kinds of disturbances , having converted my office into th . > head quarters of a military company , of which 1 have been commissioned firm lieutenant . A corporal , eitjeanf , and the captain are arguing in one corner about t > ome of the minuiiu * of the drill , and . on my immediate light , hand two privates are practicing the musket manual with brooms for guim , as I refused lo permit arum to be used except on actual parade . 1 have acted an recruiting-oilicer lot three day ** , and have almost filled up the company with recruit " , among whom 1 am tolerably popular , an 1 refused minu »' sion to sixteen different men who could produce n «> eertillcatCH of cvtizenship and good character . ' \ vinh you could nee me in uniform , wuh a avvoni , «;»« 'i , kni / e , and pibtolHOii ; I ANMiiro you I look lerriMv wavage , with the aid of a miiat ferocious looking mu . slache . Alter all thin , 1 need not inform you that 1 a in hourly expecting to receive orders to emoark with our detachment lor ibo inland of Cub . i , where we ivill assiat the iiiUiioU and drire the Spaniard * out of tho place , or clue get killed
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Aug . 30 , 1851 . ] © If * % t& * tX . 815 ¦ i - ¦ - -- ¦ - ¦ -- ~ . , N
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THE YANKEE YACHT VICTORIOUS ! Six months ago thut mun would have been laughed at aa insane , who bliould have predicted that the Americans would beat Old England in yacht-racing . Yet tho deed has been done . England has been beaten in her own seas , in the Bight of the Court and the Queen , in Might of tho largest number of yuchtu o « ull tonnage , of steamers and boats , and beached c » owded with ( spectator * , ever beheld , and beaten by a " Yankee" !
h { ' * ' memory of man , " « ay « an eye witness , i ., owe 8 never presented » uch an appearance as upon lfln i lthe , ' ' «] - There must have been upward * of 3 ! , ? ^ * <> hor in theVonda ; the beach was prowded from Egypt to the piers—the esplanade iu front
of the Club thronged with ladies and gentlemen , and with the people inland , who came over in shoals with wives , sons , and daughters for the day . Booths were erected all along the quay , and the roadstead was alive with boats , while from sea and shore arose an incessant bazz of voices mingled with the splashing of oars , the flapping of sails , and the hissing of steam , from the excursion vessels preparing to accompany the race . Flags floated from the beautiful villas which stud the wooded coast , and ensign and burgee , rich with the colours of the various clubs or the devices of the yachts , flickered gaily out in the Boft morning air . The windows of the houses which commanded the harbour
were filled from the parlour to the attic , and the old ' salts' on the beach gazed moodily on the low black hull of ' the Yankee , ' and spoke doubtfully of the chances of her competitors . Some thought ' the Volante' might prove a teazer if the wind was light ; others speculated on the Alarm' doing mischief if there was wind enough to bring out the qualities of the . large cutter in beating up to windward and in tacking ; while more were of opinion that the America would carry off the cup , ' blow high , blow low . ' It was with the greatest difficulty the little town gave space enough to the multitudes that came from all quarters to witness an event so novel and so interesting , and the hotels were quite iuadequate to meet the demands of their guests . " The race to come off was for the £ 100 cup ; the
" course" round the " Wiirht . " Fifteen vachts . a " course round the " Wight . iufteen yachts , a larger number than ever known before , started for the prize—not so much for the cup as for the honour of beating the New Yorker . It was a warm morning , the mist which hung over the fields and woods had cleared away , and at ten o ' clock the signal to start was fired . This operation was splendidly effected . The competing vessels breaking away like a field of racehorses . The America alone was behindhand . First went the Gipsy Queen , with all her canvas set , followed by the Beatrice , Volante , Constance , and Arrow . But in a short time the America , creeping up , passed the Constance and Beatrice , and the Volante coming up in a light wind headed the whole fleet .
" As the glorious pageant passed under Osbornehouse the sight was surpassingly fine , " says the spectator we have before quoted . " The whole expan 3 e of sea from shore to shore being filled a * it were with a countless fleet , while the dark hull of the Vengeance . , in the distance at Spithead , towered in fine relief above the tiny little craft that danced around her—the green hills of Hampshire , the white batteries of Portsmouth , and the picturesque coast of Wight , funned a fine framework for the picture . "
At half-past ten the Gipsy Queen ran past the Volante ; and a quarter of an hour later the America outstripped the Arrow , Constance , and Alarm , but could not shake off the Volante , nor come up to the Gipsy Queen . The run from Sandheads to Noraan ' s Land Bay was well contested , and very exciting . Off the latter place the yachts were timed , and they passed as follows : — " Volante , Freak , Aurora , Gipsy Queen , America—the America being a quarter of an hour behind the Volante .
" At this point the wind blew somewhat more steadily , and the America began to show a touch of her quality . Whenever the breeze took the line of her hull , all her sails set as flat as a drumhead , and without any careening or staggering , she walked along , ' past cutter and schooner , and , when off Brading , had left every vessel in the squadron behind her * —a mere ruck—with the exception of the Volante , which she overtook at 11 . 30 , when she very quietly hauled down her jib , as much as to aay she would give her rival every odds , and laid herself out for the race round the back of the island . The weather showed symptoms of improvement , so far as yachting was
concerned ; a few seahorses waved their crests over the water , ' the high lauds on shore put on their fleecy nightcaps' of cloud , and the horizon looked delightfully threatening ; and now the Yankee' uYw like the wind , leaping over , not against , the water , and increasing her distance from the Gipsy Queen , Volante , and Alarm every instant . The way her sails were net evinced a superiority in the cutting which our makers would barely allow ; but , certain it is , that while the jibs and mainsails of her antagonist * were ' bellied out , ' her canvas was as flat u « a sheet of paper . No foam , but rather a waterjet , rose from her bows ; and the greatest point of resistance—for resistance there must be somewhere—seemed
about the beam , or just forward of her mainmast , for the seas flashed oil from her sides at that point every time she met them . While the cutters were thrashing through the water , Heuding the spray over their bows , and the schooners were wet up to the foot of the foremast , the America was as dry as a bone . She had twentyone persons on her deck , conaistin ^ of the owners , the crew , cook , and steward , a Cowes pilot named Underwood , and aome seamen who had been lent her by the Surprise , a London-built flchooner yacht , now at Cowch Itoada . They nearly all bat aft , and when the vessel did not require any handling crouched down on the deck by the weather bulwaik * . The ( Jipuy Queen , when a little past Brading , seemed to have curried away her fon sail sheets , but even had it not been bo , she had lost ull chance of aucees . s . "
As tho wind fi-enhened the America continued to rush before it at a tremendous pace . When aho was off the Culver cliffs the nearest yacht was at least two miles astern . 8 ho gained at every tack ; when under Durmoso about hulf-pnst twelve , her jib-boom broke , and aho lost u quarter of an hour in gathering up tho wreck . But when this wm required who took ttdvantago of every puff of wind or utcady breeso , and
spanked along , tacking with great velocity . Meanwhile several yachts had gone back to Cowes ; the }\ 1 f ? K I g , « Pon the rocks , east of Mill bay . and had to be hauled off by a steamer , in a hopeless condition ; the Freak had fouled the Volante and disabled her . At half-past three the America was flying past St . Lawrence towards Old Castle , while the Bacchante and Eclipse were about two and a half miles tb leeward . But as the America passed round Rocken-end the persons on board the steamers were astonished to see a dashing cutter , with foresail and jib , bowling away for her life before the wind . Was it the Aurora ? Not exactly . It turned out to be the Wildfire , Mr . J . Thyme , a light craft from Cork , running on her own account . When descried she
was quite two and a half miles ahead of the America , yet the latter bore down upon and passed her after a stern chase of an hour . At Alum bay , on board the Victoria and Albert , there were the Queen , the Prince , and the royal family , in a state of such anxious expectation that the Fairy was sent off for tidings of the race , and Prince Albert and his eldest son landed to mount the cliffs , but not liking the wet they returned on board . As the America passed the steamers , running before a dead wind with foresail and forestaysail , they weighed and accompanied her , giving at the same time three cheers . On passing the royal party , Commodore Stevens and his men uncovered , and lowered the ensisru . Thence the
race was up ; the wind was very light , and the America did not arrive at the winning flag until thirty-seven minutes past eight . The Aurora which had stepped up very rapidly in consequence of her light tonnage and a breath of wind , arrived at a quarter to nine , the Bacchante at half-past nine , the Eclipse at a quarter to ten , and the Brilliant at twenty minutes past ten next morning . The cup was the same evening presented to the owners of the yacht . The next evening she was taken down to Osborne , as the Queen wished to inspect her ; and her Majesty went on board and was saluted with the customary formality of lowering the colours . The Queen is said to have been delighted with the America .
The challenge match between the America and the Titania has ended in the complete defeat of tho latter . The America was undocked at Portsmouth dockyard at half-past nine on Wednesday ni ^ ht , and went out of that harbour at half past tive on Thursday morning , and at ten a . m . she started fiom Cowes , and run down to the Nab , which she left at eleven , in competition with the Titania iron schooner , 100 tons , the property of Mr . R . Stephenson , M P ., for a race forty miles out and forty miles in . They started steering south-east , with a strong wind from west-north-west . At five o'clock the America
returned in sight from Portsmouth , when about ten miles outside the Nab , but nothing could be seen of the Titania at that time . Finally , the Ameiica completed her course , and won by a loni * distance .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 30, 1851, page 815, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1898/page/3/
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