I dressed Tommy in his summer suit, and wore my figgered lawn and wuz none too cool. We only had one heavy storm, but that wuz fearful; everything dashed round and wuz broke that could be. I put Tommy in his little crib and fastened him in, and fastened my most precious treasure, Josiah, to the berth. I then tied myself up, and we bore it as well as we could, though every time the ship went down into the trough of the sea I felt that it wuz dubersome about its ever comin' out agin, and every time it mounted up on one of them stupendous billers, higher than the Jonesville meetin' house, I felt doubtful whether or no it would fall bottom side up or not. Tommy wuz cryin', and Josiah wuz kinder whimperin', though for my sake he wuz tryin' to bear up. But I'll hang a curtain up before that seen and not take it down agin till we wuz all ontied and the sun wuz shinin' down on smoother waters. At last after seven days' stiddy sailin' a little spec wuz seen in the distance one mornin' gradually growin' in size, and other little specks wuz sighted, also growin' gradual, and at last they turned to solid land rising up out of the blue water, clad in strange and beautiful verdure behind the white foamin' billers of surf. And instinctively as we looked on't I broke out singin' onbeknown to me, and Josiah jined in in deep base: "Sweet fields beyend the swellin' flood Stand dressed in livin' green." We sung it to Balermy. Josiah hain't much of a singer, and my voice hain't what it once wuz, but I d'no as in any conference meetin' that him ever sounded sweeter to me, or I sung it with more of the sperit. CHAPTER IX How beautiful wuz the shore as we approached it, its scenery different from Jonesville scenery, but yet worth seein'--yes, indeed! Mountain and valley, rock and green velvet verdure, tall palm trees shadin' kinder low houses, but still beautiful and attractive. And what beautiful colors greeted our weary eyes as we drew nigher. I thought of that gate of Jerusalem the Golden, all enamelled with emerald, amethyst, chalcedony, and pearl sot in gold. The golden brown earth made from melted lava, the feathery foliage of the palms that riz up beyend the dazzlin' white beach, the crystal blue waters with myriad-hued fishes playing down in its crystal depths. Oh, how fair the seen as we approached nearer and see plainer and plainer the pictured beauty of the shore. Shinin' green valley, emerald-topped mountain, amethyst sea; which wuz the most beautiful it wuz hard to say.