But to resoom. Swiftly, silently we sped on with the islands about us, the blue sky overhead and the shadow islands below. And innumerable boats appeared far and near, some with white sails lifted, and followed below by a white shadow sail, and anon a big steamer would glide along, loaded down to its gunwale with crowds of gay pleasure seekers, who would wave their snowy handkerchiefs and salute us, the steamer backin' 'em with its deep grum voice. Or anon we could see a big dark barge sailin' along, and Fancy would whisper to us as we gazed on its mysterious dark sides without a soul in sight: "It may be the phantom of some old Pirate ship, condemned for its sins to cruise along forever in strange waters, homesick for its native seas." But Reality spoke right up jest as she always will and said it wuz probable some big lake steamer heavy loaded with grain or some great Canadian boat. And then a new seen of beauty would drift into our vision and take our minds off and carry 'em away some distance. Oh, it is no wonder that Faith's soft eyes grew more tender and luminous. Josiah felt the beauty of the seen, he felt it deeply, but everybody knows that beauty affects folks differently, it always seems to sharpen up my dear companion's appetite, and three cookies in as many minutes wuz offered up on the shrine of his vivid appreciation, and two nut cakes. We got back to our hotel, the sun about an hour high. Jest before our bark swep' into the haven, and while Josiah and Faith had crossed over to the opposite side of our bark, I hearn a voice on the off quarter windward, and I turned round and see to my dismay that it wuz Mr. Pomper. He sez to me in a low voice, while his looks spoke volumes of yellow colored literatoor: "I wish to speak a few words to you alone, mum. Can you give me the opportunity?" I looked him full in that eye of hisen, a hauty cold look, a look as much as 40 degrees below freeze, and said nothin' else but jest that look. "I have somethin' very important to say to you. Can you hear me?"