"The yellow setting sun was striking over the starboard quarter-boat, and the Bay of Biscay lay broad down to leeward for a view--a couple of large craft, with all studding-sails set before the wind, making for land, far enough off to bring their canvas in a piece, and begin to look blue with the air--one like a milk-woman with pitchers and a hoop; the other like a girl carrying a big bucketful of water, and leaning the opposite way to steady herself. There was one far to north-east, too, no more than a white speck in the grey sky; and the land-cloud went up over it into so many sea-lions' heads, all looking out of their manes. The children clapped their hands and laughed; and the ladies talked about the vessels, and thought they saw land--Spain or the Pyrenees, perhaps. However, it wasn't long before my American friend Snout caught sight of me in the midst of his meditations, as he turned bolt round on his toes to hurry aft again. 'The fact is, mister,' said he, '_I'm_ riled a little at _the_ tarnation pride of you Britishers. There now,' said he, pointing at the blaze of the sun to westward, with his chin, 'there's _a_ consolation. I calculate the sun's just over Noo-York, which I expect to give you old country folks considerable pain.' "'No doubt,' said I, with a sigh; 'one can't help thinking of a banker run off with ever so much English gold.' 'You're a sensible chap, you are. It's _a_ right-down asylum _for_ oppressed Eur_o_pains--that can't be denied.' 'And Africans, too,' I put in. 'Indy, now,' said he; 'I reckon there's a sight of dollars made in that country--you don't s'pose I'm goin' out there for _nothing_? We'll just take it out o' your hands yet, mister. I don't ought to let you into the schim till I know you better, you see; but I expect to want a sort o' company got up before we land. There's one of your nabobs now came into the ship at Possmouth, with a whole tail of niggurs dressed up----' 'And a lady with him, I think?' said I, as coolly as I could. 'I'll somehow open on that chap about British tyranny, I guess, after gettin' a little knowledge out of him. We'd just _rise_ the niggurs, if they had _not_ such a right-down cur'ous _my_thullogy--but I tell you now, mister, that's one of the very p'ints I expect to meet. Miss'naries won't do it so slick off in two thousand years, I kinder think, as this identical specoolation will in _ten_--besides payin' like Peruvain mines, which the miss'nary line don't. I'm a regoolar down-easter, ye see--kinder piercin' into a subject, like our nation in gin'ral--and the whull schim hangs together a little, I calculate, mister?' 'So I should think, Mr Snout, indeed,' I said. Here the American gave another chuckle, and turned to again on his walk, double quick, till you'd have thought the whole length of the poop shook, when who should I see with the tail of my eye but my friend the _kitmagar_ salaaming to Mr Snout by the break of the quarter-deck. The