Leaving Bermuda, whither away? To the real capital of America, New York. It is true that English men-of-war, and, for the matter of that, vessels of the American navy, comparatively seldom visit that port, which otherwise is crowded by the shipping of all nations. There are reasons for this. New York has not to-day a dock worthy of the name; magnificent steamships and palatial ferry-boats all lie alongside wharfs, or enter “slips,” which are semi-enclosed wharfs. Brooklyn and Jersey City have, however, docks. Who that has visited New York will ever forget his first impressions? The grand Hudson, or the great East River, itself a strait: the glorious bay, or the crowded island, alike call for and deserve enthusiastic admiration. If one arrives on a sunny day, maybe not a zephyr agitates the surface of the noble Hudson, or even the bay itself: the latter landlocked, save where lost in the broad Atlantic; the former skirted by the great Babylon of America and the wooded banks of Hoboken. Round the lofty western hills, a fleet of small craft—with rakish hulls and snowy sails—steal quietly and softly, while steamboats, that look like floating islands, almost pass them with lightning speed. Around is the shipping of every clime; enormous ferry-boats radiating in all directions; forests of masts along the wharfs bearing the flags of all nations. And where so much is strange, there is one consoling fact: you feel yourself at home. You are among brothers, speaking the same language, obeying the same laws, professing the same religion. [Illustration: MAP OF NEW YORK HARBOUR.] New York city and port of entry, New York county, State of New York, lies at the head of New York Bay, so that there is a good deal of New York about it. It is the commercial emporium of the United States, and if it ever has a rival, it will be on the other side of the continent, somewhere not far from San Francisco. Its area is, practically, the bulk of Manhattan or New York Island, say thirteen miles long by two wide. Its separation from the mainland is caused by the Harlem River, which connects the Hudson and East Rivers, and is itself spanned by a bridge and the Croton aqueduct. New York really possesses every advantage required to build a grand emporium. It extends between two rivers, each navigable for the largest vessels, while its harbour would contain the united or disunited navies, as the case may be, of all nations. The Hudson River, in particular, is for some distance up a mile or more in width, while the East River averages over two-fifths of a mile. The population of New York, with its suburban appendages, including the cities of Brooklyn and Jersey City, is not less than that of Paris.