Three Years in Europe: Places I Have Seen and People I Have MetBrown, William Wells
History
Three Years in Europe: Places I Have Seen and People I Have Met
Brown, William Wells
Great Britain -- Description and travel
The last night on board was the most pleasant, apparently, that we had
experienced; probably, because it was the last. The moon was in her
meridian splendour, pouring her broad light over the calm sea; while
near to us, on our starboard side, was a ship with her snow-white sails
spread aloft, and stealing through the water like a thing of life. What
can present a more picturesque view, than two vessels at sea on a
moonlight night, and within a few rods of each other? With a gentle
breeze, and the powerful engine at work, we seemed to be flying to the
embrace of our British neighbours.
The next morning I was up before the sun, and found that we were within
a few miles of Liverpool. The taking of a pilot on board at eleven
o'clock, warned us to prepare to quit our ocean palace and seek other
quarters. At a little past three o'clock, the ship cast anchor, and we
were all tumbled, bag and baggage, into a small steamer, and in a few
moments were at the door of the Custom-House. The passage had only been
nine days and twenty-two hours, the quickest on record at that time, yet
it was long enough. I waited nearly three hours before my name was
called, and when it was, I unlocked my trunks and handed them over to
one of the officers, whose dirty hands made no improvement on the work
of the laundress. First one article was taken out, and then another,
till an _Iron Collar_ that had been worn by a female slave on the banks
of the Mississippi, was hauled out, and this democratic instrument of
torture became the centre of attraction; so much so, that instead of
going on with the examination, all hands stopped to look at the "Negro
Collar."
Several of my countrymen who were standing by, were not a little
displeased at answers which I gave to questions on the subject of
Slavery; but they held their peace. The interest created by the
appearance of the Iron Collar, closed the examination of my luggage. As
if afraid that they would find something more hideous, they put the
Custom-House mark on each piece, and passed them out, and I was soon
comfortably installed at Brown's Temperance Hotel, Clayton Square.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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