The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 165: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘124 THE STEAM PACKET, This memorable proclamation was no sooner issued than the ladies flew to their chambers to pack up their things, and the gentlemen hastened to make any little purchases which they might require. The time passed quickly away until half-past twelve o’clock, when, Mr. Tiptile having settled with the landlord of the Hotel de Planes the Luminaries marched in procession to the port. The day was warm but cloudy; and, indeed, so uncertain had appeared the weather while the Executive Committee was sitting in deliberation, that the proposal to proceed that day to Calais had only been carried by a very small ‘majority. This circumstance conduced to throw a partial gloom over the embarkation, inasmuch as Messieurs Rumtutch and Tiptile had made the question quite a ministerial one; and it was feared that they must resign if they could not ensure a Hiceer majority wherewith to carry on the government of the Luminaries. Under such unpleasant auspices as these did the embarkation take place—gloom upon the face of heaven—gloom upon the countenances of the most remarkable and intelligent association upon earth. Mes- sieurs Rumtutch and Tiptile walked with an air of dogged determina- tion; and it was afterwards rumoured that had they been defeated m the measure of the morning (which they had brought forward at the ex- press desire of the chairman,) they would have effected a coup d@etat, ‘dissolved the Committee, and governed alone. We, are, however, enabled to state, that such a despotic scheme would never have met with the sanction of Mr. Pifpaf, who would rather have abdicated than consented to enslave those to whom a liberal constitution had been originally granted. The Steam-Packet is again furrowing the surface of the deep; and the towers of Dunkirk are rapidly disappearing from the view of those on board. The sea is of a light-green colour; but here and there upon its wide expanse there are patches of darker hue, the shadows of the threatening clouds which are rolling over the sky from the north- ward. ‘The vessel oscillates from stem to stern more than it did upon the former portions of the voyage; and the ocean begins to send forth low moans, like a chafed beast of prey. The sky is becoming rapidly overcast; and the entire sea soon grows of a darkish neutral tint. At length the waves begin to comb over, feather-white, to sea-ward, like a tiger showing his teeth; and on the beach the billows roll in from time to time with a voice of thunder. Everything denotes an approaching storm—and that near at hand too. Now there comes a puff of wind from the north ;—another and another follow at short intervals from the same dreaded quarter ;—and this commencement of the gale increases in violence until the sea is covered with foam. Eomichbooks. co