There was an ample pier of heavy masonry; upon this, under shelter, were some thousands of barrels containing that product which has carried the fame of Bermuda to many lands, the potato.  With here and there an onion.  That last sentence is facetious; for they grow at least two onions in Bermuda to one potato.  The onion is the pride and joy of Bermuda.  It is her jewel, her gem of gems.  In her conversation, her pulpit, her literature, it is her most frequent and eloquent figure.  In Bermuda metaphor it stands for perfection—­perfection absolute.

The Bermudian weeping over the departed exhausts praise when he says, “He was an onion!” The Bermudian extolling the living hero bankrupts applause when he says, “He is an onion!” The Bermudian setting his son upon the stage of life to dare and do for himself climaxes all counsel, supplication, admonition, comprehends all ambition, when he says, “Be an onion!”

When parallel with the pier, and ten or fifteen steps outside it, we anchored.  It was Sunday, bright and sunny.  The groups upon the pier —­men, youths, and boys-were whites and blacks in about equal proportion.  All were well and neatly dressed; many of them nattily, a few of them very stylishly.  One would have to travel far before he would find another town of twelve thousand inhabitants that could represent itself so respectably, in the matter of clothes, on a freight-pier, without premeditation or effort.  The women and young girls, black and white, who occasionally passed by, were nicely clad, and many were elegantly and fashionably so.  The men did not affect summer clothing much, but the girls and women did, and their white garments were good to look at, after so many months of familiarity with somber colors.

Around one isolated potato-barrel stood four young gentlemen, two black, two white, becomingly dressed, each with the head of a slender cane pressed against his teeth, and each with a foot propped up on the barrel.  Another young gentleman came up, looked longingly at the barrel, but saw no rest for his foot there, and turned pensively away to seek another barrel.  He wandered here and there, but without result.  Nobody sat upon a barrel, as is the custom of the idle in other lands, yet all the isolated barrels were humanly occupied.  Whosoever had a foot to spare put it on a barrel, if all the places on it were not already taken.  The habits of all peoples are determined by their circumstances.  The Bermudians lean upon barrels because of the scarcity of lamp-posts.

Many citizens came on board and spoke eagerly to the officers—­inquiring about the Turco-Russian war news, I supposed.  However, by listening judiciously I found that this was not so.  They said, “What is the price of onions?” or, “How’s onions?” Naturally enough this was their first interest; but they dropped into the war the moment it was satisfied.