Entering the swift current of the river, I gazed out upon the sea, which was bounded only by the distant horizon.  The sun was slowly sinking into the green of the western wilderness.  A huge saurian dragged his mail-clad body out of the water, and settled quietly in his oozy bed.  The sea glimmered in the long, horizontal rays of light which clothed it in a sheen of silver and of gold.  The wild sea-gulls winnowed the air with their wings, as they settled in little flocks upon the smooth water, as though to enjoy the bath of soft sunlight that came from the west.  The great forests behind the marshes grew dark as the sun slowly disappeared, while palm-crowned hammocks on the savannas stood out in bold relief like islets in a sea of green.  The sun disappeared, and the soft air became heavy with the mists of night as I sank upon my hard bed with a feeling of gratitude to Him, whose all-protecting arm had been with me in sunshine and in storm.

Lying there under the tender sky, lighted with myriads of glittering stars, a soft gleam of light stretched like a golden band along the water until it was lost in the line of the horizon.  Beyond it all was darkness.  It seemed to be the path I had taken, the course of my faithful boat.  Back in the darkness were the ice-cakes of the Ohio, the various dangers I had encountered.  All I could see was the band of shining light, the bright end of the voyage.

[Last night on the Gulf of Mexico.]

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