Select descriptions in this selection that are especially pleasing.
Words and Phrases, for Discussion
"puzzled"
"peddler"
"self-important man"
"enormous"
"austere"
"vacant stupidity"
"fatigued"
"Tory"
"well-oiled disposition"
"grizzled"
"cocked hat"
"torrent of household eloquence"
"transient"
"ruby face"
"desolateness"
"gaping windows"
From "The Sketch Book," by
WASHINGTON IRVING
Ships, ships, I will descrie you
Amidst the main,
I will come and try you,
What you are protecting,
And projecting,
What's your end and aim.
One goes abroad for merchandise and trading.
Another stays to keep his country from invading,
A third is coming home with rich and wealthy lading.
Halloo! my fancie, whither wilt thou go?
--OLD POEM.
To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to make is an excellent preparative. The temporary absence of worldly scenes and employments produces a state of mind peculiarly fitted to receive new and vivid impressions. The vast space of waters that separates the hemispheres is like a blank page in existence. There is no gradual transition, by which, as in Europe, the features and population of one country blend almost imperceptibly with those of another. From the moment you lose sight of the land you have left, all is vacancy until you step on the opposite shore, and are launched at once into the bustle and novelties of another world.