Considering that I had seen something of the world, and finding people
here interested in adventure, I talked the matter over before my first
audience in a little hall by the country road. A piano having been
brought in from a neighbor's, I was helped out by the severe thumping
it got, and by a "Tommy Atkins" song from a strolling comedian. People
came from a great distance, and the attendance all told netted the
house about three pounds sterling. The owner of the hall, a kind lady
from Scotland, would take no rent, and so my lecture from the start
was a success.
From this snug little place I made sail for Devonport, a thriving
place on the river Mersey, a few hours' sail westward along the coast,
and fast becoming the most important port in Tasmania. Large steamers
enter there now and carry away great cargoes of farm produce, but the
_Spray_ was the first vessel to bring the Stars and Stripes to the
port, the harbor-master, Captain Murray, told me, and so it is written
in the port records. For the great distinction the _Spray_ enjoyed
many civilities while she rode comfortably at anchor in her
port-duster awning that covered her from stem to stern.
From the magistrate's house, "Malunnah," on the point, she was saluted
by the Jack both on coming in and on going out, and dear Mrs.
Aikenhead, the mistress of Malunnah, supplied the _Spray_ with jams
and jellies of all sorts, by the case, prepared from the fruits of her
own rich garden--enough to last all the way home and to spare.
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