There was not a breath of air; and while heaven and earth were glowing
with light, and colour, and life, an elysian stillness, a delicious
balmy serenity wrapt and interfused the whole. O how passing lovely it
was! how wondrously beautiful and strange! I cannot tell how long I may
have stood, lost--absolutely lost, and fearing even to wink my eyes,
lest the spell should dissolve, and all should vanish away like some
air-wrought phantasy, some dream out of fairy land,--when the good
Bishop of Michigan came up to me, and with a smiling benevolence waked
me out of my ecstatic trance; and reminding me that I had but two
minutes left, seized upon some of my packages himself, and hurried me on
to the little wooden pier just in time. We were then conducted to a
little inn, or boarding-house, kept by a very fat half-caste Indian
woman, who spoke Indian, bad French, and worse English, and who was
addressed as _Madame_. Here I was able to arrange my hasty toilette, and
we sat down to an excellent breakfast of white-fish, eggs, tea and
coffee, for which the charge was twice what I should have given at the
first hotel in the United States, and yet not unreasonable, considering
that European luxuries were placed before us in this remote spot. By the
time breakfast was discussed it was past six o'clock, and taking my
sketch-book in my hand, I sauntered forth alone to the beach till it
should be a fitting hour to present myself at the door of the American
agent, Mr. Schoolcraft, whose wife was the sister of Mrs. MacMurray.
The first object which caught my eye was the immense steamer gliding
swiftly away towards the straits of Michilimackinac, already far, far to
the west. Suddenly the thought of my extreme loneliness came over me--a
momentary wonder and alarm to find myself so far from any human being
who took the least interest about my fate. I had no letter to Mr.
Schoolcraft; and if Mr. and Mrs. MacMurray had not passed this way, or
had forgotten to mention me, what would be my reception? what should I
do? Here I must stay for some days at least. All the accommodation that
could be afforded by the half-French, half-Indian "Madame," had been
already secured, and, without turning out the bishop, there was not even
a room for me. These thoughts and many others, some natural doubts, and
fears, came across my mind, but I cannot say that they remained there
long, or that they had the effect of rendering me uneasy and anxious for
more than half a minute. With a sense of enjoyment keen and
unanticipative as that of a child--looking neither before nor after--I
soon abandoned myself to the present, and all its delicious exciting
novelty, leaving the future to take care of itself,--which I am more and
more convinced is the truest wisdom, the most real philosophy, after
all.