(1.) "The _graceful Swan_" and "rapid _Fish_" are probably intended
to be the names of pleasure boats, derived from the creatures they
were built to resemble; and the "gigantic _Hippopotamus_" and "slow
_Tortoise_" must be meant for the larger kind of barges and heavy
coasting vessels used in traffic.
(2.) "Up wi' her _cleaver_, out wi' her _wings_, and good bye to Old
_Columbia_." The anchor and sails of the vessel are no doubt here
alluded to; and the names Columbus and Columbia which are met with
throughout these pages, evidently distinguish the metropolis from the
empire.
(3.) "Now let me twist the rope a little." This sentence must be similar
in its meaning with the nautical phrase "spinning a yarn."
(4.) "Thunder and lightnin'!" It will be seen that the oaths commonly
used by the Columbians differ from those now in fashion; but this is
very natural, for it is well known that the common phrases of one
century are quite changed in another. We swear not as we did in the
time of Queen Elizabeth, and the oaths then in vogue were altogether
different from those which prevailed during the reign of William the
Conqueror.