about six o'clock in the afternoon
I liked sailing from Southampton because when I start to go to a place I like to go , and when we went home before and had to begin by going all the way up to Liverpool by land , and then coming all the way back again by water , and after a couple of days of this to stop at Queenstown and begin the real voyage from there , I did not like it , although it was a good deal of fun seeing the bumboat women come aboard at Queenstown and telescope themselves into each other as they hurried up the ladder to get on deck and sell us things . We had a very good voyage , with about enough rolling to make the dining saloon look like some of the churches we 've seen abroad on weekdays where there was services regular , but mighty small congregations . When we got in sight of my native shore , England , Scotland , and even the longed-for Italy , with her palaces and gondolas , faded from my mind , and my every fibre tingled with pride and patriotism . We reached our dock about six o'clock in the afternoon , and I could scarcely stand still , so anxious was I to get ashore . There was a train at eight which reached Rockbridge at half-past nine , and there we could take a carriage and drive to the farm in less than an hour , and then Corinne would be in my arms , so you may imagine my state of mind -- Corinne before bedtime ! But a cloud blacker than the heaviest fog came down upon me , for while we was standing on the deck , expecting every minute to land , a man came along and shouted at the top of his voice that no baggage could be examined by the custom-house officers after six o'clock , and the passengers could take nothing ashore with them but their hand-bags , and must come back in the morning and have their baggage examined . When I heard this my soul simply boiled within me !