THE END OF THE VOYAGE
I might set down very much regarding the voyage
overseas; but it would all be out of place if I am to
tell how we began the city of Brotherly Love in what
was little better than a wilderness, even though there
were many Swedes, Dutchmen, and a few English
living then on the lands that had been given to William
Penn.
It is enough if I say that after a fairly prosperous
voyage we came to the mouth of a noble river flowing
between two capes, and then sailed slowly over waters
as calm as a mill pond, between shores covered with huge
trees among which could yet be seen late blooming
flowers, until, so the captain of the ship declared, we
were near to ninety miles in from the ocean.
Now, because of our not knowing where this new
[19] city of ours was to be set up, and of our not being able
to learn whatsoever regarding it until after the
surveyors had marked out the bounds of the country,
one place was as good as another in which to spend the
time until the other vessels should arrive.
Without any idea that we might have come by
accident to the very spot which we were eager to see,
some of our company proposed that we should land
where the ship then lay at anchor, after having sailed
three days up the river, and verily no more beautiful
place could have been found.
The land before us was high, with many springs of
sweet water, and situated between two rivers. Even
though it might not be the place chosen for the city,
it was a pleasant spot in which to pass the time waiting
for the arrival of the Amity and the Factor; therefore,
without much of discussion, it was agreed that our
voyage should come to an end here, and, as was shown
later, it seemed of a verity that God had directed our
steps.
![[Illustration]](http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/thumbnails/burgess_chuck.jpg) |
Hundreds of additional titles available for
online reading when you join Gateway to the Classics
|
![[Illustration]](http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/thumbnails/sewell_beauty.jpg) |
|
|