"Seeing the Steamer Off" Page #2

"Seeing the Steamer Off" is a short story by Bret Harte that captures the poignant moments of farewell at a dockside as a steamer prepares to depart. Set against the backdrop of the American West during the Gold Rush era, the narrative explores themes of love, loss, and the bittersweet nature of goodbyes. Through vivid descriptions and engaging characterizations, Harte illustrates the emotional undercurrents of parting, highlighting the connections and the sense of longing experienced by those left behind. The story reflects Harte's skill in blending humor and pathos while painting a rich picture of life in the frontier.

• Essay

								


As you stand on the wharf again, and listen to the cries of itinerant
fruit venders, you wonder why it is that grief at parting and the
unpleasant novelties of travel are supposed to be assuaged by
oranges and apples, even at ruinously low prices. Perhaps it may be,
figuratively, the last offering of the fruitful earth, as the passenger
commits himself to the bosom of the sterile and unproductive ocean. Even
while the wheels are moving and the lines are cast off, some hardy
apple merchant, mounted on the top of a pile, concludes a trade with
a steerage passenger,--twenty feet interposing between buyer and
seller,--and achieves, under these difficulties, the delivery of his
wares. Handkerchiefs wave, hurried orders mingle with parting blessings,
and the steamer is "off." As you turn your face cityward, and glance
hurriedly around at the retreating crowd, you will see a reflection of
your own wistful face in theirs, and read the solution of one of the
problems which perplex the California enthusiast. Before you lies San
Francisco, with her hard angular outlines, her brisk, invigorating
breezes, her bright, but unsympathetic sunshine, her restless and
energetic population; behind you fades the recollection of changeful,
but honest skies; of extremes of heat and cold, modified and made
enjoyable through social and physical laws, of pastoral landscapes,
of accessible Nature in her kindliest forms, of inherited virtues, of
long-tested customs and habits, of old friends and old faces,--in a word
of HOME!
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