Our base-ball friends in New York, who had been looking for us for three

days, had been early apprised that the 'Adriatic' had arrived off Sandy
Hook, and, boarding the little steamer 'Starin' and the tug 'George
Wood,' they came down the bay, two hundred strong, to meet us
Our base-ball friends in New York, who had been looking for us for three
days, had been early apprised that the 'Adriatic' had arrived off Sandy
Hook, and, boarding the little steamer 'Starin' and the tug 'George
Wood,' they came down the bay, two hundred strong, to meet us. With the
aid of 'a leedle Sherman pand,' steam whistles and lusty throats they
made noise enough to bring us all on deck in a hurry. As the distance
between the vessels grew shorter we could distinguish among others the
faces of Marcus Meyer, W. W. Kelly, John W. Russel, Digby Bell, DeWolf
Hopper, Col. W. T. Coleman and many others, not least among them being
my old father, who had come on from Marshalltown to be among the first
to welcome myself and my wife back to America, and who, as soon as the
'Starin' was made fast, climbed on deck and gave us both a hug that
would have done credit to the muscular energy of a grizzly bear, but who
was no happier to see us than we were to see him and to learn that all
was well with our dear ones. I"m not sure but the next thing that he did
was to propose a game of poker to some of the boys, but if he did not it
was simply because there was too much excitement going on. That evening
we were the guests of Col. McCaull at Palmer"s Theater, where De-Wolf
Hopper, Digby Bell and other prominent comic opera stars were playing in
'The May Queen.' The boxes that we occupied that night were handsomely
decorated with flags and bunting, while from the proscenium arch hung an
emblem of all nations, a gilt eagle and shield, with crossed bats and a
pair of catcher"s gloves and a catcher"s mask.