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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #69192 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69192)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Under the mizzen mast, by N. Adams
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Under the mizzen mast
- A voyage round the world
-
-Author: N. Adams
-
-Release Date: October 21, 2022 [eBook #69192]
-
-Language: English
-
-Produced by: Richard Hulse, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed
- Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
- produced from images generously made available by The
- Internet Archive)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE MIZZEN MAST ***
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: (cover)]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: THE GOLDEN FLEECE.]
-
-
-
-
- Under the Mizzen Mast;
-
-
- A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.
-
-
- BY N. ADAMS, D. D.
-
-
- A NEW EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED.
-
-
- BOSTON:
- PUBLISHED BY HENRY HOYT,
- NO. 9 CORNHILL.
-
-
-
-
- Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by
- HENRY HOYT,
- In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
- _To my youngest son_,
-
- Robert Chamblet Adams,
-
- _formerly
- Captain
- of Ship
- Golden
- Fleece,
- by whose
- skilful
- navigation
- and
- filial love
- this voyage
- was
- a source
- of benefit
- and will
- be the occasion
- of
- continual
- gratitude
- to
- God_,
-
- _This volume is inscribed as a Memorial, with his Father’s love_.
-]
-
-
-
-
-Preface to the First Edition.
-
-
-A narrative of this voyage was prepared for the ‘Congregationalist’ at
-the request of the editors, and appeared in successive numbers of that
-paper. On application of the present publisher for leave to issue it in
-a volume, it has assumed the form in which it now appears, revised and
-enlarged. The manner in which it originated explains its miscellaneous
-and somewhat desultory character.
-
-
-
-
-Preface to the Second Edition.
-
-
-So much interest in this narrative has been expressed that the author
-has been led to insert in a new edition things which it would have
-contained in the first, had the design been to give more than a brief
-sketch of the voyage.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
- I.
-
- OUTWARD BOUND, 9–80
-
-
- II.
-
- CAPE HORN, 81–154
-
-
- III.
-
- CALIFORNIA--THE SANDWICH ISLANDS--HONG KONG, 155–195
-
-
- IV.
-
- CANTON--SHANGHAI--SINGAPORE--MACAO, 196–259
-
-
- V.
-
- MANILLA--HOMEWARD BOUND, 260–345
-
-
-
-
-UNDER THE MIZZEN MAST.
-
-
-
-
-I.
-
-OUTWARD BOUND.
-
- He travels, and I too; I tread his deck,
- Ascend his topmast; through his peering eyes
- Discover countries; with a kindred heart
- Suffer his woes, and share in his escapes;
- While Fancy, like the finger of a clock,
- Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.
-
- COWPER.
-
-
-There are so many running to and fro, and knowledge is thereby so
-increased, that I doubted, at first, if my friends did well to ask me
-to write for publication an account of my voyage. But I considered that
-impressions made on every new observer add something to the already
-large information of intelligent readers, besides reviving agreeable
-recollections. The thought that I may suggest to some friend in need of
-long rest one means of finding it, or encourage him to adopt it, leads
-me to give, as requested, the following narrative.
-
-The writer, having been ill in the early part of 1869, was advised by
-physicians and friends to try the effect of foreign travel; but in
-what direction it was difficult to decide. With every suggestion of
-experienced friends there would arise some association of fatigue in
-sight-seeing, of monotony in resting long in one place. Pleasant as it
-would be to nestle in some quiet nook in Switzerland, or to take up
-an abode in one of the Channel Islands,--Alderney, for example, where
-there would be much to gratify curiosity, and where the distance from
-the centres of information would not be great,--the thought of being
-confined to one place or even district of country, or of being tempted
-to visit interesting scenes, and especially to make the acquaintance of
-interesting men, awakened such anticipations of labor as to forbid any
-hope of restoration from that source.
-
-A son of the writer was compelled in youth, by ill-health, to leave
-his studies and go to sea. In the fall of 1869 he received command of
-a commodious ship, the “Golden Fleece,” which sailed in October of
-that year for San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Manila. By the kindness of
-Messrs. William F. Weld & Co., the writer and two members of his family
-accompanied him as passengers.
-
-Many were the questions to which these passengers required answers
-previous to their embarkation on so long a voyage. The gale of
-September, 1869, which levelled our Boston Coliseum, and damaged so
-many steeples, and made such havoc among poplars and other trees whose
-roots run near the surface, led to the inquiry, What were the ordinary
-chances of such gales at sea? This question was answered by producing
-the log-book of a recent voyage from Mexico, in which it appeared
-that the weather, day after day, was so free from any cause for fear
-that the impression was allowed to gain strength that storms were an
-exception in sea-faring life. As to the gale just mentioned, it seemed
-safer to be at sea at such a time, with sea-room, than under roofs and
-chimneys, or in streets.
-
-October 28, 1869, the ship Golden Fleece left Pier No. 12, East River,
-New York, in charge of a tug, and dropped anchor in the stream until
-the next morning. Members of our family circle went with us till we
-came to anchor, when they went over the side into the tug, where one of
-them took a sketch of us with her pencil, completing a sketch already
-taken of our cabin and staterooms for friends at home. We finally saw
-them reach the wharf, when we ceased waving our adieus and repaired to
-the cabin to put ourselves in sea trim.
-
-The sailors were in good condition. The Shipping Master who brought
-them on board, had told them that the Golden Fleece was a religious
-ship; no swearing or fighting is allowed; a minister is among the
-passengers; the captain is kind and would treat them well. He had
-collected a good set of men; and when they stood on the lower deck and
-the shipping master called their names and checked them on the capstan,
-it seemed to me that I had never seen so many good faces among so many
-sailors. None came on board intoxicated, but this was not strange
-seeing it was but the third hour of the day.
-
-We weighed anchor at six o’clock the next morning. The pilot had charge
-and took us down to Sandy Hook. We heard bells on shore at Staten
-Island and supposed that they were ringing for church.
-
-We saw the pilot boat coming for the pilot at noon. It took him from
-us, and we began our voyage. The hills of Neversink alone remained to
-remind us for a short time of home and country. Twenty or thirty sail
-started with us, but our good ship took the lead and kept it.
-
-After dinner the two mates gathered the men on the main deck to divide
-them into watches. They were unknown to the mates by name, but as
-each chose a man he pointed to him. Being divided, they repaired to
-their bunks and changed from one side of the forecastle to the other
-according as they found themselves in either watch. It was touching
-to see them, each with all his worldly goods in his arms passing each
-other to their respective berths.
-
-In two days after leaving New York we were in the Gulf Stream. We
-sailed through leagues of herbage which was borne from the shores by
-the Stream, and like us was going to sea. The ship rolled; and soon
-the wind freshened and we were in a gale. We had our first sight of
-“mountain waves,” so called; but they needed some imagination and a
-little fear to make them mountainous. They were enough however to make
-us uncomfortable. The gale lasted two days. We took the impression that
-such was to be the ordinary experience in the voyage,--discomfort and
-tediousness. But we were happy to find that it was not so; for, during
-the whole voyage, there were very few such experiences,--so infrequent,
-indeed, as to excite surprise when they came. The morning after
-the gale the weather was fine. Going on deck, we found that we had
-exchanged the sharp air of the latter part of October in New England
-for the temperature of the early part of June.
-
-Soon we were in the Tropic of Cancer. It seemed like a new world. Never
-before had we looked upon such a sky. There was no stratification in
-the clouds, and nothing of the cumulus formation; but the surface
-of the sky was composed of innumerable fleecy things moving in the
-gentlest manner, as though they feared to disturb slumber. The gentle
-motion was just the thing to induce sleep. As we thought of the
-turbulent state of the elements the day before, the sky now looked
-like an army which had been dismissed. It seemed as though there was
-not wind enough to form a large cloud. The hammock was made fast, one
-end of it to an iron belaying-pin in the saddle of the mizzen mast,
-in the shade of the spanker, and the other end to the rail. A hammock
-meets you at every point with the needed support. It brought strange
-sensations of rest to lie and listen to the plashing of the water
-against the sides of the ship. The measured roll of the vessel now
-was pleasurable. There was an easy swing to the hammock, as though a
-considerate hand were keeping it moving. How much better this rest and
-peace than travelling in Switzerland, or being pent up in the Azores,
-or wandering through Italy, if one needs rest and at the same time
-change of place! To an overworked brain here is seclusion indeed. There
-is here no post-office, with its delivery three times a day, so welcome
-on shore; no newspapers; no door bell; no agents soliciting attention
-to new works, and begging you to put your name down and accept a copy,
-as though you had subscribed; no succession of engagements;
-
- “No cares to break the long repose;”
-
-no crowd of passengers, nor daily calculation as to the day of
-arrival; nor jar of machinery, as in a steamboat, making you feel, day
-and night, that somebody is laboriously at work; and, to crown all,
-seemingly no end to your vacation.
-
-But those clouds in the tropics! You had thought, perhaps, heretofore,
-that only at night the heavens declare the glory of God. Perhaps you
-find that the book which you brought on deck to read, but which you
-have no desire to open, may have in it a fly-leaf, on which, as you
-lie in the hammock, with one knee raised for a writing-table, you may
-indite these dreamy lines:--
-
-
-THE CLOUDS IN THE TROPICS.
-
- Did we not think o’er ocean’s restless plain
- To see embattled hosts, and feel the affray?
- But lo! a truce is here, and gala-day;
- Nor lines of march, nor rank and file remain.
- The fleecy clouds move o’er the tranquil plain,
- And fling their trade-wind signals to the breeze,
- To Capricorn from Cancer, realm of peace!
- They seek no martial order to regain,
- But take some fancied likeness, one by one,
- Or shape themselves in wizard groups of things;
- No haste, nor deep designs, no jostling crowds.
- The hosts are going home, their service done.
- What sense of power the wide-spread quiet brings!
- In calms or storms “His strength is in the clouds.”
-
-The meteorology in the latter part of the Book of Job stood in no need
-of modern science to captivate the hearts of the worshippers of the
-true God. “Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous
-works of Him which is perfect in knowledge?”
-
-The charm of sea-life in a sailing-vessel I found to be constant
-occupation of the mind without wearying it. At first it seemed a
-duty to read the periodicals which we brought with us, the new books
-reserved for the voyage, the choice articles in the quarterlies which
-had been commended to us. But for these we found no time. What charm
-could there be in Dante when a school of porpoises was in sight, each
-of them leaping out of water just for the pleasure of the dive back?
-If the mate called down the companion-way, “A sail on the lee-bow!”
-the paper-folder must keep the place in the uncut volume till you know
-all about her. It would be tedious waiting at a corner of a street ten
-minutes for a horse-car; but it was pleasant to wait an hour and forty
-minutes to come up with the stranger ahead, gaining upon her all the
-time, meanwhile watching the flying-fish which the ship started on the
-wing, or going forward into the bows and looking over to see the ship
-dash through the waves, with “a bone in her mouth,” till suddenly the
-main topgallant-sail splits, and so fulfills the expectation expressed
-for the last five days that it could not long survive; and now, as
-it is the change of watch, and all hands are on deck, what could be
-more interesting than to see twenty-eight of them take in the old
-sail and bend the new one, then line the side of the ship with their
-curious faces to inspect the bark which we have now overtaken. She is
-the “Doon of Ayr,” one hundred and six days from Japan for New York,
-and as she was tacking we came so near that one might throw a biscuit
-on board. The captains of the bark and the ship had time for a few
-words of inquiry and information; then the two wanderers on the deep
-parted company, and watched each other for half an hour, and sighted
-each other, no doubt, occasionally, for an hour and a half, till each
-became to the other a speck. You have long ago forgotten your book,
-your journal, and magazine. This event, and its many interludes, are
-more interesting to you than a battle in Lord Derby’s Homer; it is
-practical life; you begin to feel that everything which you enjoy
-will be without the intrusion of periodical engagements, and you feel
-surprised that no such engagements now demand your thoughts.
-
-Among the incidents at sea which give a charm to life, one is, Speaking
-a vessel. This is a metaphorical expression, retained from the former
-days before signals were used in conversation, and when vessels had to
-come near enough to each other for the speaking to act its part. We had
-been out five or six days, when a sail was descried on the starboard
-bow. It proved to be a bark; and we were as glad to see her as though
-we had met an old friend in a foreign land. The bark soon hoisted her
-ensign, which was the same as raising your hat in passing. We hoisted
-ours, which was a signal of recognition. The bark ran up four flags,
-which we recognized by the spyglass as 6 9 5 7, showing her number
-in the book to be 6957. Turning to it, we read “Sachem.” We ran up
-4 5 9 1, our number in the book. The bark displayed 5 6 2 8, which we
-found to be “Salem.” We showed 4 7 8 2,--“New York.” The bark gave
-6 8 7 4,--“Zanzibar.” We returned 2 1 8 0,--“California.” The bark
-showed 6,--“six days out.” We did the same. The bark showed numeral
-pendant,--this meaning “longitude,” and with it 54 38. We replied with
-54 30,--our calculation. The bark then dipped her ensign, hauling it
-down half way, then raising it again. This was done three times. We
-did the same, which was equivalent to “good-bye” on either side,
-and lifting the hat; we added 6 3 8 9, meaning, “Wish you a pleasant
-voyage.” The answer was, 5 7 8 3, “Many thanks.”
-
-These courtesies at sea are pleasant. Coming up with the vessel, or she
-and you drawing near in passing, reading the numbers by the spyglass,
-and arranging all the signals, is an agreeable occupation for the
-larger part of two hours, including the departure of the vessels from
-each other, as though friends were parting, leaving the ocean more a
-solitude than before.
-
-Meeting vessels, or passing them at a distance, exchanging signals,
-making out their numbers, bring remote parts of the earth suddenly
-to mind. Thus new trains of thought succeed each other entirely
-disconnected. I always enjoyed exercise on horseback for one principal
-reason,--that on horseback you cannot long pursue one train of
-thought. Your conjunctions are disjunctive. If you purpose to make out
-your evening lecture on horseback, your attention is so frequently
-taken by something in the road, or by the action of the horse, that
-you probably come home without any connected plan. So at sea. The
-occasional sight of a sail is an illustration of the charm of sea-life
-as having complete possession of your thoughts without leaving you long
-at liberty to pore over a subject. If you meet a Norwegian bark, and
-the captain tells you he is twenty-four days from Buenos Ayres, there
-is Norway and Buenos Ayres for your meditation, and perhaps for your
-statistical or geographical inquiry. If the “Queen of the Pacific,”
-eighty-seven days from Macao for London, comes in sight, there is
-another chapter in the world’s great miscellany. That sail yonder
-proves to be the “Hungarian,” from Saguenay, twenty-one days out, bound
-to Melbourne, with lumber. You have another illustration of commerce
-binding together the ends of the earth. You soon excuse those friends
-of yours at home who commiserated you on the prospect of a long,
-monotonous sea-voyage. Where is the monotony? Not in the ship’s clock,
-which enumerates every hour and half-hour by a system of horology
-altogether different from shore time-pieces; not in the boatswain’s
-“Pumpship” at evening, when twelve or fifteen men entertain you with
-a song. Every tune at the pumps must have a chorus. The sentiment in
-the song is the least important feature of it; the celebration of some
-portion of the earth or seas, other than here and now: “I wish I was in
-Mobile Bay,” “I’m bound for the Rio Grande,” with the astounding chorus
-from twenty-eight men, part of whom the fine moonlight and the song
-tempt from their bunks, is an antidote to monotony.
-
-The sailors were a merry set. Though only half of the crew--that is,
-one watch--were required each night at the pumps, all hands at first
-generally turned out because it was the time for a song. It was a
-nightly pleasure to be on the poop deck when the pumps were manned, and
-to hear twenty men sing. When making sail after a gale, the crew are
-ready for the loudest singing, unless it be at the pumps. For example,
-when hauling on the topsail halyards, they may have this song, the
-shanty man, as they call him, solo singer, beginning with a wailing
-strain:
-
- _Solo_: O poor Reuben Ranzo! (twice)
-
- _Chorus_: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
-
- _Solo_: Ranzo was no sailor! (twice)
-
- _Chorus_: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
-
- _Solo_: He shipped on board a whaler! (twice)
-
- _Chorus_: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
-
- _Solo_: The captain was a bad man! (twice)
-
- _Chorus_: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
-
- _Solo_: He put him in the rigging! (twice)
-
- _Chorus_: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!
-
- _Solo_: He gave him six-and-thirty-- (twice)
-
-by which time the topsail is mast-headed, and the mate cries, “Belay!”
-
-When the mainsail is to be set, and they are hauling down the main
-tack, this, perhaps, is the song:--
-
- _Solo_: “’Way! haul away! haul away! my ro-sey;
-
- _Chorus_: ’Way! haul away! haul away! JOE!”
-
-the long pull, the strong pull, the pull altogether being given at the
-word “Joe;” then no more pulling till the same word recurs.
-
-When hauling on the main sheet, this is often the song, sung
-responsively:
-
- _Shanty man_: “Haul the bowline; Kitty is my darling.
-
- _Crew_: Haul the bowline, the bowline _haul_!”
-
-That no one may think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that
-he heareth of me, let me say that I find, on inquiry, that the “main
-tack” is the _line_ which hauls down that corner of the main sail which
-is toward the wind; called, therefore, the “weather clew.” The “main
-_sheet_” hauls the other corner of the main sail; called, therefore,
-“the lee clew.” Why a rope should be called a sheet is a piece of
-nautical metonymy which it would be difficult to explain. “Larboard”
-and “starboard” were formerly used to designate respectively the left
-and the right side of the ship, standing aft and looking forward; but
-the two words, so much alike, were not always readily apprehended, and
-so were changed to “port and starboard.” Why the word “port” is used,
-does not appear; nor can any one tell why “Reuben Ranzo” is associated
-with one of the long pulls; if there be any philosophy in it, or
-historic association, it is as deep as the sea, or hopelessly lost.
-
-After singing at the pumps in good weather when there was not much
-work, the men would have some amusement. Sometimes it was “Hunt the
-Slipper.” Then, again, two men sat down opposite each other, their
-hands and feet tied, and a capstan bar was run through each of the two
-men’s arms, behind him. The two would push each other with their feet
-till one would lose his balance, and fall over; then, being helpless,
-he was at the mercy of his comrade’s feet till he begged for quarter.
-These games were interspersed with declamations. We had some of
-Macauley’s “Lays of Ancient Rome,” “Spartacus,” “My name is Norval.”
-The merry laugh and the clapping of hands at the declaimers, and, now
-and then, the youthful voice of a boy reciting his piece from Henry
-Clay, or a story from the “Reader,” beguiled many an evening in the
-tropics.
-
-On crossing the line, one evening when we were on the poop deck, we
-were startled by a voice on the lower deck, “What ship’s that?” The
-captain replied. The voice answered, “I shall call upon you to-morrow;
-I have an engagement this evening.” At 3, P. M., the next day, being
-Saturday, we were summoned on deck by one of the sailors, who announced
-that Neptune was coming on board. All at once we saw a grotesque figure
-swinging in the air over the water, half-way up to the main yard, two
-of the sailors pulling him in. He came on board, wet from his waist;
-and there came also over the sides a female figure and a young man.
-They came to the front cabin door, and saluted the captain, who stood
-ready to receive them. Neptune had on spectacles made of a tin can,
-epaulets of the same, buskins made of duck, long hair of rope-yarns,
-a duck tunic, and a girdle of twisted ropes. Mrs. Neptune had on a
-long duck mantle, her face blackened with burnt cork, and a large fan
-made of wood, and covered with sail-cloth; she used it gracefully. The
-son bore his father’s trident, which was a four pronged iron, called
-“the grains,” used for spearing sharks. He, also, was fantastically
-dressed. They made obeisance to the captain, who welcomed them on board
-in a short speech. They then repaired to a booth fitted up as a sort
-of marquee, flung up the sides, and called a young man from the crew.
-They asked him if he ever crossed the line before; then set him in a
-barrel, with his feet out, inquired his name, where from and whither
-bound, and as he opened his mouth to answer, they inserted the paint
-brush filled with soap and lime, with which the son was lathering him,
-who then produced an old saw fixed in a piece of wood for a sheath and
-handle and shaved him. Neptune then ordered him to be washed; when
-four men took him and dipped him into a barrel of water. This they did
-to three young men. They then came up to our deck and saluted us. The
-captain informed them that we were all liege subjects of Neptune and
-needed not to be sworn. They then wished us a pleasant voyage,--Mrs.
-N. taking her husband’s arm, fanning herself gracefully,--and they
-withdrew. While it was a successful masquerade, well sustained in all
-the parts,--the boys consenting to be hazed conscious that they were
-contributing something to the dramatic poetry of sea-life,--it was easy
-to see that it was capable of abuse. The officers saw that they should
-be careful how they allowed this liberty. To an invalid at sea these
-things are medicine; and, as I am writing in the interest of some who
-may betake themselves for the first time to sea in a sailing-ship for
-health, I would say that they must wait till they are in circumstances
-to find how “dulce est desipere in loco,” how pleasant it is at sea to
-be even gamesome upon occasions.
-
-One day as I lay in the hammock I found myself in a revery; my eye
-being fixed on a bright, new rope which appeared among the running
-rigging. I mention it as an illustration of the frames of mind which
-steal upon an invalid passenger, especially in a sailing-ship, because
-undisturbed there by a crowd, or by the noise of steam and its
-machinery. Would any one think that a single halyard among five or
-six others could bring to mind Burke’s treatise on the “Sublime and
-Beautiful”? But it was even so. I found my eye going up the new rope
-in admiration at the perfect regularity in the twist of the strands.
-An artist cannot always combine the hempen yarns with the exactness
-which the ropemaker’s wheel gives them. My eye went from the new rope
-to the old ones; all had the same perfect twist throughout the ship.
-The ropes, from belaying-pin to truck, the signal halyard and the
-hawser, seemed instinct with “the beauty of fitness,” to borrow a
-term from the above-mentioned writer,--a common window-sash, with its
-parallelograms of panes, serving that great genius for an illustration.
-
- “Thus pleasure is spread through the earth
- In stray gifts, to be claimed by whoever shall find.
- Thus a rich loving-kindness, redundantly kind,
- Moves all nature to gladness and mirth.”
-
-I cannot forget the simple pleasure which this meditation on a rope
-gave me, carrying me back to youthful days in my native place, and
-to the ropewalks there, the swift spindles, the horse in the cellar
-turning the wheel, the spinners, each with a bunch of hemp around him
-hitching it to the spindle, then walking backwards, paying out the hemp
-through his hands with judicious care, the rope all the time growing
-lengthwise, down the walk. It used to be a wonder to me how the horse
-in the cellar, going about on the tan, could twist the twine at the
-end of the bridge as accurately as it was twisted at the spindle.
-Unconscious influence, remote causations, continents, oceans, years,
-intervening between the agent and the effect of his example and words,
-were illustrated by the horse in the ropewalk; and the revery would
-have been protracted, had not a vessel ahead caught my eye. Coming to
-my senses I thought of Dean Swift’s satire on Robert Boyle’s pious and
-sentimental writings, which the Dean had to read in the hearing of Lady
-Berkeley, whose simplicity and enthusiasm he was pleased to ridicule,
-in revenge for the task imposed on him, under the guise of mimicking
-Mr. Boyle, in the famous piece, “Meditations on a Broomstick.”
-
-But few things have so pleasing an effect in solving the kinks in one’s
-brain as to lie in a hammock on deck at sea far away from care, and let
-the fancy like the poet’s river “wander at its own sweet will.” This
-wandering would have continued, had I not been startled by descrying
-as aforesaid a vessel ahead, hove to, directly across our course, under
-short sail, her jib-boom gone, all looking as if she was in distress
-and trying to intercept us for relief. We began to consider how many we
-could accommodate in case she proved to be in a sinking condition; how
-our provisions would hold out; and other prudential questionings; which
-were soon dissipated by finding that she was a whaler with a whale
-alongside, a man standing on him cutting in, and the rest of the crew,
-some of them, hoisting up the pieces, and others trying them out. This
-episode in practical life contrasted well with the revery with which
-the forenoon begun, making with it a good illustration of the variety
-in sea-life.
-
-It had rained in torrents one night, and it kept on till nine o’clock
-the next day. The sailors stopped the lee scuppers, and soon the deck
-had several inches of water on the lee side. The ducks were released
-and thought their paradise regained. The sailors could not resist
-the opportunity to do a little washing; so flannel shirts and other
-articles of apparel came forth into the common tub, the main deck;
-being trampled on by bare feet instead of the more laborious process of
-the washing-board. The sturdy limbs bared up to the knees showed fine
-sets of muscles, enough to excite the admiration of an artist pursuing
-anatomical studies. After the sailors had finished, they turned their
-attention to the pigs, which were severally walked into the water
-on two legs by the men, when they were chased and knocked about and
-scrubbed, till, by their looks, they made you believe the saying of the
-market-men that ship-fed pork has no superior. There was no monotony
-here.
-
-But there was monotony soon in the doldrums. These are a region near
-the equator, between the north-east and south-east trades, where calms
-and rains abound, puffs of wind varying in direction every half-hour,
-trying to the sailors, disappointing the captain’s hopes. He yearns
-for steam; even an old captain will resolve, for the hundredth time in
-his life, that he will never go to sea again; he jumps on his hat and
-whistles for the wind. Then a breeze springs up, and he rubs his hands,
-and thinks that, after all, his ship is better than a steamer, till, in
-half an hour, she is almost motionless.
-
-Then is the time for the sharks to appear. They are slow creatures
-and cannot keep up with a good sailor; so in calms they come and lie
-alongside. The little pilot-fishes, the curious attendants of the
-shark, directing his attention to food, are with him. The grains are
-thrust at the shark; and, if they fasten in him, a bend of a rope
-around his tail brings him on board. Sailors have great spite against
-sharks; they may show tenderness to other creatures, but for sharks
-they have no mercy. They will use their sheath-knives about his nose,
-and disfigure him in all conceivable ways. Their theory is that a shark
-never dies till sunset. Sharks are hard to kill. You may cut off their
-heads and tails, and disembowel them, and even then the trunk will
-thrash the deck at so lively a rate that his executioners will have
-need to jump about for safety. In contrast with the shark, the dolphin
-seemed to me for beauty to verify all that poets have said of him. It
-is my belief that a dolphin’s mouth is as perfect a curve as nature
-ever produces. His tints, when dying, are no fiction. Two sword-fish
-were caught one day, and the rapidity with which they were stripped of
-their flesh, and their back-bones hung up to dry, rivalled the skill
-and speed of young surgical practitioners.
-
-
-THE MIZZEN MAST. A DREAM.
-
-Few if any need to be informed that the mizzen mast is the hindmost
-of the three masts of a ship. The mizzen mast of the Golden Fleece
-is a solid stick, but the foremast and mainmast are built. In this
-section of the country it is not always easy to find trees large,
-tall, straight enough for the foremast and mainmast of a large ship. A
-smaller one will answer for a mizzen mast. The foremast and mainmast
-are specimens of ingenious mechanical work, eight or nine pieces in
-each of them making a circumference of sixty-two inches. Iron bands
-gird these heavy staves, which are grooved and jointed together. There
-are five hoops of broad iron, five feet apart. The mainmast being in
-the centre of the ship is continually scraped, oiled, and varnished.
-The iron hoops are painted vermilion, which sets off the color of the
-spruce wood. It is pleasant to look on the manufactured masts which
-show what human skill can do; for example, a mainmast that can support
-those immense yards which when lowered to the deck you can scarcely
-believe are each of them itself less than a mast, for it supports a
-huge weight of canvas stretched upon it.
-
-The mainmast holds up a top mast also with its yards and sails, a
-top-gallant mast with yards and sails, the royal, and sometimes a sky
-sail. Then the foremast also, which bears the same burden and is also
-a manufactured thing; as you think of it, a hundred feet ahead of you,
-pioneering your way and taking the first brunt of the sea, you cannot
-help regarding it as the most heroic of the three masts. Inspiring as
-the sight of these always is, I cannot withhold from the mizzen mast
-peculiar attachment. As already stated, one end of the hammock is
-fastened to it, the other end to the rail; on one side or the other
-there is almost always a shade from the spanker, a principal fore and
-aft sail which swings from it.
-
-Lying here about Thanksgiving time I was musing on the mizzen mast,
-when I fell asleep, but my musing continued. The mizzen mast, once
-a live tree, seemed now to be a living person; it appeared to be
-soliloquizing, though now and then it seemed to be addressing an
-audience, and again it was whispering to me. I fancied it saying thus:--
-
-“I was once a shoot which a fox could tread down; then a sapling. I
-grew on the side of a hill in the Aroostook region. The Indian names
-of my native lakes and rivers have been for so long a time disused
-that I cannot now distinguish between the Chern-quas-a-ban-to-cook,
-the Ah-mo-gen-ga-mook and “the far-winding Skoo-doo-wab-skook-sis.”
-Once these names were familiar to me. Now I wander with you who sail
-with us in the wilderness of ocean. You sympathize with me, perhaps,
-in my exile from the stillness of nature. You are tempted to fancy
-me contrasting my rough life with the silence in which I grew. Years
-passed over me and my kindred in the untrodden forest; what ornithology
-I might describe; what songs I might recite; tell what eagles visited
-my top; what rare plumage is remembered as having showed itself in my
-foliage. Squirrels gambolled on my limbs, woodpeckers ransacked my
-sides for their prey. Many a woodbine has climbed into me, lived its
-short life, and turned crimson under the first touch of frost.
-
-One day men came beneath me with axes, measured my girth, looked up to
-my top. Great was my fall. I lay on the ground, my top was brought to a
-level with my root. I became a mere trunk, was borne to the shipyard,
-my foot set in the hold of this ship then new, and soon I was made
-ready for my vesture of canvas in place of buds and blossoms; I began a
-new life among the winds on the seas. Now I am sailing about the world;
-I have been many times round Cape Horn, am familiar with the lightnings
-off the River Plate, have compared the gales around the Cape of Good
-Hope with those of the Horn; know the latitudes where the trade winds
-begin and where they cease. I am a favorite resort of passengers in a
-sailing ship. I stand aloof from the main deck where work is all the
-time going on and there is much passing to and fro. The house,” (here
-it seemed to be addressing an audience) “which is the raised covering
-of the cabin, is there, extending perhaps one third the whole length
-of the ship, affording on its top a place for promenading. From me
-swings the spanker, a large fore and aft sail, helping the wind to
-balance the ship and much of the time throwing a shade; and there is
-almost always a current of air stirring beneath it. Under me and in the
-spanker’s shade the passengers spend a large part of every pleasant day
-reading, writing, conversing, enjoying the ocean scenes. Every pleasant
-evening is sure to gather them under me. My length runs down through
-the forward cabin where I am cased in. There the preacher or reader
-stands, with a congregation of about thirty. I am therefore a witness
-of a large part of a passenger’s experience at sea. His impressions and
-reflections, his reading, his writing, his conversation, his journal,
-may properly be dated under me.
-
-It might be supposed” (here it seemed to relapse into soliloquy,) “that
-the shipbuilder had ideality playing about him when he placed me, a
-tree of the wood, in the most interesting position, to be a centre of
-social life, a shelter to meditative hours, identifying myself with the
-choicest moments of sea life, retaining a magnetism which memory is
-destined to feel in coming years. Such is my origin and early history,
-and such the associations, in memory, with the mast under which most of
-the impressions to be recorded here, no doubt, by one of our passengers
-will be received. If his readers (should he have any) shall be so happy
-as to find themselves under a mizzen mast at sea, let it shed the
-healing, healthful influence on them which seem to be descending on the
-sleeper under my shade.”
-
-This last remark, seeming to be such a personal allusion to myself, had
-the effect to startle me, and I roused myself, surprised at having been
-asleep, and I looked up to the mizzen mast to see who was speaking.
-It was the mate who that moment was saying, “Set the crojick;”[1]
-whereupon four sailors came to the belaying-pins where my hammock swung
-and began to loosen the buntlines. I went below to prepare myself for
-the Thanksgiving dinner.
-
-
-THANKSGIVING.
-
-We kept Thanksgiving, it having been appointed before we sailed, so
-that we knew the day. We dined at four, instead of our usual hour (half
-past twelve), and so we were at table part of the time with those at
-home. Our dinner was:--1. Oyster soup; 2. Boiled salmon and scalloped
-oysters; 8. Roast fowl; 4. Huckleberry pudding; 5. Apple pies of dried
-apple. Now, should any one envy us, or should his mouth water at such a
-bill of fare, let him know that oysters and salmon from tin cans are
-not the same as those fresh from Faneuil-Hall Market.
-
-
-SATURDAY DINNER.
-
-We may be said to have had a Thanksgiving dinner once a week. But
-the principal dish was not fowl. Far from it. It was salt fish; but
-probably no better meal from this article of food is ever served on
-shore. With every desirable vegetable, and some sparkling champagne
-cider which a thoughtful friend had placed among our stores, we were
-rivals with Ruth when she sat beside the reapers of Boaz in the harvest
-field, and he reached her the parched corn “and she did eat and was
-sufficed and left.” For dessert we had at that meal “roly-poly,” which
-is thin flour paste spread with apple sauce, then rolled together and
-boiled; this with sweet sauce flavored with vanilla made us for the
-time imagine ourselves on shore. We entertained each other at these
-feasts with the choicest anecdotes, which our repasts disposed us to
-call to mind and to relish; for example, instances of Mr. Choate’s
-ingenuity, as, when defending a sea captain charged with cruelty to
-his crew, he undertook to show that so far from being cruel he was
-eminently considerate, so much so that instead of searching the law
-books to find out, as the witnesses alleged, what punishments were
-allowable and could be inflicted with impunity, he was only guarding
-himself against the excessive use of legitimate discipline; “he read
-the books with paternal yearnings; he was a mild but firm parent;”
-and instead of keeping his crew on vile trash, tasteless, sometime
-loathsome, “think, gentlemen of the jury, of applying such words to the
-nutritious lob scouse and the succulent dandy funk!” How could the jury
-help saying as they presently did, Not guilty?
-
-
-SAILOR’S FARE.
-
-Perhaps the reader, if he be not already versed in the articles of
-luxurious food served to sailors, will be willing to have his curiosity
-gratified as he reads what are the component parts of lob scouse and
-dandy funk, the mention of which by the eloquent advocate helped him to
-clear his client, the captain.
-
-“Lob scouse” is salt meat and potatoes cut small and stewed.
-
-“Dandy funk” is hard bread broken up, soaked in water, mixed with
-molasses, and baked in pans. Why Mr. Choate should call it “succulent,”
-or lob scouse “nutritious,” it requires legal cunning to detect.
-
-“Sea Pie” is lob scouse with dumplings in it, the meat not cut so fine;
-perhaps fresh meat. When a pig is killed the sailors the next Sunday
-generally have sea pie for dinner, made with fresh pork.
-
-“Bread Hash” is hard bread and salt meat minced fine and baked.
-
-“Potato Hash” is potatoes and meat minced fine and baked.
-
-“Manavellings” are remnants from the cabin table, the boy’s treat.
-
-
-APPLES AT SEA.
-
-We mourned the disappearance of our apples. They began to decay three
-weeks after we left New York, and our steward was obliged to employ
-his ingenuity in finding ways to use them up. We thought with pleasure
-of the tropical fruits which we hoped one day to taste; but nothing,
-we felt sure, could take the place of a northern apple. We expected to
-miss it as much as Sydney Smith did his summer beverage, in a place
-which he lugubriously describes as being situated “five miles from a
-lemon.”
-
-
-CAPRICES OF THE SEA.
-
-The steward was passing from the galley to the cabin table with a plate
-of hash. A sudden lurch made him lose his balance. His arms went into
-the air and the hash left the plate and went in a body against the
-side of the ship where a coil of rope hung; and it remained fast, the
-coil forming an oval frame for it. We pitied the steward but did not
-weep for the hash. Some of us thought we could understand the action
-of a company of boys at a boarding school, who were asked in Lent what
-luxury they would each propose to forego during the season of fasting
-and humiliation as a religious offering. Slips of paper were given
-to them and in a little while were collected. Every one of the forty
-papers bore the word, Hash. Some of our company were so lost to a sense
-of propriety as to exult at the steward’s mishap.
-
-
-RELIGIOUS ADMONITION FROM THE STEWARDESS.
-
-We have a stewardess, Annie Cardozo, wife of the steward who is a Cape
-de Verd, Portuguese, man. She is an Irish woman, very talkative, of
-good disposition. She was fixing my mattress; I remarked that it was
-too low on the side next the room. “Well,” said she, pleasantly, “we
-must think of the Lord, he had no where to lie down.” She may have
-thought that I was querulous, which in the present instance was not the
-case; but I accepted the admonition.
-
-
-DECISION IN A CAPTAIN.
-
-One evening in the Gulf Stream just at dark the top-gallant sail
-was blowing adrift from the “gaskets,” (the ropes with which it was
-furled;) and the whole sail was likely to get loose. The captain said
-that it must be secured. The mate doubted if it was safe to send men
-aloft in such a gale. The captain replied that he had been obliged
-when he was before the mast to go aloft in worse weather. He could not
-spare the sail. The mate gave the order: “Go aloft, some of you, and
-make fast that top-gallant sail.” Six or eight men sprang into the
-rigging and soon the sail was furled.
-
-The captain’s eye is necessarily the most of the time all over the
-ship. We were sitting on deck when the ship was laboring in a cross
-sea. He noticed that the main topmast stays quivered. The stays had
-within a few days all been “set up” for Cape weather, but these were
-not so taut as they should be. It was only a wakeful eye which would
-have noticed it. The remedy was applied at once. It is interesting
-to me as a father to hear the young captain spoken of by the sailors
-to each other as “the old man.” Had he a wife, though she were only
-eighteen years of age she would nevertheless be called “the old woman.”
-This made it less offensive to hear myself, though decidedly far from
-seventy, spoken of as “the old gentleman.”
-
-
-THE NIGHT WATCH.
-
-At night, or from eight P. M. the two mates take turns to be four
-hours each on deck, with or near the man at the wheel. They direct
-the steering according to the captain’s orders, oversee the ship, and
-report to the captain several times during the night as to wind and
-weather. Two of the crew keep a lookout in the bows two hours at a time
-watching against collisions and in some latitudes against ice. The law
-of the road, “When you meet turn to the right,” is the law at sea.
-The chances of collision are few. You wonder that you so unfrequently
-meet a sail, especially remembering the long list in every paper of
-arrivals, departures, vessels spoken. In thick weather, especially
-while on a coast, the danger increases and a sharp lookout is the rule.
-
-
-FLYING FISH
-
-I have seen at least a thousand in the last few weeks. They resemble
-the smelt, though larger. They start up before or near the ship in
-small flocks and fly fifty or a hundred feet. By taking wing though for
-short distances they are able to elude the dolphin, the swiftest of
-their pursuers, who wondering what has become of them, darts on ahead.
-Their escape by flying is probably as incredible to the dolphin as the
-sailors tell us it was to the mother of a sailor who was questioning
-him as to his experiences at sea. He told her many wonderful things,
-as, that a wheel of one of Pharaoh’s chariots came up on his anchor;
-that he saw a whale caught, in whose stomach was found a handkerchief
-with a Hebrew word on it which a minister on shore declared to be
-Jonah; that there are now fishes in the sea of Tiberias which have in
-their gills fluted pieces of pearl resembling money, by which name
-they are now called, and that some give them the name of “Peter’s
-pence,” supposing the fishes to be descendants of the fish which Peter
-drew from the sea. But when he described fishes flying in the air,
-taking wing before his ship, the faith of the listener gave way; the
-other stories, she said might be true, for they had a foundation in
-holy writ; but flying fish were too great a tax on her belief.--One
-was washed on board, whose wings, extended and dried, had a gossamer
-appearance so delicate that one might readily believe them to be the
-wings of something more delicate than a fish.
-
-
-LOSING ONE’S SHADOW.
-
-For about a week we have been directly under the sun. When we came
-under lat. 21° S. we could see nothing of our shadows at noon. Had
-we been ignorant of the cause we might have been in a frame of mind
-predisposing us to listen to German stories of a man’s selling his
-shadow to the evil one: for what had become of ours? Had we been of
-those ‘whose souls proud science never taught to stray far as the
-solar walk or milky way,’ we imagined what our speculations on this
-phenomenon would have been. One’s shadow certainly can never be less
-than in 21° S. Under our feet there was to each of us something like
-one of the clouds of Magellan.
-
-
-THE CLOUDS OF MAGELLAN.
-
-These we saw in the evening in the south-east, half way up to the
-zenith. They are two dark spots, one larger than the other, about
-twenty paces apart, not far from two yards broad. No stars appear in
-them. The telescope shows them to be openings into a milky way or
-paths of star dust, groups of heavenly bodies so many and so distant
-that their light is confused. Hence these openings in the bright
-heavens have the appearance of clouds, though they are not clouds;
-but the light which is in them is darkness, its excess confusing the
-irradiation.
-
-
-SALT WATER BATHS.
-
-You can have sea water brought to your room for sponge baths, or
-there is easy access to a room in the ship fitted up with all the
-conveniences for bathing. The men pour water through a hole on deck
-into a reservoir over head; pure sea water; the quantity making you
-remember the saying of Horace, ‘Dulce est detrahere acervo’,--It is
-pleasant to draw from a heap. In the Gulf Stream the water would suit
-those who must dip their razors into warm water. All who wish for cold
-baths will have them as they get further North. You have a sense of
-affluence in drawing on the Atlantic for your morning bath.
-
-
-SEA BIRDS.
-
-It is interesting to meet birds hundreds of miles from land. When the
-ship is going at her greatest speed, twelve or thirteen miles an hour,
-these birds fly faster, some of them forty and fifty miles, making you
-feel how they surpass man in all his means of speed. One is astonished
-at their quickness of sight. You throw pieces of paper, for example,
-overboard, and though you have not been able for half an hour to see a
-bird, straightway they will come one by one around you, but you cannot
-tell whence. Their sharpness of sight also is marvellous, shown in
-their discovering fishes beneath the surface of the water, even when
-the sea is troubled.
-
-
-SOME OF THE CREW ALWAYS AT WORK.
-
-A ship’s work is never done. All the time something is giving way and
-must be repaired; the sails are to be patched, ropes replaced, and day
-and night orders issue for taking in or making sail. None in particular
-are designated for ordinary work, but the order is given to the watch
-on deck: “Go aloft, some of you, and do this or that,” when they all
-spring into the shrouds; and when it is seen that enough are on their
-way the hindmost fall back.
-
-In good weather, the sails which need mending are spread on the deck
-and subjected to the needle. The thimble instead of being on a finger
-is fixed on a leather “palm,” which is drawn over the hand and affords
-the means of giving a strong push. It is composing to sit by and watch
-the sewing, or to lie in your hammock soothed by the measured monotony
-of the stitching and the plashing water. It is doubtful whether
-anything furnishes an invalid with more complete repose than a life on
-board a well-appointed sailing ship.
-
-
-SOUTH AMERICA IN SIGHT.
-
-The captain sent a man aloft at six A. M. to look for land. In fifteen
-minutes he called down, Land ho! It was Roccas Keys, one of the eastern
-projections of South America, about four miles from us. The white
-rollers soon showed themselves, with rocks behind the breakers. It was
-a pleasant sight in the morning sun, a relief after seeing nothing for
-a long time but the seemingly endless waters. A current had set in, but
-we were still in fifty fathoms of water. After watching the breakers
-an hour they disappeared. At four P. M. the captain thinking that we
-were too near the shore to pass Cape St. Rocque and Cape St. Augustine,
-tacked for two and a half hours, which made him feel sure of clearing
-the land in the night.
-
-
-SOCIAL LIFE AT SEA.
-
-The twenty-fifth of November was a beautiful day in contrast to the
-probable state of the climate at home, and calling us all on deck.
-One of the passengers sat plying her needle on the chief signal flag,
-another writing, one enjoying the soothing influences of the day in
-his hammock, the captain fixing his signals with a contrivance for
-keeping them separate and easily handled. Soft airs were about us. The
-clouds showed that we were in the trade wind region. Instead of banks
-of clouds and thunderheads there were innumerable fleecy clouds, mostly
-small, giving a calm look to the heavens. We seldom see this for a
-long time on land. We are in all respects the larger part of the time
-as if we were in a pleasure boat. No doubt other ships would awaken as
-agreeable sensations, but we are much of the time impressed with the
-gracefulness of our ship’s motions. We are instructed that this is
-owing in part to the stowage. She is not too much “by the head” nor
-“by the stern;” yet, after all, there is sometimes an indescribable
-air of beauty in a craft which the wisest builder will fail to define
-or to account for, while every one sees and feels it. Wholly ignorant
-of niceties in the art of steering, I soon learned by the action of
-the ship that it made a difference in her behavior whether one man or
-another were at the wheel. Many a time have I been so impressed with
-the way in which the ship rode the waves that I have left my seat to
-see who was steering, and have found that Nelson was having his trick
-at the wheel. Nelson is a tall sailor, about fifty years of age, an
-American, not always as exemplary on shore for his temperate habits as
-at sea he is skillful in his profession. He has the eye and hand of
-a marksman in encountering groundswells, running through chop seas;
-making me think of the gallant manner in which some policemen help
-ladies cross the thoroughfares.
-
-
-NIGHTS AT SEA.
-
-For nearly a month we have had quiet nights. Sleep is as deep and
-dreams as natural as on shore. Bed time is at half past nine and
-breakfast at half past seven. Going to sleep or waking in the night
-knowing that a mate and fifteen men are up and round about you and
-will be succeeded once in four hours by others, it is not strange that
-you should have a feeling of repose. It is useless for you to have an
-anxious thought. You could not go up to the royals nor out to the jib
-in an emergency; these men will go for you. How would it do at home
-to feel that angels who excel in strength are in the dwelling, in the
-cars, being caused to fly swiftly to keep you in all your ways?
-
-
-WATCHING THE WAVES.
-
-We spent the afternoon on deck watching the waves, they being fairly
-entitled to the designation of billows. The sea was white with foam,
-though the day was fine; while round about the ship the eddying water
-presented numberless forms of beauty. These words by one of the poets
-are sometimes as true of sea water as of fresh:
-
- “How beautiful the water is!
- To me ’tis wondrous fair;
- No spot can ever lonely be
- If water sparkle there.
- It hath a thousand tongues of mirth,
- Of grandeur or delight,
- And every heart is gladder made
- When water greets the sight.”
-
-Every now and then an enormous wave would break astern or about
-midship, like a mad pursuer compelled suddenly to give up the chase
-and die with a roar which seemed to tell what it would have been glad
-to do. It was Saturday afternoon, the time devoted by us at home to
-driving into the country; but the larger part of the afternoon went
-by unheeded while we were watching these frantic waters spending
-themselves one after another in their harmless wrath. There is more of
-pleasurable excitement in such a contemplation in a ship under sail
-than in driving; the sea air in fine weather giving exhilaration to the
-system which is in some degree a substitute for exercise. The ceaseless
-play of the water, never repeating itself in the same shape, interests
-the mind without fatigue, keeps attention awake by new surprises. We
-were at the mouth of the River La Plata, or “the River Plate,” as
-it is familiarly called, between Uragua and Paraguay, a region for
-disagreeable weather. Squalls, thunder and lightning, rain, everything
-which can make sea faring people uneasy, abound. But though we are
-nearly opposite the mouth of the river we are enjoying a perfect day.
-Still we are notified that we are in a region where we must not be
-surprised at sudden changes. Since a week after leaving New York we
-have been in exhilarating weather. All through November the thermometer
-has been at 60 or 70 in the cabin. On deck it has been cool enough, in
-the shade of a sail or under an awning. It was only the night before
-last that I felt the need of more than a sheet for a covering, though
-it was the fifth of December. The mere thought of sitting on a doorstep
-or piazza at home at this season to watch the stars, brought forcibly
-to mind the contrast of our respective climates. Home is 43 degrees
-north of the equator; we are now, Dec. 20th, thirty-seven degrees south
-of it; hence we are 43 + 37 = 80 degrees from home; and sixty miles
-being a degree we are 80 × 60 = 4800 miles from home, not reckoning the
-difference in our longitude.
-
-We went to sleep with everything favoring the expectation of a peaceful
-night, but at midnight the tramp of feet on deck revealed that all
-hands had been summoned to take in sail. The noise made by the heavy
-boots of thirty men was not unlike the noise made by horses on being
-removed from a burning stable. The scene on deck that night must
-have been a good specimen of “River Plate weather,” judging from the
-description given of it by the officers. The captain said in a letter
-which he sent home:--
-
-“At eleven o’clock a bank of clouds rose in the northern horizon with
-occasional flashes of lightning. As the clouds crept toward the zenith
-the flashes grew more frequent until they became incessant, playing
-over the whole of the north western sky accompanied by constant growls
-of thunder. Thinking a heavy squall was near I took in the royal and
-top gallant sails, hauled the courses up snug, had the topsail halyards
-and braces all laid down clear and kept the men standing by. When the
-clouds reached the zenith sharp flashes of lightning came at short
-intervals in addition to the constant display of heat lightning which
-had spread over the whole sky, keeping it in a perpetual blaze which
-I can compare only to a universal Aurora Borealis. Then it began to
-thunder in terrific peals with a continuous growl in the way of a
-running sub bass. I ordered all the cabin shutters to be closed tight
-that the flashes might not startle the sleepers, for it seemed as
-though the most brilliant day were alternating moment after moment
-with the blackest night. Then it began to rain. To use a sailor’s
-expression, “every drop was a bucketfull.” In the most literal sense,
-it poured. Every flash seemed the reopening of the sky, while the
-thunder had a combined sound of rattling and roaring, each of these
-noises vieing with the other, making me feel as though parks of
-artillery were crashing the reservoirs, bringing down their contents
-by floods. Withal, there was the phenomenon which landsmen are slow to
-believe, balls of fire resting on the trucks and yard arms, and called
-by sailors, “corpasants,” (a corruption of “corpus sancti”) these
-electric fires appearing to envelope the ship, availing themselves
-of all its points. All this was a combination of sights and sounds
-characteristic of the River Plate region. I thought every moment that
-a hurricane squall would burst upon us. It did blow hard. The wind
-changed entirely round the compass by spells, catching us aback two
-or three times, compelling us to brace the yards round, but the gale
-did not amount to anything serious. In a couple of hours the storm
-subsided. While it lasted it was appalling. All the powers of the air
-seemed to be in requisition to work some disaster.”
-
-Some days later upon going on deck in the morning, the scene was a
-picture of desolation. A heavy gale was blowing and several sails had
-been stripped off by the winds. The mast and spars made me think of the
-nut trees in the country after a gale when the leaves are gone; the
-spars were hardly clothed with canvas enough to keep the ship on her
-way, the few sails which remained being furled, to save them; only some
-of the canvas about the bowsprit and foremast being spread, with the
-mizzen staysail, to prevent the ship from broaching to. Eighteen men
-were aloft securing the sails, the ship going only two or three knots.
-Some of the torn sails had been sent down on deck. I never desired more
-the skill of a draftsman that I might picture the appearance of some of
-the sails as they came down after the gale had spent its ingenuity in
-riddling them. The shapes of the rents could not have been contrived
-by human skill; the canvas was not merely torn, it was picked in
-pieces, mocking any attempt to bring it together and even to divine how
-its parts were ever related to each other. The way in which the sail
-cloth was dishevelled by the gale, laid out in shreds, every thread
-loosened from its neighbor, some parts of the sail mangled, other parts
-minced as no art of human fingers or mechanical skill could rival, made
-the sailors despair of any attempt to do mending in the premises. They
-wound large parts of a topsail together for scouring-rags, some of it
-for cleaning brass work and other uses, for which the riddling wind had
-made the duck surprisingly soft like flannel, and some of it like lint.
-
-It seems fearful to lie so far removed from the habitable parts of the
-globe, a little company of human beings without neighbors, and with no
-means of help should we need it. Yet there are birds flying around
-us; some of them are resting on these waves. This inspires us with a
-feeling of safety. The sight of life in these creatures seems to be a
-connecting link between us and the living God. “From the ends of the
-earth,” literally, we cry to God when our hearts are overwhelmed by
-a sense of solitude. I am writing in a large easy chair, in which it
-requires some effort to preserve an upright position. The chair is made
-fast with rope yarns tying it to staples driven in to the floor; but
-for these I should go over. My inkstand is lashed with seizings to the
-swinging rest in front of me, diverting my attention from writing to
-the ink in the glass which at every roll of the ship climbs so nearly
-to an angle of forty-five degrees as to excite apprehension that it
-will spill. Ink is at best a source of mischief to all of us under the
-wisest precautions. What should I do just now should mine run over the
-floor? The stream would look as capricious as the wanderings of the
-children of Israel in the wilderness look on the map. I could not run
-for help, nor even stand, to call; I will put the cork in after dipping
-the pen when we are midway between a lee and weather roll. The girls
-are sewing as composedly as at home, one of them reading aloud from
-Dickens’ Mutual Friend. When I raise my eyes from my papers and look
-out of the window and see the water racing by us, white with foam, I
-need only the jingling of bells to make me fancy that I am in a sleigh.
-The man at the wheel keeps his post in his oil-cloth coat; I hear the
-pelting rain when the door is opened by the captain going up to ask
-“how she heads;” the gale is strengthening; we are nearing Cape Horn.
-
-
-ALL NIGHT AWAKE.
-
-The ship rolled so incessantly all night that I lay awake till morning.
-The carpenter has made me a berth board which raises the outer edge
-of my mattress so that as the ship rolls I am able to preserve an
-equilibrium. But everything in my room which could get loose was piled
-up in a promiscuous heap. For the first time for six weeks I did not
-appear at breakfast, but lay till 11 A. M. hoping to sleep.
-
-
-EVENING SERVICE.
-
-The gale lasted all day. In the evening we had religious services with
-the watch below. The captain read a chapter, made remarks, and called
-on me to follow. I told them how I had heard one of the boatswains
-singing, “Jesus sought me when a stranger,” in the hymn “Come thou
-Fount,” &c., written by Rev. Mr. Robinson, a Baptist minister in
-England, who, as a distinguished hymnologist of Baltimore told me,
-quoting from an English paper which he has preserved, departed from his
-early faith, but in after years when driving with a friend he heard
-singing and stopping to listen these words of his own hymn caught his
-ear:
-
- “Jesus sought me when a stranger
- Wandering from the fold of God;”
-
-when Mr. Robinson, lifting his hands as in prayer, said, “I would
-give worlds if I could now feel as I did when I wrote that hymn.”
-The incident seemed to me a remarkable indicating of divine grace
-endeavoring to call home a wandering sheep to the Shepherd and Bishop
-of souls, by causing him to remember so forcibly his former religious
-hope.
-
-
-CAPE HORN LATITUDES.
-
-Dec. 14. At eight and a half o’clock, P. M. it is light enough on
-deck to read small print. The day breaks at two, and there is a long
-morning twilight; the sun rises at four. We have to-day passed 50° S.
-This is the beginning of the Cape Horn region.
-
-To-day we have been running seven knots with a fair wind, and going in
-toward the coast, for several nautical reasons. At four P. M. we saw
-a dense cloud forming and in half an hour there came a heavy rain and
-fresh breeze, the ship going twelve knots, so fast that we shortened
-sail lest we should get out of the line of the Straits of Lemaire and
-run too near the Falkland Islands. The captain’s plan of steering for
-the coast proved as he expected, for now the southwest wind would have
-set us too far east.
-
-
-RESUMING THE MINISTRY, AT SEA.
-
-Dec. 19. Had services in the evening at seven by day light. It was the
-anniversary of my first sermon as Colleague pastor of the First Church
-at Cambridge, forty years ago. It was my first attempt to preach since
-February 14th. On account of uneasy motion in the vessel, sat and
-conducted the exercises. Did not feel the least inconvenience from the
-effort but slept quietly all night.
-
-
-
-
-II.
-
-CAPE HORN.
-
- All places that the eye of Heaven visits
- Are to a wise man ports and happy havens.
- Teach thy necessity to reason thus:
- There is no virtue like necessity.
-
- SHAKSPEARE: _Richard II_.
-
-
-At six o’clock, A. M., Dec. 20, a man at the mast-head cried, “Land,
-ho!” We saw the highlands of Tierra del Fuego, about a hundred miles
-from Cape Horn. We lay on the water motionless. About a mile from
-us was a brig apparently bound the same way. The captain ordered a
-boat to be made ready; and the mate, one of the boatswains, and three
-sailors, rowed to her. She proved to be the brig “Hazard,” Capt. Lewis,
-of Boston, belonging to Messrs. Baker and Morrill, eighty days from
-Malaga, bound to San Francisco, with raisins and lemons. The visitors
-received much information, and gave papers,--which, though fifty-seven
-days old, were gladly received,--some buckwheat, and other things; and
-received kind tokens in return. The swell would often hide the boat
-from the ship and the ship from the boat, except the upper sails. In
-the afternoon the wind sprung up fair; soon we came close to, and the
-captains had conversation.
-
-Tierra del Fuego lies south of Patagonia, separated by the Straits of
-Magellan. It has high hills, which, at a distance, look like domes.
-Many bays indent the coast, causing it to bend frequently. Between this
-district of country and Staten Land or Island, are the Straits of Le
-Maire, twelve miles broad. Entering the Straits with a fair wind and
-a strong current, on the morning of a bright, cool day, Dec. 21, we
-went at the rate of thirteen knots. We came alongside of a great patch
-of seaweed and kelp on which were eleven large birds. We had tacked
-or had been becalmed for almost a week, losing nearly five days. We
-therefore enjoyed our speed the more. The hills were picturesque in
-the variety of their shapes; their jaggedness and grouping were beyond
-imagination. One cluster was surmounted by an enormous stone, fluted
-like a sea-shell, looking as if it were placed there for a memorial
-purpose. There was another hill which terminated in the appearance
-of a man’s head, the face upward, the features regular, and so much
-resembling one of the sailors that it received his name. Flocks of wild
-ducks, twenty or thirty in each, albatrosses, cape hens, cape pigeons,
-penguins or divers, were abundant. These penguins float with only the
-head above water, and dive often; they all made the scene most lively.
-We sat or stood three or four hours enjoying the wild enchantment. It
-was worth to any one a voyage from New York. We saw no trace of an
-inhabitant. They are said to be of large stature, almost naked, their
-skin and flesh toughened by the climate. They do no tillage, but live
-on shell-fish and game. I shall always remember this region for its
-wild beauty and seemingly intense barrenness.
-
-We came up with a New-Bedford whaler; the name “Selah” was on her
-quarter, whaleboats over her side, and men at the mast-head, looking
-for whales or seals. We also descried a large ship ahead of us which we
-overtook. She proved to be the “Cambrian,” Liverpool, seventy days out.
-We enjoyed the sight of her, an iron vessel, with wire rigging, neat
-and handsome.
-
-[Illustration:
-
- CAPE HORN. Page 84.
-]
-
-At length we saw Cape Horn Island, the object of our desire, and at
-7, P. M., were abreast of it. Some high rocks stood about like
-sentinels. We were within a mile of the Cape.
-
-Cape Horn Island is the southernmost extremity of Tierra del Fuego,
-in south latitude 55° 58´. It is the southern termination of a group
-of rocky islands surmounted with a dome-like hill, out of which is a
-projection like a straight horn. But Schouten, the Dutch discoverer,
-is said to have named Cape Horn from _Hoorn_, in the Netherlands,
-his native place. The whole hill is a bare rock; indeed, how could
-anything, even the lowest forms of vegetable life, find root on a
-place smitten as this is by the waves? Only the lichens, stealing with
-seeming compassion over every form in nature doomed to barrenness,
-succeed in holding on to these rocks. The hill is about eight hundred
-feet high, its base environed by low, black rocks, with not a sign even
-of marine vegetation. One line of these rocks looks like a fort, the
-seeming gateway, higher than the rest of the wall, being composed of
-perpendicular fragments. All along the base of the rough hill, low,
-irregular piles, like a growth of thorns and brambles around a bowlder
-in a field, constitute a fringe, as though Nature felt that the place
-needed some appropriate decoration; and what could be more so than
-that which she has here given? For a long space toward the termination
-of the Cape, sharp rocks stand up in groups, and some apart, making a
-gradual ending of the scene, all in agreement with the wildness which
-marks the region.
-
-The sight of this spot, one landmark of our continent, can never fade
-from the memory of the beholder. Like many a distinguished object
-it is of moderate size, its impressiveness being due not to its
-bulk or height, but to its position. At first you are disappointed
-in not seeing at such a place something colossal; you would have
-it mountainous; at least, you would have thought that it would be
-columnar. Nothing of this; you have the disappointment which you
-feel on seeing for the first time a distinguished man, whom you find
-to be of low stature, whereas you would have had him of imposing
-appearance. But soon, however, you feel that you are at one of the ends
-of the earth. Here the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans begin, the great
-deep dividing itself into those two principal features of our globe.
-Anything monumental, any thing statuesque, or even picturesque, here,
-you feel would be trifling. Like silence, more expressive at times than
-speech, the total absence of all display here is sublimity itself; you
-would not have it otherwise than an infinite solitude, unpretentious,
-without form, almost chaotic. Around this point it is as though there
-were a contest to which ocean each billow shall divide; here the winds
-and waters make incessant war; the sea always roars and the fulness
-thereof. The rocks which finally terminate the Cape stand apart, as you
-sometimes see corners of blocks of buildings where an extensive fire
-has raged and the most of the walls have fallen in; but here and there
-a shoulder of a wall overhangs the ruins.
-
-We stood together as we passed the last landmarks, and sang,
-
- “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”
-
-It had been a day from beginning to end of constant pleasure, from the
-moment that we entered the Straits of Le Maire. We had accomplished one
-great design in our voyage. Would that the pleasant theory that musical
-sounds leave their vibration in the air might have reality given to it,
-and praise to God break forth from all of every language who navigate
-the Cape!
-
-We had reason to feel that we were not a great way from circumpolar
-regions; for at a quarter before eleven, the night previous, there were
-lingering streaks of pink light in the west. We never before read out
-of doors so late in the evening as we did that 21st of December on deck.
-
-We had been steering south, going five degrees below the Cape; then
-we needed to turn and go northward; but the fierce winds made no
-account of our plan. You may be several weeks trying in vain, as a
-ship belonging to our firm was, to double the Cape; but by favoring
-winds, we were only six days. Once only during this time had we a
-full view of the Horn; our captain had been here six times, and now
-for the second time only saw the Cape. Nothing lay between us and
-the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole. The waves were Cape-Horn
-swells, peculiar to that region. The sight of the ocean there was
-wild beyond description. Now and then the sun would come out, but his
-smile seemed sarcastic. Going on deck to view the tempest you are made
-to feel, as the ship goes down into deep places, that you would be
-more surprised at her coming up than if she should disappear. It is
-a good time and place for faith. One of the Latin fathers said, “Qui
-discat orare, discat navigare;” Let him who would learn to pray go to
-sea. It is to be doubted whether there are many places on the globe
-where one feels the power of solitude precisely as here. In the depth
-of a wilderness, or among mountains, solitude is more like death; but
-here it seems to have consciousness; you are spell-bound by some awful
-power; there is an infinitude about these watery realms; it seems like
-being in eternity. In the ascent of Mont Blanc, while gazing from the
-Mer de Glace on those needles of granite, inaccessible except to the
-eagle, I once felt that nothing could exceed the sense of desolateness
-there inspired; but to be at the end of a continent, with two oceans
-separating and forming a wild race-way where they go asunder, all the
-winds and storms being summoned to witness the inauguration of two
-oceans, their frantic uproar seemingly designed for the great occasion,
-Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego with their stupendous solitudes
-listening to the clamor; and then the feeling that the next place
-recorded on the map is the Antarctic Circle, with its barriers of cold
-and ice, you are warranted in the conviction that you are as near the
-confines of unearthly dimensions as you can be on this planet. You
-think of home, and the thought of your separation from friends and
-country and your consignment to these awful wilds, gives you a feeling
-of littleness, of nothingness, seldom if ever experienced elsewhere.
-And here is the proud ship that stretched her length in the pier at
-New York so far as to hold her spar over the passing drays, reaching
-almost to the opposite ware-rooms, now less than an egg-shell in these
-waters,--a tiny nautilus, a bubble, whose destruction any moment,
-unseen by any human eye, could not detain any of these proud waters to
-be so much as a mound over her grave.
-
-One day, before we entered the Straits and reached Cape Horn, along the
-neighborhood of Patagonia, the sea was more than usually disturbed, a
-ground-swell succeeding a gale lifting the waves higher than we had
-seen them, so that the motion of the ship had no uniformity for any
-two consecutive moments during the larger part of the day,--a cold,
-cheerless day, the sun now and then shining faintly, the wind ahead,
-no chance for a nautical observation, everything to the last degree
-forlorn. A bird came in all this turmoil and lighted in the water near
-the ship, and swam about us. The sight suggested the following lines:--
-
-
-THE CAPE-HORN ALBATROSS.
-
- The ship lay tossing on the stormy ocean,
- A head wind challenging her right of way;
- Sail after sail she furled; in exultation
- The waves accounted her their yielding prey.
-
- On her lee beam the Patagonia coast line
- Keeps ambushed reefs to snare the drifting keel;
- We fancied breakers in the dying sunshine,
- And questioned what the daybreak would reveal.
-
- No cities, towns, nor quiet rural village
- Gladden the heart along this lonely way;
- But cannibals may lurk with death and pillage
- For all whom winds and currents force astray.
-
- The Falkland Isles, Tierra del Fuego,
- Straits of Le Maire, the near Antarctic Zone,
- The stormy Horn, whose rocks the tempest echo,
- Can faith and courage there maintain their throne?
-
- Watching the swell from out the cabin windows,
- The towering waves piled high and steep appear;
- But what is riding on those mighty billows?
- An albatross. The sight allays my fear.
-
- Her snow-white breast she settles on the water,
- Her dark wings fluttering while she trims her form,
- Then calmly rides; nor can the great waves daunt her,
- Nor will she heed the menace of the storm.
-
- She spreads her wings, flies low across the vessel,
- She scans the wake, then sails around the bows,
- Not moving either pinion; much I marvel
- How like one flying in a dream she goes.
-
- She craves the presence of no other sea-bird;
- She revels in the power to go at will;
- The ocean solitudes, the wandering seaward,
- The distant sail, her daring spirit thrill.
-
- Behold, this fowl hath neither barn nor storehouse;
- An unseen Hand assists her search for food;
- Storms bring her up deep things of ocean’s produce,
- Prized the more highly in the storm pursued.
-
- With joy each day I’ll take the wings of morning,
- Dwell in the utmost parts of this lone sea;
- E’en there thy hand shall lead me, still adoring,
- And thy right hand shall hold who trust in Thee.
-
-
-ROUND THE HORN.
-
-It became stormy in the afternoon of December 21st, with rain. We were
-driven off our course. The sea came over the sides of the main deck.
-The motion of the ship was that of a rocking horse. She was so full
-of a cantering spirit that I knew it would be useless to expect sleep
-in my berth, so I lay upon a cabin sofa and had rest. The waves were
-Cape Horn swells. We are directly at the foot of the American continent
-inclining upwards toward the North. Should we do as well the rest of
-the way as the preceding, we shall be a hundred and twelve days only
-from New York to San Francisco. We were all on deck this afternoon
-enjoying the Cape Horn scenery. The captain and I talked of an event
-in our family history when he was eight years old, which made this day
-memorable. We did not then dream of going round Cape Horn twenty-one
-years from that day. “O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid
-up for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them which
-trust in thee before the sons of men.”
-
-
-DANGERS IN THE CABIN.
-
-Dec. 24. The gale to-day exceeded anything which we have had. The sight
-of the ocean was wild beyond description. I went on deck and held on,
-to see the tempest. The ship went down into deep places, more profound,
-seemingly, than ever before. But she is a noble sea boat. We have
-understood how men become enthusiastically attached to the vessel which
-they are ready to think has consciously borne them around the globe.
-
-You soon are so much used to the wild behavior of the sea that you
-lose all apprehension of danger. Some experiences in the cabin, in bad
-weather, make you feel that you are more safe on deck where you seem
-to have more ‘sea room.’ It is hard to walk in the cabin; the walls
-are so near you that your eye is more affected with the motion than on
-deck. You must watch for a windward roll, which does not let you down
-so low or so violently as a lee roll; then you run to your seat or to
-a side of the cabin, where you grasp something till the lee lurch has
-spent itself, when you make for the next point, like runners in playing
-ball. The difficulty of lifting your feet is marvellous. You are as
-really cumbered as though you had weights on your feet, or wore heavy
-clothing. It is amusing to see even the captain pause in the middle of
-the cabin, unable to move, his feet judiciously wide apart, waiting for
-the back roll to restore the level. He retorts by expressing the wish
-that the congregation at home could see their pastor in his efforts to
-get across the cabin.
-
-But it is not all fun. I was sitting about six feet from the stove in
-the dining-room, in the forward cabin, in the low easy-chair which we
-brought from home. The back legs were inside a closet, the threshold
-of which it was hoped would serve for a stay against sliding; when the
-ship gave a lurch, and I went head first into the low wooden box, in
-which the stove, a very heavy one, stood, my weight pushing the stove
-out of place, and bringing me down on my knees and wrists, the chair
-following me on my back. The steward ran and helped me up. After a
-few moments I was well, but I record this as a merciful preservation.
-Feeling strong and able-bodied, I have no trouble from such mishaps,
-but I would not advise a feeble person to go to sea, certainly not
-round Cape Horn; but if he must go, to be as careful in the cabin as he
-can see that he must be on deck.
-
-
-CHRISTMAS AT SEA.
-
-It would have been pleasant to our friends to see stockings on our
-door handles and to witness the contents. Mine had a colored-letter
-drawing of the words, “The Lord is my Shepherd;” a long shoe-case made
-of duck, bound with green; a small muslin bag filled with lumps of
-white sugar, marked, Cape Horn confectionary. The captain had a green
-necktie, made in a region where neckties are not often devised, the
-materials, however, unquestionably from “Chandler’s” or “Hovey’s;”
-also a pen-wiper; the mates had some articles of needle work, and
-chains made in part of bloom raisins which came the other day from
-the brig Hazard. Fresh raisins off Cape Horn are a greater curiosity
-and luxury than friends at home can suppose. The captain’s presents
-to the donors of these gifts were, a jar of pickles and a bottle of
-olives; mine were destined to be for some time useless, there being no
-shops in this region; but the small pieces of gold expressed a good
-intention. The afternoon was spent by a party, including the captain
-and first mate, around the stove in the forward cabin listening to one
-of Dickens’ Christmas Carols, they having already enjoyed six volumes
-of his works in beguiling some dreary afternoons; also, in amusing
-themselves with the exercise of “bean bags,” on deck. When it was dark
-we were entertained with narratives of expedients which were used in
-preparing the presents, the emptying of the rag bag and the search
-among its contents for materials, the difficulty of standing, of going
-about and even of sitting at work while the ship was playing her antics
-of position; the devices by the principal actors in hanging up the
-presents so as to elude detection, pretending unusual wakefulness in
-sitting up beyond midnight and trying to persuade the captain that he
-needed sleep; and especially the attempt to keep awake beyond the hour
-when the mate would come down to the pantry to refresh himself with a
-bite of salt beef and pie. The amusements of the day ended with putting
-down the cabin light and standing at the window to see and hear the
-boatswain perform his Christmas Carol, sitting in his little room, his
-feet on his bunk level with his head, he singing, “Shall we gather at
-the river?” his pipe in his hand lifted to his mouth for a few whiffs
-at the end of each verse, the pipe seemingly performing the part of the
-customary interlude on the musical instrument at church. So we had our
-Christmas presents where a year ago we little expected. Last evening
-we observed our custom of having Milton’s Christmas Hymn read to us,
-the captain being appointed the reader. It was very dark and stormy at
-noon, but we had a merry Christmas.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Dec. 26. It rains, and there is the thickest fog which it seems
-to me I ever saw. I groped my way into the bows, to look, as a
-transcendentalist would say, “into the invisible.” A sailor was in the
-bows alone, leaning against the forestay, wrapped in his oil-cloth
-coat, looking out for any vessel which might be passing. His watch was
-for two hours, a dreary, uninteresting service. He was a young man,
-full of zeal to go aloft, among the first to venture out to the weather
-earring, to leap upon the swinging board over the side or stern in
-painting. None seem so happy as the boys of the crew; but this duty of
-watching in a fog, of a cold day, has as little excitement in it as any
-thing in a sailor’s routine.
-
-
-A YOUNG SAILOR’S EXPERIENCE.
-
-One who had been several years before the mast and afterwards
-successively third, second, first mate, lately said to me, “When a
-young man, standing on the top gallant forecastle, leaning against the
-forestay, in a foggy day or dark night, the ship rushing into the dark
-unknown beyond, I sometimes thought, What if there should be an end
-to the sea, a precipice over which we should plunge, an undiscovered
-continent against which we should run! How did Columbus feel on his
-first voyage in a fog or in darkness? What a picture of life, its
-unknown future! so little the sailor knows what may be ahead of the
-ship; but the captain, confident in his chart, compass and reckoning,
-knows the way that he takes.”
-
-I have been much affected by what the young sailor told me of his
-first months before the mast; how he parted with members of his family
-circle, the ship just taken in tow by the tug, the last line which
-held them to the shore cast off, he standing with his arm on the rail,
-his head on his hand, looking at those he loved best on earth, and
-thinking what scenes he should pass through in the sixteen months
-before he should see them, if ever, again; when he was roused from his
-reverie by the mate’s calling to him, “Boy, what are you standing there
-for? go forward and tie up those cabbages.” He saw one of his family
-waving a handkerchief to him; but he was ashamed to be seen answering
-it; the hour of sentiment had passed; he must go and tie up the
-cabbages. The first few nights at sea the profane, vile talk of some of
-the sailors at night used to keep him awake, astonished and terrified.
-He used to say to himself, “My God! have I come to this? Did I once have
-a christian home? Why did I leave it? The physician said that I must
-go to sea, but he could not have known what life in a forecastle is.
-An old sailor said to me, ‘Boy, do you know that you stepped into hell
-afloat, when you came here?’ Soon I managed to stop up my ears when I
-turned in, so as not to hear the dreadful talk.”
-
-I said to him, “How did you help using their language and practising
-their wicked ways?”
-
-He replied, “So far from corrupting me you will think it strange,
-perhaps, if I say that it made me more pure. I left off some things
-which I used to practise without compunction. But the behavior of
-the men showed me what I should become, if I practised any kind of
-wickedness. When I heard the men swear and talk ribaldry, I repeated
-passages of Scripture as fast as I could, said all the hymns I could
-remember, and I knew a good many. My sister once promised me a half
-dollar if I would learn the Wesminster Assembly’s Shorter Catechism;
-I said it to her, and she gave me the money, and I used to say that
-Catechism over and over in bed; Effectual Calling, Justification by
-faith, and, What is required, and What is forbidden in each of the
-commandments, used to be to me in that forecastle like a cloth dipped
-in some aromatic liquid and pressed to my face.”
-
-I told the young man that if he would write and publish his experience
-he might find, by the good that he would do, why providence led him
-into that bitter experience in the forecastle.
-
-“I often think,” said he, “of those words: ‘His way is in the sea,’ for
-I am sure it has been so with me.”
-
-The recollection of this narrative was forced upon me in looking
-into the fog as I lay in the knightheads and looked over and watched
-the cutwater breaking the way for the ship. But it grew cold, and I
-retreated to the stove.
-
-We had a lively time in the middle of the night. The jib could not
-stand the gale, part of it was blown to tatters, much of it was blown
-away. It is a three-cornered sail, sixty feet in its extreme length.
-The men said that the noise of the wind among the loose sails was as
-though the forward part of the ship was breaking up. The watch below
-had turned in half an hour before, but now all hands were ordered on
-deck. Twenty-four men were on the main yard taking in the sail. It
-makes a landsman dizzy to see them standing aloft on a foot rope, the
-wind filling the sail and keeping it stiffly bent from them; yet they
-must clutch it, bring it in against the wind, holding on by the little
-slack which they must contrive to gather, their feet meanwhile with
-nothing under them but a rope. I could liken the noise of the wind and
-the roar of the sea only to the noise made by an express train when you
-are standing on a platform at a railway station. The sound sleep into
-which I fell was not disturbed by this uproar, but it yielded to so
-slight a cause as the dropping of water upon my bed. The hot weather of
-previous weeks had made the chinks open, and now the rain had found its
-way through the deck. There was no more sleep in the premises for that
-night. An alarm of fire is hardly less effectual in its power to wake
-you than the slow, measured, dripping water. The captain brought his
-india rubber coat, spread it over the bed, and made a place for a pool,
-which in the morning was filled, the tenant having been obliged to beat
-a retreat for the remainder of the night to a cabin sofa.
-
-Dec. 26. We are almost round the Cape. From Lat. 50° South in the
-Atlantic to 50° South in the Pacific is called “round the Cape.” We are
-getting into the longitude of Boston, 71° W., so that time with us will
-be the same as with those at home, for a while.
-
-
-THE SHIP’S TRACK.
-
-Dec. 27. We came within twenty-five miles of Tierra del Fuego again,
-on its western side, the wind setting us that way, so that we had
-to tack and run W. instead of S. E. The captain, after he has taken
-an observation, draws a line on his chart with his pen, showing the
-distance run and the direction for the last twenty-four hours. It is
-described for the last three days thus, (the line representing the
-number of degrees, according to an arbitrary measurement, and each day
-indicated by a cipher:)
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Sometimes the course is deflected by contrary winds; for example, thus:
-
-[Illustration]
-
-which is a loss. We have a chart with the tracks of several vessels
-printed on it. One vessel was sixty days in getting round the Cape;
-the winds let us pass in twelve. The vessel referred to made several
-squares in her course, with other geometrical figures, sailing a part
-of the time thus:
-
-[Illustration]
-
-You hereby see one cause of long passages. One day we made only eight
-miles out of one hundred and twenty sailed; a few days before we went
-two hundred and forty miles. One day while going round the Cape we
-gained so little that we should be, at that rate, one thousand days in
-getting to San Francisco.
-
-
-MAKING LAND ROUND THE HORN.
-
-Dec. 29. Saturday afternoon the captain said, “We shall see land before
-dark.” At sunset our hope was fulfilled. We saw, fifteen miles off,
-a high hill in New Chili, formerly a part of Patagonia. We tacked and
-ran S. W. instead of N. W. To-day the head wind beat us within twelve
-miles of land, and again we had to tack. We must do it once more this
-evening. The captain evidently has a great strain on his mind, though
-he says but little. He keeps on deck a large part of the time of late,
-leaving little or nothing to the mates.
-
-
-THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR.
-
-A year ago to-day I should have anticipated being anywhere as here.
-Never have I had so much cause for wonder and joy at the close of a
-year. Blessed sickness! which prepared the way into the wilderness of
-waters. It would not be easy to trace the connection of the following
-lines which occurred to me about this time, with the meditations
-suggested by the close of the year; but I had been thinking of our
-Omnipresent Saviour as once living in a house; a humble dwelling, no
-doubt, in “a city called Nazareth.” It was good to think of Him who has
-now gone up on high that he might fill all things, as once tabernacled
-with men. The train of thought will serve for an illustration of the
-liberty which the mind will sometimes take of being independent of
-situation and circumstances:
-
- “And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
- Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and saith unto them,
- What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being
- interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come
- and see. They came and saw where he dwelt and abode with him that
- day; for it was about the tenth hour.” John I. 37, 39.
-
- This roof once covered him who built the sky;
- A room inclosed him who now fills all space
- With thousand thousands rendering ministry;
- He led the way to this His dwelling place,
- And two disciples shared his courtesies,
- Had friendly talk and brake their privacies,
- Nor once withdrew from him their wondering eyes.
-
- Sleep soothed him here whose eyes are flames of fire;
- Here waked he at the crowing of the cock;
- Hunger and thirst his daily thoughts require
- Who now feeds worlds, as one would feed a flock.
- Here would he kneel in prayer; dominions own
- Him sovereign, bide his orders; round his throne
- Prayers ceaseless rise, urged in his name alone.
-
- Not far from this abode the wild gazelle
- Cropped the red lilies and would venture near.
- The devils knew him, cried, foreboding ill,
- Fell down before him with tormenting fear.
- Diseases fled; he stayed the expiring breath,
- Bade the blind see; he brake the bars of death,
- His home, the while, despised Nazareth.
-
- By night upon this housetop oft he sat;
- He watched the young moon as the light of day
- Grew dim from east to west; he tarrying yet
- Her crescent sank; on snow crowned Hermon lay
- The lingering twilight, with a roseate hue
- Tinging the snow, the small hills lost to view.
- He formed that light; he framed the darkness too.
-
- Let me believe that on this humble floor
- His mother sought a piece of money lost,
- And swept the house; his young eyes counting o’er
- The pieces nine, she craved the stray piece most.
- He wandering o’er these hills of Galilee
- Beheld a flock all shepherdless and free,
- The shepherd searching one through brake and lea.
-
- Faith loves the mystery which it cannot read,
- How he a child once in a manger lay,
- Yet prayed he thus: The glory which I had
- With Thee ere time was now repeat in me.
- The eastern wise men to his cradle came,
- Yet said this child; “Ere Abraham was, I am;”
- He made the star which did their zeal inflame.
-
- All which the twelve possessed by faith I have;
- I live by faith of thee, thou Son of God!
- Yet would I this my tabernacle leave
- And look upon my Lord in his abode.
- When in the lonesome valley praying thee,
- “Master, where dwelleth thou?” do thou on me
- Let fall the whisper, saying, ‘Come and see’.
-
-
-NEW YEAR’S DIVERSIONS.
-
-The serious and ludicrous are near akin in emotional relationship, for
-we often pass without a shock from the one to the other, and it matters
-not which takes precedence. Some of our company younger than the rest
-yearned for sport. So the captain said that they might have a candy
-scrape. Accordingly some molasses was sent to the galley to be boiled,
-while the chief agents in the enterprise shelled some nuts to be put
-into a part of it, the rest being intended to be pulled and therefore
-was kept clear. The molasses proved to be old and fermented, therefore
-it did not boil well and so could not harden. The result was, instead
-of nut candy, a pan of sour molasses mixed with nuts, which was offered
-to us as a second course at supper. The other half of the molasses was
-sentenced to be boiled over again. The steward appeared with it and
-laid it before the adepts in candy frolics; but it looked like a mass
-of kelp; he had vainly tried to work it into a state which would tempt
-the appetite; but it was too stiff to be pulled, so he had chopped it
-into a likeness to sticks. Though it tasted burnt and sour, it was
-pronounced as good as could be expected.--At sundown one of the mates
-found some fire crackers which had escaped discovery in some former
-voyage. The sailors were allowed to celebrate the advent of New Year,
-so they borrowed of the steward some tin vessels and as soon as eight
-bells were struck, forward and aft, they set up a fearful din and the
-crackers were fired, to welcome the incoming year. The noise resembled
-that with which, as we afterwards observed, the Chinese prelude
-their fights. In the midst of the tumult the stentorian voice of the
-boatswain was heard resounding some admonitory strain, ending with his
-favorite canticle, “On Canaan’s happy shore.”
-
-
-FAIR WEATHER PAST THE HORN.
-
-After beating about the Horn for eight days, going only from forty
-to eighty miles day after day, a fine breeze sprung up and we have
-for twenty-four hours been going at the rate of ten knots an hour,
-sometimes faster. To look out of the cabin windows and see the water
-racing by makes one dizzy, and you hasten on deck to gratify the eye
-with a longer range of sight.
-
-12 M., we have made two hundred and fifty-nine miles the last
-twenty-four hours, the best day’s run of the voyage thus far. In the
-Gulf we made two hundred and fifty miles, and once nearly as much off
-the River Plate.
-
-One of the tiniest little fishes which we have seen was found on deck.
-It was washed over the side yesterday when every twenty minutes a sea
-came over the rail. The little thing shows us what the birds pick up
-at sea. “The small and the great are there.” We are glad to see the
-smallest thing in this region of wonders in the deep.
-
-We are now fully round the Horn, having passed beyond 50° S., which
-completed the semicircle. At 12 M. one day lately we had gone beyond
-50° to 43°. Patches of blue sky appear. Our spirits are revived. The
-ship seems to partake of our joy. Toward evening to-day she seemed to
-the captain to be exerting herself beyond her strength, having on a
-crowd of canvas. He ordered the royals to be taken down, to our regret;
-but it relieved her. We are promised another race at daybreak should
-the weather be fair.
-
-
-CHANGE OF SEASONS AT SEA.
-
-One of the pleasant things about this voyage is, the frequent change
-of seasons. Leaving New York late in October we were in a few days
-in the warm region of the Gulf; then came spring and summer in the
-tropics, then fall and winter with severe blasts round the Horn.
-To-day, Jan. 6th, spring seems to have dawned. By Jan. 20th, we shall
-have premonitions of summer heat. I took my old seat on the house under
-the mizzenmast, a mild air about me yet strong enough to bear the ship
-along at the rate of eight or nine knots, the sky clear, the water
-smooth, the horizon distinct, everything indicating our approach to the
-tropics.
-
-
-THE MORNING HOUR.
-
-If I were asked, “What recurs to you most frequently with pleasure in
-your experience at sea thus far”, I should say, The hour under the
-mizzen mast, morning after morning. The solitude there was unrivalled.
-In the depths of a forest you are not sure of being alone; for you
-yourself have come thither, and what hinders the approach of others?
-Half of the ship’s company are asleep; those who are up are busily
-occupied; before you left your bed you heard the tramp of feet
-overhead. The dash of buckets of water, the noise of brooms, the
-holy-stone drawn backwards and forwards and athwart ship, and then the
-perfect quiet, made you feel that everything was ready for any one who
-wished to be alone on deck. Behind you, but hidden from view by the
-spanker, is the man at the wheel; the rudder-head jounces monotonously
-at every turn; a sailor here and there creeps about barefooted; the
-steward makes his official visits to the galley; these, and the few
-others who are stirring, only seem to make you feel that you are
-isolated. The depths are around you; the distant sail tells you that
-yonder is a company of human beings shut out like you from the world;
-you understand how solitary you are, by musing on them; you fancy how
-lonesome you would be sailing away, as they seem to be, from human
-fellowship, not considering that you are also. I had made an index to
-the book of Psalms, easily drawn up, and had written it on paper the
-size of a small ‘Testament and Psalms,’ twelve pages, and had pasted it
-in my small Testament. I did not need De Wette, nor Rosenmuller, nor
-any other commentator to remind me that a word of David was in Hiphil
-or Hophal, Piel or Pual; the index, looked over, beginning; A, As the
-hart panteth, 42. B, Behold, bless ye, 134. D, Deliver me from, 59,
-would each day suggest a Psalm which seemed to have the same key note
-with the feelings with which I had awaked. No song of bird, no wheels,
-nor hum of labor disturbed the exceeding peace which all nature seemed
-to have concentrated, in this morning hour in the solitude of ocean. I
-could not refrain from thinking how it would have been wholly broken up
-by paddle wheels or propeller, and by the sympathy which the jaded mind
-would have with the incessant walking beam, the alternating pistons;
-and by the column of black smoke, the imprisoned steam. Let trade,
-and strong nerves, and economy of time, and imperative engagements
-gratefully avail themselves of machinery in passing from one side of
-the sea to the other, but let some sailing vessels be spared, with
-their poetry of motion, and architecture of canvas, mystery of rigging,
-habits, usages, phraseology, modes of life, the tar and slush, the
-going aloft instead of down into the furnace room, the laying becalmed
-instead of driving ahead impetuously, reckless of wind and weather.
-In our desire for the advancement of mankind, we do not calculate for
-indisposition. It is out of place. But these clipper ships could not
-be better contrived for comfort, had they been arranged expressly for
-invalids.
-
-
-CLEANING SHIP.
-
-We are having the first premonition of port. The sailors are employed
-washing the white paint with potash in the way of spring cleaning.
-Every rope in the standing rigging is to be tarred and the ship is to
-be painted inside and outside, so that when she enters port she will
-look as new as when she left home. You may wonder how a vessel can be
-painted outside at sea. Here in the Pacific there are days when the
-weather and the swell of the sea allow staging to be lashed to the
-side, stern, and bows, and men move safely from point to point with
-brushes.
-
-
-THROWING MANUSCRIPTS OVERBOARD.
-
-When first I began to throw writings overboard I was careful to tear
-them into small pieces, supposing that they might be picked up. I soon
-learned that this was useless. The captain seeing me do it told me that
-he would be willing to throw any writing into the sea fearless of its
-being found and read. In a very little while the water would reduce
-it to pulp, the incessant motion would destroy it, and even if it
-did not, the chance of its being picked up or washed ashore would be
-many millions to one of its ever coming into anybody’s hand. Among the
-countless things which we had seen afloat we never saw at sea a piece
-of writing. After this I took some old manuscripts on deck and threw
-them overboard, leaf by leaf. A sermon which one of the children at
-home had written for me in pencil from dictation I had copied in ink
-and the original was now useless. Mother Cary’s chickens flew down upon
-the pages as they one after another settled on the water, and finally
-a large albatross came, lighted on the water, watched the leaves as
-they floated along and tried to eat one. We little imagined, that rainy
-afternoon as we sat on the piazza at Milton, that the leaves which one
-who may read this held in her hand would pass under the eye of a Cape
-Horn albatross on the Pacific Ocean.
-
-
-BURNING TAR BARRELS.
-
-When the sailors have used up a barrel of tar, they have sport in
-putting kerosene in the barrel, lighting it, and dropping it to
-leeward. It blazes, vehemently, and while we sail away from it we
-cannot persuade ourselves that it is not moving rapidly from us.
-The swell of the sea causes it to disappear now and then, rising up
-occasionally very far astern. Some on shore have thought that this
-might be a false light to vessels. Sailors are too well accustomed to
-the practice to be deceived by it; but apart from this, in mid ocean
-there is no danger of mistaking it for a light house.--Having spoken of
-dropping the barrel to leeward rather than to windward where it might
-be blown against the ship, I am reminded of a prudential maxim at sea:
-Never throw anything overboard to windward but 1. Ashes; 2. Hot water.
-
-
-TEN THOUSAND MILES FROM HOME.
-
-We have sailed over ten thousand miles, and have five thousand more to
-sail before we come to “Frisco.” It seems strange to think of arriving
-there by land in ten days from home, while we have been from Oct. 26th
-to Jan. 12th, seventy-eight days, on our way. If we were in haste to
-reach our port this difference of speed would try our patience. As it
-is we are grateful; it seems painful to be whirled along in ten days,
-night and day, instead of coming at our leisure unmindful of time,
-willing to be where we are, indefinitely, except that we sympathize
-with the captain’s desire to make a short voyage, and feeling willing
-also to shorten this part of our way knowing that we shall have
-sufficient experience of the sea by the time that we have belted the
-globe.
-
-
-A SAILOR AT HIS MEAL.
-
-Seeing a sailor go to the galley with his tin pan, receive his
-allowance from the cook, take it out on deck, seat himself on a spar, I
-was reminded of his limited supply of table cutlery. But in the first
-place he has no table. He holds his pan in his hand, lays his biscuit
-on the spar, his drink along side of it, takes his piece of potato,
-turnip, cabbage with his finger, serves his bone in the same way, and
-if the piece of meat which has fallen to his lot needs to be divided
-he feels for his sheath knife which he carries all the time in its
-sheath behind him, holds the meat with one hand and makes the sheath
-knife play the part both of knife and fork. He wipes his fingers on his
-pants. Artificial and useless do many things appear at sea, as, for
-example, forks, napkins, and, of course, napkin rings, doilies, sugar
-bowls, slop bowls, saucers, ladles, dessert spoons; in short the things
-absolutely indispensable at a sailor’s meal could be counted on the
-fingers of one hand, omitting the thumb and little finger. Yet there
-are frequently young men in a crew who have been used to the numberless
-luxuries of life. I had a talk yesterday with the son of a minister;
-early in the voyage his fine face attracted me. He has eleven brothers
-and sisters at home. He had a desire to see the world; was weary of the
-shop, of the few associates in a country village. This is his first
-long voyage. He makes light of privations and dangers; says that almost
-all the things which he used to have on the table at home would now
-seem superfluities. He would need experience to make them necessary. He
-would feel toward some of them, no doubt, as a sailor did in a boarding
-house who spit on the floor, which the waiter perceiving kept pushing
-a spittoon nearer to him; till at last the sailor annoyed by it said,
-“If you keep pushing that thing so near to me I shall be in danger of
-spitting in it.”
-
-
-BRILLIANT NIGHT.
-
-The moon set at half past nine, and left the heavens aglow. Imagine the
-milky way, without its milky appearance, all the haze gone, the stars
-in it in crowds. The nebulous light dissolves in brilliant worlds, the
-Southern Cross at one end,
-
-[Illustration]
-
-just above the Southern horizon, Orion at the other end in the zenith,
-and several of the bright constellations full in view.[2]
-
-
-THE SOUTH EAST TRADE WINDS.
-
-We celebrated a birthday a few days since, (Jan. 8th,) by having the
-South East Trades set in, blowing us on our direct course to San
-Francisco. Rose at six and sat on deck, the ship going at the rate of
-eleven knots, the foam flying before us in sheets. These S. E. Trade
-winds blow from 25° S. to the Equator, both in the Atlantic and Pacific
-Oceans. The N. E. Trades blow from Lat. 30° N. to lat. 5° N.[3]
-
-
-RELIGIOUS INTEREST.
-
-My colleague, the captain, spoke to the crew on the Prodigal Son. We
-have conversed with several of the men, and have found that there are
-among them those who make a practice of secret prayer. We concluded
-to have a meeting in the evening, when we would explain the way to
-be saved. Twenty-four of the crew were present; indeed all who could
-be spared from duty. I spoke from the words, “Ho, every one that
-thirsteth,” &c., (Is. 55,) and the captain followed. Some of them
-showed a tearful interest. I advised them to begin and act as believers
-in the Saviour of men, to give up the long, wearisome endeavor which
-some of them had confessed to me they had been pursuing for years, to
-find if they were christians, or when and how they became such. Several
-of them are members of christian families, all of them have heard the
-gospel, understand the way of acceptance with God, are respectful in
-their attendance on religious service, show at times that they are
-impressed with the truths which they hear. It is deeply affecting to
-speak to these men. Soon they will be scattered to the four winds. Few
-of them shall we meet again in this world. This thought cannot fail
-to make one affectionate and earnest in preaching to them. It may be
-stated here that I never felt more deeply the privilege of declaring
-the gospel to men, nor did I in my congregation ever feel more the need
-of carefulness in my statement of christian truth. These men weighed
-everything which was spoken, did not care for excellency of speech,
-nor man’s wisdom; loved simplicity, felt nothing compared with the
-representations of Christ, his words, his treatment by men, his claims
-on them, his present and future glory, and his coming to judge the
-world.
-
-
-SCRIPTURE PROMISES.
-
-These have been a great, I may truly say, constant source of delight:
-“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; for the
-Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Jos. I, 9. This
-was so impressed on my mind before leaving home, that I ventured to
-take it for my sailing orders. I feel that I have not come to sea of
-my own motion. I tried every other method of recovery, had many other
-plans of travel; but one after another was frustrated, and I was shut
-up to this, which, like a certain iron gate before a prisoner and his
-angel, is beautifully said to have “opened to them of his own accord.”
-I have no expectation other than that all will be well. Everything has
-proceeded so much better than I could have expected that there seems
-to be nothing to do but to receive trustfully every day’s experience.
-Words of Scripture have had a wonderfully sedative effect. When the
-sea rises I remember, “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of
-many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” Ps. 93. One day in
-the Gulf Stream, when all around was in confusion, I thought of these
-words: “The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were
-afraid; the depths also were troubled.” Ps. 77:10. It was a comfort
-to know that there is One of whom the sea is afraid. If my heart can
-say, “O God, thou art my God,” why should I fear the sea? I may even
-say, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee on the water;” I may
-even come down out of the ship to go to Jesus. I was glad that the sea
-was afraid; it gave me a feeling of superiority to the sea. Paul says,
-“And in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which,” that is, your
-not being terrified, “is to them an evident token of perdition, but
-to you of salvation, and that of God.” One morning, lately, at home,
-as I was rising, my eye was caught by these words in the “Scripture
-Promises” which hung in my room: “When thou passest through the waters
-I will be with thee.” Is. 43:2. This, and the passage above quoted from
-Joshua, are most frequently in my thoughts. If those at home could look
-in upon us, they would give thanks. The day before we left New York, a
-clergyman who came on board said, “Probably the history of navigation
-contains no instance more remarkable than this: A father and daughters
-going to sea with a son and brother for captain, with everything
-combining to make them happy.” We said with thankful hearts, “The Lord
-hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.”
-
-
-SUNRISE ON DECK.
-
-On hearing eight bells last night I supposed it to be twelve o’clock.
-Having gone to bed at half past eight I felt rested, looked out of
-my window and thought I saw “The Dipper,” not knowing but that the
-ship was tacking and going North. Wishing to salute our old friend,
-the north star, I put on my wrapper and went on deck and was told by
-the man at the wheel that it was five o’clock. The eight bells were
-for four o’clock instead of twelve, so soundly had I slept. I staid
-up to see the sunrise, wishing to correct the impression which I had
-long cherished that there is more to be enjoyed in the idea of sunrise
-than in its actual beauty. This I was willing to attribute to the
-want of disposition when drowsy to appreciate the morning. We are
-prejudiced in favor of a departing day, look kindly on the advancing
-darkness; we have pleasant associations with the season of repose; it
-awakens no apprehensions of care, nor of labor; each step of coming
-night is associated with quiet, while the opening day is the signal
-for noise; we are not so much disposed to welcome an untried day with
-its liabilities, as a finished day which can make no new demands upon
-us. The valedictory of sundown implies less responsibility than the
-salutatory of a new day. The progressive development of evening with
-the softening, fading colors, its pathos, finds us more disposed to
-sympathize with it than we are with a day yet to be tested. But
-morning has it votaries and its poetry. Therefore,
-
- “Now while the Heaven by the sun’s team untrod
- Hath took no print of the approaching light,”
-
-let me see once more if the beauty of morning is real or wholly ideal.
-There are no birds in our tops to herald its coming; no living things
-to make it appear that they welcome the return of light, the flying
-fish are no more of them on the wing than when the ship at night breaks
-in among them, nor do the porpoises gambol more at day break than
-at noon. There is a touch of pathos in seeing the stars pale in the
-growing light; but they cannot awaken much sentiment in us; we find
-it, if at all, in the victories of light over darkness; the imprint of
-beauty on monotony; the responses of the zenith and then of the west to
-the first outgoings of the morning in the east, the crimson bars, the
-purpling cloud, the snowy top of a pile whose base is yet black. But do
-we not yield a ready response to these oft quoted words, or do we pass
-them over as the desponding language of a decaying race: “Let others
-hail the rising sun,” and count it as merely an act of resistless
-sympathy to “bow to him whose course is run?” It must be acknowledged
-that sitting on deck three quarters of an hour in a dishabille dress
-in the middle of January to see day break, required the temperature of
-Pacific latitudes to make the experience pleasant. I could not decide
-which to choose, abstractly. “The day is Thine, the night also is
-Thine.”
-
-
-LOW TONES OF NATURE.
-
-One cannot but be impressed with the same thing at sea which meets us
-everywhere on the land, the low pitch of natural tones, in the wind,
-the thunder, the waves in mid ocean. If the thunder made the same
-indiscreet noises as some of our locomotives, thunder storms would be
-more appalling than they ever are now. May we not see the benevolence
-of God in this? As one sits for a long time soothed by the wind blowing
-through the grass, so in listening to the waves around the ship he is
-not agitated but composed. Even in a tempest the key note of the wind
-through the cordage has a low pitch; “strong without rage,” much of the
-time. So with the roar of the sea. Men’s voices in a multitude met for
-conversation partake of the same quality. I remember that some years
-ago several gentlemen were in the Exchange in an English metropolis
-on some ordinary business day, and on going upstairs they noticed the
-uniform pitch which the voices below naturally assumed. One or two of
-these gentlemen were musical men, who, on being appealed to, gave it as
-their opinion that the pitch was on F, and there being no excitement
-the hum or droning sound continued uniform on that low note. One may
-catch that note much of the time at sea; yet there is no painful
-monotone in nature. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in
-the world, and none of them is without signification; yet a wonderful
-harmony prevails, without any artificial arrangement to keep the ruling
-pitch at F.
-
-
-THE SHIP’S GUNS.
-
-Our two guns, nine pounders, have been raised from the hold and painted
-black. They have been in the hold much of the time, and unless we
-meet a pirate they will not be needed, except in case of their being
-required to announce an astounding passage. A hundred and twelve days
-is the ship’s shortest passage. We are only twenty-five hundred miles
-from San Francisco, which is small compared to the fifteen thousand
-five hundred with which we began.
-
-
-THE SHIP PUT IN PERFECT ORDER.
-
-Every thing about the ship, outside as well as inside, is in beautiful
-order. Even the belaying pins, of which there are about forty,
-including all on each side of the deck and about the masts, have been
-scraped and varnished. No house on shore is in a more creditable state
-of neatness. No idleness is allowed, but we are not so much at a loss
-to find employment for the sailors as was one captain, who, when
-everything about his ship was in perfect order, still kept his men
-occupied by setting them to scrape the anchors.
-
-
-CROSSING THE LINE AGAIN.
-
-Jan. 22. We crossed the line to-day. Nov. 22d we crossed it in the
-Atlantic. By land over the continent where we then were is four
-thousand miles; but we have sailed thirteen thousand. We are two days
-behind the ship’s shortest passage, and we watch the winds. To sit on
-deck in a summer suit, listening to the music of the water as the ship
-glides along, and watching the light and shadows, is perfect enjoyment
-to an invalid feeling that this medicine is accomplishing a cure.
-
-
-BONITOS.
-
-To-day one of the boatswains caught with a hook two bonitos. They are
-as large as the largest mackerel; the flesh hard. We are to dine upon
-them to-morrow; but what shall we do for lettuce? Every now and then
-we are made to feel that there are some good things on land. But we
-are as often reminded what a barren region these deep waters are. They
-evidently were not designed to support human life. Instead of abounding
-in articles of food, we do not find any, except by accident, till we
-draw near to rocks, or run upon soundings.
-
-
-WHALE FEED.
-
-Yet the Creator “opens his hand” even here, and ‘satisfies the desires
-of every living thing.’ At night we were startled by a bright light
-around the ship. We were in a patch of whale feed, a kind of skid,
-myriads of little creatures who give out a phosphorescent light. It
-seemed like a patch of the milky way. The mate lowered a bucket, hoping
-to bring some of the animalculæ on deck; but they either eluded us, or
-were too minute for observation apart.
-
-
-A MARINE ARTIST ON BOARD.
-
-If sailors are kept in good condition by being furnished with something
-to do, instead of being suffered to be idle, it is so with all of us.
-While one of the female passengers is sitting by me on deck, writing,
-the other has been furnished by the mate with a small paint brush, and
-is painting blue the brass hoops of the twelve deck water buckets.
-They are to stand in a row, each with a letter of the name of the ship,
-Golden Fleece, the name furnishing a letter for each of the buckets.
-
-
-THE END OF THE NORTH EAST TRADES.
-
-Having been almost becalmed for several days, the doldrum weather ended
-with a heavy rain last night. Going on deck after breakfast, we found
-the ship driving ahead nine knots instead of three. It was a merry
-sight. I betook myself to the hammock, and lay there till twelve, the
-captain and one of his sisters sitting by, writing home, and the other
-reciting Virgil to me, and learning, at my request, Hannah’s song (I
-Sam. II.) It was one of the choice forenoons of the voyage. We gained
-a half day on the ship’s best passage, and by one o’clock the wind
-increased, so that we are now only one day and a half behind the
-enviable time. Pleasant as rest is, one cannot suppress the desire to
-be at work.
-
-
-BOSONS.
-
-Six or eight bosons have flown above and around the ship all day.
-Unlike the Albatross, they keep their wings in constant motion; the
-Albatross has none, after rising a little from the surface. They
-are white. The tail feathers terminate in a long sharp point, in
-resemblance of a marlinspike, which has led sailors to call the bird
-after the boatswain.
-
-
-THE CAPTAIN’S CLOSING ADDRESS.
-
-Feb. 6. This evening the captain invited the sailors to a valedictory
-religious service. He spoke to them from the words, “God is love,”
-which he judiciously explained in consistency with the other
-attributes. He told the men that he never sailed with a crew with whom
-he was more pleased. He would be willing to have them all sail with
-him again, which he had never before been able to say to a crew. Of
-the various groups of laboring men with which I have been connected,
-I have never seen among them a greater proportion of faithful men, of
-good dispositions, civil behavior, pleasant manners, intelligent, and
-fully deserving the encomium of the captain. Some of them were from
-Northern European nations, and proverbially there are no better sailors
-than they, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians. Some of them were from highly
-respectable family circles; for all of them I formed a strong personal
-attachment. It is with sorrow that I think of their leaving us, as of
-course they will soon after reaching port; for after the manner of
-these citizens of the world, they will, the most of them, ship at once
-for sea again. Some of them came with us for the round voyage; these
-will remain with us; the rest will soon be like the gulf weed which
-falls into the many ocean currents. It was gratifying to think that
-for nearly four months they have been under christian influences, have
-listened to the word of salvation, have joined in christian worship,
-have had abundant opportunities to read the Bible, listen to moral
-advice and religious instruction. I will record the names of the whole
-company.[4]
-
-Feb. 10. The captain called all hands into the forward cabin, and
-gave them a Temperance address, warning against the evil men who
-drug sailors, ship them on board a vessel just sailing, securing to
-themselves the sailor’s advance wages, and thrusting him on board
-stupefied, leaving him to come to himself at sea, perhaps bound on a
-long voyage, with but a pittance coming to him at the close. It was a
-capital lecture, full of anecdotes; it put the sailors in good spirits,
-affected them with its kindness, while it impressed them with its good
-sense.[5]
-
-As I must be much absorbed on arriving at anchorage, and shall wish to
-get my journal and letters into the mail at once, I will finish the
-journal now.
-
-In one sense God has kept my eyes from tears; but as it regards tears
-of joy, I have never felt like shedding so many. My principal reading,
-(I will say again,) for the pleasure to my taste, if I were to mention
-no other reason, has been in the Old Testament. I know not why I should
-specify the book of Deuteronomy, only it is noticeable in the account
-in Matthew of the Saviour’s temptation in the wilderness, it appears
-that of his four quotations from the Old Testament prefaced by “It
-is written,” thereby foiling the suggestions of Satan, three of them
-are in the Book of Deuteronomy. In the Old Testament I have seen and
-heard God talking with men, which I have felt more at sea than on land.
-Whenever they prayed, there was sure to be an answer, excepting to the
-ungrateful, godless Saul. It has deeply moved me to think of God as
-always at hand when one prays. This has comforted me on the ocean. When
-I have heard the gale at night, or have seen the ocean lashed to fury,
-I could not resist the feeling: It is God, not nature; God is doing
-something. This has kept down every feeling of fear, for I knew that
-the wind could not blow longer nor stronger than he should let it out.
-Nor was the ocean more than a little water in the hollow of his hand.
-The voyage has made permanent impressions, I trust, upon me, concerning
-the personality of God, his intimate knowledge, his personal love, all
-having their most perfect expression and seal in the life, and, above
-all, in the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
-
-Of course I have had thoughts of home which but for this would have
-agitated me. But why should I fear future events, with such experience
-as this voyage has given me? How little I had to do about this voyage;
-how manifestly it has been the work of God. Not according to my works,
-but of his mercy he saves me. Had I done some great service for God, He
-could not make me feel his goodness more. Now it is all of grace, not
-earned, but for nothing. Far better this than though I felt that it
-was of works; for his grace is a better foundation than our deserts.
-If he has done so much for me for nothing, I may confidently ask Him
-for all that I need. As I told the sailors one Sabbath, God never sells
-anything; He never lets a man give him an equivalent; He will receive
-as much grateful love as we will give, but nothing in the light of
-payment.
-
-Let me never feel on shore that if I were at sea I could have more
-vivid impressions of God’s presence. The following lines I wrote to
-rebuke this feeling:
-
-
-PRIVATE WORSHIP IN THE CAMP OF ISRAEL.
-
- My God, how good to be
- In the wilderness with Thee
- When Israel’s tribes pursued their desert way.
- Leaving the Red Sea strand
- To find the Promised Land,
- Thou shepherdest thy flock by night and day.
- So great a change in that one night!
- Pharaoh no more, the God of gods was then their risen light.
-
- Treading the deep sea floor,
- Dry shod from shore to shore,
- The wall of waters piled on either hand;
- Hearing the rushing waves
- Fill up the Egyptians’ graves,
- The foremost vainly struggling for the land,
- Thee would I love with all my soul,
- My heart should rove no more; God should possess the whole.
-
- Encamped where Elim spread
- Her palm-trees overhead,
- With wells of water springing all around,
- Not the new-found fruit
- Would so my longings suit,
- Nor the cold water from the pebbly ground
- Could so revive my spirit there,
- As when in some still place I sought my God in prayer.
-
- Now moves the ransomed host
- Far from the sea-washed coast,
- And plunges deep where foot hath seldom trod;
- And see that cloud by day
- Marking out their way,
- Guiding them safe as by a royal road.
- My God, I could not see that sign,
- And not with rapture cry, My soul, this God is thine!
-
- And when the night came on,
- The fading twilight gone,
- Or whether storms or stars should fill the sphere,
- That pillared cloud grew bright
- With more than earthly light;
- No need of words to whisper, God is here.
- Finding some place beneath the sky,
- My God, my very present God! nightly I’d cry.
-
- When manna strews the ground,
- And quails the camp surround,
- And when the rock breaks forth in living streams,
- And cities walled to heaven
- To them are freely given,
- Wonders of grace, exceeding all their dreams,
- My God! each day and hour I’d be,
- With heart and soul, a living sacrifice to thee.
-
- To see the words in stone
- Graven by God alone,
- To hear the voice which from the darkness spake,
- To see the man of God
- Trail his princely rod,
- And cry, “Forbear! my soul doth fear and quake.”
- Oh, could I ever sin again!
- Would not my soul become thy living temple then?
-
- Behold the priest-borne ark
- Resting in Jordan; mark!
- It tarries till the host are all passed o’er,
- Then slowly leaves the stream;
- The friendly waters seem
- Listing till every foot has reached the shore.
- How sweet to live, how safe to die,
- That wondrous ark of God before me passing by!
-
- But pause, my soul! and see
- If Israel’s God to thee
- Hath not approached in loving-kindness nigher;
- What place like Bethlehem!
- The Saviour’s footprints deem
- Steps leading up to God, ascending higher.
- Hast thou forgot Gethsemane?
- The world’s four thousand years had not a Calvary.
-
- How hast thou loved and prayed?
- How feared, adored, obeyed?
- Is God in Christ less than a pillared cloud?
- Are words he wrote in stone
- More than the Word, his Son?
- Is not “the living way” the better road?
- Surely, whate’er thine eyes can see
- In Israel’s favored lot, falls far this side of thee.
-
- Awake! awake! my powers,
- And Israel’s God and ours
- Love, serve, and worship with a double flame;
- God’s ancient methods learn;
- The elder Scripture turn,
- Tracing therein the great Immanuel’s name.
- So shall thy worship perfect be,
- And both the Testaments shall shine full orbed o’er thee.
-
-
-
-
-III.
-
-CALIFORNIA. THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. HONG KONG.
-
- Long have they voyaged o’er the distant seas;
- And what a heart-delight they feel at last,
- So many toils, so many dangers past,
- To view the port desired, he only knows
- Who on the stormy deck for many a day
- Hath tossed, a weary of his ocean way,
- And watched, all anxious, every wind that blows.
-
- SOUTHEY.
-
-
-One day at sundown the captain said as he looked at his watch, “At five
-minutes past nine this evening we shall see Farralone light.” We had
-altered our course several times that day; the current was strong, the
-wind was aft, so that only one course of sails drew; therefore we paid
-little attention to the remark, supposing it to be a guess, or at best
-a hope, rather than an opinion.
-
-At nine o’clock P. M. Feb. 11, a man was sent aloft to see if there
-was a lighthouse visible. At twenty minutes after nine he called out,
-“Light, ho! three points on the port bow.” In five or ten minutes we
-saw it from the deck. We felt that this part of the voyage was over.
-We had been to 59° S., being five degrees south of Cape Horn, and had
-sailed back to 37° N. and were also now far west of Boston.
-
-We dropped anchor at San Francisco Feb. 12th, making the voyage in
-111 days, one day less than the good ship had logged before. We took
-pleasure in reading on shore the record which I give below.[6]
-
-
-THE PRIVILEGE OF SLOW MOTION.
-
-One of the San Francisco papers spoke of there being two of the pastors
-of Boston in San Francisco, one of whom, a pastor there for thirty-five
-years, had been a hundred and eleven days in coming from New York to
-California, while the other, a young man, had been only ten days on his
-way. This was true, and it showed what progress had been made within
-a life time in the means of intercourse between distant parts of the
-country.
-
-It is easy, however, to imagine a state of things in which it would be
-a privilege to be a hundred and eleven days on the way from Boston to
-San Francisco. If the opportunity of navigation were wholly cut off and
-the only way of passing from New York to California should be to be
-whirled along in ten days from point to point, men would say, “Alas!
-for modern degeneracy. Time was, within the memory of not a few now
-living, when it was a luxury to travel. You could take passage in one
-of those clippers whose names and exploits now seem fabulous, and the
-only memorials of them are paintings and photographs on our parlor
-walls, and in books of art; and in those palaces you could sail down
-one side of the continent, reach Cape Horn, go five degrees south of it
-to make a safe run around the great land mark and pass up on the other
-side. Think of the privilege of running through the Straits of Lemaire,
-of coming close by the shores of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, of
-experiencing those Cape Horn swells, of feeling that you were not far
-from Antarctic regions. Those were days when life had some romance
-in it. Now you seem to be fired out of a field piece; the next thing
-will be to creep into a pneumatic machine, the air will be exhausted
-and in a state of suspended consciousness you will wake from your
-short delirious dream and will be told that you have been shot eight
-thousand miles across the continent. Some like this; annihilate time
-and distance and they ask no more; for our part give us the old ways;
-steam is good in its place; but we envy those who could be a hundred
-and eleven days on the water, passing from the east to the west.”
-
-
-SAN FRANCISCO.
-
-It would be gratifying to indulge in full descriptions of San Francisco
-and the enjoyment derived from valued friends. In doing this, I could
-most cordially repeat the enthusiastic words of others. Let me give at
-once the scale by which I soon learned to measure everything in this
-wonderful region, indicated by some first impressions:
-
-Before leaving home, an elderly lady told me that she had long watched
-her calla lily, hoping that it would open in time to be presented to
-me before I left home. It came at last, perfectly beautiful, such as
-the stem had yielded several times before; the same silvery frost work
-on its petals, the same odor of lemon balm in the calyx. I told the
-venerable donor that I believed that the impression made by her rare
-gift, so long and carefully watched, a beautiful unit, lovely in its
-oneness, would have a charm for me which I could not suppose would be
-forgotten in more luxuriant climes. My one calla lily which had made a
-last impression upon me on leaving home, was brought forcibly to mind
-the morning after my arrival. I was requested to walk to the window,
-where I was told some favorites of mine were waiting to see me. There
-stood in a border to a flower garden, thirty calla lily plants, each
-plant with its lily in perfect growth. There was no more spirit in me.
-Is this the scale by which you excel your friends at the East? I found
-it to be so. A pleasurable feeling of being vanquished came over me.
-Every hour brought its new surprise. I gave up. I was in California.
-
-A day or two after, the seal was set to my conviction that I was there.
-I had the pleasure of experiencing an earthquake. About ten o’clock one
-fair day, suddenly a noise came, such as I never before heard, and a
-motion unlike anything which I had ever felt before. It lasted not more
-than five seconds. But Cape Horn did not shake after that pattern. No
-description can convey any idea of the feeling excited by it. I turned
-involuntarily to my door, and, opening it, found the family in the
-entry, brought there in the same bewildered state of mind as myself.
-Apprehension of danger soon subsided; but we wished ourselves at sea,
-in order to be safe.
-
-The view of the Pacific from the Cliff House seemed to me the most
-interesting of sea views from shore. In itself, it so impressed me;
-but, added to this, the recollection of the great extent of territory
-of which it is a boundary, makes it approach near to the sublime. The
-coast line of California, taking in its curves and indentations, it is
-said in an able statistical paper in that State, is equal to a straight
-line drawn from San Francisco to Plymouth, Mass. Those seals, climbing
-upon the rocks not many feet from you, undisturbed by your presence,
-giving you a new chapter in natural history, opening animal life to
-you as you may not have seen it before, remind you that you are in a
-region of the earth far from your home. One day in driving we came to a
-hill which, though it was only the fifteenth of March, had began to put
-forth a combination of colors so numerous and brilliant as to make you
-believe at first that they were the work of art. A little below, the
-ground was without any sign of spring. A soil which could so quickly
-feel the sun as to give forth its luxuriance profusely, as it were at
-a day’s warning, though lifted but a little above the general level,
-impresses one with its extremely sensitive nature, making you ready to
-believe anything which is told you of its fruitfulness.
-
-So many friends come around you here that your home circle seems to
-have stretched its circumference; for those who dwell under these
-western skies seem to retain their native qualities, which make you
-identify them at once as those whom you formerly knew and loved. Ties
-of friendship or valued acquaintance draw many to you, in connection or
-association with people whom you are glad to recall in the features,
-the voices, of their descendants. The names of Oakland and Alameda, and
-of other places, will ever be associated in our minds with names and
-scenes most precious. I left this wonderful region with great love for
-it, deeply impressed with the many valued friends whom I found or made
-there.
-
-
-LEAVING SAN FRANCISCO.
-
-March 28th. A company of thirty escorted us down the harbor, in the
-tug. Some of the gentlemen contrived to get on board the Fleece, but
-to our disappointment the rest of the party remained in the tug. The
-deck of the ship being high above the tug, our conversation, with
-reminiscences, compliments, assurances of continual remembrance,
-messages, could not be so sentimental as if conveyed in whispers. As we
-went down the harbor, the swell was great, and we were sorry that many
-of the pleasant faces preferred to turn and look from us overboard;
-whereby our conversation, difficult though it had been for some time,
-was wholly cut off. At length the signal was given for parting, and
-the little tug with its company, the most of whom we could not expect
-to see again, darted ahead of us; a cloud of handkerchiefs gave us
-their parting salute, which we continued to answer till the tug was
-lost amid the crowd of vessels in the harbor. Soon the heavy swell
-outside admonished us that we also were mortal, and we shut ourselves
-from the sight of each other.
-
-
-THE SANDWICH ISLANDS GROUP.
-
-We sailed to the Sandwich Islands at the request of our agents at San
-Francisco to obtain freight for China. We sailed by the whole group,
-in fine weather. A sudden bend in our course brought us at once within
-sight of Honolulu, thirty days from San Francisco. After looking at the
-volcanic ridges of the group, precipitous, shapeless, barren, the red
-earth and stones making you feel as though they had not wholly cooled,
-it was a pleasing surprise to have this immediate view of the town,
-looking as though it had always been there, suggesting no signs of a
-feeble settlement making effort to live. The church spire, the neat
-cottages, the signs of husbandry, the cattle, the roads traversed by
-handsome horses with good carriages, the pendulous waving branches, and
-the banana, softening the sterner features of nature, made at once an
-impression which was prepossessing.
-
-We anchored where we were advised by the pilot to do so. But we were
-too near the reef to feel safe should we have a gale. The wind was
-blowing so as to make it evidently most uncomfortable if not hazardous
-to land, at least for ladies or invalids. The captain felt obliged to
-venture in the native boat, which the Hawaian boatmen declared to be
-safe, though the great sail was out of proportion to the small craft,
-judged by our nautical measurement. We concluded to allow him to go
-ashore as an experiment; but we could more unhesitatingly have insured
-him around Cape Horn in his ship than in that boat going through that
-surf over the bar. We watched him gaining on the breakers one after
-another, expecting every moment to see him in the waves, till with the
-spy glass we could see that the shore was safely reached. He was to
-send back word whether we might venture to take passage in one of the
-native boats, and what length of time his business would require him
-to remain at this port. He sent back word that he found no freight;
-that nothing seemed to warrant our remaining, that if we came ashore it
-would be only for one hour, it being then not far from sun down. We had
-kind messages from Rev. Dr. Judd, who offered to ask Capt. Truxton, of
-the U. S. vessel “Jamestown,” to send his yawl for us if we would stay.
-H. M. Whitney, Esq., editor of the Honolulu Commercial, politely sent
-us an invitation to his house during our visit should we come ashore.
-Rev. Hiram Bingham, and S. B. Dole, Esq., both sons of missionaries,
-came off to see us, inviting us to a meeting of “Cousins” which was to
-be held that evening. The temptation was for every reason very great.
-We had anticipated this visit for a long time; indeed it had seemed
-a prominent event of the voyage in our anticipation; it would surely
-be so in our memories. We could not hope to have such an opportunity
-again to see these islands, to have intercourse with these missionary
-friends. But had we any right to detain the ship, lying as she must
-do, close to the reef? We saw that, once on shore, the inducement to
-make a tour of several days to visit missionary stations, to look upon
-the faces of some whom we remembered as having gone from our shores,
-some whose faces and forms we should find imprinted with the signs of
-honorable service; and then to see that world renowned volcano, the
-scene of that gigantic tidal wave, to observe how it lifted itself up,
-to take its measurements, to note the way of its fearful retreat, all
-this would be an expenditure of time and strength which we did not feel
-at liberty to make.
-
-Messrs. Bingham and Dole remained on board till we weighed anchor.
-They proposed that we should sing a hymn: “My days are gliding swiftly
-by;” our cabinet organ joining to leave our notes of worship impressed
-on those beloved shores. Because our unseen friends “did not detain
-us” while we were flying from them, we were the more affected by the
-thoughts of them, and by imagining the interchange which we should have
-had of profitable conversation. Everything which we bore away with us
-deepened our regret at parting.--The attractive style in which the
-Honolulu Advertiser was made up and printed, gave me very favorable
-impressions of the state of the practical arts in Honolulu. For several
-weeks we were refreshed by the largest and sweetest oranges and the
-best bananas which I have met with in our whole voyage. There is no
-part of the world which I have seen which I would sooner revisit, or
-where I should expect greater enjoyment from very many sources than the
-Sandwich Islands. In a fine moonlight Saturday evening we sailed away
-from this most interesting group.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Of all the bright days which have gladdened our way, none have
-surpassed those which we spent in going from the Sandwich Islands to
-China. Existence was a charm in that beautiful climate, that trade-wind
-region. Thirty-three days of perfect weather, one succeeding another
-with seemingly new beauty, made us feel that we had left this world
-of storms. If I ever need an emblem of perfect peace, the voyage from
-the Sandwich Islands to China will be sure to revive in my memory.
-
-[Illustration:
-
- THE BASHEE IMAGE. Page 171.
-]
-
-With new sensations of interest, we reached the China Sea. The Bashee
-group of Islands marks one entrance to it from the Pacific. We passed
-close to the island of Belintang. Here I had a first imaginary glimpse
-of the heathen world in a singular spectacle, which I would have said
-was an illusion had not all whom I asked to notice it agreed that it
-was a remarkable object.
-
-About sixty feet from the island, in the water, stands a high rock, in
-the shape of a flattened ellipse, wholly isolated. Its base looks as
-though it were stuccoed with large sea-shells, the grooved side of each
-facing you. One half of the elevation is shapeless, but the other half
-is as good an image of a monstrous idol god as can be found.
-
- “What seemed a head,
- The likeness of a kingly crown had on,”
-
-or, perhaps, a mitre or a fillet. The eyes are like the eyes of a
-plaster bust, made by two protuberances of the rock, volcanic blisters;
-and over the whole figure seems to be thrown a rude drapery, which a
-little fancy converts into a robe. The whole effect is that of a huge
-idol god. There it stands at the gateway of the China Sea; and, if
-superstition had employed sculptors and architects to set up an image
-of Buddha there, no better result could have been achieved. No hand,
-however, founded this on the seas and established it on the floods.
-There is a marine picturesqueness about the rock as a whole which is
-very fine. I am thus minute in the description, hoping that some who
-read these pages will, on seeing the Bashee image, make a more extended
-description.
-
-
-ATLANTIC OCEAN SCENERY DESIRED.
-
-The mind soon tires of tranquil scenes. On the way from the Sandwich
-Islands to China I had my fill of tranquility. I found myself yearning
-for a gale; felt great respect for the Gulf Stream, with waves as high
-as the main yard; longed to see breakers; wondered why the sea would
-not occasionally come over our rail. There seemed to be talent about
-the Rio de la Plata; Cape Horn was true genius; the North Atlantic
-a giant with a progeny in its own image. The halcyon waters of the
-Pacific impressed me as amiable but weak; their countenance wore a
-perpetual smile; they looked as though they believed themselves to
-have reached a sinless state. You long to see their temper tested;
-you would be willing to see them ruffled, even angry; hear them lift
-their voice out of its monotony with upbraiding, rather than be so
-unnaturally gentle. Does the sea have waves of mettle which it employs
-in hazardous enterprises, trusting them, and only them, in daring
-feats? I came to feel that there were waters which bore a character for
-hardihood, nurtured by tempests, voiced for symphonious concerts with
-typhoons, not counting their lives dear unto them but dying on the high
-places of the field. Let me see them once more! When will this trade
-wind region come to an end, and the sea utter its voice and lift up its
-hands on high? I felt that the sea reverenced greatness, honored its
-waters which stormed impregnable rocks and poured out their lives at
-the call of duty. These lines came to me, in this connection:
-
-
-ELECT WAVES.
-
- The sea has gallant troops, adventurous waves;
- Tell me, intrepid mariner, where are they?
- Not where the peaceful isles adorn the bay,
- Nor where the tranquil sea a smooth beach laves,
- But where huge billows tunnel giant caves,
- Forcing through spouting horns in myriad showers
- Enormous breakers which the chafed sea pours
- On sharpened rocks, finding their several graves.
- Or, where a light-house guards the rock-bound coast
- The sea will summon up its fierce brigade
- To quench the lantern, leaping high in air.
- These, not its halcyon waves, it honors most.
- Who moved first on the deep, the Spirit, said,
- “Whom the Lord loves he chastens, nor will spare.”
-
-
-ARRIVAL AT HONG KONG. YAT MOON PASS.
-
-The wind did not serve to bring us round Great Lema Island. After
-tacking several times, and beating about the headland from early in the
-morning till two o’clock, the prospect of our being kept in a dangerous
-position till after sunset, induced the captain to venture into Yat
-Moon Pass, where we should have a direct run into Hong Kong harbor.
-
-The pass between Great Lema and Ya Chou Island was narrow; in some
-parts not more than two lengths of the vessel in width. A hidden rock
-in the middle of the narrow passage led the captain to deliberate long
-before he concluded to enter. Finally it seemed best to make the
-venture, rather than beat around the point day after day. The wind
-was blowing directly through the pass, the weather was fair, a run of
-half an hour would bring us into open sea, beyond the reach of danger.
-Accordingly we entered, keeping close to the starboard side, throwing
-the lead all the way. The sailors amused themselves with trying to
-throw pieces of coal ashore, which now and then they succeeded in
-doing. The captain went aloft with his spy glass; we listened with
-breathless interest to hear the result of his observation from step
-to step, the word “steady” every few moments keeping up our courage.
-Everything depended on our meeting a favorable wind at the other end.
-Should it be blowing into the pass, or die away and leave us becalmed,
-we should not prove to have mended our prospect. We gratefully
-acknowledged the good hand of God in causing us to find that the wind
-which brought us through the narrows blew in the same direction when we
-reached the open sea.
-
-Five miles out, two pilots hailed us from opposite points, each in
-his rude sampan, their sails of matting and their oars combining to
-bring each first to the ship. The wind favored one, who came astern
-and caught a rope, which he nimbly climbed and came aboard. There was
-a woman with an oar, sculling and steering, while her husband and one
-or two boys and girls managed the sails. On her back her infant was
-strapped, a boy sixteen months old, as we were informed. The little
-fellow had to endure all the motions of his mother at the oar, peeping
-over each of her shoulders by turns, and holding her neck with his
-hands. This, we found, is the common mode of life among infants here,
-children eight years old being harnessed to the employment of thus
-carrying about their infant brothers and sisters.
-
-Hong Kong, or Sweet Waters, is an island off the coast of China, east
-of the entrance of the Canton river. It came into the possession of
-the British by a treaty with China June 25, 1843. Its length from east
-to west is eight miles; its breadth varies from two to six miles.
-The surface is mountainous. There are good places of anchorage in
-its waters. Violent winds are frequent. The population, which is not
-far from forty thousand, is mostly Chinese. It is a free port. Among
-the people in the streets are Parsees from Persia, who deal in the
-productions of their country; and Sepoys from Hindostan, and elsewhere.
-These are police officers and soldiers, intensely black, so much so
-that one accustomed to the sight of an African negro with a tinge of
-yellow in his complexion, looks at these Sepoys with admiration at
-the unqualified blackness of their skin. They are, moreover, tall,
-straight, well proportioned men. Some of the districts of Hong Kong
-are Stanley, Pokfalum, Aberdeen, Victoria, of which the latter is the
-principal, being the seat of government. Victoria Peak, overlooking the
-harbor and vicinity, is about eighteen hundred feet high.
-
-We went on shore to church, after our service with the sailors in
-the morning, and attended worship at Rev. Dr. Legge’s chapel, known
-as “Union Church.” It is a beautiful building, on an elevated spot,
-with foliage of the bamboo trees around it. Over the speaker a punka
-of blue silk was kept in motion by a coolie out of sight, making it
-comfortable for the preacher. Good Dr. Duff protested against punkas
-in the church as luxurious and worldly. After being in the East India
-climate a while, he said, “I must have a punka over me when I preach
-here.” I preached for Dr. Legge the next Sabbath morning, and five or
-six other times, and went ashore again in the afternoon occasionally to
-the chapel and once heard the Rev. Mr. Turner, a missionary sustained
-by a British society, preach to a congregation of Chinese. I was struck
-with their devout appearance in prayer. All was unintelligible till the
-doxology, in Old Hundred.
-
-English schools for Chinese youth, maintained here by the government,
-one of them with over one hundred and fifty young men, taught by Mr.
-Stuart, I had the pleasure of visiting, and was interested to hear the
-native youths read well in English, with little Chinese accent.
-
-One of the boys about fifteen years of age was pointed out to me as a
-Japanese youth. The teacher told me that the custom of Japan obliged a
-boy of his rank to wear a short sword in public. I saw the sword of
-this youth in his desk, it being laid aside in the school room. One
-could not help fancying that such an instrument would not generally be
-a recommendation of the wearer as a playmate.
-
-
-LIFE IN HONG KONG.
-
-We found ourselves at once in the centre of communication with all
-parts of the commercial world on taking our position among the shipping
-in this English free port. We continued to live on board the ship,
-being advised by all that we should find it more comfortable than on
-shore. There were at least two hundred vessels here, from the four
-quarters of the globe. Their national flags were an interesting study.
-The first evening of our arrival we manned our boat and were rowed
-round among the steamers and principal vessels, going close to those
-whose bands were playing their national airs.
-
-
-CHINESE TRADESMEN.
-
-It was only a day or two before the arrival of our large craft had
-attracted the swarms of the native trades-people. Every forenoon for
-some time our deck was filled with cases loaded with carved ivory,
-sandal wood work, jewelry, fans, curious boxes, shawls and scarfs
-of India work, with articles of wearing apparel, both useful and
-ornamental. The pilot whom we took at the end of Yat Moon Pass, a
-native Chinaman, had given us our first lesson in pidgin English;
-for by noticing his use of our language and copying his forms of
-expression, we soon found ourselves able to make ourselves understood.
-We were instructed by friendly visitors to be on our guard against
-paying anything near the price demanded for an article by these
-hucksters. Their effrontery in demanding enormous sums for trifles
-became a constant source of amusement. For example: One of our company
-would hold up a Japanese bamboo watch chain and say, “How muchee
-pricee?” “Half dollar.” “No; my no can do; that belong too muchee
-pricee.” “No, no, not too muchee; that very fine; that belong number
-one thing.” But the purchaser lays it down, and resumes a book or work.
-The tradesman waits and finally says, “Well, how muchee you pay?” “One
-quarter.” He gives an expression of contempt, pretends to pack up his
-things in haste, but keeps an eye on the customer to see some sign of
-relenting, and at last in despair comes with the chain, saying, “Here,
-you take; give me one quart;”--which is much nearer the real worth.
-
-
-CHINESE DRESSMAKER.
-
-It became necessary soon after our arrival for some of our number to
-employ a dressmaker, and one was recommended who visited ships where
-there were ladies on board. His features were far from masculine; his
-prices, thirty-five cents a day, was in correspondence; his thimble
-was on his thumb, his motion in sewing seemed to be that of pushing
-more than of pulling; his progress slow, all day being spent on
-something which ordinarily was done at home, it was said, in two or
-three hours.
-
-
-NATIONAL SHIPS.
-
-We were invited to breakfast at the reasonable hour of nine, on board
-the Pacific Mail Steamer, to tea on board the “Great Northern,” and
-to examine her telegraphic apparatus and the arrangements for laying
-the submarine cable between Hong Kong and Shanghai. We were handsomely
-entertained on board the “Delaware,” “Colorado,” “Ashuelot,” U. S.
-vessels, and we became acquainted with the routine of service on
-board such vessels. The commander and scientific men in these ships
-contributed greatly to our pleasure.
-
-[Illustration:
-
- GOING UP VICTORIA PEAK. Page 185.
-]
-
-
-HONG KONG SOCIETY.
-
-We formed the acquaintance of interesting families on shore, from
-whom we received gratifying attentions, enjoyed their hospitality,
-were entertained at their croquet parties, some of which were held in
-high places, on the side of the hill which forms the chief eminence
-of Hong Kong, affording a picturesque view of the shipping in the
-harbor. It would be difficult to name any place, where friends assemble
-to enjoy out-of door sports, more animating than the heights of Hong
-Kong, commanding views of the ocean in every direction, the sea breeze
-invigorating the spirits which have felt the heat of the town several
-hundred feet below.
-
-
-VICTORIA PEAK.
-
-A principal source of enjoyment in this interesting spot is in going
-up Victoria Peak. You take a sedan chair at the landing, four coolies
-to each chair, two dollars for each chair. The men bear you cheerfully
-along up hill, three or four miles, stopping to rest two or three
-times when they come to shady places by the side of a great rock, or
-with fine sea views in prospect, till you reach the summit, where
-stands a flag staff, to signalize to the town below the arrival of
-vessels, a nine pounder being run out to announce a mail steamer, or
-distinguished vessels. Going up you are an hour and a half, unless you
-pause frequently to look at geological or mineralogical curiosities.
-You feel unwilling to quit the enchanted spot, the sea breeze, the
-newly arrived ship, the wonderful expanse of ocean on every side; till
-the lengthening shadows admonish you that it will be dark before you
-reach China town. After that, you take your boat in which your oarsmen
-from the ship a half a mile off have come for you, and you reach your
-floating habitation after dark.
-
-
-SHOPPING.
-
-Going ashore to do shopping, you encounter a crowd of chair coolies
-at the landing, calling to you, pushing each other, contending for
-your custom. “Here, Missy, you come this side; you belong my; my
-have you last time;” till you select a chair, when the rest subside,
-or a sepoy comes and silences them with blows from his billy, which
-are administered freely. If the two men who carry you do not go fast
-enough, you call out, “Chop chop;” if too fast, “Man man,” till you get
-to the store.
-
-Some of the answers from the shop-keepers to your questions are, “Have
-got;” “no can do;” “Melican like man like this;” “no have got;” “him
-makee Japan;” “he no sandal wood; cedar wood, sandal wood oil.”
-
-Asking for some music paper I was told, “no got; my makee you some.” A
-sheet of blank paper was spread on the counter, a ruler which moved
-on rollers was laid on it, a plate partly filled with india ink was
-drawn within reach, a camel’s hair paint brush instead of a pen, drew
-the lines. Much of the work you could not distinguish from music-paper
-ruled by machine; the distances of some of the staves from each other
-were not regular; but the lines of each staff were remarkably even. A
-half quire was ready the next day. The shop-keepers add up the amount
-of your purchases on frames, such as we see in our primary schools;
-but the system of numeration I could not understand, the attempted
-explanation being in confused pidgin English.
-
-
-REGATTA IN HONG KONG HARBOR.
-
-It was a merry sight on the 15th of November 1870, when boats of all
-descriptions were gathered for a race, and nine yachts. The shipping,
-with which the harbor was well filled, was ordered to change moorings,
-and make a clear passage for the boats. An Order of Exercise was
-printed for each of the two days, giving information of the names of
-the Patrons, Committee, Stewards, Judge, Umpire, Starters. The Band
-of Her Majesty’s 29th Regiment played, the names of the pieces being
-duly entered on the handsome programme. Single pair sculling boats,
-to be competed in by men who have never won a sculling race in China
-or elsewhere; boats pulled by Non-commissioned officers and men of
-any Regiment or Corps in Garrison, men of war Gigs, Pair Oars, and
-two Pair Sculling Boats, House Boats pulled by Chinamen, Gig and Punt
-Chase, Canoes; all open boats, Chinese excepted; yachts not exceeding
-fifteen tons measurement; the Chinaman’s Cup, The American Cup,
-presented by the American Community, The United Service Cup, The Canton
-Cup, presented by the Canton Regatta Club, made up the attractive
-programme. Some lady recently arrived is chosen to present the prize to
-one of the winning competitors, with a little speech prepared for her.
-The honor fell that year to one of our company. The yacht prize was won
-by the Naiad, belonging to R. F. Hawke, Esq., an honorable citizen of
-Hong Kong. A sailing match from Hong Kong to Macao was advertised to
-come off the same season.
-
-
-COMFORTABLE BEDDING.
-
-As you pass through the apartments of some of the dwellings in Hong
-Kong, you notice that bedsteads and beds are arranged for comfort in
-a hot climate. No blankets nor even sheets are visible. The bed is
-covered with bamboo matting, smooth and cool. Bajous and Pajamas,
-(loose jackets and pants,) of cotton, linen, silk, or bamboo cloth, are
-all the covering which is necessary, in the hottest nights. But the
-greatest luxury is the cool pillow. A strip of bamboo cloth tied round
-a pillow, no sewing necessary except of tapes to fasten it, keeps the
-head cool.
-
-
-A SUNKEN VESSEL.
-
-While we were at Hong Kong, a fine English ship came in and ran
-directly upon a point of the shore in full sight of the shipping. She
-sank in the water deep enough to cover all but a few feet of her masts.
-Some of the cargo was recovered; the vessel was a total loss. No blame
-was attached to the captain. Had there been a design to throw the
-vessel away, it could not have been done with greater safety to all on
-board; but the three masts of the sunken Dunmail, probably standing yet
-in Hong Kong harbor, are a warning against the least presumption in the
-very moment of apparent safety.
-
-
-LOW ESTIMATE OF LIFE AMONG CHINESE.
-
-Some of us called at the American Consulate on the Fourth of July, to
-pay our respects to the American Consul. One of the young men present
-mentioned this incident: He saw from his window a Chinaman with a vase
-of water on his head. He himself showed a reckless disregard of human
-life, in proposing to try his pistol on the vase. The bullet grazed
-the Chinaman’s heel. The young man was arrested, but the prosecution
-was withdrawn, on the plaintiff’s representation that satisfaction
-had been made. The satisfaction consisted in the proposition of the
-Chinaman to settle for one dollar, which the young man willingly paid.
-Whereupon another Chinaman came forward and offered to stand fire for
-one dollar.--The outrage on the French Catholics at Tientsin, thirteen
-of whom were murdered, was atoned for in part by the authorities,
-by putting to death thirteen of their countrymen. Thirteen of the
-assassins were not to be found, so the authorities hired men to take
-their places, which they did for five hundred dollars each. The papers
-of the day represented the volunteers as saying that by their death
-they should earn money for their families, whom otherwise they should
-leave in poverty. One needs to live among such people, if he would
-understand the degradation to which heathenism can debase mankind so
-far as to make them capable of such a deed. Robbery of the dwelling,
-money from clothing laid aside at night, and articles of jewelry is of
-constant occurrence.
-
-
-REV. JAMES LEGGE, D. D. L.L. D.
-
-I spent a fortnight at the house of R. F. Hawke, Esq., whose
-father-in-law, the Rev. Dr. Legge, the eminent Chinese scholar, was
-engaged on his five or six large volumes of the Chinese classics. The
-Doctor is not impressed with the intellectual ability of Confucius
-nor of his followers. His translations are invaluable, as saving
-missionaries and other students of the Chinese much pains by placing
-Chinese literature before them in a digested form. One could not help
-regretting that this laborious scholar cannot have the advantage of an
-international copyright law to afford protection to his costly fruits
-of research. American authors suffer the same loss, however, as he, in
-seeing their valuable works appropriated by foreigners.
-
-
-PACIFIC MAIL STEAMER.
-
-It was with a feeling of national pride that we repeatedly saw the
-Pacific Mail Company’s steamer “China,” Capt. Doane, thirty days from
-San Francisco, come into the harbor promptly on the day she was due.
-She is a noble ship of four thousand tons. Capt. Doane came on board
-our ship, and invited us to inspect his vessel. It is one of the
-principal events of the month with Americans to have the Pacific Mail
-Steamers appear. All other steamers seem diminutive by the side of
-them. It seemed strange to find on board these vessels five or six live
-oxen and the appurtenances of a slaughter-house, bestowed, however, out
-of sight.
-
-We stayed in Hong Kong six months waiting for hemp to fall in Manila.
-While the ship lay at anchor we enjoyed the privilege, by the favor of
-Messrs. Augustine Heard & Co., of visiting several places in China and
-the East Indies.
-
-
-
-
-IV.
-
-CANTON, SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, MACAO.
-
- This is a traveller, sir; knows men and
- Manners, and has ploughed up the sea so far
- Till both the poles have knocked; has seen the sun
- Take coach, and can distinguish the color
- Of his horses and their kind.
-
- BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER’S “_Scornful Lady_.”
-
-
-The city of Canton is only eight hours by steamer from Hong Kong.
-Arriving in the Canton river you find yourself in a floating population
-in boats, close together, as though ground rents were as dear as in
-Broadway. When you enter a boat for a passage up the river you marvel
-that the boat can extricate itself from the snarl; but you are in a
-few moments on your way, meeting a seemingly endless throng of people,
-among whom you involuntarily close your eyes as if in anticipation
-of a crash. We were the guests of the Rev. Dr. Happer of the American
-Presbyterian Mission, who on our arrival at Hong Kong had kindly sent
-and invited us. We were also entertained by the other members of the
-Mission, Messrs. Noyes, Marcellus, and McChesney. We visited Dr. Ker’s
-Hospital. Over a hundred Chinese were sitting in a commodious room
-listening to a native evangelist, and going out by tens to receive
-medical treatment. This hospital was formerly sustained by the American
-Board of Foreign Missions, with Dr. Peter Parker for surgeon and
-physician.
-
-Being introduced to Archdeacon Gray, he very kindly went with us two
-afternoons among the temples and many remarkable places. We saw the
-temple in which are five hundred bronzed images of gods or deified
-men, each in a posture or holding an emblem representing some action
-or attribute. We saw the water-clock made by tubs of water placed one
-above another, each dripping into the one below it, and the lowest
-holding a graduated stick which rose through a hole in the lid, and as
-each hour-mark on the stick appears through the hole, a man goes up to
-the roof with a painted sign announcing to the people the time of day.
-This seems to be an heirloom from past ages when the “Clepsydra” was
-in use, of which this is a specimen. Adherence to this useless thing
-is one illustration of the Chinese attachment to antiquity. As you
-go about the city, you see things which carry you back two thousand
-years, oxen treading clay, men sifting wheat in sieves fastened on
-the ends of planks laid on rolling stones, and a man standing on each
-and keeping up a motion on the planks like “tilting,” or “seesaw,”
-a laborious process of doing a simple thing. Then you see works of
-art surpassing modern western skill; as, for example, an elephant’s
-tusk undergoing three years of carving; price, one hundred and fifty
-dollars. Then you visit an eating-house, which Archdeacon Gray begs
-you to endure, to know that some things related of the Chinese are
-not fictions. He goes to a man who is eating, and courteously taking
-up his plate, says, “What is this?” The man laughs and says, “Rat.”
-He goes to another, and, taking his plate, says, “What is this?” The
-man cheerfully replies, “Black cat.” Another man says, “Dog.” Around
-the room, on hooks, are evident signs that the men were truthful. You
-make swift retreat, but are constrained by your guide to look into an
-opium shop, where the customer, as he comes in, mounts a table, lies at
-full length, with his head on a wicker pillow hollowed in the middle
-to fit the neck, then is furnished with a pipe and lamp and box of
-opium, which he smokes till he is stupefied. Emerging from such scenes
-of degradation into the narrow street, ten feet wide, you may see a
-woman at a door with a child three years old, with whom she is playing
-“pease porridge hot,” going through the motions as we learned them in
-childhood; and you wonder whether Mother Goose derived her knowledge
-from the disciples of Confucius, or whether she did actually live and
-die, as is now asserted, in Rowe Street, Boston. This Chinese woman and
-her child playing at “pease porridge hot,” is one of those touches of
-nature which make “all the world akin.” You next reach a place where
-intellectual competition throws some of our university feats into the
-shade.
-
-[Illustration:
-
- OPIUM SMOKERS. Page 200.
-]
-
-
-
-HALL OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION.
-
-One is in each of the eighteen provincial cities of China. Though
-familiar by description, perhaps, to the reader, I venture to repeat
-that it is a large open ground,--the one in Canton measuring 689,250
-square feet. On one hand, there are seventy-five lanes containing 4,767
-cells; on the other, sixty-eight lanes with 3,886 cells, making a total
-of 8,653 cells. Once in three years men of every age, from the youth
-to the aged, assemble to write prize essays for a literary degree. A
-candidate is fastened into each cell for three days and nights, with
-rice and water, planks being fixed in grooves in the sides of the
-cell, serving for a sleeping place, and for a writing-table by day.
-The strictest search is made to see that no book or paper is secreted
-in any dress. The essays are received by three officers, who seal up
-the outside page of each essay on which is written the name, age,
-residence, ancestors, &c., of the writer. They are passed to another
-officer who sees that they are copied in red ink, the object of the
-copying being that the original handwriting may not be recognized by
-the judges. Nearly two thousand writers are employed in copying. They
-have rooms fitted up for them in the “Hall of Perfect Honesty.” The
-governor of the province is ex-officio chief superintendent. Imperial
-commissioners from Pekin assist in the examinations. They meet in the
-“Hall of Auspicious Stars.” This hall is looked upon with feelings
-of awe. Success in these examinations is followed by fame, wealth,
-and honor; and failure, by years of toil and possibly of repeated
-disappointment. Messengers wait to carry the names of the successful
-candidates to every part of the province. The governor gives them a
-feast; after which they go in state dress to worship the tablets of
-their ancestors. Odes as well as essays are presented. The following
-are specimens of the themes at the last examination previous to 1870:--
-
-“If the will be set on virtue, there will be no practice of wickedness.”
-
-“It is only the individual possessed of the most entire sincerity that
-can exist under heaven, who can adjust the great, invariable interests
-of mankind.”
-
-“There are ministers who seek the tranquillity of the state, and find
-their pleasure in securing that tranquillity.”
-
-What can be more abstruse? Few among us would attempt to be original on
-such themes.
-
-This system of competitive literary examinations here described
-has been maintained more than a thousand years. There are records
-proving this. On the first day three essays and one piece of poetry
-are required; each essay must have seven hundred words, the poetry
-must consist of seven hundred and sixteen lines, with five words in
-each. The pieces required on the other two days vary from this. The
-successful competitors are immortalized in fame; their triumph goes
-down to posterity on the family tablets, is noted on their tombs,
-secures honor to their children.
-
-Though I visited this “Hall” with Archdeacon Gray, and received minute
-information from him, I am since indebted for helps to my memory to a
-paper read before a literary society in Canton, by Dr. J. G. Ker.
-
-
-CHINESE BRIDES AND WEDDINGS.
-
-One morning some of my party were standing by the window of a friend’s
-house in Canton which overlooks the canal with its brown water and
-crowd of sampans. As they watched the different phases of domestic life
-in those habitations, one of the party, familiar with them, remarked
-that there was probably a wedding, or rather the festivities attendant
-upon a wedding, in one of the nearest sampans, as she had heard a
-young woman wailing the night before. She said it is a custom with
-Chinese brides to pass the night before their weddings in bewailing
-their future troubles; for as they seldom see their intended masters
-before the wedding, there is great uncertainty in connection with their
-new mode of life; generally it is going from one form of servitude into
-one to which they had not grown accustomed. There seems to be no real
-wedding ceremony, but a feast and a sort of reception for three days.
-During that time the young couple perform some acts of devotion before
-the ancestral tablets. After that the bridegroom takes his partner to
-his father’s boat, where she cooks the rice, scrubs, and helps row for
-the rest of her life.
-
-The young ladies thought that they would go to the reception.
-Accordingly, eight of them crowded into the sampan (being told that no
-cards were used) and sat in Turkish fashion on the nice floor. The
-bride came before them in a red dress, saluted them, then brought in
-a tray of square cakes, which had been made with peanut oil. She then
-gave them tea in small cups such as children play with. They considered
-that as the tea was made with the foul water of the canal occupied by
-a crowd of sampans, it could not be in the highest degree tasteful. As
-they went out they were told that the adjoining boat was the home of
-the bridegroom’s father, where the bride would the next day find her
-home. A roasted pig with its garniture of herbs was exposed on deck,
-but it did not awaken any desire.
-
-
-“GODS MANY.”
-
-We were greatly favored, through the influence of Archdeacon Gray, in
-having the rare privilege of being admitted to the bedchamber of “the
-god of Walled Cities.” We climbed up antique, decayed stairs, into a
-forlorn room, not so inviting as apartments in some barns at home.
-There was the huge god, six feet in height; his slippers were at the
-side of his bed; his garments were on pegs; the wash-stand was there,
-with its furniture, and the water was poured into the bowl ready for
-use. His Majesty was of wood, fantastically painted. We were taken
-into his wife’s apartment, which was the next room. There women resort
-to make petitions with vows, promising the goddess a new dress, for
-example, if their prayer is heard.
-
-In several temples we saw men consulting the gods in some affairs of
-interest to them. Kneeling and touching the ground with the forehead
-nine times, they would then take a long box of sticks, each with a
-number inscribed on it, shake it till a stick fell out, which was then
-handed to the priest, who consulted a book, and told the petitioner the
-answer to his prayer.
-
-We came in one temple to the “Chamber of Horrors.” There in ten cells
-were depicted the torments awaiting the wicked in the next world.
-In the tenth the victims were coming out in the shape of hideous
-wild animals, the blessed dead on eminences around looking down with
-various expressions on their faces. We came also to the “Temple of
-the Five Genii,”--Fire, Earth, Water, Wood, and Metals. These Genii
-originally came to the city on five rams, which were turned to stone,
-for perpetuity, and remain there to this day, uncouth, almost shapeless
-blocks. A tower, said to be six hundred years old, stands in honor
-of them. The large bell covered with Chinese characters is doomed to
-silence; for there is a tradition that if struck, some great misfortune
-would fall upon the city. A visitor inadvertently striking it would
-excite consternation among the people. During a siege of Canton a
-piece of the bell was knocked out of it by a cannon-ball.
-
-While we were detained in a temple by rain, the Buddhist priests showed
-us much kindness, setting a table in the courtyard overlooking a sheet
-of water, and giving us clear tea in little cups, on trays having each
-compartments filled with dried fruits. It seemed strange to be “sitting
-at meat in an idol’s temple.” While we were there, the priests descried
-the sunshades which some of the party had brought with them. Their
-amusement was not exceeded by any pleasure manifested by children at
-the sight of new things. They opened them, they shut them, turned them
-over and over, held them over one another, explaining to each other
-their use; and one man, pointing to one of our umbrellas, said, “That I
-can understand; but is this really an umbrella?”
-
-As our party of four emerged from their chairs at each temple, crowds
-of a hundred or more would follow us to the gate, and wait there for
-us to re-appear. Mothers would lift little children to see the odd
-foreigners. Not one word, sign, or look of contempt or disrespect,
-however, did we witness during the four or five days that we spent
-in the city. The streets being, most of them, only eight or ten feet
-wide, the people were frequently stopped by our chairs, and had to
-stand sideways to let us pass, but never did they make us feel that we
-were intruders. About two months after this, the affair at Tientsin
-happened, and the people in many parts of the empire were excited to
-some degree against foreigners. Receiving an invitation to re-visit
-Canton, I was strongly advised not to go, on the ground that, while
-mercantile men, obviously on business, might visit the place in
-safety, the sight of a foreigner, led there by curiosity, might awaken
-suspicion and lead to violence.
-
-
-THE BAMBOO.
-
-I saw in Canton a large granite building erecting, already two-thirds
-of its intended height reached and covering a large space, the staging
-of which was composed wholly of bamboo. It is doubtful if there was a
-nail used in the whole of it, the parts being securely fastened with
-osiers of rattan. It brought to mind the provision so beneficently made
-for the use of man in these countries where timber is seldom found.
-Few things, if any, serve such a variety of purposes as the bamboo.
-Bridges are built of it; it is used for water pipes, masts, boxes,
-cups, baskets, mats, paper, fences, writing instruments; while the long
-green leaves afford shade. It grows from fifty to eighty feet in a
-year, and in a second year becomes as hard as ever. One who is curious
-in botanical formations cannot but have admired the provision made
-for strengthening the stalk of straw by the joints, which occur at a
-distance of a few inches; an arrangement which must puzzle an atheist.
-In the joints of the bamboo lie the hiding of its power. The joints
-being easily made water tight, the canes are adapted to use in many
-ways. One cannot live in an eastern country without soon forming an
-attachment to this product of nature so wonderfully supplying many of
-the necessities of life.
-
-
-MIXTURE IN TEAS.
-
-As we were passing along a street in Canton, a gentleman, long a
-resident there, suddenly stopped and pointed to a large quantity of an
-herb, spread in the sun. “That,” said he, “is jasmine, which is one
-of the principal ingredients used to give your teas a flavor.” But I
-will not venture further on this topic, only observing that one of our
-party who took tea with us in the idol’s temple, (tea without sugar and
-cream,) testified that there was an aroma about it to which exported
-teas were strangers.
-
-
-ARCHDEACON GRAY.
-
-Archdeacon Gray is well known to all who have visited Canton. He is in
-the prime of life, an accomplished gentleman, making you love him at
-once by his beautifully courteous manners, his fine intelligence. He
-gave me a cordial invitation to occupy his pulpit on Sabbath morning;
-but there was to be a communion service at the Presbyterian Mission,
-with some additions to the church, and I declined. But he came in the
-intermission and insisted on my preaching in the afternoon, which
-I did. His house and church are on a bend of the Canton River; and
-perhaps even our Hudson River does not anywhere present a finer view.
-His house is full of rare Chinese curiosities, which he is happy to
-show to visitors. I preached in the evening to the Presbyterian
-Mission, at the house of one of their number. This Mission is exerting
-a decided influence; its supporters may well be encouraged. I found
-a strong feeling among them in favor of sending out single ladies,
-in companies, to live together and to labor in conjunction with the
-Mission. There is a decided approbation in the Canton Mission of ladies
-thus living together, and working under the direction of a mission.
-
-
-SHANGHAI.
-
-I spent four or five days at Shanghai, on another excursion from Hong
-Kong. This I described in a letter to Bishop Eastburn, as several
-things which I saw there in connection with Episcopal friends made it
-agreeable to acquaint him with them. The letter was kindly published
-in “The Christian Witness” of this city, and copied by “the Boston
-Transcript.” I take this opportunity to insert the most of that letter,
-from one of the papers above mentioned.
-
- HONG KONG, CHINA, OCTOBER 10, 1870.
-
- MY DEAR BISHOP EASTBURN,--I shall not soon forget that the first
- letter which met my eye on reaching San Francisco, after a voyage
- of one hundred and eleven days, was in your handwriting. I have
- since then been so pleasantly reminded of you through a good man’s
- influence here in China that I must tell you of it. Being on a
- visit to Shanghai, I was invited to attend worship in a Chinese
- chapel five miles from the city. We went through the fields in
- chairs borne by coolies, till we came to the village where trade
- was plying all its arts, and handicraft its implements, unconscious
- of the Sabbath. A small church-bell notified us that we were near
- the chapel; and soon we emerged from heathenish sounds and sights
- into a christian temple, neat and orderly in all its appointments.
- There were about one hundred and fifty Chinese assembled for
- worship, which was conducted by a very good looking Chinaman,
- tall, and of pleasing address. Though ignorant of every word he
- said, my attention was riveted by his agreeable action and manner,
- eminently becoming a preacher of the gospel and withal eloquent,
- if his whole appearance and the attention of the people were true
- indications. I could see that the services were liturgical from
- the responses, and from the Chinese books used by the people, the
- little girls around me keeping my attention directed to the place
- in the service; though very little good did this do me, except
- that it helped me to keep my book right side up. The service ended
- with singing, “There is a happy land,” the tune so familiarly
- known in our Sabbath schools. The preacher came to speak with me
- before service, with his welcome in very good English; and after
- service he came again and gave me much information. He has been
- rector there sixteen years, the chapel being built and he being
- sustained there by the munificence, said he, “of a Mr. William
- Appleton, of Boston.” This made my heart leap for joy, to come so
- far into heathenism and find myself in a christian temple erected
- and maintained by a fellow-citizen of Boston. Mr. Appleton I did
- not know personally, though I once received a very kind note from
- him with a pamphlet. But I had long cherished a sincere love for
- him from many impressions of his truly estimable character. I was
- led to think, What a memorial of christian zeal has he built in
- this distant land! What pleasure it must afford his happy spirit
- in heaven to look down on this place of christian worship in
- the depths of heathenism! What a noble use of wealth, blessing
- a multitude of people who but for him might have been left in
- heathenish ignorance! I told the preacher that I should report his
- chapel and his labors to christian friends at home, and I mentioned
- your name in speaking of those who would be glad to hear of him.
- He desired me to give his respects to you; so it is my pleasure to
- send you the respectful and christian salutation of the Reverend
- Wong Kwong Chi, of one of the villages of Shanghai.
-
- As we came out of the chapel, our ears were saluted with some
- musical instruments from a house where people were making a tumult
- over a dead person. Little knew they of that “happy land, far,
- far away:” which the people of Appleton Chapel had just been
- celebrating. I felt a desire to tell good men in Boston that
- there yet remaineth much land to be possessed here by christian
- philanthropists; that they can readily find villages of sixty
- thousand waiting each for its chapel, to say nothing of cities with
- millions in them, where it would be easy to begin a work for the
- ransomed spirits of good men and women to review with pleasure in
- heaven. Truly enviable is that rich christian who can employ wealth
- to do good for him when he is with Christ. The Appleton Chapel at
- Shanghai seemed to me a cup of cold water, the donor of which is
- not losing his reward.
-
- From the steamboat-landing at Shanghai, looking across the river,
- you see a comely church of fair proportions, surrounded in part
- with banyan and bamboo trees, affording it a perpetually verdant
- appearance. It is a stone chapel for seamen, built through the
- efforts of A. A. Hayes, Jr., of the firm of Olyphant & Co., and
- son of Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Boston. It is under the care of the
- Rev. Mr. Syle, Presbyterian, a devoted and most useful man. A
- large churchyard has there received the remains of seamen of
- all nations. It is within the same enclosure with the church,
- ornamented with plants and trees, and is nearly filled with the
- dead. It has been opened fourteen years, and there are fourteen
- hundred interments. The graves are in close and even rows for
- economy of rooms, so that this large collection of the dead looks
- like a buried battalion who have lain down by platoons. The orderly
- disposal of them has a saddening influence. I never before felt
- that there is a natural appropriateness in having a burial-place,
- as Job says of the land of the departed, “a land without any
- order.” We feel that promptitude and exactness are out of place
- at a funeral; but slowness and delay are congenial. Surely, these
- ranks of the dead will not rise by roll-call, though they lay down
- in such good order. They made me think of some lines of an uncle of
- Sir Walter Scott, a sea-captain, on a sunken man-of-war, all her
- crew on board:--
-
- ‘In death’s dark road at anchor fast they stay,
- Till Heaven’s loud signal shall in thunder roar;
- Then, starting up, all hands shall quick obey;
- Sheet home the topsail, and with speed unmoor.’[7]
-
-
-MACAO.
-
-One of the most charming places in China, is Macao, three hours distant
-by steamer from Hong Kong, the people of which place resort to Macao
-in the hot season, as the fine sea-breezes there greatly mitigate the
-heat. The drives about the place, commanding in every direction an open
-sea-view, are beautiful. The old church of St. Paul, the most of which
-remains, though ruined by fire, is a fine specimen of architecture. The
-most notable thing in Macao is the grotto where Camoens, the Portuguese
-poet, died in banishment for publishing a satire on the viceroy. The
-wild botany of the place, and the geological upheavals which give clear
-signs of glacial action, are remarkable. Bowlders are piled up here
-in ways which show a hydrodynamic force beyond human skill. Near the
-grotto is a cemetery for foreigners; and, among the many sainted dead
-from missionary circles there entombed, the christian traveller lingers
-with deep interest around the burial-place of Morrison.
-
-One Sabbath morning I went with a christian friend through a wild
-district, in the neighborhood of a large city in China, to a mission
-station. The people were everywhere at work; nothing suggested the
-Sabbath, till we heard the little church-bell, whose notes were in
-pleasing contrast to the hum of business. We came to the mission
-compound, where two missionaries and their wives had their abode.
-The joy with which they welcomed us made us feel most deeply their
-isolation from christian society. The sight of friends from America
-seemed to intensify their loneliness. Here were four beloved christian
-people who were living in these wilds, to teach these heathen tribes
-the knowledge of God and of his Son. On inquiring what encouragement
-they found in their work, we were told that two or three women had
-lately shown a disposition to hear religious conversation, and listen
-to the Scriptures. Immediately we thought of four hundred millions in
-China and its dependencies, who were ignorant of the true God. Here
-were three native women who were persuaded to listen to religious
-reading. As we were preparing to leave, our missionary friends
-seemed to cling to us with strong affection. We were going back to
-America, leaving them in the solitudes of heathenism. They were far
-from unhappy, and their few tears were only the natural expression
-of awakened memories. One of the missionary brethren, showing us the
-way to the gate, passed with us through a room where we saw, among
-gardening tools, some sheets of paper, lying loose. There were so many
-of them, looking alike, that they attracted our notice. We found that
-the specks on them were the eggs of silkworms. They were mere dots,
-as the reader familiar with the sight in books or nature, is aware.
-It occurred to me what a display of silk fabrics, with their rainbow
-colors, we had been looking upon! how many ships are freighted with
-them! how many millions of wealth they represent! what a world of
-thought and feeling is associated with them! On those pieces of paper
-were the beginnings of silk,--a word, taken in all its connections and
-associations, of mighty power. In those little specks one might fancy
-himself reading, “By whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.” We told
-our missionary brother that, while he raised silkworms and saw their
-cocoons, he surely would never despise the day of small things,--a
-lesson, he assured us, which was often repeated to him, and gave him
-encouragement.
-
-It is well for one who believes in the ultimate prevalence of
-Christianity to come into China by the way of the Sandwich Islands. He
-will receive confirmation to his faith, he will be defended against
-temptations to unbelief when surrounded as he will be in China with
-one-half the population of the earth ignorant of the true God, by
-having seen in the Sandwich Islands what the gospel has done among a
-race who were as unlikely to be converted as any portion of the human
-family. If he comes from his ship and steps ashore on the Sabbath
-in China, and sees coopers and blockmakers and boatbuilders busily
-at work, the tailors’ shops filled with men plying their needles,
-the stationers ruling paper, the coolies instead of horses and mules
-carrying everything which ever lades a ship, from the quay to the
-storehouses, the thought will come over him, What progress is the
-knowledge of the gospel likely to make among this people? Perhaps he
-spends a Sabbath in the country. Here he may look to see the people
-withdrawn from the requirements which the business of a seaport makes
-of the inhabitants; but in the country he will find the people as busy
-with their handicraft or trade as the people of the city, giving no
-sign that the idea of the Sabbath and of the God of the Sabbath has
-visited their minds. He will be overwhelmed with the contemplation
-of four hundred millions of human beings utterly destitute of the
-knowledge of God. He remembers how at home his heart used to glow on
-hearing accounts of additions to native churches, and the rehearsal was
-followed by joyful missionary hymns sung impromptu,--
-
- “Yes, we trust the day is breaking;
- Joyful times are near at hand;”
-
-and he asks himself whether he is losing his confidence in the ultimate
-triumph of christianity, and in the sufficiency of divine power to
-turn the hearts of nations as the rivers of waters are turned. If he
-be a firm believer in the Bible, he will say that while he remembers
-the conquest of Canaan, especially its first great achievement,
-the capture of Jericho, his faith never can falter. Were not the
-aborigines of Canaan devoted to destruction by the Almighty, and their
-land apportioned to the tribes, with minute directions how to take
-possession of it, the very line of march prescribed, the great tribe
-of Judah in the forefront? And did not our Lord spring out of Judah?
-Has he not “upon his vesture and upon his thigh a name written,--King
-of kings and Lord of lords?” While, on returning to his christian
-ordinances at home a christian traveller in China may be less excited
-than he used to be there at the report of a few conversions among the
-heathen, because he will have an enlarged idea of the gross darkness
-which covers the people, he will only have exchanged his former
-confidence in man for a more entire confidence in God. The accumulation
-of difficulties in the way of the gospel he will regard only as those
-barrels of water which were poured on Elijah’s altar, serving to make
-the fire from heaven more triumphant.
-
-
-SHANGHAI PORCELAIN.
-
-I was sitting on the steamer at Shanghai conversing with a friend
-about the productions, natural and artificial, of that region, and I
-expressed the desire to find something peculiar to the place which
-I might take to America. In about an hour, happening to look at the
-people on the wharf my friend clapped his hands and said, “Here is
-something peculiar to Shanghai; now you can have your wish gratified.”
-He called a man on board who laid down before us a large basket filled
-with small teapots. I thought of course that he was indulging in humor
-at my expense, but he said that people from all parts would buy baskets
-and barrels of this ware; that they declared that nothing was more
-popular at home, at fairs, and for presents. He selected twenty-five
-small teapots and packed them for me in a basket, saying that if I did
-not appreciate them my venerable lady friends would. They were made
-of a material found in that region, a fine clay, brown, of different
-shades, some of them highly ornamented with an intermixture of green,
-all of them furnished with strainers and other conveniences. I brought
-them to America and when I say that in a few weeks only one of them
-remained in my possession, nothing need be added to confirm the Rev.
-Mr. Syle’s judgment in his selection of a representative present from
-Shanghai. When I add that the twenty-five articles cost a dollar and
-twenty-five cents, no further inducement will be necessary to persuade
-visitors to provide themselves with one means of furnishing friends
-with acceptable presents.
-
-
-WORK OF THE LAW IN THE HEART.
-
-Going into a monastery in China with a clergyman who could converse
-in Chinese, we saw among the inmates a woman who seemed to be ever
-praying, as she sat a little retired from the rest. The superior told
-us that she was praying all the time, being overheard frequently in the
-night upon her bed in supplication. He said that there was some great
-burden upon her mind, which she would not disclose. She was evidently
-not insane; and, from all that I could learn about her, I came to the
-conclusion that she was under conviction of sin; sinfulness, rather
-than any particular transgression, was the burden upon her heart. That
-there are many throughout the heathen world thus exercised, we cannot
-question; the second chapter of Romans speaks of them, among others,
-“with the work of the law written in their hearts.” They may be few
-compared with the whole heathen world; yet how interesting to think
-that such may be in a state of mind fitting them to accept the gospel,
-should it be made known to them, and that they will not perish merely
-for not being acquainted with it. Thus, where sin abounds, grace
-may much more abound, choosing its subjects independently of human
-instructors. ‘Thou canst not tell whither it goeth,’--this superhuman
-agency. This thought is some little relief to one, as he wanders
-about in those regions of the shadow of death, impressed by much that
-he sees with the reflection how true to the letter is the apostle’s
-description, in the first chapter of Romans, of the heathen world.
-
-
-AN ARISTOCRATIC CHINESE FAMILY.
-
-The party of young friends who called on the bride, called also at the
-house of an aristocratic Chinese family, with whom one of their number
-was acquainted. There were several young daughters and sons in the
-family, who all spoke some words of English. A missionary’s daughter
-acted as interpreter. The Chinese young ladies brought out their state
-dresses, which were heavily embroidered with silver and gold. They put
-them on their visitors, made them walk about the courtyard, following
-them with shouts of laughter. They then gave them cake and cups of
-clear tea. One lady belonging to the family smoked a long pipe, and
-offered another pipe, with opium, to her guests. The Chinese young
-ladies showed their little feet, apparently with much pride, to the
-visitors; three inches and a half each was the measure of nearly all
-the feet.
-
-
-POSTURE OF CHINESE PUPILS.
-
-In a school for girls taught by a missionary lady, the visitors
-saw pupils from five to fifteen years. The feet of these children
-were generally swathed, and the girls showed, by their faces, great
-pain. Mothers came in to listen while the teacher was talking to
-the children. The girls, when reciting, stood with their backs to
-the teacher, a mark of respect. They sang several of our familiar
-Sabbath-school hymns.
-
-
-AMOY.
-
-The Steamer from Shanghai to Hong Kong put in at Amoy to bring the
-cargo of a disabled bark to Hong Kong. This gave some of my family who
-had been making a visit to Shanghai an opportunity to see Amoy. It is
-situated on a barren, hilly island; its streets are as narrow as lanes.
-Going through them in chairs, you come out upon a hilly district, with
-few trees, covered with remarkable rocks, many of them bowlders, not
-settled so far in the ground as most rocks, but lifted from it, some
-of them on their smallest ends, and some leaning towards each other,
-making natural rooms, with mossy floors, and an opening at the top.
-Some of them are used as temples on a small scale; idols, discolored
-by age and damp, are perched in them. Some real temples are built of
-the largest bowlders. In one of them, as one of the party was sitting
-on the stool in front of the idol, looking at the hideous images with
-which the temple was filled, expressing her wonder that human beings
-prayed to such things, one of the missionaries present asked an old
-priest if they really did believe in them. He said he could not tell
-whether the people did believe in them or not. The images might, or
-they might not, be gods; but “it was the custom to worship them; and,
-after all, whether they heard or not, it amounted to about the same
-thing as the worship by christians of their God.”
-
-The foreigners, merchants, missionaries, and others, do not, as a
-general thing, live in the city, but on a small island across the
-harbor, rocky, like the larger island where the city is built, but
-not quite so dreary and barren. Attempts have been made to fertilize
-it, not wholly without success. Many of the houses are attractive,
-commanding a good sea-view.
-
-From a great cave called the “Tiger’s Mouth,” formed by two rocks
-projecting from the side of a hill, a flat one forming the lower jaw,
-or the floor of the cave, and the upper stone curving over it, making
-a good resemblance to an animal’s mouth, you look down upon a wild,
-barren tract of country, where the rocks, my informant said, reminded
-her of almonds stuck into the top of a Christmas pudding, or as if
-giants had been having a battle, and their missiles had been left on
-the field in the reckless position where they fell. One rock, about
-eighty tons in weight, was balanced on another larger rock so evenly
-that one man, putting forth all his strength, could make it tilt
-slightly. They say that a typhoon makes it rock perceptibly. Just below
-it is a small Chinese cottage. The woman who occupied it was asked
-if she was not afraid to live there, for if the bowlder should tilt
-a little too much, one end of it would go through her roof. But
-she said, “No, it is good ‘Fung Shuy,’ and will bring good luck to my
-dwelling,”
-
-[Illustration:
-
- FUNG SHUY. Page 237.
-]
-
-
-FUNG SHUY.
-
-This leads me to speak of “Fung Shuy.” Though the literal meaning of
-“Fung Shuy” is “wind and water,” this does not give any idea of the
-thing.
-
-The Chinese regard the south as the source of good influence, inasmuch
-as vegetable life, with all the genial influences of spring and
-summer, are from that region. The north, they perceive, is the source
-of death to the vegetable kingdom. As animals partake of the diverse
-influences proceeding from these two opposite regions, they infer
-that men are susceptible to the same. They suppose, therefore, that
-there is a vital influence moving all the time from south to north.
-This may be obstructed. To secure its full effect, they prefer to have
-their dwellings front south; for they hold that from the north evil
-influences are constantly proceeding. Even the dead, they believe, are
-susceptible to these adverse influences. If graves are placed so as to
-meet good influences, it is called good Fung Shuy. It is a subject of
-great study to ascertain the influences which promote good Fung Shuy
-and hinder the bad. Anything, as a hill, rock, trees, standing due
-north and not very remote, especially if the region toward the south is
-unobstructed, and particularly if water is in that direction, is good
-Fung Shuy. There are men who may be called professors of Fung Shuy, who
-are experts in the science. The woman in Amoy thought that the bowlder
-near her house was good Fung Shuy. The term may be defined, the science
-of positions favoring good, and shielding from bad, influences. This is
-related to the extensive subject of ancestral worship, which would lead
-me too far from my narrative.
-
-
-PIDGIN ENGLISH.
-
-“Pidgin-English” is a singular form of speech which the Chinese
-language assumes when the natives are first attempting to use English.
-_Pidgin_ means _business_. You are made by it to think of the dialect
-which we fall into in talking to infants. If any one can explain why
-infants are supposed to understand us better when we make our words
-terminate in _ee_ or _y_, he may proceed and explain the natural
-philosophy of Pidgin-English. In talking to a Chinaman you find
-yourself, as it were, addressing an infantile capacity, imitating his
-own Pidgin way of speaking, even in talking to an adult. I will give
-one or two specimens of pidgin-English, which I found in print. The
-first is Norval’s Narrative, taken, as the reader hardly needs to be
-informed, from the Rev. Dr. Home’s tragedy of “Douglass.”
-
-
-NORVAL’S NARRATIVE.
-
- My name is Norval. On the Grampian hills
- My father feeds his flock, a frugal swain,
- Whose constant cares were to increase his store
- And keep his only son, myself, at home.
- For I had heard of battles, and I longed
- To follow to the field some warlike lord.
- And Heaven soon granted what my sire denied.
- This moon which rose last night, round as my shield,
- Had not yet filled her horns, when by her light
- A band of fierce barbarians from the hills
- Rushed like a torrent down upon the vale
- Sweeping our flocks and herds. The shepherds fled
- For safety and for succor. I alone
- With bended bow and quiver full of arrows
- Hovered about the enemy, and marked
- The road he took, then hasted to my friends,
- Whom, with a troop of fifty chosen men,
- I met advancing. The pursuit I led
- Till we o’ertook the spoil-encumbered foe.
- We fought and conquered. Ere a sword was drawn,
- An arrow from my bow had pierced their chief,
- Who wore that day the arms which now I wear.
- Returning home in triumph, I disdained
- The shepherd’s slothful life; and having heard
- That our good king had summoned his bold peers
- To lead their warriors to the Carron side,
- I left my father’s house, and took with me
- A chosen servant to conduct my steps,
- Yon trembling coward, who forsook his master.
- Journeying with this intent, I passed these towers,
- And, Heaven-directed, came this day to do
- The happy deed that gilds my humble name.
-
-
-PIDGIN-ENGLISH OF NORVAL’S NARRATIVE.
-
- My name belong[8] Norval. Topside that Grampian hillee
- My father makee pay[9] chow chow[10] he sheep.
- He smallee heartee man; too muchee take care that dolla, gallo.
- So fashion he wanchee keep my;[11] counta one piecie chilo,[12] stop
- he own side.
- My no wanchee. Wanchee go long that largee mandoli.[13]
- Little teem,[14] Joss pay my what thing my father no likee pay.[15]
- That moon last nightee get up loune, alla same my hat;
- No go up full, no got square; that plenty piecie man,[16]
- That lobbel man[17] too muchee qui-si,[18] alla same that tiger,
- Chop chop come down that hillee, catchee that sheep long that cow,
- That man custom take care, too muchee quick lun way.
- My one piecie owne spie eye,[19] see that ladlone man what side he
- walkee.
- Hi-yah! No good chancie findee he catchee my flen.[20]
- Too piecie loon choon lun catchee that lobbel man;[21] he
- No can walkee welly quick; he pocket too much full up.
- So fashion knockee he largee.[22] He head man no got shottee far[23]
- My knockee he head. Hi-yah! My number one stlong[24] man.
- Catchee he jacket, long he trousa, galo.[25] You like look see?
- My go puttee on just now. My go home, largie heart just now.
- My no likee take care that sheep. So fashion my hear you go fightee
- this side,[26]
- My takee one servant, come you country, come helpie you,
- He heart all same cow; too muchee fear; lun away;
- Masquie![27] Joss take care pay my come your house.[28]
-
- * * * * *
-
-The following is a better specimen, there being fewer liberties in the
-rendering:--
-
-
-EXCELSIOR.
-
- The shades of night were falling fast,
- As through an Alpine village passed
- A youth, who bore, mid snow and ice,
- A banner with the strange device,
- Excelsior!
-
- His brow was sad; his eye beneath
- Flashed like a falchion from its sheath;
- And like a silver clarion rung
- The accents of that unknown tongue.
- Excelsior!
-
- In happy homes he saw the light
- Of household fires gleam warm and bright;
- Above, the spectral glaciers shone,
- And from his lips escaped a groan,
- Excelsior!
-
- “Try not the pass!” the old man said;
- “Dark lowers the tempest overhead;
- The roaring torrent is deep and wide!”
- And loud that clarion voice replied,
- Excelsior!
-
- “Oh, stay!” the maiden said, “and rest
- Thy weary head upon this breast!”
- A tear stood in his bright blue eye;
- But still he answered, with a sigh,
- Excelsior!
-
- “Beware the pine-tree’s withered branch!
- Beware the awful avalanche!”
- This was the peasant’s last Good-night;
- A voice replied, far up the height,
- Excelsior!
-
- At break of day, as heavenward
- The pious monks of Saint Bernard
- Uttered the oft-repeated prayer,
- A voice cried through the startled air,
- Excelsior!
-
- A traveller, by the faithful hound,
- Half buried in the snow was found,
- Still grasping in his hand of ice
- That banner with the strange device,
- Excelsior!
-
- There in the twilight cold and gray,
- Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay;
- And from the sky, serene and far,
- A voice fell like a falling star,
- Excelsior!
-
-
-TOPSIDE GALAH.
-
- That nightee teem[29] he come chop chop,[30]
- One young man walkee, no can stop.
- Colo masquie,[31] icee masquie,
- He got flag chop b’long welly culio see[32]
- Topside Galah.
-
- Hee too muchee solly;[33] one piecie[34] eye
- Lookee sharp so fashion, alla same mi;[35]
- He talkee largee, talkee stlong,[36]
- Too muchee culio,[37] alla same gong.
- Topside Galah.
-
- Inside any housee he can see light;
- Any piecie loom[38] got fire all light?
- He look see plenty ice more high,
- Inside he mouf he plenty cly;[39]
- Topside Galah.
-
- “No can walkee!” ole man speakee he;[40]
- “Bimeby lain[41] come; no can see;
- Hab got water, welly wide!”
- Masquie! mi[42] must go topside;
- Topside Galah.
-
- “Man-man!”[43] one galo[44] talkee he;
- “What for you go topside? look see.”
- “Nother teem,” he makee plenty cly.[45]
- Masquie; alla teem he walkee plenty high.[46]
- Topside Galah.
-
- “Take care that spilum tlee,[47] young man!
- Take care that icee!” he no man man;[48]
- That coolie chin chin[49] he good night;
- He talkee, “Mi can go all light.”
- Topside Galah.
-
- Joss pidgin[50] man chop chop begin,[51]
- Morning teem that Joss chin chin;[52]
- No see any man; he plenty fear,
- Cause some man talkee,[53] he can hear.
- Topside Galah.
-
- Young man makee die;[54] one largee dog see;
- Too muchee bobbery findee he,[55]
- Hand too muchee colo;[56] inside can stop,
- Alla same piecee flag, got culio chop,[57],[58]
- Topside Galah.
-
-
-A PEACOCK ORDERED FOR DINNER.
-
-One captain ordered a peacock for dinner. We had a variety of feelings
-in anticipating the repast, none of them agreeable. On coming to table,
-no peacock appeared. The steward was summoned. “I told you have a
-peacock. Why no peacock?” The steward as though afraid, said, “I go
-ashore to get him peacock; I say, ‘Cap’n want peacock. Policee-man
-come; he say, What for you come ashore no paper tell you may come get
-peacock? Then he look all a same mad, say, ‘Go long, get in ship; I see
-you again I catchee you; I lock you up in ‘go-down.’ Then I frightened;
-so I get no peacock for dinner.” The explanation was as good as a
-feast, including the look of terror, the gesticulation, the many
-ellipses in the narration. But the captain who had had great experience
-of Chinese human nature, said that he had no doubt the whole story was
-a fabrication.
-
-
-DIRECTIONS TO A SERVANT IN PIDGIN ENGLISH.
-
-I heard a captain of a steamer address his man-servant thus, when
-sending him from the cabin to his stateroom on deck for a box of
-writing paper: “Boy, you go topside my room. You see two piecee box
-belong all same, (look just alike.) One piecee have pens; my no wanchee
-that. Other piecee have paper. My wanchee. You makee pay my, (bring
-that to me.) Savez? (do you understand?”) The waiter nodded assent, and
-brought the right box.
-
-A lady was giving a dinner party to several gentleman and ladies. She
-told her butler to “set the table for sixteen piecee man.”
-
-A sampan man whom our captain wished to hire, was asked by him how many
-there were to row his sampan. He replied, “Seven piecee man,” meaning,
-as it proved, himself, several sons, most of them young boys, and the
-mother who rowed with her infant tied round her neck; making seven
-hands, not counting the babe.
-
-A gentleman who was joking with one of his sedan bearers, talking
-nonsense, was answered, “Massa C., you belong too much culio, (too
-funny.) My never have see one man all same culio.”
-
-The American Eagle, that fierce gray bird with a bending beak, is known
-even in China by that celebrated feature. A Chinese servant told his
-master that while he was out a gentleman called. On being asked who it
-was, the servant said: “My no savee; but my can speakee what fashion he
-makee look see;” (what his appearance was.) “He belong one smallee man;
-no too muchee stout; had got one nose all same that Melican chickey.”
-
-The mysteries of human speech are impressively illustrated in the ease
-with which the children of foreign extraction, brought up from infancy
-in China, learn and skilfully use the slight tones and the other
-niceties of the language. An ear accustomed to music of course is a
-great help in learning this language; but when a person is in the least
-dull of hearing, it is not easy to distinguish between some of the
-words, and especially the intonations, which in the Cantonese dialect,
-for example, so largely determine the meaning. One thought impressed me
-in thinking of the language as a barrier against the rest of the world:
-If the Chinese nature is naturally upright, and if sin is owing wholly
-to contamination by intercourse with depraved people, how happens it
-that China does not present us with a people of saints? having been
-kept by their language, as they have been, from mixing with men. That
-language has done more than their great wall in separating them from
-the rest of mankind.
-
-
-A TYPHOON.
-
-We had a typhoon at Hong Kong, Sept. 29. I was spending a fortnight
-at the house of Dr. Legge. On Sabbath evening at sundown there was an
-appearance of rain, with some unusual disturbances in the air; soon
-the servants came into the parlor with planks and joists to strengthen
-the windows, the same precaution being used outside. The wind rapidly
-increased, till the strength of our gale at Boston, Sept. 8, 1869, had
-but a faint resemblance to it. Instead of one blast, there were lulls;
-then a renewed tempest increasing in strength while the typhoon lasted,
-which in this case was from sundown on Sunday till Tuesday at daybreak.
-Hundreds of lives were lost in Hong Kong harbor. The ships were almost
-invisible from the shore, the spoon-drift being nearly equal to a
-thick fog. We were grateful that the typhoon did not find us at sea.
-We could understand the answers of old sea-captains, who, on some
-one in our hearing saying that he should like to witness a typhoon,
-shook their heads, looked grave, and said, “You will never wish to see
-another.”[59]
-
-[Illustration:
-
- AVENUE AT SINGAPORE. Page 253.
-]
-
-
-SINGAPORE.
-
-Another excursion by favor of the Messrs. Heard and of Captain Arthur
-H. Clark of the steamer “Suwo Nada,” plying between Hong Kong and
-Singapore, was made to Singapore. On the way, we stopped at Saigon, a
-French port in Cochin China, from which the French were then compelling
-the enemy to retire. Rice is largely exported from this place, and
-opium is received to an amount which tells a fearful story. Here we saw
-noble specimens of tigers, which are declared by authors of high repute
-to have destroyed on an average one man a day through the year, not
-many years ago, in some parts of the East Indies. They swim over to the
-islands from the main lands. They approach their victim from behind,
-felling him with a blow upon the head.
-
-Singapore is about eight days by steamer from Hong Kong, including the
-visit to Saigon. At Singapore you feel that you are in the East Indies,
-from the luxuriant foliage, the birds of marvellous plumage. We were
-politely taken to the country seat of Dr. John Little, by his brother,
-Matthew Little, Esq., where we found ourselves in a forest of cocoanut
-trees. The fruit is brought in loads to the mill, where a long blade in
-a frame separates the outer covering, and the nut goes through several
-processes by which every part of it is turned to use. The saying is
-that the cocoanut serves ninety-nine purposes. The rough husk being
-subjected to a powerful pressure is at once reduced to a fibrous state
-ready to be worked into coir mats or spun into cheap ropes. The natural
-bend of the husk, adapting it to the human head, it is sometimes
-carefully prepared, and dyed, then worn. We were entertained in a
-sumptuous manner with true East Indian bounty. We rode home after nine
-o’clock in the evening, listening to every sound, the rustling of every
-tree and brake, prepared to see a tiger spring upon the horses. We were
-glad to see the lights of the town in exchange for the long, solitary
-road which, however, with all its imaginary or real perils we would not
-willingly have failed to travel. At the residence of Cyrus Wakefield,
-Jr., and Temple R. Fay, we were superbly entertained, and from these
-gentlemen we received very many favors. Among them, a box of corals
-which had attracted my notice as I passed through the packing room of
-the counting house of Messrs. Bousteed & Co., and which awakened a
-hopeless desire to purchase, I afterward found was in preparation for
-us.--Mr. Vaughan and Mr. Hanna laid us under great obligations by their
-beautiful hospitality.
-
-A principal road runs close by the sea, is well shaded, and abounds
-in delicious odors from the gardens. The house and grounds of a
-rich Chinaman, Mr. Whampoa, are visited by foreigners as objects of
-interest. Rare East-India plants, ponds filled with the pink lotus,
-vines trained or trimmed in fantastic shapes, such as eagles, deer,
-lions, and many others, on frames, trees with great variety of foliage,
-make the place attractive. A six-legged turtle which we examined was
-an object of much interest to its owner. He is a venerable man, speaks
-English well, gives free admission to visitors introduced by any one
-with whom he is acquainted.
-
-It made us feel that we were indeed in Eastern regions to be
-contiguous, as we were one day, to the residence of a Rajah, the name
-savoring of Oriental life.
-
-
-CURRY.
-
-To those who are fond of this condiment, it may be interesting to know
-that Singapore has the reputation of furnishing the best article in
-this form of diet. It would require one to be more of a connoisseur
-than the writer to decide whether Singapore, Manila, or Anjer is
-entitled to the palm in preparing this article of luxury. Those who
-award it to Singapore say there are ingredients in the mixture at this
-place which are not to be obtained elsewhere; for they can not be
-exported and retain their flavor, the excellence of curry depending,
-we are told, on its being prepared fresh every day. The flavor of
-the fresh cocoanut is essential. Those who have eaten curry powder
-on their food in this country, have an agreeable surprise on tasting
-the article of curry in the East Indies. The servants grind some of
-the ingredients on stones, and the frequency with which we saw the
-operation as we passed along the streets in Singapore, made us feel
-that the preparation of curry root has a reputation which it requires
-labor to maintain.
-
-To specify all that is to be enjoyed in Singapore through every sense,
-would fill a volume. We went off to the “Suwo Nada” in a boat and
-steamed away from this garden of luxuries by groves of cocoanut trees,
-through lines of ships from all quarters of the globe, and, after an
-enchanting passage, found ourselves once more safe in Hong Kong harbor.
-
-
-
-
-V.
-
-MANILA.--HOMEWARD BOUND.
-
- My country, sir, is not a single spot
- Of such a mould, or fixed to such a clime;
- No! ’tis the social circle of my friends,
- The loved community in which I’m linked,
- And in whose welfare all my wishes centre.
-
- MILLER’S _Mahomet_.
-
- * * * * *
-
- Whose heart has ne’er within him burned
- As home his footsteps he hath turned
- From wandering on a foreign strand?
-
- W. SCOTT; _Lay of the Last Minstrel_.
-
- * * * * *
-
- There blend the ties that strengthen
- Our hearts in hours of grief,
- The silver links that lengthen
- Joy’s visits when most brief.
- Then dost thou sigh for pleasure?
- Oh! do not widely roam,
- But seek that hidden treasure
- At home, dear home!
-
- BERNARD BARTON.
-
-
-On the 22d of November we left Hong Kong for Manila, our agents
-concluding to wait no longer for hemp to fall, but to load the ship
-with sugar. We took in three million pounds, enough, we were told, to
-supply our whole country one day.
-
-We reached Manila Bay Dec. 1, but we would not have wondered had we
-been weeks, instead of five days, in contest with the current and
-head winds. One day we tacked fourteen times off Manila. At length we
-dropped anchor in the spacious roadstead, and waited for the health
-officers and the custom-house officials to inspect us. No one is
-allowed to have any communication with a vessel until she is officially
-visited. Steam-tugs would be an advantage to weary mariners contending
-against the current in sight of anchorage.
-
-We were the guests of a gentleman and his wife, he a member of the
-house of Messrs. Peele, Hubbell, & Co.[60] We were there seven weeks,
-and, even if delicacy permitted, language would fail in the attempt to
-express what we enjoyed in that beautiful house. Situated at one end
-of the city in the parish of Santa Ana we were removed from the noise
-and tumult of business. The river runs near the house with a current
-of at least four miles an hour, bringing down, day by day, literally
-innumerable wild herbage plants washed from the lakes in the country.
-Few things ever gave me a more vivid idea of infinitude than that
-ceaseless flow of herbage. Immense plaintain-leaves stood round the
-house looking like the blades of huge oars; the banana hung in large
-clusters; the garden was filled with many things to delight the eye.
-The house covered a large area. You enter it by a spacious driveway,
-roofed over with the main building. Stone steps lead up to the story on
-which are all the rooms in the house, high and wide, opening into the
-large hall. Instead of carpets, floors here are polished, by rubbing
-them with the plaintain-leaf. The house was cool and in all respects
-most comfortable. The eye is refreshed by constant verdure, the grass
-in December and January having the brilliant green which our early
-grass presents in the month of June. It seemed strange to be riding in
-open carriages at Christmas-time and January, with ladies in muslin
-dresses, or requiring only light shawls. The atmosphere is clear, and
-the stars have so peculiar a lustre as to be the subject of remark by
-foreigners. The river runs about fifteen miles to a lake, by cocoanut
-groves, and in some places by steep cliffs nearly two hundred and fifty
-feet on each side, covered with foliage, and having small cascades.
-In the river there are as many as twenty-eight rapids. Some of our
-party ascended them in canoes, spending two days on an excursion with
-a company. One evening a party of gentlemen took a small steamer, the
-private property of a friend, and went with us up to the lake. It was a
-moonlight night; the East-Indian scenery, the curves in the stream, and
-at last the scenery of the lake, made the excursion enchanting.
-
-The society in Manila, composed of American, English, Scotch, and
-Spanish people, was delightful. Their hospitalities, entertainments,
-and numberless courtesies make deep impressions upon a visitor. There
-are no unpleasant distinctions among them; they maintain an agreeable
-freedom in their intercourse. Indeed one cannot spend a few days in
-Manila without feeling glad if it happens to be at the close of a long
-tour; for as it will be most likely to be pronounced the climax of his
-social experience, it will be appropriate to leave it at the close.
-
-I used to drive with Mr. Peirce when he visited the sugar mills where
-his House were obtaining their supply of sugar to load our ship. We saw
-the crude material just from the cane, drying in the sun. I remember
-that on our passage home from Manila the cabin table happened to be
-short of sugar; but having three million pounds on board we ventured to
-draw on the cargo for a supply. When it came on table from the hold,
-the sight of it made us feel that sugar refinery was far from being a
-luxury, for it was hard to believe that the dark, coarse stuff could
-ever become white powdered sugar. Could we but shut our eyes, as we
-were inclined to do when we put it into our cups, we could draw from
-it a power of sweetness, though with a large tare and tret of original
-fibrous matter.
-
-
-MANILA CIGARS.
-
-I visited the great cigar factories and imagined how my friends,
-lay and clerical, would envy me the privilege. But I could not be
-in the atmosphere of the factory ten minutes without experiencing a
-feeling akin to vertigo, which made me retreat to the open air. By
-going out and in several times I succeeded in gratifying my curiosity.
-The gentlemanly foreman begged me to take some of his products as
-specimens. I told him I could not appreciate them. He said if I would
-allow him to give me only one he was sure that he could overcome my
-repugnance. He went to a private drawer and drew out one on which he
-duly expatiated, then wrapped it in a paper and gave it to me. It is
-now in my drawer at home, two years old, well seasoned; waiting for my
-decision whether it will be safe to give it to some clerical friend
-who will promise that he will leave off smoking if I will treat his
-resolution with this very choicest Manila. Or would the gift have a
-powerful effect in an opposite direction?
-
-
-THE CHURCH OF SANTA ANA.
-
-We were near the old Church of Santa Ana, whose bells many times a day
-remind the faithful of their devotions. They were played skilfully,
-with a loud noise and with a vivacity such as I never before heard
-from bells. On one bell a man would drum a tune, the military music on
-a church bell having a decidedly frivolous effect. At six o’clock in
-the afternoon, the native inhabitants pause wherever they may happen
-to be at the vesper bell, and perform their devotions. I frequently
-met the Archbishop and his secretary in an evening walk, who would
-stop suddenly when the bell struck and, uncovering their heads, would
-repeat their prayers. I visited most of the churches. Imposture nowhere
-reigns with more open demands upon the credulity of the people. In
-one of the churches there are large paintings of the “Holy Girdle,”
-whose marvellous cures, and power over serpents, and the bestowment
-of blessings in answer to faith in it, are described in large letters.
-Each of the many parishes has a monthly procession in which the
-population join. One evening we encountered a procession which blocked
-the streets for two hours. Four thousand women in black filled each
-side of the wide street, chanting Scripture and prayers, the men
-occupying the middle of the street with an imposing show of images of
-canonized persons surrounded with lighted chandeliers. Each woman in
-this procession had a lighted wax candle which she had bought of the
-priests, to be returned to them after the march. This is the source
-of a large revenue to the Church. These processions keep up a lively
-enthusiasm among the people.
-
-
-PINA ARTICLES.
-
-The manufacture of the Pina articles employs the people at home. These
-exquisite articles, such as veils, handkerchiefs, &c., are made of the
-fibre of the pine-apple; at almost every house in some of the poorer
-parts of the city you see this work on small frames, exposed to the sun.
-
-
-GAME COCKS.
-
-The men are very many of them occupied in the training of game-cocks;
-frequently every tenth man you meet will have one of these birds under
-his arm.
-
-
-TIGER AND BUFFALO FIGHT.
-
-One Sabbath we were told there was a fight between a tiger and a
-buffalo on exhibition. The buffaloes are meek, docile animals, used
-instead of oxen. Their horns are wide-spread and very long. The buffalo
-took the tiger on his horns, threw him high, and the fall indisposed
-him for further effort.
-
-
-FIRE-FLIES.
-
-Some of the most beautiful objects here are the trees filled with
-fire-flies. Sometimes all along a road the trees will be crowned with
-the small creatures, their light constantly emitted; so that the
-tree looks as though it were filled with gems. Few sights are more
-attractive.
-
-
-SPANISH MUSIC.
-
-The inhabitants resort in the evening to the Pier, which is a solid
-structure extending a sixteenth of a mile into the bay, a sea-view on
-all sides; and once a week there is music by the bands, which draws
-crowds. Much of this Spanish music is more sentimental than we are
-accustomed to hear addressed to the populace, exciting a thoughtful
-attention.
-
-
-CLIMATE OF MANILA.
-
-Manila is the capital of Luzon, one of the Philippine Islands. The
-climate in December and January was intensely hot. After nine o’clock
-in the morning, it was not agreeable to be out of doors, even to drive;
-but at five in the afternoon, and in the evening, the cool sea-breezes
-made it pleasant to be abroad.
-
-
-RELIGIOUS SERVICE.
-
-Religious services are sustained on Sabbath evenings by a few christian
-friends at the house of one of their number, but there is no public
-place of Protestant worship there. It was instructive to go from China,
-from the depths of heathen idolatry, into the depths of formalism under
-the name of Christianity. You question whether you have advanced at
-all into the light of truth; for though it is a relief to be where
-the Scriptures and the names and forms of christianity are heard and
-seen, you are impressed with the bias of the human heart to idolatry.
-To come from heathenism in China, and Roman Catholic superstition in
-Manila, into christian temples here at home, makes you wonder that only
-a certain number of leagues of salt water separate between us and such
-places as Canton or Manila.
-
-
-TROPICAL FRUITS.
-
-Of all the fruits which I have tasted in any part of the world, nothing
-has seemed to me preferable to the East Indian Mango. It is about the
-length of a full grown cucumber, as large as the largest specimens of
-that vegetable, smaller at one end that at the other. It has a flat
-stone extending from end to end. The skin is about the thickness of
-that of the banana. You stand the mango on one end in your plate and
-slice it on either side of the stone. Two slices then lay before you.
-With a dessert spoon you take out piece after piece of the tender
-fruit, and when you have eaten both halves to the skin, there yet
-remains the stone, which has a great deal on it. You take it up in both
-hands and pass your mouth around it. By this time your hands and face
-are a spectacle which you can judge of by the predicament which you see
-your neighbor to be in. You are ready to agree with the East Indian
-maxim that a mango never should be eaten except in a tub of water. You
-cannot help beginning with another; but let it be small, or you will
-be likely to inquire if you may not divide your second with a friend.
-The fruit is of about the same color inside as the muskmelon, but it is
-harder, though not tough, not disagreeably sweet; juicy, nutritious.
-We began to receive them at Hong Kong in May, from Manila, where they
-are in perfection. We were surprised on seeing them upon the table at
-Christmas in Manila, a forcing process being used there to bring them
-forward.
-
-Another valuable fruit in the East Indies is the Mangastene. It is
-of the size of the tomato and looks like it in shape; it is of the
-deep purple color of the purple grape. The outside shell, which is
-easily broken by the hand, being removed, a snow white fruit appears,
-divided like the tomato into as many sections. Its juice is slightly
-acid,--more correctly, acidulated,--a pleasant sour. There being little
-or nothing solid in it, the saying is that one may eat of the fruit
-indefinitely. There are few fruits better adapted to a warm climate.
-
-At Shanghai the Watermelon attains a degree of perfection which I have
-never known exceeded.
-
-The Pumelo, though a coarse fruit, is valuable. It resembles the West
-India shadduck; it is a large, fleshy orange, not so juicy as that
-fruit.
-
-To those who are fond of the banana it must be a delight to spend time
-where they can fully gratify their taste for it. The Sandwich Islands
-gave us the best specimens.--I cannot say it would be easy for me to
-enlarge this description of foreign fruits; indeed it would be painful,
-for the mention of these fruits is a vivid reminder of lost joys, joys
-pure, innocent, health-giving, a source of gratitude to the Giver
-of all good, stimulating the anticipation of future pleasure, which
-divine revelation does not consider it beneath itself to specify among
-the promised pleasures of heaven. It used to be a pleasant theme of
-meditation in those East India regions, that in the fields of the blest
-there is a species of tree (not, of course, one solitary tree) which
-bears twelve manner of fruits, and yields fruit every month. It was a
-harmless fancy of an invalid which twelve of all the fruits known to
-him he would select for that species of tree to bear. His taste would
-make grave mistakes in putting the watermelon, for example, on the same
-tree with the plum; which led him to question whether the structural
-nature of the tree might not be supposed to be as far beyond his
-present botanical knowledge as the yield of the tree would surpass his
-present experience. His acquaintance with the almost perpetual banana
-gave him some idea of the practicability of vegetation reaching to the
-extent, even, of yielding fruit every month; so that without consulting
-with the botanical critic he would load his tree with the East Indian
-mango, mangastenes, apricots, muskmelons, peaches, pears, grapes,
-apples, quinces, watermelons, banana, figs; and then he would consider
-how inadequate was a pomological catalogue to express the known objects
-which stood ready to tempt his appetite. The queen of Sheba, herself
-from the East, perhaps admonished him by seeming to say that a greater
-than Solomon would hereafter ‘feed him and lead him to living fountains
-of waters.’
-
-
-THE CASSOWARY.
-
-At Manila one object after another would be continually presenting
-itself to our notice, leading the thoughts into the still remote parts
-of the eastern world. In the yard of a gentleman stood this singular
-creature, which you felt obliged to call a bird yet you would prefer
-that it should be classed as an animal, for it seemed to belong among
-animals, though it is a biped. Its enormous legs, eighteen inches long,
-its fleshy protuberance on its head, coarsely imitating the tuft on
-the head of the peacock, left you in doubt how to assign it a place
-among the tribes of the animal kingdom, reminding you of the exploit
-in rhyming which a wit perpetrated with its name and its place of
-nativity, making Cassowary to rhyme with ‘missionary,’ and Timbuctoo
-with ‘hymn-book too.’
-
-
-LEAVING MANILA.
-
-We left Manila Jan. 20th, with great regret. We were taking leave of
-valued friends, besides bidding adieu to scenes of interest which had
-not been surpassed in our experience. We had reached the eastern limit
-of our long voyage; we were to turn and find our way to the western
-continent. Objects of thrilling interest were yet to be passed. But
-how could we help feeling the need of special assistance in the great
-undertaking of going round the other half of the globe? These words
-came to me, and some lines were suggested by them:
-
- “When the even was come he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto
- the other side.” Mark iv. 25.
-
- They went, and as they sailed
- A storm came down upon the lake;
- It made the boldest spirits quake;
- Their faith forsook them, so their courage failed.
-
- He on a pillow slept;
- The stormy waters waked not Him.
- But prayer had power to break the dream
- Which through the tempest Him asleep had kept.
-
- There on Gadara’s shore
- Hell’s sullen legion knew his form;
- He and the twelve, escaped the storm,
- Enrage their spiteful enemies the more.
-
- He speaks, the gale goes down;
- The legion at his bidding flee;
- The maniac finds recovery
- And spreads abroad the Nazarene’s renown.
-
- We leave what may betide,
- Saviour! to thy Almighty power.
- So, trusting in thy love each hour,
- We will pass over to the other side.
-
-
-PASSING ANJER.
-
-We began our homeward voyage from Manila Jan. 20, and reached Anjer,
-Feb. 1. Anjer is the western point of Java; vessels pass it to and
-from the China seas. “Passed Anjer,” in the marine reports, signifies
-that a vessel has left the China seas on her homeward way, or has
-just entered them on her outward voyage. Anjer supplies vessels with
-poultry, vegetables, fruits and water. On enquiring for bananas, we
-were told by a man who came on board that he would get us “a fathom of
-them for a dollar.” It was a large Oriental statement, with a basis of
-truth; but six feet of bananas for a dollar seemed too good to be true.
-
-Batavia is about seventy-five miles from Anjer; the road to it is
-characterized by Dutch solidity and thoroughness. Opposite the hotel
-at Anjer is a banian-tree, said to be the largest in diameter in that
-part of the world, composed of shoots which have descended from the
-top, taken root, and become principal parts of the tree. We saw from
-shore our ship under sail, waiting for us, beating about against a head
-wind and current. The sight was animating. We rowed off to her four
-miles, glad to be on board the noble thing which had borne us more than
-half round the world, and was waiting to complete the great circuit. As
-often as we now see in the marine record, “Passed Anjer,” we recall the
-sensations with which we looked off from that lighthouse, which is the
-first or last object of interest to all who navigate those East-Indian
-seas.
-
-
-CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
-
-It was extremely interesting to be approaching this famous point. That
-great maritime revelation, the opening of a new route to India in 1487,
-the story of Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco da Gama, and of the first
-navigators around that point, who used to bury their journals and set
-up a stone pointing to them, that the homeward-bound vessels might, by
-this primitive mail arrangement, get the latest news of them, made it
-an object of deep interest. Here the astronomers come from different
-countries, to observe the signs of the heavens; and certainly no
-place can be conceived of more favorable for such purposes. The clear
-atmosphere and the perfect horizon make it a place well fitted for
-telescopes to try their power. The Indian Ocean opening here, spreads
-before the observer the scene of some of the most interesting events
-of history. Being about four thousand miles from north to south, and
-of equal breadth, and receiving the Red Sea, holding the Persian Gulf
-and the Bay of Bengal, distinguished by such islands as Madagascar,
-Mauritius, Ceylon, and by such rivers as the Tigris, Euphrates, Indus,
-Ganges, and by the great equatorial current which, after it leaves the
-wide coast of China, crosses this ocean to the Mozambique Channel,
-seeking the east coast of Africa, and making its way by the Cape of
-Good Hope,--this Indian Ocean does not yield in historic or natural
-interest to the two greater oceans. Its northern part, divided from
-the southern by the Tropic of Capricorn, floats the commerce of Europe
-and this country with China, India, and the Malay Islands. Arabia and
-Persia, and the opposite India have used its waters for centuries in
-their local commerce. Points of interest along its seacoast, gulfs,
-and rivers are, Aden and Mocha in Arabia, Bassorah in Turkey, Bombay,
-Madras, Calcutta in Hindostan, and Point de Galle in Ceylon. It seemed
-more like the centre of the world on this ocean than elsewhere. Its
-astronomical attractions and its sunsets give it a peculiar charm,
-though after all that has been said of Indian Ocean sunsets, I am
-constrained to say that in Princeton, Massachusetts, I have seen more
-wonderful sunsets than I saw in the Indian Ocean.
-
-
-TABLE MOUNTAIN.
-
-Table Mountain, which makes the most prominent object at the Cape of
-Good Hope, though not the southernmost point, is 3,816 feet high. It
-has a flat summit of great extent, and from that peculiarity in its
-formation it has its name. It is seen in clear weather fifty or sixty
-miles distant. You would think it a burial-place of kings, having
-something stately in appearance, as though it were a mausoleum erected
-by human art, like the pyramids built by successive generations. We
-sailed away from it in the latter part of an afternoon, reflecting that
-we had looked upon the last object connected with the continents of the
-other hemisphere.
-
-[Illustration:
-
- TABLE MOUNTAIN. Page 284.
-]
-
-
-ST. HELENA.
-
-We came very near this deeply interesting spot which for several years
-held the attention of the world. We could appreciate the saying of the
-notable prisoner there, who spoke of himself as “chained to this rock;”
-for the island impresses you as a huge rock. Very few isolated places
-seem to have more connection with the world; for twenty-five vessels on
-an average each day pass by it, showing their signals, to be reported.
-To begin and speak of the place, and the thoughts and feelings which it
-suggested, would not be expected. We could not go ashore without first
-entering the ship and paying port duties; but we had a full view of
-“Longwood,” where Napoleon lived, and where he met death.
-
-We resolved to go on board a British man-of-war which we should pass
-not far off. On lowering the largest boat into the water, the seams
-proved to have opened, and she soon filled. The gig which we used all
-summer in going ashore at Hong Kong was more seaworthy; so we set off
-in her for the man-of-war. We took four men to row and one to bail,
-which he had to do nimbly, the water gaining on him, obliging the
-stroke-oar to lend him a hand. By keeping our feet on a level with
-the rail, we managed to reach the “Rattlesnake” without being wet,
-though we discussed the question whether a handkerchief at half mast
-on an oar would be likely to be seen, if we were swamped. We went and
-returned safely, having received from the ship the news of the French
-and Prussian war, three months old, and having also received of a New
-Bedford whaler some vegetables, which we tried in vain to pay for.
-The midshipmen of the “Rattlesnake” said that they were attracted by
-a noble American vessel which entered the harbor that morning, and
-they asked if we could tell them her name. After listening to their
-description, we, with becoming diffidence, informed them that it was
-the Golden Fleece.
-
-
-ISLAND OF ASCENSION
-
-The last point on which our eyes rested was the Island of Ascension,
-always interesting to every one at school as the most solitary-looking
-spot in the dreary South Atlantic. A whaler tacked and came near us;
-two of the men stood aloft watching for whales. Feeling that they were
-the last of our race whom we should behold for some time, and with
-sincere respect for the hardy men on their ocean hunting-ground, I
-waved my hat to them, and the two caps aloft made hearty response.
-
-
-THE NORTH STAR RE-APPEARS.
-
-We soon found by the signs above us that we were entering the northern
-hemisphere. One evening we saw, just above the horizon, two stars
-of “The Dipper.” It was several nights before the North Star came up
-the watery hill. The poet Spenser probably had never sailed in these
-latitudes when he wrote of the North Star as never being below the
-horizon:--
-
- “By this, the Northern wagoner had set
- His sevenfold teme behind the stedfast starre
- That was in ocean waves yet never wet,
- But firme is fixt, and sendeth light from farre
- To all that on the wide deepe wandering arre.”[61]
-
-But at last it came up, dripping wet, and inspired in us the hope of
-soon watching it from our windows at home.
-
-
-DISCOMFORTS AT SEA.
-
-While it is true that as much was combined as could be wished for to
-render this voyage agreeable, those who have been at sea will not
-believe that we were free from the ordinary discomforts or annoyances
-of sea-life. For the satisfaction of those who have suffered in sailing
-vessels it will be well for me to show our dark side of sea-life in
-some of its principal annoyances; doing this, however, for the sake
-of the truth, that the voyage may not appear to have been out of the
-ordinary experience of those who go down to the sea.
-
-One of the first things which we all suffer at sea is revealed in the
-inspired account of sea-faring experience, which we are presented with
-in the contrasted experience of being on shore: “Then are they glad
-because they be quiet.” There are times at sea when stability seems to
-be the most enviable state. In weariness the invalid passenger, tossed
-and not comforted, feels constrained to quote one of the earliest
-verses of inspiration: “Let the dry land appear.” Yet there is so much
-that provokes mirth in the midst of discomfort that it is not easy to
-say on which side the balance lies, whether of discomfort or amusement.
-Behold three men, two of them at least used to the sea, setting out
-from different parts of the main cabin to make their way to the table
-in the forward cabin. The ship rolls over on her port side, and the
-cabin-floor is at once an inclined plane at a grade very much removed
-from horizontal. They have a steep hill to ascend; and a seven-pound
-weight on either foot, ashore, would not be more cumbrous than that
-which seems now to be holding them to the floor. The sensation in
-trying to move cannot be unlike that which would be felt in an
-exhausted receiver. If the weight of the atmosphere on the human body,
-fifteen pounds to the square inch, instead of being equally diffused
-could be concentrated on the feet, the sensation probably would not
-be unlike that which one feels in trying to get across a ship’s deck
-when she is thrown over to the side opposite to that whither you are
-going. So these three gentlemen stand immovably fixed in the middle of
-the floor, their feet discreetly wide apart to preserve the upright
-position of the body. Then the ship rolls over on the other side, and
-the three travellers to the dinner table go involuntarily fast to the
-side of the cabin and hold on by a door, while the ship rolls once
-more, and comes back, it may be, with mitigated severity. At last a
-favorable opportunity is seized and the three slide into their seats in
-postures more necessary than graceful. Then begins a series of mishaps
-at table. No careful adjustment of the dishes, nor even the security
-provided for them by the racks can guard against the accidents which
-befall cups and saucers indiscreetly filled, or plates of soup not
-well provided with suitable dunnage of slices of bread underneath the
-lee side. A barrel of apples falls against the door of a locker and
-empties itself over the floor; and a canister of lamp-oil, whose cork
-had not been made tight, follows after the apples, and they are no
-longer eatable. Oh to be quiet! What seems more desirable than a good
-foundation?
-
-One day when the ship was rolling heavily it was difficult to keep your
-seat on the settee, and impossible to lie reclined. Every thing which
-was not lashed to some fixture about the room, or to staples driven
-into the floor, was sure to adopt a nomadic state and go from side to
-side. Among other things a “Pilgrim’s Progress,” which had been left
-on a table, fell from it and went sliding to and fro, exciting lively
-sensations in me at the thought that Mr. Ready-to-Halt and his friend,
-Mr. Despondency, were moving at a pace ill suited to the crutches of
-the old gentleman; for the book went like a shuttle back and forth on
-the floor.
-
-The little stove in the cabin felt the changeable wind, and did not
-draw well. This required the frequent attention of the steward. He
-was a Portuguese man, with a dark skin. He sat on the canvas carpet
-whittling, to make lightwood, to start the fire. The ship went down
-on one side, and the steward with it, whittling all the while, then
-sliding back in his upright position, maintained with becoming gravity,
-till the passengers, no longer able to contain themselves, were made
-merry at the sight. This made him show his white teeth, silently,
-without anything so undignified as a laugh; at which the passengers
-were increasingly merry.
-
-What shall I say of the cockroaches, red ants, tarantulas, and mice?
-One thing can be said in favor of all of them,--they were not
-musquitoes. This was a nightly consolation; but it was the only good
-thing which could be said of them all. The ants would cover every
-vessel in which they could find any thing to drink; fresh water seemed
-to be their chief delight; if a wet sponge were hung up to dry, on
-taking it down the little creatures would be there in legions. The
-white ant is the bane of the Indian climate; their depredations,
-however, are chiefly on shore. I was going up the front stairs of a
-gentleman’s dwelling in China, when his foot went through a stair.
-“Ah,” said he, “the ants have been at work here!” But at sea we found
-the cockroaches most destructive. It is not pleasant to find several of
-them on your pillow when you go into your stateroom at night. They are
-harmless to the person, but the covers of books, and everything which
-has been pasted or glued, all lacker work, and paper generally, suffer
-from them. Yet there are housekeepers on shore who can inveigh against
-vermin, as well as people at sea.
-
-There are some people who cannot bear any noise overhead at night.
-If the gale does not wake them and keep them awake, twenty or thirty
-sailors hoisting or lowering the spanker, their boots making a noise
-not so gentle as that of prunello dancing-pumps will do it. If the
-stillness of the night and the passenger’s sleep are broken by the mate
-pacing the deck to keep himself awake, the heels of his boots will be
-chiefly answerable; for these make the principal disturbance; he cannot
-always comfortably wear India rubbers during his watch; he is to be
-pitied if he has a nervous passenger, and thanked if he is able to
-forego his walks on the house for the invalid’s sake.
-
-It would seem as though there should be a special punishment for those
-who practise fraud in ships’ stores. Your appetite is delicate; you
-have no source of supply but your locker; that is furnished with
-bottles and jars which profess to hold, for instance, jellies, made
-and provided expressly for sea-faring appetites. Your hopes of a
-comfortable supper are vested in a jar of jelly which the steward
-has placed on table, hoping to provoke an appetite. On opening it,
-instead of the fruit jelly which the label assures you is within, you
-find only gelatine, flavored with an extract resembling the fruit.
-There is nothing on the table for which you feel any desire but the
-promised jelly; you find yourself secretly invoking a sea-faring
-experience like this upon the man who has so deceived you, till at
-last your suffering is so great under your disappointment, which grows
-intense as the tasteless supper proceeds, that in stern disapprobation
-of this annoying ship-chandler trick, you feel resolved to make it
-known, promising him that if you ever go to sea again you will pay
-special attention and see if his name is on the labels of the jellies.
-He who writes this and they who read it will not fail to remember
-that invalids are apt to be unreasonable. So small a matter as a jar
-of preserves disappointing the expectation of a nervous patient,
-especially at sea, where there are no means of alleviation, may be more
-than a match for the philosophy and the resolution of the best of men
-and women.
-
-When I have said these things, very few discomforts or annoyances
-remain which are not incident to almost any situation on shore. Many
-things there we are freed from at sea; the noise of cats at night,
-the barking of dogs, the scream of locomotives, the painfully regular
-puffing of stationary engines, the roar of wheels, the annoyances
-of mischievous boys, these you escape at sea; all of them in
-sailing-vessels, for in steamers you have some of them. If one should
-fairly add up the comparative discomforts of ship and shore, would life
-at sea prove to have the most of them? I came to the conclusion that a
-good sailing-ship, with agreeable company, is as near a perfect state
-of rest and peace as ever falls to our lot.
-
-
-TARRING DOWN.
-
-“Tarring down,” already mentioned, and now repeated because the
-operation is renewed as the vessel is coming near to port, is to a
-landsman an animating sight. Every rope in the standing rigging,
-beginning aloft, feels the smearing process, which is carried on
-without gloves. The stays, which run between the masts at an angle of
-forty-five degrees, are reached at every point by the boys, each in
-what is called a boatswain’s chair, not unlike the seat of a swing;
-in which he is lowered at his call by a boy or the mate on deck, who
-belays him at each descent a few feet at a time. Often have I watched
-these boys suspended sixty feet above the deck, wiping the rope with
-the sopping rags which they dip in the tar-bucket till they reach the
-deck; and I have thought what a sight one of these boys would be to
-his mother,--her pet besmeared with tar from head to foot, one suit
-of his clothes, kept for the occasion, doomed to go overboard after
-the tarring down near port, the boy feeling an honest pride as he
-illustrates in his work the dignity of labor. But perhaps the mother’s
-heart would yearn towards her child more than when she should see him
-in “the boatswain’s chair,” on seeing him at his meals. I repeat it, he
-has no table. He goes to the galley with his tin pot; the cook gives
-him his portion of tea or coffee, sweetened with molasses; the boy cuts
-a piece of beef from out the mess-kid, gets a piece of “hard-tack”
-from the “bread barge,” sits down on deck, or on a spare spar, lays his
-tin pan beside him, and with his sheath-knife and fingers despatches
-his “grub.” Many at their rich mahogany tables loaded with China-ware
-and silver would give it all for the boy’s appetite and power of
-digestion.
-
-
-OUR THREE CREWS.
-
-Our three crews, were, one from New York to San Francisco, the second,
-from San Francisco to the Sandwich Islands and Hong Kong, the third,
-from Hong Kong to Manila and thence to New York.
-
-It would be more than could be expected of human nature subjected to
-the trials of nautical life, to behave with perfect propriety under
-all the various conditions to which men must be subjected in a long
-voyage. From New York to San Francisco we were favored with a set of
-men who could not be excelled in their dispositions and behavior. I
-have already quoted the complimentary remarks of the captain in his
-last address to them. In San Francisco, although there is not the
-opportunity to make a good selection which there is in the port of New
-York, we were also highly favored in our men.
-
-
-OLD PORTRAIT OF THE SAILOR.
-
-We had three libraries sent on board before we left New York, which did
-excellent service. It was interesting to see the men after religious
-services on the Sabbath morning, finding shady places about the ship
-with their books and tracts from these libraries. This is in contrast
-to the old system of things among sailors. A familiar picture of a
-sailor used to be a man with a monkey led by a string in one hand, a
-parrot cage in the other, a tarpaulin with a quarter of a yard of
-black ribbon flying, no suspenders, his trowsers revealing a zone of
-blue shirt above his waistbands. The appearance of our crew from New
-York was far in advance of such a portraiture. It is still seen, though
-the contrast is very frequent.
-
-
-THE KNIGHT HEAD.
-
-On our way from Manila the Captain invited me to go down with him to
-the knight head, at the foot of the bowsprit, where you may extemporize
-a good seat protected with ropes. There you have a good view of the
-ship, and, taking the foremast for a guide, can learn the names of the
-different sails, see the arrangement of the jibs, and, leaning over,
-watch the cutwater dividing the billows, throwing up sheets of foam,
-the spray saluting you as often as the ship buries herself in a huge
-wave. We indulged ourselves in some mathematical calculations as to
-the bulk of water displaced by the ship as she floated, with several
-problems adjacent. This ship is two hundred and ten feet long. Malone
-Block, in Boston, where we formerly lived, has six dwellings, each
-twenty-three feet long, making the block a hundred and thirty-eight
-feet, so that the ship is once and a half the length of that block! We
-did much ciphering on the wood work, which may not have escaped the
-paint brush, or the constant wear from the weather. If it survives, a
-reader may find there some curious calculations in the mensuration of
-solids.
-
-
-A SAILOR PUT IN IRONS.
-
-The crew which we shipped in Hong Kong were several of them, as it
-proved, released from jail to ship; they were, in part, the off-couring
-of English vessels. They were disposed to take advantage of the
-officers when possible, doing as little work as would serve to make
-them appear busy. One of them was sent aloft to slush down the mast,
-and the second mate observed that he was loitering about in the
-rigging, to kill time. At eight bells he came down on deck, intending
-to go to breakfast with his watch and let somebody else finish his
-work; but the mate ordered him aloft to complete his job. This he
-refused to do, saying he would not work when it was his watch below.
-The captain heard the dispute and told the man that if he did not obey
-the orders he would put him in irons. He continuing obstinate, they put
-irons on his hands and placed him in the poop deck hatch, and gave him
-hard bread and water for food. He held out forty-eight hours in spite
-of the captain’s continual conversation with him; when leg irons were
-brought and were going on; then he humbly consented to obey the order
-and to behave well. The captain has since told me it was the only time
-that he ever confined a sailor, and he was inclined afterward to wish
-that he had been still more patient, trying to conquer the man by his
-usual method of moral suasion. “But,” said he, “it was the only direct
-refusal of duty which I ever had, and with such a dangerous crew I
-felt the necessity of showing decision.” I record it with my grateful
-acknowledgment that though this man was kept manacled in the lazareet,
-under my stateroom, I did not know when he was put there, nor was I
-aware of his crime and his punishment till several months after our
-arrival.--One other incident will complete the criminal record of the
-ship.
-
-
-SOME APPEARANCE OF MUTINY QUELLED.
-
-On the voyage from Manila to New York we had the only interruption to
-our peace. One day we were informed by the steward that some of the men
-had thrown their beef overboard; that they were excited; and he feared
-trouble. The captain made inquiry into the cause of disaffection, the
-ringleaders in it, the nature of their threats.
-
-He called them together on the main deck in the afternoon. All were
-there except the man at the wheel. They were dressed in their Sunday
-clothes; they stood round as men do when there is a strike. The
-passengers kept out of sight, but were within hearing. We had heard of
-mutinies; perhaps we were now to have some practical experience of them.
-
-The captain told them that the steward had informed him that they found
-fault with their beef. He believed that there may have been some reason
-for complaint; that a new barrel had been opened that morning; he
-believed that the first pieces had been exposed to the air, the brine
-having been absorbed since leaving New York; that the steward happened
-to give these pieces to them rather than to the cabin table, but there
-was no design in doing so; that had we had one of the pieces for
-dinner that day, we should no doubt have complained that it was not as
-fresh after coming round Cape Horn as it was on leaving Fulton Market;
-but we would not for this have abused the steward. Now as we were
-getting to the last tier of the beef barrels he should have to shorten
-their allowance a little, especially if they preferred to throw their
-beef overboard, which they might do if they pleased, but they would
-gain nothing by it; we were all in the same boat sharing alike. He had
-heard of some expressions being used which were not right; he hoped he
-was misinformed; they would find that so long as they showed themselves
-to be reasonable men they would have no just ground of complaint. They
-also knew what the consequences would be to any one who should make
-trouble.
-
-The men separated peacefully, making no more complaint; for we soon
-drew from deeper brine and the beef proved to be all right.
-
-Perhaps it was accidental, but the captain said that complaints
-against the grub had been most frequently made by some Irishmen in his
-different crews. Whether these offenders had been accustomed to the
-best of fare on shore, and so were less able to bear discomforts in sea
-life, or whether they were of a more jealous disposition than others
-from some natural cause in their temperament, he would not say, but he
-had found it more difficult to suit a man of this class in the matter
-of grub than others; the shillaleh was too ready to appear at a fancied
-attempt to get an advantage over him in his food. For quick witted,
-daring, nimble, nautical feats, none have surpassed Irish sailors. As
-quick as any one of his watch, you are sure to find an Irishman lying
-out on the yard arm as far as to the weather earring, in a gale.
-
-It is not right to lay hold of a few cases and impute certain classes
-of faults to men of one nation, as though these men were all of
-them specially addicted to that kind of transgression. There is no
-assignable reason, for example, why an Irishman, rather than a Swede,
-should be quick to find fault with his grub; if it has so happened
-that, as a captain told us, he never in a long course of years, had
-a disturbance in his crew about the grub but an Irishman was sure
-to be at the bottom of it; that even when in all other respects the
-Irishman was exemplary in his disposition, grub was sure to be a weak
-point with him; still we would prefer to hear the experience of others
-before we drew a conclusion unfavorable to a whole class of men in that
-particular.
-
-
-ON HAVING A FIN IN THE CREW.
-
-There is a singular superstition among some seamen that where there
-is a Fin in the crew, you may be sure of bad luck. Had we been
-superstitious, we might have augured ill for ourselves, because the
-first entry on our shipping list was of John Reholm, Finland. Now
-John Reholm was, as to behavior, blameless. He was short and stout,
-about forty-five years old, always ready to go aloft, good at mending
-old sails, quiet, always at Sabbath service, often betraying emotion,
-which was noticeable in his moistened eye, his quivering lip. I do
-not remember to have heard him speak a word, so that I doubt if he
-could speak English, except a few indispensable sentences, though he
-understood the spoken tongue. Yet when all hands were on deck in some
-exigency, you would be attracted by his readiness to lead off in that
-part of the work which called for a strong arm; he knew where to look
-for the corner of the sail which the wind had torn then twisted. On
-receiving at the wheel your salutation as you passed him, though his
-hands might both be needed to keep the wheel straight he would be sure
-to lift a hand to his cap, and acknowledge your attention. There was
-no bad luck about him. He went the round voyage with us. Would that I
-could hear of his welfare. If any one says a disparaging word about a
-Fin, the image of a saint among sailors rises to my thoughts in the
-person of John Reholm.
-
-
-ON PRAISING A CREW.
-
-Now that I am out of all danger of incurring the disapprobation of the
-mates, I am free to speak thus about a sailor, and I would be glad to
-say more. One Sabbath I spoke to the crew in terms of commendation.
-We were lying at anchor in Hong Kong harbor. In the night there were
-signs of a gale. One anchor only was down; the ship drifted, and we
-were afoul of an English bark. As the wind was still rising and we
-had lately had a typhoon, we were apprehensive of another. All hands
-in each vessel were at work, some aloft, clearing the rigging and
-fending off, and those below anxiously watching the growing snarl,
-contending with unequal strength against the chafing, and now and then
-the grinding action, of the vessel. From my window I could see and hear
-all that was going on, as we lay close to. The crews being strangers
-one to the other, many of them of different nationality, there was due
-deference paid to each other, courteous, kind expressions, regrets on
-the one side at running upon a neighbor, on the other the deprecation
-or the ready acceptance of apologies, the ‘don’t mention it,’ or, ‘we
-should have been foul of you, if the wind had been the other way.’
-After working hard from two o’clock till four, in the dark, we were
-clear of each other, and the spare anchor went down to hold us fast. No
-words of impatience met my ear during the whole work of disentangling
-the snarl. It came in my way to speak of this the next Sabbath. A
-few days after we were discussing the sailors, when one of the mates
-said to me, “I was afraid last Sabbath that you were going too far in
-praising them.” “Yes,” said the other, “I was on tenter hooks, till
-you got through.” I am ready to defer to the practical judgment of
-the mates, yet we may be too sparing of kind words, courteous tones,
-and praise, in our treatment of those whom we would impress with the
-feeling that they are under authority. It will not hurt any of us to
-have in mind the injunction of an old poet:
-
- “Praise, above all; for praise prevails;
- Heap up the measure, load the scales,
- And good to goodness add.
- The generous soul her Saviour aids,
- While peevish obloquy degrades;
- The Lord is great and glad.”
-
-
-THE POWER OF KINDNESS.
-
-Early in the passage to California the men were at work about the ropes
-on deck, when one of them was told to loosen a topgallant halyard which
-was foul. He laid hold of the wrong rope. The voice of upbraiding came
-from one of the oldest of the crew; “Have you been on board this ship
-a fortnight and don’t you know the topgallant halyard?” Another sailor
-answered, “O, Daniel is learning fast; he’ll come all right soon; trust
-him.” Daniel was evidently touched by this unexpected expression of
-kindness; he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand; but whether from
-perspiration or not I could not tell.
-
-
-THE BOY BEN AT THE WHEEL.
-
-In the straits of Lemaire, going round Cape Horn, we overtook and were
-likely to pass a British ship, wire rigged, a ship of fine style. The
-sea was rough; we were coming too near. The boy Ben was having his
-trick at the wheel. He was the youngest on board. The little fellow
-did his best to keep the ship from broaching to, but the sea was too
-strong for his young arms. I pitied Ben, for I knew how mortified he
-would be to have another supplant him; and he was ambitious of making
-good his standing as a sailor. Just then a kind voice called to him;
-“Ben, you are a good little steersman; you can steer as well as any of
-them most of the time; but just now the sea is getting up; we should
-like to pass that ship and not get too near her; one of the able bodied
-sailors ought to be at the helm; ring the bell and call Nelson to come
-and take the wheel.” Nelson came, and worked the ship so that she soon
-shot ahead. Ben left the wheel with the proud satisfaction that his
-efforts were appreciated and praised; that only Nelson could do better
-than he; and Nelson was twenty years his senior. The little incident
-made me also sensitive about the eyes. I would rather do such an act of
-kindness to a young man than outstrip a British clipper.
-
-
-ACCIDENT AND PRESERVATION.
-
-As I look back on the dangers of our way, and remember how many times
-by night and day, aloft and on deck, our men have been exposed to
-accident, I cannot refrain from recording my gratitude to the Preserver
-of men. One day all hands were around the mainmast hoisting a yard. I
-was standing with the captain near the wheel, when we heard a noise
-unlike anything which we ever heard on ship board. It lasted only two
-or three seconds, but was so peculiar that it was frightful. Was the
-ship grating over a sunken rock; had she opened a seam, and was the
-water pouring in? Going forward, the men were found standing silently
-over one of their number who was lying senseless on deck. One of the
-chain runners which hoists a yard twenty-five or thirty feet, had given
-way in one of its upper links, and the chain had come down through the
-block to the deck. This was the noise which alarmed us. In falling, the
-chain struck one of the men on the shoulder and he fell senseless. He
-was soon restored, but he was laid up a fortnight. Had the blow been
-upon his head, the weight of the chain made it probable that the hurt
-would have been more serious. This was the only accident which we had
-to record during the whole voyage.
-
-
-BIRD ON MIZZEN TOP GALLANT MAST.
-
-One afternoon about five o’clock, several weeks after we had “passed
-Anjer,” a bird as large as a heron came and sat for half an hour on a
-yard. We were several hundred miles from any land. The bird was not
-idle, for his frequent change of position, the motions of his head
-evidently helping his eye-sight, showed that his thoughts were busy
-about the next stage in his flight. He will go westward, I said to
-myself, keeping up as long as possible with the sun; but still he will
-spend the night somewhere on the waves. I watched him till he flew. To
-my surprise, instead of going toward the sun he flew eastward. I would
-have dissuaded him from such a decision, at least would have inquired
-by what train of thought he came to the conclusion that he would fly
-toward the night. On reflection it occurred to me that he took the
-most direct course toward the morning; by going in that direction he
-would meet the sun before we should see him. Perhaps instinct had
-taught him this lesson, and therefore he flew into the darkness as the
-speediest way to the morning. He “who maketh us wiser than the fowls
-of heaven” has given then an instinct before which ours is as nothing.
-Experience, the comparison of events, wisdom learned from mistakes,
-from sorrow, from loss, is ours, to guide us on our heavenward path.
-Improving by such experience we are “wiser than the fowls;” otherwise
-their instinct makes our folly more pitiable. As the bird flew from me
-toward the east, this train of thought arose:
-
-
-THE BIRD ON THE MIZZEN MAST.
-
-
-THE PASSENGER.
-
- Come! fly with the ship to the westerly ocean;
- See how the pathway is flooded with light;
- The east is beclouded, the waves in commotion;
- Darkness approaches; why tempt you the night?
-
-
-THE BIRD.
-
- I fly to the day break; I seek the sun rising;
- I brave the short darkness, I covet the day,
- And sooner than you I shall welcome the morning;
- Fare thee well, passenger! bid me not stay.
-
-
-THE PASSENGER.
-
- See how the driftweed is wandering seaward;
- Driven and scattered it soon will be lost;
- From billow to billow, benighted, unfriended,
- Companionless, weary, thus you will be tost.
-
-
-THE BIRD.
-
- I fly o’er the driftweed past Mozambique Channel,
- And Aden, and Mocha, Bassora, Bombay;
- The Tigris, Euphrates, the Indus, the Ganges,
- So please me, I joyfully leave on my way.
-
- You, later o’ertaken by darkness, then midnight,
- Will slumber long after the stars shall have paled;
- Adieu! to thee, passenger; eastward I travel;
- The morning! the morning! I first shall have hailed.
-
- I leave thee a blessing, with kind admonition:
- Never fear thou the sundown, and dread not the night;
- God can reveal to thee treasures of darkness;
- Then welcome the darkness; thrice welcome the light.
-
-
-THE BOAT’S CREW
-
-There were four young men, and one who was an occasional substitute,
-who served the six months that we were in Hong Kong harbor, and at
-other times, in rowing us ashore and in our visits to ships. Sometimes
-the service took several hours; the distance was now and then great.
-When we went ashore at Anjer we were rowed four miles; when we went
-to church we were each time absent from the boat on shore two hours;
-calls, shopping, business, made large drafts on their patience;
-for though our visits ashore gave them also opportunity to supply
-some wants as well as to gratify their curiosity, still there were
-unavoidable delays on our part which could not have been to the young
-crew always pleasant. In no instance did they manifest that they felt
-these visits to be irksome. In looking back upon their unwearied,
-prompt, always cheerful service, I feel that we owe them more than
-thanks; but I fear to write this lest I incur the disapprobation of
-some of the officers, who would be moved to tell me that the young
-men had as easy a time as though they had been tarring down, mending
-sails, scrubbing brass; that passengers must be careful how they praise
-sailors. This shall be remembered and duly practised on board ship; but
-on shore the names of Parslow, Twichell, Coffin, Ryder and Treadwell,
-will always be associated with happy hours. May the young men be
-successful master mariners, and while they are mates may they know how
-to mingle kind words with discipline.
-
-
-“HOLD THE REEL.”
-
-During the whole voyage from first to last, it was always exciting
-to hear the mate issue this summons. Generally, we knew by it that
-the ship was going at such a quickened speed that the mate wished to
-verify it by measurement. When the order was given, two of the boys
-came aft; one of them took from the locker the reel which had on it a
-line of several fathoms; the other held the glass. The end of the line
-which was thrown into the water had on it a wide piece of thin wood,
-triangular. The line was fastened to it through each of the angles, so
-that the piece of clapboard stood upright in the water, thus feeling
-the draft as the ship went on. The reel was held by the boy in both
-hands over his head to keep the line from running foul. Pieces of tape
-were tied into the line twenty-two and a half feet apart. The glass ran
-fourteen seconds. When it was empty the boy cried, “up;” and the mate
-knowing how many knots had passed through his hand in fourteen seconds,
-easily reckoned how many knots (or miles) an hour the ship was running.
-We never went over thirteen and a half; sometimes only two; and in a
-dead calm a reel could not have turned; our rate of motion would have
-been 0. Perhaps in a short time a breeze would be setting us forward,
-so that the mate would call out, “Hold the reel.”
-
-
-GALES OFF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
-
-It may have been fancy, but the gales at the Cape of Good Hope
-impressed me differently from those at Cape Horn. The latter place, and
-the associations with it, make one feel that there is more of a sub
-base in its winds and waters. There, two oceans form and go apart to
-either side of a continent; you are near the polar regions, the realms
-of snow and ice. You expect every manifestation of sublimity, but not
-of caprice; the awful forms of nature, grandeur with stillness; or,
-when storms are summoned, there is a heavy tread in their battalions.
-Off the Cape of Good Hope we had the impression that the wind was as
-fierce, its rate of motion perhaps greater, but we could not tremble
-before it as we did at Cape Horn. Two gales off the Cape of Good Hope
-gave us good specimens of the violent weather in that region. The sun
-was nearly out on each of the two days, but the wind, though not as
-fitful as in a typhoon, was as violent as in a typhoon gale in the
-China Seas. A British ship as large as ours was near us the whole of
-one day, so that we saw by the way in which the gale was serving her,
-how we probably appeared to our neighbor. At one time she seemed to be
-moored on a mountain top; in a few moments she was lost to sight, but
-this of course was owing as much to our depression and elevation as to
-hers. There was so much regularity in our motion that it awakened no
-fear. My daughters were captivated by the wildness of the scenery, but
-the roll of the ship was so great that it was not easy to keep upright;
-so the captain had pillows brought on deck, and by passing ropes around
-the passengers, and making them fast, the pillows and they were secure
-against the lee and the weather roll, and for a short time they kept
-their lookout. That the scene was less terrific than corresponding
-tempests at Cape Horn was owing in part to our having more experience
-on reaching the eastern continent, but mostly, as it seemed to me, to
-the more awful grandeur of the Cape Horn region.
-
-
-WERE WE NEVER AFRAID AT SEA?
-
-I will begin by relating an incident in the sea-faring experience of
-Dr. Lyman Beecher, who preached in my pulpit one Sabbath soon after
-returning from England, and related this incident, using it to enforce
-the text: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God,
-through our Lord Jesus Christ.” He said that while a storm was raging,
-he heard a lady enter a room adjoining his and address some one in
-these words: “Mary, how can you be sitting there in your rocking-chair,
-as though nothing was going to happen? Do you know that we may all be
-at the bottom of the sea in five minutes? Stir about and do something.
-Pray do not sit there rocking and singing.”
-
-He recognized the voice as that of an English lady who was on her way
-to Canada, her husband connected with the government. Mary was her
-serving maid.
-
-Mary said, “Please, madam, I have done everything which you told me to
-do; is there anything else which you think of?”
-
-“No,” said the lady, “but I cannot bear to see you so peaceful, humming
-your tunes when the ship is breaking up.”
-
-“The men have done all they can to save themselves and us,” said Mary,
-“and I see nothing to do but pray and wait.”
-
-“‘Pray and wait,’” said her mistress, “on the point of going down! I
-am raving distracted, and you are as calm as a clock. Why don’t you
-scream, and show some feeling, and not sit there like a statue?”
-
-“What good would it do to scream?” said Mary. “God can hear us whisper;
-He is looking on the ship and on each of us, and He hears every
-petition.”
-
-“Oh,” said the lady, “I would give the world to feel so. But it is too
-late to pray. I cannot think; I shall die crazy.”
-
-Mary said, “When the storm began I was reading in the fifth of Romans:
-‘Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through
-our Lord Jesus Christ.’ I felt calm; my peace is made with God through
-Christ; that text keeps me from screaming. If I die, I shall go to God,
-for Christ has made peace for me with Him.”
-
-With such words Mary composed the agitated mind of her mistress; when
-suddenly the sun broke through the clouds, and though the waves were
-fearfully tempestuous, the ship rode them safely; Mary’s Saviour had
-said to them, “Peace, be still.”
-
-If there were hours when we might have been made afraid, it was not in
-gales, nor in the raging of the sea; but in some peaceful, moonlight
-night, when everything was beautiful to the eye, we saw that we might
-have reason to tremble. If the insidious current should take the ship
-and prevent her from passing a certain headland, we might be stranded
-on a desolate coast and see the ship piled up, a helpless thing,
-in the sands, and ourselves left to the horrors of want. We would
-be passing a forlorn place in the China seas, for example, and the
-current might prove more than the wind could overcome; we might be
-swept round a point where we heard the surf roar on the beach, and it
-might depend on a favorable change of wind in a few moments whether we
-should drift into deep water and go round another point, or whether
-that spot was to be the graveyard of our noble vessel. At such moments
-life re-appears to you with its long-forgotten passages, and the future
-seems filled with pictures of woe, such, perhaps, as you had never
-seen, even in dreams. At times like these, you have experience of
-the special care of God, are made to feel the practical value of the
-doctrine of a particular providence, you receive instruction in the
-nature of prayer, learn more lessons in faith than years of ordinary
-experience can furnish, and deep convictions of the privilege and duty
-of childlike confidence in the Almighty, such that you are persuaded
-a thousand temptations to unbelief cannot overcome.--them. There are
-paradoxes in one’s feelings in times of imminent danger. It is easy
-at these moments, strange as it may seem, to forget your own possible
-loss and sorrow, and lose yourself in thinking of your ship, of which
-you may have felt so proud, and which, having borne you half round the
-globe, must, perhaps, now bury her stem or stern ignobly in the sand,
-all her rich panelwork being made of no account by the waves breaking
-ruthlessly in through the rent sides, the spars and sails left free to
-be the sport of the tempest, and soon her freight melting away in the
-surge. You feel that you would sacrifice anything short of life itself,
-to prevent such disaster. And when suddenly the wind comes round the
-headland, and you find that you have met a favorable breeze, and the
-ship goes safely again on her way, you wonder at yourself, perhaps, for
-rejoicing in her deliverance equally with your own, and you fall to
-repeating passages of the hundred and seventh Psalm, with thanksgiving.
-
-
-THE RUDDER.
-
-The rudder affords a constant fund of interest when the ship is at her
-full speed. The parting and closing water makes incessant forms of
-beauty; you may hang over the counter and look down into the wake for
-a long time, and not be weary. The swift rush of the water to close
-up the furrow made by the keel keeps attention awake: the graceful
-sinking of the stern in alternation with the bows, bringing you down
-to a level with the waves, then far above them, brings apprehension
-enough with it to make a novice question why he has never heard people
-who have seen it describe their pleasure. When night has set in and the
-phosphoresence happens to be abundant, kaleidoscopes never revealed
-such wonders to the eye.
-
-
-RETROSPECT OF RELIGIOUS SERVICES AT SEA.
-
-We had religious services every Sabbath morning, when the weather
-allowed, at nine o’clock. Almost all hands would attend, it being left
-optional with them. On the way from the Sandwich Islands to China, in
-the trade-wind region, we had the service on deck. No preacher ever
-enjoyed the sight which met his eye in the objects around his pulpit
-more than those which were seen from that place of worship. Immediately
-around the speaker were twenty-five sailors, well dressed, wakeful,
-well behaved; an awning was over them; their singing was animating;
-the beauty of the ocean scenery, the sight of distant vessels, the
-sound of the water as the ship went through it, contributed to the
-enjoyment of the Sabbath stillness, which seemed to have at sea as
-on land a hush unlike the week-days. While natural scenery cannot
-inspire the heart with spiritual emotions, yet when these exist they
-are sometimes assisted in their peaceful, elevating power over us by
-a contemplation of such a prospect as we had on that deck in those
-Sabbath hours.--We had in all about seventy men and boys who sailed
-with us. The most of these placed themselves under religious influences
-while on board; now they are scattered like the driftweed which went by
-us; but in the different vessels in which they now sail they may feel
-the power of some good impressions which they received; for not only on
-the Sabbath, but in the weekly Bible-class, they were affectionately
-exhorted by their captain, who added to his spiritual efforts for them
-kind instruction in morals, useful information on subjects relating to
-their calling, and to the younger portion of them lessons in navigation
-and practical seamanship. In the libraries there was a good mixture of
-secular books.
-
-Most of the sailors showed by contrast the value of early education
-in furnishing the mind with religious ideas as well as the letter of
-scriptural knowledge. It is doubtful whether “George,” at his time of
-life, can succeed in solving that great mystery “how an ‘elephant’
-can go through the eye of a needle;” though had he begun in youth he
-might have received instruction which would have at least reduced the
-elephant to a camel. Some sailors like him awaken affection for them
-which it is pleasant to cherish. But the sea-birds are hardly more
-vagrant now than they.
-
-
-DROPPING ANCHOR FOR THE LAST TIME.
-
-May 16, at 11, A. M., we took a pilot off New York, and at 9, P. M.,
-dropped anchor, having been gone nearly nineteen months, and, including
-our excursions from Hong Kong, having sailed forty-two thousand miles.
-All this time no sickness, accident, loss, nor painful delay had
-occurred to us. Our only regret was that the voyage had come to an end.
-
- * * * * *
-
-In looking back upon it and recalling pleasurable seasons, those which
-most readily recur to me, (and let not the threefold mention of it
-seem obtrusive,) are, Morning hours on deck alone with a Bible. I
-only repeat the experience of every one who loves the Word of God.
-The mind freed from care sees in the Bible at such times meanings
-which grammars and lexicons never can impart. Nature might reveal
-things most wonderful at such a place as Singapore; but in a psalm
-read in the silence of the sea, there would often appear marvellous
-things in the language of Scripture, in its simple incidents, in the
-characters portrayed or acting themselves out unconsciously in their
-trials and joys, which would create an interest never excited by the
-plumage of East-India birds, or coral branches, or curiously twisted
-and beautifully enamelled shells, or by the marvellous light on insects
-and creeping things, or by precious stones, and pearls, and fine
-linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine-wood, and
-cinamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense. I cannot forget
-the impressions made upon me by reading connectedly all the experiences
-and the language of the prophet Jeremiah. They were like the strange
-constellations which rise to view in low latitudes. I have felt among
-the wonderful things of God the truth of that inspired declaration,
-“Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
-
-On reaching home, it was deeply interesting to find, at sick-beds,
-in stricken households, and in circles where the goodness of God had
-filled pious hearts with thankfulness, that one need not travel to be
-filled with all the fulness of God. “Neither is it beyond the sea, that
-thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to
-us, that we may hear it and do it?” I found that some who had not left
-home for two years but had toiled in shops, and counting-rooms, and
-laboratories, and domestic life, had been increased with the increase
-of God.
-
-It is easier to go round the world than through it. But in going
-through it we are tempted to think perhaps that in solitude with its
-retirement, we can have more of God’s presence than in the busy scenes
-of life. This led me at the close of our voyage, going back with
-restored health to busy scenes, to resolve that I would endeavor to
-guard against the feeling that there are places or conditions to which
-God’s presence is confined. Not in the solitudes of ocean, nor in rural
-scenes, “neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem,” need we be, to
-enjoy communion with God.
-
-
-IN DOCK.
-
-We left the Golden Fleece in a very narrow dock at Brooklyn, N. Y. It
-seemed humiliating to the noble ship to be warped among sloops and
-schooners into her berth; she appeared to be submitting to it as a
-strong man disabled and sick yields passively to nurses. The sailors,
-all who had not sprung ashore five minutes after the ship was docked,
-stood looking at us over the rails, some of them leaning on an arm,
-some resting their chins on the rails, after we had shaken hands with
-them, with a long farewell.
-
-
-FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON REACHING LAND.
-
-It was a pleasant morning in spring when we set out in the cars from
-New York to Boston. Having been a hundred and sixteen days on the water
-since leaving Manila, we were prepared to appreciate the solid earth.
-The privilege of walking and not coming to the ship’s rail every few
-minutes, was vividly felt. I hardly enjoyed anything in detail, when
-first on land again; every thing was absorbed in the one consciousness
-of being on the solid earth. “Then are they glad because they be
-quiet,” says the sacred penman, describing the sailors’ feelings, on
-reaching shore.
-
-It was a windy day when we reached Boston. Clouds of dust filled the
-streets. It was not so at sea. It occurred to me, How do these people
-endure such discomfort? It seemed to me that they must find sufficient
-comforts on land, notwithstanding the dust, to make existence
-tolerable. I soon found that there are things to be enjoyed on land as
-well as at sea.
-
-Language fails me in attempting to describe the experience of arriving
-home and of being at home, after an absence of nineteen months on ship
-board. We are willing, too willing, perhaps, to fancy resemblances in
-earthly occurrences to possible scenes of terror hereafter; but let us
-make our joyful experiences foretokens of heavenly bliss.
-
-
-SUBSEQUENT EXPERIENCE OF OUR SHIP.
-
-It had a powerful effect upon our company to hear that shortly after
-our safe arrival, laden with such experience of the divine goodness,
-a singular calamity happened to the ship. She came round to Boston in
-charge of the first officer, the captain having concluded to retire
-from the sea. She loaded with ice, and sailed for Bombay. In a few
-days after leaving port, fire was discovered in her lower hold,
-ascribed to a spark from a cigar or pipe, while loading. She put into
-Halifax, where fire engines nearly filled her with water. After a long
-detention at Boston for repairs, she went to sea. We were made to feel
-that our safety through our long voyage and our happy arrival were not
-accidents; we recalled moments when a slight change in our affairs
-would have been followed with disaster; it was sealed afresh upon our
-hearts that we were under obligation to the providential care of God
-never to be forgotten, always to be mentioned with humbleness of mind,
-with thanksgiving and praise.
-
-
-NELSON, OUR STEERSMAN, DROWNED.
-
-We were grieved to hear that Nelson, whom I have more than once
-referred to as an able helmsman, fell from a boat in the harbor of
-New York a short time after we arrived, and was drowned. The report
-which we received of the event conveyed an intimation that he had been
-drinking too freely. He certainly had marks of genius, showing itself
-in the way in which he made the ship toss the waves from the bows. It
-was a pleasure, when he was steering, to go forward and climb into
-the knight heads, and lean over and feel by the way in which the ship
-went through the water that Nelson was driving her. To be there was
-as pleasurable as it ever can be to any one to sit by the side of Mr.
-Bonner, with a cigar in one’s mouth, while he is driving “Fashion.” A
-great swell coming toward you, looking every moment as though it would
-overflow the deck, Nelson sees, draws in his nigh rein, runs the ship
-into it as though he would say, Why leap ye, ye high hills? for now
-he is on the top of one of them and not a drop has reached the deck;
-though they are the mighty waves of the sea he seems to sport with
-them. He fell by strong drink; the great wave overtook him which has
-engulphed so many; he died ignobly in smooth water, not in battle, hand
-to hand with a tempest.
-
-
-LUXURY OF SEEING A SNOW-STORM.
-
-Much as I had enjoyed in different climes among the Creator’s works,
-I remember that when the first fall of snow came after my arrival, it
-seemed to me that I had not witnessed anything abroad so beautiful. I
-had not seen snow for two years. I was in the country, and I walked two
-hours, enjoying what seemed to me a most charming meteoric phenomenon,
-a snow-storm. In deference to custom I took an umbrella with me, and I
-felt it proper to open it, but as it hid the falling snow from my view,
-I shut it. I wondered if people were unhappy from any cause, who lived
-where they could see the snow crystals forming and alighting around
-them.
-
-Here let me abruptly close, else I shall more than confirm the general
-belief to which the preceding narrative may have given confirmation,
-that there is a fatal power in sea-faring experience to amplify
-one’s experience beyond due limit. I will only add my thanks to the
-benevolent reader for his companionship while attending to this
-narration, wishing him, after a prosperous voyage through life, a safe
-arrival at his home on high.
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES
-
-
-[1] _Crojick_, alias crossjack; a large square sail which hangs from
-the mizzen mast. When the wind is aft the crojick “robs” the main
-sail and therefore is not in constant use; while in some ships it is
-rejected.
-
-[2] The following is from English “Notes and Queries”. “Feb. 15, lat.
-22, 54, long. 55, 28. At 11.50 saw the ‘Southern Cross’ for the first
-time. This was the only commission you gave to me, and I execute it as
-a matter of business.” It may not be of any practical use to say that
-Dec. 6th we first saw it, when it was rising, in lat. 34. 10 S., long.
-50. 6 W.
-
-[3] In Lieut Maury’s Geography of the Sea, a most useful book, may be
-found a satisfactory account of the Trade Winds.
-
-[4] Crew of the Golden Fleece, from New York to San Francisco, Oct. 26,
-1869–Feb. 12, 1870.
-
-
-MATES.
-
- Isaiah Bray, Yarmouth, Mass.
- Chas. H. Field, Providence, R. I.
-
-
-BOATSWAINS.
-
- John Williams, Baltimore, Md.
- James Ryan, New Jersey.
-
-
-SEAMEN.
-
- John Reholm, Finland.
- Harvey Robson, Norway.
- J. H. Erlandf, Norway.
- Alvin W. Robbins, Nova Scotia.
- G. Parslow, Poughkeepsie.
- Tom Fox, Prussia.
- A. Fox, Germany.
- Charles Smith, New York.
- George Andrews, Scotland.
- C. T. J. Coombs, Maine.
- Niel Thompson, Denmark.
- William Divern, Antwerp.
- Randolph P. Delancey, N. H.
- Charles Johnson, Sweden.
- Carl Helen, Sweden.
- John Miller, Sweden.
- Ferdinand Ryder, N. Y. (City.)
- G. G. Marschalk, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- W. J. Douglas, Washington.
- Willie H. Treadwell, Auburndale, Mass.
- James C. Chase, Vermont.
- Robert Galloway, San Francisco.
-
-
-CARPENTER.
-
- Samuel Adams, St. Johns, N. B.
-
-
-STEWARD.
-
- Pedro Cardozo.
-
-
-STEWARDESS.
-
- Anna Cardozo.
-
-SUMMARY.--2 mates, 2 boatswains, 23 men and boys, 1 carpenter, 1
-steward, 1 stewardess. Total, 29.
-
-N. B. Sometimes the names of seamen are fictitious, for various
-reasons; one, to prevent pain to friends should their real names be
-published if the men are lost.
-
-[5] It was gratifying that the Sabbath after we arrived at San
-Francisco, the crew attended public worship together at the Mariner’s
-Church, filling several contiguous pews. In a week or two the most of
-them had shipped on voyages to different sections of the globe.
-
-[6] Length of passages by merchant vessels from New York to San
-Francisco since May 1, 1870, to Feb. 12, 1871.
-
- NAME OF VESSEL. DAYS.
-
- Pactolus. 147
- Bridgewater. 149
- Thacher Magoun. 166
- Galatea. 134
- Orion. 215
- Imperial. 145
- Jeremiah Thompson. 122
- Great Admiral. 121
- Ellen Austin. 134
- Carolus Magnus. 172
- Ericson. 137
- Arkwright. 165
- Kingfisher. 135
- Anahuac. 139
- St. James. 162
- Ontario. 158
- Huguenot. 153
- Gold Hunter. 167
- Chieftain. 160
- Eldorado. 148
- Fleetford. 161
- Alaska. 137
- James R. Keeler. 147
- Charger. 127
- Dexter. 163
- Daniel Marcy. 165
- Horatio Harris. 165
- Hoogly. 150
- John Bright. 147
- Blue Jacket. 146
- S. G. Reed. 137
- Asa Eldridge. 134
- Freeman Clark. 147
- Young America. 122
- Emerald Isle. 127
- Golden Fleece. 111
-
-
-[7] I may as well give here all the lines of the “old tar,” relating to
-the shipwreck:--
-
- No more the geese shall cackle o’er the poop;
- No more the bagpipe through the orlop sound;
- No more the midshipmen, a jovial group,
- Shall toast the girls, and push the bottle round.
-
- In death’s dark road at anchor fast they stay,
- Till Heaven’s loud signal shall in thunder roar;
- Then, starting up, all hands shall quick obey;
- Sheet home the topsail, and with speed unmoor.
-
-
-[8] Common word for “is.”
-
-[9] Pastures.
-
-[10] Pastures.
-
-[11] Me.
-
-[12] Considering I am his only child.
-
-[13] That great mandarin.
-
-[14] In a little time.
-
-[15] Providence (Joss) provides what my father would not.
-
-[16] That band.
-
-[17] Robber.
-
-[18] Very fierce; chop chop:--quick.
-
-[19] My eye alone watched that robber.
-
-[20] Could not rally any friends.
-
-[21] Two of us soon caught up with him.
-
-[22] We beat him, largely.
-
-[23] Before he had time to shoot.
-
-[24] I am very strong.
-
-[25] Took his clothes; (galo: an exclamation.)
-
-[26] I hear you have war.
-
-[27] “Never mind,” a Portuguese exclamation.
-
-[28] Providence led my way hither--N. B. The Chinese do not pronounce
-the letter r; for “run,” they say “lun.”
-
-[29] That night-time drew on fast.
-
-[30] That night-time drew on fast.
-
-[31] No matter for the cold.
-
-[32] He had a flag which was very curious.
-
-[33] Sorry.
-
-[34] Each of his eyes.
-
-[35] The same as “mine.”
-
-[36] Strong.
-
-[37] Very curious.
-
-[38] Every room.
-
-[39] Cry.
-
-[40] Old man said to him.
-
-[41] Rain.
-
-[42] I.
-
-[43] Stop.
-
-[44] A Girl said to him.
-
-[45] He earnestly answered.
-
-[46] All the time he kept on walking.
-
-[47] Withered tree.
-
-[48] He would not stop.
-
-[49] That peasant bid him good-night.
-
-[50] The religious man.
-
-[51] Soon.
-
-[52] Religious address.
-
-[53] He heard a voice.
-
-[54] Had to meet death.
-
-[55] With difficulty found him.
-
-[56] Very cold.
-
-[57] The same flag with its curious device.
-
-[58] Chop is brand, stamp, quality; e. g. first chop.
-
-[59] After my return I was preaching, August 27th, at the
-Congregational Church in Arlington, Mass., when I used the Typhoon to
-illustrate the safety of those who trust in God. During intermission I
-was impressed by the action of the branches of the willow trees in the
-wind, and said, If we were in China I should judge that we were about
-to have a typhoon. It was a clear day. The wind was not very strong,
-but fitful gusts would lift the long boughs of the willows almost to a
-perpendicular. That night something resembling a typhoon passed over
-the town, bringing down the steeple of the Congregational Church, with
-the bell, through the roof, with very serious damage to that building
-and others. Had the typhoon come upon us during the hours of morning
-service, the illustration in the sermon might have been superseded by
-the thing itself. In viewing some of the effects of the wind I was
-forcibly reminded of its action as a Typhoon in China.
-
-[60] George H. Peirce, Esq.
-
-[61] The Faery Queene, B. 10, c. 2. 1.
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber’s Notes
-
-
-Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
-predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
-were not changed.
-
-Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
-marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
-unbalanced.
-
-Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs
-and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support
-hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to
-the corresponding illustrations.
-
-In the original book, footnotes appeared at the bottoms of pages;
-here, they have been collected, renumbered into one ascending
-sequence, and placed at the end of the book.
-
-Page 27: The original book used ditto marks to indicate repetition of
-the _Solo_ lines in the poem. Here, “(twice)” is used each time.
-
-Pages 240-247: The English and Pidgin-English versions were printed
-on facing pages in the original book. Here, they are printed
-consecutively. In the second specimen, the English version contains
-nine stanzas, but the Pidgin-English version contains only eight.
-
-Page 331: “unbelief cannot overcome.--them.” was printed that way.
-
-Page 335: “vagrant now than they” is the end of the paragraph, but
-had no ending period. Transcriber added one, but the missing period
-suggests the possibility of missing text.
-
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-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Under the mizzen mast, by N. Adams</p>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
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-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Under the mizzen mast</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A voyage round the world</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: N. Adams</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: October 21, 2022 [eBook #69192]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
- <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Hulse, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE MIZZEN MAST ***</div>
-
-<div class="transnote">
-<p class="center larger">Transcriber’s Note</p>
-
-<p>Larger versions of most illustrations may be seen by right-clicking them
-and selecting an option to view them separately, or by double-tapping and/or
-stretching them.</p>
-
-<p class="covernote">Cover image created by Transcriber, using an illustration
-from the original book, and placed into the Public Domain.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div id="il_1" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;">
- <img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="800" height="1280" alt="original cover"></div>
-</div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div id="il_2" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 37em;">
- <img src="images/i_000.jpg" width="1180" height="906" alt="">
- <div class="caption">THE GOLDEN FLEECE.</div></div>
-</div>
-
-<div class="chapter"><div class="center">
-<h1>Under the Mizzen Mast;<br>
-
-<span class="subhead">A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.</span></h1>
-
-<p class="p4 gesperrt sans">BY N. ADAMS, D. D.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 larger wspace">A NEW EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 large vspace wspace">BOSTON:<br>
-<span class="smaller">PUBLISHED BY HENRY HOYT,<br>
-<span class="smcap smaller">No. 9 Cornhill</span>.</span>
-</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<p class="newpage p4">
-Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by<br>
-HENRY HOYT,<br>
-In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
-</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div id="il_3" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;">
- <img src="images/i_003.png" width="760" height="1308" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p class="p1 large">
-<i>To my youngest son</i>,<br>
-
-<span class="larger bold">Robert Chamblet Adams,</span><br>
-
-<i>formerly<br>
-Captain<br>
-of Ship<br>
-Golden<br>
-Fleece,<br>
-by whose<br>
-skilful<br>
-navigation<br>
-and<br>
-filial love<br>
-this voyage<br>
-was<br>
-a source<br>
-of benefit<br>
-and will<br>
-be the occasion<br>
-of<br>
-continual<br>
-gratitude<br>
-to<br>
-God</i>,<br>
-
-<i>This volume is inscribed as a Memorial, with his Father’s love</i>.
-</p></div></div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="Preface_to_the_First_Edition">Preface to the First Edition.</h2>
-
-<p>A narrative of this voyage was prepared for the ‘Congregationalist’
-at the request of the editors, and appeared
-in successive numbers of that paper. On application of the
-present publisher for leave to issue it in a volume, it has
-assumed the form in which it now appears, revised and
-enlarged. The manner in which it originated explains its
-miscellaneous and somewhat desultory character.</p>
-
-<hr class="narrow">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="Preface_to_the_Second_Edition">Preface to the Second Edition.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p>So much interest in this narrative has been expressed
-that the author has been led to insert in a new edition
-things which it would have contained in the first, had the
-design been to give more than a brief sketch of the voyage.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak gesperrt" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<table id="toc">
-<tr>
- <td class="tdc chap" colspan="2">I.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Outward Bound</span>,</td>
- <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_9">9–80</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdc chap" colspan="2">II.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Cape Horn</span>,</td>
- <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_81">81–154</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdc chap" colspan="2">III.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">California—The Sandwich Islands—Hong Kong</span>,</td>
- <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_155">155–195</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdc chap" colspan="2">IV.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Canton—Shanghai—Singapore—Macao</span>,</td>
- <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_196">196–259</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdc chap" colspan="2">V.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Manilla—Homeward Bound</span>,</td>
- <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_260">260–345</a></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="UNDER_THE_MIZZEN_MAST"><span class="larger">UNDER THE MIZZEN MAST.</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="toclink_9">I.<br>
-
-<span class="subhead">OUTWARD BOUND.</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">He travels, and I too; I tread his deck,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Ascend his topmast; through his peering eyes</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Discover countries; with a kindred heart</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Suffer his woes, and share in his escapes;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">While Fancy, like the finger of a clock,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="attrib"><span class="smcap">Cowper.</span></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div>
- <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i_009.png" width="412" height="581" alt="T">
-</div>
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap large">There</span> are so many running to and
-fro, and knowledge is thereby so increased,
-that I doubted, at first, if
-my friends did well to ask me to write for
-publication an account of my voyage. But
-I considered that impressions made on every<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span>
-new observer add something to the already
-large information of intelligent readers, besides
-reviving agreeable recollections. The
-thought that I may suggest to some friend
-in need of long rest one means of finding
-it, or encourage him to adopt it, leads me
-to give, as requested, the following narrative.</p>
-
-<p>The writer, having been ill in the early
-part of 1869, was advised by physicians and
-friends to try the effect of foreign travel;
-but in what direction it was difficult to decide.
-With every suggestion of experienced
-friends there would arise some association
-of fatigue in sight-seeing, of monotony in
-resting long in one place. Pleasant as it
-would be to nestle in some quiet nook in
-Switzerland, or to take up an abode in one
-of the Channel Islands,—Alderney, for example,
-where there would be much to gratify
-curiosity, and where the distance from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span>
-centres of information would not be great,—the
-thought of being confined to one place
-or even district of country, or of being
-tempted to visit interesting scenes, and especially
-to make the acquaintance of interesting
-men, awakened such anticipations of
-labor as to forbid any hope of restoration
-from that source.</p>
-
-<p>A son of the writer was compelled in
-youth, by ill-health, to leave his studies and
-go to sea. In the fall of 1869 he received
-command of a commodious ship, the “Golden
-Fleece,” which sailed in October of that
-year for San Francisco, Hong Kong, and
-Manila. By the kindness of Messrs. William
-F. Weld &amp; Co., the writer and two
-members of his family accompanied him as
-passengers.</p>
-
-<p>Many were the questions to which these
-passengers required answers previous to their
-embarkation on so long a voyage. The gale<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span>
-of September, 1869, which levelled our Boston
-Coliseum, and damaged so many steeples,
-and made such havoc among poplars and
-other trees whose roots run near the surface,
-led to the inquiry, What were the ordinary
-chances of such gales at sea? This question
-was answered by producing the log-book of
-a recent voyage from Mexico, in which it
-appeared that the weather, day after day,
-was so free from any cause for fear that the
-impression was allowed to gain strength that
-storms were an exception in sea-faring life.
-As to the gale just mentioned, it seemed
-safer to be at sea at such a time, with sea-room,
-than under roofs and chimneys, or in
-streets.</p>
-
-<p>October 28, 1869, the ship Golden Fleece
-left Pier No. 12, East River, New York,
-in charge of a tug, and dropped anchor
-in the stream until the next morning. Members
-of our family circle went with us<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span>
-till we came to anchor, when they went
-over the side into the tug, where one of
-them took a sketch of us with her pencil,
-completing a sketch already taken of our
-cabin and staterooms for friends at home.
-We finally saw them reach the wharf, when
-we ceased waving our adieus and repaired
-to the cabin to put ourselves in sea trim.</p>
-
-<p>The sailors were in good condition. The
-Shipping Master who brought them on
-board, had told them that the Golden Fleece
-was a religious ship; no swearing or fighting
-is allowed; a minister is among the passengers;
-the captain is kind and would
-treat them well. He had collected a good
-set of men; and when they stood on the
-lower deck and the shipping master called
-their names and checked them on the capstan,
-it seemed to me that I had never seen
-so many good faces among so many sailors.
-None came on board intoxicated, but this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span>
-was not strange seeing it was but the third
-hour of the day.</p>
-
-<p>We weighed anchor at six o’clock the next
-morning. The pilot had charge and took us
-down to Sandy Hook. We heard bells on
-shore at Staten Island and supposed that
-they were ringing for church.</p>
-
-<p>We saw the pilot boat coming for the
-pilot at noon. It took him from us, and we
-began our voyage. The hills of Neversink
-alone remained to remind us for a short time
-of home and country. Twenty or thirty
-sail started with us, but our good ship took
-the lead and kept it.</p>
-
-<p>After dinner the two mates gathered the
-men on the main deck to divide them into
-watches. They were unknown to the mates
-by name, but as each chose a man he pointed
-to him. Being divided, they repaired to
-their bunks and changed from one side of
-the forecastle to the other according as they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span>
-found themselves in either watch. It was
-touching to see them, each with all his
-worldly goods in his arms passing each other
-to their respective berths.</p>
-
-<p>In two days after leaving New York we
-were in the Gulf Stream. We sailed through
-leagues of herbage which was borne from
-the shores by the Stream, and like us was
-going to sea. The ship rolled; and soon the
-wind freshened and we were in a gale. We
-had our first sight of “mountain waves,” so
-called; but they needed some imagination
-and a little fear to make them mountainous.
-They were enough however to make us
-uncomfortable. The gale lasted two days.
-We took the impression that such was to be
-the ordinary experience in the voyage,—discomfort
-and tediousness. But we were
-happy to find that it was not so; for, during
-the whole voyage, there were very few such
-experiences,—so infrequent, indeed, as to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span>
-excite surprise when they came. The morning
-after the gale the weather was fine.
-Going on deck, we found that we had exchanged
-the sharp air of the latter part of
-October in New England for the temperature
-of the early part of June.</p>
-
-<p>Soon we were in the Tropic of Cancer. It
-seemed like a new world. Never before had
-we looked upon such a sky. There was no
-stratification in the clouds, and nothing of
-the cumulus formation; but the surface of
-the sky was composed of innumerable fleecy
-things moving in the gentlest manner, as
-though they feared to disturb slumber. The
-gentle motion was just the thing to induce
-sleep. As we thought of the turbulent
-state of the elements the day before, the sky
-now looked like an army which had been
-dismissed. It seemed as though there was
-not wind enough to form a large cloud.
-The hammock was made fast, one end of it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span>
-to an iron belaying-pin in the saddle of the
-mizzen mast, in the shade of the spanker,
-and the other end to the rail. A hammock
-meets you at every point with the needed
-support. It brought strange sensations of
-rest to lie and listen to the plashing of the
-water against the sides of the ship. The
-measured roll of the vessel now was pleasurable.
-There was an easy swing to the hammock,
-as though a considerate hand were
-keeping it moving. How much better this
-rest and peace than travelling in Switzerland,
-or being pent up in the Azores, or
-wandering through Italy, if one needs rest
-and at the same time change of place! To
-an overworked brain here is seclusion indeed.
-There is here no post-office, with its delivery
-three times a day, so welcome on shore; no
-newspapers; no door bell; no agents soliciting
-attention to new works, and begging you
-to put your name down and accept a copy, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span>
-though you had subscribed; no succession
-of engagements;</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“No cares to break the long repose;”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">no crowd of passengers, nor daily calculation
-as to the day of arrival; nor jar of
-machinery, as in a steamboat, making you
-feel, day and night, that somebody is laboriously
-at work; and, to crown all, seemingly
-no end to your vacation.</p>
-
-<p>But those clouds in the tropics! You had
-thought, perhaps, heretofore, that only at
-night the heavens declare the glory of God.
-Perhaps you find that the book which you
-brought on deck to read, but which you have
-no desire to open, may have in it a fly-leaf,
-on which, as you lie in the hammock, with
-one knee raised for a writing-table, you may
-indite these dreamy <span class="locked">lines:—</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span></p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">THE CLOUDS IN THE TROPICS.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Did we not think o’er ocean’s restless plain</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To see embattled hosts, and feel the affray?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But lo! a truce is here, and gala-day;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Nor lines of march, nor rank and file remain.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The fleecy clouds move o’er the tranquil plain,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And fling their trade-wind signals to the breeze,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To Capricorn from Cancer, realm of peace!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">They seek no martial order to regain,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But take some fancied likeness, one by one,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Or shape themselves in wizard groups of things;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No haste, nor deep designs, no jostling crowds.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The hosts are going home, their service done.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">What sense of power the wide-spread quiet brings!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">In calms or storms “His strength is in the clouds.”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The meteorology in the latter part of the
-Book of Job stood in no need of modern
-science to captivate the hearts of the worshippers
-of the true God. “Dost thou know
-the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous
-works of Him which is perfect in knowledge?”</p>
-
-<p>The charm of sea-life in a sailing-vessel I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span>
-found to be constant occupation of the mind
-without wearying it. At first it seemed a
-duty to read the periodicals which we
-brought with us, the new books reserved for
-the voyage, the choice articles in the quarterlies
-which had been commended to us. But
-for these we found no time. What charm
-could there be in Dante when a school of
-porpoises was in sight, each of them leaping
-out of water just for the pleasure of the
-dive back? If the mate called down the
-companion-way, “A sail on the lee-bow!”
-the paper-folder must keep the place in the
-uncut volume till you know all about her.
-It would be tedious waiting at a corner of a
-street ten minutes for a horse-car; but it was
-pleasant to wait an hour and forty minutes
-to come up with the stranger ahead, gaining
-upon her all the time, meanwhile watching
-the flying-fish which the ship started on the
-wing, or going forward into the bows and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span>
-looking over to see the ship dash through the
-waves, with “a bone in her mouth,” till
-suddenly the main topgallant-sail splits, and
-so fulfills the expectation expressed for the
-last five days that it could not long survive;
-and now, as it is the change of watch,
-and all hands are on deck, what could be
-more interesting than to see twenty-eight of
-them take in the old sail and bend the new
-one, then line the side of the ship with their
-curious faces to inspect the bark which we
-have now overtaken. She is the “Doon of
-Ayr,” one hundred and six days from Japan
-for New York, and as she was tacking we
-came so near that one might throw a biscuit
-on board. The captains of the bark and the
-ship had time for a few words of inquiry and
-information; then the two wanderers on the
-deep parted company, and watched each
-other for half an hour, and sighted each
-other, no doubt, occasionally, for an hour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span>
-and a half, till each became to the other a
-speck. You have long ago forgotten your
-book, your journal, and magazine. This
-event, and its many interludes, are more
-interesting to you than a battle in Lord
-Derby’s Homer; it is practical life; you begin
-to feel that everything which you enjoy
-will be without the intrusion of periodical
-engagements, and you feel surprised that
-no such engagements now demand your
-thoughts.</p>
-
-<p>Among the incidents at sea which give a
-charm to life, one is, Speaking a vessel.
-This is a metaphorical expression, retained
-from the former days before signals were
-used in conversation, and when vessels had
-to come near enough to each other for the
-speaking to act its part. We had been out
-five or six days, when a sail was descried on
-the starboard bow. It proved to be a bark;
-and we were as glad to see her as though<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span>
-we had met an old friend in a foreign land.
-The bark soon hoisted her ensign, which was
-the same as raising your hat in passing. We
-hoisted ours, which was a signal of recognition.
-The bark ran up four flags, which we
-recognized by the spyglass as 6 9 5 7, showing
-her number in the book to be 6957.
-Turning to it, we read “Sachem.” We ran
-up 4 5 9 1, our number in the book. The
-bark displayed 5 6 2 8, which we found to
-be “Salem.” We showed 4 7 8 2,—“New
-York.” The bark gave 6 8 7 4,—“Zanzibar.”
-We returned 2 1 8 0,—“California.”
-The bark showed 6,—“six days
-out.” We did the same. The bark showed
-numeral pendant,—this meaning “longitude,”
-and with it 54 38. We replied
-with 54 30,—our calculation. The bark
-then dipped her ensign, hauling it down half
-way, then raising it again. This was done
-three times. We did the same, which was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span>
-equivalent to “good-bye” on either side, and
-lifting the hat; we added 6 3 8 9, meaning,
-“Wish you a pleasant voyage.” The answer
-was, 5 7 8 3, “Many thanks.”</p>
-
-<p>These courtesies at sea are pleasant.
-Coming up with the vessel, or she and you
-drawing near in passing, reading the numbers
-by the spyglass, and arranging all the
-signals, is an agreeable occupation for the
-larger part of two hours, including the departure
-of the vessels from each other, as
-though friends were parting, leaving the
-ocean more a solitude than before.</p>
-
-<p>Meeting vessels, or passing them at a distance,
-exchanging signals, making out their
-numbers, bring remote parts of the earth
-suddenly to mind. Thus new trains of
-thought succeed each other entirely disconnected.
-I always enjoyed exercise on horseback
-for one principal reason,—that on
-horseback you cannot long pursue one train<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span>
-of thought. Your conjunctions are disjunctive.
-If you purpose to make out your
-evening lecture on horseback, your attention
-is so frequently taken by something in the
-road, or by the action of the horse, that you
-probably come home without any connected
-plan. So at sea. The occasional sight of a
-sail is an illustration of the charm of sea-life
-as having complete possession of your
-thoughts without leaving you long at liberty
-to pore over a subject. If you meet a Norwegian
-bark, and the captain tells you he is
-twenty-four days from Buenos Ayres, there
-is Norway and Buenos Ayres for your meditation,
-and perhaps for your statistical or
-geographical inquiry. If the “Queen of the
-Pacific,” eighty-seven days from Macao for
-London, comes in sight, there is another
-chapter in the world’s great miscellany.
-That sail yonder proves to be the “Hungarian,”
-from Saguenay, twenty-one days out,
-bound to Melbourne, with lumber. You<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span>
-have another illustration of commerce binding
-together the ends of the earth. You
-soon excuse those friends of yours at home
-who commiserated you on the prospect of a
-long, monotonous sea-voyage. Where is the
-monotony? Not in the ship’s clock, which
-enumerates every hour and half-hour by a
-system of horology altogether different from
-shore time-pieces; not in the boatswain’s
-“Pumpship” at evening, when twelve or
-fifteen men entertain you with a song.
-Every tune at the pumps must have a
-chorus. The sentiment in the song is the
-least important feature of it; the celebration
-of some portion of the earth or seas,
-other than here and now: “I wish I was in
-Mobile Bay,” “I’m bound for the Rio
-Grande,” with the astounding chorus from
-twenty-eight men, part of whom the fine
-moonlight and the song tempt from their
-bunks, is an antidote to monotony.</p>
-
-<p>The sailors were a merry set. Though<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span>
-only half of the crew—that is, one watch—were
-required each night at the pumps, all
-hands at first generally turned out because it
-was the time for a song. It was a nightly
-pleasure to be on the poop deck when the
-pumps were manned, and to hear twenty
-men sing. When making sail after a gale,
-the crew are ready for the loudest singing,
-unless it be at the pumps. For example,
-when hauling on the topsail halyards, they
-may have this song, the shanty man, as they
-call him, solo singer, beginning with a wailing
-strain:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Solo</i>: O poor Reuben Ranzo! <span class="in2">(twice)</span></div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent2"><i>Chorus</i>: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Solo</i>: Ranzo was no sailor! <span class="in2">(twice)</span></div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent2"><i>Chorus</i>: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Solo</i>: He shipped on board a whaler! <span class="in2">(twice)</span></div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent2"><i>Chorus</i>: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Solo</i>: The captain was a bad man! <span class="in2">(twice)</span></div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent2"><i>Chorus</i>: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Solo</i>: He put him in the rigging! <span class="in2">(twice)</span></div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent2"><i>Chorus</i>: Ranzo, boys, Ranzo!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Solo</i>: He gave him six-and-thirty— <span class="in2">(twice)</span></div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span></p>
-<p class="in0">by which time the topsail is mast-headed,
-and the mate cries, “Belay!”</p>
-
-<p>When the mainsail is to be set, and they
-are hauling down the main tack, this, perhaps,
-is the <span class="locked">song:—</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Solo</i>: “’Way! haul away! haul away! my ro-sey;</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent2"><i>Chorus</i>: ’Way! haul away! haul away! <span class="smcap">Joe!</span>”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">the long pull, the strong pull, the pull altogether
-being given at the word “Joe;” then
-no more pulling till the same word recurs.</p>
-
-<p>When hauling on the main sheet, this is
-often the song, sung responsively:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><i>Shanty man</i>: “Haul the bowline; Kitty is my darling.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent12"><i>Crew</i>: Haul the bowline, the bowline <em>haul</em>!”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>That no one may think of me above that
-which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth
-of me, let me say that I find, on inquiry,
-that the “main tack” is the <em>line</em> which hauls
-down that corner of the main sail which is
-toward the wind; called, therefore, the
-“weather clew.” The “main <em>sheet</em>” hauls<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span>
-the other corner of the main sail; called,
-therefore, “the lee clew.” Why a rope
-should be called a sheet is a piece of nautical
-metonymy which it would be difficult to
-explain. “Larboard” and “starboard”
-were formerly used to designate respectively
-the left and the right side of the ship, standing
-aft and looking forward; but the two
-words, so much alike, were not always
-readily apprehended, and so were changed
-to “port and starboard.” Why the word
-“port” is used, does not appear; nor can any
-one tell why “Reuben Ranzo” is associated
-with one of the long pulls; if there be any
-philosophy in it, or historic association, it is
-as deep as the sea, or hopelessly lost.</p>
-
-<p>After singing at the pumps in good
-weather when there was not much work,
-the men would have some amusement.
-Sometimes it was “Hunt the Slipper.”
-Then, again, two men sat down opposite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span>
-each other, their hands and feet tied, and a
-capstan bar was run through each of the two
-men’s arms, behind him. The two would
-push each other with their feet till one
-would lose his balance, and fall over; then,
-being helpless, he was at the mercy of his
-comrade’s feet till he begged for quarter.
-These games were interspersed with declamations.
-We had some of Macauley’s “Lays
-of Ancient Rome,” “Spartacus,” “My name
-is Norval.” The merry laugh and the clapping
-of hands at the declaimers, and, now
-and then, the youthful voice of a boy reciting
-his piece from Henry Clay, or a story
-from the “Reader,” beguiled many an evening
-in the tropics.</p>
-
-<p>On crossing the line, one evening when
-we were on the poop deck, we were startled
-by a voice on the lower deck, “What ship’s
-that?” The captain replied. The voice
-answered, “I shall call upon you to-morrow;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span>
-I have an engagement this evening.” At 3,
-<span class="allsmcap">P. M.</span>, the next day, being Saturday, we were
-summoned on deck by one of the sailors,
-who announced that Neptune was coming
-on board. All at once we saw a grotesque
-figure swinging in the air over the water,
-half-way up to the main yard, two of the
-sailors pulling him in. He came on board,
-wet from his waist; and there came also over
-the sides a female figure and a young man.
-They came to the front cabin door, and
-saluted the captain, who stood ready to receive
-them. Neptune had on spectacles
-made of a tin can, epaulets of the same,
-buskins made of duck, long hair of rope-yarns,
-a duck tunic, and a girdle of twisted
-ropes. Mrs. Neptune had on a long duck
-mantle, her face blackened with burnt cork,
-and a large fan made of wood, and covered
-with sail-cloth; she used it gracefully. The
-son bore his father’s trident, which was a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span>
-four pronged iron, called “the grains,” used
-for spearing sharks. He, also, was fantastically
-dressed. They made obeisance to the
-captain, who welcomed them on board in a
-short speech. They then repaired to a booth
-fitted up as a sort of marquee, flung up the
-sides, and called a young man from the crew.
-They asked him if he ever crossed the line
-before; then set him in a barrel, with his
-feet out, inquired his name, where from and
-whither bound, and as he opened his mouth
-to answer, they inserted the paint brush filled
-with soap and lime, with which the son was
-lathering him, who then produced an old
-saw fixed in a piece of wood for a sheath
-and handle and shaved him. Neptune then
-ordered him to be washed; when four men
-took him and dipped him into a barrel of
-water. This they did to three young men.
-They then came up to our deck and saluted
-us. The captain informed them that we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span>
-were all liege subjects of Neptune and
-needed not to be sworn. They then wished
-us a pleasant voyage,—Mrs. N. taking her
-husband’s arm, fanning herself gracefully,—and
-they withdrew. While it was a successful
-masquerade, well sustained in all the
-parts,—the boys consenting to be hazed
-conscious that they were contributing something
-to the dramatic poetry of sea-life,—it
-was easy to see that it was capable of abuse.
-The officers saw that they should be careful
-how they allowed this liberty. To an
-invalid at sea these things are medicine; and,
-as I am writing in the interest of some who
-may betake themselves for the first time to
-sea in a sailing-ship for health, I would say
-that they must wait till they are in circumstances
-to find how “dulce est desipere in
-loco,” how pleasant it is at sea to be even
-gamesome upon occasions.</p>
-
-<p>One day as I lay in the hammock I found<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span>
-myself in a revery; my eye being fixed on a
-bright, new rope which appeared among the
-running rigging. I mention it as an illustration
-of the frames of mind which steal
-upon an invalid passenger, especially in a
-sailing-ship, because undisturbed there by a
-crowd, or by the noise of steam and its
-machinery. Would any one think that a
-single halyard among five or six others could
-bring to mind Burke’s treatise on the “Sublime
-and Beautiful”? But it was even so.
-I found my eye going up the new rope in
-admiration at the perfect regularity in the
-twist of the strands. An artist cannot
-always combine the hempen yarns with the
-exactness which the ropemaker’s wheel gives
-them. My eye went from the new rope to
-the old ones; all had the same perfect twist
-throughout the ship. The ropes, from belaying-pin
-to truck, the signal halyard and
-the hawser, seemed instinct with “the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span>
-beauty of fitness,” to borrow a term from
-the above-mentioned writer,—a common
-window-sash, with its parallelograms of
-panes, serving that great genius for an illustration.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indentq">“Thus pleasure is spread through the earth</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">In stray gifts, to be claimed by whoever shall find.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Thus a rich loving-kindness, redundantly kind,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Moves all nature to gladness and mirth.”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>I cannot forget the simple pleasure which
-this meditation on a rope gave me, carrying
-me back to youthful days in my native place,
-and to the ropewalks there, the swift spindles,
-the horse in the cellar turning the
-wheel, the spinners, each with a bunch of
-hemp around him hitching it to the spindle,
-then walking backwards, paying out the
-hemp through his hands with judicious care,
-the rope all the time growing lengthwise,
-down the walk. It used to be a wonder to
-me how the horse in the cellar, going about
-on the tan, could twist the twine at the end<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span>
-of the bridge as accurately as it was twisted
-at the spindle. Unconscious influence, remote
-causations, continents, oceans, years,
-intervening between the agent and the effect
-of his example and words, were illustrated
-by the horse in the ropewalk; and the revery
-would have been protracted, had not a vessel
-ahead caught my eye. Coming to my senses
-I thought of Dean Swift’s satire on Robert
-Boyle’s pious and sentimental writings,
-which the Dean had to read in the hearing
-of Lady Berkeley, whose simplicity and enthusiasm
-he was pleased to ridicule, in revenge
-for the task imposed on him, under the
-guise of mimicking Mr. Boyle, in the famous
-piece, “Meditations on a Broomstick.”</p>
-
-<p>But few things have so pleasing an effect
-in solving the kinks in one’s brain as to lie
-in a hammock on deck at sea far away from
-care, and let the fancy like the poet’s river
-“wander at its own sweet will.” This wandering<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span>
-would have continued, had I not been
-startled by descrying as aforesaid a vessel
-ahead, hove to, directly across our course,
-under short sail, her jib-boom gone, all looking
-as if she was in distress and trying to
-intercept us for relief. We began to consider
-how many we could accommodate in
-case she proved to be in a sinking condition;
-how our provisions would hold out; and
-other prudential questionings; which were
-soon dissipated by finding that she was a
-whaler with a whale alongside, a man standing
-on him cutting in, and the rest of the
-crew, some of them, hoisting up the pieces,
-and others trying them out. This episode in
-practical life contrasted well with the revery
-with which the forenoon begun, making with
-it a good illustration of the variety in sea-life.</p>
-
-<p>It had rained in torrents one night, and it
-kept on till nine o’clock the next day. The
-sailors stopped the lee scuppers, and soon the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span>
-deck had several inches of water on the lee
-side. The ducks were released and thought
-their paradise regained. The sailors could
-not resist the opportunity to do a little washing;
-so flannel shirts and other articles of
-apparel came forth into the common tub, the
-main deck; being trampled on by bare feet
-instead of the more laborious process of the
-washing-board. The sturdy limbs bared up
-to the knees showed fine sets of muscles,
-enough to excite the admiration of an artist
-pursuing anatomical studies. After the
-sailors had finished, they turned their attention
-to the pigs, which were severally walked
-into the water on two legs by the men, when
-they were chased and knocked about and
-scrubbed, till, by their looks, they made you
-believe the saying of the market-men that
-ship-fed pork has no superior. There was
-no monotony here.</p>
-
-<p>But there was monotony soon in the doldrums.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span>
-These are a region near the equator,
-between the north-east and south-east trades,
-where calms and rains abound, puffs of wind
-varying in direction every half-hour, trying
-to the sailors, disappointing the captain’s
-hopes. He yearns for steam; even an old
-captain will resolve, for the hundredth time
-in his life, that he will never go to sea
-again; he jumps on his hat and whistles for
-the wind. Then a breeze springs up, and he
-rubs his hands, and thinks that, after all, his
-ship is better than a steamer, till, in half an
-hour, she is almost motionless.</p>
-
-<p>Then is the time for the sharks to appear.
-They are slow creatures and cannot keep up
-with a good sailor; so in calms they come
-and lie alongside. The little pilot-fishes, the
-curious attendants of the shark, directing his
-attention to food, are with him. The grains
-are thrust at the shark; and, if they fasten
-in him, a bend of a rope around his tail<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span>
-brings him on board. Sailors have great
-spite against sharks; they may show tenderness
-to other creatures, but for sharks they
-have no mercy. They will use their sheath-knives
-about his nose, and disfigure him in
-all conceivable ways. Their theory is that a
-shark never dies till sunset. Sharks are
-hard to kill. You may cut off their heads
-and tails, and disembowel them, and even
-then the trunk will thrash the deck at so
-lively a rate that his executioners will have
-need to jump about for safety. In contrast
-with the shark, the dolphin seemed to me for
-beauty to verify all that poets have said of
-him. It is my belief that a dolphin’s mouth
-is as perfect a curve as nature ever produces.
-His tints, when dying, are no fiction. Two
-sword-fish were caught one day, and the
-rapidity with which they were stripped of
-their flesh, and their back-bones hung up to
-dry, rivalled the skill and speed of young
-surgical practitioners.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span></p>
-
-<h3>THE MIZZEN MAST. A DREAM.</h3>
-
-<p>Few if any need to be informed that the
-mizzen mast is the hindmost of the three
-masts of a ship. The mizzen mast of the
-Golden Fleece is a solid stick, but the foremast
-and mainmast are built. In this section
-of the country it is not always easy to
-find trees large, tall, straight enough for the
-foremast and mainmast of a large ship. A
-smaller one will answer for a mizzen mast.
-The foremast and mainmast are specimens
-of ingenious mechanical work, eight or nine
-pieces in each of them making a circumference
-of sixty-two inches. Iron bands gird
-these heavy staves, which are grooved and
-jointed together. There are five hoops of
-broad iron, five feet apart. The mainmast
-being in the centre of the ship is continually
-scraped, oiled, and varnished. The iron
-hoops are painted vermilion, which sets off
-the color of the spruce wood. It is pleasant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span>
-to look on the manufactured masts which
-show what human skill can do; for example,
-a mainmast that can support those immense
-yards which when lowered to the deck you
-can scarcely believe are each of them itself
-less than a mast, for it supports a huge
-weight of canvas stretched upon it.</p>
-
-<p>The mainmast holds up a top mast also
-with its yards and sails, a top-gallant mast
-with yards and sails, the royal, and sometimes
-a sky sail. Then the foremast also,
-which bears the same burden and is also a
-manufactured thing; as you think of it, a
-hundred feet ahead of you, pioneering your
-way and taking the first brunt of the sea, you
-cannot help regarding it as the most heroic of
-the three masts. Inspiring as the sight of
-these always is, I cannot withhold from the
-mizzen mast peculiar attachment. As already
-stated, one end of the hammock is fastened to
-it, the other end to the rail; on one side or the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span>
-other there is almost always a shade from the
-spanker, a principal fore and aft sail which
-swings from it.</p>
-
-<p>Lying here about Thanksgiving time I was
-musing on the mizzen mast, when I fell
-asleep, but my musing continued. The
-mizzen mast, once a live tree, seemed now
-to be a living person; it appeared to be
-soliloquizing, though now and then it seemed
-to be addressing an audience, and again it
-was whispering to me. I fancied it saying
-<span class="locked">thus:—</span></p>
-
-<p>“I was once a shoot which a fox could
-tread down; then a sapling. I grew on
-the side of a hill in the Aroostook region.
-The Indian names of my native lakes and
-rivers have been for so long a time disused
-that I cannot now distinguish between the
-Chern-quas-a-ban-to-cook, the Ah-mo-gen-ga-mook
-and “the far-winding Skoo-doo-wab-skook-sis.”
-Once these names were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span>
-familiar to me. Now I wander with you who
-sail with us in the wilderness of ocean. You
-sympathize with me, perhaps, in my exile
-from the stillness of nature. You are tempted
-to fancy me contrasting my rough life with
-the silence in which I grew. Years passed
-over me and my kindred in the untrodden
-forest; what ornithology I might describe;
-what songs I might recite; tell what eagles
-visited my top; what rare plumage is remembered
-as having showed itself in my foliage.
-Squirrels gambolled on my limbs, woodpeckers
-ransacked my sides for their prey.
-Many a woodbine has climbed into me, lived
-its short life, and turned crimson under the
-first touch of frost.</p>
-
-<p>One day men came beneath me with axes,
-measured my girth, looked up to my top.
-Great was my fall. I lay on the ground,
-my top was brought to a level with my root.
-I became a mere trunk, was borne to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span>
-shipyard, my foot set in the hold of this
-ship then new, and soon I was made ready
-for my vesture of canvas in place of buds
-and blossoms; I began a new life among the
-winds on the seas. Now I am sailing about
-the world; I have been many times round
-Cape Horn, am familiar with the lightnings
-off the River Plate, have compared the gales
-around the Cape of Good Hope with those
-of the Horn; know the latitudes where the
-trade winds begin and where they cease. I
-am a favorite resort of passengers in a sailing
-ship. I stand aloof from the main deck
-where work is all the time going on and
-there is much passing to and fro. The
-house,” (here it seemed to be addressing an
-audience) “which is the raised covering of
-the cabin, is there, extending perhaps one
-third the whole length of the ship, affording
-on its top a place for promenading. From
-me swings the spanker, a large fore and aft<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span>
-sail, helping the wind to balance the ship
-and much of the time throwing a shade;
-and there is almost always a current of air
-stirring beneath it. Under me and in the
-spanker’s shade the passengers spend a large
-part of every pleasant day reading, writing,
-conversing, enjoying the ocean scenes. Every
-pleasant evening is sure to gather them
-under me. My length runs down through
-the forward cabin where I am cased in.
-There the preacher or reader stands, with a
-congregation of about thirty. I am therefore
-a witness of a large part of a passenger’s
-experience at sea. His impressions and reflections,
-his reading, his writing, his conversation,
-his journal, may properly be dated
-under me.</p>
-
-<p>It might be supposed” (here it seemed to
-relapse into soliloquy,) “that the shipbuilder
-had ideality playing about him when he
-placed me, a tree of the wood, in the most interesting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span>
-position, to be a centre of social
-life, a shelter to meditative hours, identifying
-myself with the choicest moments of sea
-life, retaining a magnetism which memory is
-destined to feel in coming years. Such is
-my origin and early history, and such the
-associations, in memory, with the mast under
-which most of the impressions to be recorded
-here, no doubt, by one of our passengers
-will be received. If his readers (should
-he have any) shall be so happy as to find
-themselves under a mizzen mast at sea, let it
-shed the healing, healthful influence on them
-which seem to be descending on the sleeper
-under my shade.”</p>
-
-<p>This last remark, seeming to be such a
-personal allusion to myself, had the effect to
-startle me, and I roused myself, surprised at
-having been asleep, and I looked up to the
-mizzen mast to see who was speaking. It
-was the mate who that moment was saying,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span>
-“Set the crojick;”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> whereupon four sailors
-came to the belaying-pins where my hammock
-swung and began to loosen the buntlines. I
-went below to prepare myself for the Thanksgiving
-dinner.</p>
-
-<h3>THANKSGIVING.</h3>
-
-<p>We kept Thanksgiving, it having been
-appointed before we sailed, so that we knew
-the day. We dined at four, instead of our
-usual hour (half past twelve), and so we
-were at table part of the time with those at
-home. Our dinner was:—1. Oyster soup;
-2. Boiled salmon and scalloped oysters; 8.
-Roast fowl; 4. Huckleberry pudding; 5.
-Apple pies of dried apple. Now, should any
-one envy us, or should his mouth water at
-such a bill of fare, let him know that oysters<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span>
-and salmon from tin cans are not the same
-as those fresh from Faneuil-Hall Market.</p>
-
-<h3>SATURDAY DINNER.</h3>
-
-<p>We may be said to have had a Thanksgiving
-dinner once a week. But the principal
-dish was not fowl. Far from it. It was
-salt fish; but probably no better meal from
-this article of food is ever served on shore.
-With every desirable vegetable, and some
-sparkling champagne cider which a thoughtful
-friend had placed among our stores, we
-were rivals with Ruth when she sat beside
-the reapers of Boaz in the harvest field, and
-he reached her the parched corn “and she
-did eat and was sufficed and left.” For
-dessert we had at that meal “roly-poly,”
-which is thin flour paste spread with apple
-sauce, then rolled together and boiled; this
-with sweet sauce flavored with vanilla made
-us for the time imagine ourselves on shore.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span>
-We entertained each other at these feasts
-with the choicest anecdotes, which our repasts
-disposed us to call to mind and to
-relish; for example, instances of Mr. Choate’s
-ingenuity, as, when defending a sea captain
-charged with cruelty to his crew, he undertook
-to show that so far from being cruel he
-was eminently considerate, so much so that
-instead of searching the law books to find
-out, as the witnesses alleged, what punishments
-were allowable and could be inflicted
-with impunity, he was only guarding himself
-against the excessive use of legitimate
-discipline; “he read the books with paternal
-yearnings; he was a mild but firm parent;”
-and instead of keeping his crew on vile
-trash, tasteless, sometime loathsome, “think,
-gentlemen of the jury, of applying such
-words to the nutritious lob scouse and the
-succulent dandy funk!” How could the
-jury help saying as they presently did, Not
-guilty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span></p>
-
-<h3>SAILOR’S FARE.</h3>
-
-<p>Perhaps the reader, if he be not already
-versed in the articles of luxurious food
-served to sailors, will be willing to have his
-curiosity gratified as he reads what are the
-component parts of lob scouse and dandy
-funk, the mention of which by the eloquent
-advocate helped him to clear his client, the
-captain.</p>
-
-<p>“Lob scouse” is salt meat and potatoes
-cut small and stewed.</p>
-
-<p>“Dandy funk” is hard bread broken up,
-soaked in water, mixed with molasses, and
-baked in pans. Why Mr. Choate should
-call it “succulent,” or lob scouse “nutritious,”
-it requires legal cunning to detect.</p>
-
-<p>“Sea Pie” is lob scouse with dumplings
-in it, the meat not cut so fine; perhaps fresh
-meat. When a pig is killed the sailors the
-next Sunday generally have sea pie for dinner,
-made with fresh pork.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span></p>
-
-<p>“Bread Hash” is hard bread and salt meat
-minced fine and baked.</p>
-
-<p>“Potato Hash” is potatoes and meat
-minced fine and baked.</p>
-
-<p>“Manavellings” are remnants from the
-cabin table, the boy’s treat.</p>
-
-<h3>APPLES AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>We mourned the disappearance of our
-apples. They began to decay three weeks
-after we left New York, and our steward was
-obliged to employ his ingenuity in finding
-ways to use them up. We thought with
-pleasure of the tropical fruits which we
-hoped one day to taste; but nothing, we felt
-sure, could take the place of a northern
-apple. We expected to miss it as much as
-Sydney Smith did his summer beverage, in
-a place which he lugubriously describes as
-being situated “five miles from a lemon.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span></p>
-
-<h3>CAPRICES OF THE SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>The steward was passing from the galley
-to the cabin table with a plate of hash. A
-sudden lurch made him lose his balance.
-His arms went into the air and the hash left
-the plate and went in a body against the side
-of the ship where a coil of rope hung; and
-it remained fast, the coil forming an oval
-frame for it. We pitied the steward but
-did not weep for the hash. Some of us
-thought we could understand the action of a
-company of boys at a boarding school, who
-were asked in Lent what luxury they would
-each propose to forego during the season of
-fasting and humiliation as a religious offering.
-Slips of paper were given to them and
-in a little while were collected. Every one
-of the forty papers bore the word, Hash.
-Some of our company were so lost to a sense
-of propriety as to exult at the steward’s
-mishap.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span></p>
-
-<h3>RELIGIOUS ADMONITION FROM THE STEWARDESS.</h3>
-
-<p>We have a stewardess, Annie Cardozo,
-wife of the steward who is a Cape de Verd,
-Portuguese, man. She is an Irish woman, very
-talkative, of good disposition. She was fixing
-my mattress; I remarked that it was too
-low on the side next the room. “Well,”
-said she, pleasantly, “we must think of the
-Lord, he had no where to lie down.” She
-may have thought that I was querulous,
-which in the present instance was not the
-case; but I accepted the admonition.</p>
-
-<h3>DECISION IN A CAPTAIN.</h3>
-
-<p>One evening in the Gulf Stream just at
-dark the top-gallant sail was blowing adrift
-from the “gaskets,” (the ropes with which
-it was furled;) and the whole sail was likely
-to get loose. The captain said that it must
-be secured. The mate doubted if it was safe
-to send men aloft in such a gale. The captain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span>
-replied that he had been obliged when
-he was before the mast to go aloft in worse
-weather. He could not spare the sail. The
-mate gave the order: “Go aloft, some of you,
-and make fast that top-gallant sail.” Six or
-eight men sprang into the rigging and soon
-the sail was furled.</p>
-
-<p>The captain’s eye is necessarily the most of
-the time all over the ship. We were sitting
-on deck when the ship was laboring in a
-cross sea. He noticed that the main topmast
-stays quivered. The stays had within a few
-days all been “set up” for Cape weather,
-but these were not so taut as they should be.
-It was only a wakeful eye which would have
-noticed it. The remedy was applied at once.
-It is interesting to me as a father to hear the
-young captain spoken of by the sailors to
-each other as “the old man.” Had he a
-wife, though she were only eighteen years
-of age she would nevertheless be called “the
-old woman.” This made it less offensive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span>
-to hear myself, though decidedly far from
-seventy, spoken of as “the old gentleman.”</p>
-
-<h3>THE NIGHT WATCH.</h3>
-
-<p>At night, or from eight P. M. the two
-mates take turns to be four hours each on
-deck, with or near the man at the wheel.
-They direct the steering according to the
-captain’s orders, oversee the ship, and report
-to the captain several times during the night
-as to wind and weather. Two of the crew
-keep a lookout in the bows two hours at a
-time watching against collisions and in some
-latitudes against ice. The law of the road,
-“When you meet turn to the right,” is the
-law at sea. The chances of collision are
-few. You wonder that you so unfrequently
-meet a sail, especially remembering the long
-list in every paper of arrivals, departures,
-vessels spoken. In thick weather, especially
-while on a coast, the danger increases and a
-sharp lookout is the rule.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span></p>
-
-<h3>FLYING FISH</h3>
-
-<p>I have seen at least a thousand in the
-last few weeks. They resemble the smelt,
-though larger. They start up before or near
-the ship in small flocks and fly fifty or a hundred
-feet. By taking wing though for short
-distances they are able to elude the dolphin,
-the swiftest of their pursuers, who wondering
-what has become of them, darts on
-ahead. Their escape by flying is probably as
-incredible to the dolphin as the sailors tell us
-it was to the mother of a sailor who was
-questioning him as to his experiences at
-sea. He told her many wonderful things, as,
-that a wheel of one of Pharaoh’s chariots
-came up on his anchor; that he saw a
-whale caught, in whose stomach was found
-a handkerchief with a Hebrew word on it
-which a minister on shore declared to be
-Jonah; that there are now fishes in the sea
-of Tiberias which have in their gills fluted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span>
-pieces of pearl resembling money, by which
-name they are now called, and that some
-give them the name of “Peter’s pence,” supposing
-the fishes to be descendants of the
-fish which Peter drew from the sea. But
-when he described fishes flying in the air,
-taking wing before his ship, the faith of the
-listener gave way; the other stories, she said
-might be true, for they had a foundation in
-holy writ; but flying fish were too great a tax
-on her belief.—One was washed on board,
-whose wings, extended and dried, had a gossamer
-appearance so delicate that one might
-readily believe them to be the wings of something
-more delicate than a fish.</p>
-
-<h3>LOSING ONE’S SHADOW.</h3>
-
-<p>For about a week we have been directly
-under the sun. When we came under lat.
-21° S. we could see nothing of our shadows
-at noon. Had we been ignorant of the cause
-we might have been in a frame of mind predisposing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span>
-us to listen to German stories of a
-man’s selling his shadow to the evil one: for
-what had become of ours? Had we been
-of those ‘whose souls proud science never
-taught to stray far as the solar walk or milky
-way,’ we imagined what our speculations on
-this phenomenon would have been. One’s
-shadow certainly can never be less than in
-21° S. Under our feet there was to each
-of us something like one of the clouds of
-Magellan.</p>
-
-<h3>THE CLOUDS OF MAGELLAN.</h3>
-
-<p>These we saw in the evening in the south-east,
-half way up to the zenith. They are
-two dark spots, one larger than the other,
-about twenty paces apart, not far from
-two yards broad. No stars appear in them.
-The telescope shows them to be openings
-into a milky way or paths of star dust,
-groups of heavenly bodies so many and so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span>
-distant that their light is confused. Hence
-these openings in the bright heavens have the
-appearance of clouds, though they are not
-clouds; but the light which is in them is
-darkness, its excess confusing the irradiation.</p>
-
-<h3>SALT WATER BATHS.</h3>
-
-<p>You can have sea water brought to your
-room for sponge baths, or there is easy access
-to a room in the ship fitted up with all the
-conveniences for bathing. The men pour
-water through a hole on deck into a reservoir
-over head; pure sea water; the quantity
-making you remember the saying of Horace,
-‘Dulce est detrahere acervo’,—It is pleasant
-to draw from a heap. In the Gulf Stream
-the water would suit those who must dip
-their razors into warm water. All who wish
-for cold baths will have them as they get
-further North. You have a sense of affluence
-in drawing on the Atlantic for your morning
-bath.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span></p>
-
-<h3>SEA BIRDS.</h3>
-
-<p>It is interesting to meet birds hundreds of
-miles from land. When the ship is going at
-her greatest speed, twelve or thirteen miles
-an hour, these birds fly faster, some of them
-forty and fifty miles, making you feel how
-they surpass man in all his means of speed.
-One is astonished at their quickness of sight.
-You throw pieces of paper, for example,
-overboard, and though you have not been
-able for half an hour to see a bird, straightway
-they will come one by one around you,
-but you cannot tell whence. Their sharpness
-of sight also is marvellous, shown in
-their discovering fishes beneath the surface
-of the water, even when the sea is troubled.</p>
-
-<h3>SOME OF THE CREW ALWAYS AT WORK.</h3>
-
-<p>A ship’s work is never done. All the time
-something is giving way and must be repaired;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span>
-the sails are to be patched, ropes replaced,
-and day and night orders issue for
-taking in or making sail. None in particular
-are designated for ordinary work, but the
-order is given to the watch on deck: “Go
-aloft, some of you, and do this or that,”
-when they all spring into the shrouds; and
-when it is seen that enough are on their way
-the hindmost fall back.</p>
-
-<p>In good weather, the sails which need
-mending are spread on the deck and subjected
-to the needle. The thimble instead
-of being on a finger is fixed on a leather
-“palm,” which is drawn over the hand and
-affords the means of giving a strong push.
-It is composing to sit by and watch the sewing,
-or to lie in your hammock soothed by
-the measured monotony of the stitching and
-the plashing water. It is doubtful whether
-anything furnishes an invalid with more
-complete repose than a life on board a well-appointed
-sailing ship.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span></p>
-
-<h3>SOUTH AMERICA IN SIGHT.</h3>
-
-<p>The captain sent a man aloft at six A. M.
-to look for land. In fifteen minutes he
-called down, Land ho! It was Roccas Keys,
-one of the eastern projections of South
-America, about four miles from us. The
-white rollers soon showed themselves, with
-rocks behind the breakers. It was a pleasant
-sight in the morning sun, a relief after seeing
-nothing for a long time but the seemingly
-endless waters. A current had set in, but
-we were still in fifty fathoms of water.
-After watching the breakers an hour they
-disappeared. At four P. M. the captain thinking
-that we were too near the shore to pass
-Cape St. Rocque and Cape St. Augustine,
-tacked for two and a half hours, which made
-him feel sure of clearing the land in the
-night.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span></p>
-
-<h3>SOCIAL LIFE AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>The twenty-fifth of November was a beautiful
-day in contrast to the probable state of
-the climate at home, and calling us all on
-deck. One of the passengers sat plying her
-needle on the chief signal flag, another writing,
-one enjoying the soothing influences of
-the day in his hammock, the captain fixing
-his signals with a contrivance for keeping
-them separate and easily handled. Soft airs
-were about us. The clouds showed that we
-were in the trade wind region. Instead of
-banks of clouds and thunderheads there were
-innumerable fleecy clouds, mostly small, giving
-a calm look to the heavens. We seldom
-see this for a long time on land. We are in
-all respects the larger part of the time as if
-we were in a pleasure boat. No doubt other
-ships would awaken as agreeable sensations,
-but we are much of the time impressed with
-the gracefulness of our ship’s motions. We<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span>
-are instructed that this is owing in part to the
-stowage. She is not too much “by the
-head” nor “by the stern;” yet, after all,
-there is sometimes an indescribable air of
-beauty in a craft which the wisest builder
-will fail to define or to account for, while
-every one sees and feels it. Wholly ignorant
-of niceties in the art of steering, I soon
-learned by the action of the ship that it
-made a difference in her behavior whether
-one man or another were at the wheel.
-Many a time have I been so impressed with
-the way in which the ship rode the waves
-that I have left my seat to see who was
-steering, and have found that Nelson was
-having his trick at the wheel. Nelson is a tall
-sailor, about fifty years of age, an American,
-not always as exemplary on shore for his
-temperate habits as at sea he is skillful in his
-profession. He has the eye and hand of
-a marksman in encountering groundswells,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span>
-running through chop seas; making me think
-of the gallant manner in which some policemen
-help ladies cross the thoroughfares.</p>
-
-<h3>NIGHTS AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>For nearly a month we have had quiet
-nights. Sleep is as deep and dreams as
-natural as on shore. Bed time is at half
-past nine and breakfast at half past seven.
-Going to sleep or waking in the night knowing
-that a mate and fifteen men are up and
-round about you and will be succeeded once
-in four hours by others, it is not strange that
-you should have a feeling of repose. It is
-useless for you to have an anxious thought.
-You could not go up to the royals nor out to
-the jib in an emergency; these men will go
-for you. How would it do at home to feel
-that angels who excel in strength are in the
-dwelling, in the cars, being caused to fly
-swiftly to keep you in all your ways?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span></p>
-
-<h3>WATCHING THE WAVES.</h3>
-
-<p>We spent the afternoon on deck watching
-the waves, they being fairly entitled to the designation
-of billows. The sea was white with
-foam, though the day was fine; while round
-about the ship the eddying water presented
-numberless forms of beauty. These words
-by one of the poets are sometimes as true of
-sea water as of fresh:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indentq">“How beautiful the water is!</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">To me ’tis wondrous fair;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No spot can ever lonely be</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">If water sparkle there.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">It hath a thousand tongues of mirth,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Of grandeur or delight,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And every heart is gladder made</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">When water greets the sight.”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">Every now and then an enormous wave
-would break astern or about midship, like a
-mad pursuer compelled suddenly to give up
-the chase and die with a roar which seemed
-to tell what it would have been glad to do.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span>
-It was Saturday afternoon, the time devoted
-by us at home to driving into the country;
-but the larger part of the afternoon went by
-unheeded while we were watching these
-frantic waters spending themselves one after
-another in their harmless wrath. There is
-more of pleasurable excitement in such a
-contemplation in a ship under sail than in
-driving; the sea air in fine weather giving
-exhilaration to the system which is in some
-degree a substitute for exercise. The ceaseless
-play of the water, never repeating itself
-in the same shape, interests the mind without
-fatigue, keeps attention awake by new surprises.
-We were at the mouth of the River
-La Plata, or “the River Plate,” as it is
-familiarly called, between Uragua and Paraguay,
-a region for disagreeable weather.
-Squalls, thunder and lightning, rain, everything
-which can make sea faring people uneasy,
-abound. But though we are nearly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span>
-opposite the mouth of the river we are enjoying
-a perfect day. Still we are notified that
-we are in a region where we must not be surprised
-at sudden changes. Since a week
-after leaving New York we have been in exhilarating
-weather. All through November
-the thermometer has been at 60 or 70 in the
-cabin. On deck it has been cool enough, in
-the shade of a sail or under an awning. It
-was only the night before last that I felt the
-need of more than a sheet for a covering,
-though it was the fifth of December. The
-mere thought of sitting on a doorstep or
-piazza at home at this season to watch the
-stars, brought forcibly to mind the contrast
-of our respective climates. Home is 43 degrees
-north of the equator; we are now,
-Dec. 20th, thirty-seven degrees south of it;
-hence we are 43 + 37 = 80 degrees from
-home; and sixty miles being a degree we
-are 80 × 60 = 4800 miles from home, not
-reckoning the difference in our longitude.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span></p>
-
-<p>We went to sleep with everything favoring
-the expectation of a peaceful night, but at
-midnight the tramp of feet on deck revealed
-that all hands had been summoned to take
-in sail. The noise made by the heavy boots
-of thirty men was not unlike the noise made
-by horses on being removed from a burning
-stable. The scene on deck that night must
-have been a good specimen of “River Plate
-weather,” judging from the description given
-of it by the officers. The captain said in a
-letter which he sent <span class="locked">home:—</span></p>
-
-<p>“At eleven o’clock a bank of clouds rose
-in the northern horizon with occasional
-flashes of lightning. As the clouds crept
-toward the zenith the flashes grew more frequent
-until they became incessant, playing
-over the whole of the north western sky accompanied
-by constant growls of thunder.
-Thinking a heavy squall was near I took in
-the royal and top gallant sails, hauled the
-courses up snug, had the topsail halyards and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span>
-braces all laid down clear and kept the men
-standing by. When the clouds reached the
-zenith sharp flashes of lightning came at
-short intervals in addition to the constant
-display of heat lightning which had spread
-over the whole sky, keeping it in a perpetual
-blaze which I can compare only to a universal
-Aurora Borealis. Then it began to thunder
-in terrific peals with a continuous growl in
-the way of a running sub bass. I ordered all
-the cabin shutters to be closed tight that
-the flashes might not startle the sleepers, for
-it seemed as though the most brilliant day
-were alternating moment after moment with
-the blackest night. Then it began to rain.
-To use a sailor’s expression, “every drop was
-a bucketfull.” In the most literal sense, it
-poured. Every flash seemed the reopening
-of the sky, while the thunder had a combined
-sound of rattling and roaring, each of these
-noises vieing with the other, making me feel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span>
-as though parks of artillery were crashing the
-reservoirs, bringing down their contents by
-floods. Withal, there was the phenomenon
-which landsmen are slow to believe, balls of
-fire resting on the trucks and yard arms, and
-called by sailors, “corpasants,” (a corruption
-of “corpus sancti”) these electric fires
-appearing to envelope the ship, availing
-themselves of all its points. All this was a
-combination of sights and sounds characteristic
-of the River Plate region. I thought
-every moment that a hurricane squall would
-burst upon us. It did blow hard. The
-wind changed entirely round the compass by
-spells, catching us aback two or three times,
-compelling us to brace the yards round, but
-the gale did not amount to anything serious.
-In a couple of hours the storm subsided.
-While it lasted it was appalling. All the
-powers of the air seemed to be in requisition
-to work some disaster.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span></p>
-
-<p>Some days later upon going on deck in
-the morning, the scene was a picture of
-desolation. A heavy gale was blowing and
-several sails had been stripped off by the
-winds. The mast and spars made me think
-of the nut trees in the country after a
-gale when the leaves are gone; the spars
-were hardly clothed with canvas enough to
-keep the ship on her way, the few sails
-which remained being furled, to save them;
-only some of the canvas about the bowsprit
-and foremast being spread, with the mizzen
-staysail, to prevent the ship from broaching
-to. Eighteen men were aloft securing the
-sails, the ship going only two or three knots.
-Some of the torn sails had been sent down
-on deck. I never desired more the skill of a
-draftsman that I might picture the appearance
-of some of the sails as they came down
-after the gale had spent its ingenuity in riddling
-them. The shapes of the rents could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span>
-not have been contrived by human skill; the
-canvas was not merely torn, it was picked in
-pieces, mocking any attempt to bring it together
-and even to divine how its parts were
-ever related to each other. The way in
-which the sail cloth was dishevelled by the
-gale, laid out in shreds, every thread loosened
-from its neighbor, some parts of the sail
-mangled, other parts minced as no art of
-human fingers or mechanical skill could rival,
-made the sailors despair of any attempt to do
-mending in the premises. They wound large
-parts of a topsail together for scouring-rags,
-some of it for cleaning brass work and other
-uses, for which the riddling wind had made
-the duck surprisingly soft like flannel, and
-some of it like lint.</p>
-
-<p>It seems fearful to lie so far removed from
-the habitable parts of the globe, a little company
-of human beings without neighbors,
-and with no means of help should we need<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span>
-it. Yet there are birds flying around us;
-some of them are resting on these waves.
-This inspires us with a feeling of safety.
-The sight of life in these creatures seems to
-be a connecting link between us and the
-living God. “From the ends of the earth,”
-literally, we cry to God when our hearts are
-overwhelmed by a sense of solitude. I am
-writing in a large easy chair, in which
-it requires some effort to preserve an upright
-position. The chair is made fast with rope
-yarns tying it to staples driven in to the
-floor; but for these I should go over. My
-inkstand is lashed with seizings to the swinging
-rest in front of me, diverting my attention
-from writing to the ink in the glass
-which at every roll of the ship climbs so
-nearly to an angle of forty-five degrees as to
-excite apprehension that it will spill. Ink is
-at best a source of mischief to all of us under
-the wisest precautions. What should I do<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span>
-just now should mine run over the floor?
-The stream would look as capricious as the
-wanderings of the children of Israel in the
-wilderness look on the map. I could not
-run for help, nor even stand, to call; I will
-put the cork in after dipping the pen when
-we are midway between a lee and weather
-roll. The girls are sewing as composedly as
-at home, one of them reading aloud from
-Dickens’ Mutual Friend. When I raise my
-eyes from my papers and look out of the
-window and see the water racing by us,
-white with foam, I need only the jingling of
-bells to make me fancy that I am in a sleigh.
-The man at the wheel keeps his post in his
-oil-cloth coat; I hear the pelting rain when the
-door is opened by the captain going up to ask
-“how she heads;” the gale is strengthening;
-we are nearing Cape Horn.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span></p>
-
-<h3>ALL NIGHT AWAKE.</h3>
-
-<p>The ship rolled so incessantly all night
-that I lay awake till morning. The carpenter
-has made me a berth board which raises
-the outer edge of my mattress so that as
-the ship rolls I am able to preserve an equilibrium.
-But everything in my room which
-could get loose was piled up in a promiscuous
-heap. For the first time for six weeks I did
-not appear at breakfast, but lay till 11 A. M.
-hoping to sleep.</p>
-
-<h3>EVENING SERVICE.</h3>
-
-<p>The gale lasted all day. In the evening
-we had religious services with the watch below.
-The captain read a chapter, made remarks,
-and called on me to follow. I told
-them how I had heard one of the boatswains
-singing, “Jesus sought me when a stranger,”
-in the hymn “Come thou Fount,” &amp;c., written
-by Rev. Mr. Robinson, a Baptist minister<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span>
-in England, who, as a distinguished hymnologist
-of Baltimore told me, quoting from an
-English paper which he has preserved, departed
-from his early faith, but in after years when
-driving with a friend he heard singing and
-stopping to listen these words of his own
-hymn caught his ear:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indentq">“Jesus sought me when a stranger</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Wandering from the fold of God;”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">when Mr. Robinson, lifting his hands as in
-prayer, said, “I would give worlds if I could
-now feel as I did when I wrote that hymn.”
-The incident seemed to me a remarkable indicating
-of divine grace endeavoring to call
-home a wandering sheep to the Shepherd and
-Bishop of souls, by causing him to remember
-so forcibly his former religious hope.</p>
-
-<h3>CAPE HORN LATITUDES.</h3>
-
-<p>Dec. 14. At eight and a half o’clock,
-<span class="allsmcap">P. M.</span> it is light enough on deck to read small
-print. The day breaks at two, and there is a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span>
-long morning twilight; the sun rises at four.
-We have to-day passed 50° S. This is the
-beginning of the Cape Horn region.</p>
-
-<p>To-day we have been running seven knots
-with a fair wind, and going in toward the
-coast, for several nautical reasons. At four
-P. M. we saw a dense cloud forming and in
-half an hour there came a heavy rain and
-fresh breeze, the ship going twelve knots, so
-fast that we shortened sail lest we should
-get out of the line of the Straits of Lemaire
-and run too near the Falkland Islands. The
-captain’s plan of steering for the coast proved
-as he expected, for now the southwest wind
-would have set us too far east.</p>
-
-<h3>RESUMING THE MINISTRY, AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>Dec. 19. Had services in the evening at
-seven by day light. It was the anniversary
-of my first sermon as Colleague pastor of the
-First Church at Cambridge, forty years ago.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span>
-It was my first attempt to preach since
-February 14th. On account of uneasy motion
-in the vessel, sat and conducted the exercises.
-Did not feel the least inconvenience
-from the effort but slept quietly all night.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="toclink_81">II.<br>
-
-<span class="subhead">CAPE HORN.</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">All places that the eye of Heaven visits</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Are to a wise man ports and happy havens.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Teach thy necessity to reason thus:</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">There is no virtue like necessity.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="attrib"><span class="smcap">Shakspeare</span>: <cite>Richard II</cite>.</div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div>
- <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i_081.png" width="401" height="666" alt="A">
-</div>
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap large">At</span> six o’clock, <span class="allsmcap">A. M.</span>, Dec. 20, a man at
-the mast-head cried, “Land, ho!”
-We saw the highlands of Tierra del
-Fuego, about a hundred miles from Cape
-Horn. We lay on the water motionless.
-About a mile from us was a brig apparently
-bound the same way. The captain ordered a
-boat to be made ready; and the mate, one of
-the boatswains, and three sailors, rowed to
-her. She proved to be the brig “Hazard,”
-Capt. Lewis, of Boston, belonging to Messrs.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span>
-Baker and Morrill, eighty days from Malaga,
-bound to San Francisco, with raisins and
-lemons. The visitors received much information,
-and gave papers,—which, though fifty-seven
-days old, were gladly received,—some
-buckwheat, and other things; and received
-kind tokens in return. The swell would
-often hide the boat from the ship and the
-ship from the boat, except the upper sails.
-In the afternoon the wind sprung up fair;
-soon we came close to, and the captains had
-conversation.</p>
-
-<p>Tierra del Fuego lies south of Patagonia,
-separated by the Straits of Magellan. It has
-high hills, which, at a distance, look like
-domes. Many bays indent the coast, causing
-it to bend frequently. Between this district
-of country and Staten Land or Island, are the
-Straits of Le Maire, twelve miles broad.
-Entering the Straits with a fair wind and a
-strong current, on the morning of a bright,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span>
-cool day, Dec. 21, we went at the rate of
-thirteen knots. We came alongside of a
-great patch of seaweed and kelp on which
-were eleven large birds. We had tacked or
-had been becalmed for almost a week, losing
-nearly five days. We therefore enjoyed our
-speed the more. The hills were picturesque
-in the variety of their shapes; their jaggedness
-and grouping were beyond imagination.
-One cluster was surmounted by an enormous
-stone, fluted like a sea-shell, looking as if it
-were placed there for a memorial purpose.
-There was another hill which terminated
-in the appearance of a man’s head, the face
-upward, the features regular, and so much
-resembling one of the sailors that it received
-his name. Flocks of wild ducks, twenty or
-thirty in each, albatrosses, cape hens, cape
-pigeons, penguins or divers, were abundant.
-These penguins float with only the head
-above water, and dive often; they all made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span>
-the scene most lively. We sat or stood three
-or four hours enjoying the wild enchantment.
-It was worth to any one a voyage from New
-York. We saw no trace of an inhabitant.
-They are said to be of large stature, almost
-naked, their skin and flesh toughened by the
-climate. They do no tillage, but live on
-shell-fish and game. I shall always remember
-this region for its wild beauty and seemingly
-intense barrenness.</p>
-
-<p>We came up with a New-Bedford whaler;
-the name “Selah” was on her quarter, whaleboats
-over her side, and men at the mast-head,
-looking for whales or seals. We also descried
-a large ship ahead of us which we
-overtook. She proved to be the “Cambrian,”
-Liverpool, seventy days out. We enjoyed
-the sight of her, an iron vessel, with
-wire rigging, neat and handsome.</p>
-
-<div id="il_4" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 44em;">
- <img src="images/i_084b.jpg" width="1389" height="769" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p>
-CAPE HORN. <a href="#Page_84" class="in2">Page 84</a>.
-</p></div></div>
-
-<p>At length we saw Cape Horn Island, the
-object of our desire, and at 7, <span class="allsmcap">P. M.</span>, were
-abreast of it. Some high rocks stood about
-like sentinels. We were within a mile of
-the Cape.</p>
-
-<p>Cape Horn Island is the southernmost extremity
-of Tierra del Fuego, in south latitude
-55° 58´. It is the southern termination of a
-group of rocky islands surmounted with a
-dome-like hill, out of which is a projection
-like a straight horn. But Schouten, the
-Dutch discoverer, is said to have named Cape
-Horn from <i xml:lang="nl" lang="nl">Hoorn</i>, in the Netherlands, his
-native place. The whole hill is a bare rock;
-indeed, how could anything, even the lowest
-forms of vegetable life, find root on a place
-smitten as this is by the waves? Only the
-lichens, stealing with seeming compassion
-over every form in nature doomed to barrenness,
-succeed in holding on to these rocks.
-The hill is about eight hundred feet high, its
-base environed by low, black rocks, with not
-a sign even of marine vegetation. One line<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span>
-of these rocks looks like a fort, the seeming
-gateway, higher than the rest of the wall,
-being composed of perpendicular fragments.
-All along the base of the rough hill, low,
-irregular piles, like a growth of thorns and
-brambles around a bowlder in a field, constitute
-a fringe, as though Nature felt that
-the place needed some appropriate decoration;
-and what could be more so than that
-which she has here given? For a long space
-toward the termination of the Cape, sharp
-rocks stand up in groups, and some apart,
-making a gradual ending of the scene, all in
-agreement with the wildness which marks
-the region.</p>
-
-<p>The sight of this spot, one landmark of our
-continent, can never fade from the memory
-of the beholder. Like many a distinguished
-object it is of moderate size, its impressiveness
-being due not to its bulk or height, but
-to its position. At first you are disappointed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span>
-in not seeing at such a place something colossal;
-you would have it mountainous; at
-least, you would have thought that it would
-be columnar. Nothing of this; you have
-the disappointment which you feel on seeing
-for the first time a distinguished man,
-whom you find to be of low stature, whereas
-you would have had him of imposing appearance.
-But soon, however, you feel that you
-are at one of the ends of the earth. Here
-the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans begin, the
-great deep dividing itself into those two
-principal features of our globe. Anything
-monumental, any thing statuesque, or even
-picturesque, here, you feel would be trifling.
-Like silence, more expressive at times than
-speech, the total absence of all display here
-is sublimity itself; you would not have it
-otherwise than an infinite solitude, unpretentious,
-without form, almost chaotic. Around
-this point it is as though there were a contest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span>
-to which ocean each billow shall divide; here
-the winds and waters make incessant war;
-the sea always roars and the fulness thereof.
-The rocks which finally terminate the Cape
-stand apart, as you sometimes see corners of
-blocks of buildings where an extensive fire
-has raged and the most of the walls have
-fallen in; but here and there a shoulder of
-a wall overhangs the ruins.</p>
-
-<p>We stood together as we passed the last
-landmarks, and sang,</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">It had been a day from beginning to end of
-constant pleasure, from the moment that we
-entered the Straits of Le Maire. We had
-accomplished one great design in our voyage.
-Would that the pleasant theory that musical
-sounds leave their vibration in the air might
-have reality given to it, and praise to God
-break forth from all of every language who
-navigate the Cape!</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span></p>
-
-<p>We had reason to feel that we were not a
-great way from circumpolar regions; for at
-a quarter before eleven, the night previous,
-there were lingering streaks of pink light in
-the west. We never before read out of doors
-so late in the evening as we did that 21st of
-December on deck.</p>
-
-<p>We had been steering south, going five degrees
-below the Cape; then we needed to
-turn and go northward; but the fierce winds
-made no account of our plan. You may be
-several weeks trying in vain, as a ship belonging
-to our firm was, to double the Cape;
-but by favoring winds, we were only six days.
-Once only during this time had we a full
-view of the Horn; our captain had been
-here six times, and now for the second time
-only saw the Cape. Nothing lay between
-us and the Antarctic Circle and the South
-Pole. The waves were Cape-Horn swells,
-peculiar to that region. The sight of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span>
-ocean there was wild beyond description.
-Now and then the sun would come out, but
-his smile seemed sarcastic. Going on deck
-to view the tempest you are made to feel, as
-the ship goes down into deep places, that
-you would be more surprised at her coming
-up than if she should disappear. It is a
-good time and place for faith. One of the
-Latin fathers said, “Qui discat orare, discat
-navigare;” Let him who would learn to
-pray go to sea. It is to be doubted whether
-there are many places on the globe where
-one feels the power of solitude precisely as
-here. In the depth of a wilderness, or among
-mountains, solitude is more like death; but
-here it seems to have consciousness; you are
-spell-bound by some awful power; there is
-an infinitude about these watery realms; it
-seems like being in eternity. In the ascent
-of Mont Blanc, while gazing from the Mer
-de Glace on those needles of granite, inaccessible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span>
-except to the eagle, I once felt that
-nothing could exceed the sense of desolateness
-there inspired; but to be at the end of a
-continent, with two oceans separating and
-forming a wild race-way where they go asunder,
-all the winds and storms being summoned
-to witness the inauguration of two
-oceans, their frantic uproar seemingly designed
-for the great occasion, Patagonia and
-Tierra del Fuego with their stupendous solitudes
-listening to the clamor; and then the
-feeling that the next place recorded on the
-map is the Antarctic Circle, with its barriers
-of cold and ice, you are warranted in the
-conviction that you are as near the confines
-of unearthly dimensions as you can be on
-this planet. You think of home, and the
-thought of your separation from friends and
-country and your consignment to these awful
-wilds, gives you a feeling of littleness, of
-nothingness, seldom if ever experienced elsewhere.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span>
-And here is the proud ship that
-stretched her length in the pier at New York
-so far as to hold her spar over the passing
-drays, reaching almost to the opposite ware-rooms,
-now less than an egg-shell in these
-waters,—a tiny nautilus, a bubble, whose
-destruction any moment, unseen by any
-human eye, could not detain any of these
-proud waters to be so much as a mound over
-her grave.</p>
-
-<p>One day, before we entered the Straits and
-reached Cape Horn, along the neighborhood
-of Patagonia, the sea was more than usually
-disturbed, a ground-swell succeeding a gale
-lifting the waves higher than we had seen
-them, so that the motion of the ship had no
-uniformity for any two consecutive moments
-during the larger part of the day,—a cold,
-cheerless day, the sun now and then shining
-faintly, the wind ahead, no chance for a nautical
-observation, everything to the last degree<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span>
-forlorn. A bird came in all this turmoil
-and lighted in the water near the ship,
-and swam about us. The sight suggested
-the following <span class="locked">lines:—</span></p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">THE CAPE-HORN ALBATROSS.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">The ship lay tossing on the stormy ocean,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">A head wind challenging her right of way;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Sail after sail she furled; in exultation</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">The waves accounted her their yielding prey.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">On her lee beam the Patagonia coast line</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Keeps ambushed reefs to snare the drifting keel;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">We fancied breakers in the dying sunshine,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">And questioned what the daybreak would reveal.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">No cities, towns, nor quiet rural village</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Gladden the heart along this lonely way;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But cannibals may lurk with death and pillage</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">For all whom winds and currents force astray.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">The Falkland Isles, Tierra del Fuego,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Straits of Le Maire, the near Antarctic Zone,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The stormy Horn, whose rocks the tempest echo,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Can faith and courage there maintain their throne?</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Watching the swell from out the cabin windows,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">The towering waves piled high and steep appear;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But what is riding on those mighty billows?</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">An albatross. The sight allays my fear.</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Her snow-white breast she settles on the water,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Her dark wings fluttering while she trims her form,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Then calmly rides; nor can the great waves daunt her,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Nor will she heed the menace of the storm.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">She spreads her wings, flies low across the vessel,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">She scans the wake, then sails around the bows,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Not moving either pinion; much I marvel</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">How like one flying in a dream she goes.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">She craves the presence of no other sea-bird;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">She revels in the power to go at will;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The ocean solitudes, the wandering seaward,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">The distant sail, her daring spirit thrill.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Behold, this fowl hath neither barn nor storehouse;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">An unseen Hand assists her search for food;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Storms bring her up deep things of ocean’s produce,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Prized the more highly in the storm pursued.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">With joy each day I’ll take the wings of morning,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Dwell in the utmost parts of this lone sea;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">E’en there thy hand shall lead me, still adoring,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">And thy right hand shall hold who trust in Thee.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3>ROUND THE HORN.</h3>
-
-<p>It became stormy in the afternoon of December
-21st, with rain. We were driven off
-our course. The sea came over the sides of
-the main deck. The motion of the ship was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span>
-that of a rocking horse. She was so full of
-a cantering spirit that I knew it would be
-useless to expect sleep in my berth, so I lay
-upon a cabin sofa and had rest. The waves
-were Cape Horn swells. We are directly at
-the foot of the American continent inclining
-upwards toward the North. Should we do
-as well the rest of the way as the preceding,
-we shall be a hundred and twelve days only
-from New York to San Francisco. We were
-all on deck this afternoon enjoying the Cape
-Horn scenery. The captain and I talked of
-an event in our family history when he was
-eight years old, which made this day memorable.
-We did not then dream of going round
-Cape Horn twenty-one years from that day.
-“O how great is thy goodness which thou
-hast laid up for them that fear thee, which
-thou hast wrought for them which trust in
-thee before the sons of men.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span></p>
-
-<h3>DANGERS IN THE CABIN.</h3>
-
-<p>Dec. 24. The gale to-day exceeded anything
-which we have had. The sight of the
-ocean was wild beyond description. I went
-on deck and held on, to see the tempest.
-The ship went down into deep places, more
-profound, seemingly, than ever before. But
-she is a noble sea boat. We have understood
-how men become enthusiastically attached
-to the vessel which they are ready to
-think has consciously borne them around the
-globe.</p>
-
-<p>You soon are so much used to the wild
-behavior of the sea that you lose all apprehension
-of danger. Some experiences in the
-cabin, in bad weather, make you feel that
-you are more safe on deck where you seem
-to have more ‘sea room.’ It is hard to walk
-in the cabin; the walls are so near you that
-your eye is more affected with the motion
-than on deck. You must watch for a windward<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span>
-roll, which does not let you down so
-low or so violently as a lee roll; then you
-run to your seat or to a side of the cabin,
-where you grasp something till the lee lurch
-has spent itself, when you make for the next
-point, like runners in playing ball. The
-difficulty of lifting your feet is marvellous.
-You are as really cumbered as though you
-had weights on your feet, or wore heavy
-clothing. It is amusing to see even the captain
-pause in the middle of the cabin, unable
-to move, his feet judiciously wide apart,
-waiting for the back roll to restore the level.
-He retorts by expressing the wish that the
-congregation at home could see their pastor
-in his efforts to get across the cabin.</p>
-
-<p>But it is not all fun. I was sitting about
-six feet from the stove in the dining-room, in
-the forward cabin, in the low easy-chair
-which we brought from home. The back
-legs were inside a closet, the threshold of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span>
-which it was hoped would serve for a stay
-against sliding; when the ship gave a lurch,
-and I went head first into the low wooden
-box, in which the stove, a very heavy one,
-stood, my weight pushing the stove out of
-place, and bringing me down on my knees
-and wrists, the chair following me on my
-back. The steward ran and helped me up.
-After a few moments I was well, but I
-record this as a merciful preservation. Feeling
-strong and able-bodied, I have no trouble
-from such mishaps, but I would not advise
-a feeble person to go to sea, certainly not
-round Cape Horn; but if he must go, to be
-as careful in the cabin as he can see that he
-must be on deck.</p>
-
-<h3>CHRISTMAS AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>It would have been pleasant to our friends
-to see stockings on our door handles and to
-witness the contents. Mine had a colored-letter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span>
-drawing of the words, “The Lord is
-my Shepherd;” a long shoe-case made of
-duck, bound with green; a small muslin bag
-filled with lumps of white sugar, marked,
-Cape Horn confectionary. The captain had
-a green necktie, made in a region where
-neckties are not often devised, the materials,
-however, unquestionably from “Chandler’s”
-or “Hovey’s;” also a pen-wiper; the mates
-had some articles of needle work, and chains
-made in part of bloom raisins which came
-the other day from the brig Hazard. Fresh
-raisins off Cape Horn are a greater curiosity
-and luxury than friends at home can suppose.
-The captain’s presents to the donors
-of these gifts were, a jar of pickles and a
-bottle of olives; mine were destined to be for
-some time useless, there being no shops in
-this region; but the small pieces of gold expressed
-a good intention. The afternoon
-was spent by a party, including the captain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span>
-and first mate, around the stove in the forward
-cabin listening to one of Dickens’
-Christmas Carols, they having already enjoyed
-six volumes of his works in beguiling
-some dreary afternoons; also, in amusing
-themselves with the exercise of “bean bags,”
-on deck. When it was dark we were entertained
-with narratives of expedients which
-were used in preparing the presents, the
-emptying of the rag bag and the search
-among its contents for materials, the difficulty
-of standing, of going about and even of
-sitting at work while the ship was playing
-her antics of position; the devices by the
-principal actors in hanging up the presents
-so as to elude detection, pretending unusual
-wakefulness in sitting up beyond midnight
-and trying to persuade the captain that he
-needed sleep; and especially the attempt to
-keep awake beyond the hour when the mate
-would come down to the pantry to refresh<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span>
-himself with a bite of salt beef and pie.
-The amusements of the day ended with putting
-down the cabin light and standing at
-the window to see and hear the boatswain
-perform his Christmas Carol, sitting in his
-little room, his feet on his bunk level with
-his head, he singing, “Shall we gather at
-the river?” his pipe in his hand lifted to his
-mouth for a few whiffs at the end of each
-verse, the pipe seemingly performing the part
-of the customary interlude on the musical
-instrument at church. So we had our Christmas
-presents where a year ago we little expected.
-Last evening we observed our custom
-of having Milton’s Christmas Hymn read
-to us, the captain being appointed the reader.
-It was very dark and stormy at noon, but we
-had a merry Christmas.</p>
-
-<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
-
-<p>Dec. 26. It rains, and there is the thickest
-fog which it seems to me I ever saw. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span>
-groped my way into the bows, to look, as a
-transcendentalist would say, “into the invisible.”
-A sailor was in the bows alone,
-leaning against the forestay, wrapped in his
-oil-cloth coat, looking out for any vessel
-which might be passing. His watch was for
-two hours, a dreary, uninteresting service.
-He was a young man, full of zeal to go
-aloft, among the first to venture out to the
-weather earring, to leap upon the swinging
-board over the side or stern in painting.
-None seem so happy as the boys of the crew;
-but this duty of watching in a fog, of a cold
-day, has as little excitement in it as any thing
-in a sailor’s routine.</p>
-
-<h3>A YOUNG SAILOR’S EXPERIENCE.</h3>
-
-<p>One who had been several years before the
-mast and afterwards successively third,
-second, first mate, lately said to me, “When
-a young man, standing on the top gallant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span>
-forecastle, leaning against the forestay, in a
-foggy day or dark night, the ship rushing
-into the dark unknown beyond, I sometimes
-thought, What if there should be an end to
-the sea, a precipice over which we should
-plunge, an undiscovered continent against
-which we should run! How did Columbus
-feel on his first voyage in a fog or in darkness?
-What a picture of life, its unknown
-future! so little the sailor knows what may
-be ahead of the ship; but the captain, confident
-in his chart, compass and reckoning,
-knows the way that he takes.”</p>
-
-<p>I have been much affected by what the
-young sailor told me of his first months
-before the mast; how he parted with members
-of his family circle, the ship just taken
-in tow by the tug, the last line which held
-them to the shore cast off, he standing with
-his arm on the rail, his head on his hand,
-looking at those he loved best on earth, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span>
-thinking what scenes he should pass through
-in the sixteen months before he should see
-them, if ever, again; when he was roused
-from his reverie by the mate’s calling to him,
-“Boy, what are you standing there for? go
-forward and tie up those cabbages.” He
-saw one of his family waving a handkerchief
-to him; but he was ashamed to be seen
-answering it; the hour of sentiment had
-passed; he must go and tie up the cabbages.
-The first few nights at sea the profane, vile
-talk of some of the sailors at night used to
-keep him awake, astonished and terrified.
-He used to say to himself, “My God! have I
-come to this? Did I once have a christian
-home? Why did I leave it? The physician
-said that I must go to sea, but he could not
-have known what life in a forecastle is. An
-old sailor said to me, ‘Boy, do you know
-that you stepped into hell afloat, when you
-came here?’ Soon I managed to stop up<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span>
-my ears when I turned in, so as not to hear
-the dreadful talk.”</p>
-
-<p>I said to him, “How did you help using
-their language and practising their wicked
-ways?”</p>
-
-<p>He replied, “So far from corrupting me
-you will think it strange, perhaps, if I say
-that it made me more pure. I left off some
-things which I used to practise without
-compunction. But the behavior of the men
-showed me what I should become, if I practised
-any kind of wickedness. When I
-heard the men swear and talk ribaldry, I repeated
-passages of Scripture as fast as I
-could, said all the hymns I could remember,
-and I knew a good many. My sister once
-promised me a half dollar if I would learn
-the Wesminster Assembly’s Shorter Catechism;
-I said it to her, and she gave me the
-money, and I used to say that Catechism
-over and over in bed; Effectual Calling,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span>
-Justification by faith, and, What is required,
-and What is forbidden in each of the commandments,
-used to be to me in that forecastle
-like a cloth dipped in some aromatic
-liquid and pressed to my face.”</p>
-
-<p>I told the young man that if he would
-write and publish his experience he might
-find, by the good that he would do, why
-providence led him into that bitter experience
-in the forecastle.</p>
-
-<p>“I often think,” said he, “of those words:
-‘His way is in the sea,’ for I am sure it has
-been so with me.”</p>
-
-<p>The recollection of this narrative was
-forced upon me in looking into the fog as I
-lay in the knightheads and looked over and
-watched the cutwater breaking the way for
-the ship. But it grew cold, and I retreated
-to the stove.</p>
-
-<p>We had a lively time in the middle of the
-night. The jib could not stand the gale,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span>
-part of it was blown to tatters, much of it
-was blown away. It is a three-cornered sail,
-sixty feet in its extreme length. The men
-said that the noise of the wind among the
-loose sails was as though the forward part of
-the ship was breaking up. The watch below
-had turned in half an hour before, but now
-all hands were ordered on deck. Twenty-four
-men were on the main yard taking in the
-sail. It makes a landsman dizzy to see them
-standing aloft on a foot rope, the wind filling
-the sail and keeping it stiffly bent from them;
-yet they must clutch it, bring it in against
-the wind, holding on by the little slack
-which they must contrive to gather, their
-feet meanwhile with nothing under them but
-a rope. I could liken the noise of the wind
-and the roar of the sea only to the noise
-made by an express train when you are
-standing on a platform at a railway station.
-The sound sleep into which I fell was not disturbed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span>
-by this uproar, but it yielded to so
-slight a cause as the dropping of water upon
-my bed. The hot weather of previous
-weeks had made the chinks open, and now
-the rain had found its way through the deck.
-There was no more sleep in the premises
-for that night. An alarm of fire is hardly
-less effectual in its power to wake you than
-the slow, measured, dripping water. The
-captain brought his india rubber coat, spread
-it over the bed, and made a place for a pool,
-which in the morning was filled, the tenant
-having been obliged to beat a retreat for the
-remainder of the night to a cabin sofa.</p>
-
-<p>Dec. 26. We are almost round the Cape.
-From Lat. 50° South in the Atlantic to 50°
-South in the Pacific is called “round the
-Cape.” We are getting into the longitude
-of Boston, 71° W., so that time with us will
-be the same as with those at home, for a
-while.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span></p>
-
-<h3>THE SHIP’S TRACK.</h3>
-
-<p>Dec. 27. We came within twenty-five
-miles of Tierra del Fuego again, on its
-western side, the wind setting us that way,
-so that we had to tack and run W. instead of
-S. E. The captain, after he has taken an
-observation, draws a line on his chart with
-his pen, showing the distance run and the
-direction for the last twenty-four hours. It
-is described for the last three days thus, (the
-line representing the number of degrees,
-according to an arbitrary measurement, and
-each day indicated by a cipher:)</p>
-
-<div id="il_5" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 45em;">
- <img src="images/i_109a.png" width="1417" height="39" alt=""></div>
-
-<p>Sometimes the course is deflected by contrary
-winds; for example, thus:</p>
-
-<div id="il_6" class="figleft" style="max-width: 20em;">
- <img src="images/i_109b.png" width="984" height="274" alt=""></div>
-
-<p class="in0">which is a loss. We
-have a chart with the
-tracks of several vessels
-printed on it. One vessel was sixty days<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span>
-in getting round the Cape; the winds let us
-pass in twelve. The vessel referred to made
-several squares in her course, with other
-geometrical figures, sailing a part of the time
-thus:</p>
-
-<div id="il_7" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;">
- <img src="images/i_110.png" width="1638" height="481" alt=""></div>
-
-<p class="in0">You hereby see one cause of long passages.
-One day we made only eight miles out of one
-hundred and twenty sailed; a few days before
-we went two hundred and forty miles.
-One day while going round the Cape we
-gained so little that we should be, at that
-rate, one thousand days in getting to San
-Francisco.</p>
-
-<h3>MAKING LAND ROUND THE HORN.</h3>
-
-<p>Dec. 29. Saturday afternoon the captain
-said, “We shall see land before dark.” At<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span>
-sunset our hope was fulfilled. We saw, fifteen
-miles off, a high hill in New Chili,
-formerly a part of Patagonia. We tacked and
-ran S. W. instead of N. W. To-day the
-head wind beat us within twelve miles of
-land, and again we had to tack. We must
-do it once more this evening. The captain
-evidently has a great strain on his mind,
-though he says but little. He keeps on deck
-a large part of the time of late, leaving little
-or nothing to the mates.</p>
-
-<h3>THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR.</h3>
-
-<p>A year ago to-day I should have anticipated
-being anywhere as here. Never have
-I had so much cause for wonder and joy at
-the close of a year. Blessed sickness! which
-prepared the way into the wilderness of
-waters. It would not be easy to trace the
-connection of the following lines which occurred
-to me about this time, with the meditations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span>
-suggested by the close of the year;
-but I had been thinking of our Omnipresent
-Saviour as once living in a house; a humble
-dwelling, no doubt, in “a city called Nazareth.”
-It was good to think of Him who has
-now gone up on high that he might fill all
-things, as once tabernacled with men. The
-train of thought will serve for an illustration
-of the liberty which the mind will sometimes
-take of being independent of situation and
-circumstances:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“And the two disciples heard him speak, and they
-followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them
-following, and saith unto them, What seek ye?
-They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being
-interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He
-saith unto them, Come and see. They came and
-saw where he dwelt and abode with him that day;
-for it was about the tenth hour.” John <span class="allsmcap">I.</span> 37, 39.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">This roof once covered him who built the sky;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A room inclosed him who now fills all space</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">With thousand thousands rendering ministry;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He led the way to this His dwelling place,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And two disciples shared his courtesies,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Had friendly talk and brake their privacies,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Nor once withdrew from him their wondering eyes.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Sleep soothed him here whose eyes are flames of fire;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Here waked he at the crowing of the cock;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hunger and thirst his daily thoughts require</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Who now feeds worlds, as one would feed a flock.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Here would he kneel in prayer; dominions own</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Him sovereign, bide his orders; round his throne</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Prayers ceaseless rise, urged in his name alone.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Not far from this abode the wild gazelle</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Cropped the red lilies and would venture near.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The devils knew him, cried, foreboding ill,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Fell down before him with tormenting fear.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Diseases fled; he stayed the expiring breath,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Bade the blind see; he brake the bars of death,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">His home, the while, despised Nazareth.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">By night upon this housetop oft he sat;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He watched the young moon as the light of day</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Grew dim from east to west; he tarrying yet</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Her crescent sank; on snow crowned Hermon lay</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span>
- <div class="verse indent0">The lingering twilight, with a roseate hue</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Tinging the snow, the small hills lost to view.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He formed that light; he framed the darkness too.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Let me believe that on this humble floor</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">His mother sought a piece of money lost,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And swept the house; his young eyes counting o’er</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The pieces nine, she craved the stray piece most.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He wandering o’er these hills of Galilee</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Beheld a flock all shepherdless and free,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The shepherd searching one through brake and lea.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Faith loves the mystery which it cannot read,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">How he a child once in a manger lay,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Yet prayed he thus: The glory which I had</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">With Thee ere time was now repeat in me.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The eastern wise men to his cradle came,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Yet said this child; “Ere Abraham was, I am;”</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He made the star which did their zeal inflame.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">All which the twelve possessed by faith I have;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">I live by faith of thee, thou Son of God!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Yet would I this my tabernacle leave</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And look upon my Lord in his abode.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">When in the lonesome valley praying thee,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">“Master, where dwelleth thou?” do thou on me</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Let fall the whisper, saying, ‘Come and see’.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3>NEW YEAR’S DIVERSIONS.</h3>
-
-<p>The serious and ludicrous are near akin
-in emotional relationship, for we often pass
-without a shock from the one to the other,
-and it matters not which takes precedence.
-Some of our company younger than the rest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span>
-yearned for sport. So the captain said that
-they might have a candy scrape. Accordingly
-some molasses was sent to the galley to
-be boiled, while the chief agents in the enterprise
-shelled some nuts to be put into a
-part of it, the rest being intended to be pulled
-and therefore was kept clear. The molasses
-proved to be old and fermented, therefore it
-did not boil well and so could not harden.
-The result was, instead of nut candy, a pan
-of sour molasses mixed with nuts, which was
-offered to us as a second course at supper.
-The other half of the molasses was sentenced
-to be boiled over again. The steward appeared
-with it and laid it before the adepts in
-candy frolics; but it looked like a mass of
-kelp; he had vainly tried to work it into a
-state which would tempt the appetite; but it
-was too stiff to be pulled, so he had chopped
-it into a likeness to sticks. Though it tasted
-burnt and sour, it was pronounced as good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span>
-as could be expected.—At sundown one of
-the mates found some fire crackers which had
-escaped discovery in some former voyage.
-The sailors were allowed to celebrate the advent
-of New Year, so they borrowed of the
-steward some tin vessels and as soon as eight
-bells were struck, forward and aft, they
-set up a fearful din and the crackers were
-fired, to welcome the incoming year. The
-noise resembled that with which, as we afterwards
-observed, the Chinese prelude their
-fights. In the midst of the tumult the stentorian
-voice of the boatswain was heard
-resounding some admonitory strain, ending
-with his favorite canticle, “On Canaan’s
-happy shore.”</p>
-
-<h3>FAIR WEATHER PAST THE HORN.</h3>
-
-<p>After beating about the Horn for eight
-days, going only from forty to eighty miles
-day after day, a fine breeze sprung up and we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span>
-have for twenty-four hours been going at the
-rate of ten knots an hour, sometimes faster.
-To look out of the cabin windows and see
-the water racing by makes one dizzy, and
-you hasten on deck to gratify the eye with a
-longer range of sight.</p>
-
-<p>12 <span class="allsmcap">M.</span>, we have made two hundred and
-fifty-nine miles the last twenty-four hours,
-the best day’s run of the voyage thus far.
-In the Gulf we made two hundred and fifty
-miles, and once nearly as much off the River
-Plate.</p>
-
-<p>One of the tiniest little fishes which we
-have seen was found on deck. It was
-washed over the side yesterday when every
-twenty minutes a sea came over the rail.
-The little thing shows us what the birds pick
-up at sea. “The small and the great are
-there.” We are glad to see the smallest
-thing in this region of wonders in the deep.</p>
-
-<p>We are now fully round the Horn, having<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span>
-passed beyond 50° S., which completed the
-semicircle. At 12 <span class="allsmcap">M.</span> one day lately we had
-gone beyond 50° to 43°. Patches of blue
-sky appear. Our spirits are revived. The
-ship seems to partake of our joy. Toward
-evening to-day she seemed to the captain
-to be exerting herself beyond her strength,
-having on a crowd of canvas. He ordered
-the royals to be taken down, to our regret;
-but it relieved her. We are promised another
-race at daybreak should the weather be fair.</p>
-
-<h3>CHANGE OF SEASONS AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>One of the pleasant things about this
-voyage is, the frequent change of seasons.
-Leaving New York late in October we were
-in a few days in the warm region of the
-Gulf; then came spring and summer in the
-tropics, then fall and winter with severe
-blasts round the Horn. To-day, Jan. 6th,
-spring seems to have dawned. By Jan. 20th,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span>
-we shall have premonitions of summer heat.
-I took my old seat on the house under the
-mizzenmast, a mild air about me yet strong
-enough to bear the ship along at the rate of
-eight or nine knots, the sky clear, the water
-smooth, the horizon distinct, everything indicating
-our approach to the tropics.</p>
-
-<h3>THE MORNING HOUR.</h3>
-
-<p>If I were asked, “What recurs to you
-most frequently with pleasure in your experience
-at sea thus far”, I should say, The
-hour under the mizzen mast, morning after
-morning. The solitude there was unrivalled.
-In the depths of a forest you are not sure of
-being alone; for you yourself have come
-thither, and what hinders the approach of
-others? Half of the ship’s company are
-asleep; those who are up are busily occupied;
-before you left your bed you heard the
-tramp of feet overhead. The dash of buckets<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span>
-of water, the noise of brooms, the holy-stone
-drawn backwards and forwards and
-athwart ship, and then the perfect quiet,
-made you feel that everything was ready for
-any one who wished to be alone on deck.
-Behind you, but hidden from view by the
-spanker, is the man at the wheel; the rudder-head
-jounces monotonously at every turn;
-a sailor here and there creeps about barefooted;
-the steward makes his official visits to
-the galley; these, and the few others who
-are stirring, only seem to make you feel that
-you are isolated. The depths are around
-you; the distant sail tells you that yonder is
-a company of human beings shut out like
-you from the world; you understand how
-solitary you are, by musing on them; you
-fancy how lonesome you would be sailing
-away, as they seem to be, from human fellowship,
-not considering that you are also. I had
-made an index to the book of Psalms, easily<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span>
-drawn up, and had written it on paper the
-size of a small ‘Testament and Psalms,’ twelve
-pages, and had pasted it in my small Testament.
-I did not need De Wette, nor Rosenmuller,
-nor any other commentator to remind
-me that a word of David was in Hiphil
-or Hophal, Piel or Pual; the index, looked
-over, beginning; A, As the hart panteth,
-42. B, Behold, bless ye, 134. D, Deliver
-me from, 59, would each day suggest a
-Psalm which seemed to have the same key
-note with the feelings with which I had
-awaked. No song of bird, no wheels, nor
-hum of labor disturbed the exceeding peace
-which all nature seemed to have concentrated,
-in this morning hour in the solitude of ocean.
-I could not refrain from thinking how it
-would have been wholly broken up by paddle
-wheels or propeller, and by the sympathy
-which the jaded mind would have with the
-incessant walking beam, the alternating pistons;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span>
-and by the column of black smoke, the
-imprisoned steam. Let trade, and strong
-nerves, and economy of time, and imperative
-engagements gratefully avail themselves of
-machinery in passing from one side of the sea
-to the other, but let some sailing vessels be
-spared, with their poetry of motion, and architecture
-of canvas, mystery of rigging, habits,
-usages, phraseology, modes of life, the tar and
-slush, the going aloft instead of down into the
-furnace room, the laying becalmed instead of
-driving ahead impetuously, reckless of wind
-and weather. In our desire for the advancement
-of mankind, we do not calculate for indisposition.
-It is out of place. But these
-clipper ships could not be better contrived
-for comfort, had they been arranged expressly
-for invalids.</p>
-
-<h3>CLEANING SHIP.</h3>
-
-<p>We are having the first premonition of
-port. The sailors are employed washing the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span>
-white paint with potash in the way of spring
-cleaning. Every rope in the standing rigging
-is to be tarred and the ship is to be painted
-inside and outside, so that when she enters
-port she will look as new as when she left
-home. You may wonder how a vessel can
-be painted outside at sea. Here in the
-Pacific there are days when the weather and
-the swell of the sea allow staging to be lashed
-to the side, stern, and bows, and men move
-safely from point to point with brushes.</p>
-
-<h3>THROWING MANUSCRIPTS OVERBOARD.</h3>
-
-<p>When first I began to throw writings overboard
-I was careful to tear them into small
-pieces, supposing that they might be picked
-up. I soon learned that this was useless.
-The captain seeing me do it told me that he
-would be willing to throw any writing into
-the sea fearless of its being found and read.
-In a very little while the water would reduce
-it to pulp, the incessant motion would destroy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span>
-it, and even if it did not, the chance
-of its being picked up or washed ashore
-would be many millions to one of its ever
-coming into anybody’s hand. Among the
-countless things which we had seen afloat we
-never saw at sea a piece of writing. After
-this I took some old manuscripts on deck and
-threw them overboard, leaf by leaf. A sermon
-which one of the children at home had
-written for me in pencil from dictation I had
-copied in ink and the original was now useless.
-Mother Cary’s chickens flew down
-upon the pages as they one after another settled
-on the water, and finally a large albatross
-came, lighted on the water, watched
-the leaves as they floated along and tried to
-eat one. We little imagined, that rainy
-afternoon as we sat on the piazza at Milton,
-that the leaves which one who may read
-this held in her hand would pass under the
-eye of a Cape Horn albatross on the Pacific
-Ocean.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span></p>
-
-<h3>BURNING TAR BARRELS.</h3>
-
-<p>When the sailors have used up a barrel of
-tar, they have sport in putting kerosene in
-the barrel, lighting it, and dropping it to leeward.
-It blazes, vehemently, and while we
-sail away from it we cannot persuade ourselves
-that it is not moving rapidly from us.
-The swell of the sea causes it to disappear
-now and then, rising up occasionally very far
-astern. Some on shore have thought that
-this might be a false light to vessels. Sailors
-are too well accustomed to the practice to be
-deceived by it; but apart from this, in mid
-ocean there is no danger of mistaking it for a
-light house.—Having spoken of dropping the
-barrel to leeward rather than to windward
-where it might be blown against the ship, I
-am reminded of a prudential maxim at sea:
-Never throw anything overboard to windward
-but 1. Ashes; 2. Hot water.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span></p>
-
-<h3>TEN THOUSAND MILES FROM HOME.</h3>
-
-<p>We have sailed over ten thousand miles,
-and have five thousand more to sail before
-we come to “Frisco.” It seems strange to
-think of arriving there by land in ten days
-from home, while we have been from Oct.
-26th to Jan. 12th, seventy-eight days, on our
-way. If we were in haste to reach our port
-this difference of speed would try our patience.
-As it is we are grateful; it seems
-painful to be whirled along in ten days, night
-and day, instead of coming at our leisure unmindful
-of time, willing to be where we are,
-indefinitely, except that we sympathize with
-the captain’s desire to make a short voyage,
-and feeling willing also to shorten this part
-of our way knowing that we shall have sufficient
-experience of the sea by the time that
-we have belted the globe.</p>
-
-<h3>A SAILOR AT HIS MEAL.</h3>
-
-<p>Seeing a sailor go to the galley with his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span>
-tin pan, receive his allowance from the cook,
-take it out on deck, seat himself on a spar, I
-was reminded of his limited supply of table
-cutlery. But in the first place he has no
-table. He holds his pan in his hand, lays
-his biscuit on the spar, his drink along side
-of it, takes his piece of potato, turnip, cabbage
-with his finger, serves his bone in the
-same way, and if the piece of meat which
-has fallen to his lot needs to be divided he
-feels for his sheath knife which he carries all
-the time in its sheath behind him, holds the
-meat with one hand and makes the sheath
-knife play the part both of knife and fork.
-He wipes his fingers on his pants. Artificial
-and useless do many things appear at sea,
-as, for example, forks, napkins, and, of course,
-napkin rings, doilies, sugar bowls, slop bowls,
-saucers, ladles, dessert spoons; in short the
-things absolutely indispensable at a sailor’s
-meal could be counted on the fingers of one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span>
-hand, omitting the thumb and little finger.
-Yet there are frequently young men in a
-crew who have been used to the numberless
-luxuries of life. I had a talk yesterday with
-the son of a minister; early in the voyage his
-fine face attracted me. He has eleven brothers
-and sisters at home. He had a desire to
-see the world; was weary of the shop, of the
-few associates in a country village. This is
-his first long voyage. He makes light of
-privations and dangers; says that almost all
-the things which he used to have on the
-table at home would now seem superfluities.
-He would need experience to make them
-necessary. He would feel toward some of
-them, no doubt, as a sailor did in a boarding
-house who spit on the floor, which the waiter
-perceiving kept pushing a spittoon nearer to
-him; till at last the sailor annoyed by it
-said, “If you keep pushing that thing so
-near to me I shall be in danger of spitting in
-it.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span></p>
-
-<h3>BRILLIANT NIGHT.</h3>
-
-<p>The moon set at half past nine, and left
-the heavens aglow. Imagine the milky way,
-without its milky appearance, all the haze
-gone, the stars in it in crowds. The nebulous
-light dissolves in brilliant worlds, the
-Southern Cross at one end,</p>
-
-<div id="il_8" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 8em;">
- <img src="images/i_129.png" width="396" height="545" alt=""></div>
-
-<p class="in0">just above the Southern horizon, Orion at the
-other end in the zenith, and several of the
-bright constellations full in view.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a></p>
-
-<h3>THE SOUTH EAST TRADE WINDS.</h3>
-
-<p>We celebrated a birthday a few days since,
-(Jan. 8th,) by having the South East Trades<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span>
-set in, blowing us on our direct course to San
-Francisco. Rose at six and sat on deck, the
-ship going at the rate of eleven knots, the
-foam flying before us in sheets. These S. E.
-Trade winds blow from 25° S. to the Equator,
-both in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
-The N. E. Trades blow from Lat. 30° N. to
-lat. 5° N.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a></p>
-
-<h3>RELIGIOUS INTEREST.</h3>
-
-<p>My colleague, the captain, spoke to the
-crew on the Prodigal Son. We have conversed
-with several of the men, and have
-found that there are among them those who
-make a practice of secret prayer. We concluded
-to have a meeting in the evening,
-when we would explain the way to be saved.
-Twenty-four of the crew were present; indeed
-all who could be spared from duty. I spoke
-from the words, “Ho, every one that thirsteth,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span>
-&amp;c., (Is. 55,) and the captain followed.
-Some of them showed a tearful interest. I
-advised them to begin and act as believers in
-the Saviour of men, to give up the long,
-wearisome endeavor which some of them had
-confessed to me they had been pursuing for
-years, to find if they were christians, or
-when and how they became such. Several
-of them are members of christian families,
-all of them have heard the gospel, understand
-the way of acceptance with God, are
-respectful in their attendance on religious
-service, show at times that they are impressed
-with the truths which they hear. It
-is deeply affecting to speak to these men.
-Soon they will be scattered to the four winds.
-Few of them shall we meet again in this
-world. This thought cannot fail to make
-one affectionate and earnest in preaching to
-them. It may be stated here that I never
-felt more deeply the privilege of declaring<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span>
-the gospel to men, nor did I in my congregation
-ever feel more the need of carefulness in
-my statement of christian truth. These men
-weighed everything which was spoken, did not
-care for excellency of speech, nor man’s wisdom;
-loved simplicity, felt nothing compared
-with the representations of Christ, his words,
-his treatment by men, his claims on them, his
-present and future glory, and his coming to
-judge the world.</p>
-
-<h3>SCRIPTURE PROMISES.</h3>
-
-<p>These have been a great, I may truly say,
-constant source of delight: “Have not I
-commanded thee? Be strong and of a good
-courage; for the Lord thy God is with thee
-whithersoever thou goest.” Jos. I, 9. This
-was so impressed on my mind before leaving
-home, that I ventured to take it for my sailing
-orders. I feel that I have not come to
-sea of my own motion. I tried every other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span>
-method of recovery, had many other plans
-of travel; but one after another was frustrated,
-and I was shut up to this, which, like
-a certain iron gate before a prisoner and his
-angel, is beautifully said to have “opened to
-them of his own accord.” I have no expectation
-other than that all will be well. Everything
-has proceeded so much better than I
-could have expected that there seems to be
-nothing to do but to receive trustfully every
-day’s experience. Words of Scripture have
-had a wonderfully sedative effect. When
-the sea rises I remember, “The Lord on high
-is mightier than the noise of many waters,
-yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.”
-Ps. 93. One day in the Gulf Stream, when all
-around was in confusion, I thought of these
-words: “The waters saw thee, O God, the
-waters saw thee; they were afraid; the
-depths also were troubled.” Ps. 77:10. It
-was a comfort to know that there is One of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span>
-whom the sea is afraid. If my heart can say,
-“O God, thou art my God,” why should I
-fear the sea? I may even say, “Lord, if it
-be thou, bid me come to thee on the water;”
-I may even come down out of the ship to go to
-Jesus. I was glad that the sea was afraid;
-it gave me a feeling of superiority to the sea.
-Paul says, “And in nothing terrified by your
-adversaries, which,” that is, your not being
-terrified, “is to them an evident token of
-perdition, but to you of salvation, and that
-of God.” One morning, lately, at home, as
-I was rising, my eye was caught by these
-words in the “Scripture Promises” which
-hung in my room: “When thou passest
-through the waters I will be with thee.” Is.
-43:2. This, and the passage above quoted
-from Joshua, are most frequently in my
-thoughts. If those at home could look in
-upon us, they would give thanks. The day
-before we left New York, a clergyman who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span>
-came on board said, “Probably the history
-of navigation contains no instance more remarkable
-than this: A father and daughters
-going to sea with a son and brother for captain,
-with everything combining to make
-them happy.” We said with thankful
-hearts, “The Lord hath done great things
-for us, whereof we are glad.”</p>
-
-<h3>SUNRISE ON DECK.</h3>
-
-<p>On hearing eight bells last night I supposed
-it to be twelve o’clock. Having gone
-to bed at half past eight I felt rested, looked
-out of my window and thought I saw “The
-Dipper,” not knowing but that the ship was
-tacking and going North. Wishing to salute
-our old friend, the north star, I put on my
-wrapper and went on deck and was told by
-the man at the wheel that it was five o’clock.
-The eight bells were for four o’clock instead
-of twelve, so soundly had I slept. I staid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span>
-up to see the sunrise, wishing to correct the
-impression which I had long cherished that
-there is more to be enjoyed in the idea of
-sunrise than in its actual beauty. This I
-was willing to attribute to the want of disposition
-when drowsy to appreciate the morning.
-We are prejudiced in favor of a departing
-day, look kindly on the advancing darkness;
-we have pleasant associations with the
-season of repose; it awakens no apprehensions
-of care, nor of labor; each step of coming
-night is associated with quiet, while the
-opening day is the signal for noise; we are
-not so much disposed to welcome an untried
-day with its liabilities, as a finished day
-which can make no new demands upon us.
-The valedictory of sundown implies less responsibility
-than the salutatory of a new day.
-The progressive development of evening with
-the softening, fading colors, its pathos, finds
-us more disposed to sympathize with it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span>
-than we are with a day yet to be tested.
-But morning has it votaries and its poetry.
-Therefore,</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indentq">“Now while the Heaven by the sun’s team untrod</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hath took no print of the approaching light,”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">let me see once more if the beauty of morning
-is real or wholly ideal. There are no
-birds in our tops to herald its coming; no
-living things to make it appear that they
-welcome the return of light, the flying fish
-are no more of them on the wing than when
-the ship at night breaks in among them, nor
-do the porpoises gambol more at day break
-than at noon. There is a touch of pathos in
-seeing the stars pale in the growing light;
-but they cannot awaken much sentiment in
-us; we find it, if at all, in the victories of
-light over darkness; the imprint of beauty
-on monotony; the responses of the zenith
-and then of the west to the first outgoings
-of the morning in the east, the crimson bars,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span>
-the purpling cloud, the snowy top of a pile
-whose base is yet black. But do we not
-yield a ready response to these oft quoted
-words, or do we pass them over as the desponding
-language of a decaying race: “Let
-others hail the rising sun,” and count it as
-merely an act of resistless sympathy to “bow
-to him whose course is run?” It must be acknowledged
-that sitting on deck three quarters
-of an hour in a dishabille dress in the
-middle of January to see day break, required
-the temperature of Pacific latitudes to make
-the experience pleasant. I could not decide
-which to choose, abstractly. “The day is
-Thine, the night also is Thine.”</p>
-
-<h3>LOW TONES OF NATURE.</h3>
-
-<p>One cannot but be impressed with the
-same thing at sea which meets us everywhere
-on the land, the low pitch of natural tones,
-in the wind, the thunder, the waves in mid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span>
-ocean. If the thunder made the same indiscreet
-noises as some of our locomotives,
-thunder storms would be more appalling than
-they ever are now. May we not see the
-benevolence of God in this? As one sits for
-a long time soothed by the wind blowing
-through the grass, so in listening to the
-waves around the ship he is not agitated but
-composed. Even in a tempest the key note
-of the wind through the cordage has a low
-pitch; “strong without rage,” much of the
-time. So with the roar of the sea. Men’s
-voices in a multitude met for conversation partake
-of the same quality. I remember that
-some years ago several gentlemen were in
-the Exchange in an English metropolis on
-some ordinary business day, and on going upstairs
-they noticed the uniform pitch which
-the voices below naturally assumed. One or
-two of these gentlemen were musical men,
-who, on being appealed to, gave it as their
-opinion that the pitch was on F, and there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span>
-being no excitement the hum or droning
-sound continued uniform on that low note.
-One may catch that note much of the time
-at sea; yet there is no painful monotone in
-nature. There are, it may be, so many kinds
-of voices in the world, and none of them is
-without signification; yet a wonderful harmony
-prevails, without any artificial arrangement
-to keep the ruling pitch at F.</p>
-
-<h3>THE SHIP’S GUNS.</h3>
-
-<p>Our two guns, nine pounders, have been
-raised from the hold and painted black.
-They have been in the hold much of the time,
-and unless we meet a pirate they will not be
-needed, except in case of their being required
-to announce an astounding passage. A hundred
-and twelve days is the ship’s shortest
-passage. We are only twenty-five hundred
-miles from San Francisco, which is small
-compared to the fifteen thousand five hundred
-with which we began.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span></p>
-
-<h3>THE SHIP PUT IN PERFECT ORDER.</h3>
-
-<p>Every thing about the ship, outside as well
-as inside, is in beautiful order. Even the belaying
-pins, of which there are about forty,
-including all on each side of the deck and
-about the masts, have been scraped and varnished.
-No house on shore is in a more
-creditable state of neatness. No idleness is
-allowed, but we are not so much at a loss to
-find employment for the sailors as was one
-captain, who, when everything about his ship
-was in perfect order, still kept his men occupied
-by setting them to scrape the anchors.</p>
-
-<h3>CROSSING THE LINE AGAIN.</h3>
-
-<p>Jan. 22. We crossed the line to-day.
-Nov. 22d we crossed it in the Atlantic. By
-land over the continent where we then were
-is four thousand miles; but we have sailed
-thirteen thousand. We are two days behind
-the ship’s shortest passage, and we watch the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span>
-winds. To sit on deck in a summer suit,
-listening to the music of the water as the
-ship glides along, and watching the light and
-shadows, is perfect enjoyment to an invalid
-feeling that this medicine is accomplishing a
-cure.</p>
-
-<h3>BONITOS.</h3>
-
-<p>To-day one of the boatswains caught with
-a hook two bonitos. They are as large as
-the largest mackerel; the flesh hard. We
-are to dine upon them to-morrow; but what
-shall we do for lettuce? Every now and
-then we are made to feel that there are some
-good things on land. But we are as often
-reminded what a barren region these deep
-waters are. They evidently were not designed
-to support human life. Instead of
-abounding in articles of food, we do not find
-any, except by accident, till we draw near to
-rocks, or run upon soundings.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span></p>
-
-<h3>WHALE FEED.</h3>
-
-<p>Yet the Creator “opens his hand” even
-here, and ‘satisfies the desires of every living
-thing.’ At night we were startled by a bright
-light around the ship. We were in a patch
-of whale feed, a kind of skid, myriads of little
-creatures who give out a phosphorescent
-light. It seemed like a patch of the milky
-way. The mate lowered a bucket, hoping to
-bring some of the animalculæ on deck; but
-they either eluded us, or were too minute for
-observation apart.</p>
-
-<h3>A MARINE ARTIST ON BOARD.</h3>
-
-<p>If sailors are kept in good condition by
-being furnished with something to do, instead
-of being suffered to be idle, it is so with all
-of us. While one of the female passengers
-is sitting by me on deck, writing, the other
-has been furnished by the mate with a small
-paint brush, and is painting blue the brass<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span>
-hoops of the twelve deck water buckets.
-They are to stand in a row, each with a letter
-of the name of the ship, Golden Fleece, the
-name furnishing a letter for each of the
-buckets.</p>
-
-<h3>THE END OF THE NORTH EAST TRADES.</h3>
-
-<p>Having been almost becalmed for several
-days, the doldrum weather ended with a
-heavy rain last night. Going on deck after
-breakfast, we found the ship driving ahead
-nine knots instead of three. It was a merry
-sight. I betook myself to the hammock,
-and lay there till twelve, the captain and one
-of his sisters sitting by, writing home, and
-the other reciting Virgil to me, and learning,
-at my request, Hannah’s song (I Sam. II.)
-It was one of the choice forenoons of the
-voyage. We gained a half day on the
-ship’s best passage, and by one o’clock the
-wind increased, so that we are now only one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span>
-day and a half behind the enviable time.
-Pleasant as rest is, one cannot suppress the
-desire to be at work.</p>
-
-<h3>BOSONS.</h3>
-
-<p>Six or eight bosons have flown above and
-around the ship all day. Unlike the Albatross,
-they keep their wings in constant motion;
-the Albatross has none, after rising a
-little from the surface. They are white.
-The tail feathers terminate in a long sharp
-point, in resemblance of a marlinspike, which
-has led sailors to call the bird after the
-boatswain.</p>
-
-<h3>THE CAPTAIN’S CLOSING ADDRESS.</h3>
-
-<p>Feb. 6. This evening the captain invited
-the sailors to a valedictory religious service.
-He spoke to them from the words, “God is
-love,” which he judiciously explained in consistency
-with the other attributes. He told
-the men that he never sailed with a crew<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span>
-with whom he was more pleased. He would
-be willing to have them all sail with him
-again, which he had never before been able
-to say to a crew. Of the various groups of
-laboring men with which I have been connected,
-I have never seen among them a
-greater proportion of faithful men, of good
-dispositions, civil behavior, pleasant manners,
-intelligent, and fully deserving the encomium
-of the captain. Some of them were from
-Northern European nations, and proverbially
-there are no better sailors than they, Danes,
-Swedes, Norwegians. Some of them were
-from highly respectable family circles; for all
-of them I formed a strong personal attachment.
-It is with sorrow that I think of their
-leaving us, as of course they will soon after
-reaching port; for after the manner of these
-citizens of the world, they will, the most of
-them, ship at once for sea again. Some
-of them came with us for the round voyage;
-these will remain with us; the rest will soon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span>
-be like the gulf weed which falls into the
-many ocean currents. It was gratifying to
-think that for nearly four months they have
-been under christian influences, have listened
-to the word of salvation, have joined in
-christian worship, have had abundant opportunities
-to read the Bible, listen to moral
-advice and religious instruction. I will record
-the names of the whole company.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span></p>
-
-<p>Feb. 10. The captain called all hands into
-the forward cabin, and gave them a Temperance
-address, warning against the evil men
-who drug sailors, ship them on board a vessel
-just sailing, securing to themselves the
-sailor’s advance wages, and thrusting him on
-board stupefied, leaving him to come to himself
-at sea, perhaps bound on a long voyage,
-with but a pittance coming to him at the
-close. It was a capital lecture, full of anecdotes;
-it put the sailors in good spirits, affected
-them with its kindness, while it impressed
-them with its good sense.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a></p>
-
-<p>As I must be much absorbed on arriving
-at anchorage, and shall wish to get my
-journal and letters into the mail at once, I
-will finish the journal now.</p>
-
-<p>In one sense God has kept my eyes from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span>
-tears; but as it regards tears of joy, I have
-never felt like shedding so many. My principal
-reading, (I will say again,) for the pleasure
-to my taste, if I were to mention no other reason,
-has been in the Old Testament. I know
-not why I should specify the book of Deuteronomy,
-only it is noticeable in the account in
-Matthew of the Saviour’s temptation in the
-wilderness, it appears that of his four quotations
-from the Old Testament prefaced by
-“It is written,” thereby foiling the suggestions
-of Satan, three of them are in the
-Book of Deuteronomy. In the Old Testament
-I have seen and heard God talking
-with men, which I have felt more at sea than
-on land. Whenever they prayed, there was
-sure to be an answer, excepting to the ungrateful,
-godless Saul. It has deeply moved
-me to think of God as always at hand when
-one prays. This has comforted me on the
-ocean. When I have heard the gale at night,
-or have seen the ocean lashed to fury, I could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span>
-not resist the feeling: It is God, not nature;
-God is doing something. This has kept down
-every feeling of fear, for I knew that the wind
-could not blow longer nor stronger than he
-should let it out. Nor was the ocean more
-than a little water in the hollow of his hand.
-The voyage has made permanent impressions,
-I trust, upon me, concerning the personality
-of God, his intimate knowledge, his personal
-love, all having their most perfect expression
-and seal in the life, and, above all, in the
-atoning death of Jesus Christ.</p>
-
-<p>Of course I have had thoughts of home
-which but for this would have agitated me.
-But why should I fear future events, with
-such experience as this voyage has given me?
-How little I had to do about this voyage;
-how manifestly it has been the work of God.
-Not according to my works, but of his mercy
-he saves me. Had I done some great service
-for God, He could not make me feel his goodness
-more. Now it is all of grace, not earned,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span>
-but for nothing. Far better this than though
-I felt that it was of works; for his grace is a
-better foundation than our deserts. If he
-has done so much for me for nothing, I may
-confidently ask Him for all that I need. As
-I told the sailors one Sabbath, God never
-sells anything; He never lets a man give
-him an equivalent; He will receive as much
-grateful love as we will give, but nothing in
-the light of payment.</p>
-
-<p>Let me never feel on shore that if I were
-at sea I could have more vivid impressions of
-God’s presence. The following lines I wrote
-to rebuke this feeling:</p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">PRIVATE WORSHIP IN THE CAMP OF ISRAEL.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">My God, how good to be</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">In the wilderness with Thee</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">When Israel’s tribes pursued their desert way.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Leaving the Red Sea strand</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">To find the Promised Land,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Thou shepherdest thy flock by night and day.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">So great a change in that one night!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Pharaoh no more, the God of gods was then their risen light.</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Treading the deep sea floor,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Dry shod from shore to shore,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The wall of waters piled on either hand;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Hearing the rushing waves</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Fill up the Egyptians’ graves,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The foremost vainly struggling for the land,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Thee would I love with all my soul,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My heart should rove no more; God should possess the whole.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Encamped where Elim spread</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Her palm-trees overhead,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">With wells of water springing all around,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Not the new-found fruit</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Would so my longings suit,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Nor the cold water from the pebbly ground</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Could so revive my spirit there,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">As when in some still place I sought my God in prayer.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Now moves the ransomed host</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Far from the sea-washed coast,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And plunges deep where foot hath seldom trod;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">And see that cloud by day</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Marking out their way,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Guiding them safe as by a royal road.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">My God, I could not see that sign,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And not with rapture cry, My soul, this God is thine!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">And when the night came on,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The fading twilight gone,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Or whether storms or stars should fill the sphere,</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span>
- <div class="verse indent4">That pillared cloud grew bright</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">With more than earthly light;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No need of words to whisper, God is here.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Finding some place beneath the sky,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My God, my very present God! nightly I’d cry.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">When manna strews the ground,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">And quails the camp surround,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And when the rock breaks forth in living streams,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">And cities walled to heaven</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">To them are freely given,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Wonders of grace, exceeding all their dreams,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">My God! each day and hour I’d be,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">With heart and soul, a living sacrifice to thee.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">To see the words in stone</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Graven by God alone,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To hear the voice which from the darkness spake,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">To see the man of God</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Trail his princely rod,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And cry, “Forbear! my soul doth fear and quake.”</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Oh, could I ever sin again!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Would not my soul become thy living temple then?</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Behold the priest-borne ark</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Resting in Jordan; mark!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">It tarries till the host are all passed o’er,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Then slowly leaves the stream;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The friendly waters seem</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Listing till every foot has reached the shore.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">How sweet to live, how safe to die,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That wondrous ark of God before me passing by!</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">But pause, my soul! and see</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">If Israel’s God to thee</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hath not approached in loving-kindness nigher;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">What place like Bethlehem!</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The Saviour’s footprints deem</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Steps leading up to God, ascending higher.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Hast thou forgot Gethsemane?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The world’s four thousand years had not a Calvary.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">How hast thou loved and prayed?</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">How feared, adored, obeyed?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Is God in Christ less than a pillared cloud?</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Are words he wrote in stone</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">More than the Word, his Son?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Is not “the living way” the better road?</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Surely, whate’er thine eyes can see</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">In Israel’s favored lot, falls far this side of thee.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">Awake! awake! my powers,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">And Israel’s God and ours</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Love, serve, and worship with a double flame;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">God’s ancient methods learn;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The elder Scripture turn,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Tracing therein the great Immanuel’s name.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">So shall thy worship perfect be,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And both the Testaments shall shine full orbed o’er thee.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span></p>
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="toclink_155">III.<br>
-
-<span class="subhead">CALIFORNIA. THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. HONG KONG.</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Long have they voyaged o’er the distant seas;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And what a heart-delight they feel at last,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">So many toils, so many dangers past,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To view the port desired, he only knows</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Who on the stormy deck for many a day</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hath tossed, a weary of his ocean way,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And watched, all anxious, every wind that blows.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="attrib"><span class="smcap">Southey.</span></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div>
- <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i_155.png" width="378" height="584" alt="O">
-</div>
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap large">One</span> day at sundown the captain said
-as he looked at his watch, “At five
-minutes past nine this evening we
-shall see Farralone light.” We had altered
-our course several times that day; the current
-was strong, the wind was aft, so that
-only one course of sails drew; therefore we
-paid little attention to the remark, supposing
-it to be a guess, or at best a hope, rather
-than an opinion.</p>
-
-<p>At nine o’clock <span class="allsmcap">P. M.</span> Feb. 11, a man was
-sent aloft to see if there was a lighthouse visible.
-At twenty minutes after nine he called<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span>
-out, “Light, ho! three points on the port
-bow.” In five or ten minutes we saw it from
-the deck. We felt that this part of the
-voyage was over. We had been to 59° S.,
-being five degrees south of Cape Horn, and
-had sailed back to 37° N. and were also now
-far west of Boston.</p>
-
-<p>We dropped anchor at San Francisco Feb.
-12th, making the voyage in 111 days, one
-day less than the good ship had logged before.
-We took pleasure in reading on shore
-the record which I give below.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span></p>
-
-<h3>THE PRIVILEGE OF SLOW MOTION.</h3>
-
-<p>One of the San Francisco papers spoke of
-there being two of the pastors of Boston in
-San Francisco, one of whom, a pastor there for
-thirty-five years, had been a hundred and
-eleven days in coming from New York to
-California, while the other, a young man,
-had been only ten days on his way. This
-was true, and it showed what progress had
-been made within a life time in the means
-of intercourse between distant parts of the
-country.</p>
-
-<p>It is easy, however, to imagine a state of
-things in which it would be a privilege to be
-a hundred and eleven days on the way from
-Boston to San Francisco. If the opportunity
-of navigation were wholly cut off and the
-only way of passing from New York to California
-should be to be whirled along in ten
-days from point to point, men would say,
-“Alas! for modern degeneracy. Time was,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span>
-within the memory of not a few now living,
-when it was a luxury to travel. You could
-take passage in one of those clippers whose
-names and exploits now seem fabulous, and
-the only memorials of them are paintings and
-photographs on our parlor walls, and in books
-of art; and in those palaces you could sail
-down one side of the continent, reach Cape
-Horn, go five degrees south of it to make a
-safe run around the great land mark and
-pass up on the other side. Think of the
-privilege of running through the Straits
-of Lemaire, of coming close by the shores of
-Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, of experiencing
-those Cape Horn swells, of feeling
-that you were not far from Antarctic regions.
-Those were days when life had some romance
-in it. Now you seem to be fired out of a
-field piece; the next thing will be to creep
-into a pneumatic machine, the air will be exhausted
-and in a state of suspended consciousness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span>
-you will wake from your short
-delirious dream and will be told that you
-have been shot eight thousand miles across
-the continent. Some like this; annihilate
-time and distance and they ask no more; for
-our part give us the old ways; steam is good
-in its place; but we envy those who could be
-a hundred and eleven days on the water,
-passing from the east to the west.”</p>
-
-<h3>SAN FRANCISCO.</h3>
-
-<p>It would be gratifying to indulge in full
-descriptions of San Francisco and the enjoyment
-derived from valued friends. In doing
-this, I could most cordially repeat the enthusiastic
-words of others. Let me give at
-once the scale by which I soon learned to
-measure everything in this wonderful region,
-indicated by some first impressions:</p>
-
-<p>Before leaving home, an elderly lady told
-me that she had long watched her calla lily,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span>
-hoping that it would open in time to be presented
-to me before I left home. It came at
-last, perfectly beautiful, such as the stem had
-yielded several times before; the same silvery
-frost work on its petals, the same odor of
-lemon balm in the calyx. I told the venerable
-donor that I believed that the impression
-made by her rare gift, so long and carefully
-watched, a beautiful unit, lovely in its oneness,
-would have a charm for me which I
-could not suppose would be forgotten in
-more luxuriant climes. My one calla lily
-which had made a last impression upon me
-on leaving home, was brought forcibly to mind
-the morning after my arrival. I was requested
-to walk to the window, where I was
-told some favorites of mine were waiting to
-see me. There stood in a border to a flower
-garden, thirty calla lily plants, each plant
-with its lily in perfect growth. There was
-no more spirit in me. Is this the scale by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span>
-which you excel your friends at the East? I
-found it to be so. A pleasurable feeling of
-being vanquished came over me. Every
-hour brought its new surprise. I gave up.
-I was in California.</p>
-
-<p>A day or two after, the seal was set to my
-conviction that I was there. I had the pleasure
-of experiencing an earthquake. About
-ten o’clock one fair day, suddenly a noise
-came, such as I never before heard, and a
-motion unlike anything which I had ever felt
-before. It lasted not more than five seconds.
-But Cape Horn did not shake after that pattern.
-No description can convey any idea
-of the feeling excited by it. I turned involuntarily
-to my door, and, opening it, found
-the family in the entry, brought there in the
-same bewildered state of mind as myself.
-Apprehension of danger soon subsided; but
-we wished ourselves at sea, in order to be safe.</p>
-
-<p>The view of the Pacific from the Cliff
-House seemed to me the most interesting of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span>
-sea views from shore. In itself, it so impressed
-me; but, added to this, the recollection
-of the great extent of territory of which
-it is a boundary, makes it approach near to
-the sublime. The coast line of California,
-taking in its curves and indentations, it is
-said in an able statistical paper in that
-State, is equal to a straight line drawn from
-San Francisco to Plymouth, Mass. Those
-seals, climbing upon the rocks not many feet
-from you, undisturbed by your presence, giving
-you a new chapter in natural history,
-opening animal life to you as you may not
-have seen it before, remind you that you are
-in a region of the earth far from your home.
-One day in driving we came to a hill which,
-though it was only the fifteenth of March,
-had began to put forth a combination of
-colors so numerous and brilliant as to make
-you believe at first that they were the work
-of art. A little below, the ground was
-without any sign of spring. A soil which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span>
-could so quickly feel the sun as to give forth
-its luxuriance profusely, as it were at a day’s
-warning, though lifted but a little above the
-general level, impresses one with its extremely
-sensitive nature, making you ready to believe
-anything which is told you of its fruitfulness.</p>
-
-<p>So many friends come around you here
-that your home circle seems to have stretched
-its circumference; for those who dwell under
-these western skies seem to retain their
-native qualities, which make you identify
-them at once as those whom you formerly
-knew and loved. Ties of friendship or
-valued acquaintance draw many to you, in
-connection or association with people whom
-you are glad to recall in the features, the
-voices, of their descendants. The names of
-Oakland and Alameda, and of other places,
-will ever be associated in our minds with
-names and scenes most precious. I left this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span>
-wonderful region with great love for it,
-deeply impressed with the many valued
-friends whom I found or made there.</p>
-
-<h3>LEAVING SAN FRANCISCO.</h3>
-
-<p>March 28th. A company of thirty escorted
-us down the harbor, in the tug. Some of
-the gentlemen contrived to get on board the
-Fleece, but to our disappointment the rest of
-the party remained in the tug. The deck of
-the ship being high above the tug, our conversation,
-with reminiscences, compliments,
-assurances of continual remembrance, messages,
-could not be so sentimental as if conveyed
-in whispers. As we went down the
-harbor, the swell was great, and we were
-sorry that many of the pleasant faces preferred
-to turn and look from us overboard;
-whereby our conversation, difficult though it
-had been for some time, was wholly cut off.
-At length the signal was given for parting,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span>
-and the little tug with its company, the most
-of whom we could not expect to see again,
-darted ahead of us; a cloud of handkerchiefs
-gave us their parting salute, which we continued
-to answer till the tug was lost amid
-the crowd of vessels in the harbor. Soon
-the heavy swell outside admonished us that
-we also were mortal, and we shut ourselves
-from the sight of each other.</p>
-
-<h3>THE SANDWICH ISLANDS GROUP.</h3>
-
-<p>We sailed to the Sandwich Islands at the
-request of our agents at San Francisco to
-obtain freight for China. We sailed by the
-whole group, in fine weather. A sudden
-bend in our course brought us at once within
-sight of Honolulu, thirty days from San
-Francisco. After looking at the volcanic
-ridges of the group, precipitous, shapeless,
-barren, the red earth and stones making you
-feel as though they had not wholly cooled, it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span>
-was a pleasing surprise to have this immediate
-view of the town, looking as though it
-had always been there, suggesting no signs
-of a feeble settlement making effort to live.
-The church spire, the neat cottages, the signs
-of husbandry, the cattle, the roads traversed
-by handsome horses with good carriages, the
-pendulous waving branches, and the banana,
-softening the sterner features of nature, made
-at once an impression which was prepossessing.</p>
-
-<p>We anchored where we were advised by
-the pilot to do so. But we were too near the
-reef to feel safe should we have a gale. The
-wind was blowing so as to make it evidently
-most uncomfortable if not hazardous to land,
-at least for ladies or invalids. The captain
-felt obliged to venture in the native boat,
-which the Hawaian boatmen declared to be
-safe, though the great sail was out of proportion
-to the small craft, judged by our nautical<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span>
-measurement. We concluded to allow
-him to go ashore as an experiment; but we
-could more unhesitatingly have insured him
-around Cape Horn in his ship than in that
-boat going through that surf over the bar.
-We watched him gaining on the breakers one
-after another, expecting every moment to see
-him in the waves, till with the spy glass we
-could see that the shore was safely reached.
-He was to send back word whether we might
-venture to take passage in one of the native
-boats, and what length of time his business
-would require him to remain at this port.
-He sent back word that he found no freight;
-that nothing seemed to warrant our remaining,
-that if we came ashore it would be only
-for one hour, it being then not far from sun
-down. We had kind messages from Rev.
-Dr. Judd, who offered to ask Capt. Truxton,
-of the U. S. vessel “Jamestown,” to send
-his yawl for us if we would stay. H. M.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span>
-Whitney, Esq., editor of the Honolulu Commercial,
-politely sent us an invitation to his
-house during our visit should we come ashore.
-Rev. Hiram Bingham, and S. B. Dole, Esq.,
-both sons of missionaries, came off to see us,
-inviting us to a meeting of “Cousins” which
-was to be held that evening. The temptation
-was for every reason very great. We
-had anticipated this visit for a long time; indeed
-it had seemed a prominent event of the
-voyage in our anticipation; it would surely
-be so in our memories. We could not hope
-to have such an opportunity again to see
-these islands, to have intercourse with these
-missionary friends. But had we any right to
-detain the ship, lying as she must do, close to
-the reef? We saw that, once on shore, the
-inducement to make a tour of several days
-to visit missionary stations, to look upon
-the faces of some whom we remembered as
-having gone from our shores, some whose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span>
-faces and forms we should find imprinted
-with the signs of honorable service; and then
-to see that world renowned volcano, the
-scene of that gigantic tidal wave, to observe
-how it lifted itself up, to take its measurements,
-to note the way of its fearful retreat,
-all this would be an expenditure of time and
-strength which we did not feel at liberty to
-make.</p>
-
-<p>Messrs. Bingham and Dole remained on
-board till we weighed anchor. They proposed
-that we should sing a hymn: “My
-days are gliding swiftly by;” our cabinet
-organ joining to leave our notes of worship
-impressed on those beloved shores. Because
-our unseen friends “did not detain us” while
-we were flying from them, we were the more
-affected by the thoughts of them, and by
-imagining the interchange which we should
-have had of profitable conversation. Everything
-which we bore away with us deepened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span>
-our regret at parting.—The attractive style
-in which the Honolulu Advertiser was made
-up and printed, gave me very favorable impressions
-of the state of the practical arts in
-Honolulu. For several weeks we were refreshed
-by the largest and sweetest oranges
-and the best bananas which I have met with
-in our whole voyage. There is no part of
-the world which I have seen which I would
-sooner revisit, or where I should expect greater
-enjoyment from very many sources than
-the Sandwich Islands. In a fine moonlight
-Saturday evening we sailed away from this
-most interesting group.</p>
-
-<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
-
-<p>Of all the bright days which have gladdened
-our way, none have surpassed those
-which we spent in going from the Sandwich
-Islands to China. Existence was a charm in
-that beautiful climate, that trade-wind region.
-Thirty-three days of perfect weather, one
-succeeding another with seemingly new<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span>
-beauty, made us feel that we had left this
-world of storms. If I ever need an emblem
-of perfect peace, the voyage from the Sandwich
-Islands to China will be sure to revive
-in my memory.</p>
-
-<div id="il_9" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;">
- <img src="images/i_170b.png" width="740" height="1229" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p>
-THE BASHEE IMAGE. <a class="in2" href="#Page_171">Page 171</a>.
-</p></div></div>
-
-<p>With new sensations of interest, we
-reached the China Sea. The Bashee group
-of Islands marks one entrance to it from the
-Pacific. We passed close to the island of
-Belintang. Here I had a first imaginary
-glimpse of the heathen world in a singular
-spectacle, which I would have said was an
-illusion had not all whom I asked to notice
-it agreed that it was a remarkable object.</p>
-
-<p>About sixty feet from the island, in the
-water, stands a high rock, in the shape of a
-flattened ellipse, wholly isolated. Its base
-looks as though it were stuccoed with large
-sea-shells, the grooved side of each facing
-you. One half of the elevation is shapeless,
-but the other half is as good an image of a
-monstrous idol god as can be found.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent16">“What seemed a head,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The likeness of a kingly crown had on,”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">or, perhaps, a mitre or a fillet. The eyes are
-like the eyes of a plaster bust, made by two
-protuberances of the rock, volcanic blisters;
-and over the whole figure seems to be thrown
-a rude drapery, which a little fancy converts
-into a robe. The whole effect is that of a
-huge idol god. There it stands at the gateway
-of the China Sea; and, if superstition
-had employed sculptors and architects to set
-up an image of Buddha there, no better result
-could have been achieved. No hand, however,
-founded this on the seas and established
-it on the floods. There is a marine picturesqueness
-about the rock as a whole which is
-very fine. I am thus minute in the description,
-hoping that some who read these pages
-will, on seeing the Bashee image, make a
-more extended description.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span></p>
-
-<h3>ATLANTIC OCEAN SCENERY DESIRED.</h3>
-
-<p>The mind soon tires of tranquil scenes.
-On the way from the Sandwich Islands to
-China I had my fill of tranquility. I found
-myself yearning for a gale; felt great respect
-for the Gulf Stream, with waves as high as
-the main yard; longed to see breakers; wondered
-why the sea would not occasionally
-come over our rail. There seemed to be
-talent about the Rio de la Plata; Cape Horn
-was true genius; the North Atlantic a giant
-with a progeny in its own image. The
-halcyon waters of the Pacific impressed me
-as amiable but weak; their countenance wore
-a perpetual smile; they looked as though
-they believed themselves to have reached a
-sinless state. You long to see their temper
-tested; you would be willing to see them
-ruffled, even angry; hear them lift their
-voice out of its monotony with upbraiding,
-rather than be so unnaturally gentle. Does<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span>
-the sea have waves of mettle which it employs
-in hazardous enterprises, trusting them,
-and only them, in daring feats? I came to
-feel that there were waters which bore a
-character for hardihood, nurtured by tempests,
-voiced for symphonious concerts with
-typhoons, not counting their lives dear unto
-them but dying on the high places of the
-field. Let me see them once more! When
-will this trade wind region come to an end,
-and the sea utter its voice and lift up its
-hands on high? I felt that the sea reverenced
-greatness, honored its waters which
-stormed impregnable rocks and poured out
-their lives at the call of duty. These lines
-came to me, in this connection:</p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">ELECT WAVES.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">The sea has gallant troops, adventurous waves;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Tell me, intrepid mariner, where are they?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Not where the peaceful isles adorn the bay,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Nor where the tranquil sea a smooth beach laves,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But where huge billows tunnel giant caves,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Forcing through spouting horns in myriad showers</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span>
- <div class="verse indent0">Enormous breakers which the chafed sea pours</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">On sharpened rocks, finding their several graves.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Or, where a light-house guards the rock-bound coast</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The sea will summon up its fierce brigade</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To quench the lantern, leaping high in air.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">These, not its halcyon waves, it honors most.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Who moved first on the deep, the Spirit, said,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">“Whom the Lord loves he chastens, nor will spare.”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3>ARRIVAL AT HONG KONG. YAT MOON PASS.</h3>
-
-<p>The wind did not serve to bring us round
-Great Lema Island. After tacking several
-times, and beating about the headland from
-early in the morning till two o’clock, the
-prospect of our being kept in a dangerous
-position till after sunset, induced the captain
-to venture into Yat Moon Pass, where we
-should have a direct run into Hong Kong
-harbor.</p>
-
-<p>The pass between Great Lema and Ya
-Chou Island was narrow; in some parts not
-more than two lengths of the vessel in width.
-A hidden rock in the middle of the narrow
-passage led the captain to deliberate long before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span>
-he concluded to enter. Finally it
-seemed best to make the venture, rather than
-beat around the point day after day. The
-wind was blowing directly through the pass,
-the weather was fair, a run of half an hour
-would bring us into open sea, beyond the
-reach of danger. Accordingly we entered,
-keeping close to the starboard side, throwing
-the lead all the way. The sailors
-amused themselves with trying to throw
-pieces of coal ashore, which now and then
-they succeeded in doing. The captain went
-aloft with his spy glass; we listened with
-breathless interest to hear the result of his
-observation from step to step, the word
-“steady” every few moments keeping up
-our courage. Everything depended on our
-meeting a favorable wind at the other end.
-Should it be blowing into the pass, or die
-away and leave us becalmed, we should not
-prove to have mended our prospect. We
-gratefully acknowledged the good hand of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span>
-God in causing us to find that the wind
-which brought us through the narrows blew
-in the same direction when we reached the
-open sea.</p>
-
-<p>Five miles out, two pilots hailed us from
-opposite points, each in his rude sampan,
-their sails of matting and their oars combining
-to bring each first to the ship. The
-wind favored one, who came astern and
-caught a rope, which he nimbly climbed and
-came aboard. There was a woman with an
-oar, sculling and steering, while her husband
-and one or two boys and girls managed the
-sails. On her back her infant was strapped,
-a boy sixteen months old, as we were informed.
-The little fellow had to endure all
-the motions of his mother at the oar, peeping
-over each of her shoulders by turns, and
-holding her neck with his hands. This, we
-found, is the common mode of life among
-infants here, children eight years old being<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span>
-harnessed to the employment of thus carrying
-about their infant brothers and sisters.</p>
-
-<p>Hong Kong, or Sweet Waters, is an island
-off the coast of China, east of the entrance
-of the Canton river. It came into the possession
-of the British by a treaty with China
-June 25, 1843. Its length from east to west
-is eight miles; its breadth varies from two
-to six miles. The surface is mountainous.
-There are good places of anchorage in its
-waters. Violent winds are frequent. The
-population, which is not far from forty thousand,
-is mostly Chinese. It is a free port.
-Among the people in the streets are Parsees
-from Persia, who deal in the productions of
-their country; and Sepoys from Hindostan,
-and elsewhere. These are police officers and
-soldiers, intensely black, so much so that one
-accustomed to the sight of an African negro
-with a tinge of yellow in his complexion,
-looks at these Sepoys with admiration at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span>
-unqualified blackness of their skin. They are,
-moreover, tall, straight, well proportioned
-men. Some of the districts of Hong Kong are
-Stanley, Pokfalum, Aberdeen, Victoria, of
-which the latter is the principal, being the
-seat of government. Victoria Peak, overlooking
-the harbor and vicinity, is about eighteen
-hundred feet high.</p>
-
-<p>We went on shore to church, after our service
-with the sailors in the morning, and
-attended worship at Rev. Dr. Legge’s chapel,
-known as “Union Church.” It is a beautiful
-building, on an elevated spot, with foliage
-of the bamboo trees around it. Over the
-speaker a punka of blue silk was kept in
-motion by a coolie out of sight, making it
-comfortable for the preacher. Good Dr.
-Duff protested against punkas in the church
-as luxurious and worldly. After being in
-the East India climate a while, he said, “I
-must have a punka over me when I preach<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span>
-here.” I preached for Dr. Legge the next
-Sabbath morning, and five or six other times,
-and went ashore again in the afternoon occasionally
-to the chapel and once heard the
-Rev. Mr. Turner, a missionary sustained by a
-British society, preach to a congregation of
-Chinese. I was struck with their devout appearance
-in prayer. All was unintelligible
-till the doxology, in Old Hundred.</p>
-
-<p>English schools for Chinese youth, maintained
-here by the government, one of them
-with over one hundred and fifty young men,
-taught by Mr. Stuart, I had the pleasure of
-visiting, and was interested to hear the native
-youths read well in English, with little
-Chinese accent.</p>
-
-<p>One of the boys about fifteen years of age
-was pointed out to me as a Japanese youth.
-The teacher told me that the custom of
-Japan obliged a boy of his rank to wear a
-short sword in public. I saw the sword of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span>
-this youth in his desk, it being laid aside
-in the school room. One could not help
-fancying that such an instrument would not
-generally be a recommendation of the wearer
-as a playmate.</p>
-
-<h3>LIFE IN HONG KONG.</h3>
-
-<p>We found ourselves at once in the centre
-of communication with all parts of the commercial
-world on taking our position among
-the shipping in this English free port. We
-continued to live on board the ship, being
-advised by all that we should find it more
-comfortable than on shore. There were at
-least two hundred vessels here, from the four
-quarters of the globe. Their national flags
-were an interesting study. The first evening
-of our arrival we manned our boat and
-were rowed round among the steamers and
-principal vessels, going close to those whose
-bands were playing their national airs.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span></p>
-
-<h3>CHINESE TRADESMEN.</h3>
-
-<p>It was only a day or two before the arrival
-of our large craft had attracted the swarms of
-the native trades-people. Every forenoon
-for some time our deck was filled with cases
-loaded with carved ivory, sandal wood
-work, jewelry, fans, curious boxes, shawls
-and scarfs of India work, with articles of
-wearing apparel, both useful and ornamental.
-The pilot whom we took at the end of Yat
-Moon Pass, a native Chinaman, had given us
-our first lesson in pidgin English; for by
-noticing his use of our language and copying
-his forms of expression, we soon found ourselves
-able to make ourselves understood.
-We were instructed by friendly visitors to be
-on our guard against paying anything near
-the price demanded for an article by these
-hucksters. Their effrontery in demanding
-enormous sums for trifles became a constant
-source of amusement. For example: One
-of our company would hold up a Japanese<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span>
-bamboo watch chain and say, “How muchee
-pricee?” “Half dollar.” “No; my no
-can do; that belong too muchee pricee.”
-“No, no, not too muchee; that very fine;
-that belong number one thing.” But the
-purchaser lays it down, and resumes a book
-or work. The tradesman waits and finally
-says, “Well, how muchee you pay?” “One
-quarter.” He gives an expression of contempt,
-pretends to pack up his things in
-haste, but keeps an eye on the customer to
-see some sign of relenting, and at last in
-despair comes with the chain, saying, “Here,
-you take; give me one quart;”—which is
-much nearer the real worth.</p>
-
-<h3>CHINESE DRESSMAKER.</h3>
-
-<p>It became necessary soon after our arrival
-for some of our number to employ a dressmaker,
-and one was recommended who visited
-ships where there were ladies on board. His
-features were far from masculine; his prices,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span>
-thirty-five cents a day, was in correspondence;
-his thimble was on his thumb, his
-motion in sewing seemed to be that of
-pushing more than of pulling; his progress
-slow, all day being spent on something which
-ordinarily was done at home, it was said, in
-two or three hours.</p>
-
-<h3>NATIONAL SHIPS.</h3>
-
-<p>We were invited to breakfast at the reasonable
-hour of nine, on board the Pacific Mail
-Steamer, to tea on board the “Great Northern,”
-and to examine her telegraphic apparatus
-and the arrangements for laying the submarine
-cable between Hong Kong and Shanghai.
-We were handsomely entertained on
-board the “Delaware,” “Colorado,” “Ashuelot,”
-U. S. vessels, and we became acquainted
-with the routine of service on board such
-vessels. The commander and scientific men
-in these ships contributed greatly to our
-pleasure.</p>
-
-<div id="il_10" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 37em;">
- <img src="images/i_184b.png" width="1162" height="767" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p>
-GOING UP VICTORIA PEAK. <a class="in2" href="#Page_185">Page 185</a>.
-</p></div></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span></p>
-
-<h3>HONG KONG SOCIETY.</h3>
-
-<p>We formed the acquaintance of interesting
-families on shore, from whom we received
-gratifying attentions, enjoyed their hospitality,
-were entertained at their croquet parties,
-some of which were held in high places, on
-the side of the hill which forms the chief
-eminence of Hong Kong, affording a picturesque
-view of the shipping in the harbor.
-It would be difficult to name any place,
-where friends assemble to enjoy out-of door
-sports, more animating than the heights of
-Hong Kong, commanding views of the ocean
-in every direction, the sea breeze invigorating
-the spirits which have felt the heat of the
-town several hundred feet below.</p>
-
-<h3>VICTORIA PEAK.</h3>
-
-<p>A principal source of enjoyment in this interesting
-spot is in going up Victoria Peak.
-You take a sedan chair at the landing, four<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span>
-coolies to each chair, two dollars for each
-chair. The men bear you cheerfully along
-up hill, three or four miles, stopping to rest
-two or three times when they come to shady
-places by the side of a great rock, or with
-fine sea views in prospect, till you reach the
-summit, where stands a flag staff, to signalize
-to the town below the arrival of vessels, a
-nine pounder being run out to announce a mail
-steamer, or distinguished vessels. Going up
-you are an hour and a half, unless you pause
-frequently to look at geological or mineralogical
-curiosities. You feel unwilling to quit
-the enchanted spot, the sea breeze, the newly
-arrived ship, the wonderful expanse of ocean
-on every side; till the lengthening shadows
-admonish you that it will be dark before you
-reach China town. After that, you take
-your boat in which your oarsmen from the
-ship a half a mile off have come for you, and
-you reach your floating habitation after dark.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span></p>
-
-<h3>SHOPPING.</h3>
-
-<p>Going ashore to do shopping, you encounter
-a crowd of chair coolies at the landing,
-calling to you, pushing each other, contending
-for your custom. “Here, Missy,
-you come this side; you belong my; my
-have you last time;” till you select a chair,
-when the rest subside, or a sepoy comes and
-silences them with blows from his billy,
-which are administered freely. If the two
-men who carry you do not go fast enough,
-you call out, “Chop chop;” if too fast,
-“Man man,” till you get to the store.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the answers from the shop-keepers
-to your questions are, “Have got;” “no
-can do;” “Melican like man like this;” “no
-have got;” “him makee Japan;” “he no
-sandal wood; cedar wood, sandal wood oil.”</p>
-
-<p>Asking for some music paper I was told,
-“no got; my makee you some.” A sheet
-of blank paper was spread on the counter, a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span>
-ruler which moved on rollers was laid on it,
-a plate partly filled with india ink was drawn
-within reach, a camel’s hair paint brush instead
-of a pen, drew the lines. Much of the
-work you could not distinguish from music-paper
-ruled by machine; the distances of
-some of the staves from each other were not
-regular; but the lines of each staff were
-remarkably even. A half quire was ready
-the next day. The shop-keepers add up the
-amount of your purchases on frames, such as
-we see in our primary schools; but the system
-of numeration I could not understand,
-the attempted explanation being in confused
-pidgin English.</p>
-
-<h3>REGATTA IN HONG KONG HARBOR.</h3>
-
-<p>It was a merry sight on the 15th of
-November 1870, when boats of all descriptions
-were gathered for a race, and nine yachts.
-The shipping, with which the harbor was
-well filled, was ordered to change moorings,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span>
-and make a clear passage for the boats. An
-Order of Exercise was printed for each of
-the two days, giving information of the names
-of the Patrons, Committee, Stewards, Judge,
-Umpire, Starters. The Band of Her Majesty’s
-29th Regiment played, the names of the
-pieces being duly entered on the handsome
-programme. Single pair sculling boats, to be
-competed in by men who have never won
-a sculling race in China or elsewhere; boats
-pulled by Non-commissioned officers and men
-of any Regiment or Corps in Garrison, men
-of war Gigs, Pair Oars, and two Pair Sculling
-Boats, House Boats pulled by Chinamen,
-Gig and Punt Chase, Canoes; all open boats,
-Chinese excepted; yachts not exceeding
-fifteen tons measurement; the Chinaman’s
-Cup, The American Cup, presented by the
-American Community, The United Service
-Cup, The Canton Cup, presented by the
-Canton Regatta Club, made up the attractive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span>
-programme. Some lady recently arrived
-is chosen to present the prize to one of the
-winning competitors, with a little speech prepared
-for her. The honor fell that year to
-one of our company. The yacht prize was
-won by the Naiad, belonging to R. F. Hawke,
-Esq., an honorable citizen of Hong Kong.
-A sailing match from Hong Kong to Macao
-was advertised to come off the same season.</p>
-
-<h3>COMFORTABLE BEDDING.</h3>
-
-<p>As you pass through the apartments of
-some of the dwellings in Hong Kong, you
-notice that bedsteads and beds are arranged
-for comfort in a hot climate. No blankets
-nor even sheets are visible. The bed is covered
-with bamboo matting, smooth and cool.
-Bajous and Pajamas, (loose jackets and pants,)
-of cotton, linen, silk, or bamboo cloth, are
-all the covering which is necessary, in the
-hottest nights. But the greatest luxury is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span>
-the cool pillow. A strip of bamboo cloth
-tied round a pillow, no sewing necessary
-except of tapes to fasten it, keeps the head
-cool.</p>
-
-<h3>A SUNKEN VESSEL.</h3>
-
-<p>While we were at Hong Kong, a fine
-English ship came in and ran directly upon a
-point of the shore in full sight of the shipping.
-She sank in the water deep enough
-to cover all but a few feet of her masts.
-Some of the cargo was recovered; the vessel
-was a total loss. No blame was attached
-to the captain. Had there been a design to
-throw the vessel away, it could not have
-been done with greater safety to all on
-board; but the three masts of the sunken
-Dunmail, probably standing yet in Hong
-Kong harbor, are a warning against the least
-presumption in the very moment of apparent
-safety.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span></p>
-
-<h3>LOW ESTIMATE OF LIFE AMONG CHINESE.</h3>
-
-<p>Some of us called at the American Consulate
-on the Fourth of July, to pay our respects
-to the American Consul. One of the
-young men present mentioned this incident:
-He saw from his window a Chinaman with
-a vase of water on his head. He himself
-showed a reckless disregard of human life,
-in proposing to try his pistol on the vase.
-The bullet grazed the Chinaman’s heel.
-The young man was arrested, but the prosecution
-was withdrawn, on the plaintiff’s representation
-that satisfaction had been made.
-The satisfaction consisted in the proposition
-of the Chinaman to settle for one dollar,
-which the young man willingly paid. Whereupon
-another Chinaman came forward and
-offered to stand fire for one dollar.—The outrage
-on the French Catholics at Tientsin,
-thirteen of whom were murdered, was atoned
-for in part by the authorities, by putting to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span>
-death thirteen of their countrymen. Thirteen
-of the assassins were not to be found,
-so the authorities hired men to take their
-places, which they did for five hundred dollars
-each. The papers of the day represented
-the volunteers as saying that by their
-death they should earn money for their
-families, whom otherwise they should leave
-in poverty. One needs to live among such
-people, if he would understand the degradation
-to which heathenism can debase
-mankind so far as to make them capable of
-such a deed. Robbery of the dwelling,
-money from clothing laid aside at night, and
-articles of jewelry is of constant occurrence.</p>
-
-<h3>REV. JAMES LEGGE, D. D. L.L. D.</h3>
-
-<p>I spent a fortnight at the house of R. F.
-Hawke, Esq., whose father-in-law, the Rev.
-Dr. Legge, the eminent Chinese scholar,
-was engaged on his five or six large volumes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span>
-of the Chinese classics. The Doctor is not
-impressed with the intellectual ability of
-Confucius nor of his followers. His
-translations are invaluable, as saving missionaries
-and other students of the Chinese
-much pains by placing Chinese literature before
-them in a digested form. One could
-not help regretting that this laborious scholar
-cannot have the advantage of an international
-copyright law to afford protection
-to his costly fruits of research. American
-authors suffer the same loss, however, as he,
-in seeing their valuable works appropriated
-by foreigners.</p>
-
-<h3>PACIFIC MAIL STEAMER.</h3>
-
-<p>It was with a feeling of national pride that
-we repeatedly saw the Pacific Mail Company’s
-steamer “China,” Capt. Doane, thirty
-days from San Francisco, come into the harbor
-promptly on the day she was due. She
-is a noble ship of four thousand tons. Capt.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span>
-Doane came on board our ship, and invited
-us to inspect his vessel. It is one of the
-principal events of the month with Americans
-to have the Pacific Mail Steamers appear.
-All other steamers seem diminutive
-by the side of them. It seemed strange to
-find on board these vessels five or six live
-oxen and the appurtenances of a slaughter-house,
-bestowed, however, out of sight.</p>
-
-<p>We stayed in Hong Kong six months waiting
-for hemp to fall in Manila. While the
-ship lay at anchor we enjoyed the privilege,
-by the favor of Messrs. Augustine Heard &amp;
-Co., of visiting several places in China and
-the East Indies.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="toclink_196">IV.<br>
-
-<span class="subhead">CANTON, SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, MACAO.</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">This is a traveller, sir; knows men and</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Manners, and has ploughed up the sea so far</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Till both the poles have knocked; has seen the sun</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Take coach, and can distinguish the color</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Of his horses and their kind.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="attrib"><span class="smcap">Beaumont and Fletcher’s</span> “<cite>Scornful Lady</cite>.”</div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div>
- <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i_196.png" width="437" height="623" alt="T">
-</div>
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap large">The</span> city of Canton is only eight hours
-by steamer from Hong Kong. Arriving
-in the Canton river you find
-yourself in a floating population in boats,
-close together, as though ground rents were
-as dear as in Broadway. When you enter a
-boat for a passage up the river you marvel
-that the boat can extricate itself from the
-snarl; but you are in a few moments on your
-way, meeting a seemingly endless throng of
-people, among whom you involuntarily close<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span>
-your eyes as if in anticipation of a crash.
-We were the guests of the Rev. Dr. Happer
-of the American Presbyterian Mission, who
-on our arrival at Hong Kong had kindly sent
-and invited us. We were also entertained
-by the other members of the Mission, Messrs.
-Noyes, Marcellus, and McChesney. We
-visited Dr. Ker’s Hospital. Over a hundred
-Chinese were sitting in a commodious room
-listening to a native evangelist, and going
-out by tens to receive medical treatment.
-This hospital was formerly sustained by the
-American Board of Foreign Missions, with
-Dr. Peter Parker for surgeon and physician.</p>
-
-<p>Being introduced to Archdeacon Gray, he
-very kindly went with us two afternoons
-among the temples and many remarkable
-places. We saw the temple in which are
-five hundred bronzed images of gods or deified
-men, each in a posture or holding an
-emblem representing some action or attribute.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span>
-We saw the water-clock made by
-tubs of water placed one above another, each
-dripping into the one below it, and the lowest
-holding a graduated stick which rose
-through a hole in the lid, and as each hour-mark
-on the stick appears through the hole,
-a man goes up to the roof with a painted
-sign announcing to the people the time of
-day. This seems to be an heirloom from
-past ages when the “Clepsydra” was in use,
-of which this is a specimen. Adherence to
-this useless thing is one illustration of the
-Chinese attachment to antiquity. As you go
-about the city, you see things which carry
-you back two thousand years, oxen treading
-clay, men sifting wheat in sieves fastened
-on the ends of planks laid on rolling stones,
-and a man standing on each and keeping up
-a motion on the planks like “tilting,” or
-“seesaw,” a laborious process of doing a
-simple thing. Then you see works of art<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span>
-surpassing modern western skill; as, for example,
-an elephant’s tusk undergoing three
-years of carving; price, one hundred and
-fifty dollars. Then you visit an eating-house,
-which Archdeacon Gray begs you to
-endure, to know that some things related of
-the Chinese are not fictions. He goes to a
-man who is eating, and courteously taking
-up his plate, says, “What is this?” The
-man laughs and says, “Rat.” He goes to
-another, and, taking his plate, says, “What
-is this?” The man cheerfully replies, “Black
-cat.” Another man says, “Dog.” Around
-the room, on hooks, are evident signs that
-the men were truthful. You make swift retreat,
-but are constrained by your guide to
-look into an opium shop, where the customer,
-as he comes in, mounts a table, lies at full
-length, with his head on a wicker pillow
-hollowed in the middle to fit the neck, then
-is furnished with a pipe and lamp and box of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span>
-opium, which he smokes till he is stupefied.
-Emerging from such scenes of degradation
-into the narrow street, ten feet wide, you
-may see a woman at a door with a child three
-years old, with whom she is playing “pease
-porridge hot,” going through the motions
-as we learned them in childhood; and you
-wonder whether Mother Goose derived her
-knowledge from the disciples of Confucius,
-or whether she did actually live and die, as
-is now asserted, in Rowe Street, Boston.
-This Chinese woman and her child playing
-at “pease porridge hot,” is one of those
-touches of nature which make “all the world
-akin.” You next reach a place where intellectual
-competition throws some of our university
-feats into the shade.</p>
-
-<div id="il_11" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;">
- <img src="images/i_198b.jpg" width="1091" height="738" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p>
-OPIUM SMOKERS. <a class="in2" href="#Page_200">Page 200</a>.
-</p></div></div>
-
-<h3>HALL OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION.</h3>
-
-<p>One is in each of the eighteen provincial
-cities of China. Though familiar by description,
-perhaps, to the reader, I venture to repeat<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span>
-that it is a large open ground,—the
-one in Canton measuring 689,250 square
-feet. On one hand, there are seventy-five
-lanes containing 4,767 cells; on the other,
-sixty-eight lanes with 3,886 cells, making a
-total of 8,653 cells. Once in three years
-men of every age, from the youth to the
-aged, assemble to write prize essays for a
-literary degree. A candidate is fastened into
-each cell for three days and nights, with rice
-and water, planks being fixed in grooves in
-the sides of the cell, serving for a sleeping
-place, and for a writing-table by day. The
-strictest search is made to see that no book
-or paper is secreted in any dress. The essays
-are received by three officers, who seal up
-the outside page of each essay on which is
-written the name, age, residence, ancestors,
-&amp;c., of the writer. They are passed to
-another officer who sees that they are copied
-in red ink, the object of the copying being<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span>
-that the original handwriting may not be
-recognized by the judges. Nearly two thousand
-writers are employed in copying. They
-have rooms fitted up for them in the “Hall
-of Perfect Honesty.” The governor of the
-province is ex-officio chief superintendent.
-Imperial commissioners from Pekin assist in
-the examinations. They meet in the “Hall
-of Auspicious Stars.” This hall is looked
-upon with feelings of awe. Success in these
-examinations is followed by fame, wealth,
-and honor; and failure, by years of toil and
-possibly of repeated disappointment. Messengers
-wait to carry the names of the successful
-candidates to every part of the province.
-The governor gives them a feast;
-after which they go in state dress to worship
-the tablets of their ancestors. Odes as well
-as essays are presented. The following are
-specimens of the themes at the last examination
-previous to <span class="locked">1870:—</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span></p>
-
-<p>“If the will be set on virtue, there will be
-no practice of wickedness.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is only the individual possessed of the
-most entire sincerity that can exist under
-heaven, who can adjust the great, invariable
-interests of mankind.”</p>
-
-<p>“There are ministers who seek the tranquillity
-of the state, and find their pleasure
-in securing that tranquillity.”</p>
-
-<p>What can be more abstruse? Few among
-us would attempt to be original on such
-themes.</p>
-
-<p>This system of competitive literary examinations
-here described has been maintained
-more than a thousand years. There are
-records proving this. On the first day three
-essays and one piece of poetry are required;
-each essay must have seven hundred words,
-the poetry must consist of seven hundred
-and sixteen lines, with five words in each.
-The pieces required on the other two days<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span>
-vary from this. The successful competitors
-are immortalized in fame; their triumph goes
-down to posterity on the family tablets, is
-noted on their tombs, secures honor to their
-children.</p>
-
-<p>Though I visited this “Hall” with Archdeacon
-Gray, and received minute information
-from him, I am since indebted for helps
-to my memory to a paper read before a literary
-society in Canton, by Dr. J. G. Ker.</p>
-
-<h3>CHINESE BRIDES AND WEDDINGS.</h3>
-
-<p>One morning some of my party were
-standing by the window of a friend’s house
-in Canton which overlooks the canal with its
-brown water and crowd of sampans. As they
-watched the different phases of domestic life
-in those habitations, one of the party, familiar
-with them, remarked that there was probably
-a wedding, or rather the festivities attendant
-upon a wedding, in one of the nearest sampans,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span>
-as she had heard a young woman wailing
-the night before. She said it is a custom
-with Chinese brides to pass the night before
-their weddings in bewailing their future
-troubles; for as they seldom see their intended
-masters before the wedding, there is
-great uncertainty in connection with their
-new mode of life; generally it is going from
-one form of servitude into one to which they
-had not grown accustomed. There seems to
-be no real wedding ceremony, but a feast and
-a sort of reception for three days. During
-that time the young couple perform some
-acts of devotion before the ancestral tablets.
-After that the bridegroom takes his partner
-to his father’s boat, where she cooks the rice,
-scrubs, and helps row for the rest of her life.</p>
-
-<p>The young ladies thought that they would
-go to the reception. Accordingly, eight of
-them crowded into the sampan (being told
-that no cards were used) and sat in Turkish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span>
-fashion on the nice floor. The bride came
-before them in a red dress, saluted them,
-then brought in a tray of square cakes,
-which had been made with peanut oil. She
-then gave them tea in small cups such as
-children play with. They considered that
-as the tea was made with the foul water of
-the canal occupied by a crowd of sampans, it
-could not be in the highest degree tasteful.
-As they went out they were told that the
-adjoining boat was the home of the bridegroom’s
-father, where the bride would the
-next day find her home. A roasted pig with
-its garniture of herbs was exposed on deck,
-but it did not awaken any desire.</p>
-
-<h3>“GODS MANY.”</h3>
-
-<p>We were greatly favored, through the influence
-of Archdeacon Gray, in having the
-rare privilege of being admitted to the bedchamber
-of “the god of Walled Cities.”
-We climbed up antique, decayed stairs, into a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span>
-forlorn room, not so inviting as apartments in
-some barns at home. There was the huge
-god, six feet in height; his slippers were at
-the side of his bed; his garments were on
-pegs; the wash-stand was there, with its furniture,
-and the water was poured into the
-bowl ready for use. His Majesty was of
-wood, fantastically painted. We were taken
-into his wife’s apartment, which was the
-next room. There women resort to make
-petitions with vows, promising the goddess
-a new dress, for example, if their prayer is
-heard.</p>
-
-<p>In several temples we saw men consulting
-the gods in some affairs of interest to them.
-Kneeling and touching the ground with the
-forehead nine times, they would then take a
-long box of sticks, each with a number inscribed
-on it, shake it till a stick fell out,
-which was then handed to the priest, who
-consulted a book, and told the petitioner the
-answer to his prayer.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span></p>
-
-<p>We came in one temple to the “Chamber
-of Horrors.” There in ten cells were depicted
-the torments awaiting the wicked in
-the next world. In the tenth the victims
-were coming out in the shape of hideous
-wild animals, the blessed dead on eminences
-around looking down with various expressions
-on their faces. We came also to the
-“Temple of the Five Genii,”—Fire, Earth,
-Water, Wood, and Metals. These Genii
-originally came to the city on five rams,
-which were turned to stone, for perpetuity,
-and remain there to this day, uncouth, almost
-shapeless blocks. A tower, said to be six
-hundred years old, stands in honor of them.
-The large bell covered with Chinese characters
-is doomed to silence; for there is a
-tradition that if struck, some great misfortune
-would fall upon the city. A visitor
-inadvertently striking it would excite consternation
-among the people. During a siege<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span>
-of Canton a piece of the bell was knocked
-out of it by a cannon-ball.</p>
-
-<p>While we were detained in a temple by
-rain, the Buddhist priests showed us much
-kindness, setting a table in the courtyard
-overlooking a sheet of water, and giving us
-clear tea in little cups, on trays having each
-compartments filled with dried fruits. It
-seemed strange to be “sitting at meat in an
-idol’s temple.” While we were there, the
-priests descried the sunshades which some of
-the party had brought with them. Their
-amusement was not exceeded by any pleasure
-manifested by children at the sight of new
-things. They opened them, they shut them,
-turned them over and over, held them over
-one another, explaining to each other their
-use; and one man, pointing to one of our
-umbrellas, said, “That I can understand;
-but is this really an umbrella?”</p>
-
-<p>As our party of four emerged from their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span>
-chairs at each temple, crowds of a hundred
-or more would follow us to the gate, and
-wait there for us to re-appear. Mothers
-would lift little children to see the odd
-foreigners. Not one word, sign, or look of
-contempt or disrespect, however, did we witness
-during the four or five days that we
-spent in the city. The streets being, most
-of them, only eight or ten feet wide, the
-people were frequently stopped by our
-chairs, and had to stand sideways to let us
-pass, but never did they make us feel that
-we were intruders. About two months after
-this, the affair at Tientsin happened, and the
-people in many parts of the empire were
-excited to some degree against foreigners.
-Receiving an invitation to re-visit Canton, I
-was strongly advised not to go, on the ground
-that, while mercantile men, obviously on
-business, might visit the place in safety, the
-sight of a foreigner, led there by curiosity,
-might awaken suspicion and lead to violence.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span></p>
-
-<h3>THE BAMBOO.</h3>
-
-<p>I saw in Canton a large granite building
-erecting, already two-thirds of its intended
-height reached and covering a large space, the
-staging of which was composed wholly of
-bamboo. It is doubtful if there was a nail
-used in the whole of it, the parts being
-securely fastened with osiers of rattan. It
-brought to mind the provision so beneficently
-made for the use of man in these countries
-where timber is seldom found. Few things,
-if any, serve such a variety of purposes as
-the bamboo. Bridges are built of it; it is
-used for water pipes, masts, boxes, cups, baskets,
-mats, paper, fences, writing instruments;
-while the long green leaves afford shade. It
-grows from fifty to eighty feet in a year, and
-in a second year becomes as hard as ever.
-One who is curious in botanical formations
-cannot but have admired the provision made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span>
-for strengthening the stalk of straw by the
-joints, which occur at a distance of a few
-inches; an arrangement which must puzzle
-an atheist. In the joints of the bamboo lie
-the hiding of its power. The joints being
-easily made water tight, the canes are
-adapted to use in many ways. One cannot
-live in an eastern country without soon
-forming an attachment to this product of
-nature so wonderfully supplying many of
-the necessities of life.</p>
-
-<h3>MIXTURE IN TEAS.</h3>
-
-<p>As we were passing along a street in Canton,
-a gentleman, long a resident there, suddenly
-stopped and pointed to a large quantity
-of an herb, spread in the sun. “That,”
-said he, “is jasmine, which is one of the
-principal ingredients used to give your teas
-a flavor.” But I will not venture further on
-this topic, only observing that one of our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span>
-party who took tea with us in the idol’s temple,
-(tea without sugar and cream,) testified
-that there was an aroma about it to which
-exported teas were strangers.</p>
-
-<h3>ARCHDEACON GRAY.</h3>
-
-<p>Archdeacon Gray is well known to all who
-have visited Canton. He is in the prime of
-life, an accomplished gentleman, making you
-love him at once by his beautifully courteous
-manners, his fine intelligence. He gave me
-a cordial invitation to occupy his pulpit on
-Sabbath morning; but there was to be a communion
-service at the Presbyterian Mission,
-with some additions to the church, and I declined.
-But he came in the intermission and
-insisted on my preaching in the afternoon,
-which I did. His house and church are on a
-bend of the Canton River; and perhaps even
-our Hudson River does not anywhere present
-a finer view. His house is full of rare Chinese
-curiosities, which he is happy to show<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span>
-to visitors. I preached in the evening to the
-Presbyterian Mission, at the house of one of
-their number. This Mission is exerting a
-decided influence; its supporters may well be
-encouraged. I found a strong feeling among
-them in favor of sending out single ladies, in
-companies, to live together and to labor in
-conjunction with the Mission. There is a
-decided approbation in the Canton Mission
-of ladies thus living together, and working
-under the direction of a mission.</p>
-
-<h3>SHANGHAI.</h3>
-
-<p>I spent four or five days at Shanghai, on
-another excursion from Hong Kong. This
-I described in a letter to Bishop Eastburn, as
-several things which I saw there in connection
-with Episcopal friends made it agreeable
-to acquaint him with them. The letter was
-kindly published in “The Christian Witness”
-of this city, and copied by “the Boston<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span>
-Transcript.” I take this opportunity to
-insert the most of that letter, from one of
-the papers above mentioned.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="sigright">
-<span class="smcap">Hong Kong, China, October 10, 1870.</span>
-</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">My dear Bishop Eastburn</span>,—I shall
-not soon forget that the first letter which
-met my eye on reaching San Francisco, after
-a voyage of one hundred and eleven days,
-was in your handwriting. I have since then
-been so pleasantly reminded of you through
-a good man’s influence here in China that I
-must tell you of it. Being on a visit to
-Shanghai, I was invited to attend worship in
-a Chinese chapel five miles from the city.
-We went through the fields in chairs borne
-by coolies, till we came to the village where
-trade was plying all its arts, and handicraft
-its implements, unconscious of the Sabbath.
-A small church-bell notified us that we were
-near the chapel; and soon we emerged from
-heathenish sounds and sights into a christian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span>
-temple, neat and orderly in all its appointments.
-There were about one hundred and
-fifty Chinese assembled for worship, which
-was conducted by a very good looking Chinaman,
-tall, and of pleasing address. Though
-ignorant of every word he said, my attention
-was riveted by his agreeable action and manner,
-eminently becoming a preacher of the
-gospel and withal eloquent, if his whole appearance
-and the attention of the people
-were true indications. I could see that the
-services were liturgical from the responses,
-and from the Chinese books used by the
-people, the little girls around me keeping my
-attention directed to the place in the service;
-though very little good did this do me, except
-that it helped me to keep my book
-right side up. The service ended with singing,
-“There is a happy land,” the tune so
-familiarly known in our Sabbath schools.
-The preacher came to speak with me before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span>
-service, with his welcome in very good
-English; and after service he came again and
-gave me much information. He has been
-rector there sixteen years, the chapel being
-built and he being sustained there by the
-munificence, said he, “of a Mr. William Appleton,
-of Boston.” This made my heart
-leap for joy, to come so far into heathenism
-and find myself in a christian temple erected
-and maintained by a fellow-citizen of Boston.
-Mr. Appleton I did not know personally,
-though I once received a very kind note
-from him with a pamphlet. But I had long
-cherished a sincere love for him from many
-impressions of his truly estimable character.
-I was led to think, What a memorial of christian
-zeal has he built in this distant land!
-What pleasure it must afford his happy spirit
-in heaven to look down on this place of christian
-worship in the depths of heathenism!
-What a noble use of wealth, blessing a multitude<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span>
-of people who but for him might have
-been left in heathenish ignorance! I told
-the preacher that I should report his chapel
-and his labors to christian friends at home,
-and I mentioned your name in speaking of
-those who would be glad to hear of him.
-He desired me to give his respects to you;
-so it is my pleasure to send you the respectful
-and christian salutation of the Reverend
-Wong Kwong Chi, of one of the villages of
-Shanghai.</p>
-
-<p>As we came out of the chapel, our ears
-were saluted with some musical instruments
-from a house where people were making a
-tumult over a dead person. Little knew they
-of that “happy land, far, far away:” which
-the people of Appleton Chapel had just been
-celebrating. I felt a desire to tell good men
-in Boston that there yet remaineth much land
-to be possessed here by christian philanthropists;
-that they can readily find villages of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span>
-sixty thousand waiting each for its chapel, to
-say nothing of cities with millions in them,
-where it would be easy to begin a work for
-the ransomed spirits of good men and women
-to review with pleasure in heaven. Truly
-enviable is that rich christian who can employ
-wealth to do good for him when he is
-with Christ. The Appleton Chapel at
-Shanghai seemed to me a cup of cold water,
-the donor of which is not losing his reward.</p>
-
-<p>From the steamboat-landing at Shanghai,
-looking across the river, you see a comely
-church of fair proportions, surrounded in
-part with banyan and bamboo trees, affording
-it a perpetually verdant appearance. It is a
-stone chapel for seamen, built through the
-efforts of A. A. Hayes, Jr., of the firm of
-Olyphant &amp; Co., and son of Dr. A. A.
-Hayes, of Boston. It is under the care of
-the Rev. Mr. Syle, Presbyterian, a devoted
-and most useful man. A large churchyard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span>
-has there received the remains of seamen of
-all nations. It is within the same enclosure
-with the church, ornamented with plants and
-trees, and is nearly filled with the dead. It
-has been opened fourteen years, and there
-are fourteen hundred interments. The graves
-are in close and even rows for economy of
-rooms, so that this large collection of the
-dead looks like a buried battalion who have
-lain down by platoons. The orderly disposal
-of them has a saddening influence. I never
-before felt that there is a natural appropriateness
-in having a burial-place, as Job says of
-the land of the departed, “a land without
-any order.” We feel that promptitude and
-exactness are out of place at a funeral; but
-slowness and delay are congenial. Surely,
-these ranks of the dead will not rise by roll-call,
-though they lay down in such good
-order. They made me think of some lines
-of an uncle of Sir Walter Scott, a sea-captain,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span>
-on a sunken man-of-war, all her crew on
-<span class="locked">board:—</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">‘In death’s dark road at anchor fast they stay,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Till Heaven’s loud signal shall in thunder roar;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Then, starting up, all hands shall quick obey;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Sheet home the topsail, and with speed unmoor.’<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a></div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div></div>
-
-<h3>MACAO.</h3>
-
-<p>One of the most charming places in China,
-is Macao, three hours distant by steamer from
-Hong Kong, the people of which place resort
-to Macao in the hot season, as the fine sea-breezes
-there greatly mitigate the heat. The
-drives about the place, commanding in every
-direction an open sea-view, are beautiful.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span>
-The old church of St. Paul, the most of which
-remains, though ruined by fire, is a fine specimen
-of architecture. The most notable thing
-in Macao is the grotto where Camoens, the
-Portuguese poet, died in banishment for publishing
-a satire on the viceroy. The wild botany
-of the place, and the geological upheavals
-which give clear signs of glacial action, are
-remarkable. Bowlders are piled up here in
-ways which show a hydrodynamic force beyond
-human skill. Near the grotto is a cemetery
-for foreigners; and, among the many
-sainted dead from missionary circles there
-entombed, the christian traveller lingers with
-deep interest around the burial-place of
-Morrison.</p>
-
-<p>One Sabbath morning I went with a christian
-friend through a wild district, in the
-neighborhood of a large city in China, to a
-mission station. The people were everywhere
-at work; nothing suggested the Sabbath,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span>
-till we heard the little church-bell,
-whose notes were in pleasing contrast to the
-hum of business. We came to the mission
-compound, where two missionaries and their
-wives had their abode. The joy with which
-they welcomed us made us feel most deeply
-their isolation from christian society. The
-sight of friends from America seemed to
-intensify their loneliness. Here were four
-beloved christian people who were living in
-these wilds, to teach these heathen tribes the
-knowledge of God and of his Son. On inquiring
-what encouragement they found in
-their work, we were told that two or three
-women had lately shown a disposition to
-hear religious conversation, and listen to the
-Scriptures. Immediately we thought of four
-hundred millions in China and its dependencies,
-who were ignorant of the true God.
-Here were three native women who were persuaded
-to listen to religious reading. As we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span>
-were preparing to leave, our missionary
-friends seemed to cling to us with strong
-affection. We were going back to America,
-leaving them in the solitudes of heathenism.
-They were far from unhappy, and their few
-tears were only the natural expression of
-awakened memories. One of the missionary
-brethren, showing us the way to the gate,
-passed with us through a room where we
-saw, among gardening tools, some sheets of
-paper, lying loose. There were so many of
-them, looking alike, that they attracted our
-notice. We found that the specks on them
-were the eggs of silkworms. They were
-mere dots, as the reader familiar with the
-sight in books or nature, is aware. It occurred
-to me what a display of silk fabrics,
-with their rainbow colors, we had been looking
-upon! how many ships are freighted
-with them! how many millions of wealth
-they represent! what a world of thought and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span>
-feeling is associated with them! On those
-pieces of paper were the beginnings of silk,—a
-word, taken in all its connections and associations,
-of mighty power. In those little
-specks one might fancy himself reading, “By
-whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.”
-We told our missionary brother that, while
-he raised silkworms and saw their cocoons,
-he surely would never despise the day of
-small things,—a lesson, he assured us, which
-was often repeated to him, and gave him
-encouragement.</p>
-
-<p>It is well for one who believes in the ultimate
-prevalence of Christianity to come into
-China by the way of the Sandwich Islands.
-He will receive confirmation to his faith, he
-will be defended against temptations to unbelief
-when surrounded as he will be in
-China with one-half the population of the
-earth ignorant of the true God, by having
-seen in the Sandwich Islands what the gospel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span>
-has done among a race who were as unlikely
-to be converted as any portion of the
-human family. If he comes from his ship
-and steps ashore on the Sabbath in China,
-and sees coopers and blockmakers and boatbuilders
-busily at work, the tailors’ shops
-filled with men plying their needles, the
-stationers ruling paper, the coolies instead
-of horses and mules carrying everything
-which ever lades a ship, from the quay to
-the storehouses, the thought will come over
-him, What progress is the knowledge of the
-gospel likely to make among this people?
-Perhaps he spends a Sabbath in the country.
-Here he may look to see the people withdrawn
-from the requirements which the business
-of a seaport makes of the inhabitants;
-but in the country he will find the people as
-busy with their handicraft or trade as the
-people of the city, giving no sign that the
-idea of the Sabbath and of the God of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span>
-Sabbath has visited their minds. He will be
-overwhelmed with the contemplation of four
-hundred millions of human beings utterly destitute
-of the knowledge of God. He remembers
-how at home his heart used to glow on
-hearing accounts of additions to native
-churches, and the rehearsal was followed by
-joyful missionary hymns sung <span class="locked">impromptu,—</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indentq">“Yes, we trust the day is breaking;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Joyful times are near at hand;”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">and he asks himself whether he is losing his
-confidence in the ultimate triumph of christianity,
-and in the sufficiency of divine power
-to turn the hearts of nations as the rivers
-of waters are turned. If he be a firm believer
-in the Bible, he will say that while
-he remembers the conquest of Canaan, especially
-its first great achievement, the capture
-of Jericho, his faith never can falter.
-Were not the aborigines of Canaan devoted
-to destruction by the Almighty, and their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span>
-land apportioned to the tribes, with minute
-directions how to take possession of it, the
-very line of march prescribed, the great
-tribe of Judah in the forefront? And did
-not our Lord spring out of Judah? Has he
-not “upon his vesture and upon his thigh a
-name written,—King of kings and Lord of
-lords?” While, on returning to his christian
-ordinances at home a christian traveller in
-China may be less excited than he used to
-be there at the report of a few conversions
-among the heathen, because he will have an
-enlarged idea of the gross darkness which
-covers the people, he will only have exchanged
-his former confidence in man for a
-more entire confidence in God. The accumulation
-of difficulties in the way of the
-gospel he will regard only as those barrels
-of water which were poured on Elijah’s altar,
-serving to make the fire from heaven more
-triumphant.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span></p>
-
-<h3>SHANGHAI PORCELAIN.</h3>
-
-<p>I was sitting on the steamer at Shanghai
-conversing with a friend about the productions,
-natural and artificial, of that region,
-and I expressed the desire to find something
-peculiar to the place which I might take to
-America. In about an hour, happening to
-look at the people on the wharf my friend
-clapped his hands and said, “Here is something
-peculiar to Shanghai; now you can
-have your wish gratified.” He called a man
-on board who laid down before us a large
-basket filled with small teapots. I thought
-of course that he was indulging in humor at
-my expense, but he said that people from all
-parts would buy baskets and barrels of this
-ware; that they declared that nothing was
-more popular at home, at fairs, and for
-presents. He selected twenty-five small teapots
-and packed them for me in a basket,
-saying that if I did not appreciate them my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span>
-venerable lady friends would. They were
-made of a material found in that region, a
-fine clay, brown, of different shades, some of
-them highly ornamented with an intermixture
-of green, all of them furnished with
-strainers and other conveniences. I brought
-them to America and when I say that in a
-few weeks only one of them remained in my
-possession, nothing need be added to confirm
-the Rev. Mr. Syle’s judgment in his selection
-of a representative present from Shanghai.
-When I add that the twenty-five articles cost
-a dollar and twenty-five cents, no further inducement
-will be necessary to persuade visitors
-to provide themselves with one means of
-furnishing friends with acceptable presents.</p>
-
-<h3>WORK OF THE LAW IN THE HEART.</h3>
-
-<p>Going into a monastery in China with a
-clergyman who could converse in Chinese,
-we saw among the inmates a woman who
-seemed to be ever praying, as she sat a little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span>
-retired from the rest. The superior told us
-that she was praying all the time, being overheard
-frequently in the night upon her bed in
-supplication. He said that there was some
-great burden upon her mind, which she would
-not disclose. She was evidently not insane;
-and, from all that I could learn about her, I
-came to the conclusion that she was under
-conviction of sin; sinfulness, rather than any
-particular transgression, was the burden upon
-her heart. That there are many throughout
-the heathen world thus exercised, we cannot
-question; the second chapter of Romans
-speaks of them, among others, “with the
-work of the law written in their hearts.”
-They may be few compared with the whole
-heathen world; yet how interesting to think
-that such may be in a state of mind fitting
-them to accept the gospel, should it be made
-known to them, and that they will not perish
-merely for not being acquainted with it.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span>
-Thus, where sin abounds, grace may much
-more abound, choosing its subjects independently
-of human instructors. ‘Thou canst not
-tell whither it goeth,’—this superhuman
-agency. This thought is some little relief to
-one, as he wanders about in those regions of
-the shadow of death, impressed by much that
-he sees with the reflection how true to the
-letter is the apostle’s description, in the first
-chapter of Romans, of the heathen world.</p>
-
-<h3>AN ARISTOCRATIC CHINESE FAMILY.</h3>
-
-<p>The party of young friends who called on
-the bride, called also at the house of an aristocratic
-Chinese family, with whom one of
-their number was acquainted. There were
-several young daughters and sons in the family,
-who all spoke some words of English.
-A missionary’s daughter acted as interpreter.
-The Chinese young ladies brought out their
-state dresses, which were heavily embroidered
-with silver and gold. They put them on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span>
-their visitors, made them walk about the
-courtyard, following them with shouts of
-laughter. They then gave them cake and
-cups of clear tea. One lady belonging to
-the family smoked a long pipe, and offered
-another pipe, with opium, to her guests.
-The Chinese young ladies showed their little
-feet, apparently with much pride, to the
-visitors; three inches and a half each was
-the measure of nearly all the feet.</p>
-
-<h3>POSTURE OF CHINESE PUPILS.</h3>
-
-<p>In a school for girls taught by a missionary
-lady, the visitors saw pupils from five to fifteen
-years. The feet of these children were
-generally swathed, and the girls showed, by
-their faces, great pain. Mothers came in to
-listen while the teacher was talking to the
-children. The girls, when reciting, stood
-with their backs to the teacher, a mark of
-respect. They sang several of our familiar
-Sabbath-school hymns.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span></p>
-
-<h3>AMOY.</h3>
-
-<p>The Steamer from Shanghai to Hong Kong
-put in at Amoy to bring the cargo of a disabled
-bark to Hong Kong. This gave some
-of my family who had been making a visit to
-Shanghai an opportunity to see Amoy. It is
-situated on a barren, hilly island; its streets
-are as narrow as lanes. Going through them
-in chairs, you come out upon a hilly district,
-with few trees, covered with remarkable
-rocks, many of them bowlders, not settled
-so far in the ground as most rocks, but
-lifted from it, some of them on their smallest
-ends, and some leaning towards each other,
-making natural rooms, with mossy floors,
-and an opening at the top. Some of them
-are used as temples on a small scale; idols,
-discolored by age and damp, are perched in
-them. Some real temples are built of the
-largest bowlders. In one of them, as one of
-the party was sitting on the stool in front of
-the idol, looking at the hideous images with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span>
-which the temple was filled, expressing her
-wonder that human beings prayed to such
-things, one of the missionaries present asked
-an old priest if they really did believe in
-them. He said he could not tell whether
-the people did believe in them or not. The
-images might, or they might not, be gods;
-but “it was the custom to worship them;
-and, after all, whether they heard or not, it
-amounted to about the same thing as the
-worship by christians of their God.”</p>
-
-<p>The foreigners, merchants, missionaries,
-and others, do not, as a general thing, live in
-the city, but on a small island across the
-harbor, rocky, like the larger island where
-the city is built, but not quite so dreary
-and barren. Attempts have been made to
-fertilize it, not wholly without success.
-Many of the houses are attractive, commanding
-a good sea-view.</p>
-
-<p>From a great cave called the “Tiger’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span>
-Mouth,” formed by two rocks projecting
-from the side of a hill, a flat one forming
-the lower jaw, or the floor of the cave,
-and the upper stone curving over it, making
-a good resemblance to an animal’s mouth,
-you look down upon a wild, barren tract of
-country, where the rocks, my informant said,
-reminded her of almonds stuck into the top
-of a Christmas pudding, or as if giants had
-been having a battle, and their missiles had
-been left on the field in the reckless position
-where they fell. One rock, about eighty tons
-in weight, was balanced on another larger
-rock so evenly that one man, putting forth
-all his strength, could make it tilt slightly.
-They say that a typhoon makes it rock perceptibly.
-Just below it is a small Chinese
-cottage. The woman who occupied it was
-asked if she was not afraid to live there, for
-if the bowlder should tilt a little too much,
-one end of it would go through her roof.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span>
-But she said, “No, it is good ‘Fung Shuy,’
-and will bring good luck to my dwelling,”</p>
-
-<div id="il_12" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 36em;">
- <img src="images/i_236b.png" width="1122" height="760" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p>
-FUNG SHUY. <a class="in2" href="#Page_237">Page 237</a>.
-</p></div></div>
-
-<h3>FUNG SHUY.</h3>
-
-<p>This leads me to speak of “Fung Shuy.”
-Though the literal meaning of “Fung Shuy”
-is “wind and water,” this does not give any
-idea of the thing.</p>
-
-<p>The Chinese regard the south as the source
-of good influence, inasmuch as vegetable life,
-with all the genial influences of spring and
-summer, are from that region. The north,
-they perceive, is the source of death to the
-vegetable kingdom. As animals partake of
-the diverse influences proceeding from these
-two opposite regions, they infer that men
-are susceptible to the same. They suppose,
-therefore, that there is a vital influence moving
-all the time from south to north. This
-may be obstructed. To secure its full effect,
-they prefer to have their dwellings front<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span>
-south; for they hold that from the north
-evil influences are constantly proceeding.
-Even the dead, they believe, are susceptible
-to these adverse influences. If graves are
-placed so as to meet good influences, it is
-called good Fung Shuy. It is a subject of
-great study to ascertain the influences which
-promote good Fung Shuy and hinder the
-bad. Anything, as a hill, rock, trees, standing
-due north and not very remote, especially
-if the region toward the south is unobstructed,
-and particularly if water is in that
-direction, is good Fung Shuy. There are
-men who may be called professors of Fung
-Shuy, who are experts in the science. The
-woman in Amoy thought that the bowlder
-near her house was good Fung Shuy. The
-term may be defined, the science of positions
-favoring good, and shielding from bad, influences.
-This is related to the extensive subject
-of ancestral worship, which would lead
-me too far from my narrative.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span></p>
-
-<h3>PIDGIN ENGLISH.</h3>
-
-<p>“Pidgin-English” is a singular form of
-speech which the Chinese language assumes
-when the natives are first attempting to use
-English. <em>Pidgin</em> means <em>business</em>. You are
-made by it to think of the dialect which we
-fall into in talking to infants. If any one
-can explain why infants are supposed to understand
-us better when we make our words
-terminate in <em>ee</em> or <em>y</em>, he may proceed and
-explain the natural philosophy of Pidgin-English.
-In talking to a Chinaman you find
-yourself, as it were, addressing an infantile
-capacity, imitating his own Pidgin way of
-speaking, even in talking to an adult. I will
-give one or two specimens of pidgin-English,
-which I found in print. The first is Norval’s
-Narrative, taken, as the reader hardly needs
-to be informed, from the Rev. Dr. Home’s
-tragedy of “Douglass.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span></p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">NORVAL’S NARRATIVE.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">My name is Norval. On the Grampian hills</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My father feeds his flock, a frugal swain,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Whose constant cares were to increase his store</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And keep his only son, myself, at home.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">For I had heard of battles, and I longed</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To follow to the field some warlike lord.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And Heaven soon granted what my sire denied.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">This moon which rose last night, round as my shield,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Had not yet filled her horns, when by her light</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A band of fierce barbarians from the hills</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Rushed like a torrent down upon the vale</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Sweeping our flocks and herds. The shepherds fled</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">For safety and for succor. I alone</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">With bended bow and quiver full of arrows</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hovered about the enemy, and marked</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The road he took, then hasted to my friends,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Whom, with a troop of fifty chosen men,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">I met advancing. The pursuit I led</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Till we o’ertook the spoil-encumbered foe.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">We fought and conquered. Ere a sword was drawn,</div> <div class="verse indent0">An arrow from my bow had pierced their chief,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Who wore that day the arms which now I wear.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Returning home in triumph, I disdained</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The shepherd’s slothful life; and having heard</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That our good king had summoned his bold peers</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To lead their warriors to the Carron side,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">I left my father’s house, and took with me</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A chosen servant to conduct my steps,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Yon trembling coward, who forsook his master.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Journeying with this intent, I passed these towers,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And, Heaven-directed, came this day to do</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The happy deed that gilds my humble name.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span></p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">PIDGIN-ENGLISH OF NORVAL’S NARRATIVE.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">My name belong<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> Norval. Topside that Grampian hillee</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My father makee pay<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> chow chow<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> he sheep.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He smallee heartee man; too muchee take care that dolla, gallo.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">So fashion he wanchee keep my;<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> counta one piecie chilo,<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> stop he own side.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My no wanchee. Wanchee go long that largee mandoli.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Little teem,<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> Joss pay my what thing my father no likee pay.<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That moon last nightee get up loune, alla same my hat;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No go up full, no got square; that plenty piecie man,<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That lobbel man<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> too muchee qui-si,<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> alla same that tiger,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Chop chop come down that hillee, catchee that sheep long that cow,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That man custom take care, too muchee quick lun way.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My one piecie owne spie eye,<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> see that ladlone man what side he walkee.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hi-yah! No good chancie findee he catchee my flen.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Too piecie loon choon lun catchee that lobbel man;<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> he</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No can walkee welly quick; he pocket too much full up.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">So fashion knockee he largee.<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> He head man no got shottee far<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My knockee he head. Hi-yah! My number one stlong<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> man.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Catchee he jacket, long he trousa, galo.<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> You like look see?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My go puttee on just now. My go home, largie heart just now.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My no likee take care that sheep. So fashion my hear you go fightee this side,<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">My takee one servant, come you country, come helpie you,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He heart all same cow; too muchee fear; lun away;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Masquie!<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> Joss take care pay my come your house.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a></div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span></p>
-
-<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
-
-<p>The following is a better specimen, there
-being fewer liberties in the <span class="locked">rendering:—</span></p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">EXCELSIOR.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">The shades of night were falling fast,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">As through an Alpine village passed</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A youth, who bore, mid snow and ice,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A banner with the strange device,</div>
- <div class="verse indent16">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">His brow was sad; his eye beneath</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Flashed like a falchion from its sheath;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And like a silver clarion rung</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The accents of that unknown tongue.</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">In happy homes he saw the light</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Of household fires gleam warm and bright;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Above, the spectral glaciers shone,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And from his lips escaped a groan,</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“Try not the pass!” the old man said;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">“Dark lowers the tempest overhead;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The roaring torrent is deep and wide!”</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And loud that clarion voice replied,</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“Oh, stay!” the maiden said, “and rest</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Thy weary head upon this breast!”</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A tear stood in his bright blue eye;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But still he answered, with a sigh,</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“Beware the pine-tree’s withered branch!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Beware the awful avalanche!”</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">This was the peasant’s last Good-night;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A voice replied, far up the height,</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">At break of day, as heavenward</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The pious monks of Saint Bernard</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Uttered the oft-repeated prayer,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A voice cried through the startled air,</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">A traveller, by the faithful hound,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Half buried in the snow was found,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Still grasping in his hand of ice</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That banner with the strange device,</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">There in the twilight cold and gray,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And from the sky, serene and far,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">A voice fell like a falling star,</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Excelsior!</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span></p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">TOPSIDE GALAH.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">That nightee teem<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a> he come chop chop,<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">One young man walkee, no can stop.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Colo masquie,<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> icee masquie,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He got flag chop b’long welly culio see<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Hee too muchee solly;<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> one piecie<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> eye</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Lookee sharp so fashion, alla same mi;<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He talkee largee, talkee stlong,<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Too muchee culio,<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a> alla same gong.</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Inside any housee he can see light;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Any piecie loom<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> got fire all light?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He look see plenty ice more high,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Inside he mouf he plenty cly;<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“No can walkee!” ole man speakee he;<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">“Bimeby lain<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a> come; no can see;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hab got water, welly wide!”</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Masquie! mi<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> must go topside;</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“Man-man!”<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a> one galo<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a> talkee he;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">“What for you go topside? look see.”</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">“Nother teem,” he makee plenty cly.<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Masquie; alla teem he walkee plenty high.<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“Take care that spilum tlee,<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a> young man!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Take care that icee!” he no man man;<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That coolie chin chin<a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a> he good night;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">He talkee, “Mi can go all light.”</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Joss pidgin<a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a> man chop chop begin,<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Morning teem that Joss chin chin;<a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No see any man; he plenty fear,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Cause some man talkee,<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a> he can hear.</div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Young man makee die;<a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a> one largee dog see;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Too muchee bobbery findee he,<a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Hand too muchee colo;<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a> inside can stop,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Alla same piecee flag, got culio chop,<a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57,</a><a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a></div>
- <div class="verse indent18">Topside Galah.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span></p>
-
-<h3>A PEACOCK ORDERED FOR DINNER.</h3>
-
-<p>One captain ordered a peacock for dinner.
-We had a variety of feelings in anticipating
-the repast, none of them agreeable.
-On coming to table, no peacock appeared.
-The steward was summoned. “I told you
-have a peacock. Why no peacock?” The
-steward as though afraid, said, “I go ashore
-to get him peacock; I say, ‘Cap’n want peacock.
-Policee-man come; he say, What for
-you come ashore no paper tell you may come
-get peacock? Then he look all a same mad,
-say, ‘Go long, get in ship; I see you again I
-catchee you; I lock you up in ‘go-down.’
-Then I frightened; so I get no peacock for
-dinner.” The explanation was as good as a
-feast, including the look of terror, the gesticulation,
-the many ellipses in the narration.
-But the captain who had had great experience
-of Chinese human nature, said that he
-had no doubt the whole story was a fabrication.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span></p>
-
-<h3>DIRECTIONS TO A SERVANT IN PIDGIN
-ENGLISH.</h3>
-
-<p>I heard a captain of a steamer address his
-man-servant thus, when sending him from
-the cabin to his stateroom on deck for a box
-of writing paper: “Boy, you go topside my
-room. You see two piecee box belong all
-same, (look just alike.) One piecee have
-pens; my no wanchee that. Other piecee
-have paper. My wanchee. You makee pay
-my, (bring that to me.) Savez? (do you
-understand?”) The waiter nodded assent,
-and brought the right box.</p>
-
-<p>A lady was giving a dinner party to several
-gentleman and ladies. She told her
-butler to “set the table for sixteen piecee
-man.”</p>
-
-<p>A sampan man whom our captain wished
-to hire, was asked by him how many there
-were to row his sampan. He replied,
-“Seven piecee man,” meaning, as it proved,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span>
-himself, several sons, most of them young
-boys, and the mother who rowed with her
-infant tied round her neck; making seven
-hands, not counting the babe.</p>
-
-<p>A gentleman who was joking with one of
-his sedan bearers, talking nonsense, was answered,
-“Massa C., you belong too much
-culio, (too funny.) My never have see one
-man all same culio.”</p>
-
-<p>The American Eagle, that fierce gray bird
-with a bending beak, is known even in China
-by that celebrated feature. A Chinese servant
-told his master that while he was out a
-gentleman called. On being asked who it
-was, the servant said: “My no savee; but
-my can speakee what fashion he makee look
-see;” (what his appearance was.) “He
-belong one smallee man; no too muchee
-stout; had got one nose all same that Melican
-chickey.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span></p>
-
-<p>The mysteries of human speech are impressively
-illustrated in the ease with which
-the children of foreign extraction, brought
-up from infancy in China, learn and skilfully
-use the slight tones and the other niceties of
-the language. An ear accustomed to music
-of course is a great help in learning this language;
-but when a person is in the least dull
-of hearing, it is not easy to distinguish between
-some of the words, and especially the
-intonations, which in the Cantonese dialect,
-for example, so largely determine the meaning.
-One thought impressed me in thinking
-of the language as a barrier against the rest
-of the world: If the Chinese nature is naturally
-upright, and if sin is owing wholly to
-contamination by intercourse with depraved
-people, how happens it that China does not
-present us with a people of saints? having
-been kept by their language, as they have
-been, from mixing with men. That language<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span>
-has done more than their great wall in separating
-them from the rest of mankind.</p>
-
-<h3>A TYPHOON.</h3>
-
-<p>We had a typhoon at Hong Kong, Sept.
-29. I was spending a fortnight at the house
-of Dr. Legge. On Sabbath evening at sundown
-there was an appearance of rain, with
-some unusual disturbances in the air; soon
-the servants came into the parlor with planks
-and joists to strengthen the windows, the
-same precaution being used outside. The
-wind rapidly increased, till the strength of
-our gale at Boston, Sept. 8, 1869, had but a
-faint resemblance to it. Instead of one
-blast, there were lulls; then a renewed tempest
-increasing in strength while the typhoon
-lasted, which in this case was from sundown
-on Sunday till Tuesday at daybreak. Hundreds
-of lives were lost in Hong Kong harbor.
-The ships were almost invisible from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span>
-the shore, the spoon-drift being nearly equal
-to a thick fog. We were grateful that the
-typhoon did not find us at sea. We could
-understand the answers of old sea-captains,
-who, on some one in our hearing saying that
-he should like to witness a typhoon, shook
-their heads, looked grave, and said, “You
-will never wish to see another.”<a id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">59</a></p>
-
-<div id="il_13" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;">
- <img src="images/i_252b.jpg" width="1109" height="773" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p>
-AVENUE AT SINGAPORE. <a class="in2" href="#Page_253">Page 253</a>.
-</p></div></div>
-
-<h3>SINGAPORE.</h3>
-
-<p>Another excursion by favor of the Messrs.
-Heard and of Captain Arthur H. Clark of
-the steamer “Suwo Nada,” plying between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span>
-Hong Kong and Singapore, was made to
-Singapore. On the way, we stopped at Saigon,
-a French port in Cochin China, from
-which the French were then compelling the
-enemy to retire. Rice is largely exported
-from this place, and opium is received to an
-amount which tells a fearful story. Here we
-saw noble specimens of tigers, which are
-declared by authors of high repute to have
-destroyed on an average one man a day
-through the year, not many years ago, in
-some parts of the East Indies. They swim
-over to the islands from the main lands.
-They approach their victim from behind,
-felling him with a blow upon the head.</p>
-
-<p>Singapore is about eight days by steamer
-from Hong Kong, including the visit to Saigon.
-At Singapore you feel that you are
-in the East Indies, from the luxuriant foliage,
-the birds of marvellous plumage. We were
-politely taken to the country seat of Dr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span>
-John Little, by his brother, Matthew Little,
-Esq., where we found ourselves in a forest of
-cocoanut trees. The fruit is brought in
-loads to the mill, where a long blade in a
-frame separates the outer covering, and the
-nut goes through several processes by which
-every part of it is turned to use. The saying
-is that the cocoanut serves ninety-nine
-purposes. The rough husk being subjected
-to a powerful pressure is at once reduced to
-a fibrous state ready to be worked into coir
-mats or spun into cheap ropes. The natural
-bend of the husk, adapting it to the human
-head, it is sometimes carefully prepared, and
-dyed, then worn. We were entertained in a
-sumptuous manner with true East Indian
-bounty. We rode home after nine o’clock in
-the evening, listening to every sound, the
-rustling of every tree and brake, prepared to
-see a tiger spring upon the horses. We were
-glad to see the lights of the town in exchange<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span>
-for the long, solitary road which,
-however, with all its imaginary or real perils
-we would not willingly have failed to travel.
-At the residence of Cyrus Wakefield, Jr., and
-Temple R. Fay, we were superbly entertained,
-and from these gentlemen we received
-very many favors. Among them, a
-box of corals which had attracted my notice
-as I passed through the packing room of the
-counting house of Messrs. Bousteed &amp; Co.,
-and which awakened a hopeless desire to
-purchase, I afterward found was in preparation
-for us.—Mr. Vaughan and Mr. Hanna
-laid us under great obligations by their beautiful
-hospitality.</p>
-
-<p>A principal road runs close by the sea, is
-well shaded, and abounds in delicious odors
-from the gardens. The house and grounds
-of a rich Chinaman, Mr. Whampoa, are
-visited by foreigners as objects of interest.
-Rare East-India plants, ponds filled with the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span>
-pink lotus, vines trained or trimmed in fantastic
-shapes, such as eagles, deer, lions, and
-many others, on frames, trees with great
-variety of foliage, make the place attractive.
-A six-legged turtle which we examined was
-an object of much interest to its owner. He
-is a venerable man, speaks English well,
-gives free admission to visitors introduced by
-any one with whom he is acquainted.</p>
-
-<p>It made us feel that we were indeed in
-Eastern regions to be contiguous, as we were
-one day, to the residence of a Rajah, the
-name savoring of Oriental life.</p>
-
-<h3>CURRY.</h3>
-
-<p>To those who are fond of this condiment,
-it may be interesting to know that Singapore
-has the reputation of furnishing the best
-article in this form of diet. It would require
-one to be more of a connoisseur than
-the writer to decide whether Singapore,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span>
-Manila, or Anjer is entitled to the palm in
-preparing this article of luxury. Those who
-award it to Singapore say there are ingredients
-in the mixture at this place which are
-not to be obtained elsewhere; for they can
-not be exported and retain their flavor, the
-excellence of curry depending, we are told,
-on its being prepared fresh every day. The
-flavor of the fresh cocoanut is essential.
-Those who have eaten curry powder on their
-food in this country, have an agreeable surprise
-on tasting the article of curry in the
-East Indies. The servants grind some of the
-ingredients on stones, and the frequency
-with which we saw the operation as we
-passed along the streets in Singapore, made
-us feel that the preparation of curry root has
-a reputation which it requires labor to maintain.</p>
-
-<p>To specify all that is to be enjoyed in
-Singapore through every sense, would fill a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span>
-volume. We went off to the “Suwo Nada”
-in a boat and steamed away from this garden
-of luxuries by groves of cocoanut trees,
-through lines of ships from all quarters of
-the globe, and, after an enchanting passage,
-found ourselves once more safe in Hong
-Kong harbor.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="toclink_260">V.<br>
-
-<span class="subhead">MANILA.—HOMEWARD BOUND.</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">My country, sir, is not a single spot</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Of such a mould, or fixed to such a clime;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No! ’tis the social circle of my friends,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The loved community in which I’m linked,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And in whose welfare all my wishes centre.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="attrib"><span class="smcap">Miller’s</span> <cite>Mahomet</cite>.</div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Whose heart has ne’er within him burned</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">As home his footsteps he hath turned</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">From wandering on a foreign strand?</div>
- </div>
- <div class="attrib"><span class="smcap">W. Scott</span>; <cite>Lay of the Last Minstrel</cite>.</div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">There blend the ties that strengthen</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Our hearts in hours of grief,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The silver links that lengthen</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Joy’s visits when most brief.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Then dost thou sigh for pleasure?</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Oh! do not widely roam,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But seek that hidden treasure</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">At home, dear home!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="attrib"><span class="smcap">Bernard Barton.</span></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div>
- <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i_260.png" width="350" height="536" alt="O">
-</div>
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap large">On</span> the 22d of November we left Hong
-Kong for Manila, our agents concluding
-to wait no longer for hemp
-to fall, but to load the ship with sugar. We<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span>
-took in three million pounds, enough, we
-were told, to supply our whole country one
-day.</p>
-
-<p>We reached Manila Bay Dec. 1, but we
-would not have wondered had we been
-weeks, instead of five days, in contest with
-the current and head winds. One day we
-tacked fourteen times off Manila. At length
-we dropped anchor in the spacious roadstead,
-and waited for the health officers and the
-custom-house officials to inspect us. No one
-is allowed to have any communication with a
-vessel until she is officially visited. Steam-tugs
-would be an advantage to weary mariners
-contending against the current in sight
-of anchorage.</p>
-
-<p>We were the guests of a gentleman and
-his wife, he a member of the house of
-Messrs. Peele, Hubbell, &amp; Co.<a id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">60</a> We were
-there seven weeks, and, even if delicacy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span>
-permitted, language would fail in the attempt
-to express what we enjoyed in that beautiful
-house. Situated at one end of the city in
-the parish of Santa Ana we were removed
-from the noise and tumult of business. The
-river runs near the house with a current of
-at least four miles an hour, bringing down,
-day by day, literally innumerable wild herbage
-plants washed from the lakes in the
-country. Few things ever gave me a more
-vivid idea of infinitude than that ceaseless
-flow of herbage. Immense plaintain-leaves
-stood round the house looking like the blades
-of huge oars; the banana hung in large clusters;
-the garden was filled with many things
-to delight the eye. The house covered a
-large area. You enter it by a spacious driveway,
-roofed over with the main building.
-Stone steps lead up to the story on which
-are all the rooms in the house, high and
-wide, opening into the large hall. Instead<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span>
-of carpets, floors here are polished, by rubbing
-them with the plaintain-leaf. The
-house was cool and in all respects most comfortable.
-The eye is refreshed by constant
-verdure, the grass in December and January
-having the brilliant green which our early
-grass presents in the month of June. It
-seemed strange to be riding in open carriages
-at Christmas-time and January, with ladies
-in muslin dresses, or requiring only light
-shawls. The atmosphere is clear, and the
-stars have so peculiar a lustre as to be the
-subject of remark by foreigners. The river
-runs about fifteen miles to a lake, by cocoanut
-groves, and in some places by steep cliffs
-nearly two hundred and fifty feet on each
-side, covered with foliage, and having small
-cascades. In the river there are as many as
-twenty-eight rapids. Some of our party ascended
-them in canoes, spending two days
-on an excursion with a company. One<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span>
-evening a party of gentlemen took a small
-steamer, the private property of a friend,
-and went with us up to the lake. It was a
-moonlight night; the East-Indian scenery,
-the curves in the stream, and at last the
-scenery of the lake, made the excursion enchanting.</p>
-
-<p>The society in Manila, composed of American,
-English, Scotch, and Spanish people,
-was delightful. Their hospitalities, entertainments,
-and numberless courtesies make
-deep impressions upon a visitor. There are
-no unpleasant distinctions among them; they
-maintain an agreeable freedom in their intercourse.
-Indeed one cannot spend a few days
-in Manila without feeling glad if it happens
-to be at the close of a long tour; for as it
-will be most likely to be pronounced the
-climax of his social experience, it will be appropriate
-to leave it at the close.</p>
-
-<p>I used to drive with Mr. Peirce when he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">265</span>
-visited the sugar mills where his House were
-obtaining their supply of sugar to load our
-ship. We saw the crude material just from
-the cane, drying in the sun. I remember
-that on our passage home from Manila the
-cabin table happened to be short of sugar;
-but having three million pounds on board
-we ventured to draw on the cargo for a supply.
-When it came on table from the hold,
-the sight of it made us feel that sugar refinery
-was far from being a luxury, for it was
-hard to believe that the dark, coarse stuff
-could ever become white powdered sugar.
-Could we but shut our eyes, as we were
-inclined to do when we put it into our
-cups, we could draw from it a power of
-sweetness, though with a large tare and tret
-of original fibrous matter.</p>
-
-<h3>MANILA CIGARS.</h3>
-
-<p>I visited the great cigar factories and
-imagined how my friends, lay and clerical,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span>
-would envy me the privilege. But I could
-not be in the atmosphere of the factory ten
-minutes without experiencing a feeling akin
-to vertigo, which made me retreat to the
-open air. By going out and in several times
-I succeeded in gratifying my curiosity. The
-gentlemanly foreman begged me to take
-some of his products as specimens. I told
-him I could not appreciate them. He said
-if I would allow him to give me only one he
-was sure that he could overcome my repugnance.
-He went to a private drawer and
-drew out one on which he duly expatiated,
-then wrapped it in a paper and gave it to
-me. It is now in my drawer at home, two
-years old, well seasoned; waiting for my
-decision whether it will be safe to give it to
-some clerical friend who will promise that he
-will leave off smoking if I will treat his
-resolution with this very choicest Manila.
-Or would the gift have a powerful effect in
-an opposite direction?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span></p>
-
-<h3>THE CHURCH OF SANTA ANA.</h3>
-
-<p>We were near the old Church of Santa
-Ana, whose bells many times a day remind
-the faithful of their devotions. They were
-played skilfully, with a loud noise and with
-a vivacity such as I never before heard from
-bells. On one bell a man would drum a
-tune, the military music on a church bell
-having a decidedly frivolous effect. At six
-o’clock in the afternoon, the native inhabitants
-pause wherever they may happen to be
-at the vesper bell, and perform their devotions.
-I frequently met the Archbishop and
-his secretary in an evening walk, who would
-stop suddenly when the bell struck and, uncovering
-their heads, would repeat their
-prayers. I visited most of the churches.
-Imposture nowhere reigns with more open
-demands upon the credulity of the people.
-In one of the churches there are large paintings
-of the “Holy Girdle,” whose marvellous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span>
-cures, and power over serpents, and the
-bestowment of blessings in answer to faith
-in it, are described in large letters. Each
-of the many parishes has a monthly procession
-in which the population join. One
-evening we encountered a procession which
-blocked the streets for two hours. Four
-thousand women in black filled each side of
-the wide street, chanting Scripture and
-prayers, the men occupying the middle of
-the street with an imposing show of images
-of canonized persons surrounded with lighted
-chandeliers. Each woman in this procession
-had a lighted wax candle which she had
-bought of the priests, to be returned to them
-after the march. This is the source of a
-large revenue to the Church. These processions
-keep up a lively enthusiasm among the
-people.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span></p>
-
-<h3>PINA ARTICLES.</h3>
-
-<p>The manufacture of the Pina articles employs
-the people at home. These exquisite
-articles, such as veils, handkerchiefs, &amp;c., are
-made of the fibre of the pine-apple; at almost
-every house in some of the poorer parts
-of the city you see this work on small frames,
-exposed to the sun.</p>
-
-<h3>GAME COCKS.</h3>
-
-<p>The men are very many of them occupied
-in the training of game-cocks; frequently
-every tenth man you meet will have one of
-these birds under his arm.</p>
-
-<h3>TIGER AND BUFFALO FIGHT.</h3>
-
-<p>One Sabbath we were told there was a
-fight between a tiger and a buffalo on exhibition.
-The buffaloes are meek, docile
-animals, used instead of oxen. Their horns
-are wide-spread and very long. The buffalo
-took the tiger on his horns, threw him high,
-and the fall indisposed him for further effort.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span></p>
-
-<h3>FIRE-FLIES.</h3>
-
-<p>Some of the most beautiful objects here
-are the trees filled with fire-flies. Sometimes
-all along a road the trees will be crowned
-with the small creatures, their light constantly
-emitted; so that the tree looks as
-though it were filled with gems. Few sights
-are more attractive.</p>
-
-<h3>SPANISH MUSIC.</h3>
-
-<p>The inhabitants resort in the evening to
-the Pier, which is a solid structure extending
-a sixteenth of a mile into the bay, a sea-view
-on all sides; and once a week there is
-music by the bands, which draws crowds.
-Much of this Spanish music is more sentimental
-than we are accustomed to hear addressed
-to the populace, exciting a thoughtful
-attention.</p>
-
-<h3>CLIMATE OF MANILA.</h3>
-
-<p>Manila is the capital of Luzon, one of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span>
-Philippine Islands. The climate in December
-and January was intensely hot. After
-nine o’clock in the morning, it was not
-agreeable to be out of doors, even to drive;
-but at five in the afternoon, and in the evening,
-the cool sea-breezes made it pleasant to
-be abroad.</p>
-
-<h3>RELIGIOUS SERVICE.</h3>
-
-<p>Religious services are sustained on Sabbath
-evenings by a few christian friends at
-the house of one of their number, but there
-is no public place of Protestant worship
-there. It was instructive to go from China,
-from the depths of heathen idolatry, into
-the depths of formalism under the name of
-Christianity. You question whether you
-have advanced at all into the light of truth;
-for though it is a relief to be where the
-Scriptures and the names and forms of christianity
-are heard and seen, you are impressed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span>
-with the bias of the human heart to idolatry.
-To come from heathenism in China, and
-Roman Catholic superstition in Manila, into
-christian temples here at home, makes you
-wonder that only a certain number of leagues
-of salt water separate between us and such
-places as Canton or Manila.</p>
-
-<h3>TROPICAL FRUITS.</h3>
-
-<p>Of all the fruits which I have tasted in
-any part of the world, nothing has seemed to
-me preferable to the East Indian Mango.
-It is about the length of a full grown cucumber,
-as large as the largest specimens of that
-vegetable, smaller at one end that at the
-other. It has a flat stone extending from
-end to end. The skin is about the thickness
-of that of the banana. You stand the mango
-on one end in your plate and slice it on
-either side of the stone. Two slices then
-lay before you. With a dessert spoon you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span>
-take out piece after piece of the tender fruit,
-and when you have eaten both halves to the
-skin, there yet remains the stone, which has
-a great deal on it. You take it up in both
-hands and pass your mouth around it. By
-this time your hands and face are a spectacle
-which you can judge of by the predicament
-which you see your neighbor to be in. You
-are ready to agree with the East Indian
-maxim that a mango never should be eaten
-except in a tub of water. You cannot help
-beginning with another; but let it be small,
-or you will be likely to inquire if you may
-not divide your second with a friend. The
-fruit is of about the same color inside as
-the muskmelon, but it is harder, though not
-tough, not disagreeably sweet; juicy, nutritious.
-We began to receive them at Hong
-Kong in May, from Manila, where they are
-in perfection. We were surprised on seeing
-them upon the table at Christmas in Manila,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span>
-a forcing process being used there to bring
-them forward.</p>
-
-<p>Another valuable fruit in the East Indies
-is the Mangastene. It is of the size of the
-tomato and looks like it in shape; it is of the
-deep purple color of the purple grape. The
-outside shell, which is easily broken by the
-hand, being removed, a snow white fruit appears,
-divided like the tomato into as many
-sections. Its juice is slightly acid,—more
-correctly, acidulated,—a pleasant sour.
-There being little or nothing solid in it, the
-saying is that one may eat of the fruit indefinitely.
-There are few fruits better adapted
-to a warm climate.</p>
-
-<p>At Shanghai the Watermelon attains a degree
-of perfection which I have never known
-exceeded.</p>
-
-<p>The Pumelo, though a coarse fruit, is valuable.
-It resembles the West India shadduck;
-it is a large, fleshy orange, not so
-juicy as that fruit.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span></p>
-
-<p>To those who are fond of the banana it
-must be a delight to spend time where they
-can fully gratify their taste for it. The Sandwich
-Islands gave us the best specimens.—I
-cannot say it would be easy for me to enlarge
-this description of foreign fruits; indeed
-it would be painful, for the mention of
-these fruits is a vivid reminder of lost joys,
-joys pure, innocent, health-giving, a source
-of gratitude to the Giver of all good, stimulating
-the anticipation of future pleasure,
-which divine revelation does not consider it
-beneath itself to specify among the promised
-pleasures of heaven. It used to be a pleasant
-theme of meditation in those East India
-regions, that in the fields of the blest there
-is a species of tree (not, of course, one solitary
-tree) which bears twelve manner of
-fruits, and yields fruit every month. It was
-a harmless fancy of an invalid which twelve
-of all the fruits known to him he would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span>
-select for that species of tree to bear. His
-taste would make grave mistakes in putting
-the watermelon, for example, on the same
-tree with the plum; which led him to question
-whether the structural nature of the
-tree might not be supposed to be as far beyond
-his present botanical knowledge as the
-yield of the tree would surpass his present
-experience. His acquaintance with the almost
-perpetual banana gave him some idea
-of the practicability of vegetation reaching
-to the extent, even, of yielding fruit every
-month; so that without consulting with the
-botanical critic he would load his tree with
-the East Indian mango, mangastenes, apricots,
-muskmelons, peaches, pears, grapes, apples,
-quinces, watermelons, banana, figs; and
-then he would consider how inadequate was
-a pomological catalogue to express the known
-objects which stood ready to tempt his appetite.
-The queen of Sheba, herself from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span>
-East, perhaps admonished him by seeming to
-say that a greater than Solomon would hereafter
-‘feed him and lead him to living fountains
-of waters.’</p>
-
-<h3>THE CASSOWARY.</h3>
-
-<p>At Manila one object after another would
-be continually presenting itself to our notice,
-leading the thoughts into the still remote
-parts of the eastern world. In the yard of a
-gentleman stood this singular creature, which
-you felt obliged to call a bird yet you would
-prefer that it should be classed as an animal,
-for it seemed to belong among animals,
-though it is a biped. Its enormous legs,
-eighteen inches long, its fleshy protuberance
-on its head, coarsely imitating the tuft on the
-head of the peacock, left you in doubt how
-to assign it a place among the tribes of the
-animal kingdom, reminding you of the exploit
-in rhyming which a wit perpetrated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">278</span>
-with its name and its place of nativity, making
-Cassowary to rhyme with ‘missionary,’
-and Timbuctoo with ‘hymn-book too.’</p>
-
-<h3>LEAVING MANILA.</h3>
-
-<p>We left Manila Jan. 20th, with great regret.
-We were taking leave of valued
-friends, besides bidding adieu to scenes of
-interest which had not been surpassed in our
-experience. We had reached the eastern
-limit of our long voyage; we were to turn
-and find our way to the western continent.
-Objects of thrilling interest were yet to be
-passed. But how could we help feeling the
-need of special assistance in the great undertaking
-of going round the other half of
-the globe? These words came to me, and
-some lines were suggested by them:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“When the even was come he saith unto them, Let us pass
-over unto the other side.” Mark iv. 25.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">They went, and as they sailed</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">A storm came down upon the lake;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">It made the boldest spirits quake;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Their faith forsook them, so their courage failed.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">He on a pillow slept;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The stormy waters waked not Him.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">But prayer had power to break the dream</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Which through the tempest Him asleep had kept.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">There on Gadara’s shore</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Hell’s sullen legion knew his form;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">He and the twelve, escaped the storm,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Enrage their spiteful enemies the more.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">He speaks, the gale goes down;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The legion at his bidding flee;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The maniac finds recovery</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And spreads abroad the Nazarene’s renown.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent4">We leave what may betide,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">Saviour! to thy Almighty power.</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">So, trusting in thy love each hour,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">We will pass over to the other side.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3>PASSING ANJER.</h3>
-
-<p>We began our homeward voyage from
-Manila Jan. 20, and reached Anjer, Feb. 1.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span>
-Anjer is the western point of Java; vessels
-pass it to and from the China seas. “Passed
-Anjer,” in the marine reports, signifies that a
-vessel has left the China seas on her homeward
-way, or has just entered them on her
-outward voyage. Anjer supplies vessels with
-poultry, vegetables, fruits and water. On
-enquiring for bananas, we were told by a man
-who came on board that he would get us “a
-fathom of them for a dollar.” It was a large
-Oriental statement, with a basis of truth;
-but six feet of bananas for a dollar seemed
-too good to be true.</p>
-
-<p>Batavia is about seventy-five miles from
-Anjer; the road to it is characterized by
-Dutch solidity and thoroughness. Opposite
-the hotel at Anjer is a banian-tree, said to be
-the largest in diameter in that part of the
-world, composed of shoots which have descended
-from the top, taken root, and become
-principal parts of the tree. We saw from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span>
-shore our ship under sail, waiting for us,
-beating about against a head wind and current.
-The sight was animating. We rowed
-off to her four miles, glad to be on board the
-noble thing which had borne us more than
-half round the world, and was waiting to
-complete the great circuit. As often as we
-now see in the marine record, “Passed
-Anjer,” we recall the sensations with which
-we looked off from that lighthouse, which is
-the first or last object of interest to all who
-navigate those East-Indian seas.</p>
-
-<h3>CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.</h3>
-
-<p>It was extremely interesting to be approaching
-this famous point. That great
-maritime revelation, the opening of a new
-route to India in 1487, the story of Bartholomew
-Diaz and Vasco da Gama, and of the
-first navigators around that point, who used
-to bury their journals and set up a stone<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span>
-pointing to them, that the homeward-bound
-vessels might, by this primitive mail arrangement,
-get the latest news of them, made it
-an object of deep interest. Here the astronomers
-come from different countries, to observe
-the signs of the heavens; and certainly
-no place can be conceived of more favorable
-for such purposes. The clear atmosphere
-and the perfect horizon make it a place well
-fitted for telescopes to try their power. The
-Indian Ocean opening here, spreads before
-the observer the scene of some of the most
-interesting events of history. Being about
-four thousand miles from north to south, and
-of equal breadth, and receiving the Red Sea,
-holding the Persian Gulf and the Bay of
-Bengal, distinguished by such islands as
-Madagascar, Mauritius, Ceylon, and by such
-rivers as the Tigris, Euphrates, Indus, Ganges,
-and by the great equatorial current which,
-after it leaves the wide coast of China, crosses<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span>
-this ocean to the Mozambique Channel, seeking
-the east coast of Africa, and making its
-way by the Cape of Good Hope,—this
-Indian Ocean does not yield in historic or
-natural interest to the two greater oceans.
-Its northern part, divided from the southern
-by the Tropic of Capricorn, floats the commerce
-of Europe and this country with
-China, India, and the Malay Islands. Arabia
-and Persia, and the opposite India have used
-its waters for centuries in their local commerce.
-Points of interest along its seacoast,
-gulfs, and rivers are, Aden and Mocha in
-Arabia, Bassorah in Turkey, Bombay, Madras,
-Calcutta in Hindostan, and Point de
-Galle in Ceylon. It seemed more like the
-centre of the world on this ocean than elsewhere.
-Its astronomical attractions and its
-sunsets give it a peculiar charm, though after
-all that has been said of Indian Ocean sunsets,
-I am constrained to say that in Princeton,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">284</span>
-Massachusetts, I have seen more wonderful
-sunsets than I saw in the Indian Ocean.</p>
-
-<h3>TABLE MOUNTAIN.</h3>
-
-<p>Table Mountain, which makes the most
-prominent object at the Cape of Good Hope,
-though not the southernmost point, is 3,816
-feet high. It has a flat summit of great
-extent, and from that peculiarity in its formation
-it has its name. It is seen in clear
-weather fifty or sixty miles distant. You
-would think it a burial-place of kings, having
-something stately in appearance, as
-though it were a mausoleum erected by
-human art, like the pyramids built by successive
-generations. We sailed away from it in
-the latter part of an afternoon, reflecting
-that we had looked upon the last object connected
-with the continents of the other hemisphere.</p>
-
-<div id="il_14" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 48em;">
- <img src="images/i_284b.jpg" width="1529" height="707" alt="">
- <div class="caption">
-
-<p>
-TABLE MOUNTAIN. <a class="in2" href="#Page_284">Page 284</a>.
-</p></div></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">285</span></p>
-
-<h3>ST. HELENA.</h3>
-
-<p>We came very near this deeply interesting
-spot which for several years held the attention
-of the world. We could appreciate the
-saying of the notable prisoner there, who
-spoke of himself as “chained to this rock;”
-for the island impresses you as a huge rock.
-Very few isolated places seem to have more
-connection with the world; for twenty-five
-vessels on an average each day pass by it,
-showing their signals, to be reported. To
-begin and speak of the place, and the
-thoughts and feelings which it suggested,
-would not be expected. We could not go
-ashore without first entering the ship and
-paying port duties; but we had a full view
-of “Longwood,” where Napoleon lived, and
-where he met death.</p>
-
-<p>We resolved to go on board a British man-of-war
-which we should pass not far off. On
-lowering the largest boat into the water, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span>
-seams proved to have opened, and she soon
-filled. The gig which we used all summer
-in going ashore at Hong Kong was more
-seaworthy; so we set off in her for the man-of-war.
-We took four men to row and one
-to bail, which he had to do nimbly, the water
-gaining on him, obliging the stroke-oar to
-lend him a hand. By keeping our feet on a
-level with the rail, we managed to reach the
-“Rattlesnake” without being wet, though
-we discussed the question whether a handkerchief
-at half mast on an oar would be
-likely to be seen, if we were swamped. We
-went and returned safely, having received
-from the ship the news of the French and
-Prussian war, three months old, and having
-also received of a New Bedford whaler some
-vegetables, which we tried in vain to pay for.
-The midshipmen of the “Rattlesnake” said
-that they were attracted by a noble American
-vessel which entered the harbor that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span>
-morning, and they asked if we could tell
-them her name. After listening to their description,
-we, with becoming diffidence,
-informed them that it was the Golden Fleece.</p>
-
-<h3>ISLAND OF ASCENSION</h3>
-
-<p>The last point on which our eyes rested
-was the Island of Ascension, always interesting
-to every one at school as the most solitary-looking
-spot in the dreary South Atlantic.
-A whaler tacked and came near us;
-two of the men stood aloft watching for
-whales. Feeling that they were the last of
-our race whom we should behold for some
-time, and with sincere respect for the hardy
-men on their ocean hunting-ground, I waved
-my hat to them, and the two caps aloft made
-hearty response.</p>
-
-<h3>THE NORTH STAR RE-APPEARS.</h3>
-
-<p>We soon found by the signs above us that
-we were entering the northern hemisphere.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">288</span>
-One evening we saw, just above the horizon,
-two stars of “The Dipper.” It was several
-nights before the North Star came up the
-watery hill. The poet Spenser probably had
-never sailed in these latitudes when he wrote
-of the North Star as never being below the
-<span class="locked">horizon:—</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indentq">“By this, the Northern wagoner had set</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">His sevenfold teme behind the stedfast starre</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">That was in ocean waves yet never wet,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But firme is fixt, and sendeth light from farre</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">To all that on the wide deepe wandering arre.”<a id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">61</a></div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="in0">But at last it came up, dripping wet, and
-inspired in us the hope of soon watching it
-from our windows at home.</p>
-
-<h3>DISCOMFORTS AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>While it is true that as much was combined
-as could be wished for to render this
-voyage agreeable, those who have been at
-sea will not believe that we were free from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">289</span>
-the ordinary discomforts or annoyances of
-sea-life. For the satisfaction of those who
-have suffered in sailing vessels it will be well
-for me to show our dark side of sea-life in
-some of its principal annoyances; doing
-this, however, for the sake of the truth, that
-the voyage may not appear to have been out
-of the ordinary experience of those who go
-down to the sea.</p>
-
-<p>One of the first things which we all suffer
-at sea is revealed in the inspired account of
-sea-faring experience, which we are presented
-with in the contrasted experience of being
-on shore: “Then are they glad because they
-be quiet.” There are times at sea when stability
-seems to be the most enviable state.
-In weariness the invalid passenger, tossed
-and not comforted, feels constrained to quote
-one of the earliest verses of inspiration:
-“Let the dry land appear.” Yet there is so
-much that provokes mirth in the midst of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span>
-discomfort that it is not easy to say on which
-side the balance lies, whether of discomfort
-or amusement. Behold three men, two of
-them at least used to the sea, setting out
-from different parts of the main cabin to
-make their way to the table in the forward
-cabin. The ship rolls over on her port side,
-and the cabin-floor is at once an inclined
-plane at a grade very much removed from
-horizontal. They have a steep hill to ascend;
-and a seven-pound weight on either
-foot, ashore, would not be more cumbrous
-than that which seems now to be holding
-them to the floor. The sensation in trying to
-move cannot be unlike that which would be
-felt in an exhausted receiver. If the weight
-of the atmosphere on the human body, fifteen
-pounds to the square inch, instead of
-being equally diffused could be concentrated
-on the feet, the sensation probably would
-not be unlike that which one feels in trying<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span>
-to get across a ship’s deck when she is thrown
-over to the side opposite to that whither you
-are going. So these three gentlemen stand
-immovably fixed in the middle of the floor,
-their feet discreetly wide apart to preserve
-the upright position of the body. Then the
-ship rolls over on the other side, and the
-three travellers to the dinner table go involuntarily
-fast to the side of the cabin and
-hold on by a door, while the ship rolls once
-more, and comes back, it may be, with mitigated
-severity. At last a favorable opportunity
-is seized and the three slide into their
-seats in postures more necessary than graceful.
-Then begins a series of mishaps at
-table. No careful adjustment of the dishes,
-nor even the security provided for them by
-the racks can guard against the accidents
-which befall cups and saucers indiscreetly
-filled, or plates of soup not well provided
-with suitable dunnage of slices of bread underneath<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span>
-the lee side. A barrel of apples
-falls against the door of a locker and empties
-itself over the floor; and a canister of lamp-oil,
-whose cork had not been made tight,
-follows after the apples, and they are no
-longer eatable. Oh to be quiet! What
-seems more desirable than a good foundation?</p>
-
-<p>One day when the ship was rolling heavily
-it was difficult to keep your seat on the settee,
-and impossible to lie reclined. Every
-thing which was not lashed to some fixture
-about the room, or to staples driven into the
-floor, was sure to adopt a nomadic state and
-go from side to side. Among other things
-a “Pilgrim’s Progress,” which had been left
-on a table, fell from it and went sliding to
-and fro, exciting lively sensations in me at
-the thought that Mr. Ready-to-Halt and his
-friend, Mr. Despondency, were moving at a
-pace ill suited to the crutches of the old gentleman;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">293</span>
-for the book went like a shuttle
-back and forth on the floor.</p>
-
-<p>The little stove in the cabin felt the
-changeable wind, and did not draw well.
-This required the frequent attention of the
-steward. He was a Portuguese man, with a
-dark skin. He sat on the canvas carpet
-whittling, to make lightwood, to start the
-fire. The ship went down on one side, and
-the steward with it, whittling all the while,
-then sliding back in his upright position,
-maintained with becoming gravity, till the
-passengers, no longer able to contain themselves,
-were made merry at the sight. This
-made him show his white teeth, silently,
-without anything so undignified as a laugh;
-at which the passengers were increasingly
-merry.</p>
-
-<p>What shall I say of the cockroaches, red
-ants, tarantulas, and mice? One thing can
-be said in favor of all of them,—they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">294</span>
-not musquitoes. This was a nightly consolation;
-but it was the only good thing which
-could be said of them all. The ants would
-cover every vessel in which they could find
-any thing to drink; fresh water seemed to
-be their chief delight; if a wet sponge were
-hung up to dry, on taking it down the little
-creatures would be there in legions. The
-white ant is the bane of the Indian climate;
-their depredations, however, are chiefly on
-shore. I was going up the front stairs of a
-gentleman’s dwelling in China, when his foot
-went through a stair. “Ah,” said he, “the
-ants have been at work here!” But at sea
-we found the cockroaches most destructive.
-It is not pleasant to find several of them on
-your pillow when you go into your stateroom
-at night. They are harmless to the
-person, but the covers of books, and everything
-which has been pasted or glued, all
-lacker work, and paper generally, suffer from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">295</span>
-them. Yet there are housekeepers on shore
-who can inveigh against vermin, as well as
-people at sea.</p>
-
-<p>There are some people who cannot bear
-any noise overhead at night. If the gale
-does not wake them and keep them awake,
-twenty or thirty sailors hoisting or lowering
-the spanker, their boots making a noise not
-so gentle as that of prunello dancing-pumps
-will do it. If the stillness of the night and
-the passenger’s sleep are broken by the mate
-pacing the deck to keep himself awake, the
-heels of his boots will be chiefly answerable;
-for these make the principal disturbance; he
-cannot always comfortably wear India rubbers
-during his watch; he is to be pitied if
-he has a nervous passenger, and thanked if
-he is able to forego his walks on the house
-for the invalid’s sake.</p>
-
-<p>It would seem as though there should be a
-special punishment for those who practise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">296</span>
-fraud in ships’ stores. Your appetite is delicate;
-you have no source of supply but your
-locker; that is furnished with bottles and
-jars which profess to hold, for instance, jellies,
-made and provided expressly for sea-faring
-appetites. Your hopes of a comfortable
-supper are vested in a jar of jelly which
-the steward has placed on table, hoping to
-provoke an appetite. On opening it, instead
-of the fruit jelly which the label assures you
-is within, you find only gelatine, flavored
-with an extract resembling the fruit. There
-is nothing on the table for which you feel
-any desire but the promised jelly; you find
-yourself secretly invoking a sea-faring experience
-like this upon the man who has so
-deceived you, till at last your suffering is so
-great under your disappointment, which
-grows intense as the tasteless supper proceeds,
-that in stern disapprobation of this annoying
-ship-chandler trick, you feel resolved to make<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">297</span>
-it known, promising him that if you ever go
-to sea again you will pay special attention
-and see if his name is on the labels of the
-jellies. He who writes this and they who
-read it will not fail to remember that invalids
-are apt to be unreasonable. So small a matter
-as a jar of preserves disappointing the
-expectation of a nervous patient, especially
-at sea, where there are no means of alleviation,
-may be more than a match for the
-philosophy and the resolution of the best of
-men and women.</p>
-
-<p>When I have said these things, very few
-discomforts or annoyances remain which are
-not incident to almost any situation on shore.
-Many things there we are freed from at sea;
-the noise of cats at night, the barking of
-dogs, the scream of locomotives, the painfully
-regular puffing of stationary engines, the
-roar of wheels, the annoyances of mischievous
-boys, these you escape at sea; all of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">298</span>
-them in sailing-vessels, for in steamers you
-have some of them. If one should fairly
-add up the comparative discomforts of ship
-and shore, would life at sea prove to have
-the most of them? I came to the conclusion
-that a good sailing-ship, with agreeable company,
-is as near a perfect state of rest and
-peace as ever falls to our lot.</p>
-
-<h3>TARRING DOWN.</h3>
-
-<p>“Tarring down,” already mentioned, and
-now repeated because the operation is renewed
-as the vessel is coming near to port,
-is to a landsman an animating sight. Every
-rope in the standing rigging, beginning aloft,
-feels the smearing process, which is carried
-on without gloves. The stays, which run
-between the masts at an angle of forty-five
-degrees, are reached at every point by the
-boys, each in what is called a boatswain’s
-chair, not unlike the seat of a swing; in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">299</span>
-which he is lowered at his call by a boy or
-the mate on deck, who belays him at each
-descent a few feet at a time. Often have I
-watched these boys suspended sixty feet
-above the deck, wiping the rope with the
-sopping rags which they dip in the tar-bucket
-till they reach the deck; and I have thought
-what a sight one of these boys would be to
-his mother,—her pet besmeared with tar
-from head to foot, one suit of his clothes,
-kept for the occasion, doomed to go overboard
-after the tarring down near port, the
-boy feeling an honest pride as he illustrates
-in his work the dignity of labor. But perhaps
-the mother’s heart would yearn towards
-her child more than when she should see him
-in “the boatswain’s chair,” on seeing him at
-his meals. I repeat it, he has no table. He
-goes to the galley with his tin pot; the
-cook gives him his portion of tea or coffee,
-sweetened with molasses; the boy cuts a piece<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">300</span>
-of beef from out the mess-kid, gets a piece
-of “hard-tack” from the “bread barge,” sits
-down on deck, or on a spare spar, lays his tin
-pan beside him, and with his sheath-knife
-and fingers despatches his “grub.” Many
-at their rich mahogany tables loaded with
-China-ware and silver would give it all for
-the boy’s appetite and power of digestion.</p>
-
-<h3>OUR THREE CREWS.</h3>
-
-<p>Our three crews, were, one from New York
-to San Francisco, the second, from San Francisco
-to the Sandwich Islands and Hong
-Kong, the third, from Hong Kong to Manila
-and thence to New York.</p>
-
-<p>It would be more than could be expected
-of human nature subjected to the trials of
-nautical life, to behave with perfect propriety
-under all the various conditions to which
-men must be subjected in a long voyage.
-From New York to San Francisco we were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">301</span>
-favored with a set of men who could not be
-excelled in their dispositions and behavior.
-I have already quoted the complimentary remarks
-of the captain in his last address to
-them. In San Francisco, although there is
-not the opportunity to make a good selection
-which there is in the port of New York, we
-were also highly favored in our men.</p>
-
-<h3>OLD PORTRAIT OF THE SAILOR.</h3>
-
-<p>We had three libraries sent on board before
-we left New York, which did excellent
-service. It was interesting to see the men
-after religious services on the Sabbath morning,
-finding shady places about the ship with
-their books and tracts from these libraries.
-This is in contrast to the old system of
-things among sailors. A familiar picture of
-a sailor used to be a man with a monkey led
-by a string in one hand, a parrot cage in the
-other, a tarpaulin with a quarter of a yard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">302</span>
-of black ribbon flying, no suspenders, his
-trowsers revealing a zone of blue shirt above
-his waistbands. The appearance of our crew
-from New York was far in advance of such a
-portraiture. It is still seen, though the contrast
-is very frequent.</p>
-
-<h3>THE KNIGHT HEAD.</h3>
-
-<p>On our way from Manila the Captain invited
-me to go down with him to the knight
-head, at the foot of the bowsprit, where you
-may extemporize a good seat protected with
-ropes. There you have a good view of the
-ship, and, taking the foremast for a guide, can
-learn the names of the different sails, see the
-arrangement of the jibs, and, leaning over,
-watch the cutwater dividing the billows,
-throwing up sheets of foam, the spray saluting
-you as often as the ship buries herself in
-a huge wave. We indulged ourselves in
-some mathematical calculations as to the
-bulk of water displaced by the ship as she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">303</span>
-floated, with several problems adjacent.
-This ship is two hundred and ten feet long.
-Malone Block, in Boston, where we formerly
-lived, has six dwellings, each twenty-three
-feet long, making the block a hundred and
-thirty-eight feet, so that the ship is once and
-a half the length of that block! We did
-much ciphering on the wood work, which
-may not have escaped the paint brush, or the
-constant wear from the weather. If it survives,
-a reader may find there some curious
-calculations in the mensuration of solids.</p>
-
-<h3>A SAILOR PUT IN IRONS.</h3>
-
-<p>The crew which we shipped in Hong Kong
-were several of them, as it proved, released
-from jail to ship; they were, in part, the off-couring
-of English vessels. They were disposed
-to take advantage of the officers when
-possible, doing as little work as would serve to
-make them appear busy. One of them was
-sent aloft to slush down the mast, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">304</span>
-second mate observed that he was loitering
-about in the rigging, to kill time. At eight
-bells he came down on deck, intending to go
-to breakfast with his watch and let somebody
-else finish his work; but the mate ordered
-him aloft to complete his job. This he refused
-to do, saying he would not work when
-it was his watch below. The captain heard
-the dispute and told the man that if he did
-not obey the orders he would put him in
-irons. He continuing obstinate, they put
-irons on his hands and placed him in the
-poop deck hatch, and gave him hard bread
-and water for food. He held out forty-eight
-hours in spite of the captain’s continual conversation
-with him; when leg irons were
-brought and were going on; then he humbly
-consented to obey the order and to behave
-well. The captain has since told me it was
-the only time that he ever confined a sailor,
-and he was inclined afterward to wish that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">305</span>
-he had been still more patient, trying to
-conquer the man by his usual method of moral
-suasion. “But,” said he, “it was the only
-direct refusal of duty which I ever had, and
-with such a dangerous crew I felt the necessity
-of showing decision.” I record it with
-my grateful acknowledgment that though
-this man was kept manacled in the lazareet,
-under my stateroom, I did not know when
-he was put there, nor was I aware of his
-crime and his punishment till several months
-after our arrival.—One other incident will
-complete the criminal record of the ship.</p>
-
-<h3>SOME APPEARANCE OF MUTINY QUELLED.</h3>
-
-<p>On the voyage from Manila to New York
-we had the only interruption to our peace.
-One day we were informed by the steward
-that some of the men had thrown their beef
-overboard; that they were excited; and he
-feared trouble. The captain made inquiry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">306</span>
-into the cause of disaffection, the ringleaders
-in it, the nature of their threats.</p>
-
-<p>He called them together on the main deck
-in the afternoon. All were there except the
-man at the wheel. They were dressed in
-their Sunday clothes; they stood round as
-men do when there is a strike. The passengers
-kept out of sight, but were within hearing.
-We had heard of mutinies; perhaps
-we were now to have some practical experience
-of them.</p>
-
-<p>The captain told them that the steward
-had informed him that they found fault with
-their beef. He believed that there may have
-been some reason for complaint; that a new
-barrel had been opened that morning; he believed
-that the first pieces had been exposed
-to the air, the brine having been absorbed
-since leaving New York; that the steward
-happened to give these pieces to them rather
-than to the cabin table, but there was no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">307</span>
-design in doing so; that had we had one of
-the pieces for dinner that day, we should no
-doubt have complained that it was not as
-fresh after coming round Cape Horn as it
-was on leaving Fulton Market; but we
-would not for this have abused the steward.
-Now as we were getting to the last tier of
-the beef barrels he should have to shorten
-their allowance a little, especially if they
-preferred to throw their beef overboard,
-which they might do if they pleased, but
-they would gain nothing by it; we were all
-in the same boat sharing alike. He had
-heard of some expressions being used which
-were not right; he hoped he was misinformed;
-they would find that so long as they
-showed themselves to be reasonable men
-they would have no just ground of complaint.
-They also knew what the consequences
-would be to any one who should
-make trouble.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">308</span></p>
-
-<p>The men separated peacefully, making no
-more complaint; for we soon drew from
-deeper brine and the beef proved to be all
-right.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps it was accidental, but the captain
-said that complaints against the grub had
-been most frequently made by some Irishmen
-in his different crews. Whether these
-offenders had been accustomed to the best of
-fare on shore, and so were less able to bear
-discomforts in sea life, or whether they were
-of a more jealous disposition than others
-from some natural cause in their temperament,
-he would not say, but he had found it
-more difficult to suit a man of this class in the
-matter of grub than others; the shillaleh
-was too ready to appear at a fancied attempt
-to get an advantage over him in his food.
-For quick witted, daring, nimble, nautical
-feats, none have surpassed Irish sailors. As
-quick as any one of his watch, you are sure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">309</span>
-to find an Irishman lying out on the yard
-arm as far as to the weather earring, in a gale.</p>
-
-<p>It is not right to lay hold of a few cases
-and impute certain classes of faults to men
-of one nation, as though these men were all of
-them specially addicted to that kind of transgression.
-There is no assignable reason, for
-example, why an Irishman, rather than a
-Swede, should be quick to find fault with his
-grub; if it has so happened that, as a captain
-told us, he never in a long course of
-years, had a disturbance in his crew about
-the grub but an Irishman was sure to be at
-the bottom of it; that even when in all other
-respects the Irishman was exemplary in his
-disposition, grub was sure to be a weak point
-with him; still we would prefer to hear the
-experience of others before we drew a conclusion
-unfavorable to a whole class of men in
-that particular.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">310</span></p>
-
-<h3>ON HAVING A FIN IN THE CREW.</h3>
-
-<p>There is a singular superstition among
-some seamen that where there is a Fin in the
-crew, you may be sure of bad luck. Had we
-been superstitious, we might have augured
-ill for ourselves, because the first entry on
-our shipping list was of John Reholm, Finland.
-Now John Reholm was, as to behavior,
-blameless. He was short and stout, about
-forty-five years old, always ready to go aloft,
-good at mending old sails, quiet, always at
-Sabbath service, often betraying emotion,
-which was noticeable in his moistened eye,
-his quivering lip. I do not remember to
-have heard him speak a word, so that I doubt
-if he could speak English, except a few indispensable
-sentences, though he understood
-the spoken tongue. Yet when all hands
-were on deck in some exigency, you would
-be attracted by his readiness to lead off in
-that part of the work which called for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">311</span>
-strong arm; he knew where to look for the
-corner of the sail which the wind had torn
-then twisted. On receiving at the wheel
-your salutation as you passed him, though his
-hands might both be needed to keep the
-wheel straight he would be sure to lift a
-hand to his cap, and acknowledge your attention.
-There was no bad luck about him.
-He went the round voyage with us. Would
-that I could hear of his welfare. If any one
-says a disparaging word about a Fin, the
-image of a saint among sailors rises to my
-thoughts in the person of John Reholm.</p>
-
-<h3>ON PRAISING A CREW.</h3>
-
-<p>Now that I am out of all danger of incurring
-the disapprobation of the mates, I am
-free to speak thus about a sailor, and I would
-be glad to say more. One Sabbath I spoke
-to the crew in terms of commendation. We
-were lying at anchor in Hong Kong harbor.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">312</span>
-In the night there were signs of a gale.
-One anchor only was down; the ship drifted,
-and we were afoul of an English bark. As
-the wind was still rising and we had lately
-had a typhoon, we were apprehensive of
-another. All hands in each vessel were at
-work, some aloft, clearing the rigging and
-fending off, and those below anxiously watching
-the growing snarl, contending with unequal
-strength against the chafing, and now
-and then the grinding action, of the vessel.
-From my window I could see and hear all
-that was going on, as we lay close to. The
-crews being strangers one to the other, many
-of them of different nationality, there was
-due deference paid to each other, courteous,
-kind expressions, regrets on the one side at
-running upon a neighbor, on the other the
-deprecation or the ready acceptance of apologies,
-the ‘don’t mention it,’ or, ‘we should
-have been foul of you, if the wind had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">313</span>
-the other way.’ After working hard from
-two o’clock till four, in the dark, we were
-clear of each other, and the spare anchor
-went down to hold us fast. No words of
-impatience met my ear during the whole
-work of disentangling the snarl. It came in
-my way to speak of this the next Sabbath.
-A few days after we were discussing the
-sailors, when one of the mates said to me,
-“I was afraid last Sabbath that you were
-going too far in praising them.” “Yes,”
-said the other, “I was on tenter hooks, till
-you got through.” I am ready to defer to
-the practical judgment of the mates, yet we
-may be too sparing of kind words, courteous
-tones, and praise, in our treatment of those
-whom we would impress with the feeling
-that they are under authority. It will not
-hurt any of us to have in mind the injunction
-of an old poet:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">314</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indentq">“Praise, above all; for praise prevails;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Heap up the measure, load the scales,</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">And good to goodness add.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The generous soul her Saviour aids,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">While peevish obloquy degrades;</div>
- <div class="verse indent4">The Lord is great and glad.”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3>THE POWER OF KINDNESS.</h3>
-
-<p>Early in the passage to California the men
-were at work about the ropes on deck, when
-one of them was told to loosen a topgallant
-halyard which was foul. He laid hold of
-the wrong rope. The voice of upbraiding
-came from one of the oldest of the crew;
-“Have you been on board this ship a fortnight
-and don’t you know the topgallant
-halyard?” Another sailor answered, “O,
-Daniel is learning fast; he’ll come all right
-soon; trust him.” Daniel was evidently
-touched by this unexpected expression of
-kindness; he wiped his eyes with the back
-of his hand; but whether from perspiration
-or not I could not tell.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">315</span></p>
-
-<h3>THE BOY BEN AT THE WHEEL.</h3>
-
-<p>In the straits of Lemaire, going round
-Cape Horn, we overtook and were likely to
-pass a British ship, wire rigged, a ship of
-fine style. The sea was rough; we were
-coming too near. The boy Ben was having
-his trick at the wheel. He was the youngest
-on board. The little fellow did his best to
-keep the ship from broaching to, but the sea
-was too strong for his young arms. I pitied
-Ben, for I knew how mortified he would be
-to have another supplant him; and he was
-ambitious of making good his standing as a
-sailor. Just then a kind voice called to him;
-“Ben, you are a good little steersman; you can
-steer as well as any of them most of the
-time; but just now the sea is getting up; we
-should like to pass that ship and not get too
-near her; one of the able bodied sailors
-ought to be at the helm; ring the bell and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">316</span>
-call Nelson to come and take the wheel.”
-Nelson came, and worked the ship so that
-she soon shot ahead. Ben left the wheel
-with the proud satisfaction that his efforts
-were appreciated and praised; that only Nelson
-could do better than he; and Nelson was
-twenty years his senior. The little incident
-made me also sensitive about the eyes. I
-would rather do such an act of kindness to a
-young man than outstrip a British clipper.</p>
-
-<h3>ACCIDENT AND PRESERVATION.</h3>
-
-<p>As I look back on the dangers of our way,
-and remember how many times by night and
-day, aloft and on deck, our men have been
-exposed to accident, I cannot refrain from
-recording my gratitude to the Preserver of
-men. One day all hands were around the
-mainmast hoisting a yard. I was standing
-with the captain near the wheel, when we
-heard a noise unlike anything which we ever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">317</span>
-heard on ship board. It lasted only two or
-three seconds, but was so peculiar that it
-was frightful. Was the ship grating over a
-sunken rock; had she opened a seam, and
-was the water pouring in? Going forward,
-the men were found standing silently over
-one of their number who was lying senseless
-on deck. One of the chain runners which
-hoists a yard twenty-five or thirty feet, had
-given way in one of its upper links, and the
-chain had come down through the block to
-the deck. This was the noise which alarmed
-us. In falling, the chain struck one of the
-men on the shoulder and he fell senseless.
-He was soon restored, but he was laid up a
-fortnight. Had the blow been upon his
-head, the weight of the chain made it probable
-that the hurt would have been more
-serious. This was the only accident which
-we had to record during the whole voyage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">318</span></p>
-
-<h3>BIRD ON MIZZEN TOP GALLANT MAST.</h3>
-
-<p>One afternoon about five o’clock, several
-weeks after we had “passed Anjer,” a bird
-as large as a heron came and sat for half an
-hour on a yard. We were several hundred
-miles from any land. The bird was not idle,
-for his frequent change of position, the
-motions of his head evidently helping his
-eye-sight, showed that his thoughts were
-busy about the next stage in his flight. He
-will go westward, I said to myself, keeping
-up as long as possible with the sun; but still
-he will spend the night somewhere on the
-waves. I watched him till he flew. To
-my surprise, instead of going toward the sun
-he flew eastward. I would have dissuaded
-him from such a decision, at least would
-have inquired by what train of thought he
-came to the conclusion that he would fly
-toward the night. On reflection it occurred<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">319</span>
-to me that he took the most direct course
-toward the morning; by going in that direction
-he would meet the sun before we should
-see him. Perhaps instinct had taught him
-this lesson, and therefore he flew into the
-darkness as the speediest way to the morning.
-He “who maketh us wiser than the
-fowls of heaven” has given then an instinct
-before which ours is as nothing. Experience,
-the comparison of events, wisdom
-learned from mistakes, from sorrow, from
-loss, is ours, to guide us on our heavenward
-path. Improving by such experience we are
-“wiser than the fowls;” otherwise their instinct
-makes our folly more pitiable. As the
-bird flew from me toward the east, this train
-of thought arose:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">320</span></p>
-
-<p class="ptitle">THE BIRD ON THE MIZZEN MAST.</p>
-
-<p class="ptitle smaller">THE PASSENGER.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Come! fly with the ship to the westerly ocean;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">See how the pathway is flooded with light;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The east is beclouded, the waves in commotion;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Darkness approaches; why tempt you the night?</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="ptitle smaller">THE BIRD.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">I fly to the day break; I seek the sun rising;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">I brave the short darkness, I covet the day,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And sooner than you I shall welcome the morning;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Fare thee well, passenger! bid me not stay.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="ptitle smaller">THE PASSENGER.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">See how the driftweed is wandering seaward;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Driven and scattered it soon will be lost;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">From billow to billow, benighted, unfriended,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Companionless, weary, thus you will be tost.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="ptitle smaller">THE BIRD.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">I fly o’er the driftweed past Mozambique Channel,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">And Aden, and Mocha, Bassora, Bombay;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The Tigris, Euphrates, the Indus, the Ganges,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">So please me, I joyfully leave on my way.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">You, later o’ertaken by darkness, then midnight,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Will slumber long after the stars shall have paled;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Adieu! to thee, passenger; eastward I travel;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">The morning! the morning! I first shall have hailed.</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">321</span>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">I leave thee a blessing, with kind admonition:</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Never fear thou the sundown, and dread not the night;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">God can reveal to thee treasures of darkness;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Then welcome the darkness; thrice welcome the light.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3>THE BOAT’S CREW</h3>
-
-<p>There were four young men, and one who
-was an occasional substitute, who served the
-six months that we were in Hong Kong
-harbor, and at other times, in rowing us
-ashore and in our visits to ships. Sometimes
-the service took several hours; the distance
-was now and then great. When we went
-ashore at Anjer we were rowed four miles;
-when we went to church we were each time
-absent from the boat on shore two hours;
-calls, shopping, business, made large drafts
-on their patience; for though our visits
-ashore gave them also opportunity to supply
-some wants as well as to gratify their curiosity,
-still there were unavoidable delays on
-our part which could not have been to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">322</span>
-young crew always pleasant. In no instance
-did they manifest that they felt these visits
-to be irksome. In looking back upon their
-unwearied, prompt, always cheerful service,
-I feel that we owe them more than thanks;
-but I fear to write this lest I incur the disapprobation
-of some of the officers, who would
-be moved to tell me that the young men had
-as easy a time as though they had been tarring
-down, mending sails, scrubbing brass;
-that passengers must be careful how they
-praise sailors. This shall be remembered
-and duly practised on board ship; but on
-shore the names of Parslow, Twichell, Coffin,
-Ryder and Treadwell, will always be associated
-with happy hours. May the young
-men be successful master mariners, and while
-they are mates may they know how to
-mingle kind words with discipline.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">323</span></p>
-
-<h3>“HOLD THE REEL.”</h3>
-
-<p>During the whole voyage from first to last,
-it was always exciting to hear the mate issue
-this summons. Generally, we knew by it
-that the ship was going at such a quickened
-speed that the mate wished to verify it by
-measurement. When the order was given,
-two of the boys came aft; one of them took
-from the locker the reel which had on it a
-line of several fathoms; the other held the
-glass. The end of the line which was
-thrown into the water had on it a wide piece
-of thin wood, triangular. The line was
-fastened to it through each of the angles,
-so that the piece of clapboard stood upright
-in the water, thus feeling the draft as the
-ship went on. The reel was held by the
-boy in both hands over his head to keep the
-line from running foul. Pieces of tape were
-tied into the line twenty-two and a half feet
-apart. The glass ran fourteen seconds.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">324</span>
-When it was empty the boy cried, “up;”
-and the mate knowing how many knots had
-passed through his hand in fourteen seconds,
-easily reckoned how many knots (or miles)
-an hour the ship was running. We never
-went over thirteen and a half; sometimes
-only two; and in a dead calm a reel could
-not have turned; our rate of motion would
-have been 0. Perhaps in a short time a
-breeze would be setting us forward, so that
-the mate would call out, “Hold the reel.”</p>
-
-<h3>GALES OFF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.</h3>
-
-<p>It may have been fancy, but the gales at
-the Cape of Good Hope impressed me differently
-from those at Cape Horn. The latter
-place, and the associations with it, make one
-feel that there is more of a sub base in its
-winds and waters. There, two oceans form
-and go apart to either side of a continent;
-you are near the polar regions, the realms of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">325</span>
-snow and ice. You expect every manifestation
-of sublimity, but not of caprice; the
-awful forms of nature, grandeur with stillness;
-or, when storms are summoned, there
-is a heavy tread in their battalions. Off the
-Cape of Good Hope we had the impression
-that the wind was as fierce, its rate of motion
-perhaps greater, but we could not tremble
-before it as we did at Cape Horn. Two
-gales off the Cape of Good Hope gave us
-good specimens of the violent weather in
-that region. The sun was nearly out on
-each of the two days, but the wind, though
-not as fitful as in a typhoon, was as violent
-as in a typhoon gale in the China Seas. A
-British ship as large as ours was near us the
-whole of one day, so that we saw by the
-way in which the gale was serving her, how
-we probably appeared to our neighbor. At
-one time she seemed to be moored on a
-mountain top; in a few moments she was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">326</span>
-lost to sight, but this of course was owing as
-much to our depression and elevation as to
-hers. There was so much regularity in our
-motion that it awakened no fear. My daughters
-were captivated by the wildness of the
-scenery, but the roll of the ship was so great
-that it was not easy to keep upright; so the
-captain had pillows brought on deck, and by
-passing ropes around the passengers, and
-making them fast, the pillows and they were
-secure against the lee and the weather roll,
-and for a short time they kept their lookout.
-That the scene was less terrific than corresponding
-tempests at Cape Horn was owing
-in part to our having more experience on
-reaching the eastern continent, but mostly, as
-it seemed to me, to the more awful grandeur
-of the Cape Horn region.</p>
-
-<h3>WERE WE NEVER AFRAID AT SEA?</h3>
-
-<p>I will begin by relating an incident in the
-sea-faring experience of Dr. Lyman Beecher,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">327</span>
-who preached in my pulpit one Sabbath soon
-after returning from England, and related
-this incident, using it to enforce the text:
-“Therefore being justified by faith, we have
-peace with God, through our Lord Jesus
-Christ.” He said that while a storm was
-raging, he heard a lady enter a room adjoining
-his and address some one in these words:
-“Mary, how can you be sitting there in your
-rocking-chair, as though nothing was going
-to happen? Do you know that we may all
-be at the bottom of the sea in five minutes?
-Stir about and do something. Pray do not
-sit there rocking and singing.”</p>
-
-<p>He recognized the voice as that of an
-English lady who was on her way to Canada,
-her husband connected with the government.
-Mary was her serving maid.</p>
-
-<p>Mary said, “Please, madam, I have done
-everything which you told me to do; is there
-anything else which you think of?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">328</span></p>
-
-<p>“No,” said the lady, “but I cannot bear
-to see you so peaceful, humming your tunes
-when the ship is breaking up.”</p>
-
-<p>“The men have done all they can to save
-themselves and us,” said Mary, “and I see
-nothing to do but pray and wait.”</p>
-
-<p>“‘Pray and wait,’” said her mistress, “on
-the point of going down! I am raving
-distracted, and you are as calm as a clock.
-Why don’t you scream, and show some feeling,
-and not sit there like a statue?”</p>
-
-<p>“What good would it do to scream?”
-said Mary. “God can hear us whisper; He
-is looking on the ship and on each of us, and
-He hears every petition.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh,” said the lady, “I would give the
-world to feel so. But it is too late to pray.
-I cannot think; I shall die crazy.”</p>
-
-<p>Mary said, “When the storm began I was
-reading in the fifth of Romans: ‘Therefore
-being justified by faith we have peace with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">329</span>
-God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ I felt
-calm; my peace is made with God through
-Christ; that text keeps me from screaming.
-If I die, I shall go to God, for Christ has
-made peace for me with Him.”</p>
-
-<p>With such words Mary composed the agitated
-mind of her mistress; when suddenly
-the sun broke through the clouds, and
-though the waves were fearfully tempestuous,
-the ship rode them safely; Mary’s
-Saviour had said to them, “Peace, be
-still.”</p>
-
-<p>If there were hours when we might have
-been made afraid, it was not in gales, nor in
-the raging of the sea; but in some peaceful,
-moonlight night, when everything was beautiful
-to the eye, we saw that we might have
-reason to tremble. If the insidious current
-should take the ship and prevent her from
-passing a certain headland, we might be
-stranded on a desolate coast and see the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">330</span>
-ship piled up, a helpless thing, in the sands,
-and ourselves left to the horrors of want.
-We would be passing a forlorn place in the
-China seas, for example, and the current
-might prove more than the wind could overcome;
-we might be swept round a point
-where we heard the surf roar on the beach,
-and it might depend on a favorable change
-of wind in a few moments whether we
-should drift into deep water and go round
-another point, or whether that spot was to
-be the graveyard of our noble vessel. At
-such moments life re-appears to you with
-its long-forgotten passages, and the future
-seems filled with pictures of woe, such, perhaps,
-as you had never seen, even in dreams.
-At times like these, you have experience of
-the special care of God, are made to feel the
-practical value of the doctrine of a particular
-providence, you receive instruction in the
-nature of prayer, learn more lessons in faith<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">331</span>
-than years of ordinary experience can furnish,
-and deep convictions of the privilege
-and duty of childlike confidence in the
-Almighty, such that you are persuaded a
-thousand temptations to unbelief cannot overcome.—them.
-There are paradoxes in one’s
-feelings in times of imminent danger. It is
-easy at these moments, strange as it may
-seem, to forget your own possible loss and
-sorrow, and lose yourself in thinking of your
-ship, of which you may have felt so proud,
-and which, having borne you half round the
-globe, must, perhaps, now bury her stem or
-stern ignobly in the sand, all her rich panelwork
-being made of no account by the
-waves breaking ruthlessly in through the
-rent sides, the spars and sails left free to be
-the sport of the tempest, and soon her freight
-melting away in the surge. You feel that
-you would sacrifice anything short of life itself,
-to prevent such disaster. And when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">332</span>
-suddenly the wind comes round the headland,
-and you find that you have met a
-favorable breeze, and the ship goes safely
-again on her way, you wonder at yourself,
-perhaps, for rejoicing in her deliverance
-equally with your own, and you fall to repeating
-passages of the hundred and seventh
-Psalm, with thanksgiving.</p>
-
-<h3>THE RUDDER.</h3>
-
-<p>The rudder affords a constant fund of interest
-when the ship is at her full speed.
-The parting and closing water makes incessant
-forms of beauty; you may hang over
-the counter and look down into the wake
-for a long time, and not be weary. The
-swift rush of the water to close up the furrow
-made by the keel keeps attention awake:
-the graceful sinking of the stern in alternation
-with the bows, bringing you down to a
-level with the waves, then far above them,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">333</span>
-brings apprehension enough with it to make
-a novice question why he has never heard
-people who have seen it describe their pleasure.
-When night has set in and the phosphoresence
-happens to be abundant, kaleidoscopes
-never revealed such wonders to the
-eye.</p>
-
-<h3>RETROSPECT OF RELIGIOUS SERVICES AT SEA.</h3>
-
-<p>We had religious services every Sabbath
-morning, when the weather allowed, at nine
-o’clock. Almost all hands would attend, it
-being left optional with them. On the way
-from the Sandwich Islands to China, in the
-trade-wind region, we had the service on
-deck. No preacher ever enjoyed the sight
-which met his eye in the objects around his
-pulpit more than those which were seen from
-that place of worship. Immediately around
-the speaker were twenty-five sailors, well
-dressed, wakeful, well behaved; an awning
-was over them; their singing was animating;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">334</span>
-the beauty of the ocean scenery, the sight
-of distant vessels, the sound of the water as
-the ship went through it, contributed to the
-enjoyment of the Sabbath stillness, which
-seemed to have at sea as on land a hush unlike
-the week-days. While natural scenery
-cannot inspire the heart with spiritual emotions,
-yet when these exist they are sometimes
-assisted in their peaceful, elevating
-power over us by a contemplation of such a
-prospect as we had on that deck in those
-Sabbath hours.—We had in all about seventy
-men and boys who sailed with us. The most
-of these placed themselves under religious
-influences while on board; now they are
-scattered like the driftweed which went by
-us; but in the different vessels in which they
-now sail they may feel the power of some
-good impressions which they received; for
-not only on the Sabbath, but in the weekly
-Bible-class, they were affectionately exhorted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">335</span>
-by their captain, who added to his spiritual
-efforts for them kind instruction in morals,
-useful information on subjects relating to
-their calling, and to the younger portion of
-them lessons in navigation and practical seamanship.
-In the libraries there was a good
-mixture of secular books.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the sailors showed by contrast the
-value of early education in furnishing the
-mind with religious ideas as well as the letter
-of scriptural knowledge. It is doubtful
-whether “George,” at his time of life, can
-succeed in solving that great mystery “how
-an ‘elephant’ can go through the eye of a
-needle;” though had he begun in youth he
-might have received instruction which would
-have at least reduced the elephant to a
-camel. Some sailors like him awaken affection
-for them which it is pleasant to cherish.
-But the sea-birds are hardly more vagrant
-now than they.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">336</span></p>
-
-<h3>DROPPING ANCHOR FOR THE LAST TIME.</h3>
-
-<p>May 16, at 11, <span class="allsmcap">A. M.</span>, we took a pilot off
-New York, and at 9, <span class="allsmcap">P. M.</span>, dropped anchor,
-having been gone nearly nineteen months,
-and, including our excursions from Hong
-Kong, having sailed forty-two thousand miles.
-All this time no sickness, accident, loss, nor
-painful delay had occurred to us. Our only
-regret was that the voyage had come to an end.</p>
-
-<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
-
-<p>In looking back upon it and recalling pleasurable
-seasons, those which most readily recur
-to me, (and let not the threefold mention
-of it seem obtrusive,) are, Morning hours on
-deck alone with a Bible. I only repeat the
-experience of every one who loves the Word
-of God. The mind freed from care sees in
-the Bible at such times meanings which
-grammars and lexicons never can impart.
-Nature might reveal things most wonderful
-at such a place as Singapore; but in a psalm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">337</span>
-read in the silence of the sea, there would
-often appear marvellous things in the language
-of Scripture, in its simple incidents, in
-the characters portrayed or acting themselves
-out unconsciously in their trials and joys,
-which would create an interest never excited
-by the plumage of East-India birds, or coral
-branches, or curiously twisted and beautifully
-enamelled shells, or by the marvellous
-light on insects and creeping things, or by
-precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen,
-and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all
-thyine-wood, and cinamon, and odors, and
-ointments, and frankincense. I cannot forget
-the impressions made upon me by reading
-connectedly all the experiences and the language
-of the prophet Jeremiah. They were
-like the strange constellations which rise to
-view in low latitudes. I have felt among the
-wonderful things of God the truth of that inspired
-declaration, “Thou hast magnified thy
-word above all thy name.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">338</span></p>
-
-<p>On reaching home, it was deeply interesting
-to find, at sick-beds, in stricken households,
-and in circles where the goodness of
-God had filled pious hearts with thankfulness,
-that one need not travel to be filled
-with all the fulness of God. “Neither is it
-beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say,
-Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it
-to us, that we may hear it and do it?” I
-found that some who had not left home for
-two years but had toiled in shops, and counting-rooms,
-and laboratories, and domestic
-life, had been increased with the increase of
-God.</p>
-
-<p>It is easier to go round the world than
-through it. But in going through it we are
-tempted to think perhaps that in solitude
-with its retirement, we can have more of
-God’s presence than in the busy scenes of
-life. This led me at the close of our voyage,
-going back with restored health to busy
-scenes, to resolve that I would endeavor to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">339</span>
-guard against the feeling that there are
-places or conditions to which God’s presence
-is confined. Not in the solitudes of ocean,
-nor in rural scenes, “neither in this mountain
-nor yet at Jerusalem,” need we be, to
-enjoy communion with God.</p>
-
-<h3>IN DOCK.</h3>
-
-<p>We left the Golden Fleece in a very narrow
-dock at Brooklyn, N. Y. It seemed
-humiliating to the noble ship to be warped
-among sloops and schooners into her berth;
-she appeared to be submitting to it as a
-strong man disabled and sick yields passively
-to nurses. The sailors, all who had not
-sprung ashore five minutes after the ship was
-docked, stood looking at us over the rails,
-some of them leaning on an arm, some resting
-their chins on the rails, after we had
-shaken hands with them, with a long farewell.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">340</span></p>
-
-<h3>FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON REACHING LAND.</h3>
-
-<p>It was a pleasant morning in spring when
-we set out in the cars from New York to
-Boston. Having been a hundred and sixteen
-days on the water since leaving Manila, we
-were prepared to appreciate the solid earth.
-The privilege of walking and not coming to
-the ship’s rail every few minutes, was
-vividly felt. I hardly enjoyed anything in
-detail, when first on land again; every thing
-was absorbed in the one consciousness of
-being on the solid earth. “Then are they
-glad because they be quiet,” says the sacred
-penman, describing the sailors’ feelings, on
-reaching shore.</p>
-
-<p>It was a windy day when we reached
-Boston. Clouds of dust filled the streets.
-It was not so at sea. It occurred to me,
-How do these people endure such discomfort?
-It seemed to me that they must find sufficient
-comforts on land, notwithstanding the dust,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">341</span>
-to make existence tolerable. I soon found
-that there are things to be enjoyed on land
-as well as at sea.</p>
-
-<p>Language fails me in attempting to describe
-the experience of arriving home and
-of being at home, after an absence of nineteen
-months on ship board. We are willing,
-too willing, perhaps, to fancy resemblances
-in earthly occurrences to possible scenes of
-terror hereafter; but let us make our joyful
-experiences foretokens of heavenly bliss.</p>
-
-<h3>SUBSEQUENT EXPERIENCE OF OUR SHIP.</h3>
-
-<p>It had a powerful effect upon our company
-to hear that shortly after our safe arrival,
-laden with such experience of the divine
-goodness, a singular calamity happened to
-the ship. She came round to Boston in
-charge of the first officer, the captain having
-concluded to retire from the sea. She
-loaded with ice, and sailed for Bombay. In<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">342</span>
-a few days after leaving port, fire was discovered
-in her lower hold, ascribed to a
-spark from a cigar or pipe, while loading.
-She put into Halifax, where fire engines
-nearly filled her with water. After a long
-detention at Boston for repairs, she went to
-sea. We were made to feel that our safety
-through our long voyage and our happy
-arrival were not accidents; we recalled moments
-when a slight change in our affairs
-would have been followed with disaster; it
-was sealed afresh upon our hearts that we
-were under obligation to the providential
-care of God never to be forgotten, always to
-be mentioned with humbleness of mind, with
-thanksgiving and praise.</p>
-
-<h3>NELSON, OUR STEERSMAN, DROWNED.</h3>
-
-<p>We were grieved to hear that Nelson,
-whom I have more than once referred to as
-an able helmsman, fell from a boat in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">343</span>
-harbor of New York a short time after we
-arrived, and was drowned. The report
-which we received of the event conveyed an
-intimation that he had been drinking too
-freely. He certainly had marks of genius,
-showing itself in the way in which he made
-the ship toss the waves from the bows. It
-was a pleasure, when he was steering, to go
-forward and climb into the knight heads, and
-lean over and feel by the way in which the
-ship went through the water that Nelson was
-driving her. To be there was as pleasurable
-as it ever can be to any one to sit by the
-side of Mr. Bonner, with a cigar in one’s
-mouth, while he is driving “Fashion.” A
-great swell coming toward you, looking
-every moment as though it would overflow
-the deck, Nelson sees, draws in his nigh
-rein, runs the ship into it as though he
-would say, Why leap ye, ye high hills? for
-now he is on the top of one of them and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">344</span>
-not a drop has reached the deck; though
-they are the mighty waves of the sea he
-seems to sport with them. He fell by strong
-drink; the great wave overtook him which
-has engulphed so many; he died ignobly in
-smooth water, not in battle, hand to hand
-with a tempest.</p>
-
-<h3>LUXURY OF SEEING A SNOW-STORM.</h3>
-
-<p>Much as I had enjoyed in different climes
-among the Creator’s works, I remember that
-when the first fall of snow came after my
-arrival, it seemed to me that I had not witnessed
-anything abroad so beautiful. I had
-not seen snow for two years. I was in the
-country, and I walked two hours, enjoying
-what seemed to me a most charming meteoric
-phenomenon, a snow-storm. In deference to
-custom I took an umbrella with me, and I
-felt it proper to open it, but as it hid the
-falling snow from my view, I shut it. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">345</span>
-wondered if people were unhappy from any
-cause, who lived where they could see the
-snow crystals forming and alighting around
-them.</p>
-
-<p>Here let me abruptly close, else I shall
-more than confirm the general belief to
-which the preceding narrative may have
-given confirmation, that there is a fatal power
-in sea-faring experience to amplify one’s experience
-beyond due limit. I will only add
-my thanks to the benevolent reader for his
-companionship while attending to this narration,
-wishing him, after a prosperous voyage
-through life, a safe arrival at his home on
-high.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter"><div class="footnotes">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> <em>Crojick</em>, alias crossjack; a large square sail which hangs from
-the mizzen mast. When the wind is aft the crojick “robs” the
-main sail and therefore is not in constant use; while in some
-ships it is rejected.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> The following is from English “Notes and Queries”.
-“Feb. 15, lat. 22, 54, long. 55, 28. At 11.50 saw the ‘Southern
-Cross’ for the first time. This was the only commission you
-gave to me, and I execute it as a matter of business.” It may
-not be of any practical use to say that Dec. 6th we first saw it,
-when it was rising, in lat. 34. 10 S., long. 50. 6 W.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> In Lieut Maury’s Geography of the Sea, a most useful
-book, may be found a satisfactory account of the Trade Winds.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> Crew of the Golden Fleece, from New York to San Francisco,
-Oct. 26, 1869–Feb. 12, 1870.</p>
-
-<div class="center"><div class="ilb">
-<p class="p1 in4"><span class="smcap">Mates.</span></p>
-
-<p class="in0">
-Isaiah Bray, Yarmouth, Mass.<br>
-Chas. H. Field, Providence, R. I.
-</p>
-
-<p class="p1 in3"><span class="smcap">Boatswains.</span></p>
-
-<p class="in0">
-John Williams, Baltimore, Md.<br>
-James Ryan, New Jersey.
-</p>
-
-<p class="p1 in4"><span class="smcap">Seamen.</span></p>
-
-<p class="in0">
-John Reholm, Finland.<br>
-Harvey Robson, Norway.<br>
-J. H. Erlandf, Norway.<br>
-Alvin W. Robbins, Nova Scotia.<br>
-G. Parslow, Poughkeepsie.<br>
-Tom Fox, Prussia.<br>
-A. Fox, Germany.<br>
-Charles Smith, New York.<br>
-George Andrews, Scotland.<br>
-C. T. J. Coombs, Maine.<br>
-Niel Thompson, Denmark.<br>
-William Divern, Antwerp.<br>
-Randolph P. Delancey, N. H.<br>
-Charles Johnson, Sweden.<br>
-Carl Helen, Sweden.<br>
-John Miller, Sweden.<br>
-Ferdinand Ryder, N. Y. (City.)<br>
-G. G. Marschalk, Brooklyn, N.Y.<br>
-W. J. Douglas, Washington.<br>
-Willie H. Treadwell, Auburndale, Mass.<br>
-James C. Chase, Vermont.<br>
-Robert Galloway, San Francisco.
-</p>
-
-<p class="p1 in4"><span class="smcap">Carpenter.</span></p>
-
-<p class="in0">
-Samuel Adams, St. Johns, N. B.
-</p>
-
-<p class="p1 in4"><span class="smcap">Steward.</span></p>
-
-<p class="in0">
-Pedro Cardozo.
-</p>
-
-<p class="p1 in3"><span class="smcap">Stewardess.</span></p>
-
-<p class="in0">
-Anna Cardozo.
-</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Summary.</span>—2 mates, 2 boatswains, 23 men and boys, 1 carpenter,
-1 steward, 1 stewardess. Total, 29.</p>
-
-<p class="b1">N. B. Sometimes the names of seamen are fictitious, for
-various reasons; one, to prevent pain to friends should their real
-names be published if the men are lost.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> It was gratifying that the Sabbath after we arrived at
-San Francisco, the crew attended public worship together at the
-Mariner’s Church, filling several contiguous pews. In a week
-or two the most of them had shipped on voyages to different
-sections of the globe.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> Length of passages by merchant vessels from New York to
-San Francisco since May 1, 1870, to Feb. 12, 1871.</p>
-
-<table class="p1" id="ship_passages">
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">NAME OF VESSEL.</span></td>
- <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">DAYS.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Pactolus.</td>
- <td class="tdr">147</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Bridgewater.</td>
- <td class="tdr">149</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Thacher Magoun.</td>
- <td class="tdr">166</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Galatea.</td>
- <td class="tdr">134</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Orion.</td>
- <td class="tdr">215</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Imperial.</td>
- <td class="tdr">145</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Jeremiah Thompson.</td>
- <td class="tdr">122</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Great Admiral.</td>
- <td class="tdr">121</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Ellen Austin.</td>
- <td class="tdr">134</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Carolus Magnus.</td>
- <td class="tdr">172</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Ericson.</td>
- <td class="tdr">137</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Arkwright.</td>
- <td class="tdr">165</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Kingfisher.</td>
- <td class="tdr">135</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Anahuac.</td>
- <td class="tdr">139</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">St. James.</td>
- <td class="tdr">162</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Ontario.</td>
- <td class="tdr">158</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Huguenot.</td>
- <td class="tdr">153</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Gold Hunter.</td>
- <td class="tdr">167</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Chieftain.</td>
- <td class="tdr">160</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Eldorado.</td>
- <td class="tdr">148</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Fleetford.</td>
- <td class="tdr">161</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Alaska.</td>
- <td class="tdr">137</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">James R. Keeler.</td>
- <td class="tdr">147</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Charger.</td>
- <td class="tdr">127</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Dexter.</td>
- <td class="tdr">163</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Daniel Marcy.</td>
- <td class="tdr">165</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Horatio Harris.</td>
- <td class="tdr">165</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Hoogly.</td>
- <td class="tdr">150</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">John Bright.</td>
- <td class="tdr">147</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Blue Jacket.</td>
- <td class="tdr">146</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">S. G. Reed.</td>
- <td class="tdr">137</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Asa Eldridge.</td>
- <td class="tdr">134</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Freeman Clark.</td>
- <td class="tdr">147</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Young America.</td>
- <td class="tdr">122</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Emerald Isle.</td>
- <td class="tdr">127</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
- <td class="tdl">Golden Fleece.</td>
- <td class="tdr">111</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> I may as well give here all the lines of the “old tar,”
-relating to the <span class="locked">shipwreck:—</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">No more the geese shall cackle o’er the poop;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">No more the bagpipe through the orlop sound;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">No more the midshipmen, a jovial group,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Shall toast the girls, and push the bottle round.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">In death’s dark road at anchor fast they stay,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Till Heaven’s loud signal shall in thunder roar;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Then, starting up, all hands shall quick obey;</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Sheet home the topsail, and with speed unmoor.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> Common word for “is.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> Pastures.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> Pastures.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> Me.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> Considering I am his only child.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> That great mandarin.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> In a little time.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> Providence (Joss) provides what my father would not.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> That band.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> Robber.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> Very fierce; chop chop:—quick.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> My eye alone watched that robber.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> Could not rally any friends.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> Two of us soon caught up with him.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> We beat him, largely.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> Before he had time to shoot.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> I am very strong.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> Took his clothes; (galo: an exclamation.)</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> I hear you have war.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> “Never mind,” a Portuguese exclamation.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> Providence led my way hither—N. B. The Chinese
-do not pronounce the letter r; for “run,” they say “lun.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="fnanchor">29</a> That night-time drew on fast.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> That night-time drew on fast.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> No matter for the cold.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> He had a flag which was very curious.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> Sorry.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> Each of his eyes.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> The same as “mine.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> Strong.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="fnanchor">37</a> Very curious.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> Every room.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="fnanchor">39</a> Cry.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="fnanchor">40</a> Old man said to him.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="fnanchor">41</a> Rain.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> I.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="fnanchor">43</a> Stop.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="fnanchor">44</a> A Girl said to him.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="fnanchor">45</a> He earnestly answered.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="fnanchor">46</a> All the time he kept on walking.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="fnanchor">47</a> Withered tree.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="fnanchor">48</a> He would not stop.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="fnanchor">49</a> That peasant bid
-him good-night.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="fnanchor">50</a> The religious man.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="fnanchor">51</a> Soon.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="fnanchor">52</a> Religious
-address.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="fnanchor">53</a> He heard a voice.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="fnanchor">54</a> Had to meet death.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="fnanchor">55</a> With
-difficulty found him.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="fnanchor">56</a> Very cold.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="fnanchor">57</a> The same flag with its
-curious device.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="fnanchor">58</a> Chop is brand, stamp, quality; e. g. first
-chop.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="fnanchor">59</a> After my return I was preaching, August 27th, at the Congregational
-Church in Arlington, Mass., when I used the Typhoon
-to illustrate the safety of those who trust in God. During
-intermission I was impressed by the action of the branches
-of the willow trees in the wind, and said, If we were in China I
-should judge that we were about to have a typhoon. It was a
-clear day. The wind was not very strong, but fitful gusts would
-lift the long boughs of the willows almost to a perpendicular.
-That night something resembling a typhoon passed over the
-town, bringing down the steeple of the Congregational Church,
-with the bell, through the roof, with very serious damage to that
-building and others. Had the typhoon come upon us during the
-hours of morning service, the illustration in the sermon might
-have been superseded by the thing itself. In viewing some of
-the effects of the wind I was forcibly reminded of its action as a
-Typhoon in China.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="fnanchor">60</a> George H. Peirce, Esq.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="fnanchor">61</a> The Faery Queene, B. 10, c. 2. 1.</p>
-
-</div>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2>
-
-<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made
-consistent when a predominant preference was found
-in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p>
-
-<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced
-quotation marks were remedied when the change was
-obvious, and otherwise left unbalanced.</p>
-
-<p>
-“A. M.” and “P. M.” sometimes were printed in small-caps and other
-times in full-sized uppercase. Here, they always are shown in
-small-caps, for consistency.</p>
-
-<p>Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned
-between paragraphs and outside quotations. In versions
-of this eBook that support hyperlinks, the page
-references in the List of Illustrations lead to the
-corresponding illustrations.</p>
-
-<p>In the original book, footnotes appeared at the bottoms of pages;
-here, they have been collected, renumbered into one ascending
-sequence, and placed at the end of the book.</p>
-
-<p><a href="#Page_27">Page 27</a>: The original book used ditto marks to
-indicate repetition of the <i>Solo</i> lines in
-the poem. Here, “(twice)” is used each time.</p>
-
-<p><a href="#Page_240">Pages 240-247</a>: The English and Pidgin-English
-versions were printed on facing pages in the original book. Here, they
-are printed consecutively. In the second specimen, the English version contains
-nine stanzas, but the Pidgin-English version contains only eight.</p>
-
-<p><a href="#Page_331">Page 331</a>: “unbelief cannot overcome.--them.”
-was printed that way.</p>
-
-<p><a href="#Page_335">Page 335</a>: “vagrant now than they” is the end of
-the paragraph, but had no ending period.
-Transcriber added one, but the missing period
-suggests the possibility of missing text.</p>
-</div></div>
-
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