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diff --git a/old/69192-0.txt b/old/69192-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 77fa1bf..0000000 --- a/old/69192-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6222 +0,0 @@ -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. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE MIZZEN MAST *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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