The Columbus journal., 1884-02-13
AN OCEAN WAIF.

81 was second mate at the time"
began Mr.. Humphrey Roland, who re-
lated to me the following story, land
our vessel was a barque, named the
Eagle. We were bound from New
port, in Monmouthshire, to Cape Town,
with a cargo of iron. and then we were
to 90 on to Melbourne, and thence to
Callao. Besides me there was Captain
Blackett, the master, and Mr.. Josiah
Biting, the chief mate. along with fif-
teen or sixteen hands forward, includ-
ing the idlers; and, taking us allround,
l don't think that ever a better ships
company sailed out of an English port.
There wasn't a foreigner among us;
there was no growing. no loafing;
everything was done quickly and with
will. and it was not only a pleasure to
give an order, but a happiness to
watch the execution of it. Well, we
left Newport on a Monday afternoon
and went away down the Bristol Chan
mel, into the Atlantic Ocean. under all
plain sail. in the finest of weathers.
For near upon D. fortnight there was
nothing but brightness overhead, and
blue waters under us, made feathery by
the whipping of the breeZeS which blew,
sometimes nor west. coming now and
again a tritie fresh, but never SO strong
as to cause us once to furl the main
royal day or night. We saw nothing
of the trade wind till we were in about
latitude twenty degrees north, and
then, after blowing US along for a spell,
it failed us one morning, with a slowly
falling glass. and a long, ugly gray
swell coming out of the southwest, and
a sort Of dirty blue sky, filmed over
with haze that might have passed for
the DRAWINGS from smelters' chimneys.
Amid this. the sun hung like a huge
jelly-fish. a shapeless oozing of bright
ness, with scarce enough of power in
him to put a streak of light into the
brow of the swell hat swung, heaving
up tall out of the neal horizon, with
SUBMITS that seemed to be trying to
wash the yellow stain he had made,
out of the vault of the sky.
There was a queer smell of decayed
marine vegetable matter about. which
came up in whiffs, when the rolling of
the barque made white water along
side, and, spite of the sky being thin
enough to let the ghost of the sun
through. there was a look overhead
that made You think that. if it was
night, you'd see green lightning play
ing about over the mastheads, like the
dartings of the phosphorus from the
ships side in black water, when you're
in the tropics. and the night lies dead
upon the breathless bosom of the ocean.
well what these plain signs beto-
kened came TO pass right enough. The
glass went on dropping and the swell
came along in a wilder and angrier
roll, until At three o'clock that after
noon there was scarce more daylight
visible than you'll find in the last lin
gerings of twilight ashore. We were
snugged down TO lower top-sails. the
yards square. for there was no call to
brace them n way or another when
for hours there hadn't been a breath OF
wind; no. sir. not SO much as to give a
tlutter TO the vane ut the royalmasthead,
saving what the barque gave herself by
the sweep of her spars. Allhands were
on deck. standing by. knowing
that something was bound tC
happen. but incapable of know.
Ing from wha quarter II meant to come
1t was as much as we could do to see
n another's faces. The strain on the
spars and rigging was something fear
full, with the rolling. and in the gloon
overhead you could hear the creakine
and complaining. the squealing O
sheaves, the groaning of parrals anG
trusses. At four o'clock or Whereabouts
the wind swept down upon us in a body,
right in the wake of the swell. 1t wa:
wind at first, but it became a moving
wall in a short time, and before the
clewlines could be manned. the foretop
sail blew up and burst into s%mithereens
Just like one of those elastic air-ball.
when filled too full.
at was a terrible tempest. /, wht
have seen some fearful weather in m,
time, will take my affidavit that q worse
storm of wind never ragged than that
1t picked the sea up and made wheel.
of the waves, that looked don't say
they were-but they looked to be forty
or fifty feet high. The Eagle was full
of iron very deep. and labored heavily
taking in tons of water forward. 50 tina