The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-08-07

A voice sounded along the Micronesia,
All hands about ship"
rush OF feet and then silence; round
few the wheel like firework; the red light
ahead swept away giddly to the left
Helm lee!"
The canvas shook like thunder and the
passengers crowded aft, wondering TO find
the ship upright.
"MainsaiI haul!
And at this signal burst forth a loud
chorus; the released braces allowed the
yards to fly round, the decks echoed to tile
trampng Of feet and the cries of men; the
vessel lay over as though she must capsize
there was a rush of inexperienc passeu-
gers TO wlndwaTdi round flew the head
yards, and in few minutes the MicrOnrsia
was dartlng through the water with her
head Tor Deal and the pale phosphOresceut
CLEAN OF the Goodwin Sands dying out
upon the sea on her weather quarter.
The ship tackled three times during the
next hour, and at balf-past Q the wind lullrd.
and the moon came out of the sea broad
yellow shield. There was something in
describably solemn in the rising of this orb
as she climbed in haze over the edge of
the horizon and flashed a wedge of culver
ing light into the tnmbling waters. The
sails Of the Micronesia caught the radiance
presently. and her long wake eittered in
the light Ike trail of silver sparks.
She was in the Downs now and in a dead
calm, ana within quarter of an hour she
al0ft and snug as a man-0f-war with MANY
ships about her, resting like phantom yes
sells on the surface Of the water The
watch was set. the binnacle and riding
lamp trimmed. the watch below turned in.
the other watch Law down on their chests nr
on the deck to sleep IN their Clothes, aud
deep repOse fell upon the erewhile busy.
laborlng ship. The silence was unbrok
save by the murmur of some of the passen-
gers talking In a group around the cabin
SkylIght, or by the sound OF a fiddle PLAYED
on some one OF the nearer lying vessels or
by the faint melOdiOus murmur Of the
breakers boiling upon the pebbly strand of
Deal.
The ship lay all night in the Downs. but
at O'Clock the next morning the sleeping
passengers were awakened by cries and
tramplngs, which, TO some OF them at least,
were novel disturbers Of their slumbers
They might have told the reason OF all this
noise without going on deck. for those VINO
slept In cots found the deck making an
angle with their beds, and the lee mort holes
velled with rushing green water, and all the
movables crowded together at distance
from where they had been deposited the
night before. And hoarse cries sounded.
and the cianking OF massive chains, and the
strange noises ship makes wbeB she heels
over to weight Of canvas. Yes, the Nj
cr0nesia was under way, with a sparkling
breeze on the starb0ard quarter, which she
would haul round abeam-her best point of
sailing-when she had cleared the South
Foreland. Ii this breeze held the pilot SAID,
he would be out OF the ship and toasting her
in um-and-waier at Plymouth before the
sun went down the next day.
Some Of the passengers came on deck
when the ship was uff EOikestone, and then
they saw as fair sight As the world has to
otfer-the great white English cliffs topped
with swelling tracts of green. with here and
there small bays with spaces of yellow sand
between; houses thickly grouped-so it
seemed IN beholdiDg them from the sea-
upon the very margin Of the cliff; slate-c0l-
ored hills fading far, far away with vision
airy clouds upon them, and between the shin
and the shore many pleasure boats and
other craft with white or orher cOlored sails
and bright flags, lending spots OF red and
blue to the perspective Of the chalky cliff
The pilot Rugged the wind, rightly appre-
hensive that it might draw anead and Grip
pie MIN Tor Sea-r0om, and tile Micronesia
hereabouts was so close TO the land that
those on board of her could see the peopIa
walking on shOre-man's majesty illustra-
ted by dots OF black upon the beach or the
heights. Overhead was brilliantly blue
sky, with small wooEwhite clouds driving
over il; the sea laughed in dmples and
shivered In the white sunlight far and wide
so that every crest cleaned with diamond
spark Of its own, and, away on the left.
pale, faint cloud floating on the horizon was
the French coast
scenes opened-stretches of barren coast
with ungainly coasi-guard huts for their
sole decoration; spaces OF vivid green ruled
OF with lines OF soft brown sand, and low
black rocks mirrored in the lake-like surface
OF the water under their lee; whfewashed
villages with wreaths of blue smoke curling
from their midst, and broad expanses of
trees darkening the lighter-colored land
scare with deli ate shadows. Sturdy yes-
sels-the dray horses of the cbannel-slow,
deep-ladeD, ana waiting, many of them, the
scent OF pine and other woods across the
water, were oyertaken and passed, often
amid the laughter of the crew on the Micro
nesia's foTecastle, and ''chaff" which even
the grave. gray-bearded Captain Greig,
the Micr0nesIa's skipper. condescen ded to
smile M. How picturesque these vessels!
Here a Dutch bark painted white, with
square-faced men staring over the bull
warks aud red-capped commander in
sea boots and v0luminous pants, and
a Steersman who sometimes locked at
the Micronesia and sometimes at the
sails of his own ship, mixing duty and
curiosity in manner delightful TO behold
there Newcastle brig, with dirty, patched
sails and black rigging, and a crew with
smoked faces, and a grinning head at the
with as MANY hands on board as would man
a Black Ball liner, women among them I'm
red petticoats and handkerchiefs around
their faces some cutting fish, some mending
nets, some Deeling potatoes. and all talking
and gesticulating at once. but suspending
both their work and their talk to crowd TO