The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-01
HORRORS OF LONELINESS.
CROSSING THE ATLANTIC WITHOUT
A SOUL TO SPEAK TO.
Overcome by Feeling of Awc-Re-
lief in Hard Notwithstanding Aloud
for COmpanN.

for Company.
From the Century.
In his narrative OF his solitary voyage
around the world in the sloop Spray Capt.
Joshua Slocum describes his attempts TO
overcome the sense of loneliness that be
set him ON the way from Boston to Gil
braltar
on the evening Of July the Spray, after
having steered all day over a lumpy sea.
took it into her head to go without the
helmsmans aid. had been steering south
east by south, but the wind hauling for
ward bit, she dropped into a smooth
lane, heading southeast, and making about
eight knots, her very best work. crowd
ed on sail to cross the track of liners
without the loss of time, and to reach as
soon as possible the friendly Gulf stream.
The fog lifting before night, l was afford
ed a look at the sun just as it was touch
ing the sea. 1 watched it go down and
out of sight Then turned my face east
ward and there, apparently at the very
end of the bowsprit was the smiling full
moon rising out of the sea. Neptune him
self coming over the bows could not have
startled me more. Good evening, sir"
cried: I'm glad to see you" Many a long
talk since then 1 have had with the man
in the moon; he had my confidence on the
voyage.
About midnight the fog shut down again
denser than ever before. One could al
most stand on it" IL continued 50 far a
number of days, the wind increasing to a
gale. The waves rose high, but | had a.
good ship Still. in the dismal fog | felt
myself drifting into loneliness, an insect
on a straw in the midst OF the elements.
I dashed the helm, and my vessel held her
course. and while she sailed 1 slept.
During these days feeling of awe crept
over me. My memory worked with start
ling power. The ominous, the insigniti-
cant, the great, the small, the wonderful,
the commonp.a ce-all appeared before my
mental vision in magical succession. Pages
of my history were recalled which had
been so long forgotten that they seemed
to belong to a previous existence. ! heard
all the voices of the past laughing, crying,
telling what had heard them tell in many
corners of the earth.
The loneliness Of my state wore off when
the gale was high and found much work
to do. When the fine weather returned
then came the sense of solitude, which 1
could not shake off. l used my voice often
at first, giving some order about the af-
fairs of a ship, for 1 had been told that
otherwise 1 should lose my speech. At the
meridian altitude of the sun L called aloud,
Eight BELLS" after the custom on ship
at sea. Again from my cabin l cried TO
an imaginary man at the helm, How does
she head there?" and again, us she on
her course?" But getting no reply, l was
reminded the more paipabaly of my condi-
ton. My voice sounded hollow on the
empty air, and dropped the practice.
However, it was not long before the
thought came to me that when 1 was a lad
l used 20 sing; why not try that now
where it would disturb no one? My must
cal talent had never bred envy in others
but out on the Atlantic, to realize what
1t meant, you should have heard me sing
You should have seen the porpoises leap
when pitched my voice for the waves and
the sea and all that was in it. Old turtles
with large eyes, pol1ed their heads up out
of the sea as 1 sang Johnny Boxer" and
"Well Pay Darby Doyl for His Boots, -
and the like But the porpoises were on
the whole, vastly more appreciative than
the turtles; they jumped a deal higher
One day when I was humming a favorite
chant, I think it was "Babylon's a-Fal-
lin" a porpoise jumped higher than the
bowsprit Had the Spray been going a
little faster she would have scooped him
in. The sea birds sailed around rather
shy.