MR, DAVIS'S JOURNAL. 251 



Dec. 11, 1837. At Sea. Lai. 5° 10' S. Lonrj. 30" 16' W. 



1 have commenced the study of navigation, to beguile 

 time; and am now a dab hand, and can find the ship's place, 

 and all that; — better do something than be idle. The weather 

 has been excessively hot ; the greatest heat was on the 2d of 

 December — 88° in the shade in the cuddy all day : the result 

 was a tropical thunder-storm about four o'clock next morning; 

 lightning and thunder incessant, following with a rapidity to 

 which we are unaccustomed in Old England ; torrents of rain, 

 and sudden squalls of wind, laying the vessel down nicely: — 

 these noises, combined with the loud voice of the captain, and 

 the wild song of the sailors taking-in sail, was singularly effec- 

 tive. There was a glorious sunset the preceding evening ; 

 and previously, while the sun, with unclouded brilliancy, was 

 full 6° above the horizon, we had the pleasure of seeing both 

 the new moon and Venus distinctly shining at the same time. 

 The whole circle of the moon was dimly visible. 



AfineZz'^^/^^^^aalso visited us to-day ; it resembled our common 

 JEschna : I could not catch the fellow, though I offered a re- 

 ward : the nearest land is the coast of Africa, full five hundred 

 miles off. Its resemblance to our English species led me, at first, 

 to think it might have come in the water-casks, but the water 

 was taken in from the filterer of the St. Katharine's Docks, ex- 

 cept a little additional at Cowes; this, however, had been long 

 exhausted, and the casks emptied. The captain says he has 

 frequently taken moths, &c.; and that he has some at home, in 

 glass cases, with labels attached with the latitude and longitude 

 where taken. We also hooked a 5-feet shark, but the hook 

 and line were too weak, and the rapacious fellow broke away 

 with the hook in his jaw. On the 7th, the sailors performed 

 their usual ceremonies on crossing the Line ; our captain would 

 allow no interference with the passengers : it is a ridiculous 

 affair, " more honoured in the breach than the observance." 

 One of the passengers volunteered to submit to the shaving, 

 which, otherwise, was inflicted only on their messmates. I 

 think he repented his folly, for he was well punished by the 

 crew, and laughed at by his fellow-passengers. For several 

 days while near the Line we had calms ; one day we proceeded 

 only four miles ; in fact, on Nov. 29 we were in Lat. 5° N. 

 and only crossed the line on the evening of the 8th. Since 



