ANTICIPATION. 219 



Was some one in trouble " Never mind," mut- 

 tered he to himself, " we'll be in the Seychelles 

 soon." 



Did one have a nice shirt, or a pair of trow&ers 

 loss patched than usual " Those are intended for 

 my go-ashore suit at the Seychelles." 



Was our diurnal duff raw, or rice badly cooked, 

 " Wait till we get to the Seychelles," was the com- 

 forting reflection. 



Even a quarrel in the forecastle was tempora- 

 rily patched up, to be settled by due course of 

 fisticuffs " on our arrival at the Seychelles." 



Our entire lives hinged upon that now delight 

 ful name. 



It was when we were about half way between 

 Bourbon and the Seychelles, that one morning 

 whales were seen from the masthead. They were 

 to windward of us, and were going along at steady 

 rate, evidently making a passage. Hour after 

 hour, as we stood after them, the musical cry of 

 "there blows," was shouted from the masthead 

 by the dozen men there gathered to watch the 

 movements of the fish ; until finally, at twelve 

 o'clock, it was judged a favorable time to lower. 



The whales had just turned flukes, and it wa* 

 thought, as they were not under very great head- 

 way, that by means of oars and sails we might 

 place the boats in a favorable position for fasten- 

 ing by the time they rose again. Luckily for us, 

 while yet urging the boats ahead, the whales 

 appeared at but very little distance from us, and 



