THE sea! the sea! 90 



towards the quarter, saw and felt nothing. At last 

 the strokes got irregular and breath short; one com- 

 plained of being overpulled; another had a pain in his 

 side, and by universal consent it was agreed to rest a 

 moment and wet the weather eye ; and on this being done 

 they looked about them. " Ma foi ! mais il y a du vent." 

 '•' Oh ! mon ami, c'n'est rien." " Avez-vous peur ?" " ]Moi ! 

 parexemple!" Such were the exclamations and phrases 

 which flew about with more or less of uneasiness and 

 twitching of the corners of the mouth. Some wished they 

 had brought a stouter coat, or a boat-cloak, or a gun case ; 

 for, with characteristic want of thought, these useful things 

 had all been left behind; but to the work they at last 

 settled again, though with much less talk and spirit than 

 before. Nor did each one fail now and then to turn round 

 his head to look at the sky, or to say to me as steersman, 

 "Ah! dites-moi, comment va-t-il?" 



Wlien we got to the sea, things were not altogether 

 comme il faut The blue sky was all gone — not enough 

 left to make a garter of — the sea looked dark and short ; 

 the wind moaned and lulled unpleasantly, and there were 

 various indications of a dirty day. Our course lay 

 obliquely from the shore, keeping the wind on the bow ; 

 but this was very bad, though it could not be avoided. 

 We got up the mainsail and the jib, and for a time did 

 pretty well ; but as the distance from the shore increased, 

 we ^ot into rougher water and rougher weather, and I 

 found it was high time to look sliarp. But where were 

 my companions ? I looked at one, and he was very quiet 

 and pale ; evidently his stomach was becoming rebellious, 



r. 2 



