190 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST. 



it came, whither it was bound, what was its cargo, how 

 long it had been on the voyage, and what other vessels it 

 had spoken with on its way. These communications, unless 

 the ship be within speaking distance, are all made by flag- 

 signals, of which every vessel possesses a book, or index. 

 Previously to the day on which we met with the vessels 

 just mentioned, we had not come in sight of any during 

 several weeks, when a sail was reported to be visible on 

 the horizon ; the passengers immediately v/ent on deck to 

 behold the sight. It was an American whaler, and many 

 of the sailors were sitting on the tops of the masts to get 

 a distant view of the ocean. On the coast of Africa, near 

 the Equator, we encountered a vessel, which, from the account 

 given us by the captain, was coming from Bombay, bound 

 for Calcutta, and had been driven by adverse gales into 

 this part of the Atlantic I The crew and passengers were 

 sorely distressed for want of provisions, and, without know- 

 ing even the name of the captain, we supplied them with rice, 

 potatoes, beer, &c., gratis. 



At various periods of the day, even when the sun was 

 but slightly visible, the captain and of^cers took observa- 

 tions with their nautical instruments ; and, after making 

 their calculations, would point out to us, on the map, the 

 exact spot on the watery plain which we were then travers- 

 ing. In the early part of our voyage, as we approached 

 the southern hemisphere, we gradually lost sight of the 

 northern constellations, and when we reached the Equator, 

 we could not any longer descry the polar star ; but, we 

 were compensated for this, by the appearance of other 

 constellations in the south, which were gradually manifested 

 within our horizon, among which that of the Cross is the 

 most magnificent, the others being considerably inferior to the 

 northern. These incidents may probably appear superfluous 

 to those who have made the voyage ; but, to numbers who 

 have not crossed the waste of mighty waters, they may 

 possibly afford some interest. 



The various events which I have described in this volume, 

 have all been writtsa from memory ; as the only time 



