56 WAVES OF THE SEA 



during the day from the White Star s.S. Cedric 

 to the northward of us reporting that she was in 

 a strong NW. gale. Standing on the lower prome- 

 nade deck, one long ridge after another obscured a 

 considerable arc of the horizon after passing 

 beneath the ship, and continued so to obscure it 

 when at a distance estimated at 400 to 600 feet 

 from us. I allowed 2 feet as a minimum estimate 

 for the excess of height above my eye, based on 

 an observation made a short time before. The 

 observation was simply this, that when sitting in 

 my deck chair I had seen a wave similarly obscure 

 the horizon, and on my rising at once, the horizon 

 remained obscured. The increase in the elevation 

 of eye upon rising was found afterwards to be 

 2 feet. 



The roll of the ship at the time of the obscuration 

 of the leeward horizon was in each case to the 

 weather side, so that the deck on the lee side was 

 tilted upwards. The amount of the tilt was 

 measured for several rolls, which were quite 

 regular, and assuming that the full amount ought 

 to be added to the deck height, I obtained 2 feet 

 so to add. I was standing during the observations, 

 and my eye-height is 5 feet 9 inches, or say 5^ feet, 

 so that there is altogether 9^ feet to add to the 

 height of the deck. This, measured with a heavy 



