Francis Parkman 233 



i 

 to be known, caused it to be thought necessary to 



send him to Europe for his health. He went first 

 to Gibraltar in a sailing ship, and a passage from 

 his diary may serve to throw light upon the voyage 

 and the man : " It was a noble sight when at inter- 

 vals the sun broke out over the savage waves, chan- 

 ging their blackness to a rich blue almost as dark ; 

 while the foam that flew over it seemed like whirl- 

 ing snow wreaths on the mountain. ... As soon 

 as it was daybreak I went on deck. Two or three 

 sails were set. The vessel was scouring along, lean- 

 ing over so that her lee gunwale scooped up the 

 water ; the water in a foam, and clouds of spray 

 flying over us, frequently as high as the main yard. 

 The spray was driven with such force that it pricked 

 the cheek like needles. I stayed on deck two or 

 three hours, when, being thoroughly salted, I went 

 down, changed my clothes, and read ' Don Quixote ' 

 till Mr. Snow appeared at the door with ' You are 

 the man that wants to see a gale, are ye ? Now is 

 your chance ; only just come up on deck.' Accord- 

 ingly I went. The wind was yelling and howling 

 in the rigging in a fashion that reminded me of a 

 storm in a Canadian forest. . . . The sailors clung, 

 half drowned, to whatever they could lay hold of, 

 for the vessel was at times half inverted, and tons 

 of water washed from side to side of her deck." 



