FROM LONDON TO NEW YORK. 249 



plunge, less trying to my head than the simple rock- 

 ing or pitching of the side-wheeled Scotia. One mo- 

 tion was in a measure a foil to the other. My brain, 

 acted upon by two forces, was compelled to take the 

 hypothenuse, and I think the concussion was con- 

 siderably diminished thereby. The vessel was for- 

 ever trembling upon the verge of immense watery 

 chasms that opened now under her port bows, now 

 under her starboard, and that almost made one catch 

 for his breath as he looked into them ; yet the noble 

 ship had a way of skirting them or striding across 

 them that was quite wonderful. Only five days was 

 I compelled to " hole up " in my state-room, hiber- 

 nating, weathering the final rude shock of the At- 

 lantic. Part of this time I was capable of feeling a 

 languid interest in the oscillations of my coat sus- 

 pended from a hook in the door. Back and forth, 

 back and forth, all day long vibrated this black pen- 

 dulum, at long intervals touching the sides of the 

 room, indicating great lateral or diagonal motion of 

 the ship. The great waves, I observed, go in packs 

 like Avolves. Now one would pounce upon her, then 

 another, then another in quick succession, making the 

 ship strain every nerve to shake them off. Then she 

 would glide along quietly for some minutes and my 

 coat would register but a few degrees in its imagin- 

 ary arc, when another band of the careering demons 

 would cross our path and harass us as before. Some- 

 times they would pound and thump on the sides of 

 the vessel like immense sledge hammers, beginning 



