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venom did no harm to her own constitution, she 

 killed a condemned criminal with a single kiss. 

 The consequence was, that hemp fell fifty per cent, 

 and Jack Ketch's nose was put out of joint com- 

 pletely; for the devil a culprit of any pretensions 

 to taste could be found in all Scythia, who could 

 be prevailed upon to be executed except by her 

 royal highness's own lips. I am afraid this story 

 is not strictly historical, and that we should look 

 for it in vain in Quintus Curtius, 



April 23. 



A gale of wind began to show itself on Monday 

 night; it has continued to blow ever since with 

 increasing violence, and is now become very seri- 

 ous. The captain says that he never experienced 

 weather so severe at this season : this is only my 

 usual luck. Certainly nothing can be more disagree- 

 able than a ship on these occasions. The sea breaks 

 over the vessel every minute, and it is really some- 

 thing awful to see the waves raised into the air 

 by the force of the gale, hovering for a while over 

 the ship, and then coming down upon us swop, to 

 inundate every thing below deck as well as upon 

 it. The wind is piercingly cold ; the floors and 

 walls are perpetually streaming. But a fire is quite 

 out of the question; and, indeed, at one time to-day, 

 our eating appeared to be out of the question too; 

 for at four o'clock the cook sent us word, that the 

 sea put the kitchen-fire out as fast as he could light 



