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sickness, and an old one who was little better 

 through fright ; and I had an Italian servant into 

 the bargain, who was as sick as the young lady, 

 and as frightened as the old one. The poor fellow 

 had never been on board a ship before \ and with 

 every crack which the vessel gave, he thought that 

 to be sure, she was splitting right in half. The 

 sailors, too, appeared to be quite knocked up from 

 the unremitting fatigue to which they were sub- 

 jected by the perseverance of this dreadful weather. 

 Several of them were ill ; and one poor fellow 

 actually died, and was committed to the ocean. 

 To make matters still worse, during the first week 

 the wind was as foul as it could blow \ and we 

 passed it in running backwards and forwards, with- 

 out advancing a step towards our object ; till at 

 length every drop of my very small stock of pati- 

 ence was exhausted, and I could no longer resist 

 suggesting our returning to port, rather than con- 

 tinue buffeting about in the chops of the Channel, 

 so much to the damage of the ship, and all con- 

 tained in her. A change of wind, however, gave 

 a complete answer to this proposal. On Thursday 

 it became favourable as to the prosecution of our 

 voyage, but its fury continued unabated till the 

 evening of the 23d. It then gradually died away, 

 and left us becalmed before the island of Madeira; 

 where we are now rolling backwards and forwards, 

 in sight of its capital, Funchal, on the 24th of 

 December, being seven immortal weeks since my 



