176 



VOYAGE TO PANAMA. 



injure the strongest constitution ; such is the 

 debiUty and loss of energy which it occa- 

 sions. 



Two days ago we saw an English whaler^ 

 which bore down to speak with us. We observed 

 two men at the mast-head^ looking out for 

 whales^ and at her sides were her long and taper- 

 ing whaling-boats^ presenting the same sort of 

 contrast to the heavy barge or bumboat that a 

 high-bred racer does to a cart-horse. The captain 

 came aboard of us in one of them. It seemed to 

 skim over the high swell like a flying-fish^ and 

 reached us in half the time a common ship's 

 boat would have done. The vessel was called 

 the Stratford. She had been thirty-two months 

 at sea^ and yet was only a third part full of 

 oil. I gave the captain a bottle of brandy, as 

 he declared that he had been without any for 

 some time. He had touched last at Otaheite, 

 which he described as an excellent place for 



