24 



The 8th of July, a sailor, who was near expir- 

 ing, recovered his health from a circumstance 

 that is worthy of being mentioned. His ham- 

 mock was so hung, that there was not ten inches 

 between his face and the deck. It was impos- 

 sible to administer the sacraments in this situa- 

 tion ; for, agreeably to the custom aboard Spa- 

 nish vessels, the viaticum ought to be carried by 

 the light of tapers, and followed by the whole 

 crew. The patient was removed into an airy 

 place, near the hatchway, where a small square 

 birth had been formed with sail cloth. Here 

 he was to remain till he died, which was an 

 event expected every moment ; but passing from 

 an air extremely heated, stagnant, and filled 

 with miasms, into fresher and purer air, which 

 was renewed every instant, he gradually revived 

 from his lethargic state. His recovery dated 

 from the day when he quitted the middle deck ; 

 and as often in medicine the same facts are cited 

 in support of systems diametrically opposite ; 

 this recovery confirmed our doctor in his ideas 

 of the inflammation of the blood, and the neces- 

 sity of bleeding, evacuating, and all the asthenic 

 remedies. We soon felt the fatal effects of this 

 treatment ; and wished more than ever to reach 

 the coasts of America. 



For several days the pilot's reckoning differed 

 1° 12' in longitude from that of my time-keeper. 

 This difference was owing less to the general cur- 



