I 



228 AN OCTOBER ABROAD. 



tion, the motion of a screw steamer, a roll and a plunge, 

 less trying to my head than the simple rocking or 

 pitching of the side-wheeled Scotia, One motion was 

 in a measure a foil to the other. My brain, acted upon 

 by two forces, was compelled to take the hypothe- 

 nuse, and I think the concussion was considerably 

 diminished thereby. The vessel was forever 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, hibernating, weathering the 

 final rude shock of the Atlantic. Part of this time I 

 was capable of feeling a languid interest in the oscil- 

 lations of my coat suspended from a hook in the door. 

 Back and forth, back and forth, all day long vibrated 

 this black pendulum, 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 wolves. 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 

 imaginary arc, -when another band of the careering de- 

 mons would cross our path and harass us as before. 

 Sometimes they would pound and thump on the sides 



