1810. STORM AT SEA. »7 
longer safe to scud; huge waves pursuing as if bent on our 
destruction, threatened every instant to break over us, and at 
once overwhelm our bark in the fathomless deep. The captain, 
whose judgment was always cool, saw no alternative between certain 
destruction and what was, in our circumstances, a very perilous 
experiment ; but we happily succeeded in heaving the ship to, under 
storm-mainsail, fore stay-sail, and close-reefed try-sail. There was 
still much reason for uneasiness, lest she should not keep her head to 
the sea; and every one continued watching the danger with the 
greatest anxiety, dreading that some unforeseen accident would 
before morning bury us all in the cold grave of the ocean. The vessel 
became so leaky that it was necessary to keep both pumps going- 
day and night; and it was at one time uncertain whether they gained 
on the water or not. 
The night passed without sleep or rest, and the welcome morning 
light served in some measure to diminish the gloomy appearance of 
the scene : the sunshine and cloudless sky exhibited the fallacious 
semblance of fair weather, but the angry wind still howled in the 
rigging, and the waves still lifted up their foaming heads around. 
The hatches carefully closed, and the deadlights bolted in, the cabin 
dark as a dungeon, and the deck deluged with the waves, were 
appearances well suited to the solemnity of a storm. Heavy seas 
frequently rolled on board with overwhelming force, throwing every 
thing into confusion, breaking the spars and casks from their lashings, 
and washing away the loose utensils into the sea. The seamen, 
drenched with water, seemed to go aloft with reluctance, expecting 
hardly to escape being blown overboard. The captain, whose careful 
eye was unceasingly surveying every part of his ship, discovered that 
the try-sail, which was an old one, showed in several parts the first 
symptoms of splitting, some of the threads having already given way. 
Knowing that on this sail depended the maintenance of the balance 
of wind necessary for keeping the vessel's head either from falling 
off or broaching to, he began, with evident melancholy, to express to 
me his fears. At such a time as this, and indeed on every occasion, 
when the safety or right management of the ship is in question, a 
