THE WEATHER THREATENS. 
3 
as a man’s arm, which it had no doubt swallowed in 
mistake for something more nutritious ; for so ra- 
venous are these creatures, that they have been fre- 
quently known to devour greedily not only wood, but 
even pieces of iron. 
Two days after we had fairly got into the bay of 
Bengal, the weather began to threaten. The previous 
night had been exceedingly sultry. The air appeared 
stagnant, as if it had suddenly ceased to circulate, 
and the heat in consequence became painfully op- 
pressive. In the morning the wind blew fresh, and 
all the sails were reefed, in consequence of the lower- 
ing aspect of the heavens. There was a faint haze over 
the sun, which gave a brassy tint to its beams, and 
these were reflected dimly upon the surging waters. 
The Lascars, who are never fond of preparing against a 
gale, did their duty sluggishly, and looked grave and 
uneasy. The captain foretold foul weather, though 
to an inexperienced eye there was nothing to warrant 
so unfavourable a foreboding. The wind continued 
fresh all the morning, but did not materially increase 
for the first two or three hours. After breakfast the 
passengers, of whom there were but six, seated them- 
selves in the stern gallery, some watching the progress 
of the weather, and others making an effort to beguile 
the dulness of the morning by playing at chess or back- 
gammon, The whole scene was marked by an in- 
definite dreariness ; no one expressed any positive ap- 
prehension, yet the captain’s unqualified prediction of 
a stiff gale imposed upon every countenance a gravity 
not a little ominous of ill. There was something 
startling in the very unusual appearance of the sky : 
