118 
PLAYFULNESS OF THE OLD JOHN. 
ordered to join the hazardous undertaking of a surveying 
and exploring voyage around the world. 
Even now, as the mind runs back to scenes which 
were then in the future, seated as I am behind my pen in 
a strong brick house, and with miles of dryland between 
me and the waste of waters, I tremble at the dangers 
which seemed to seek uis from every quarter, but which 
in reality were mostly called into existence by her own 
want of tlie usual qualities which constitute a seaworthy 
vessel. 
She was one hundred and seventy feet long, some- 
thing less than twenty-two feet beam, and drew thirteen 
feet when full of coal. Heard ever any one of such out- 
landish proportions? She was bark-rigged, and so crank 
that forty-five tons of pig-ballast had to be stowed in her 
to keep her from “turning turtle;’' and, even with that 
great weight to steady her, she would list a half streak 
either way when a boat was hoisted, and careen as if 
under a heavy press of sail when lying at anchor across 
the wind and tide. She would dive into seas when in a 
gale as if without the most remote idea of ever corning 
up again, wallowing in the trough, and dipping in whole 
cataracts at every roll. She had an unpleasant way of 
carrying her helm hard nj) when lying to in a gale, and 
in light weather she often amused herself by luffing into 
the wind with the helm hard up, every thing aft shaking 
and every thing forward full. In short, she was a dis- 
grace to the country, the laughing-stock of foreign offi- 
cers, and a constant source of anxiety to those who sailed 
her. As long as our coal lasted we could manage her 
very well ; but as soon as that gave out we could only 
