LETTERS FROM ALABAMA. 23 
Our Yoyage^ even in this domain of tlie sun, 
was not wholly made up of cloudless days and 
spicy breezes. Besides the usual proportion of black 
squalls and close-reef gales, we encountered one of 
those terrific storms that are not uncommon in the 
south. It came on with characteristic rapidity : it 
had been blowing strong in the afternoon from the 
IS.E. ; soon after sunset it lightened freely in the 
N.W., and the captain considering this as an 
indication of an approaching gale, every sail was 
instantly furled except one little rag of a storm- 
sail. The lightning speedily increased, and before 
we had our canvas secured, such a storm came on 
as I had never before witnessed. It was not so 
much the force of the wind, though it blew heavily, 
and the shrill gusts shrieked through the naked 
spars and cordage ; but the lightning was terrible. 
At very short intervals the whole space between 
heaven and sea was filled with vivid flame, making 
every rope and spar as plain and distinct as in 
broadest sunshine, and leaving the eyes obscured 
in pitchy darkness for four or five seconds after 
every flash ; darkness the most intense and abso- 
lute, not that of the night, which was not very 
dark, but the effect of the blinding glare upon the 
eye. The thunder was not remarkably heavy, 
though there were some loud explosions. In the 
height of the gale, the curious electrical appearances 
called mariner’s lights were to be seen on the mast- 
heads and upper spars, seven or eight at a time. 
From the deck they looked like dim stars, so much 
so, that I thought the sky was really becoming 
clear, and that the stars were appearing in openings 
between the clouds. The storm lasted an hour or 
two, and then moderated into a smart breeze, 
