10 
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC. 
on, reeled to the windward and slid into the trough again. 
This is the bitterest motion of a ship at sea, whether he 
whom it staggers be a u land lubber” or u salt.” The lat¬ 
ter finds it difficult to take his watch-walk from the wind¬ 
lass to the fore-stays, and swears that such a lullaby is as un¬ 
worthy of the ocean god as it is unseemly for a decent sailor, 
to stand, at one instant with one leg clewed up and the 
other out, and the next clewed the other way, and be com¬ 
pelled, at each change, to brace himself back in the attitude 
of being frightened to death by a ghost in the shrouds. 
The landsman, may perhaps feel too much awe to swear 
at the great deep, employed in its sublime labors ; or if he 
dare profane thus the majesty of his Maker’s movements, 
his noble self is usually the object of so much solicitude as 
to deny him any adequate opportunity of doing so. His 
stomach will demand much of the attention which he would 
fain bestow upon other objects ; and it will scarcely he re¬ 
fused what it requires. We sat at the table till eight bells. 
A delightful chit-chat we had; such a variety of wisdom, 
such splendor of reminiscence, such bolts of reason rending 
and laying bare all the mines of thought were there! 
But this and all that we had in expectancy that night 
ended not in smoke ; that would have been land-like; but 
in a stealthy withdrawal of our company, one at a time, to 
pay their tribute to Padre Neptune. The singing master 
struck minor key first; the fur hunter followed with his 
war-cry ; the Green Mountain lawyer came to the encoun¬ 
ter with a throat full of special pleading; and after a hot 
melee each surrendered, on such terms as he could procure, 
all claim to the inborn rights of a quiet stomach and clean 
nose ; and turned in. The night was passed by us in the 
cabin in clinging to our berths. The seamen on deck struck 
the bells, changed the watch, and stood out like iron men 
on the tide of that terrible tempest! Their thrilling u O 
he oe” occasionally cut sharply and cheeringly into the 
