LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT, ROSS. 
359 
When a man is in a bona-fide downright passion, the most 
prudent method os not to interrupt him—a rocket makes a great 
noise and fluster in first setting off—-pass a little while, and 
every trace of it is gone. There are some fools, who attempt to 
calm an angry man, by coaxings and wheedlings, entreaties and 
expostulations, but it is the most infallible method of increasing 
the violence of the storm; the sailors of the Victory were not 
ignorant of this principle of human action, therefore, when the 
tempest burst upon them, they looked at their commander—< 
then at the brass nails in his chair—then at a bottle of Booth’s 
best cordial, that was standing on the table, and then—they said 
nothing. The harder it blows, the sooner it will be over, is a 
maxim, which has cheered many a sea-drenched sailor, as the 
waves have rolled over him at the helm, and, certainly, the tor¬ 
rents of abuse, which flowed from the mouth of Capt. Ross, 
threatened to overwhelm the hardened culprits with unutterable 
confusion and dismay; but the tempest was too violent to last, 
independently of which, the hour had arrived, when according to 
general custom, one of the monitors of the school was to read a 
chapter in the Bible to the assembled crew, and it came to pass 
that the 29 th chapter of Proverbs was in rotation for their 
evening edification, and the monitor read with an audible 
voice : 
“ A fool uttereth all his mind : but a wise man keepeth it in 
till afterwards.” 
The sailors looked at each other with a significant eye, and 
Capt. Ross appeared rather uneasy on his seat. 
Further read the monitor. 
“A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he 
understand, he will not answer. 
“ Seest thou a man, that is hasty in his words? there is more 
hope of a fool than of him.” 
A fear and trembling came over the congregation, for to 
them it appeared, as if their commander had been suddenly 
seized with a fit of St. Vitus’ dance; so extraordinary and sin¬ 
gular were the twistings and contortions of his body. 
And the monitor further read: 
