6 
LETTERS FROM 
wind being directly against us we were pre¬ 
vented from setting any sail, and for want of 
this to keep her steady, the vessel rolled 
tremendously. This most distressing motion 
very soon compelled me to seek for consola¬ 
tion in my snug little state-room, where I 
remained the whole of that day and the fol¬ 
lowing night, not very unwell, but in that 
doubtful state which made absolute repose 
delightful. This first stage of sea-sickness 
is not at all unpleasant to me so long as I 
remain perfectly quiet, but any great exer¬ 
tion of body or of mind will soon bring on a 
more advanced and suffering stage of the 
disorder. Even the exertion of reading be¬ 
comes intolerable if continued for more than 
five or ten minutes. 
The next day (Friday, 8th) it blew very 
hard from the northward, causing what one 
of our officers called “ a nasty tumble of a 
