Our Poor Ship Will Lose Her Character By
The Weather, As She Cannot Fetch Up Ten Days' Lost Time.
But she
is evidently a race-horse.
We overhaul everything we see, at a
wonderful rate, and the speed is exciting and pleasant; but the
next long voyage I make, I'll try for a good wholesome old
'monthly' tub, which will roll along on the top of the water,
instead of cutting through it, with the waves curling in at the
cuddy skylights. We tried to signal a barque yesterday, and send
home word 'all well'; but the brutes understood nothing but
Russian, and excited our indignation by talking 'gibberish ' to us;
which we resented with true British spirit, as became us.
It is now blowing hard again, and we have just been taken right
aback. Luckily, I had lashed my desk to my washing-stand, or that
would have flown off, as I did off my chair. I don't think I shall
know what to make of solid ground under my feet. The rolling and
pitching of a ship of this size, with such tall masts, is quite
unlike the little niggling sort of work on a steamer - it is the
difference between grinding along a bad road in a four-wheeler, and
riding well to hounds in a close country on a good hunter. I was
horribly tired for about five days, but now I rather like it, and
never know whether it blows or not in the night, I sleep so
soundly. The noise is beyond all belief; the creaking, trampling,
shouting, clattering; it is an incessant storm. We have not yet
got our masts quite safe; the new wire-rigging stretches more than
was anticipated (of course), and our main-topmast is shaky. The
crew have very hard work, as incessant tacking is added to all the
extra work incident to a new ship. On Saturday morning, everybody
was shouting for the carpenter. My cabin was flooded by a leak,
and I superintended the baling and swabbing from my cot, and
dressed sitting on my big box. However, I got the leak stopped and
cabin dried, and no harm done, as I had put everything up off the
floor the night before, suspicious of a dribble which came in.
Then my cot frame was broken by my cuddy boy and I lurching over
against S-'s bunk, in taking it down. The carpenter has given me
his own, and takes my broken one for himself. Board ship is a
famous place for tempers. Being easily satisfied, I get all I
want, and plenty of attention and kindness; but I cannot prevail on
my cuddy boy to refrain from violent tambourine-playing with a tin
tray just at the ear of a lady who worries him. The young soldier-
officers, too, I hear mentioned as 'them lazy gunners', and they
struggle for water and tea in the morning long after mine has come.
We have now been ten days at sea, and only three on which we could
eat without the 'fiddles' (transverse pieces of wood to prevent the
dishes from falling off). Smooth water will seem quite strange to
me. I fear the poor people in the forecastle must be very wet and
miserable, as the sea is constantly over it, not in spray, but in
tons of green water.
3d Aug. - We had two days of dead calm, then one or two of a very
light, favourable breeze, and yesterday we ran 175 miles with the
wind right aft. We saw several ships, which signalled us, but we
would not answer, as we had our spars down for repairs and looked
like a wreck, and fancied it would be a pity to frighten you all
with a report to that effect.
Last night we got all right, and spread out immense studding-sails.
We are now bowling along, wind right aft, dipping our studding-sail
booms into the water at every roll. The weather is still
surprisingly cold, though very fine, and I have to come below quite
early, out of the evening air. The sun sets before seven o'clock.
I still cough a good deal, and the bad food and drink are trying.
But the life is very enjoyable; and as I have the run of the
charts, and ask all sorts of questions, I get plenty of amusement.
S- is an excellent traveller; no grumbling, and no gossiping,
which, on board a ship like ours, is a great merit, for there is ad
nauseam of both.
Mr. - is writing a charade, in which I have agreed to take a part,
to prevent squabbling. He wanted to start a daily paper, but the
captain wisely forbade it, as it must have led to personalities and
quarrels, and suggested a play instead. My little white Maltese
goat is very well, and gives plenty of milk, which is a great
resource, as the tea and coffee are abominable. Avery brings it me
at six, in a tin pannikin, and again in the evening. The chief
officer is well-bred and agreeable, and, indeed, all the young
gentlemen are wonderfully good specimens of their class. The
captain is a burly foremast man in manner, with a heart of wax and
every feeling of a gentleman. He was in California, 'HIDE
DROGHING' with Dana, and he says every line of Two Years before the
Mast is true. He went through it all himself. He says that I am a
great help to him, as a pattern of discipline and punctuality.
People are much inclined to miss meals, and then want things at odd
hours, and make the work quite impossible to the cook and servants.
Of course, I get all I want in double-quick time, as I try to save
my man trouble; and the carpenter leaves my scuttle open when no
one else gets it, quite willing to get up in his time of sleep to
close it, if it comes on to blow.
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