The Officer Was
Walking The Quarter Deck, Where I Had No Right To Go, One Or Two Men
Were Talking
On the forecastle, whom I had little inclination to join,
so that I was left open to the full impression
Of everything about me.
However much I was affected by the beauty of the sea, the bright stars,
and the clouds driven swiftly over them, I could not but remember that
I was separating myself from all the social and intellectual enjoyments
of life. Yet, strange as it may seem, I did then and afterwards take
pleasure in these reflections, hoping by them to prevent my becoming
insensible to the value of what I was leaving.
But all my dreams were soon put to flight by an order from the
officer to trim the yards, as the wind was getting ahead; and I
could plainly see by the looks the sailors occasionally cast to
windward, and by the dark clouds that were fast coming up, that we
had bad weather to prepare for, and had heard the captain say that
he expected to be in the Gulf Stream by twelve o'clock. In a few
minutes eight bells were struck, the watch called, and we went below.
I now began to feel the first discomforts of a sailor's life.
The steerage in which I lived was filled with coils of rigging,
spare sails, old junk and ship stores, which had not been stowed
away. Moreover, there had been no berths built for us to sleep in,
and we were not allowed to drive nails to hang our clothes upon.
The sea, too, had risen, the vessel was rolling heavily, and
everything was pitched about in grand confusion.
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