It Corresponded, Too, With The Desolate Character
Of Her Situation; - Alone, As She Was, Battling With Storms,
Wind, And Ice, At This Extremity Of The Globe, And In Almost
Constant Night.
Friday, July 1st.
We were now nearly up to the latitude of Cape
Horn, and having over forty degrees of easting to make, we squared
away the yards before a strong westerly gale, shook a reef out of the
fore-topsail, and stood on our way, east-by-south, with the prospect
of being up with the Cape in a week or ten days. As for myself,
I had had no sleep for forty-eight hours; and the want of rest,
together with constant wet and cold, had increased the swelling,
so that my face was nearly as large as two, and I found it impossible
to get my mouth open wide enough to eat. In this state, the steward
applied to the captain for some rice to boil for me, but he only
got a - "No! d - - you! Tell him to eat salt junk and hard bread,
like the rest of them." For this, of course, I was much obliged
to him, and in truth it was just what I expected. However, I did
not starve, for the mate, who was a man as well as a sailor, and
had always been a good friend to me, smuggled a pan of rice into
the galley, and told the cook to boil it for me, and not let the
"old man" see it.
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