. The pirate, and The three cutters. es of thisdescription: but the howling of the gale—theblinding of the rain and salt spray—the seaschecked in their running by the shift of wind, andbreaking over the shij) in vast masses of water—the tremendous peals of thunder—and the intensedarkness which accompanied these horrors, addedto the inclined position of the vessel, which obKgedthem to climb from one part of the deck to another,for some time checked all profitable only friend, in this conflict of the elements,was the lightning (unhappy, indeed, the situationin which lightning
. The pirate, and The three cutters. es of thisdescription: but the howling of the gale—theblinding of the rain and salt spray—the seaschecked in their running by the shift of wind, andbreaking over the shij) in vast masses of water—the tremendous peals of thunder—and the intensedarkness which accompanied these horrors, addedto the inclined position of the vessel, which obKgedthem to climb from one part of the deck to another,for some time checked all profitable only friend, in this conflict of the elements,was the lightning (unhappy, indeed, the situationin which lightning can be welcomed as a friend) ;but its vi\dd and forked flames, darting down uponevery quarter of the horizon, enabled them to per-ceive their situation; and, awful as it was, whenmomentarily presented to their sight, it was not soawful as darkness and uncertainty. To those whohave been accustomed to the difiiculties and dangersof a sea-faring life, there are no lines which speakmore forcibly to the imagination, or prove the. THE GALE. 29 beauty and power of the Greek poet, than those inthe noble prayer of Ajax :— Lord of earth and air,©king! 0 father! hear my humble this cloud, the light of heaven restore;Give me to see—and Ajax asks no Greece must perish—we Thy will obey;But let us perish in the face of day ! Oswald gave the helm to two of the seamen^and with his knife cut adrift the axes, which werelashed round the mizenmast in painted canvasscovers. One he retained for himself,—the othershe put into the hands of the boatswain and thesecond mate. To sj)eak so as to be heard was almostimpossible, from the tremendous roaring of thewind; but the lamp still burned in the binnacle,and by its feeble light Captain Ingram could dis-tinguish the signs made by the mate, and couldgive his consent. It was necessary that the shipshould be put before the wind, and the helm hadno power over her. In a short time the lanyardsof the mizen rigging were se
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Keywords: ., bookauthormarryatf, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookyear1861
