The merchant vessel : a sailor boy's voyages around the world . as, at any rate, a relief from miserytoo great to be borne much longer. Any change was welcome. Strange feeling-s come over one at such times. In our dozingdown below (for to sleep had become impossible, and one simplydozed off into a state of semi-unconsciousness), we used to dreamof home and of the old times long past when we were childrenthere. Retiring to our wet berths, unknowing whether we shouldever rise from them again, we would return to full consciousnessat the calling of the watch, half surprised, half sorry that the fi
The merchant vessel : a sailor boy's voyages around the world . as, at any rate, a relief from miserytoo great to be borne much longer. Any change was welcome. Strange feeling-s come over one at such times. In our dozingdown below (for to sleep had become impossible, and one simplydozed off into a state of semi-unconsciousness), we used to dreamof home and of the old times long past when we were childrenthere. Retiring to our wet berths, unknowing whether we shouldever rise from them again, we would return to full consciousnessat the calling of the watch, half surprised, half sorry that the finalcatastrophe was not yet—that another four hours of the battle mustbe waged before we finally succumbed. We began to think it would be as well, and much morecomfortable, to remain in our berths and await the sure fate. Itwould but hasten it a little. But duty forbade. And there is,after all, a faint, lingering spark of hope, which seems never toleave man, or, at any rate, the sailor, until he is totally over-whelmed ; and this, too, urged us to the EAST l^f °CKS, L0ND0N, A SQUALL. 93 Yet we grew careless of the event. Day by day we went toour berths, not knowing but we were closing our eyes for tin-time—sleeping to wake no more. Watch after watch we went ondeck expecting each four hours to be the last, until, erelong, wehad grown used to the feeling, and suffered silently on, thinkingas little as miorht be of that to which all had now resignedthemselves. Cooking, for a great part of the passage, was out of thequestion. A pot of hot coffee was a luxury not attainable everyday, and as for preparing anything else, it was vain to think of , the cook took his turn at the pumps with the rest, andnursed his cold toes the balance of the time. The water stood three feet deep in the hold, and was stillslowly gaining on us, when at last the weather moderated a little,and the wind gradually dying down, gave us nearly an entire day(a Sabbath) of calm. But although the ga
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