DECEMBER 24. (Wednesday.)
I had often heard talk of " a hell upon earth," and now I have
a perfect idea of " a hell upon water." It must be precisely our
vessel during the last three weeks. On the 3rd we left the Motherbank, and
on the 4th we passed
Plymouth, and were actually
in sight of the Lizard point,, when the wind suddenly became
completely foul, and drove us back into the Channel. It continued to
strengthen, and by the time
that night arrived, we had
a violent gale, which blew incessantly till the middle of Sunday,
the 7th, when we were glad to find ourselves once more in sight
of Plymoutb, and took advantage of a temporary abatement of
the wind to seek refuge in the Sound. Here, however, we soon
found that we had but little reason to rejoice at the change of
our situation. The Sound was already crowded with vessels of
all descriptions; and as we arrived so late, the only mooring
still unoccupied placed us so near the rocks on one side, and
another vessel astern, that the captain confessed that he should
feet considerable anxiety if the gale should return with its former
violence. So of course, about eleven at night, the gale did return;
not, indeed, with its former
violence, but increased tenfold ; and once we were in very imminent
danger from our
ship's swinging round by a sudden squall, and narrowly escaping
coming in contact with the ship astern, which bad not, it seems,
allowed itself sufficient cable. Luckily we just missed her ; and
our cables (for both our anchors were down) being new and
good, we rode out the storm without driving or meeting with any
accident whatever. The next day was squally ; and in spite of
the Breakwater, the rocking of the ship from the violent agitation of the
waves by the late stormy
weather was almost insup-portable. However, on the 9th the wind took a more
favourable
turn, though in so slight a degree that the pilot expressed great
doubts whether it would last long enough to do us any service.
But the captain felt his situation in Plymouth Sound do uneasy,
that he resolved at least to make the attempt, and so we crept
once more into the Channel. In a few hours the breeze
strengthened ; about midnight we passed the lights upon the
Lizard, and the next morning England was at length out of
sight. This cessation of ill-luck proved to be only "
reculer
pour mieux sauter ." The gale, it seems, had only stopped to
take a breath : about four in the afternoon of Wednesday the wind
began to rise again ; and from that time till the middle of the
23
rd it blew a complete storm day and night, with only an
occasional intermission of two or three
hours at a time. Every one
in the ship declared that they had never before experienced so
obstinate a persecution of severe weather : every rag of sail eas
obliged to be taken down ; the sea was blown up into mountains,
and poured itslef over the deck repeatedly. The noise was
dreadful ; and as it lasted incessantly, to sleep was impossible ;
and I passed ten nights, one after another, without closing my
eyes ; so that the pain in the nerves of them at length became
almost intolerable, and I began to be seriously afraid of going
blind. In truth, the captain could not well have pitched upon a
set of passenger worse calculated to undergo the trial of a
passage so rough. As for myslef, the my brain is so weak, that the
continuation of any violent noise makes me absolutley lightheaded ; and a
pop-guun going off
suddenly is quite sufficient at
any time to set every nerve shaking, from the crown of my head
to the sole of my foot. The we had a young lady who was
ready to die of sea-sickness, and an old one who was a lillte better
through fright ; and I had an Italian servant who was as sick as
the young lady, and as much frightenend as the old one. The
poor fellow had never been really
out at sea before ; and with
every crack whcich the vessel gave, he thought that to be sure she
was splitting right in half. The sailors too were quite knocked
up from the unremitting fatigue to which they were subjected by
the continuance of this dreadful weather. Several of them were
ill ; and one poor fellow actually died and wsa committed to the
ocean. Tyo make matters still worse, during the first week the
wind was as fould as it could blow ; and we did nothing but run
backwards and forwards, without advancing a step towards our
object ; till at length every particle of my very small stock of
patience eas exhausted, and I could no longer resist suggesting
out return to port, rather than continue buffeting about in
the chops of the Channel, so much to the damage of the ship and
all contained in her. A change of wind, however, gave a complete
answer to this proposal. On Thursday it became favourable as to the
prosecution of our
voyage, but its fury continued
unabated till the evening of the 23rd. It then gradually died
away, and left us becalmed before the island of Madeira, where
we are now rolling backwards and forwards in sight of its capital,
Funchal, on the 24th of December, being seven weary weeks
since our departure from Gravesend. The evenin, sun is now
very brilliant, and shines full upon the island, the rocks of which
are finely broken. The height of the mountains cause their tops
to be lost in the clouds ; the sides are covered with plantations
of vines and forests of cedars; and the white edifices of Funchal,it
built upon the very edge of the shore, have a very picturesque
appearance. We are now riding between the island and an iso-.
lated group of inaccessible rocks called " the Deserters;" and,
the effect of the scene altogether is beautiful in the extreme.
