December 20.
The weather is excessively close and sultry; and in point
of heat there is no difference between the days and the nights; or if
it is that the nights are rather the hottest of the two.
The lightning is incessant, and it does not show itself forked
or in flashes, but in wide sheets of mild mild blue light which spread
themselves at once over the sky and sea; and, for the moment
during which they last, make all the objects around as distinct
as in daylight. The moon now does not rise till late, and during
her absence the size and brilliancy the of the stars are admirable. In
England they always seemed to me to peep through the blanket
of the dark;" but here the heaven,; appear to be studded with
them on the outside, if they were chased with so many jewels:
it is really Milton's "firmament of living sapphires;" and what
with the lightning and the stars, and quantity of floating lights
which just gleamed round the ship every moment, and then were
gone again, to-night the sky had an effect so beautiful, that when
at length the moon thought proper to show her great red drunken
face, I thought that we did much better without her.
The above-mentioned floating light' are a kind of sea-meteors,
which, as I am told, are produced by the concussion of the
waves, while eddying in whirlpools round the rudder ; but still
I saw them rise sometimes at so great a distance from the ship,
and there appeared to be something so like will in the direction
of their course-sometimes hurrying on, sometimes gliding
along quite slowly; now stopping and remaining motionless for
a minute or two, and then hurrying on again,-that I could not
be convinced of their not being Medusae, or some species or other
of phosphoric animal: but whatever be the cause of this appearance, the
effect is singularly
beautiful. As to air, we have not enough to bless ourselves with. I had been
led to believe, that
when once we should have fallen in with the trade-winds, from
that moment we should sail into our destined port as rapidly and
as directly as Truffaldino travels in Gozzi's farce ; when, having
occasion to go from Asia to Europe, and being very much pressed
for time, he persuades a conjuror of his acquaintance to lend him
a devil, with a great pair of bellows, the nozzle of which being
directed right against his stern, away goes the traveller before
the stream of wind, with the devil after him, and the infernal'
bellows never cease from working till they have blown him out
of one quarter of the globe into another: but our trade-winds
must "hide their diminished heads" before Truffaldino's bellows.
It seems that like the Moors, "in Africa the torrid," they are
of temper somewhat mulish;" for although, to be sure, when
they
do blow, they will only blow in one certain direction, yet
very often they will not blow at all; which has been the case for
the last week: indeed, they seem to be but a queerish kind of a
concern at best. About three years ago a fleet of merchantmen
was becalmed near St. Vincent's: in a few days after their arrival,
there happened a violent eruption of a volcano in that island, nor
was it long before a favourable breeze sprang up. Unluckily,
one of the ships had anchored rather nearer to the shore than the
ethers, and was at the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards
from the stream of the trade-wind ; nor could any possible efforts
of the crew, by tacking, by towing, or otherwise, ever enable
the vessel to conquer that one hundred and fifty yards : there
she remained, as completely becalmed , as if there were not such
a thing as a breath of wind in the universe; and on the one
band she had the mortification to see the rest of the merchantmen,
with their convoy (for it was in the very beat of the war), sail
away with all their canvass spread and swelling; while, on the
other hand, the sailors had the comfortable possibility of being
suffocated every moment by the clouds of ashes which continued
to fall on their deck every moment from the burning volcano,
although they were not nearer to St. Vincent's than eight or
nine miles; indeed that distance went for nothing, as ashes fell
upon vessels that were out at sea at least five hundred miles
and Barbadoes being to windward of the volcano, such immense
quantities of its contents were carried to that island as almost
covered the fields; and destroying vegetation completely wherever they
fell, did inconceivable
damage, while that which St.
Vincent's itself experienced was but trifling in proportion.
Our captain is quite out of patience with the tortoise-Pace of
our progress; for my part I care very little about it. Whether
we have sailed slowly or rapidly, when a day is once over, I am
just as much nearer advanced towards April, the time fixed for
my return to England; and, what is of much more consequence,
whether we have sailed slowly or rapidly, when a day is once
over, I am just as much nearer advanced towards "that bourne,"
to reach which, peaceably and harmlessly, is the only business
of life, and towards which the whole of our existence forms but
one continued journey.