The Mary, like the Messenger, had on board some half-a-dozen persons whose eyes were affected mysteriously. She was down by the head, and had (as was also the case with the Messenger) been so trimmed on the whole voyage, which trim facilitates the collection of putrid water in the forward part of the ship’s hold; hence, by taking into consideration these singular coincidents of the vessels, together with the fact that no one who lived abaft the mainmast had been so affected in either, the disease may, I think, be safely attributed to bilge-water. After gammoning with the Mary, we ran close in to the African coast, and fell in with several Atlantic whaling-vessels. These crafts are usually small, and carry but two or three boats. By the class who go farther from home, they are facetiously denominated Plumpuddingers. The length of the voyage ranges from six to thirty months. From the specimens of these cruisers, I should say, that there is little difference in their arrangements and those of the whalemen of the Indian and Pacific oceans. One characteristic was, however, distinctive; that is, the greater proportion of foreigners before the mast. In one vessel (the Cornelia of Edgartown) there was not a single individual of American birth in her forecastle; and on board the Keoka, of Westport, there was a large proportion of dark skins from the islands of the North Pacific. Their voyages are shorter, their crews generally fare better than those of the larger ships, and, as was my impression up to the time we fell in with them, they made better ports--but this, upon inquiry, I found to be a mistaken idea; for those on board the Keoka stated that they had not been into a port where English was spoken during the whole time (some eighteen months) they were from home; and, furthermore, that they had only visited Walfisch Bay, a Portuguese settlement on the coast. These vessels averaged about the same amount of oil, considering their time out, as other ships of their profession in the Indian Ocean. Their crews were, also, just as much discontented with whaling, and as anxious to get home, as we were. In unqualified terms they expressed their envy of us lucky fellows, as they termed us, who they supposed would in a few months be in New Bedford. Our diminutive cargo did not seem to act as a damper upon their wishes. They said that they did not care, when it came to the question of getting home, whether they had anything coming to them, or not. Neither did the prospect of cold weather appal them; for one enthusiastic fellow assured me, that he was willing to be landed on a snow-bank, in a costume but little preferable to a straw-hat without trimming, for the sake of being delivered from the monotonous life he was now leading.