Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXV, June, 1852Various
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXV, June, 1852
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
Miles made 278. We are now about 300 miles south of Nova Scotia, yet
in the "lee of the land," as one of our officers says. Toward morning
we shall reach the western edge of the great bank of Newfoundland,
which is about 200 miles broad. The wind is ahead, and the sea rolls in
heavy billows. Our ship rises and plunges over these vast waves with
much grandeur. It is majestically sickening, sublimely nauseating.
The day is magnificent--clear, cloudless; and this fresh breeze upon
the land would be highly invigorating. The ocean, in its solitude,
spreads every where. We see no sails, no signs of life, except a few
sea-fowl, skimming the cold and dreary waves. Though not absolutely
sick, I am in that state that I must remain upon the wind and spray
swept deck. We are now about a thousand miles from New York. On the
whole, the discomfort of the voyage, thus far, has been less than I
had anticipated. March is a cold and blustering month. We breakfast
at eight o'clock, have an abundant lunch at twelve, dine at half-past
three very sumptuously, take tea at seven, and those who wish it have
supper at ten. The sun has gone down, the twilight has faded away, and
night--cold, black, and stormy--has settled upon us. The wind is in
the east, directly ahead; and, as we drive through it, it sweeps the
deck with hurricane fury. I have been sitting upon deck, behind the
smoke-pipe, around which the wind would most maliciously circle, till
I was pierced through and through with the cold. Life upon the sea
is indeed monotonous, as hour after hour, and day after day, lingers
along, and you look out only upon the chill dreary expanse of wintry
waves, and the silent or stormy sky. The sunset to-night was, however,
magnificent in the extreme, and we made the most of it. As the sun sunk
beneath the perfect horizon, it was expanded by the mist, and resembled
one of the most magnificent domes of fire of which the imagination
can conceive. We have the prospect of a stormy night. The saloon is
brilliantly illumined, and ladies and gentlemen are reclining upon the
sofas, some reading, but more pensively thinking of home and absent
friends. The imagination in such hours will fondly run back to the
fireside and the loved ones there. The voyager who has a home that is
dear to him, pays a very high price for his enjoyments, he finds, in
abandoning that home for the pleasures of the sea.
Wed. Morn., Mar. 24, Lat. 45° 39', Long. 49° 30'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account