The wind now suddenly rose, and the sky, which had long been lowering, assumed an inky hue. Mr. Merryweather looked anxious and uneasy, and I heard him observe to the captain, that we were in for a north-wester, and that he feared it would overtake us before we reached the anchorage at Kedgeree. What a north-wester was I did not exactly know, but the precautionary measures taken of diminishing the sail, closing hatches and scuttles, &c., and the appearance of the heavens, left me no room to doubt that it was one of the various denominations of the hurricane family. [Illustration: Mr. Cadet Francis Gernon, anxious to discover a Royal Bengal Tiger, falls in with a Bear] The scene at this moment, to one unacquainted with these tropical visitants, though rather alarming, was singularly wild and magnificent. All around, to the verge of the horizon, the sky was of the deepest indigo hue, whilst dark masses of rolling clouds, like hostile squadrons, were slowly marshalling over head to the thunder’s deep rumble and the lightning’s flash, which shot like the gleaming steel of advancing combatants across the dun fields of death. From the setting sun, a few long rays, like rods of gold, shot through openings of the clouds, streaming brightly over sea and land, bringing forth the lustrous green of the mangroves, and touching, as with a dazzling pencil of light, the distant sail, or milk-white seabird’s wing. At length, the sough of the coming tempest was heard mournfully sweeping through the shrouds, and a few heavy drops fell on the deck. The ladies’ scarves and shawls began to flutter, and one two hats were whisked overboard, on a visit to the sharks. This was a sufficient hint for the majority of the idlers, and they forthwith dived below. I lingered awhile, and casting my eyes over the stem at this moment, beheld the storm driving towards us—spray, screaming gulls, and tumbling porpoises heralding its approach. In a moment it was upon us. Sheets and floods of driving rain burst on the ship, as on she hissed through the frying waters. Buoy after buoy, however, was safely passed, though it was once or twice “touch and go” with us; and ere long, to the infinite joy of all on board, we dropped anchor in safety off Kedgeree.