necessary to render the vessel
manageable. A heavy gale, for the first time, is rather interesting than
otherwise: the novelty of the sea's appearance--the anxiety of the crew
and officers--the promptitude with which commands are given and
executed--and the excitement produced by the other incidental occurrences,
tend to make even a storm, when encountered in open sea, by no means
destitute of pleasing interest. During this gale, the sailors appeared to
be more than ordinarily anxious only upon one occasion, and then only for
a minute--the circumstance was not calculated to create alarm in the mind
of a person totally ignorant of nautical affairs, but being somewhat of a
sailor, I understood the danger tolerably well. The helm was struck by a
sea, and strained at the bolts; from the concussion occasioned by the
blow, it was apprehended for a moment that it had been carried away.
Without a helm, in such weather, much was to be feared; for her timbers
being old, she could hardly meet the shock of an ocean wave upon her
broadside without suffering serious injury. The helmsman was knocked
down--the captain and mate jumped aft, to ascertain the extent of the
damage; while the sailors scowled along the deck, as they laid their
shoulders to the weather side of the ship--all was anxiety for the
instant. At length the mate cried, "helm all right," and the crew pulled
away as usual. At the close of the fourth day the storm subsided, and we
approached the banks of Newfoundland.

It is generally supposed that the colour of the sea is a sure indication
of the presence or absence of soundings; that is, that there are
soundings where the water is green, and that there are none where the
water is blue. The former is, I believe, true in every instance; but the
latter is certainly not so, as the first soundings we got here, were in
water as blue as indigo, depth fifty odd fathoms.

We were thirty days crossing these tiresome banks; during which time we
were befogged, and becalmed, and annoyed with all sorts of disagreeable
weather. The fogs or mists were frequently so dense, that it was
impossible to see more than thirty yards from the vessel. This course is
not that usually taken by ships bound for the United States, as they
generally cross the Atlantic at much lower latitudes, but our captain
"calculated" on escaping calms, and avoiding the influence of the Gulf
stream, and thus making a quicker passage; he was, however, mistaken, as