ght
of the 11th we fairly entered upon that portion of the Atlantic which
is known as the Sargassos Sea. An extensive tract of water is this,
enclosed by the warm current of the Gulf Stream, and thickly covered
with the wrack, called by the Spaniards "sargasso," the abundance of
which so seriously impeded the progress of Columbus's vessels on his
first voyage across the ocean.

Each morning at daybreak the Atlantic has presented an aspect so
remarkable, that at my solicitation, M. Letourneur and his son have
ventured upon deck to witness the unusual spectacle. The squally gusts
make the metal shrouds vibrate like harp-strings; and unless we were
on our guard to keep our clothes wrapped tightly to us, they would have
been torn off our backs in shreds. The scene presented to our eyes is
one of strangest interest. The sea, carpeted thickly with masses of
prolific fucus, is a vast unbroken plain of vegetation, through which
the vessel makes her way as a plough. Long strips of seaweed caught up
by the wind become entangled in the rigging, and hang between the masts
in festoons of verdure; whilst others, varying from two to three hundred
feet in length, twine themselves up to the very mast-heads, from whence
they float like streaming pendants. For many hours now, the "Chancellor"
has been contending with this formidable accumulation of algae; her
masts are circled with hydrophytes; her rigging is wreathed everywhere
with creepers, fantastic as the untrammelled tendrils of a vine, and as
she works her arduous course, there are times when I can only compare
her to an animated grove of verdure making its mysterious way over some
illimitable prairie.

CHAPTER VII.

OCTOBER 14th.--At last we are free from the sea of vegetation, the
boisterous gale has moderated into a steady breeze, the sun is shining
brightly, the weather is warm and genial, and thus, two reefs in her
top-sails, briskly and merrily sails the "Chancellor."

Under conditions so favourable, we have been able to take the ship's
bearings: our latitude, we find, is 21deg. 33min. N., our longitude
50deg. 17min. W.

Incomprehensible altogether is the conduct of Captain Huntly. Here we
are, already more than ten degrees south of the point from which, we
started, and yet still we are persistently following a south-easterly
course! I cannot bring myself to the conclusion that the man is mad. I
have had various conversations with him: he has always spoken rationall