ure. The number of fishing-boats off the coast of
Newfoundland, makes the navigation perilous at almost any time to
vessels approaching too near the banks, and after night-fall, the vessel
going at the rate of ten knots an hour with a smacking breeze, we passed
many of these at anchor, or rather, I suppose, riding on the waves; they
displayed lights, or serious consequences might have ensued. Some of the
skiffs were so near to us, that as I leaned over the ship's
quarter-rail, dreading, and every moment expecting, that we should run
one down, I could distinctly hear the crews hailing us to shorten sail
and keep off. By adopting this course our vessel cleared the danger, and
after slightly touching the banks, which caused the vessel to heel, and
created a momentary panic on board amongst the passengers, she was
steered more out to sea, and by the following morning nothing was to be
seen but a boundless waste of waters, extending as far as the eye could
reach.

After these temporary alarms, with the exception of baffling winds,
which impeded the progress of the ship, and lengthened the duration of
our confinement ten days or a fortnight, our voyage was prosperous,
little occurring to break the monotony of confinement on ship-board that
is experienced in sea-passages in general; the only excitement being a
fracas between the captain and cook, owing to complaints made by the
middle-cabin and steerage passengers, which nearly ended fatally to the
former, who would have been stabbed to a certainty, but for a by-stander
wresting the knife from the hand of the enraged subordinate, who had
been supplied too liberally with spirits by the passengers; a
predominating evil on board all emigrant ships, from the drawback of
duty allowed on spirits shipped as stores, and which are retailed on the
voyage to the passengers. The culprit was confined below during the
remainder of the voyage, and when we arrived at New York presented a
pitiable sight, having been rigidly debarred by the captain's orders of
many of the commonest necessaries, I believe, the whole time. Here he
was released and discharged from the ship, glad enough to escape further
punishment, "prosecution" having been, since the occurrence, held _in
terrorem_ over him.

It was late in the afternoon of an intensely cold day, which caused the
spray to congeal as it dashed against the bulwarks and cordage of the
vessel, that we descried with great pleasure looming indistinctly