se are proverbially rough waters, and they
fully sustained their reputation for the first two days of the voyage.
The marvel seemed rather to be that more ships were not lost here, than
that so many were. It is really little better than a vast graveyard for
commerce. Our staunch iron hull was tossed about like a feather in the
wind, causing us to realize that there is something awfully grand in
these ocean storms, uncomfortable as they are.

Our crew was composed of Japanese, and excellent sailors they are,
quiet, obedient, and untiring. Sea life is very similar in nearly all
latitudes, and affords but few incidents worthy of recording. An old
sea-captain told the author, some years since, that the finest sunsets
he had ever seen were in these waters, off the coast of Cochin China,
and that it was a peculiarity of the region; or, to use his own words,
"First, we would have a typhoon that shivered our sails into threads,
and then a sunset that looked like a scene in a theatre." Allowance was
made in this instance for a fancied charm brought about by the great
contrast of a raging storm followed by a serene nightfall. It seemed as
though we had witnessed as fine exhibitions of Nature in this line, both
in Europe and America, as could be enjoyed, but an agreeable surprise
was in store for us.

We had crossed the southern portion of the Yellow Sea, and having run
down the Corean Straits, with the Loo-Choo Islands under our lee, were
sailing southward upon the China Sea. It was the 2d of December, and we
too were now off the coast of Cochin China. Never before had any of our
little party witnessed such a gorgeous array of cloud and color effect;
nor was the display fleeting. The peculiar aspect lasted for half an
hour or more, full of change to be sure, like opal hues, hovering and
evanescent, but not obliterated. The transparent clouds that hung above
the western horizon, as dainty in form and texture as a butterfly's
wings, were tinted with turquoise blue. Immediately over the section
where the sun had so lately disappeared, the gradations of color were
multiform and brilliant, fading into each other's embrace. Close to the
water line, where sky and ocean mingled, there was a mound of quivering
flame that seemed like burning lava pouring from some volcanic source.
This lavish display of iris hues was softly reflected by the vapory
tissue of clouds that hung over the opposite expanse; the shades
changing to ruby and sapphi