of the parallel of Rio de Janeiro; and then she ran into the
Doldrums; these being belts of calm, broken into at intervals by light
baffling airs from various directions, with occasional violent squalls,
or terrific thunderstorms, just to vary the monotony. These belts of
exasperating weather are to be met with to the north of the north-east
and the south of the south-east trade winds, interposed between the
trade winds and those outer regions where a steady breeze of some sort
may usually be reckoned upon.

And here the unfortunate crew of the brig encountered their full share--
and a little over, some of them said--of the annoyances that usually
accompany a passage across these belts; their first experience being a
calm that lasted five days on end without a break, save for the
occasional cat's-paw that came stealing from time to time over the
glassy surface of the ocean, tinging it here and there with transient
patches of delicate evanescent blue. And as these cat's-paws were all
that they could rely upon to help them across the calm belt, it was
necessary to maintain a constant watch for them, and to trim round the
yards in such a manner as to make the most of them during their brief
existence. This constant "box-hauling" of the yards was no trifling
matter, accomplished as it had to be under the fierce rays of a blazing
sun; and as it often happened that after laboriously trimming the yards
and sheets to woo a wandering zephyr, it either expired before reaching
the brig, or capriciously turned in another direction, passing her by
without causing so much as a single flap of her canvas, it is not to be
wondered at that the grumbling among all hands was both loud and deep.

At length, however, with the dawn of their sixth day of these vexatious
experiences, there appeared to be a prospect of something more helpful
than mere cat's-paws coming their way; for although the calm still
continued, the morning broke with a dark, lowering, and threatening sky
through which the rays of the sun were unable to pierce. This last was
in itself a relief to everybody; for although the heat was still so
oppressive that the slightest exertion threw one into a profuse
perspiration, the stinging bite of the sun was no longer to be reckoned
with. Furthermore, the eyes of those on board the brig, weary of
continually gazing upon a bare horizon since the day upon which the
friendly whaler had vanished from their view, were now gladdene