ot a word was to
be got out of her, but short pithy anathemas against everybody that came
near her, everybody that spoke to her, every lurch the ship made, every
noise overhead; an expression of pity caused an explosion of wrath, a
hope that she was better a wish that she was dead, and an offer of
assistance a command to be gone out of her sight. Neither of the boys
suffered in the least. And now the increased motion of the vessel, the
noise overhead, and various other signs told us that the lovely smooth
ocean, on whose bosom we had trusted ourselves, for some cause unknown
to us was considerably disturbed, internally or externally. It was
impossible for any land-lubbers to stand; it was equally impossible to
eat in the form prescribed by the rules of polite society, food being
snatched at a venture, and not always arriving at the mouth for which it
was originally intended. One or two were pitched out of their cots, and
a murmuring of fear that this should be a tempest, and that we were
going to be wrecked, caused a message to be sent to Captain MacNab to
know whereabouts we were, for no one liked to be first to acknowledge
fear or expose our ignorance to the Captain, who had good-humouredly
rallied some on what they would do and say in case of bad weather.
Therefore the question of whereabouts are we seemed a very safe one,
likely to obtain the real news we wanted without exposing our fears to
the captain. In answer, we received a message to say we were near the
Bay of Biscay and as there was a very pretty sea, we should do well to
come up and look at it. "Come up and look at it?" that showed at once
that no shipwreck was in contemplation. But how to get up? that was the
question. The message, however, was dispatched round to the different
berths, with the additional one, "that the mother was going
immediately," that being my title amongst the young ones, and the little
mother being the title of my cousin.

On deck we were received by the captain, who welcomed us with much
pleasure, an undisguised twinkle in his eyes betraying a little inkling
into the purport of our message. To our amazement, he and the sailors
seemed quite at their ease, walking as steadily as if the vessel was a
rock, and as immoveable as the pyramids. But what a sea! I looked up and
saw high grey mountains on all sides, and ere I could decide whether
they were moveable or my sight deceptive, they had disappeared, and,
from a height that seemed awf