I had n' a-prayed for sleep, but for wakun
all night, an' there I was, standun.

"The moon was out agen, so bright; an' all the hills of ice shinun
up to her; an' stars twinklun, so busy, all over; an' No'ther'
Lights goun up wi' a faint, blaze, seemunly, from th' ice, an'
meetun up aloft; an' sometimes a great groanun, an' more times
tarrible loud shriekun! There was great white fields, an' great
white hills, like countries, comun down to be destroyed; an' some
great bargs a-goun faster, an' tearun through, breakun others to
pieces; an' the groanun an' screechun,--ef all the dead that ever
was, wi' their white clothes--But no!" said the stout fisherman,
recalling himself from gazing, as he seemed to be, on the far-off
ghastly scene, in memory.

"No!--an' thank 'E's marcy, I'm sittun by my own room. 'E tooked
me off; but 't was a dreadful sight,--it's no use,--ef a body'd
let 'e'sself think! I sid a great black bear, an' hard un growl;
an' 't was feelun, like, to hear un so bold an' so stout, among
all they dreadful things, an' bumby the time 'ould come when 'e
could n' save 'e'sself, do what 'e woul'.

"An' more times 't was all still: on'y swiles bawlun, all over.
Ef it had n' a-been for they poor swiles, how could I stan' it?
Many's the one I'd a-ketched, daytime, an' talked to un, an' patted
un on the head, as ef they'd a-been dogs by the door, like; an'
they'd oose to shut their eyes, an' draw their poor foolish faces
together. It seemed neighbor-like to have some live thing.

"So I kep' awake, sayun an' singun, an' it was n' very cold; an'
so,--first thing I knowed, I started, an' there I was lyun in a
heap; an' I must have been asleep, an' did n' know how 't was,
nor how long I'd a-been so: an' some sort o' baste started away,
an' 'e must have waked me up; I could n' rightly see what 't was,
wi' sleepiness: an' then I hard a sound, sounded like breakers;
an' that waked me fairly. 'T was like a lee-shore; an' 't was a
comfort to think o' land, ef 't was on'y to be wrecked on itself:
but I did n' go, an' I stood an' listened to un; an' now an' agen
I'd walk a piece, back an' forth, an' back an' forth; an' so I
passed a many, many longsome hours, seemunly, tull night goed
down tarrible slowly, an' it comed up day o' t' other side: an'
there was n' no land; nawthun but great mountains meltun an' breakun
up, an' fields wastun away. I sid 't was a rollun barg made the
noise like breakers; throwun up great seas o'