waves of alarming size and threatening
appearance, came rushing in swift succession towards us, as if eager to
overwhelm our puny bark, which nevertheless floated unharmed, now riding
on the crest of a wave, and anon plunging into a deep and angry-looking
gulf, taking no water on deck, excepting from an occasional spray.

I asked one of the sailors who had just taken a spell at the pump, if
this were not a hurricane.

"Hurricane!" said he, with a good-natured grin. "Nonsense! This is only
a stiff breeze. 'Tis as different from a hurricane as a heaver is from
a handspike. When you see a hurricane, my lad, you will know it, even if
the name is not lettered on the starn."

"Then I suppose there is no actual danger in a gale like this, although
it does not look very inviting."

"Danger! I don't know about that. In a good seaworthy vessel a man is as
SAFE in a gale of wind as if he was cooped up in a grog-selling boarding
house on shore; and a thousand times better off in other respects. But
this miserable old craft is strained in every timber, and takes in more
water through the seams in her bottom than 'the combers' toss on her
decks. If her bottom does not drop out some of these odd times, and
leave us in the lurch, we may think ourselves lucky."

After uttering these consolatory remarks, accompanied with a significant
shrug, he resumed his labors at the pump.

The wind blew with violence through the day, and the leak kept
increasing. There is probably no exercise more fatiguing than "pumping
ship," as practised with the clumsy, awkward contrivances called PUMPS,
which were generally in use among the merchant vessels of those days. It
being necessary to keep the pumps in constant operation, or in nautical
parlance, "pump or sink," the crew, although a hardy, vigorous set of
men, became exhausted and disheartened, and, to my astonishment and
disgust, instead of manifesting by their solemn looks and devout
demeanor a sense of the danger with which they were threatened,
alternately pumped, grumbled, and swore, and swore, grumbled, and
pumped.

Change is incident to every thing; and even a gale of wind cannot last
forever. Before night the tempest was hushed, the waves diminished,
and in a few hours the brig was under full sail, jogging along to
the westward at the rate of six or seven knots. The next day we got
soundings on the coast of Carolina, and, with a fair wind, rapidly
approached the land.

Off the mouth o