And tried and tried the stormy main,
While heavy fog seemed to kiss the plain.
The clouds they broke and showed the sky,
Placing the instrument to his eye,
The howling wind our course had fixed,
And marked the latitude at forty-six.
An eastward course he then did try,
While billows they rose mountains high,
The captain's orders were to haul yards back,
And set the sails on starboard tack.