August 15. No religious services to-day. There are many conjectures as to the cause of this omission of his duty by our chaplain, the most plausible of which is, his consciousness of the strong disgust which his recent treachery, falsehood, and attempt at mischief-making have excited.
We occasionally see a beautiful bird making its flight high above us, but seldom coming near the ship. Its plumage as seen at a distance is pure white, its head resembles that of a dove, its neck slender and delicate, and with a tail composed of two long, pointed, and flowing white feathers, and wings long and slender, it floats through the air with a gracefulness peculiar to itself, and excelling that of any other bird I have seen. This is the Tropic Bird, (Phæton phœnicurus.) The long taper tail feathers have given the sailors a hint for a name, and they call it "The Marlin-spike."
August 17. Crossed the Tropic of Cancer in longitude 127° west. The mate signalized the day by closing the hatches over the main cabin. The reason assigned for this act was a quarrel at breakfast between an Irishman and one of the stewards, which disturbed the mate's repose. Much excitement prevailed in consequence of this act, and the fifty men shut up in that "black hole" remonstrated against the injustice of being punished for a little squabble, in which only two of their number were engaged. Finding their arguments were of no avail with the mate, they carried their case to the captain. To their remonstrances he replied that this case was beyond his control; that he commanded the after-part of the ship, and the mate the forward part; that this hatchway, being in the mate's room, was under his sole command; and that he, the captain, had no more authority to order it to be taken off, than the mate had to command him on the quarter-deck. All this appeared very much like nonsense to our land lubbers, who doubted if the maritime law recognized a division of authority, which seemed to them so utterly absurd and ridiculous. At this point of the discussion, Mr. Tyler, one of the passengers, remarked that he had hitherto kept aloof from all the wrangles we had had, but that he should not remain quiet under this arbitrary act. He assured the captain that if the hatches were not removed, there would be a greater row than we had ever witnessed on board this bark. But neither the captain nor mate would make any concession, and it was determined by the passengers that they should have no sleep as long as the cause of their disquiet remained. There was a prospect of a stormy night between decks, and extensive preparations were made for a musical concert, which would not have been very conducive to slumber, when our brave officers, thinking they would find the contest an unequal one, suddenly and wisely resolved to remove the hatches, the consequence of which was an immediate restoration of peace.
August 22. A sudden and wonderful transformation has been wrought in our chaplain. From being very reserved in his intercourse with the passengers, he has all at once become exceedingly familiar. I have been surprised within two or three days past to see him engaged in high frolics with the men, scuffling, knocking off hats, throwing ropes over the men's heads, running and jumping like a boy over the houses and decks, and playing a hundred capers and pranks, which have attracted much attention, and excited not a little ridicule throughout the ship. The cause of this sudden change in the good parson is so palpable, that very few do not understand it; and the lost popularity he is so desirous to win back will scarcely be recovered by this means. His duties as our chaplain, which have never been arduous, are now wholly neglected; and well they may be, for very few will listen to him. He began his labors with us after the first two or three stormy weeks, with a prayer once a week, besides a sermon on Sundays. These were well attended, a large majority of our company being present. After a lapse of several weeks, the week-day prayer was omitted. Then the Sunday service was suspended for a time in consequence of his fight with Julia S. He attempted to renew his meetings in the main cabin, but received a hint that his services would not be acceptable to the occupants of that part of the ship. However, when warm weather returned he preached on the house-top, though to very small audiences, until the perpetration of his treachery with me, which has brought such a load of odium upon him, that he has not dared to attempt to preach since. He has proved an artful and dishonest man, and has exercised a pernicious influence over our weak-minded and ignorant captain, and has been his counsellor, adviser and supporter in nearly all the quarrels in which he has been engaged with his passengers. That his influence in this bark is confined to the captain, a single fact will prove. He some time since got up a certificate for signatures, the purport of which was to plaster over Mrs. L—t's conduct. Not a passenger would sign it.
[CHAPTER XII.]
Head Winds—The Dusky Albatross—Tacking Ship—Fishing for Birds—Amusement of the Mate and Passengers—A Poet—Fair Winds—A Porpoise—A Fight in the Main Cabin—My Journal—Opinions of Mr. Johnson—Meeting in the Main Cabin—Schools of Porpoises—Narrow Escape from Shipwreck—An Act of Charity.
August 24. Our voyage is becoming prolonged to an excessively wearisome duration. More than a month ago we calculated on arriving at San Francisco in ten days; and with a fair wind we could have performed the voyage in that time. Now, after having trebled it, we seem as far from port as ever. During the last fortnight the winds have been blowing from the north-east, and we have sailed sharp on the wind, in expectation of falling in with the north-west trades, which are said to prevail in these latitudes. But we have not yet found them. We are now about nine hundred miles west of the coast of California, and in a latitude only four degrees north of that of San Francisco. We have not seen a sail for six weeks, and we begin to feel that we are