“I mean the watch below. There is nothing so sweet to the foremast mariner as his sleep; for it is the most precarious of all his enjoyments: on the other hand, perhaps, it is the most treacherous companion the Commander knows.”
“And why is the rest of the superior so much less grateful than that of the common man?”
“Because he pillows his head on responsibility.”
“You are young, Mr Wilder, for a trust like this you bear.”
“It is a service which makes us all prematurely old.”
“Then, why not quit it?” said Gertrude, a little hastily.
“Quit it!” he replied, gazing at her intently, for an instant, while he suspended his reply. “It would be to me like quitting the air we breathe.”
“Have you so long been devoted to your profession?” resumed Mrs Wyllys, bending her thoughtful eye, from the ingenuous countenance of her pupil, once more towards the features of him she addressed.
“I have reason to think I was born on the sea.”
“Think! You surely know your birth-place.”