The reading proceeded without much more interruption, except that the honest tars, who had been up the Mediterranean, were not a little puzzled by the strange names of places, and could not imagine what part of the world the saint had got into.
"About midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; and sounded, and found it twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms."
"Egad, I should think they was drawin' nigh to some country pretty thunderin' fast too, when they shoalened their water so quick, from twenty to fifteen faddom."
"Then fearing lest they should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for day."
"Four anchors out of the starn!" shouted the boatswain, "what the h—was that for?"
"Why, you see," said the reader, "they used to bring up by the head or starn in them days—it didn't make a ropeyarn's odds which—they didn't know no better."
"But four anchors out of the starn," continued the man-of-war's man, "why, d—it, the very first sea would onhung the rudder, if she was pitching into it, and knock the whole thunderin' starn-frame into smithareens in a quarter less no time."
"Now you see," said one of the audience, "I've a notion that the craft in them days was built with goose starns, like a Dutch galliot."
"May be," said another, "she had all her anchors stowed aft, to bring her down by the starn."