The occurrences of the day, the sunset, the curious formation of the clouds, or the bewitching beauty of a brilliant tropical sky at night, form interesting topics for lively discussion. It is, however, rather daring to institute a comparison between the splendour of the sky in the tropics and that of our higher latitudes. For, most men become more or less unjust towards the beauties of a new and foreign natural scenery, in consequence of their not being able to divest themselves of former impressions produced in them by phenomena of a similar nature. What impressions are, for instance, deeper in young and old, and excite more delightful recollections than the starry sky of home? And can it be disputed that the association of ideas has a most powerful effect upon the impressions made by those phenomena of nature which are so peculiarly attractive and so deeply fixed in the human mind?
The conversation generally becomes more lively on those evenings when the moon, placid friend of the sailor, appears on the distant horizon, shedding her silvery beams over the unbroken expanse of water. The influence which she exercises on the state of the weather, even the prejudices and superstitions connected with our satellite, offer subjects of interesting debate; involuntarily the mariner looks with grateful feelings towards that heavenly luminary, the mild soothing light of which diminishes the number of his anxious nights, protects him in present, warns him of remote dangers, and influences so powerfully that vast element on which he passes the greater part of his life. Indeed he who has ever spent a dark and stormy night on the ocean, when the ship, lashed by the fury of the waves, and borne resistlessly along, stands in constant peril of coming in violent collision with a vessel similarly circumstanced, or of being dashed to pieces on some iron-bound coast of rugged rock, easily comprehends and will excuse the sailor who ascribes to the moonlight somewhat of a supernatural and mysterious power.
In this manner, and notwithstanding the continued sameness, days and months glide away like hours, until we again cast anchor, and only the work accomplished gives an idea of the length of time which has been passed at sea.
Sunday alone breaks the monotony of life on board, when, after the diurnal cleaning of the ship, and the inspection of the crew, the officers, and all the men who are not on duty, assemble for divine service on the lower gun-deck, where the chaplain says mass on a temporary altar, whilst the ship's band performs sacred music. In the afternoon the men off duty amuse themselves for a couple of hours with the "tombola," a game much liked by our sailors. Between 6 and 7 p. m. the band plays on deck, whilst the sailors are cutting grotesque figures to the music. The singular capers by which all evince their happiness; the good-humoured awkwardness with which each clings to the brawny arm of his companion; the mock graceful air those who enact the gentler sex assume in the dance, and, finally, the affected attitude with which the cavaliers bow to their partners as if they really were of the gentler sex—all this is most ludicrous and amusing. The playing the national dance "Monferina" always elicits a particularly hearty reception. There is a peculiar charm in national melodies, even though they awaken no political reminiscences like the Marseillaise, or the Rakoczy; they electrify alike the educated and the men of the people; a thousand pleasing recollections suddenly crowd into the memory, and when the well-known tunes strike the ear, the heart seems to live again in bygone times! As if touched by magic, the sailor from the Adriatic, as soon as the Monferina is struck up, seizes his neighbour by the arm with a noisy shout and hurls him about in wild hilarity; his thoughts seem as if flying towards his distant home, where, in the country inn, with a buxom lass on his shoulder, he has waltzed away many a happy hour. The whole village, with all its familiar faces, seems to revive in his memory during the playing of the melody,—now he fills his glass; now he clinks it merrily with that of his companion; now he presses his sweetheart more closely to his side: Lo! suddenly a shrill whistle pierces the air, the music ceases, the call is heard "to fall in," and the yet dance-stricken sailor, suddenly, as if awakening from a sweet reverie, is once more standing on the deck of the Novara!
The frigate, in the Mediterranean also, maintained her superiority as a sailer. The corvette Caroline was able to keep the prescribed distance from the Novara only by the latter reefing some of her sails. As some magnetic observations were to be made at Gibraltar, and, as we had to ascertain the results of the various chronometers on board, on the 12th of May we signalled the corvette to take her own time and rejoin us at Gibraltar, as we were anxious to avoid unnecessary detention.
The acquisitions of the naturalists had, as yet, been very scanty: to their great annoyance they could not even obtain any of the tortoises, which, from time to time, approached the ship, though they were repeatedly fired at, and on one occasion a boat was launched, in the hope of catching some of them. The specimens which we saw were from fifteen to twenty inches in diameter; they mostly floated quietly on the surface, and seemed sleeping or basking themselves in the sun.
The night of the 16th May was exceedingly boisterous, and almost tangible darkness prevailed; thunder, lightning, and occasionally strong easterly squalls, raged furiously, and only subsided towards the morning, when it cleared up with fresh southerly breezes. Not being far from Cape de Gatt, on the Spanish coast, prudence required us to change course, and, during the continuance of stormy weather, to keep at a respectful distance from the shore. Here a merchantman, apparently an American, bore down so close upon us, that, in the darkness, an unpleasant collision seemed unavoidable. However, we tacked about, and thus, fortunately avoiding our dangerous neighbour, safely proceeded on our course.
It is truly astonishing how often merchantmen, entirely forgetful of their own safety, from want of caution, or presumption, or it would occasionally seem, sheerly from acting upon peculiar and abnormal principles of navigation, wantonly expose ship, men, and cargo to many dangers, which might easily be avoided, particularly in cases where no tacking is required, and only a slight touch of the rudder would suffice to prevent a collision, which is always attended with danger to the smaller ship. In this respect the North Americans are very unpleasant neighbours on account of their national vanity, and the Dutch for their phlegmatic temperament and the indifference they evince on such occasions.
On the 18th of May, the small rocky island of Alboran, in the narrow part of the sea between Africa and Spain, was observed; being flat and without vegetation, it is scarcely perceptible, and the land-fall during the night should be carefully avoided. The erection of a lighthouse on this island would certainly be regarded as a great boon by all who navigate the Mediterranean.
On the 19th of May, the sea suddenly assumed a peculiar orange colour; a dust-like covering was observed on the surface of the water, and at some depth white points might be seen, mingling with each other in the wake of the ship. Clouds of this orange-like matter appeared spread upon the sea, which thereby lost its usual transparency. On closer examination this phenomenon appeared to arise from a mass consisting of myriads of minute animalculæ, which had a yellow opaque kernel, the gelatinous covering of which was transparent and colourless. A quantity of sea-water impregnated with this matter, having been brought into a dark room, gave out a light, and when agitated, such brightness proceeded from it, as justified the anticipation that, during the night, the whole sea would be illuminated. Accordingly the wake of the ship was illuminated by a wonderful stream of light, in the depths of which larger masses of luminous matter could be discerned, whilst on the surface there was a sparkling and glittering, as if all the stars of the firmament were reflected in the water.