When a person has completed his term of apprenticeship, he goes before the admiralty, who suppose a ship to be placed in the worst possible dilemma, and then ask him his plan of extricating her, or the course he would pursue, were he master of it.
If he fails to agree with them, he is sent back to complete his apprenticeship, though they seldom appear the second time, usually hiring out to some other person who may get an appointment.
The pilot-boats are nicely constructed and dance and bound over the wave as fearlessly as the fish of the sea.
We passed the Eddystone lighthouse, which is situated about fourteen miles from the English coast and in one of the most tempestuous places in the known world. Several houses have been built on the same spot and could not withstand the heavy sea. One builder said, on the completion of his work, that the winds might blow and the waves might beat against it, but he should be as safe there as upon the highlands of Scotland. But in a night, he and his works were lost. The present one is built upon the very neck of the rock, and dove-tailed to the rock, and each piece to the other. The lantern is about 90 feet high, and yet the water at times beats over it. Three men are stationed there at a time to avoid all suspicions of ill in the case of a death or any accident which may befall any one of them. At a time when there were only two, one died from some sudden cause, and the other fearful that suspicion would rest upon him, should he throw the body into the sea, kept it many days hoping for an opportunity to have the body examined, and thus remove all grounds of suspicion. The weather was such that no boat could reach him to whom he could communicate his situation, and there he remained "alone with the dead," amid the roaring of the elements, till the stench that arose from the body filled the whole house.
In a short time, before a fine breeze, we were out of sight of land, when we saw a barque standing to the westward apparently in distress, with her masts and bowsprit gone. We ran close to her and hailed them, asking them if in want of any thing. One of the fore-mast hands answered, and said they were in want of bread and water. We offered them bread and told them to come for it. He said all of their boats were gone to Davy Jones' locker, and they could not.
Our boats were lowered away and I went in charge to the ship with a quantity of bread.
Never before had I seen a ship in so bad a condition. The fore-mast was gone by the board, which in its fall killed the mate; the bowsprit by the night-heads; on the larboard side the forecastle was stove in, near the water's edge, and almost every swell would wash overboard. The pumps were kept in constant action. To add wretchedness to the scene, the captain was so drunk that he was obliged to hang on the companion to keep himself from falling. Soon as we were aboard, the captain, intent upon his liquor, asked if we would have some brandy. Some of the crew went with him.
As he came up, I asked him if he did not consider it altogether unsafe to be in such a miserable craft. He replied in an inarticulate manner, "Miserable craft; she's better than all your white pine ships, now," and reeling, fell back on the companion.
We returned to our ship and left him to enjoy his peaceful security, and with a favorable breeze we lost sight of him.