She passed out of hail, but we made her
out to be an hermaphrodite brig, with Brazilian colors in her main
rigging. By her course, she must have been bound from Brazil to the
south of Europe, probably Portugal.
Sunday, September 7th. Fell in with the north-east trade-winds. This
morning we caught our first dolphin, which I was very eager to see.
I was disappointed in the colors of this fish when dying. They were
certainly very beautiful, but not equal to what had been said of them.
They are too indistinct. To do the fish justice, there is nothing more
beautiful than the dolphin when swimming a few feet below the surface,
on a bright day. It is the most elegantly formed, and also the
quickest fish, in salt water; and the rays of the sun striking upon
it, in its rapid and changing motions, reflected from the water,
make it look like a stray beam from a rainbow.
This day was spent like all pleasant Sabbaths at sea. The decks
are washed down, the rigging coiled up, and everything put in order;
and throughout the day only one watch is kept on deck at a time. The
men are all dressed in their best white duck trowsers, and red or
checked shirts, and have nothing to do but to make the necessary
changes in the sails.
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