This,
of course, was a long matter; and all hands were kept on deck at
work for the whole of each day, during the rest of the voyage. Sailors
call this hard usage; but the ship must be in crack order, and
"we're homeward bound" was the answer to everything.
We went on for several days, employed in this way, nothing
remarkable occurring; and, at the latter part of the week, fell in
with the south-east trades, blowing about east-southeast, which
brought them nearly two points abaft our beam. These blew strong and
steady, so that we hardly started a rope, until we were beyond their
latitude. The first day of "all hands," one of those little
incidents occurred, which are nothing in themselves, but are great
matters in the eyes of a ship's company, as they serve to break the
monotony of a voyage, and afford conversation to the crew for days
afterwards. These small matters, too, are often interesting, as they
show the customs and state of feeling on shipboard.
In merchant vessels, the captain gives his orders as to the ship's
work, to the mate, in a general way, and leaves the execution of them,
with the particular ordering, to him.
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