He went up again, but soon gave out and came down, and leaned
over the rail, "as sick as a lady passenger." He had been to sea
several years, and had, he said, never been sick before. He was made
so by the irregular, pitching motion of the vessel, increased by the
height to which he had been above the hull, which is like the
fulcrum of the lever. An old sailor, who was at work on the
top-gallant yard, said he felt disagreeably all the time, and was
glad, when his job was done, to get down into the top, or upon the
deck. Another hand was sent to the royal masthead, who staid nearly an
hour, but gave up. The work must be done, and the mate sent me. I
did very well for some time, but began at length to feel very
unpleasantly, though I had never been sick since the first two days
from Boston, and had been in all sorts of weather and situations.
Still, I kept my place, and did not come down, until I had got through
my work, which was more than two hours. The ship certainly never acted
so badly before. She was pitched and jerked about in all manner of
ways; the sails seeming to have no steadying power over her.
Pages:
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633