At noon, we
lay becalmed off the lower light-house; and it being about slack
water, we made little progress. A firing was heard in the direction of
Hingham, and the pilot said there was a review there. The Hingham
boy got wind of this, and said if the ship had been twelve hours
sooner, he should have been down among the soldiers, and in the
booths, and having a grand time. As it was, we had little prospect
of getting in before night. About two o'clock a breeze sprang up
ahead, from the westward, and we began beating up against it. A
full-rigged brig was beating in at the same time, and we passed one
another, in our tacks, sometimes one and sometimes the other,
working to windward, as the wind and tide favored or opposed. It was
my trick at the wheel from two till four; and I stood my last helm,
making between nine hundred and a thousand hours which I had spent
at the helms of our two vessels. The tide beginning to set against us,
we made slow work; and the afternoon was nearly spent, before we got
abreast of the inner light. In the meantime, several vessels were
coming down, outward bound; among which, a fine, large ship, with
yards squared, fair wind and fair tide, passed us like a race-horse,
the men running out upon her yards to rig out the studding-sail booms.
Pages:
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643