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Article PENCILLINGS FBOM THE SKETCH-BOOK OF A MA... ← Page 10 of 13 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Pencillings Fbom The Sketch-Book Of A Ma...
several inches , and the barometer stood as low as 28 2-10 ths . Many wretched hounds , pigs , sheep , and poultry died by reason of the severity of the weather . With regard to holding on to the dinnertable , in a storm , I have heard a story , which I believe is authentic , of a vessel bound to India . A large party were seated at the meal ,
the vessel much on one side ; the electing of the table , to which the entire party were trusting for support , gave way on occasion of a sudden lurch ; and , shocking to relate , the table , at the leeward end of which the chief mate was at the time sitting , with its superadded weight of persons , slid down upon the unfortunate man , almost cutting him through the middle , and of course killing him on the spot .
Circumstances obliged us to steer so far to the southward as to bring us within sight of the island of Amsterdam . On the 6 th of "February we caught a fine albatross : it had a beautiful white and pink bill , brown back and breast was white-coloured under the wing , and web-footed . It was very vicious when touched , and seemed quite out of its element when introduced into human society . The
noise it made resembled the lowing of a calf , and with its wings expanded it measured ten feet two inches . Having amused ourselves wdth witnessing its evolutions on deck for an hour , we gave the bird its freedom , and away it flew , settling down at some distance , and floating at its ease on the sea ' s surface . The appearance of this magnificent creature on the water is swan-like , graceful , and stately
m the extreme . On the 20 th of this month , when in longitude 79 ° 38 ' east , and latitude 31 ° 21 ' south , a curious phenomenon was presented to our vision . The sun shone brightly , the moon at the same time being almost vertical , when close to the latter a planet was observable by the naked eye , and this we saw for three days consecutively .
By the 13 th of March we had the first unmistakeable evidences of approaching Hindostan , in a piece of cocoanut-tree drifting past us . The following day we took a blue shark , which must have been engaged in some late encounter , for it had been severely bitten on one side of its body : and hereabouts , too , we saw several whales .
Ou the evening of the 17 th , land was in sight . The island of Ceylon , with the mountain called the Friar ' s Hood , in the distant interior , was distinctly visible- At several miles from land the aspect of the shore is very peculiar ; for being marked at intervals by a long line of cocoanut-trees , till examined with the
telescope , a novice might fancy them to be a fleet of ships in the roadstead , with bare masts . We had now to tack ship to the eastward and commence sounding in thirteen fathoms and a half of water , the bottom being composed of fine black sand and broken shells . On approaching the Coromandel coast the precaution of heaving the lead is important , for the depth changes suddenly . A man therefore is kept constantly in the chains for this purpose . As it gradually becomes more shallow , some little excitement is created by hearing the leadsman proclaim , in his deep and sonorous
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Pencillings Fbom The Sketch-Book Of A Ma...
several inches , and the barometer stood as low as 28 2-10 ths . Many wretched hounds , pigs , sheep , and poultry died by reason of the severity of the weather . With regard to holding on to the dinnertable , in a storm , I have heard a story , which I believe is authentic , of a vessel bound to India . A large party were seated at the meal ,
the vessel much on one side ; the electing of the table , to which the entire party were trusting for support , gave way on occasion of a sudden lurch ; and , shocking to relate , the table , at the leeward end of which the chief mate was at the time sitting , with its superadded weight of persons , slid down upon the unfortunate man , almost cutting him through the middle , and of course killing him on the spot .
Circumstances obliged us to steer so far to the southward as to bring us within sight of the island of Amsterdam . On the 6 th of "February we caught a fine albatross : it had a beautiful white and pink bill , brown back and breast was white-coloured under the wing , and web-footed . It was very vicious when touched , and seemed quite out of its element when introduced into human society . The
noise it made resembled the lowing of a calf , and with its wings expanded it measured ten feet two inches . Having amused ourselves wdth witnessing its evolutions on deck for an hour , we gave the bird its freedom , and away it flew , settling down at some distance , and floating at its ease on the sea ' s surface . The appearance of this magnificent creature on the water is swan-like , graceful , and stately
m the extreme . On the 20 th of this month , when in longitude 79 ° 38 ' east , and latitude 31 ° 21 ' south , a curious phenomenon was presented to our vision . The sun shone brightly , the moon at the same time being almost vertical , when close to the latter a planet was observable by the naked eye , and this we saw for three days consecutively .
By the 13 th of March we had the first unmistakeable evidences of approaching Hindostan , in a piece of cocoanut-tree drifting past us . The following day we took a blue shark , which must have been engaged in some late encounter , for it had been severely bitten on one side of its body : and hereabouts , too , we saw several whales .
Ou the evening of the 17 th , land was in sight . The island of Ceylon , with the mountain called the Friar ' s Hood , in the distant interior , was distinctly visible- At several miles from land the aspect of the shore is very peculiar ; for being marked at intervals by a long line of cocoanut-trees , till examined with the
telescope , a novice might fancy them to be a fleet of ships in the roadstead , with bare masts . We had now to tack ship to the eastward and commence sounding in thirteen fathoms and a half of water , the bottom being composed of fine black sand and broken shells . On approaching the Coromandel coast the precaution of heaving the lead is important , for the depth changes suddenly . A man therefore is kept constantly in the chains for this purpose . As it gradually becomes more shallow , some little excitement is created by hearing the leadsman proclaim , in his deep and sonorous