Sea to a
great height, and continued until evening, when it gave way to a
tropical shower, which we at home should call a perfect water-spout.
The deck was instantaneously transformed into a lake, while at the
same time the wind had so completely fallen that even the rudder
enjoyed a holiday.
This rain cost me a night's rest, for when I went to take possession
of my berth, I found the bed-clothes drenched through and through,
and was fain to content myself with a wooden bench for a couch.
On the 27th of August we got beyond these hostile latitudes, and
were received by the anxiously desired south-east trade wind, which
hurried us quickly on our voyage.
We were now very near the Equator, and, like all other travellers,
wished very much to see the celebrated constellations of the south.
I myself was most interested in the Southern Cross; and, as I could
not find it among the stars, I begged the captain to point it out to
me. Both he and the first mate, however, said that they had never
heard of it, and the second mate was the only one to whom it did not
appear entirely unknown. With his help, we really did discover in
the spangled firmament four stars, which had something of the form
of a somewhat crooked cross, but were certainly not remarkable in
themselves, nor did they excite the least enthusiasm amongst us. A
most magnificent spectacle was, on the contrary, formed by Orion,
Jupiter, and Venus; the latter, indeed, shone so brilliantly that
her gleams formed a silver furrow across the waves.
The great frequency of falling stars is another fact that I cannot
corroborate. They are, perhaps, more frequent than in cold
climates, but are far from being as common as is said: and as for
their size, I saw only one which surpassed ours; and this appeared
about three times as large as an ordinary star.
For some days also we had now seen the Cape, or Magellan's Clouds,
and also the so-called Black Cloud. The first are bright, and, like
the Milky Way, are formed of numberless small stars, invisible to
the naked eye; the latter presents a black appearance, and is said
to be produced by the absence of all stars whatever from this part
of the heavens.
All these different signs prepared us for the most interesting
moment of our voyage - namely, passing the line.
On the 29th of August, at 10 o'clock P.M., we saluted the southern
hemisphere for the first time. A feeling nearly allied to pride
excited every one, but more especially those who crossed the line
for the first time. We shook each other by the hand, and
congratulated one another mutually, as if we had done some great and
heroic deed. One of the passengers had brought with him a bottle or
two of champagne to celebrate the event: the corks sprang gaily in
the air, and with a joyful "huzza," the health of the new hemisphere
was drunk.
No festivities took place among the crew. This is at present the
case in most vessels, as such amusements seldom end without
drunkenness and disorder. The sailors, however, could not let the
cabin-boy, who passed the line for the first time, go quite scot-
free; so he was well christened in a few buckets of salt water.
Long before passing the line, we passengers had frequently spoken of
all the sufferings and tortures we should be subjected to at the
Equator. Every one had read or heard something exceedingly
horrible, which he duly communicated to all the rest. One expected
headache or colic; a second had pictured to himself the sailors
falling down from exhaustion; a third dreaded such a fearful degree
of heat, that it would not only melt the pitch, {11} but would so
dry up the ship, that nothing but continual throwing water over it
could prevent its catching fire; while a fourth feared that all the
provisions would be spoilt, and ourselves nearly starved to death.
For my own part, I had already congratulated myself on the tragical
stories I should be able to present to my readers; I beheld them
shedding tears at the narration of the sufferings we had
experienced, and I already appeared to myself half a martyr. Alas!
I was sadly deceived. We all remained in perfectly good health; not
a sailor sank exhausted; the ship did not catch fire; and the
provisions were not spoilt - they were just as bad as before.
3rd September. From 2 to 3 degrees South latitude the wind is very
irregular, and frequently excessively violent. Today we passed the
8 degrees South latitude, without seeing land, which put the captain
in the best of humours. He explained to us, that if we had seen
land, we should have been obliged to retrace our course almost to
the line, because the current sets in with such violence towards the
land, that the voyage could only be made at a proper distance.
7th September. Between 10 and 20 degrees South latitude we again
met with very peculiar prevalent winds. They are called vamperos;
and oblige the sailor to be always on his guard, as they spring up
very suddenly, and are often extremely violent. We were overtaken
by one during the night, but, luckily, it was not of the worst kind.
In a few hours it had entirely passed over, but the sea did not
become calm again for a considerable time.
On the 9th and 11th of September, we encountered some short gusts of
the vamperos, the most violent being the last.
12th and 13th of September. The first was termed by the captain
merely "a stiffish breeze;" but the second was entered in the log
{12} as "a storm." The stiffish breeze cost us one sail; the storm,
two.
