United States or United Arab Emirates ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
At noon, we were the length of this island, but there being little wind, the boats were ordered a-head to tow. About one o'clock we hauled close round the southwest end of the island; and the inhabitants of the village which was built upon it, were immediately up in arms.
During his absence, Sir J.B. Warren had arrived with his frigates; and a squadron, consisting of the Pomone, Arethusa, Diamond, Galatea, and Concorde, sailed from Falmouth on the 2nd of January, and arrived off Ushant on the following morning. The Diamond, commanded by Sir Sidney Smith, was sent a-head to reconnoitre, and the squadron followed.
We all have it in our power to make ourselves miserable, if we look far into future years and calculate their probabilities of evil, and steadily anticipate the worst. It is not expedient to calculate too far a-head.
"Under these circumstances, I left my party in camp behind Point Fowler, whilst I proceeded myself, accompanied by a native boy, to examine the country a-head, and I now only detained the WATERWITCH, in the hopes that by penetrating on horseback beyond the head of the Great Bight, I might be able to give his Excellency some idea of our future prospects.
During the course of the night, we came upon one or two wandering patches of drift ice, but so loosely packed that we had no difficulty in pushing through them. About four o'clock in the morning, a long line of close ice was reported right a-head, stretching south as far as the eye could reach. We had come about eighty miles since leaving Spitzbergen.
A light south-easter, to which we could carry a reefed topmast studding-sail, did wonders for our dead reckoning. Friday, December 4th, after a passage of twenty days, we arrived at the mouth of the bay of San Francisco. Our place of destination had been Monterey, but as we were to the northward of it when the wind hauled a-head, we made a fair wind for San Francisco.
No, she would not be hove-to go a-head or go astern she must but stand still she could not. During this harangue, the mystified mariner would look at his commodore, much wondering which of the two was the fool.
Towards evening of that day, he stretched about two leagues a-head of us, and I could not see that he lowered even a topgallant-sail for us to come up with him. I kept standing after him however, till almost a-shore on the breakers, when I had to tack and stand out to sea.
It dived in a moment, and, a few seconds afterwards, came out of the water far a-head, with such a spring, and such a dive back into the sea again, that we could scarcely believe it was not a fish that had leaped in sport. "That beats everything," said Peterkin, rubbing his nose, and screwing up his face with an expression of exasperated amazement.
At last, as she neared it, she forged a-head: my anxiety became almost insupportable. I stood first on one leg, and then on the other, breathless with suspense. She appeared to be on the point actually touching the rocks "God! she's struck!" said I. "No!" replied Swinburne; and then we saw her pass on the other side of the outermost rock, and disappear.
Word Of The Day