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It was still dark, when Captain M , having run his distance, shortened sail, and hove-to in the cruising ground which McElvina had recommended; and so correct was the calculation, as well as the information of the captain of the smugglers, that at day-break, as the frigate lay with her head in-shore, with the wind at Nor'-Nor'-West, a large vessel was descried under the land, a little on her weather-bow.
For many days the look-out men at the mastheads were disappointed in their hopes of reporting a strange sail, the chase or capture of which would relieve the monotony of constant sky and water, until, one Sunday forenoon, as Captain M was performing divine service, the man at the masthead hailed the deck with "A strange sail on the weather-bow!"
We had made the high land of Portland about half an hour when the sounds of distant firing were faintly borne to our ears; and shortly afterwards two craft, a cutter and a brig the latter evidently in chase of the former hove into view, broad on our weather-bow.
Never have I found that trust deceive me; and often and often have I been mercifully preserved when I had every reason to believe that my last hour had come. I should remark also that, badly off as I have often fancied myself, I have soon had reason to be thankful that I was not in the condition of others around me. While Peter was speaking, one of the crew sung out, "a sail on the weather-bow!"
The weather, however, was fine, and the ship was sailing very fast, when, about half an hour before sunset, the mast-head man hailed that there was a bulk of timber in sight, broad on the weather-bow. The signalman was sent up, and said it looked like a raft. The captain, who was on deck, levelled his glass at it, and made it out a raft, with a sort of rail to it, and the stump of a mast.
At that precise instant, when the bow-guns, on both sides, began to play, the Carnatic, then nearly in a line with the enemy, made a rank sheer to leeward, and drove on, opening in the very act with her weather-bow guns. It is not to be concealed that M. de Chélincourt was considerably disturbed by this sudden change in his situation.
"'Why how in the world do they ever get but she don't finish the sentence, for the silk man, cotten man, iron man, or trinket man, which ever is nearest, says, 'There is a ship on the lee-bow. He says that because it sounds sailor-like, but it happens to be the weather-bow, and you have seen her an hour before.
The fierce Hydriot advances one step nearer to the captain, and the angry growl of the people goes floating down the wind, but they listen; they waver once more, and once more resolve, then waver again, thus doubtfully hanging between the terrors of the storm and the persuasion of glorious speech, as though it were the Athenian that talked, and Philip of Macedon that thundered on the weather-bow.
"Keep her north-west," added Leopold, as he just saw the ledges whitened with sea foam. He still retained his position on the bowsprit, with his attention fixed upon some point on the weather-bow. "That's it! Dip point!" said he, as he listened to the breakers. "Keep her nor'-nor'-west!"
Now then, thou not only wantest to go a-whaling, to find out by experience what whaling is, but ye also want to go in order to see the world? Was not that what ye said? I thought so. Well then, just step forward there, and take a peep over the weather-bow, and then back to me and tell me what ye see there."
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