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Updated: June 17, 2025
A flash, a spurt of white smoke, curling for a moment from the cruiser's lee-bow, and vanishing in snowy wreaths upon the wind, and the loud report of a gun from the Alabama, summoned the luckless Yankee to heave to. In a moment all was in confusion on board the merchantman.
It happened to be my middle watch, and about three o'clock, when a man upon the forecastle bawls out: "Breakers ahead, and land upon the lee-bow;" I looked out, and it was so sure enough. "Ready about! put the helm down! Helm a lee!" Sir Hyde hearing me put the ship about, jumped upon deck. "Archer, what 's the matter? you are putting the ship about without my orders!"
Marble suggested the prudence of taking time by the forelock, and of getting the main-top-sail on the ship, to force her off the land, the coast in the neighbourhood of Dublin lying under our lee-bow. We had taken the precaution to close-reef everything before it was furled, and I went aloft myself to lower this sail.
"It was the captain's voice, bidding us stay our hands; we obeyed, and looking up we saw him clinging to the rigging, apparently so drunk that he could hardly stand, while away over our lee-bow we could see blue sky and fair weather, and it seemed that in less than ten minutes from the time the hurricane was at its height, the wind had chopped around in shore, and was gently wafting us away from danger, and out into deep water again.
When we next got a sight of them the third alternative seemed to be their intention, for, so far as we could discover, they had started neither tack nor sheet; we therefore proceeded to edge down very cautiously and very gradually toward her, keeping her about a point on our lee-bow.
Point du Raz was now about three miles distant and bore about a point, or maybe a trifle more on the lee-bow, with the surf breaking furiously upon the reef which projected beyond it, while the leeward extremity of the reef jutting out from the easternmost extremity of the Isle de Seins lay dead ahead, smothered in boiling surf, the passage between the two reefs now looking alarmingly narrow.
Accordingly, having sighted Ushant broad on the lee-bow, and some ten miles distant, at eight o'clock on a certain morning, with the wind out at about North-West, we stood on until we had brought the island well over our lee quarter, when the helm was shifted, the ship kept away a couple of points, a small pull taken upon the weather braces, and away we went booming into the Bay of Biscay, heading toward Cape Finisterre.
He sleeps as soundly as if we were in harbour, when most other first lieutenants would have been up and down fifty times to ascertain that all was going right, and not have slept a wink. Take a leaf out of his book, Morton it's what I am doing, and intend continuing to do." "Land on the lee-bow!" cried one of the looks-out forward.
When we are better acquainted, I suppose we shall have the truth from you. I see the land on the lee-bow we shall be into Cherbourg in an hour, when I expect we shall come to a better understanding."
A short confab between the Captain and Mr Howard ensued upon the communication of this bit of information; then the skipper hailed: "How do they bear, now, Mr Delamere? Do they seem to be drawing out athwart our hawse at all?" "They bear about two and a half points on our lee-bow, at this moment, sir," I replied.
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