The _Triton_ was a well-found, well-officered, and well-manned ship.
Still, on first getting to sea, there appeared to be a considerable
amount of disorder, and the crew were incessantly employed in stowing
away the last stores which had come on board, and in getting everything
into its right place. This gave me a feeling that I was not in my right
place, for no one had a moment to attend to me, and to tell me what to
do; and had it not been for Gerard, I should have felt not a little
miserable. He was as active as any one, and seemed to be thoroughly up
to his duty. He did, however, find time to speak to me.
"I'll tell you what to do, Harry," said he; "just keep out of the way,
and look on. You'll learn more in that manner just now than in any
other. You'll have plenty of time to get up your seamanship by-and-by."
I followed his advice to great advantage. The first manoeuvre I saw
performed on board was when, having got clear of all the shoals and
dangers at the mouth of the Mersey, we shortened sail to allow the pilot
to enter his boat, and the last person we were to see for many a day
connected with home took his departure. He shook hands with the captain
and mates, and wished us a good voyage and speedy return. I watched the
boat as it proceeded towards the pilot-cutter with a curious feeling of
interest. I was aroused by Gerard, who asked me why I was so
sentimental. He saw nothing in a pilot-boat leaving the ship. The last
I saw of our native land were the lofty cliffs of Wales. I came on deck
early in the morning; and, as I looked out aft, they appeared receding
fast on the larboard-quarter, across the bright blue sea. Turning
round, my somewhat bewildered glance next wandered upwards, and there I
beheld, with unrestrained admiration, the wide spread of white canvas
which hung extended on the yards, high, high up in the blue sky, like a
vast mass of snowy cloud. It looked to me as if there was enough sail
to fly away with the whole ship and her cargo; for, the breeze being
light and fair, we had all our courses, and topsails, and
topgallant-sails, and royals set with studding-sails also on either
side, almost sweeping the sparkling waters which danced off from the
_Triton's_ sharp bows as she clove her stately yet rapid way through the
ocean. Captain Frankland was anxious to take every advantage of the
favourable wind, that we might get a good distance from the land, and
thus not run the chance of being driven back again, and be compelled, as
is often the case with outward-bound ships, to take shelter in that
magnificent harbour--Milford Haven, or in the still more lovely one of
Queenstown, on the Irish coast. Away we flew, every day going faster
and faster as the breeze freshened.
"Not a brace, nor a tack, nor a sheet did we slack" on board of the
gallant _Triton_ for a whole week; and then it fell calm, and we lay
washing our sides up to the scuppers in the pure waters of the Atlantic.
During this time everything was got to rights, and I began to find my
way about every part of the ship, and to learn the names of the spars,
and ropes, and sails. Gerard very soon dared me to go aloft; of course
I was nothing loath.
"Follow me, then, youngster!" said he; and with a wicked look, up he
went the main rigging. I ascended readily enough, intending to go
through the lubbers' hole, as the opening in the top is called through
which the lower shrouds lead. This way is quite allowable for a
landsman; but Jerry, having no fear of my breaking my neck before his
eyes, led the way by the futtock-shroud; and, as he quickly stood up in
the top, I saw his face grinning over me while I hung with my back over
the ocean, very doubtful whether I could climb round so as to get hold
of the topmast-shrouds.
"Don't let your feet go till you have got a firm grip of this rope
here," said he, touching the shroud. I clutched hold of it: then up I
slipped my other hand, and, drawing up my knees, soon had them on the
combing of the top, and found myself standing alongside my companion. I
should have liked to have stopped to take breath and look about me; but,
before I could utter a word, he was off again, up the topmast-rigging,
with the agility of a monkey, and laughingly sung out to me to join him
on the cross-trees. I thought he would surely rest there, but away he
was again, nor did he stop till he had got hold of the main-truck; and,
as he clung on with his chin over it, he took off his cap and waved it
round his head. My blood was warmed with the exercise and the
excitement, and I was close after him. The moment he was down I took
his place, and did the same thing; but I had to be quick in following
him, not to miss the way he was leading. Down he slid by the
main-topmast-stay, and in an instant more he was climbing the
fore-topmast rigging. He waited for me, however, and waved me on. I
did not remark that two seamen, the oldest hands on board, were at the
same time deliberately mounting the fore-shrouds. Just as I reached the
fore-topmast cross-trees, they were up to me.
"You han't paid your footing up here, young master," said one, old Ben
Yool by name. He spoke in a gruff voice, as if he had not a soft
particle in his whole composition.
"You know what that means, master?" added the other, Charlie Cockle, as
he was called, imitating him.
"I don't know what you want, but I know that you are two to one, which
isn't fair, at all events; and, do you see, I am not accustomed to give
in to threats," said I, and endeavoured to climb away from them, not
knowing exactly where I was going.
The midge caught in a web might as well attempt to escape from a hungry
spider. They caught me in a moment; and, without further ceremony,
stretching out my arms and legs, lashed them to the topmast-rigging,
making what is called a spread eagle of me. It was very humiliating,
though my position was thus exalted, and very unromantic; and the rogue
Jerry aggravated my feelings by pretending to pity me, though I guessed
even then that he had arranged the plan beforehand with Yool and Cockle
thus to entrap me. The seamen had descended towards the deck, leaving
me bound in this ignominious manner. Jerry came and placed himself in
the rigging opposite to me.
"It must be very unpleasant!" quoth he. "I wonder what they would say
if I was to let you loose?"
"I wish you would," I answered. "It's a great shame, and I don't like
it."
"But I dare not," he replied, putting on a pretended serious face,
though he could not hide the twinkle of his laughing eyes; "they are
such precious fierce fellows. But don't you think that you might buy
yourself off? I'll see if I can arrange the matter with them."
I saw that there would be no use contending against my tormentor, and I
was more hurt than I choose to acknowledge; so I wisely agreed to pay
any moderate sum to be released. The arrangement was soon made; and
Yool and Cockle, having unlashed my limbs, begged my pardon, and
complimented me on the daring and agility I had displayed on this my
first climb aloft.
This adventure, as I took the treatment I received good humouredly, made
me capital friends with all the seamen, and I found that there were not
kinder-hearted or better men on board than Yool and Cockle. I observed
that Jerry took the opportunity when his father was below to play off
the tricks imagined by his fertile brain, though he was sometimes
discovered and reprimanded; but he put on so penitent an expression, and
had such comical excuses to offer, that Captain Frankland saw that it
would be worse than useless to punish him. Indeed, punishment would
scarcely have corrected such faults as he had. Gerard, from being
small, and having delicate features, though they were full of rich
humour, looked younger than I did; but he was in reality older, and had
much more experience of the world. His constitution was considered
delicate, which was the reason his father took him to sea at first; but
now he liked the life so much, he told me, that he had resolved to
follow it as a profession. We both of us slept in a cabin which we had
to ourselves, near the captain's. Gerard was learning navigation; and
Captain Frankland told me that I must study hard to catch him up, so
that we might work together. He superintended our studies; but Silas
Brand was our chief master, and somehow or other, in his quiet way, he
managed to impart a considerable amount of information in a pleasant and
rapid manner. It appeared to me that he always said the right thing at
the right time, so as to impress it on the memory. Our first officer,
John Renshaw, was a very worthy man, but totally unlike my Cousin Silas.
He was tall and thin, and had a long weather-beaten, rather
melancholy-looking face. Not that he was melancholy; the form of his
features made him look so. It is better, however, to look melancholy
than to have facetious features, which always appear to be on a broad
grin. A strong contrast to both of them was found in our third officer,
Samuel Melgrove. He was a man with strongly-marked, rather coarse
features, with red hair and complexion. One might have expected to hear
only the roughest tones come out of such a mouth as he possessed; but,
instead, he spoke in a soft, somewhat mincing manner, and prided himself
on his gentlemanly style and volubility. He could, however, speak loud
and rough enough in case of necessity. If called on suddenly to shorten
sail, no one could make himself better heard. The mates on board a
merchantman have the same sort of duty as the lieutenants of a
man-of-war, with the addition of having to attend to the stowing of the
cargo and stores. We had also a surgeon, who was a good naturalist and
a very scientific man--Mr David McRitchie. He evidently at first
looked with very grave suspicion on Gerard and me, as if we were only
waiting our opportunity to play him some trick; and when he left his
cabin he always locked the door, lest we should get in and do some
mischief; but such an idea was, I must say, very far from my thoughts,
and even Gerard respected him too much to wish to annoy him. How to
convince him of this seemed a difficulty. Gerard undertook to assure
him.
"Mr McRitchie," said he one day abruptly to him, "I daresay that you
think me a young jackanapes, whose only thought is how he can do most
harm in the world. Now, sir, you are mistaken; all I want is that you
will impart some of your knowledge to Harry and me; but, understand,
whether you do that or not, Harry and I will make it a point of honour
not to do you any injury by word, look, or deed."
"Oh, I never--Well, well, you are good boys, and I perfectly trust you,"
stuttered out the doctor, completely taken by surprise. "I shall be
glad, too, to give you all the information in my power; and I hope, in
the course of the voyage, we may have many interesting subjects to see
and talk about." I was sure that Mr McRitchie would faithfully keep
his word.
We had three other somewhat important personages on board who were
characters in their way--Richard Fleming the boatswain, James Pincott
the carpenter, and Thomas Veal the captain's steward. They each had
their peculiarities; but I will not stop now to describe them. We had
twenty men forward, all picked hands; for, with the long voyage we
contemplated, and the service we were on, it was necessary to be
strongly manned. I must not omit a description of the _Triton_ herself.
She had a raised poop, beneath which were situated the chief cabins,
and a forecastle, under which the crew lived in two compartments, one on
either side of it. There was also a caboose, or galley, with a great
cooking-range, and, indeed, every convenience the men could desire. We
carried eight guns--9-pounders--for we were going into seas where it
would be necessary to be well-armed, and constantly on our guard against
treachery; and we were also amply supplied with boats, which, I may
remark, were always kept in good order, and ready for instant use. I
was surprised one day during a calm, before we had been long at sea, to
hear the order given to lower boats when there was no ship in sight, and
apparently no reason for it. So were those of the crew who had not
before sailed with Captain Frankland. They, however, flew to obey the
order, and, in a short time, three boats were manned and in the water.
They were then hoisted in again, and stowed.
"Very well," said the captain, holding his watch in his hand. "Smartly
done, my lads; but another time, I think, we may do it still quicker."
Some of the men, of course, grumbled, as I have found out that some
people will grumble when any new system is introduced, the object of
which they do not understand. The loudest grumbler at anything new
introduced on board was old Fleming the boatswain. He called himself a
Conservative, or, rather, a Tory, and strongly opposed all change.
"None of your newfangled notions for me," he used to observe; "I like
things as they were. Do you think our fathers would have all along been
satisfied with them if they hadn't been good? I look upon it as
disrespectful to their memory to wish to have them changed, as if we
thought ourselves so much wiser and better than they were."
Gerard and I were fond of going forward to the forecastle, where, in
fine weather, in an evening, he always took his seat with his pipe in
his mouth.
"By the same rule it was wrong to introduce the compass or the
steam-engine; former generations had done very well without them; yet
how should we, on a dark night, have managed to steer across the ocean
as we do, or how could people manage to get about the world as rapidly
as they find necessary for their business or pleasure?"
Gerard thought that this remark would be a poser for the boatswain; but
old Fleming was not so easily defeated.
"As to the matter of the compass, do you see, that's what I call an
exception to the general rule," he answered, with a serious look. "But
as for the railways and steam-engines, and all those sort of things
afloat or ashore, to my mind the world would be altogether much better
without them. It's necessary for sailors to go about, that's granted;
but the rest of the world would be very much better staying at home and
minding their own business. What I preach I practise; and when I leaves
home I says to my missus, says I, `Now mind, Molly, don't you be going
gadding about till I comes back to look after you;' and she'd no more
think of going outside the street-door, except when she goes to church
or a-marketing, than she'd try to fly, and that would be no easy matter
for her, seeing that she weighs thirteen stone at least."
Such is a specimen of old Fleming's style of conversation. Gerard and I
used to be much amused while listening to him, though we did not fail to
make the most of his remarks while repeating them to the mates. James
Pincott the carpenter, on the contrary, was a great reformer. No
invention was too new to suit his taste. Whenever he heard of any
discovery, he could not be contented till he saw it introduced. We
often tried to get the two together, and very soon managed to throw an
apple of discord between them. Pincott occupied much of his thoughts
about a flying-machine, which no failure had taught him to believe could
not be made to work.
"I'll tell you what, mate, there's just this difference between you and
me in this matter," I heard Fleming remark; "you says a flying-machine
can be made; so do I. You may make fifty flying-machines, or a hundred,
or five hundred for that matter, all different, and with all sorts of
wheels, and cogs, and what not, which nobody can understand; but when
they are made, what I have to ask you, mate, is, will they fly? It's
there you and I differ."
Having thus delivered himself, Fleming drew himself up with a triumphant
look at his adversary. Now, Pincott was a very quiet man with all his
eccentricities, so he merely answered--
"It will be enough for me if one can be made to fly. That's all I argue
for."
"It never has been done yet, and, to my mind, never will," answered
Fleming, sturdily; "though I have heard of a man who made his son put on
a pair of wings which he had fabricated, and shoved him off the top of a
high wall, and when the lad, as was to be expected, reached the ground,
he broke his leg."
This was a story told of Pincott, who, however, on all occasions stoutly
denied that he was the culprit. Another story against Pincott was, that
when first iron vessels were introduced, he declared that it was
impossible they could swim. "No, no," it was said he said, "birds can
fly, so I don't see why men shouldn't; but iron always has sunk, and, to
my mind, it always will sink." Fleming, who told the story, used to
wind up with the remark, "But then you see, mate, there's no rule
without an exception." As these disputes never led to any disagreeable
consequences, they served to beguile away many a weary hour at sea. But
I have said enough to describe the character of our inferior officers.
They were both thoroughly good seamen and steady men.
We had hitherto had little else than sunshine and light winds, so that
my introduction to a sea life was most favourable. Gloriously rose the
sun over the blue sparkling waters, when, on coming on deck, I found the
ship steering south-west, and standing in for the Bay of Funchal in the
lofty island of Madeira. On one side of us were the Desertas--rocks
which Gerard told me gravely were so-called because they had once
belonged to the mainland, and were now making the best of their way off
to Africa; but the doctor differed with him, and observed that they
obtained their name from being desert or barren rocks, especially
compared with the fertile island near which they are placed. Lovely as
is the interior of our dear old country, few parts of its shores are
attractive; and as this was the first land we had made after leaving
home, it seemed doubly beautiful. It appeared, as it rose before us,
like one vast mountain extending from east to west, with a bay in the
centre, and covered in the richest profusion with beautiful trees of
many different sorts, among which, I afterwards found, are the cedar,
chestnut, orange, lemon, fig, citron, the vine, the olive, the mulberry,
banana, and pomegranate, while generous nature sprinkles with no lavish
hand the myrtle, the geranium, the rose, and the violet in every open
space. The geranium especially grows in vast quantities; its scent is
most powerful, and the honey which we got in the island was strongly
flavoured with it. But I forgot; we are not on shore yet. How bright,
and beautiful, and rich, and fertile, and romantic everything looked!
What charming white-washed cottages! What lovely villas, surrounded by
gardens filled with flowers of every hue! What a pretty town stretching
away round the shores of the bay! How clean, and neat, and comfortable
all the dwellings! and how grand the churches and public buildings.
Gerard and I agreed that we should like to come back there some day
after we had done our wanderings, and take up our abode for the rest of
our days.
"Stay till you have been on shore and seen the inside as well as the
outside of things," observed Cousin Silas, who had overheard us. We
thought he was in what we used to call one of his grumpy humours, and
did not heed him. We sailed on, and dropped our anchor opposite to the
city of Funchal. A health-boat came off, but as no one was sick on
board, the people in her did not trouble us much. When she went away,
we were surrounded with other boats pulled by swarthy, muscular, little
men with gay caps and sashes, and white shirt sleeves, who bawled, and
hallooed, and jabbered, in the vain hope of making us comprehend what
they said. We shouted and hallooed in return, as if each party were
deaf; and it was not till after a considerable expenditure of breath,
that we discovered that we did not understand a word of each other's
language; so at last we took to making signs, by which means we got on
much better. There was no great difficulty in this, as they had an
abundance of fruit to sell, which we were equally anxious to buy.
The captain had, I found, touched here chiefly to get a supply of fruit,
vegetables, fresh meat, and water, as he knew that the health of a crew
is maintained without difficulty when there is an abundance of these
necessaries. He had also another reason for coming here. It was to
obtain information, which the Portuguese authorities were able to
supply, regarding certain places he proposed visiting. As, however, the
whole plan of our proceedings was to be kept secret, I will not touch on
that subject. Gerard and I were all anxiety to go on shore, so the
captain gave us leave to accompany Mr Brand, with strict charges to him
to keep us out of mischief. "Not an easy job!" muttered Silas,
preparing to accompany us into a boat. For the first time in my life I
stood on foreign soil, and very soon I was undeceived as to the
cleanliness, and comfort, and beauty of the habitations; and many a
house which looked so very picturesque at a distance was found, on a
nearer inspection, to be a very dirty domicile. Still the views from
them were beautiful. Nature has done everything; it is graceless man
who is in fault that all is not in accordance with it. At the corner of
one of the streets we saw a number of horses, and mules, and donkeys,
standing together with their attendant drivers--_arrieros_.
"Wouldn't you like a ride, Mr Brand?" exclaimed Gerard, looking towards
them. He had not to look twice before the whole _posse commitatus_ of
men and boys rushed forward, and seizing us _vi et armis_, carried us
off in triumph towards their sorry-looking beasts. Which party would
have us seemed a question. Who ever heard of sailors who didn't want to
ride? Ride we must; but as there were thirty or more beasts, and only
three of us, it was difficult to say which of them should have the
honour of carrying us. The _arrieros_ got one of Cousin Silas's legs
put on the back of a horse, and another on that of a mule, while a
little wicked donkey began kicking and plunging directly under him. At
last he sprang on to the back of the horse, and Gerard and I found
ourselves somehow or other on the saddles of two mules, when their
respective owners, catching hold of their long tails, and giving them a
prong with their iron-pointed sticks, away we started from out of the
crowd, who all hallooed and shouted after us, till we had shot some way
up one of the steep rocky heights over which the bridle-paths of the
island lead. "Arra burra--arra, arra, arra!" sung out the crowd.
"Arra, arra, arra!" repeated our _arrieros_, goading the unfortunate
animals with their sticks--"Arra, sish, sish!" It is hopeless to
imitate the sounds emitted by our drivers. Up we shot like pellets from
popguns, through the narrow rock-strewn gorges which are called roads.
Up, up, up the animals scrambled. They seemed to enjoy the fun, or,
perhaps, wiser than men, they felt a pleasure in performing their daily
duty. We, too, enjoyed the magnificent views we got over vineyards, and
fields, and orange-groves, and olive-plantations, with often deep
precipices below us, and the blue sparkling sea in the distance. We
passed several buildings, once convents and nunneries; but when the
constitutional government was established in Portugal, the monks were
turned out of their habitations to gain an honest livelihood as best
they could, though the nuns were in some instances allowed to remain in
their abodes, on condition of their admitting no fresh novices. Thus,
by this time the greater number of professed nuns are old women. They
employ themselves in fabricating artificial flowers of shells and
feathers, baskets and ornaments of various sorts, as well as in making
dried fruits and sweetmeats. As Cousin Silas observed, it might have
appeared hard to turn the poor monks adrift in the world; but as ill
weeds grow apace, it was necessary to eradicate them, lest a fresh crop
should spring up where they had for so long taken root.
We dined with an English merchant, an old friend of Captain Frankland's,
who treated us most sumptuously. He told us of a curious disease which
had lately attacked the vines, and which he feared would ultimately
destroy them. The grapes growing on the diseased vines, instead of
ripening, wither up and rot. He said that he had urged the inhabitants
of the island not to depend solely on their vines, but to endeavour to
produce other articles for which their soil and climate was especially
suited. Among other things he introduced the mulberry-tree, by the
cultivation of which large numbers of the silk-worm might be bred, and
silk in great quantities exported. Under the present system, when the
vines fail, as the people do not grow sufficient corn in the island for
their support, they are at once reduced to a state of famine. But I
must not prolong my description of Madeira. It is a very lovely island,
and has a very delicious climate, and produces all sorts of nice fruits;
and though the inhabitants have rather a fancy for being dirty, the
English residents set them a better example, and have introduced
comforts and conveniences which make the country a very pleasant abode.
The island is about thirty-seven miles in length by eleven in breadth,
and contains perhaps 60,000 inhabitants.
Again sail was made on the ship, and away we glided over the smooth
ocean with a north-easterly breeze, passing within two miles of the
island of Palma, one of the Canaries, or Fortunate Islands, which belong
to Spain. The appearance, as we eyed it from the ship, was most
attractive; but Silas, who had been on shore there, told us that through
the misgovernment of the upper classes, and the slothfulness of the
lower, the land does not produce nearly what it might be made to do,
while the people remain in a poor and backward condition. Before sunset
the same day we saw the island of Ferro, the most western of the group.
Before the discovery of America, this was looked on as the extreme
western limits of the habitable world, and till very lately some
navigators calculated their first meridian from thence. There are
thirteen islands in the group, which produce corn, silk, tobacco, sugar,
and the wine which was so long known under their name. We caught about
here the regular north-east trade-wind; away we went before it as
steadily and majestically as a swan glides over his native lake. I hope
every reader of my adventures will look at the map, and see whereabouts
the places I mention are situated, or they will find some difficulty in
clearly comprehending my descriptions.
We had, I thought, been a long time at sea without meeting with anything
very amusing.
"I say, Jerry, when are we to fall in with all the wonderful adventures
you told me of?" I asked one day, as we were walking the deck together.
"You would meet with plenty of wonders if you would but keep your eyes
open to see them," observed Cousin Silas, who overheard my observation.
The reply, however, did not quite satisfy me; nothing like a gale or bad
weather had occurred, and I began to suspect that we had already had a
sample of the sort of life we were always to undergo at sea.
"Hillo!" exclaimed Jerry soon after this, "what has come over the air, I
wonder? Why, we have got into a regular red fog. What has caused it,
Mr Brand; can you tell me?"
"No, indeed, I cannot," answered Silas. "I've met with it more than
once. It is a very curious phenomenon."
"They do say it comes off from the coast of Africa," remarked Ben Yool,
who was at the wheel, and from his age privileged to speak on such a
matter. "It's full of red sand, and I've seen it covering the decks in
some parts as if a man had been scraping a red holystone over them."
We were still discussing the subject, when Captain Frankland came on
deck. He listened for some time to what we were saying.
"I am glad to hear you discuss the subject, my lads," he remarked in a
kind voice. "Though you are wrong in your conjectures, if you will
attend, I will try and explain what I know about the matter. It is a
very important one, for by means of this dust--for dust it is--which
fills the air, philosophers have been able to determine in part the
difficult problem of the track of the winds in their circuits. How is
this? you will say. Dust coming from one place surely cannot be
distinguishable from dust coming from another. To the ignorant man it
is not, but to the man of science it is. There are certain minute
animal productions called infusoria and organisms peculiar to each
portion of the globe. The expression is, the habitat of such infusoria
is such or such a place. These infusoria can only be distinguished by a
most powerful microscope. Professor Ehrenberg, who has devoted his
attention to the subject, has examined specimens of the dust which is
now falling on our decks. He found it composed of dry infusoria, the
forms of which are found not on an African desert, but in the south-east
trade-wind regions of South America."
"South America, father!" exclaimed Jerry, pointing with his hand to the
south-west. "How can those clouds of red dust come all the way out here
in the teeth of the north-east trade-wind?"
"What becomes of the north-east trade-wind when it reaches the end of
its journey, and where is that end think you, my boy?" asked Captain
Frankland. Jerry looked puzzled, and I had not a notion to give forth
on the subject. "I will try and explain the matter; but when you can
obtain a work, written by Lieutenant Maury, of the American navy, you
will comprehend the subject much better," said Captain Frankland.
"There are three calm regions or belts surrounding the globe--one under
the equator, and one in each hemisphere, under the tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn, which you have heard spoken of as the horse latitudes.
Between these two belts blow the north-east and south-east trade-winds,
meeting at the equatorial belt. Now, when they get there, instead of
causing a whirlwind, the excessive heat causes the particles of which
they are composed to expand and rise, gradually producing a calm. After
rising a certain height, they again commence moving round the globe.
Which course they took it was difficult to say, till we find these
clouds of red dust carried along in an upper region of the atmosphere
from south-west to north-east; for not only are they found here, but up
the Mediterranean and across Switzerland. They are raised into the
atmosphere probably by whirlwinds which occur during the vernal equinox,
which is the dry season, from the valley of the lower Orinoco. Thus,
had a label been attached to each particle of which the wind is
composed, to show whence it came, the problem could not have been more
perfectly solved."
While the captain was speaking, Mr McRitchie came on deck, and
collected in sheets of paper a quantity of the red dust. "It will be
prized by some of my scientific friends at home," he observed; "and even
the unscientific may value a substance which has travelled half round
the globe high up in the atmosphere."
"There is another substance, doctor, which travels farther, and is of
much greater use to man; and yet how little he troubles his head to
consider where it comes from," remarked the captain.
"What do you mean, sir?" asked the doctor, a little puzzled I thought.
"Water," answered Captain Frankland. "Remember those dense fogs, like
wet blankets, which so continually rise in those calm regions to the
south of us; they are caused by vapours rising from the sea, and leaving
its salt behind. This vapour must go somewhere, and it certainly does
not fall in any place near the region where it is drawn up. See the
beautiful provision of Nature to supply with fertilising moisture the
many districts of the earth! This damp vapour, of which we shall
by-and-by have a specimen, rises into the upper regions of the air, and
is there wafted steadily on till it reaches the northern portion of the
globe. It is raised by the powerful rays of the sun during the southern
summer, and with it a considerable amount of heat is carried off which
remains latent. When it reaches the far colder atmosphere of the north,
it is formed into clouds, and condensed, and then precipitated in rain.
In the southern hemisphere there is, as you know, a larger proportion of
sea than in that of the north; and thus it serves as a reservoir to
supply those spots which would otherwise be arid deserts, with an
abundant supply of the chief necessary of life. The whole of nature is
full of similar beautiful arrangements for making the globe a convenient
habitation for man, clearly to be perceived if men would but open their
eyes to behold them."