Australian Tales - Setis

merchandise, our joint property; and in the cabin were several hundred
pounds in gold and silver coin, which chiefly belonged to my friend. In
those days the rates of insurance to New Zealand were very high, so we
sailed from Sydney without effecting an insurance on our shipment.
The first part of the voyage passed pleasantly enough: the captain was
an intelligent and sociable young man; our fellow passengers were very
agreeable, and our little party at the table was as united as a home circle.
On the twelfth day out, we rounded the North cape of New Zealand, and
that same night it began to blow hard from the north-east, with thick
weather. Sail was reduced from time to time, as the wind increased; but it
was necessary to keep a press of canvas on the ship, in order to claw off
the shore, which was dead to leeward. The anxiety and discomfort on
board the ship that night can only be comprehended by those who have
been in similar exciting straits. The vessel plunged, and strained, and half
buried herself in the waves, which rose higher and higher, as the wind
increased to a strong gale. I was too anxious to sleep, and as I preferred
the deck to the close cabin, and the companionship of my sea sick friend,
I took my place beneath a tarpaulin in the mizen rigging; and there,
throughout the night, I watched the struggles of the weatherly little bark,
and also watched the faces of the captain and chief mate, which plainly
indicated that their hearts were far from being merry, though they strove,
with becoming manliness, to hide their anxiety from their passengers.
Still I could tell by their frequent glances at the binnacle, their low-toned
conferences, and their endeavours to gaze through the murky darkness to
leeward, that they were conscious of danger. Neither the captain nor his
officers had been to New Zealand before, and their charts could give
them but little reliable information about the coast, which, up to that
time, had not been properly surveyed. They were ignorant, too, of the
currents, and could only guess the extent of our offing, which was less
than five miles.
Some of my readers can perhaps recall to memory a dismal night at
sea, when the wind howled through the rigging of their tempest-tossed
ship; when wave after wave has rolled on to the deck overhead, and the
thunder's roaring has been heard above the noise of the flapping sails.
They can recollect how eagerly they scanned the features of their trusty
captain, as he entered the well-lighted saloon from the deck, with his
oilskin over-clothing dripping with rain and ocean spray; and how much
their troubled hearts were re-assured by the composure of his weatherbeaten
face, or comforted by a few cheerful words from his manly voice,
telling them that “he had made all snug for the night,” or that “he hoped
to see a favourable change soon.” And with what pleasure did they see
him seat himself at the table, and smile as placidly as if he had just been
enjoying a moonlight scene, with a tropical breeze kissing the sparkling
wavelets, instead of having been close reefing topsails and setting storm-