The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

54 THE BOY TRAVELLERS.
four o'clock is "eight bells." Eight o'clock, noon, and midnight are also
signalled by eight strokes on the bell, and after a little while a traveller
accustoms himself to the new mode of keeping time.
Fred remembered that when they left San Francisco at noon, the bell
struck eight times, instead of twelve, as he thought it should have struck.
The Doctor's explanation made it clear to him.
The second day out the boys began to repeat all the poetry they could
remember about the sea, and were surprised at the stock they had on hand.
Fred recalled something he had read in IIarj)er^s Magazine, which ran as
follows
:
"Far upon the unknown deep,
'Mid the billows circling round,
Where the tireless sea-birds sweep
Outward bound.
Nothing but a speck we seem,
In the waste of waters round,
Floating, iioating like a dream ;
Outward bound."
Frank was less sentimental, and repeated these lines
"Two things break the monotony
Of a great ocean trip
Sometimes, alas ! you ship a sea,
And sometimes see a ship."
Then they called upon the Doctor for a contribution, original or select-
ed, with this result
:
" The praises of the ocean grand,
'Tis very well to sing on land.
'Tis \ery fine to hear them carolled
By Thomas Campbell or Childe Harold ;
But sad, indeed, to see that ocean
From east to west in wild commotion."
The wind had been freshening since noon, and the rolling motion of
the ship was not altogether agreeable to the inexperienced boys. They
were about to have their first accpuaintance with sea-sickness ; and though
they held on ixianfully and remained on deck through the afternoon, the
ocean proved too much for them, and they had no appetite for dinner or
supper. But their malady did not last long, and by the next morning
they were as merry as ever, and laughed over the event. They asked the
Doctor to explain the cause of their trouble, but he shook his head, and
said the whole thing was a great puzzle.
:
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