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8
Oct 22 1/2 after 11 A.M. in continuation
I have no objection to this storm; we shall see an Isle the more
for it & if we don't go bump ashore, we shall soon be at our
case.
As God's money
will have it we have got for our <
gap/>
not only or friend the Venetian but a little Caichi which is before
him. Spring and I have the Cabbin to ourselves; there is better to do
upon Deck. I have just been up to take a peep: the land on
all sides I imagine would be beautiful if this storm cold but
give us leave to steer it. Our foretop sail has just been blown
to rags; but who cares? we have just given the go by to a
dangerous rock that sticks itself up right in the middle of
a very narrow part of the entrance; and are now out of all
danger. This harbour is an enormous long one; running up
the country like Portsmouth but infinitely narrower: upon an
average perhaps about the width of the Thames at Westminster
Bridge; but the Lord knows; for I am now in the <sic>Cabbin &
I am a but a bad judge of distances: We are in the want of
company: Capt. B. has already pointed out to us a French
man and a Russian. What makes the loss of a sail dangerous
at some conjunctures is that if you have no sail by
which you can give a motion to the ship in a different
direction to that of the you drown before it like a log
and must go bang against the shore or at any object
that lies in the way without the possibility of helping yourself.
we had plenty of thunder & lightening last night, some
of the flashes fell very near the ship. I was wakened by the
crash. At one time there was such a rattling upon deck I
thought it had been from hail-stones as big at least as
marbles. I was afraid I should have heard of mischief done
to the crew & upon enquiry it turned out to be more rain<ln/>without a single hail storm: the rattling was owing to the size
of the drops and the volume of the wind.
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