Chapter 25 - Page 2

breath came
and went like puffs' of smoke from pipe-bowls. At first there was
a long gauky swell, that obliged us to furl most of the sails, and
even send down t'-gallant-yards, for fear of pitching them overboard.

Out of sight of land, at this extremity of both the inhabitable
and uninhabitable world, our peopled frigate, echoing with the
voices of men, the bleating of lambs, the cackling of fowls, the
gruntings of pigs, seemed like Noah's old ark itself, becalmed at
the climax of the Deluge.

There was nothing to be done but patiently to await the pleasure
of the elements, and "whistle for a wind," the usual practice of
seamen in a calm. No fire was allowed, except for the indispensable
purpose of cooking, and heating bottles of water to toast Selvagee's
feet. He who possessed the largest stock of vitality, stood the
best chance to escape freezing. It was horrifying. In such weather
any man could have undergone amputation with great ease, and helped
take up the arteries himself.

Indeed, this state of affairs had not lasted quite twenty-four hours,
when the extreme frigidity of the air, united to our increased tendency
to inactivity, would very soon have rendered some of us subjects for
the surgeon and his mates, had not a humane proceeding of the Captain
suddenly impelled us to vigorous exercise.

And here be it said, that the appearance of the Boat-swain, with
his silver whistle to his mouth, at the main hatchway of the gun-
deck, is always regarded by the crew with the utmost curiosity,
for this betokens that some general order is about to be
promulgated through the ship. What now? is the question that runs
on from man to man. A short preliminary whistle is then given by
"Old Yarn," as they call him, which whistle serves to collect
round him, from their various stations, his four mates. Then
Yarn, or Pipes, as leader of the orchestra, begins a peculiar
call, in which his assistants join. This over, the order,
whatever it may be, is loudly sung out and prolonged, till the
remotest corner echoes again. The Boatswain and his mates are the
town-criers of a man-of-war.

The calm had commenced in the afternoon: and the following morning
the ship's company were electrified by a general order, thus set forth
and declared: "_D'ye hear there, for and aft! all hands skylark!_"

This mandate, nowadays never used except upon very rare occasions,
produced the same effect upon the men that Exhilarating Gas would
have done, or an extra allowance of "grog." For a time, the wonted
discipline of the ship was broken through, and perfect license
allowed. It was a Babel here, a Bedlam there, and a Pandemonium
everywhere. The Theatricals were