uncontrollable impulse, that he seized his
wife round the waist, and whirled her off
in a waltz. It was a fine tribute to the
untaught craft of the singer, whose eyes lighted
up with a minstrel fire, and his feet beat time
as he watched them. When the captain
stopped for want of breath, it was but polite
to make a bow, and offer to take the lady
round and round again; for there she stood,
offering irresistible invitation, with foot
advanced. Then the other women began to
stand up; while the dark-eyed gypsies from
Galicia grouped naturally round the dancers
in picturesque attitudes, and looked on. So
we had quite a little ball.

At nine o'clock the trumpets sounded from
an Austrian man-of-war on the station, and
the report of a solitary cannon boomed over
the sulky waters. After this, the officers
went away, and our little festival terminated.

So ended the first day we lay in the port
of Sulina; and I noticed, as night came on,
that the moon looked veiled and misty; also
that light feathery clouds were flitting about
in an unsettled way, as if the sky were
troubled. About eleven o'clock we heard
the wind rising. At first a few sobbing
gusts reached us, at intervals, as if they
came from afar off, but making our spars
rattle, and our cordage whip the masts. I
could see also, before I turned in, that the
sailing-vessels in the offing had made all taut
and trim, and had lowered their yards for
rough weather; but the steamers got their
steam up and went out to sea. From time
to time during the night we heard the
mournful sound of distress guns to
windward, and now and then a majestic hulk
drifted labouring towards us. The winds and
the sea-gulls seemed to whoop in derision
around her, and the waves reared their heads
triumphant and rejoicing.

It was an awful storm. The sea was everywhere
convulsed with a pitiless wrath, and
the white foam flashed proud and high, as
wave rushed upon wave in passionate strife.
Of the fifteen sail riding yesterday at
anchor yonder, nine broke from their cables,
and three lay wrecked in sight of us.
Though we were within the bar, our captain
was roused thrice during the night, and the
voices of our crew sounded in alarm through
the darkness; for we were wedged in by
shipping, and ever and again some vessel
was driven furiously against us by the might
of the elements; our vessel danced and rolled
like a child's toy, even in its sheltered place.
Our gaunt lean sailors ran to and fro,
yelping fears at every fresh collision, and
muttering hasty prayers to the Virgin; Jews
gasped and gabbled to themselves, clutching
the handles of their sea-chests, and keeping
always a wary eye upon them; but some
Turks who were with us, sat calmly smoking
through it all, uttering no sound but "God is
great."

Below, in the cabin were the Christian
ladies pale and terrified, and huddled
altogether on the sofa by the fire-place. Near
them boozed a gang of sharpers, whom no
dread or danger could drag from the gambling-
table. Their blasphemy and hot disputes
mingled with the storm. Perhaps, however,
they were impressed equally with us according
to their differing natures, by the grand
horror of the scene. Let no man judge
the depth of another's feeling by the mode
of its expression.

The sky above us was the true old leaden
grey Crimean colour, which canopied our
sickening armies before Sebastopol last
winter. There was a partial fog over the land.
On such a sky looked the helpless crew of
the fated Prince, when her machinery refused
to work, and they were dashed against the
iron heights of Balaclava. It was such a
fog which closed round gallant Giffard
when the Tiger stranded, and he could
only flash back a hopeless defiance to the
Russian guns. On this low gloomy shore,
too—over which the sea-birds swoop and
scream so ominously—dwelt the last dying
glance of the young and chivalrous Parker.

The gale lasted for three days, raging
every hour more rudely. The third day,
towards evening, a rain, fine as dust, mingled
with the wind. At night the rain changed
to snow, and the cold increased. Then we
had a fall of mingled rain and snow. The
wind abated a little towards morning: but,
before noon, there came a perfect hurricane
with rain and snow very fierce. The small
snow-flakes were whisked about by the wind
with incredible violence.

Again we counted the work of the
night, and numbered five wrecks. A crowd
of Cossacks, assembled round the devoted
vessels, were trying to seize two swollen
corpses with grappling hooks. As the
drowned bodies, however, obviously did not
belong to any of the wrecks we saw, they had
probably floated to us from some scene of
disaster elsewhere. It was a ghastly thing
to see the breakers twirling and tossing about
them so scornfully. God's images, who,
a few days, or perhaps hours, before, had
been like unto ourselves.

Of the wrecked ships the crew of one
perished: all hands on board the rest were
saved. At night we saw another fated vessel
going to inevitable destruction; then the
darkness hid her. When morning broke she
was among the breakers; but, out of the
reach of help, and they swept disdainfully
over her shrieking decks. The miserable
crew clung wildly on to spar and mast, no
boat venturing out to save them. We saw
the hungry waves sweep on towards them
with a hoarse cry; the keen ice wind
palsying their strength. They were, poor
fellows, carried away one by one. Their
contortions were horrible. They writhed,
and twisted, and grappled on to
anything they could seize, with despairing