in his shirt,
his hair erect, his eyes starting from their sockets, and loudly
vociferating he had seen a ghost. After his horror had a little
subsided, we asked him what he had seen?--he said, the figure of a woman
dressed in white, with eyes of flaming fire; that she came to his
hammock, and stared him in the face. This we treated as an idle dream,
and sent the frantic fellow to his bed. The story became the subject of
every one; and the succeeding night produced half a dozen more
terrified men to corroborate what had happened the first, and all agreed
in the same story, that it was a woman. This rumour daily increasing, at
length came to the ears of the captain and officers, who were all
equally solicitous to discover the true cause of this terrific report. I
placed myself night by night beneath the hammocks to watch its
appearance, but all in vain; yet still the appearance was nightly, as
usual, and the horrors and fears of the people rather daily increased
than diminished. A phantom of this sort rather amused than perplexed my
mind; and when I had given over every idea of discovering the cause of
this strange circumstance, and the thing began to wear away, I was
surprised, one very dark night, as seated under the boats, with a
stately figure in white stalking along the deck! The singularity of the
event struck my mind that this must be the very identical ghost which
had of late so much disturbed the ship's company. I therefore instantly
dropped down from the place I was in, to the deck on which it appeared,
when it passed me immediately very quickly, turned round, and marched
directly forwards. I followed it closely, through the gallery, and out
at the head-doors, when the figure instantly disappeared, which very
much astonished me. I then leaped upon the forecastle, and asked of the
people who were walking there, if such a figure had passed them? They
replied, No, with some emotion and pleasure, as I had ever ridiculed all
their reports on this subject. However, this night-scene between me and
the ghost became the theme of the ensuing day. Nothing particular
transpired till twelve o'clock, when, as the people were pricking at the
tub for their beef, it was discovered Jack Sutton was missing. The
ship's company was directly mustered, and Jack was no where to be found.
I then inquired of his messmates the character of the man; and, after a
number of interrogatories, one of them said, that poor Sutton used to
tell him