or rather flew, near ten knots an hour;
and the captain, in the redundancy of his good-humor, declared he would
go to church at Lisbon on Sunday next, for that he was sure of a
wind; and, indeed, we all firmly believed him. But the event again
contradicted him; for we were again visited by a calm in the evening.

But here, though our voyage was retarded, we were entertained with a
scene, which as no one can behold without going to sea, so no one can
form an idea of anything equal to it on shore. We were seated on the
deck, women and all, in the serenest evening that can be imagined. Not
a single cloud presented itself to our view, and the sun himself was the
only object which engrossed our whole attention. He did indeed set
with a majesty which is incapable of description, with which, while
the horizon was yet blazing with glory, our eyes were called off to the
opposite part to survey the moon, which was then at full, and which in
rising presented us with the second object that this world hath offered
to our vision. Compared to these the pageantry of theaters, or splendor
of courts, are sights almost below the regard of children. We did
not return from the deck till late in the evening; the weather being
inexpressibly pleasant, and so warm that even my old distemper perceived
the alteration of the climate. There was indeed a swell, but nothing
comparable to what we had felt before, and it affected us on the deck
much less than in the cabin.

Friday.--The calm continued till sun-rising, when the wind likewise
arose, but unluckily for us it came from a wrong quarter; it was S.S.E.,
which is that very wind which Juno would have solicited of Aeolus, had
Gneas been in our latitude bound for Lisbon.

The captain now put on his most melancholy aspect, and resumed his
former opinion that he was bewitched. He declared with great solemnity
that this was worse and worse, for that a wind directly in his teeth
was worse than no wind at all. Had we pursued the course which the wind
persuaded us to take we had gone directly for Newfoundland, if we had
not fallen in with Ireland in our way. Two ways remained to avoid
this; one was to put into a port of Galicia; the other, to beat to the
westward with as little sail as possible: and this was our captain's
election.

As for us, poor passengers, any port would have been welcome to us;
especially, as not only our fresh provisions, except a great number of
old ducks and fowls, but even