n, somewhat more liberally than at first; until
by dint of care and assiduity on her part the poor beast was once more
able to walk without much difficulty.

The sun went down in a clear sky that night, and although the breeze
held, the swell rapidly subsided, thus clearly indicating that it was
not the forerunner of an approaching gale, but the last remaining
evidence of one already past--in all probability the same gale the
initial outfly of which had worked the destruction of the _Flying
Eagle_.

The life of a sailor is usually one of almost wearisome monotony,
despite what landsmen have to say as to its excitements. True, the
individual who is fortunate enough to possess an eye for colour and
effect, and the leisure to note the ever-varying forms and tints of sea
and sky--especially if he also happens to be endowed with the skill to
transfer them to paper or canvas--need never pass an uninteresting
moment at sea. Such fortunately circumstanced people are, however, few
and far between, and it is more especially to the ordinary mariner that
reference is now made. To him there are, broadly speaking, only two
experiences, those of fine weather and of storm. Fine weather means to
him usually little more than the comfort of dry clothes, his full watch
below, and perhaps not quite such hard work; while bad weather means
sodden garments, little and broken rest, and--unless the ship be snugged
down and hove-to--incessant strenuous work. To him the constantly
changing aspects of the sky appeal in one way only, namely, as forecasts
of impending weather.

And the incidents of sea-life, apart from the changes of weather, and
the sighting of occasional ships, are few. Derelicts are not fallen in
with every day; nor is the overwhelming of a ship by a waterspout a
frequent occurrence. Yet extraordinary events--some of them marvellous
almost beyond credence--unquestionably do occur from time to time, and
nowhere more frequently than at sea. And it is quite within the bounds
of possibility for one craft to circumnavigate the globe without
encountering a single incident worth recording, while another, upon a
voyage of less than half that length, will fall in with so many and such
extraordinary adventures that there will not be space enough in her
log-book to record the half of them.

This, it would almost appear, was to be the experience of the _Mermaid_;
for upon the afternoon of the day following that of their meeting wi