the starboard watch was the
teller. He began by asking the others if they had ever been in the Baltic,
to which they answered in the negative. "It is now," said he, "five years
since I sailed in the _Mary_, of Newcastle, to Bremen. We had been lying
there a fortnight, taking in hemp and iron, when two old, ugly women came
on board in a small boat paddled by themselves. They had with them two
small leather bags full of wind. They went to the chief mate, for the
captain was on shore, and asked him if he would buy a fair wind, and
pointed to their bags. 'How long will it last?' asked the mate. 'Two
days,' said the hags; 'but if you want it for four, we will to-morrow
bring you off a larger sack.' 'And what do you ask for it?' said he. 'Oh,
only eight dollars,' replied they."

I must inform my reader that the greater number of the sons of the sea,
although fearless of the enemy and of the weather, however stormy, are
superstitious and have implicit faith in ghost-stories, mermaids, witches
and sea-monsters, as well as in the flying Dutch ship off the Cape of Good
Hope. This rough son of the north was a hardy sailor, but he had his share
of credulity. He told them the captain was on shore, but if they would
come off in the morning, as they were to sail the following afternoon, it
might be settled. The weather at this time was anything but fair, which
made him the readier to enter into the witches' bargain. Here I must first
inform my reader that these women are exceedingly cunning, and can not
only scan the mind of the person they deal with, but can also, from keen
observation, calculate on the wind and weather for the next twenty-four
hours, and, as what they prognosticate generally proves true, they
frequently meet with ready customers. Next morning the captain came on
board, and shortly afterwards was followed by the hoary fair-wind sellers.
After some consultation with the mate, the captain gave four dollars for a
bag of fair wind for three days from the time he was to sail.

"The wind," continued the captain of the waist, "remained foul until four
o'clock next day, when it veered round and became favourable. The
believing captain and mate thought they had made a good bargain. The bag
was to be untied after three hours." I reflected on this narrative, and
was astonished to find that people who are Englishmen, and who, generally
speaking, imagine themselves the most free from superstition and the most
intellectual of any