d in
turn in taking the daily observation, under his own eye; and he taught
us how to work our reckoning; so that in the course of the voyage some
of us got to know a good deal about navigation. And, Jack, I had good
evidence of the value of religion also, particularly when we encountered
the equinoctial gale in the southern tropic, and were near going down.
Then it was, Jack, when we had lost our foretopmast, and our maintopsail
and most of our other sails had been blown into ribbons; when the sea
had carried away nearly all our bulwarks, and swept the decks clear of
caboose, longboat, etc.; and the pumps were constantly going--at one
time to the tune of more than a thousand strokes an hour--to keep the
vessel free; and the axes were at hand, ready to cut away the masts when
the worst should come--that our captain was calm and collected. He
seemed to be as patient and submissive to the will of God, as if he had
been _born_ a Christian; and he gave many a kind word of encouragement
to his men. What a difference there must have been between him and the
vulgar, bullying man that Sam Bowsprit once sailed with, who was a wolf
when there was no danger, and a sheep when there was; but it is always
so with your bullies, whether in the cabin or the forecastle. To return
to my story: in two or three days the gale spent its fury, and we
reached our port in safety. One day while in port, in rummaging my
chest, I discovered at the bottom a little package neatly tied up,
which, upon opening, I found to contain two small books, called, "James'
Anxious Inquirer after Salvation," and "Baxter's Call to the
Unconverted;" with a few touching lines from my dear sister, earnestly
beseeching me to look to my soul, and to read my Bible and these little
books, and never to forget my God. Jack, this went to my heart like an
arrow. It brought fresh to my mind the death-bed scene of my dear
father, and I fell upon my knees, and, for the first time, _really_
prayed to God. Yes, Jack, I then prayed indeed. I felt my ingratitude to
God to some extent, and I began to see what a sinner I had been. I at
once commenced reading my Bible and the little books, that I might learn
more of my lost condition, and how to flee from the wrath to come. In
the course of a day or two the captain observed that I was uneasy in my
mind, and called me to him to ask if he could do any thing to aid me. I
frankly told him all my trouble, and he at once pointed me to "the Lam