reat full moon, being pale
and clearly defined, and seeming to have no warmth nor brilliancy; and
this, as may be imagined, seemed most strange to us, the more so because
of the redness in the South and East.
And all this while the swells increased most prodigiously; though without
making broken water: yet they informed us that we had done well to take
so much precaution; for surely they were raised by a very great storm. A
little before evening, the moaning came again, and then a space of
silence; after which there rose a very sudden bellowing, as of wild
beasts, and then once more the silence.
About this time, the bo'sun making no objection, I raised my head above
the cover until I was in a standing position; for, until now, I had taken
no more than occasional peeps; and I was very glad of the chance to
stretch my limbs; for I had grown mightily cramped. Having stirred the
sluggishness of my blood, I sat me down again; but in such position that
I could see every part of the horizon without difficulty. Ahead of us,
that is to the South, I saw now that the great wall of cloud had risen
some further degrees, and there was something less of the redness;
though, indeed, what there was left of it was sufficiently terrifying;
for it appeared to crest the black cloud like red foam, seeming, it might
be, as though a mighty sea made ready to break over the world.
Towards the West, the sun was sinking behind a curious red-tinted haze,
which gave it the appearance of a dull red disk. To the North, seeming
very high in the sky, were some flecks of cloud lying motionless, and of
a very pretty rose color. And here I may remark that all the sea to the
North of us appeared as a very ocean of dull red fire; though, as might
be expected, the swells, coming up from the South, against the light were
so many exceeding great hills of blackness.
It was just after I had made these observations that we heard again the
distant roaring of the storm, and I know not how to convey the exceeding
terror of that sound. It was as though some mighty beast growled far down
towards the South; and it seemed to make very clear to me that we were
but two small craft in a very lonesome place. Then, even while the
roaring lasted, I saw a sudden light flare up, as it were from the edge
of the Southern horizon. It had somewhat the appearance of lightning; yet
vanished not immediately, as is the wont of lightning; and more, it had
not been my experience to
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