k on the fifth day after leaving port. But the weather was foggy, and
the eyes of the skipper were dim. No change was observed in the water,
no birds or fishing vessels were seen.

Onward the schooner went, with all sail spread to the wind, like a new
Flying Dutchman, until the seventh day after leaving port, when the wind
began to abate a little and haul to the southward. The horizon was now
clear, and Uncle Jonas began to look out for vessels, and expressed a
decided opinion that he was nearly up with the Bank. The sun went
down and no fishing vessels were seen under sail or at anchor. He was
confident they would be visible on the following day, and in order that
his vision might be clearer, he swallowed a strong potation before he
turned in.

On the next morning not a vessel of any description was in sight, and
the skipper, confident that the Bank could not be far off, concluded to
sound. The deep-sea lead was thrown, but he got no bottom with ninety
fathoms of line. "Wheugh!" exclaimed Uncle Jonas, "what has become of
the Bank?"

The wind now blew merrily from the south-west, and merrily sailed the
schooner; Uncle Jonas keeping a sharp look-out for fishing vessels,
and sounding every six hours. Ten days passed away, and he began to be
alarmed, and expressed fears that the Bank had failed, refused payments,
sunk, or cleared out! He continued, however, to consult his Jamaica
friend, and sought its advice and assistance in his perplexity. It is
singular that in times of difficulty and danger, when a clear head is
particularly necessary, men who have charge of property, and the lives
of their fellow-men, are prone to consult the rum bottle, which always
produces an effect precisely the reverse of what is desired.

At length, on the twelfth day of the passage, Uncle Jonas, whose
patience was nearly exhausted, saw a large number of gannets and gulls;
the water was remarkably chilly, and seemed to have a tinge of green.
"Aha," said the skipper, "I have got you at last." But he could not see
any fishing vessels, or obtain bottom with ninety fathoms of line.

On the following morning, however, much to his gratification, he
obtained soundings in sixty fathoms of water. "There," exclaimed the
skipper triumphantly to his men, "you more than insinuated that I was
no navigator, but I have carried the ship straight to the Grand Bank in
fine style. We will stand on until we get thirty fathoms of water, and
then go to work like