caped pitching headlong into the sea. Though the weather was
then still and warm, the yards of the ship, which were coated with ice,
flapped violently to and fro, as if under the influence of some mighty
wind. The appearance of the phenomenon was followed, as usual, by a
catastrophe to one of the local boats.

I very often sound sailors as to whether they have ever come across this
ominous vessel, and sometimes hear very enthralling accounts of it. An
old sea captain whom I met on the pier at Southampton, in reply to my
inquiry, said: "Yes! I have seen the phantom ship, or at any rate a
phantom ship, once--but only once. It was one night in the fifties, and
we were becalmed in the South Pacific about three hundred miles due west
of Callao. It had been terrifically hot all day, and, only too thankful
that it was now a little cooler, I was lolling over the bulwarks to get
a few mouthfuls of fresh air before turning into my berth, when one of
the crew touched me on the shoulder, and ejaculating, 'For God's
sake----' abruptly left off. Following the direction of his glaring
eyes, I saw to my amazement a large black brig bearing directly down on
us. She was about a mile off, and, despite the intense calmness of the
sea, was pitching and tossing as if in the roughest water. As she drew
nearer I was able to make her out better, and from her build--she
carried two masts and was square-rigged forward and schooner-rigged
aft--as well as from her tawdry gilt figurehead, concluded she was a
hermaphrodite brig of, very possibly, Dutch nationality. She had
evidently seen a great deal of rough weather, for her foretopmast and
part of her starboard bulwarks were gone, and what added to my
astonishment and filled me with fears and doubts was, that in spite of
the pace at which she was approaching us and the dead calmness of the
air, she had no other sails than her foresail and mainsail, and
flying-jib.

"By this time all of our crew were on deck, and the skipper and the
second mate took up their positions one on either side of me, the man
who had first called my attention to the strange ship, joining some
other seamen near the forecastle. No one spoke, but, from the expression
in their eyes and ghastly pallor of their cheeks, it was very easy to
see that one and all were dominated by the same feelings of terror and
suspicion. Nearer and nearer drew the brig, until she was at last so
close that we could perceive her crew--all of whom, s