Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/262



250 •    CLASSICAL  ABNORMITIES.

All sprinkled  \vas  the  wide  ocean  with  ships,  the wavy plains  with  moving  congregations. One is  the counterpart of  the  other ;  the  ocean  is  but  billowy hills and  restful  plains,  the  mountains  petrified  waves. All the  world  was  up,  and  every  man  wished  to  be a-top  of  it;  for  long  ages  ago  the  golden  crop  was sown, and  now  the  golden  harvest  is  to  be  gathered. Following the  phantom  hope,  following  the  fantastic visions of  his  brain,  starboard,  larboard,  now  to  the south, now  to  the  west  and  north,  fitful  fate  leading, ten thousand  men  were  on  these  ships  whose  thousand roads were  here  converging. Virtue, health,  knowl- edge, fame, wealth,  and  heavenly  expectation  all  lay in this  one  direction. Drifting south  toward  the burningr sun,  I  beingf  also  there,  softer  and  warmer broke the  breeze  upon  our  brow,  and  warmer  grew the waves  as,  sailing  southward  from  out  the  black night and  thundering  sky,  we  dashed  into  the  day- light. The sky  was  studded  with  new  stars;  and nightly came  the  bashful  moon  creeping  timidly  up from  the  horizon  far  behind  the  clouds,  trembling  at her  own  presumption  after  so  gorgeous  a  display  of the  sun's  majesty. Round the  land's  end  and  steering northward, with  certain  thousand  leagues  yet  to  sail, three several  times  with  chafing  spirits  in  unwel- come rest we  lay  twelve  days  wasting  of  famine  and weariness, waiting  the  tardy  wind. Yet presently with fresh  wind  we  onward  swiftly  drive  again  as  if for  our  ship,  as  for  that  of  the  ancient  mariner,  the wind opened  before  and  closed  behind. As Anaxa- goras remarked  of  hades,  the  distance  to  California  in those  days  was  about  the  same  from  one  place  as  from another.

There are  evils  springing  from  ocean  travel,  yet one cannot  but  be  unproved  by  it. Go on  board  a steamer,  shut  yourself  in  your  room,  throw  yourself on your  bunk,  and  even  amidst  the  frequent  paroxysms arising from  troublous  unrest,  the  intellect  seems  to enlarge  and  become  luminous  like  the  phos