Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/125

 CHAPTER VII.

the morning of the 26th of December all hands were called to weigh anchor, when we made sail and stood  out to sea. In passing the English ship Druid, Lord John Russell commander, we were greeted with three  hearty cheers, which were returned just as heartily from  all our ships’ crews. After breakfast all hands were called to muster, when the commodore thanked us for  our good behavior while lying in port. He then told us that we must look forward to a dangerous cruise, and said a few words as to what our country and he himself  expected of us in aiding him in the endeavor to promote  health and comfort, and as to the necessity of economy  in our rations and clothing.

When we were piped down, we took advantage of the fine weather by sending up our stump to’-gallant-mast, bending new sails, and building little hurricane  houses of rough boards over the companion-ways for  the exclusion of the cold air. Drying stoves were slung between decks to make it more comfortable, and several barometers were put up in various places with orders  given to keep the temperature at 60°. By the 1st of January all the decks had been cleared of all loose and  useless articles, and everything snugly stowed away.