Rollo on the Atlantic

D

y the motion of the ship. The wash basin was made of marble, and was firmly set in its place, so as to be absolutely immovable. There was a hole in the bottom of it, with a plug in it, so that, by drawing out the plug, the water could be let off into a pipe which conveyed it away. There was a small chain attached to this plug, by means of whic

hat it could be set in any position required, according to the height of the observer, and yet it could not by any possibility fall from its place. There were very few pegs or pins for hanging clothes upon, because, when clothes are thus hung, they are found to swing back and forth whenever the ship is rolling in a heavy sea, in a manner that is very tiresome and disagreeable for sick passengers to see. Nor were there many shelves about the state room; for if there ha

wo wash stands,-but they were protected by a ledge about the edges of them, which

pon his shoulder. Maria told the children that they had better open the trunk and take out all that they would be li

the heavy seas we shall all be sick, and then w

that be?"

r a good many days, and then there comes a head wind and makes

hat I shall be s

ia. "Nobody can tell any t

night dresses he put under the pillows in the berths. The cloaks, and coats, and shawls which might be required on deck in the day he placed on the couches. Those which belonged to him he put i

h this?" he asked, h

it?" as

," sai

is there?"

here. He said I ought to have some money to carry wit

aria, "so as to ascertain how much it i

s and half sovereigns. The large ones were sovereigns, and the small ones were half sovereigns. Rollo proposed that he should count the sovereigns, an

s in all," said Maria. "Tha

is it?" as

said Maria, "it makes ab

ith astonishment. "What could uncle Geor

ship should be cast away on the coast of Nova Scotia, and all the pass

somebody there would take

me reason or other, your father should not be there. Then, having plenty of money, you could go to a hotel and stay there till your father comes. Or you c

ink there is any doubt that my father

in in the purse, tie it up securely, and replace it in the trunk. Then you

h so much money; so he replaced the bag in th

hoose, you can come here and be alone; and you can lie down and rest here whenever

hat the proper plac

eplied Maria; "and wherever you see them go, you can

w, Jane, let us go up on de

e wished to go and see her brother. She said that she had a brother on board who was quite out of health. He was going to Europe in hope

he deck until they came to the settees where they had been sitting before the luncheon. They sat down upon one of these settees, where they had a fine view, not only of the wide expanse of sea on every han

tioned. It hung directly before the helmsman's window, and it had a short rope attached to the clapper of it. The helmsman, or the man at the wheel, as he is sometimes called, from the fact that he steers the ship by means of a

ng! Din

epeated in precisely the same manner from another bell,

ng! Din

t that means?

that it is four o

could be so late as fou

sk the helmsman what it means,"

Jane, "you

part way to where the sailors seemed to wish to go. Above the top of the shrouds there were only single ropes, and Rollo wondered what the sailors would do when they came to these. They found no difficulty, however, for when they reached the top of the shrouds they continued to mount by the ropes with very little apparent effort. They would take hold of two of the ropes that were a little distance apart with their hands, and then, cur

there," said Rollo. "Do you

very earnestly; "you mu

said Rollo; "that is, if the vessel would

er his shoulder, he came down hand over hand, by a single rope or cable called a stay, until he reached the place where the work was to be performed. Here he stopped, and, clinging to the rope that he had come down upon with his legs and one hand, he contrived with the other hand to fasten one end of the short rope which he had brought with him to

llo. "And I should not think that any bo

down, attaching new lines to new points, and then running off with them, as a spider would do with her thread, wherever they were required. But after all, in respect to the power of running about among lines and rigging, the spider is superior to man. She can not only run up and down far more easily and readily wherever she wishes to go, but

propelling the ship through the water. Still, as the ship was going the same way with the wind, the breeze was scarcely felt upon the deck. The air was mild and balmy, and the surface of the sea was comparatively smooth

e some other ships going to Englan

think on such a subject,

a whale. You watch the water all along on that side, and I

ck-looking monsters rise to the surface not far from them on one side of the ship. She called out eagerly to Rollo to look. H

er a little different from before; for after the two pairs of strokes which

! Ding-di

as repeated in the forward part o

! Ding-di

t that means,

d down the deck, passed near to where Rollo was sit

ll me, sir, what th

," said the man;