desirous of having it stocked.

A steady, though light south-westerly wind carried us well off from
the island, and when I came on deck for the middle watch I could just
distinguish it from its hiding a few low stars in the southern horizon,
though my unpracticed eyes would hardly have known it for land.
At the close of the watch a few trade-wind clouds which had arisen,
though we were hardly yet in their latitude, shut it out from our view,
and the next day,

Thursday, Nov. 27th, upon coming on deck in the morning, we were
again upon the wide Pacific, and saw no more land until we arrived
upon the western coast of the great continent of America.




CHAPTER VIII
"TARRING DOWN"--DAILY LIFE--"GOING AFT"--CALIFORNIA


As we saw neither land nor sail from the time of leaving Juan Fernandez
until our arrival in California, nothing of interest occurred except
our own doing on board. We caught the south-east trades, and run
before them for nearly three weeks, without so much as altering a
sail or bracing a yard. The captain took advantage of this fine
weather to get the vessel in order for coming upon the coast.
The carpenter was employed in fitting up a part of the steerage
into a trade-room; for our cargo, we now learned, was not to be
landed, but to be sold by retail from on board; and this trade-room