Looked soft as carded wool,
But the cruel rocks, they gored her sides,
Like the horns of an angry bull.
--_Wreck of the "Hesperus."_



When Ishmael awoke in the morning he was surprised to find that the
motion of the ship was much lessened. And when he went up on deck he
was pleased to discover that the wind had fallen and the sea was
going down.

There was but one trouble--the thick fog; but that might be expected
on the Banks of Newfoundland.

Old Captain Mountz was pacing up and down the deck with the firm
tread of a man who felt himself on solid ground.

"Good-morning, captain! A pleasant change this," was Ishmael's
greeting.

"Oh, aye, yes! for as long as it will last," was the dampening
reply.

"Why, you don't think the wind will rise again, do you?"

"Don't I? I tell you before many hours we shall have a strong
sou'wester, that will do its best to drive us ashore on these
Banks," was the discouraging answer.