When the Greenlander came to me with his jug of medicine, I thanked him
as well as I could; for just then I was leaning with my mouth over the
side, feeling ready to die; but I managed to tell him I was under a
solemn obligation never to drink spirits upon any consideration
whatever; though, as I had a sort of presentiment that the spirits would
now, for once in my life, do me good, I began to feel sorry, that when I
signed the pledge of abstinence, I had not taken care to insert a little
clause, allowing me to drink spirits in case of sea-sickness. And I
would advise temperance people to attend to this matter in future; and
then if they come to go to sea, there will be no need of breaking their
pledges, which I am truly sorry to say was the case with me. And a hard
thing it was, too, thus to break a vow before unbroken; especially as
the Jamaica tasted any thing but agreeable, and indeed burnt my mouth
so, that I did not relish my meals for some time after. Even when I had
become quite well and strong again, I wondered how the sailors could
really like such stuff; but many of them had a jug of it, besides the
Greenlander, which they brought along to sea with them, to taper off
with, as they called it. But this tapering off did not last very long,
for the Jamaica was all gone on the second day, and the jugs were tossed
overboard. I wonder where they are now?

But to tell the truth, I found, in spite of its sharp taste, the spirits
I drank was just the thing I needed; but I suppose, if I could have had
a cup of nice hot coffee, it would have done quite as well, and perhaps
much better. But that was not to be had at that time of night, or,
indeed, at any other time; for the thing they called coffee, which was
given to us every morning at breakfast, was the most curious tasting
drink I ever drank, and tasted as little like coffee, as it did like
lemonade; though, to be sure, it was generally as cold as lemonade, and