early departure could be effected with safety.

In compliance with these commands, we were on our way long ere the blush
of day tinged the eastern sky. At first, disregarding the smoke and mist
which became denser every minute, our navigator was soon aware that

"So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky,
He cannot see the sun on high:
On deck the captain takes his stand,
So dull it is, he sees no land.
'Dear me,' he says, 'I know no more
How far away we are from shore.'"

The fact is--that on account of the dense pall of smoke and mist,
overshadowing everything--our pilot lost his reckoning, and only kept the
yacht slowly moving through the water until we could find our way, when
suddenly--we ran aground upon a rocky ledge, causing us all great
consternation.

"No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The ship was as still as she might be.
Her shaft and screw received no shock.
Her keel was steady on a rock."

Having lost all presence of mind, our pilot, without any meditation,
abandoned the yacht in one of the small boats, for the purpose of
obtaining assistance from the unknown shore. Before we were conscious of
his proceedings, he had disappeared through fume and haze. Almost
instantaneously we detected that the mariner's compass had vanished with
him.