Yr Ynys Unyg | Page 6

and again we were in the valley of waters;
and during the comparative lull the captain roared in my ear, "Is it not a
pretty sea, Madam?"
We can now laugh at our fears, and the awe-struck faces we all
presented, but it was many hours ere some of us recovered ourselves,
and for this show of timidity Gatty scolded Sybil.
Gatty.--"How can you be such a goose, Sybil? Why, you are trembling
now."
Sybil.--"No, I am only a little cold; but you know, Gatty, that was such
an awful wave, if we had stretched our necks ever so high we could not
see to the top."
Gatty.--"Well, and what did that matter? It was a glorious wave, a
magnificent fellow, I dare say a tenth wave. If we had been walking on

the sea shore we should have counted and known."
Sybil.--"But I could not tell how we were ever to get to the top. I
thought we must certainly go through it, or it would go over us."
Gatty (laughing).--"Serena, do come here, Sybil is talking such
splendid stuff, and, moreover, she is frightened out of her wits, and I do
believe wishes herself at home."
Serena.--"Oh dear! I am so ill; going on deck has quite upset me, and I
am worse than I was."
Gatty.--"Now, whatever you do, don't go and be so foolish, Serena. I
shall have no pleasure at all if Sybil is frightened and you are ill. Get up,
and eat a lot of roast beef with heaps of mustard and you will be quite
well."
A little small voice called to Gatty, and also asked for beef and mustard.
"I am sure, quite sure, Gatty," said the little speaker, Winny, "it will do
me a great deal of good." "Ah," said Lilly, "I wish I was out of this
place. Do, mother, ask the captain to stop and put me down
somewhere." This little idea caused infinite amusement. Time, however,
went on, and cured us all. We had lovely weather, and began to keep
regular hours, and have allotted times of the day for different things.
All attending, whatever might be our occupations, to the captain's
summons; for when anything new was to be seen, any wonders of the
ocean, any curious bird resting its weary wings on the only haven in
sight--our little vessel, any furling of sails, or any change, so did the
good-natured captain send for us, and we joyfully obeyed the summons,
listening to all his wondrous tales, watching the rolling of the porpoises,
and the wondrous colours of the sea. As we approached a hotter climate,
everything became, in our eyes, objects of new and strange interest. In
this manner we reached Gibraltar, and landed for the first time, having
been thirteen days at sea.
CHAPTER III.
May 16.--GIBRALTAR.--I, for one, was very glad to land, for

somehow on board ship one never seemed to be able to finish one's
toilette with the degree of niceness necessary, a lurch of the ship very
often caused an utter derangement, a rolling sea made it a matter of
great difficulty even to wash one's face, and as for tidying the hair that
had been given up, and those who did not wear caps enclosed their
rough curls in nets. We therefore migrated to the principal hotel,
leaving the two boys, at their own request, on board, under the care of
Jenny and Smart. The three elder girls were to wait on each other, and
each take a little girl in their charge, while Hargrave waited on the three
elderly ladies. We were objects of great curiosity, and many people
supposed our party to consist of a school. They were more surprised at
hearing that La Luna belonged to the school. The visitors on board of
her became innumerable, causing the good-natured captain a world of
trouble. Every day he came and reported himself, as he called it, to his
commanding officer, meaning myself and brought an account of the
boys, or one with him; and it was most curious to see this great rough
captain take each little girl up in his arms and kiss her quite gently,
always expressing a hope to each that they were not getting too fond of
the land, but would soon return to their ocean home, as he was quite
dull without them. Whatever misgivings he might have had on starting,
they had all given way to an interest and affection for us all, that made
it quite a pleasure to us to communicate with him.
We took advantage of our first landing to write letters home, which,
having been preserved with sorrowful care, have now become
agreeable memorials of our adventures, and may be interesting, as their
own letters will best explain the individual