[Manchester—Saturday, 17 August 1867]
August 17th A wonderful fog overspread the earth. I went to the beach and found the white waves showing their teeth in a wild solitude. What can compare with the aweful [sic] solitude of a beach when a fog overspreads everything! By & by the sun burned through, showing lovely awakening colors everywhere.
Captain Leach an old sea-captain & a neighbour came in last night and told us some of his experiences. He sails for Russia next week, for William Roper & Co. “I’d sail a schooner for Mr Roper” the old fellow said “if he wanted me to, sooner than I sail a ship for another.” He went first to sea at 9 years old. “What could you do” we asked. “Nibble biscuit for William Roper & Co.” He has been 37 times to Russia. His wife only once, she is afraid of the sea. He is frequently sea-sick on board a screw steamer, even now. He gave us a hint or two of the difficulty of preserving discipline on board ship, told of the difficulty in particular which he once had with a colored crew which he brought however into entire subjection so that he never had any trouble afterward.
We were amused at his account of main-top-sail sickness which comes on with black sailors in cold or dull weather being a dulness of the spirits, homesickness or something of that kind. He would usually administer half a tumbler of salts or castor-oil yet always under protest from the patient, but he never heard from the malady again.
The old man is a good neighbor and had called to look after the children of his old friend Capt. Crowell before his departure.
Watching for J.
