If he is urged by a sense of duty to arouse himself from this stupor, and occupy himself with labors and cares while weighed down by the heavy load, his condition, although it may command little sympathy from his companions, is truly pitiable.
In my particular case, feeling compelled to mount aloft, and attain that "bad eminence," the main-royal mast head, while the slender spar was whipping backwards and forwards with every plunge of the ship into a heavy head sea, and the visible effect produced by every vibration causing me to fear an inverted position of my whole internal system, no one can imagine the extent of my sufferings.

They were of a nature that Dante would eagerly have pounced upon to add to the horrors of his Inferno.

I felt at times willing to quit my feeble hold of a backstay or shroud, and seek repose by diving into the briny billows beneath.

If I had paused for a moment in my work I should, undoubtedly, have failed in its accomplishment.

But Stetson's eye was upon me; his voice was heard at times calling out "Main-royal mast head, there! Bear a hand, and send down that mast! Why don't you bear a hand!" To this reminder, making a desperate exertion, I promptly replied, in a spirited tone, "Ay, ay, sir!" Diligence was the watchword, and it acted as my preserver.
It often happens that a crew, composed wholly or in part of old sailors, will make an experiment on the temper and character of the officers at the commencement of the voyage.