The fact is, I am reaching an age when men long
for quiet and repose. During the war my services belong to my country,
and ease must not be thought of; but I trust that the end is not afar
off. The enemy, from many signs, is on the point of final discomfiture.
Nay, a just Providence will doubtless punish the wicked fanatics who
have waged this cruel and unjust war upon us, in a way to warn and
astonish the nations upon earth. Infidelity and wickedness in every
shape let loose upon themselves, must end in total destruction. The
Yankee States have yet to go through an ordeal they little dreamed of in
the beginning of their unholy crusade against the Southern people.
On the 12th, the vessel was within fourteen degrees of the equator, but
so cool did the weather still continue that all hands were still wearing
woollen clothing, and sleeping under a couple of blankets. The sky
continued grey and overcast, with an occasional slight sprinkle of rain,
and a stiff breeze. The barometer falling steadily until, on the 14th
March, it had reached as low as 29.96, about the usual standard of the
trade winds.
That night brought, however, a slight relief from the long dullness. It
was just midnight when the startling cry of "Sail, ho! close aboard!"
was heard from the look-out; and in less than five minutes the Alabama
was within hailing distance of a large ship standing close on a wind
towards the northward and westward.
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