The Mirror of the Sea
The Mirror of the Sea
Book Excerpt
ed, but sat still, and I learned more of him
in that interview than in the whole eighteen months we had sailed
together. It appeared he had "served his time" in the copper-ore
trade, the famous copper-ore trade of old days between Swansea and
the Chilian coast, coal out and ore in, deep-loaded both ways, as
if in wanton defiance of the great Cape Horn seas--a work, this,
for staunch ships, and a great school of staunchness for West-
Country seamen. A whole fleet of copper-bottomed barques, as
strong in rib and planking, as well-found in gear, as ever was sent
upon the seas, manned by hardy crews and commanded by young
masters, was engaged in that now long defunct trade. "That was the
school I was trained in," he said to me almost boastfully, lying
back amongst his pillows with a rug over his legs. And it was in
that trade that he obtained his first command at a very early age.
It was then that he mentioned to me how, as a young commander, he
was always ill for a few days before making land after a long
pa
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