No ship north of 50 was ever blown back. From now on it is plain
sailing, and Seattle suddenly seems quite near.
All the ship's company, with the exception of Margaret, is better
spirited. She is quiet, and a little down, though she is anything
but prone to the wastage of grief. In her robust, vital philosophy
God's always in heaven. I may describe her as being merely subdued,
and gentle, and tender. And she is very wistful to receive gentle
consideration and tenderness from me. She is, after all, the genuine
woman. She wants the strength that man has to give, and I flatter
myself that I am ten times a stronger man than I was when the voyage
began, because I am a thousand times a more human man since I told
the books to go hang and began to revel in the human maleness of the
man that loves a woman and is loved.
Returning to the ship's company. The rounding of the Horn, the
better weather that is continually growing better, the easement of
hardship and toil and danger, with the promise of the tropics and of
the balmy south-east trades before them--all these factors contribute
to pick up our men again.
Pages:
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453