Starting the Voyage

The fourteenth of August was the day fixed upon for the sailing of the brig Pilgrim. She was on her voyage from Boston, round Cape Horn, to the Western coast of North America. As she was to get underway early in the afternoon, I made my appearance on board at twelve o'clock. I was in full sea-rig, with my chest, containing an outfit for a two- or three-years’ voyage. I had undertaken from a determination to cure, if possible, by an entire change of life, by a long absence from…

The change from the tight frock-coat, silk cap, and kid gloves of an undergraduate at Harvard, to the loose duck trousers, checked shirt, and tarpaulin hat of a sailor, though somewhat of a transformation, was soon made. I supposed that I should pass very well for a Jack tar. But it is impossible to deceive the practiced eye in these matters. While I thought myself to be looking as salt as Neptune himself, I was, no doubt, known for a landsman by everyone on board as soon as I was…