[111] Various schemes have been tried to distil fresh water at sea from salt water; but none apparently have succeeded in producing an equivalent for the expense of fuel. In steam vessels a considerable supply is obtained from the condensation of the steam.
[112] The term mate, as used at present, implies some one under the master. The real meaning implies persons co-equal. Thus we still speak of ship-mates, etc., without inference to rank.
[113] The coast lies nearer south and by west, than west and by south, so they would certainly have run on shore without any blame attaching to the helmsman.
[114] The quarter deck may be defined as the space betwixt the mainmast and the after-hatchway; it seems also to have been called the half deck. Both terms arising from the fact that before the mainmast, the skids or beams were not planked. We still speak of being _on_ the quarter deck, but _under_ the half deck. The quarter deck is set apart for purposes of parade, and there the officer of the watch should always be sought.
[116] On a still night, unless the attention of the helmsman be continually excited, it is quite possible that he get into a dreamy state and, if at the same time, the officer of the watch is thinking of “those far away,” the ship may be run for a time some points off her course. In the preceding section, Sir Richard well describes the difficulty of distinguishing betwixt a sandy shore and the water, on a calm bright night.
[119] Well soaked in water to remove the salt.
[120] _Portulaca sativa_--a fleshy-leaved plant, much esteemed in hot countries for its cooling properties.
[121] Great caution should be used in tasting unknown fruits; perhaps this tree was the _croton tiglium_, every part of which possesses powerful drastic properties.
[122] A species of cactus; the fruit is eaten in Sicily and elsewhere. We cannot join Sir Richard in its praise: perhaps as he had been long at sea, he found it grateful. The cochineal insect feeds on one species of this plant.
[123] This river is now called the Maccahe: probably it floods in the rainy season.
[125] These shoals, already alluded to at page 62, are now called the Abrolhos: there is a channel betwixt the islets and the main: the soundings extend to the eastward eighty or ninety miles.