eight o'clock
And , in a few minutes , the topgallantyards were safely landed on deck , and secured on the booms . Hitherto the weather had been dry and fine , except during the squalls ; but , as the night closed in , a thick drizzling rain came on , which drove all the passengers below . The ship was now plunging and rolling heavily , and the white foam of the long tumbling seas looked doubly ghastly through the gloom , while their roaring formed dismal harmony with the howling of the wind . Our party was small at the cuddy-table that evening , when we met at eight bells -LRB- eight o'clock -RRB- to discuss our hot grog and negus . Some of the gentlemen were sick , others tired , and some alarmed at the appearance of things around them . The mercury in the barometer had fallen considerably ; and the captain , as he sat at the table rallying some of his passengers on the extraordinary length of their phizzes , was evidently assuming a cheerfulness he did not feel ; and at times looked absent and uneasy . `` Has not the glass fallen very fast , captain ? ''