About eight o'clock in the evening
There were several of the others whose self-restraint was demolished by this example ; these likewise fled , amid the laughter of their companions , who broke up the meeting and went on deck . The prospect of things there proved , beyond all doubt , that Britons never did , and never will , rule the waves . The storm , which had been brewing for some time past , was gathering fresh strength every moment , and it became abundantly evident that the floating light would have her anchors and cables tested pretty severely before the gale was over . About eight o'clock in the evening the wind shifted to east-south-east ; and at ten it became what seamen term a hard gale , rendering it necessary to veer out about fifty additional fathoms of the hempen cable . The gale still increasing , the ship rolled and laboured excessively , and at midnight eighty fathoms more were veered out , while the sea continued to strike the vessel with a degree of force that no one had before experienced . That night there was little rest on board the _ Pharos _ . Everyone who has been `` at sea '' knows what it is to lie in one 's berth on a stormy night , with the planks of the deck only a few inches from one 's nose , and the water swashing past the little port that _ always _ leaks ; the seas striking against the ship ; the heavy sprays falling on the decks ; and the constant rattle and row of blocks , spars , and cordage overhead .