midnight
On the day following our arrival at Plymouth the wind shifted and blew hard from the south-west , with almost continuous rain . As these weather conditions prevailed for eight consecutive days , we remained at anchor , awaiting a change of wind , since it was useless to take to sea a fleet of merchantmen , the greater number of which were so deeply laden and such poor sailers that it would have been impossible for them to make any progress against a wind that was blowing dead in their teeth . During this period of inaction some thirty additional sail arrived at the rendezvous , anxious to avail themselves of the protection of convoy ; when , therefore , on the ninth day the weather cleared and the wind hauled round from the south-east , the merchant fleet of which we were to take care during their passage across the Atlantic numbered in all exactly one hundred and fifty-four sail . The change of weather occurred shortly after midnight , with a steadily rising barometer ; at daylight , therefore , the commodore fired a gun and hoisted the signal to weigh , and by eight o'clock the leading ships in the fleet were under way and beating out to sea , led by the _ Colossus _ , their departure being hastened by much firing of guns and continuous displays of signal flags . The two gun-brigs went out with the first of the fleet , their duty being to marshal the merchantmen into something like order when they got outside ; but the _ Astarte _ and ourselves remained at anchor to quicken up the movements of the laggards and expedite matters generally ; and a hard time we had of it , for so short-handed were some of the vessels that we were obliged to send working-parties on board them to assist in making sail and breaking their anchors out of the ground . But by noon the last of them were fairly under way , and as soon as they had passed outside of us we too weighed and stood out after them , flitting hither and thither , hailing first this ship and then that , with imperative orders for them to crowd sail . But oh , what weary , heart-breaking work was this business of whipping-in ; for so sluggish were some of the craft that it seemed as though they would never be able to make their way out to the main fleet , which was by this time hove-to in the offing .