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.... and immediately became aware of a queer sensation, of an absurd delusion,- I seemed somehow to be in the air. I heard all round me like a pent-up breath released - as if a thousand giants simultaneously had said Phoo! - and felt a dull concussion which made my ribs ache suddenly.
Joseph Conrad, Youth, from Tales of Land and Sea, Hanover House, Garden City, New York, 1916, p.19.
TIME: late 19th century
PLACE: the Indian Ocean
CIRCUMSTANCE: an explosion on board the Judea. The cargo of coal had been smouldering for days, but the crew was under the impression that the damage was over. A few days later, air entered by accident where the cargo was and caused spontaneous combustion.
One night when tied to the mast*, as I expained, we were pumping on, deafened with the wind, and without spirit enough in us to wish ourselves dead...
Joseph Conrad, Youth, from Tales of Land and Sea, Hanover House, Garden City, New York, 1916, p.13
TIME: late 19th century
PLACE: on board an English sailboat on the North Sea
CIRCUMSTANCE: a storm in the North Sea which continued for days on end. The continuous noise of the storm has its effects on the sailors.
* For security, the sailors tied themselves to the mast while pumping water out of the boat
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