TCD MS 10515 folio 13v
[March 5th 1916]little ripple was an evanescent glowing gem, one amongst millions in the quivering ocean; the two curling waves that diverged from the “Ekma’s” bows first displayed their gleaming crests, then spreading into a sheet of foam, shone like varnished silver; porpoises rolled in rows of glittering light and flying fish in sulphur beams. flashed through the dark sky. The heavens, in unison with the glistening sea, appeared exceptionally clear. Venus was shining with such brilliancy that it cast a broad beam of light across the water; so bright was its gleam and so pronounced the contrast of shade and light reflected in the deep, that the image of its rays resembled the moon rather than a distant planet.