THE NATIVES ABROAD. 295 



long, cadaverous, and lanky in these respects unlike his 

 countrymen. He slept on the sofa just opposite the spot 

 whereon I lay, so that, unless I turned my face to the 

 iide of the vessel or shut my eyes, he was an unavoidable 

 abject of contemplation. On awaking he stretched him 

 self, which act had an alarming appearance in one so long 

 by nature, and so attenuated. Then he filled his pipe 

 with an air of deep abstraction and profound melancholy 

 the result, I suppose, of his being unrefreshed by his 

 recent slumbers. 



Of course, no one of sense would think of attributing 

 this to excessive smoking ! 



The pipe filled, he arose ; on rising, he lit it ; while 

 dressing, he smoked it ; and till breakfast it burned 

 fiercely like a blast-furnace. During the morning meal 

 it went out, but before the big bowl had time to cool it 

 Was rekindled. He smoked till dinner-time ; dined, and 

 smoked till tea-time ; tea'd, and smoked till bed-time. 

 Then he lay down for the night, and still continued to 

 tnoke until I or he, I forget which, fell asleep. He 

 awoke before I did next morning, so that when I opened 

 my eyes the first object they rested on was the bowl i* 

 that youth's meerschaum enveloped in clouds of smoke ! 



1 am tempted to moralise, but I refrain. Mankind is 

 smitten with the c&aease, and I am afraid that it w 



