At Sea 19 



grateful and refreshing plunge. The tank every after- 

 noon was a welcome resort for the boys and girls on 

 board. 



Of children the ship had its full quota. There were 

 five baby-carriages on board and five jolly babies were 

 daily trundled to and fro, cooing, laughing, and kicking 

 their legs in the air. Of larger children there were 

 about thirty, who had many a game, and many a romp. 

 One of the pleasant incidents was a dinner for the chil- 

 dren, which was given the day before we reached Rio de 

 Janeiro. On that occasion it fell to the lot of the writer 

 to award to the young people the prizes which they had 

 won in the "potato races, " the " egg-and-spoon races, ' 

 and the games of ring-toss and shuffle-board, which 

 had been played on deck. On the evening of the same 

 day awards were made to their elders, who had joined 

 in like sports, or who had won prizes in the 'bridge 

 tournaments" and in the masquerades which had taken 

 place. There was not a little musical talent on board; 

 and a couple of enjoyable concerts were given in which 

 professional and amateur performers joined amicably, 

 and won the gratitude of their fellow-travelers. 



The company in the first cabin included a large num- 

 ber of men belonging to the different branches of the 

 engineering profession. They w r ere either going out 

 for the first time, or else returning, to take charge of 

 work upon the railways, or the great electrical enter- 

 prises which are being developed in South America. 

 A still larger number of the passengers were representa- 

 tives of firms engaged in the manufacture and sale of 

 agricultural machinery. One of these men was a veteran, 

 and repeatedly had visited the interior of South America, 

 going from ranch to ranch giving instruction in the 

 use of American mowers, reapers, and steam-plows. 



