14 Voyage of the Novara. 



lost. When, however, the dinner hour arrived, and the tables 

 and benches were being removed from the lower deck, how 

 great was the surprise, when the culprit was discovered 

 crouching among them ! A peal of laughter roused the poor 

 fellow, who this time was let off with the fright and the 

 punishment of being made an object of ridicule by his 

 comrades. 



On the 3rd of May, being clear of the Adriatic, the steamer 

 Sta. Lucia was at midnight despatched to Corfu to complete 

 her store of coal, whilst we sailed for Cape Spartivento, on the 

 Calabrian coast, which had been assigned as our rendezvous. 

 On the 5th, we sighted this the most southerly promontory of 

 Italy, when, in consequence of a fresh breeze, the sea began to 

 make itself rather disagreeably felt. The novices on board be- 

 came somewhat alarmed. A feeble voice was even heard, which 

 endeavoured to prove from this phenomenon that man is a 

 creature made for te7'ra firma^ and not for the watery element ; 

 but this excellent idea came rather late ; mankind are obliged 

 to submit to existing circumstances, and this thought alone 

 held out some hope, that a longer stay on board would prove 

 the best cure for the evil. Such indeed was the case j though 

 pale faces, want of appetite, and even worse effects, were pro- 

 duced, whenever the ship made a heavier roll than usual. But 

 these slight inconveniences of sea life became rarer and rarer, 

 till at last they appeared only in really stiff gales. On the 

 7th the steamer Sta. Lucia returned and took us again in tow. 



The weather during our passage through the charming 



