a Trip to the West Indies. 9 
L 
j By the time the ship has reached the Azores—which is usually 
on the Sunday following the day of leaving Southampton 
_ (Wednesday)—passengers begin to know one another, a sweep- 
_ stake on the ship’s daily run is started, and the evenings are 
shortened by music. After leaving the Azores, we get out of 
the ‘‘ Roaring Forties’; the weather improves, the deck chairs 
. are brought out, and a ray of hope comes over all on board that 
the cold, frost, leaden skies, and rough weather have been left 
_ behind. The weather being good, the ships on this line make 
- about 340 miles in the twenty-four hours. I see my notes for 
_ Sunday, Jan. 27th, confirm this—up at 8.15; a most charming, 
q sunny and warm morning, no wind, and the Azores (St. Mary) 
_ in sight; this is indeed an ideal morning, one not to be forgotten, 
- and which will repay the inconvenience of the last two days. 
In the evening we crossed the French mail for Martinique; this 
was the first vessel we had seen. The next object we saw was 
a blackfish, about twenty-five to thirty feet long. I understand 
it is a species of Grampus. 
On the Wednesday, or just a week after leaving Southampton, 
we saw the first flying-fish (Eaocetus volitans); we also amused 
ourselves by fishing up the Gulf or ‘‘ Sargasso”’ weed, which floats 
in golden-yellow patches on the surface of the water. The next 
day (Thursday) we entered the Tropic of Cancer about nine 
o’clock in the evening. The sea is now so calm that sports can 
be indulged in, such as egg-and-spoon race, potato race, marking 
the pie’s eye, slinging the monkey, &c. It is very beautiful, 
ploughing along on a waveless sea on a very warm evening. 
On Friday we had a very enjoyable concert on deck. 
When you get into the trade winds, it is strange what cloud- 
formations you get. There are seldom clouds in the sky above 
you; but low down, all round the horizon, you have masses of 
white puffy clouds, as I have tried to show in the sketch; these 
appear to remain there and never blow up; in the evening these 
are beautifully coloured. Shoals of flying-fish are now con- 
_stantly rising from the bows of the ship; they look very like 
large dragonflies; they fly at about six inches above the surface 
of the water ; they sometimes fly about a hundred feet or so, and 
then suddenly drop into the water with a slight splash. I think 
they use their tails either to keep the head out of the water, or 
as a means of steering the body, as it can be seen to be kept 
bent down, and will often skim along the surface. 
_ We were very much struck by the deep indigo blue colour of 
_ the ocean. 
_ ‘The sunsets are wonderfully grand, more especially the after- 
glows, when the sun has disappeared below the horizon. On the 
western horizon it is yellow; as we raise our eyes upwards it 
changes by innumerable shades of orange to blue, then plum- 
B2 
