26 WILD SPORTS IN THE FAK WEST. 



day and night in their sleeping-places, without eren 

 hiking the trouble to wash themselves ; perhaps they 

 were afraid of taking too much water out of the sea, as 

 the ship was near sand-banks. We tried all sorts of 

 amusements, such as reasonable grown-up men would 

 not be suspected of patronizing. Amongst others, we 

 played at soldiers ; working men, shopkeepers, apothe- 

 caries, Jews, Christians, sailors, old and young, all took 

 part in it, with sticks, brooms, harpoons, fish-grains, 

 hunting knives, wind instruments (the ship's horn for 

 fog-signals), flags, &c., just like little boys. The whole 

 play was carried out rebellion, desertion (one of the 

 Jews vras the deserter), court-martial, execution, and 

 tocsin : the tocsin bell was a shirt stretched over a 

 hoop, and beaten with a broomstick. The best of all 

 was. that the doctor turned up his nose at us, and talked 

 about our being childish ! Was n't he hooted ? 



July 18th. Running merrily with a fair wind, our 

 hearts swelling with fresh hopes. We collected the 

 Oldenburghers on deck to sing a song, the chorus of 

 which was, Peasants ride in coaches in America." I 

 thought the good people might be in error as to coaches, 

 and that wheelbarrows would be, nearer the mark. But 

 what should we be without hope? We were near the 

 land. At early dawn I sprang out of a hammock I 

 had manufactured, tor I could not sleep in the narrow 

 berth, and mounted aloft. 1'laeid. just crisped by a 

 light soulh-ea-t wind, lay the sea, deep, deep beneath me, 

 dandling the noble .-hip. playing with her, yielding 

 before her, and then following with a slight splash. I 

 gained the. highe-t point, cla-ped the mast with my 

 L-fi ariu, and delightedly breathed the pure morning 



