178 THE REV. J. G. WOOD. 



his way very slowly through a cup of coffee when my liver and 

 bacon were set before me. He looked at them for a moment, turned 

 pale, and fled. Just as I went on deck, a message was sent to me 

 that the chief steward had ordered a plate of grapes into my cabin. 

 So I distributed most of them among the sick ladies, took a few 

 myself for form's sake, and gave the rest to my victim. 



Early this morning I went on deck, and was enchanted. First I 

 went to the extreme stern. Up it went, and then down, down, 

 thirty feet down. Then it paused for a moment, and from the screw 

 there rushed a torrent of liquid sapphire edged with emerald, and 

 extending as far as the eye could reach. Then to the bow, which 

 looked like a gigantic plough, flinging on either side vast swathes 

 of sapphire, flecked with foam as white as snow. As the ship passed 

 on, one could see the sapphire masses sinking deeply into the black 

 depths below. Then the wind tore the edges of the swathes into 

 clouds of spray, in which a succession of rainbows played. I 

 calculated that on an average each wave raised my bed at least as 

 high as our house, and, of course, dropped as much, while the roll 

 was about fifteen feet. The officers and stewards are quite astonished 

 at me, for I feel as lively as a dozen crickets, and resemble Dr. 

 Gordon Stables' cockroaches in point of appetite. One of the 

 passengers had put his portmanteau on the sofa when he went to 

 bed. In the night the ship gave a tremendous roll, and the portman- 

 teau was pitched completely across the cabin, falling on his stomach. 

 The captain never went to bed after we started until one this 

 morning, when he turned in for a short time. By the way, we saw 

 two great schools of porpoises, many of which came quite close to us, 

 showing the wonderful grace of their leaps. Despite our speed they 

 caught us with the greatest ease, kept pace with us for some time, 

 and then crossed our bows as if we were standing still. The deck is 

 such a curious sight when the weather is fine. It is covered with 

 rows of passengers in deck chairs, some sitting, but most reclining. 

 Passengers have to supply their own chairs. Mine is a very modest 

 business, but most of them are couches, and would make very fair 

 beds. As to the ladies, they might be Egyptian mummies, for they 

 are tucked up in rugs and furs up to their throats, and have shawls 

 wrapped round their heads, so that the occasional tip of a nose is the 

 sole indication of a human countenance. 



