62 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. III. 



the boat stopping to let them out. One of our number, 

 however, got up and went on deck, and learned that some 

 pin in the engine had broken, and caused the stoppage. 

 However, it was deemed so trivial that he went to bed 

 again, and we began to talk about steamboats and acci- 

 dents, and the like. Now, you must notice that I slept 

 in a room containing four berths, three of which were 

 occupied by Englishmen, the fourth being occupied by 

 your Scotch son George. I was soon embroiled with the 

 whole three about the nature of the last accident : and 

 when I pushed one of them too hard, he began his speech 

 by telling me, that 'we in arguing in England do so and 

 so,' implying a full anxiety to show he knew my nation, 

 and hated it. However, disregarding the taunt, I baffled 

 them all, and was not a little amused next morning, when 

 a surgeon of dragoons, who had lain in some corner or 

 other within earshot of us, remarked to one of them on 

 the amusement he had had listening to our conversation, 

 adding, ' There was a great deal of eloquence in it at 

 times.' I take the credit of all the eloquence to myself, 

 the precious triumvirate can divide the remainder of the 

 praise among them. I and the surgeon enjoyed a laugh 

 at them afterwards. All that is episodical. After talking 

 a while, I thought I heard the steam cease blowing, which 

 is always dangerous if the steamboat be still, and I imme- 

 diately dressed and went on deck. The steam, however, 

 was blowing away all right, but one of the engines was 

 completely maimed. The whole crew were at work un- 

 shipping the broken engine, a work of nearly two hours, 

 during which time we were lying off North Shields, on the 

 Sunderland coast. The night was most beautiful, the water 

 as still as a mill-pond, which was well for us. Had the 

 wind blown hard, it would have been scarcely possible for 



