HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 29 



which enabled us, after getting a good offing, to resume our 

 true north-east course, running five knots. Unfortunately, 

 this only continued for four hours, when it fell dead calm 

 again, a strong current setting us to the eastward. 



All next day was dull and misty, with occasional rain, 

 a striking contrast to the lovely weather we had had 

 hitherto. When Snow and I relieved the skipper at four 

 o'clock in the morning, a strong north-easterley wind was 

 blowing, with rain and fog. So we ran into fifty fathoms of 

 water to get out of the current, and waited for the weather to 

 clear up, which it did in the evening, when we sighted Cape 

 Temposti. But the fog no sooner lifted than the wind went 

 down, and we dropped anchor about two miles from the 

 shore in twenty fathoms of water. The next two days were 

 warm and beautiful, but without a breath of wind, and there 

 was nothing for it but to remain where we were. Our men 

 enjoyed this sort of thing immensely ; even at busy times 

 they were seldom trusted to do much. 



The Japanese, though good enough boatmen, are not 

 naturally sailors, like the Malays or Kanakas. 



Sidney Smith accuses Englishmen of always wanting to 

 kill something on a fine day. Without going so far as 

 that, though, considering that we were on a hunting 

 expedition, his remark might seem particularly applicable 

 to us, an Englishman is certainly miserable without some- 

 thing to do. But how our men luxuriated in what the 

 skipper called " a good, solid ' loaf,' " lying sprawling about 

 on the deck, half naked, while the sun dried their upper 

 garments half toga, half dressing-gown which they 

 dignified by the name of " kimono ! " They giggled and 

 chattered away in their language, soft as Italian, fluently 

 enough to have elicited the approbation of the good Scotch 

 baillie who, on his return from the Continent, expressed his 

 greatest source of wonderment to have been to hear the 

 children jabbering awa' at their French " for a' the warld 

 like our ain bairns their mither tongue." The coast here 

 was very beautiful ; a background of mountains, apparently 



