AUTOBIOGRAPHY 11 



surgeons, but that the Admiralty had put in another man. 

 "However," said he, "I mean to keep you here till I can 

 get you something you will like," and^ turned upon his heel 

 without waiting for the thanks I stammered out. That 

 explained how it was I had not been packed off to the West 

 Coast of Africa like some of my juniors, and why, eventually, 

 I remained altogether seven months at Haslar, 



After a long interval, during which "Old John" ignored 

 my existence almost as completely as before, he stopped 

 me again as we met in a casual way, and describing the 

 service on which the Rattlesnake was likely to be employed, 

 said that Captain Owen Stanley, who was to command 

 the ship, had asked him to recommend an assistant surgeon 

 who knew something of science; would I like that? Of 

 course I jumped at the offer. "Very well, I give you leave; 

 go to London at once and see Captain Stanley." I wxnt, 

 saw my future commander, who was very civil to me, and 

 promised to ask that I should be appointed to his ship, as 

 in due time I was. It is a singular thing that, during the 

 few months of my stay at Haslar, I had among my messmates 

 two future Directors-General of the Medical Service of 

 the Navy (Sir Alexander Armstrong and Sir John Watt- 

 Reid), with the present President of the College of Physi- 

 cians and my kindest of doctors. Sir Andrew Clark. 



Life on board Her Majesty's ships in those days was a 

 very different affair from what it is now, and ours was 

 exceptionally rough, as we were often many months with- 

 out receiving letters or seeing any civilised people but 

 ourselves. In exchange, we had the interest of being about 

 the last voyagers, I suppose, to whom it could be possible 

 to meet with people who knew nothing of fire-arms — as 

 we did on the south Coast of New Guinea — and of making 

 acquaintance with a variety of interesting savage and semi- 



