VOYAGE TO MONTE VIDEO. 275 



The general conclusion, which seems to be fully 

 established, is that the southern hemisphere is not 

 colder than the northern, and that all arguments 

 based upon an opposite assumption must be set 

 aside. 



Among the passengers on board the Iberia were a 

 large proportion of ladies and children, the families of 

 English merchants settled in Chili. They had been 

 miserable enough during the three or four days before 

 entering the Straits. The weather had been very 

 severe, and, large as is the vessel, heavy seas con- 

 stantly broke over her upper deck, so that even the 

 most adventurous were confined to the cabins, very 

 many to their berths. The change to quiet waters 

 and brighter skies acted like a charm, and the spirits 

 of the passengers rose even more than the barometer. 

 The children naturally became irrepressible, and left 

 not a quiet corner in the whole ship. Having first 

 invaded the smoking-cabin and made it the chief 

 depot for their toys and games, they next took posses- 

 sion of a small tent rigged up on the upper deck, to 

 which the ejected smokers had retired. There are 

 moments in such a voyage when one thinks that half 

 a gale of wind with a cross sea would not be altogether 

 unwelcome. 



If such a perverse wish did arise in any breast, it 

 was certainly disappointed. The voyage to Monte 

 Video was uneventful, and offered little of special 

 interest, but the weather was throughout fine. On 

 the second day we met a slight breeze from the north, 

 causing a decided rise of temperature and a fall of 

 the barometer, but only a few drops of rain fell ; and 



