ABOUT BUYING A HORSE. 29 



pipes (this is very rare), and enjoying the vessel's lurch 

 delighting in the waves, revelling in the breezes, and smiling 

 in pity on the miseries of my fellow-passengers. 



I have known myself — but not recognised myself at all as 

 the bold sailor above described — well, up to a certain point. 

 This " certain point " was where somebody said, " Now we're 

 on the bar." I replied faintly, feeling suddenly pale and 

 staggery, " Are we ? " and, in another second, for no sort of 

 reason that I could make out, except that this confounded 

 man had told me " we were on the bar," I was groaning in 

 agony, with my head in the wrong direction over the ship's 

 side. 



I have known myself (again quite as somebody else in no 

 way related to the foregoing portraits) come on board, feel 

 ill immediately, long before the vessel was even in motion, 

 foresee a fearful passage, make all my arrangements, calmly 

 beforehand, even down to an anticipatory tip to the steward 

 to look after me as soon as possible, and be very kind to me 

 in particular, and then, on our leaving the harbour and being 

 fairly started, all qualms have nearly vanished, and, finally, I 

 have dropped oif into a fitful and unrefreshing slumber, only 

 to be thoroughly aroused by being told, " Here we are ! " and 

 finding myself at my destination without ever having been ill 

 at all. 



I have found that sometimes the place for me was " below " 

 on a couch at once, and stay there. More often that 

 '' below " wouldn't do at all. 



Sometimes I have found that reading was an excellent 

 preventive ; at others, I couldn't read a line. 



