ON BOARD. 13 



our difficulties. The old butler, weeping from the effects of our 

 last parting and his previous night's dissipation, had slipped 

 over the side, and returned to the shore, and it was under 

 such very unpromising auspices that I first bid adieu to my 

 native land. 



The Orient was not a regular East Indiaman, but what 

 was termed a chartered ship. She was an old teak-built 

 vessel, possessing many disadvantages, a bad sailer, badly 

 found, and badly rigged ; indeed, I may go further, and say 

 badly commanded, as the choleric Navy lieutenant seemed to 

 consider the cat-o'-nine-tails as the only medium through 

 which he could make the men understand their duty or 

 work the ship, and few days elapsed without an exhibition 

 of this description at the gangway. 



By the time we arrived in the Downs, we had somehow 

 or other shaken ourselves into our respective places. I was 

 chummed with another incipient infantry warrior, of about 

 my own age, in a cabin between decks, and we had engaged 

 the services of a very amiable but remarkably ugly specimen 

 of the negro genus, who performed a great variety of parts 

 in the nautical drama, to act in the capacities of femme 

 and valet de chambre to us during the passage. The ship 

 was crammed to its full extent, every cabin in the cuddy, 

 and those between decks, were occupied to the extent of 

 their capabilities, and hammocks and cots were swung in all 

 possible parts of the steerage. 



On three separate occasions we weighed and sailed from 

 the Downs, and three separate times were we forced to put 

 back by adverse winds. The third time our return was 

 celebrated by a bump on the Deal beach, which, if wind and 

 tide had not been in our favour, might have rendered our 

 stay a permanent one ; as it was, we escaped with a severe 

 fright, and the loss of an anchor and chain-cable. A tremen- 



o 7 



dous gale of wind, the loss of our fore-topmast, a very 



