178 MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



a little crinoline, outside the ship at the level 

 of the upper deck, and that kept off some of 

 the direct heat of the sunshine, we got the full 

 benefit of the rays reflected from the water, 

 which struck the ship's side and intensified the 

 heat within. Canvas " windsails," to catch what 

 air there was and carry it between decks, had 

 been of some use at sea, but in harbour they 

 hung limp and useless. The Admiral's gun had 

 gone off as usual at 5 a.m. The sound of holy- 

 stones on the deck above and of water swishing 

 through the scuppers had come soon afterwards, 

 and I remember lying on a cool grass-mat 

 thinking that I had a day off, and planning 

 how best to spend it. (Such use of a grass-mat, 

 by the way, is a great aid to sleep in hot weather, 

 because when sheets and pillows get hotter and 

 hotter during the night a grass-mat does not.) 

 Reflections from the sunlight on the water were 

 playing about on the under-surface of the awning 

 curtain, as seen through my port. A hot day 

 was beginning after a hot night. 



So the morning passed the seaman's morning 

 which begins at 4 and ends at 8 a.m., with 

 the hoisting of the white ensign aft, all hands 

 saluting, to the tune of our national anthem. 

 Hanging my head out of my port, to see whether 

 the air outside was any cooler than it was in 



