236 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



say that not only had it to propel the vessel, but also 

 to perform all the work done on board by machinery. 

 AVith great tact, too, this little monster has been so 

 placed that the inmates of the chief saloon shall have 

 the most practical experience of its obtrusive activity, 

 as if to remind them that life even on board the Great 

 Eastern is not wholly a bed of roses truly a moral 

 doctrine, but very trite and utterly superfluous amidst 

 circumstances that serve to keep it ever fresh in 

 remembrance. Moreover, it is useless to try and 

 escape the annoyance by changing your cabin, for, 

 like the ghost of Hamlet's father, it is by nature 

 ubiquitous, and wherever you wander, there also shall 

 its rap-rap be heard. Yet, in spite of this little 

 nuisance, what life can be compared to a life at sea, 

 especially in such a good ship, where there is little or 

 110 chance of ever being prostrated by sea-sickness ? 

 j$o doubt it has its drawbacks ; but what existence 

 is free from them? True, you cannot Avander in 

 green lanes, nor feast the eye on fresh verdure and 

 the varied hues of " rain-awakened " flowers ; but in 

 no state can you be more independent of those petty 

 cares which cloud the sunshine of the mere dwellers 

 on earth. You are free from the extortion of cab- 

 men and the inconsiderate rush of a city's mob. 

 There are no letters to write, no calls to make or 

 receive, and no bills to pay. The tax-gatherer, the 

 poor-rate collector, and all the other blessings of civ- 

 ilised life, are unknown. In all security you walk 



