ON TUE BOLABBER GROUNDS. 331 



shelter of liis cats'-meat round in 'Oxton, had got 

 adrift, and, after being severely buffeted by tempestuous 

 ill-fortune, had finally found himself in the comfortable 

 old Chance, a haven of rest in the midst of storms. 

 There were sixteen white men on board the Chance, 

 including the skipper, drawn as usual from various 

 European and American sources, the rest of her 

 large crew of over forty all told being made up of 

 Maories and half-breeds. One common interest united 

 them, making them the jolliest crowd I ever saw — 

 their devotion to their commander. There was here to 

 be found no jealousy of the Maories being officers and 

 harpooners, no black looks or discontented murmuring ; 

 all hands seemed particularly well satisfied with their 

 lot in all its bearings; so that, although the old tub 

 was malodorous enough to turn even a pretty strong 

 stomach, it was a pleasure to visit her cheerful crowd 

 for the sake of their enlivening society. 



Of course, under our present circumstances, with the 

 debris of our late enormous catch filling every available 

 space and loudly demanding attention, we had little time 

 to spare for ship visiting. Some boat or other from the 

 two ships was continually alongside of us, though, for 

 until the gale abated they could not get out to the 

 grounds again, and time hung heavy on their hands. 

 The Tamerlane s captain avoided Paddy as if he were 

 a leper — hated the sight of him, in fact, as did most 

 of his confreres; but our genial skipper, whose crew 

 were every whit as well treated and contented as the 

 Chance's, and who therefore needed not to dread losing 

 them, met the little philanthropist on the most friendly 

 terms. 



The first fine weather, which came four days 

 after our arrival, both our harbour mates cleared out. 



