ON BOARD THE JOHN BOWIE 69 



and as the full complement of passengers consisted 

 only of four, a table was laid on the after-hatchway, 

 immediately abaft the unguarded machinery, and 

 about two feet from the stroke of the cylinders. 

 Here we were joined by the commander, a very 

 large, red-faced Hollander, possessed of a surpris- 

 ingly rich and varied vocabulary of fluent, inter- 

 national profanity. His staff was also present, 

 consisting of the several executive officers, the 

 several engineer officers, the boatswain, carpenter, 

 and cook, all combined in the person of one small, 

 pale, unspeakably dirty Scotsman. Did the com- 

 mander desire steam at any given hour, Scotty 

 had to see that it was ready. Whilst attending 

 to this, did it strike the commander (who was also 

 the purser) that we required bread, the obedient and 

 versatile Scotty wiped his engine-room-oily hands 

 on a venerable piece of cotton waste, and im- 

 mediately proceeded to carry out his instructions. 

 Let me not recount either how the food was cooked, 

 of what it consisted, or, more important still, what 

 it tasted hke ; these are unprofitable memories, and 

 I would that they were memories no longer. 



But the nights were worse than all else. 



As I have said, there were no mosquito-curtains, 

 and the piece of mushn which was all I could 

 obtain at Chinde was far too tiny to serve any 

 useful purpose. To the sleeplessness produced by 

 swarms of mosquitoes, was added, soon after mid- 

 night, a variety of discomfort by the dew which 

 filtered through the cracks in the roof and dropped 

 icily cold upon one from above. 



Of course, we have changed aU that now, and, 



