15 



calms, which makes them particularly pleasant 

 for sailing, especially as the calms are by far the 

 most disagreeable of the two : the wind steadies 

 the ship ; but when she creeps as slowly as she 

 does at present (scarcely going a mile in four 

 hours), she feels the whole effect of the sea break- 

 ing against her, and rolls backwards and forwards 

 with every billow as it rises and falls. In the mean 

 while, every thing seems to be in a state of the 

 most active motion, except the ship ; while we are 

 carrying a spoonful of soup to our mouths, the 

 remainder takes the " glorious golden opportunity" 

 to empty itself into our laps, and the glasses and 

 salt-cellars carry on a perpetual domestic warfare 

 during the whole time of dinner, like the Guelphs 

 and the Ghibellines. Nothing is so common as to 

 see a roast goose suddenly jump out of its dish in 

 the middle of dinner, and make a frisk from one 

 end of the table to the other ; and we are quite in 

 the habit of laying wagers which of the two boiled 

 fowls will arrive at the bottom first. 



N.B. To-day the fowl without the liver wing 

 was the favourite, but the knowing ones were 

 taken in ; the uncarved one carried it hollow. 



