A FRENCH MERCHANT SHIP. 317 



and hauling fast on the receding wave, in a few min- 

 utes we passed the breakers, the rope was. thrown out 

 of the groove, and the sailors took to their oars. 



It was one of the most beautiful of those beautiful 

 days on the Pacific. The great ocean was as calm as 

 a lake ; the freshness of the morning still rested upon 

 the water, and already I felt revived. In a few min- 

 utes we reached the Belle Poule, one of the most beau- 

 tiful ships that ever floated, and considered a model in 

 the French commercial marine. The whole deck was 

 covered with an awning, having a border trimmed with 

 scarlet, and fluttering in the wind. The quarter-deck 

 was raised, protected by a fanciful awning, furnished 

 with settees, couches, and chairs, and on a brass railing 

 in front sat two beautiful Peruvian parrots. The door 

 of the cabin was high enough to admit a tall man with- 

 out stooping. On each side were four staterooms, and 

 the stern was divided into two chambers for the captain 

 and supercargo, each with a window in it, and furnish- 

 ed with a bed (not a berth), a sofa, books, drawers, 

 writing-desk, everything necessary for luxurious living 

 on shipboard ; just the comforts with which one would 

 like to circumnavigate the world. She was on a tra- 

 ding voyage from Bordeaux, with an assorted cargo of 

 French goods ; had touched at the ports in Peru, Chili, 

 Panama, and Central America, and left at each place 

 merchandise to be sold, and the proceeds to be invested 

 in the products of the country ; and was then bound to 

 Mazatlan, on the coast of Mexico, whence she would 

 return and pick up her cargo, and in two years return 

 to Bordeaux. We had a dejeuner a la fourchette, 

 abounding in Paris luxuries, with wines and cafe, as 

 in Paris, to which, fortunately for the ship's stores, I did 

 not bring my accustomed vigour ; and there was style in 



