188 



THE RAT 



'But I must curtail my wanderings, and state 

 briefly that I went on a pig-boat to the fair city of 

 Cork, all down Southampton Water and past the 

 Needles, where a fog kept us at anchor for the 

 better part of a day and a night, with bells ringing 

 and whistles bellowing at intervals all round us 

 from invisible steamers that dare not move. So 

 shallow was the curtain which enveloped us that 

 the sun shone brightly on our deck out of a blue 

 sky, and we lay there and basked in a dead calm, 

 not able to see a yard in front of the nose of our 

 boat, so thick lay the blanket of mist upon the 

 waters, which lapped like a sea of oil against our 

 sides. 



' In Cork I spent a happy week, and had half a 

 mind to stay there for good and all, but I found 

 the Irish very excitable — too excitable to suit my 

 convenience. The very sight of a rat was enough 

 to bring the greater part of the population of the 

 town to join in the hue and cry. I do not greatly 

 mind being hunted by a reasonable number of men 

 and dogs, but an army does flurry me a little, and 

 so I allowed my wandering instincts to get the 

 better of me again. I am not grumbling, I hope. 

 After the placid life on board ship, with nothing 

 more dangerous than a " marlin-spike " to fear, a bit 



