Rites of Passage – William Golding - bzelbublive.info

Wheeler tells me the wind will veer during the night and weshall get a-weigh make sail, be off, start on our vast journeywhen the tide turns. I have told him I am a good sailor andhave observed that same peculiar light. which is not quite asmile but rather an involuntary expansiveness. Bit acrosshis face. I made an immediate resolution to teach the mana lesson i n manners a t the first opportunity-but a s I writethese very words the pattern of our wooden world changes.There is a volleying and thundering up there from what mustbe the loosened canvas. There is the shrilling of pipes.Good God. can human throats emit such noises? But thata n d that must be signal guns! Outside my hutch apassenger has fallen with many oaths and the ladies areshrieking. the cattle are lowing and the sheep baaing. All isconfusion. Perhaps then the cows are baaing, the sheeplowing and the ladies damning the ship and her timbers toall hell fire? The canvas bowl into which Wheeler pouredwater for me has shifted i n its gimbals and now lies a t aslight angle.Our anchor has been plucked out of the sand and gravel ofOld England. I shall have no connection with my native soilfor three, or it may be four or five, years. I own that even withthe prospect of interesting and advantageous employmentbefore me it is a solemn thought.How else, since we are being solemn, should I conclude theaccount of my first day at sea than with an expression of myprofound gratitude? You have set my foot on the ladder and

however high I climb-for I must warn your lordship that myambition i s boundless!-I shall never forget whose kindlyhand first helped me upwards. That he may never be foundunworthy of that hand, nor do anything unworthy of it is theprayer-the intention-of your lordship's grateful godson.EDMUND TALBOT(2)I have placed-the number "2" at the beginning of this entrythough I do not know how much I shall set down today.Circumstances are all against careful composition. Therehas been so little strength in my limbs the privehouse, the1oo-I beg its pardon, I do not know what it should be calledsince i n strict sea-language the heads are a t the forwardend o f the vessel, the young gentlemen should have aroundhouse and the lieutenants should have-I do not knowwhat the lieutenants should have. The constant movementof the vessel and the need constantly to adjust my body toit-Your lordship was pleased t o recommend that I shouldconceal nothing. Do you not remember conducting me fromt h e library w i t h a friendly a r m across my shoulder,ejaculating in your jovial way, "Tell all, my boy! Hold nothingback! Let me live again through you!" The devil is in it, then,I have been most confoundedly seasick and kept my bunk.After all, Seneca off Naples was in my predicament was he

not-but you will remember-and if even a stoic philosopher isreduced by a few.miles of lumpy water, what will become of all us poorfellows on higher seas? I must own to have been reducedalready t o salt tears b y exhaustion a nd t o have beendiscovered i n s uc h a womanish s ta te b y Wheeler!However, he is a worthy fellow. I explained my tears by myexhaustion and he agreed cheerfully."You, sir," said he, "would hunt all day and dance all night atthe end of it. Now if you was to put me, or most seamen, ona horse, our kidneys would be shook clear down to ourknees."I groaned some sort of answer, and heard Wheeler extractthe cork from a bottle."Consider, sir," said he, "it i s but learning t o ride a ship.You will do that soon enough."The thought comforted me; but not a s much a s the mostdelectable odour which came o'er my spirits like the warmsouth. I opened my eyes and lo, what had Wheeler donebut produce a huge dose o f paregoric? The comfortabletaste took me straight back to the nursery and this time withnone of the melancholy attendant on memories of childhoodand home! I sent Wheeler away, dozed for a while thenslept. Truly, the poppy would have done more for old

Seneca than his philosophy!I woke from strange dreams and in such thick darkness thatI knew not where I was but recollected all too soon andfound our motion sensibly increased. I shouted at once forWheeler. At the third shout accompanied I admit with moreoaths than I generally consider consistent with eithercommon sense or gentlemanly conduct-he opened the doorof my hutch."Help me out of here, Wheeler! I must get some air!""Now you lie still for a while, sir, and in a bit you'l be right asa trivet! I'll set out a bowl."Is there, can there be, anything sillier, less comforting thanthe prospect of imitating a trivet? I saw them i n my mind'se ye a s s mug a n d self-righteous a s a convocation ofMethodists. I cursed the fellow to his face.However, i n the upshot he was being reasonable enough.He explained that we were having a blow. H e thought mygreatcoat with the triple capes too fine a garment to risk inflying salt spray. H e added, mysteriously, that he did notwish me to look like a chaplain. I He himself, however, hadin his possession an unused suit of yellow oilskin. Ruefullyenough, he said he had bought it for a gentleman who in theevent had never embarked. It was just my size and I shouldhave it for no more than he had given for it. Then at the end

of the voyage I might sell it back to him at second hand i f Ichose. I closed there and then with this very advantageousoffer, for the air was stifling me and I longed for the open.He eased and tied me into the suit, thrust India rubberhoots on my feet and adjusted an oilskin hat on my head. Iwish your lordship could have seen me for I must havelooked a proper sailor, n o matter ho w unsteady I felt!Wheeler assisted me into the lobby, which was running withwater. He kept up his prattle as, for example, that we shouldlearn to have one leg shorter than the other like mountainsheep. I told him testily that since I visited France during thelate peace, I knew when a deck was atilt, since I had notwalked across on the water. I got out into the waist andleaned against the bulwarks on the larboard, that is thedownward, side of the deck. The main chains and the hugespread o f t h e ratlines-oh Falconer, Falconer!-extendedabove m y head, and above that a quantity o f namelessropes hummed and thrummed and whistled. There was aneye of light showing still, but spray flew over from the high,starboard side and clouds that raced past us seemed nohigher than the masts. We had company, of course, the resto f the convoy being o n our larboard hand a nd alreadyshowing lights, though spray and a smoky mist mixed withram obscured them. I breathed With exquisite ease afterthe fetor of my hutch and could not out hope that thisextreme, even violent, weather would blow some of thestench out of her. Somewhat restored I gazed about me,and found for the first time since the anchor was raised myintellect and interest reviving. Staring up and back, I could

ain cascaded was beating into this sea and thereforeshouldering the waves at an angle, like a bully forcing hisw a y through a dense crowd. A n d a s t h e bully mightencounter here and there a like spirit, so she (our ship) washindered now and then, or dropped or lifted or, it may be,struck a blow in the face that made all her forepart, then thewaist and the afterdeck to foam and wash with white water.I began, as Wheeler had put it, to ride a ship. Her mastsleaned a little. The shrouds to windward were taut, those toleeward slack, or very near it. The huge cable of hermainbrace swung out to leeward between the masts; andn o w he r e i s a point which I would wish to make.Comprehension of this vast engine is not to be come atgradually nor by poring over diagrams in MarineDictionaries! It comes, when it comes, at a bound. In thatsemi-darkness between one wave and the next I found theship and the sea comprehensible not merely in terms of hermechanical ingenuity but as a-a what? As a steed, aconveyance, a means working to an end. This w a s apleasure that I had not anticipated. I t was, I thought withperhaps a touch of complacency, quite a n addition t o myunderstanding! A single sheet, a rope attached to the lowerand leeward corner of a sail, was vibrating some yardsabove my head, wildly indeed, but understandably! As i f toreinforce the comprehension, a t the moment when I wasexamining the rope and its function there came a huge thudfrom forward, a n explosion o f water and spray, and therope's vibration changed-was halved at the midpoint so that

for a while its length traced out two narrow ellipses laid endto end-illustrated, i n fact, the first harmonic, like that pointon a violin string which if touched accurately enough willgive the player the note an octave above the open one.But this ship has more strings than a violin, more than alute, more I think than a harp, and under the wind's tuitionshe makes a ferocious music. I will own that after a while Icould have done with human company, but the Church hassuccumbed and the Army too. No lady can possibly beanywhere but in her bunk. As for the Navy-well, it is literallyin its element. Its members stand here and there encasedin tarpaulin, black with faces pale only by contrast. At a littledistance they resemble nothing so much as rocks with thetide washing over them. When the light had quite faded I feltmy way back t o m y hutch and shouted for Wheeler, whocame at once, got me out of my oilskins, hung the suit onthe hook where it at once took up a drunken angle. I toldhim to bring me a lamp but he told me it was not possible.This put me in a .temper but he explained the reason wellenough. Lamps are dangerous to us all since once oversetthere is .no controlling them. But I might have a candle if Icared to pay for it since a candle dowses itself when it falls,and in any case I must take a few safety measures in themanagement of i t . Wheeler himself h a d a supply ofcandles. I replied that I ha d thought such articles werecommonly obtained from the purser. After a short pauseWheeler agreed. He had not thought I would wish to dealdirectly with the purser who lived apart and was seldom

When this morning I had fought m y way into the diningsaloon-finding, by the way, nothing hot to drink there-I wasunable for a while to fight my way out again. The door wasjammed. I rattled the handle peevishly, tugged a t i t, thenfound myself hanging from it as she (the monstrous vesselhas become "she" as a termagant mistress) she lurched.That in itself was not so bad but what followed might havekilled me. For the door snapped open so that the handleBashed in a semicircle with a radius equal to the width ofthe opening! I saved myself from fatal or serious injury bythe same instinct that drops a cat always on its feet. Thisalternate stiffness then to o easy compliance with one'swishes by a door-one of those necessary objects in life onwhich I had never before bestowed much interest-seemed to me so animated a piece of impertinence on thepart of a few planks of wood I could have believed the verygenii, the dryads a nd hamadryads o f the material fromwhich our floating box i s composed, had refused to leavetheir ancient dwelling and come t o sea with us! B ut no-itwas merely-"merely" -dear God what a world!-the goodship doing what Wheeler called "rendering like an oldboot".I was o n a ll fours, the door having been caught neatlyagainst t h e transverse or thwartships bulkhead (asFalconer would have i t) b y a metal springhook, when afigure came through the opening that s e t m e laughing

crazily. It was one of our lieutenants and he stumped alongcasually at such an angle to the deck for the deck itself wasm y plane o f reference-that h e seemed t o b e (albeitunconsciously) clownish and he put me in a good humour atonce for all my bruises. I climbed back to the smaller andpossibly more exclusive of the two dining tables-that one Imean set directly under the great stem window-and satonce more. All is firmly fixed, of course. Shall I discourse toyour lordship on "rigging screws"? I think not. Well then,observe me drinking ale at the table with this officer. He isone Mr Cumbershum, holding the King's Commission andtherefore to be accounted a gentleman though he sucked inhis ale with as nauseating an indifference to polite usageas you would find in a carter. He is forty, I suppose, withblack hair cut short but growing nearly down to hiseyebrows. He has been slashed over the head and is oneof our heroes, however unformed his manners. Doubtlesswe shall hear that story before we have done! At least hewas a source of information. He called the weather roughbut not very. He thought those passengers who werestaying in their bunks-this with a meaning glance at me-andtaking light refreshment there, were wise, since we have nosurgeon and a broken limb, as he phrased it, could b e anuisance to everyone! We have no surgeon, it appears,because even the most inept of young sawbones can dobetter for himself ashore. I t i s a mercenary considerationthat gave me a new view of what I had always considered aprofession with a degree of disinterestedness about it. Iremarked that in that case we must expect a n unusual

incidence o f mortality a nd i t w a s fortunate w e h a d achaplain to perform all the other rites, from the first t o thelast. A t this, Cumbershum choked, took his mouth awayfrom the pot and addressed me in tones of profoundastonishment."A chaplain, sir? We have no chaplain!""Believe me, I have seen him.""No, sir.""But law requires one aboard every ship of the line does itnot?""Captain Anderson would wish to avoid it; and sinceparsons are in as short supply as surgeons it is as easy toavoid the one as it is difficult to procure the other."" C o me , c o m e , M r C umbershum! A r e n o t seamennotoriously superstitious? Do you not require theoccasional invocation of Mumbo Jumbo?""Captain Anderson does not, sir. Nor did the great CaptainCook, I would have you know. He was a notable atheist andwould as soon have taken the plague into his ship as aparson.""Good God!"

"I assure you, sir.""But how-my dear M r Cumbershum! How i s order t o bemaintained? You take away the keystone and the wholearch falls!"Mr Cumbershum did not appear to take my point. I saw thatmy language must not be figurative with such a man andrephrased it."Your crew is not all officers! Forward there, is a crowd ofindividuals on whose obedience the order of the wholedepends, the success of the voyage depends!""They are well enough.""But sir-just as in a state the supreme argument for thecontinuance of a national church is the whip it holds i n onehand and the-dare I say-illusory prize in the other, so here-"B ut M r Cumbershum was wiping hi s lips with the brownback of his fist and getting to his feet." I don't know about all that," he said. "Captain Andersonwould not have a chaplain in the ship if he could avoid itevenif one was on offer. The fellow you saw was apassenger and I believe, a very new-hatched parson. '.

I remembered how the poor devil had clawed up the wrongside of the deck and spewed right in the eye of the wind."You must be right, sir. He is certainly a very new-hatchedseaman!" I the n informed M r Cumbershum tha t a t aconvenient time I must make myself known to the captain.When he looked surprised I told him who I am, mentionedyour lordship's name and that of His Excellency your brotherand outlined the position I should hold i n the governor'sentourage-or as much as i t i s politic to outline, since youknow what other business I am charged with. I did not addwhat I then thought. This was that since the governor i s anaval officer, if Mr Cumbershum was an average exampleof the breed I should give the entourage some tone it wouldstand in need of!My information rendered Mr Cumbershum more expansive.He sat down again. He owned he had never been in such aship or on such a voyage. It was all strange to him and hethought to the other officers too. We were a ship of war,store ship, a packet boat or passenger vessel , we were allthings, which amounted to-and here I believe I detected arigidity of mind that is to be expected i n an officer at oncejunior and elderly - amounted to being nothing. Hesupposed that at the end of this voyage she would moor forgood, send down he r to p masts a nd b e a s o p t o thegovernor's dignity, firing nothing but salutes as he went toand fro.

"Which," he added darkly, "is just as well, Mr Talbot sir, justas well!""It is war, Mr Talbot; and peace or war, a ship is always indanger. The only other vessel of our rate to undertake thisenormous voyage, a converted warship I mean, converteds o t o speak t o general purposes-she w a s named theGuardian, I think-yes, the Guardian, did not complete thejourney. But now I remember she ran on an iceberg in theSouthern Ocean, so her rate and age was not material" Igot my breath again. I detected through the impassivity of"Take me with you, sir." .Mr Cumbershum waited until the tilted servant had suppliedus again. Then he glanced through the door at the emptyand streaming lobby."Cod knows what would happen to her Mr Talbot if we wasto fire the few great guns left in her."·"The devil is in it then!""I beg you will not repeat my opinion to the common sort ofpassenger. We must not alarm them. I have said more thanI should.""I was prepared with some philosophy to risk the violenceof the enemy; but that a spirited defence on our part shoulddo no more than increase our danger is, is-“

the man's exterior a determination t o roast me, preciselybecause I had made the importance of my position clear tohim. I laughed good-humouredly and turned the thing off. Ithought i t a moment to try my prentice hand at the flatterywhich your lordship recommended to me as a possiblepasse-partout."I go on watch," he said. "But do you settle your stomach.However, there is one more thing. Have a care I beg you ofWheeler's paregoric. It is the very strongest stuff, and as thevoyage goes on the price will increase out of all reason."With such devoted and skilful officers as we are providedwith, sir, I am sure we need fear nothing."Cumbershum stared at me as if he suspected my words ofsome hidden and perhaps sarcastic meaning."Devoted, sir? Devoted?"It was time to "go about," as we nautical fellows say. "Doyou see this left hand of mine, sir? Yon door did it. see howscraped and bruised the palm is, you would call it mylarboard hand I believe. I have a bruise o n the larboardhand! Is that not perfectly nautical? But I shall follow yourfirst advice. I shall take some food first with a glass ofbrandy, then turn in to keep my limbs entire. You will drinkwith me, sir?"Cumbershum shook his head.

Steward!He left me then with as courteous an inclination of the headas you would expect from a man leaning like the pitch of aroof. It was a sight to make one bosky out of hand. Indeed,the warming properties o f strong drink gi ve i t a moreseductive appeal at sea than it ever has ashore, I think. So Idetermined with that glass to regulate my use of it. I turnedwarily in my fastened seat and inspected the world offurious water that stretched and slanted beyond our stemwindow. I must own that it afforded me the scantiestconsolation; the more so as I reflected that in the happiestoutcome of our voyage there was not a single billow, wave,swell, comber that I shall cross in one direction withouthaving, in a few years time, to cross it in the other! I sat fora great while eyeing m y brandy, staring into its aromaticand tiny pool of liquid. I found little comfort in sight at thattime except the evident fact that our other passengers wereeven more lethargic than I was. The thought at oncedetermined me to eat. I got down some nearly fresh breadand a little mild cheese. On top of this I swallowed mybrandy and gave my stomach a dare to misbehave; and sofrightened it with the threat of an addiction to small ale,thence to brandy, then to Wheeler's paregoric and after thatt o the ultimate destructiveness o f an habitual recourse,Lord help us, to laudanum that the poor, misused organ layas quiet as a mouse that hears a kitchen-maid rattle the fireA glass of brandy for Mr Talbot!"

in the morning! I turned in and got my head down andturned out and ate; then toiled at these very pages by thelight of my candle-giving your lordship, I doubt it not, aqueasy piece of "living through" m e fo r which I a m asheartily sorry as yourself could be! I believe the whole ship,from the farm animals up or down to your humble servant, isnauseated t o one degree o r another-always excepting ofcourse the leaning and streaming tarpaulins.(4)And how is your lordship today? In the best of health andspirits, I trust, as I am!There i s such a crowd of events at the back o f m y mind,tongue, pen, what you will, that my greatest difficulty is toknow how to get them on the paper! In brief, all things aboutour wooden world have altered for the better. I do not meanthat I have got my sea legs; for even now that I understandthe physical laws of our motion they continue to exhaust rile!But the motion itself is easier. It was some time in the hourso f darkness that I woke a shouted order perhaps-andfeeling if anything even more stretched on the rack of ourlumbering, bullying progress. For days, as I lay, there hadcome at irregular intervals a kind of impediment from ourwatery shoulderings that I cannot describe except to say itwas as if our carriage wheels had caught for a moment onthe drag, then released themselves. It was a movement thatas I lay in my trough, my bunk, my feet to our stem, my head

Even though I now understood the cause, the repetition wasunutterably wearisome. But as I awoke there were loudmovements on deck, the thundering of many feet, thenshouted orders prolonged into what one might suppose tobe the vociferations of the damned. I had not known (evenwhen crossing the Channel) what an aria can be made ofthe simple injunction, "Ease the sheets!" then, "Let go andhaul!" Precisely over my head, a voice-Cumbershum'sperhaps-roared, "Light to!" and there w a s e ve n morecommotion. The groaning of the yards would have mademe grind my teeth in sympathy had I had the strength; butthen, oh then! In our passage to date there has been nocircumstance of like enjoyment, bliss! The movement of mybody, of the bunk, of the whole ship changed in a moment,in the twinkling of an eye as if-but I do not need to elaboratethe allusion. I knew directly what had brought the miracleabout. We had altered course more towards the south andin Tarpaulin language-which I confess I speak withincreasing pleasure-we had brought the wind from forrardof the starboard beam to large on the starboard quarter!Our motion, ample as ever, was and is more yielding, morefeminine and suitable to the sex of our conveyance. I fellhealthfully asleep at once. When I awoke there was no suchfolly as bounding out of my bunk or singing, but I did shoutto our bows-a movement that would thrust m y head morefi rmly i nt o t h e pillow, which being m a d e o f granitetransmitted the impulsion throughout the remainder o f myperson.

for Wheeler with a more cheerful noise than I had uttered, Ibelieve, since the day when I was first acquainted with thesplendid nature of my colonial employment-But come! Icannot give, nor would you wish o r expect, a moment bymoment description of my journey! I begin to understandthe limitations of such a journal as I have time to keep. I nolonger credit Mistress Pamela's pietistic accounts of everyshift i n her calculated resistance t o the advances o f hermaster! I will get myself up, relieved, shaved, breakfasted ina single sentence. Another shall see me on deck in myoilskin suit. Nor was I alone. For though the weather was inno way improved, we had it at our backs, or shouldersrather, and could stand comfortably in the shelter o f ourwall, that is, those bulkheads rising t o the afterdeck andquarterdeck. I was reminded of convalescents at a spa, allup and about but wary in their new ability to walk or stagger.Good God! Look at the time! If I am not more able tochoose what I say I shall find myself describing the daybefore yesterday rather than writing about today for youtonight! For throughout the day I have walked, talked, eaten,drunk, explored-and here I am again, kept out of my bunkby the-I must confess-agreeable invitation of the page! I findthat writing is like drinking. A man must learn to control it.Well then. Early on, I found m y oilskin suit to o ho t andreturned t o m y cabin. There, since it would be in somesense an official visit, I dressed myself with care so as toma k e a proper impression o n t h e captain. I w a s ingreatcoat a nd beaver, though I took the precaution of

securing this last on my head by means of a scarf passedover the crown and tied under my chin. I debated thepropriety of sending Wheeler to announce me but thoughtthis too formal in the circumstances. I pulled on my gloves,therefore, shook out my capes, glanced down at my bootsand found them adequate. I went to climb the laddersthoughof course they are staircases and broad at that-tothe afterdeck and quarterdeck. I passed M r Cumbershumwith an underling and gave him good day. But he ignoredmy greeting in a way that would have offended me had I notknown from the previous day's exchanges that his mannersare uncouth and his temper uncertain. I approached thecaptain therefore, who w a s t o b e recognized b y hiselaborate i f shabby uniform. H e stood o n the starboardside o f the quarterdeck, the wind a t hi s back where hishands were clasped, and he was staring at me, his faceraised, as if my appearance was a shock. Now I have toacquaint yo ur lordship w i t h a n unpleasant discovery.However gallant and indeed invincible our Navy may be,however heroic her officers and devoted her people, a shipof war is an ignoble despotism! Captain Anderson's firstremark-if such a growl may be so described-and uttered atthe very moment when having touched my glove to the brimof my beaver I was about to announce my name, was anunbelievably discourteous one."\Vho the devil is this, Cumbershum? Have they not readmy orders?" This remark so astonished me that I did notattend to Cumbershum's reply, if indeed he made any. My

fi rst thought w a s t ha t i n t h e course o f s o m e quiteincomprehensible misunderstanding C aptain Andersonwas about t o strike me. At once, and in a loud voice, Imade myself known. The man began to bluster and myanger would have got the better of me had I not been moreand more aware of the absurdity of our position. Forstanding as we did, I, the captain, Cumbershum and hissatellite, we all had one leg stiff as a post while the otherflexed regularly as the deck -moved under us. It made melaugh in what must have seemed an unmannerly fashion butthe fellow deserved the rebuke even if it was accidental. Itstopped his blusters and heightened his colour, but gaveme the opportunity of producing your name and that of HisExcellency your brother, much a s one might prevent thenearer approach of a highwayman by quickly presenting abrace of pistols. Our captain squinted first-you will forgivethe figure-down your lordship's muzzle, decided you wereloaded, cast a fearful eye at the ambassador i n m y otherhand and reined back with his yellow teeth showing! I haveseldom seen a face at once so daunted and so atrabilious.He is a complete argument for the sovranty of the humours.This exchange and the following served to move me intothe fringes of his local despotism· so that I felt much like anenvoy at the Grande Porte who may regard himself asreasonably safe, i f uncomfortable, while a l l round himheads topple. I swear Captain Anderson would have shot,hanged, keel-hauled, marooned me if prudence had not inthat instant got the better of his inclination. Nevertheless, iftoday when the French clock in the Arras room chimed ten

and our ship's bell here was struck four times-at that time, Isay, if your lordship experienced a sudden access of wellbeingand a warming satisfaction, I cannot swear that itmay not have been some distant notion o f what a silvermountedand murdering piece of ordnance a noble namewas proving to be among persons of a middle station!I waited for a moment or two while Captain Andersonswallowed his bile. He had much regard for your lordshipand would not be thought remiss in any attention to his, his-He hoped I was comfortable and had not at first known-Therule was that passengers came to the quarterdeck byinvitation though of course in my case-He hoped (and thiswith a glare that would have frightened a wolf-hound) , hehoped to see more o f me. S o w e stood for a few moremoments, one leg stiff, one leg flexing like reeds in the windwhile the shadow of the driver (thank you, Falconer!) movedback and forth across us. Then, I was amused to see, hedid not stand his ground, but put his hand to his hat,disguised this involuntary homage to your lordship a s anattempt to adjust the set of it and turned away. He stumpedoff t o the stem rail and stood there, hi s hands claspedbehind hi s back, where they opened and shut as anunconscious betrayal of his irritation. Indeed, I was halfsorry for the man, confounded as I saw him to be in theimagined security of his little kingdom. But I judged it nogood time for gentling him. In politics do we not attempt touse only just sufficient force to achieve a desired end? Idecided to allow the influence of this interview to work for a

while and only when he has got the true state of affairsthoroughly grounded i n his malevolent head shall I movetowards some easiness with him. We have the whole longpassage before us and it is no part of my business to makelife intolerable for him, nor would I if I could. Today, as youm a y suppose, I a m a l l good humour. Instead o f timecrawling past with a snail's gait-nowif a crab may be said tobe drunk a snail may be said to have a gait ..... instead oftime crawling, it hurries, not to say dashes past me. I cannotget one tenth of the day down! It is late; and I must continuetomorrow.(5)That fourth day, then-though indeed the fifth-but to continue.After the captain had turned to the stem rail I remained forsome time endeavouring to engage Mr Cumbershum inconversation. He answered me in the fewest possiblewords and I began to understand that he was uneasy in thecaptain's presence. However, I did not wish to leave thequarterdeck as if retreating from it."Cumbershum," said I, "the motion is easier. Show memore of our ship. Or if you feel it inadvisable to interrupt themanagement of her, lend me this young fellow to be mvconductor."The young fellow in question, Cumbershum's satellite, was

a midshipman-not one of your ancients, stuck in his inferiorposition like a goat in a bush, but an example of the breedthat brings a tear to every maternal eve-in a sentence, apustular lad of fourteen o r fifteen, addressed, a s I soonfound in pious hope, as a "Young Gentleman." It was sometime before Cumbershum answered me, the lad lookingfrom the one to the other o f u s meanwhile. At last MrCumbershum said the lad, Mr Willis by name, might go withme. So my object was gained. I left the Sacred Precinctswith dignity and indeed had despoiled it of a votary. As wedescended the ladder there was a h a i l from MrCumbershum."Mr Willis, Mr Willis! Do not omit to invite Mr Talbot toglance at the captain's Standing Orders. You may transmitto me any suggestions he has for their improvement.”I laughed heartily at this sally though Willis did not seem tobe amused by it. He is not merely pustular but pale, and hecommonly lets his mouth hang open. He asked me what Iwould choose to see and I had no idea, having used him toget me off the quarterdeck suitably attended. I noddedtowards the forward part of the vessel.."Let us stroll thither," said I, "and see how the people live."Willis followed me with some hesitation in the shadow ofthe boats on the boom, across the white line at the main

mast, then between the pens where our beasts are kept.He passed me then and led the way up a ladder to the frontor fo' castle, where was the capstan, some loungers and awoman plucking a chicken. I went towards the bowsprit andlooked down. I became aware of the age of this old crony;of a ship for she is positively beaked in the manner of thelast century and flimsy, I should judge, about the bow withal.I looked over her monstrous figurehead, emblem o f hername and which our people as is their custom have turnedcolloquially into a n obscenity with which I will not troubleyour lordship. But the sight of the men down there squattingin the heads at their business was distasteful and some ofthem looked up at me with what seemed like impertinence.I turned away and gazed along her vast length and t o thevaster expanse of dark blue ocean that surrounded us."Well sir," said I t o Willis, " we a re certainly hr' eVpEa.JlOWa. (Ja).~ , are we not?"Willis replied that he did not know French. "What do youknow then, lad?""The rigging sir, the parts of the ship, bends and hitches,the points of the compass, the marks of the leadline to takea bearing off a point o f land o r a mark and to shoot thesun.""We are in good hands I see."

"There is more than that, sir," said he, "as for example theparts of a gun, the composition of powder to sweeten thebilge and the Articles of War.""And the safety of the whole hangs by such a spider's"You must not sweeten the Articles of War," said I solemnly."We must not be kinder to each other than the French areto us! It seems to me that your education is piled all on topof itself like my lady mother's sewing closet! But what is thecomposition of the powder that enables you to shoot thesun and should you not be careful lest you damage thesource of light and put the day out?" Willis laughed noisily."You are roasting me, sir," he said. "Even a landlubber Iask your pardon knows what shooting the sun is.”"I forgive you that 'even,' sir! When shall I see you do so?""Take an observation, sir? Why, at noon, in a few minutes.There will be Mr Smiles, the sailing master, Mr Davies andMr Taylor, the other two midshipmen sir, though Mr Daviesdoes not really know how to do it for all that he is so old andM r Taylor m y friend, I beg you will not mention i t t o theCaptain, has a sextant that does not work owing to hishaving pawned the one that his father gave him. So wehave agreed to take turn with mine and give altitudes thatare two minutes different."I put my hand to my forehead.

thread!""Sir?""Our position, my boy! Good God, we might as well be inthe hands of my young brothers! Is our position to bedecided by an antique midshipman and a sextant that doesnot work?""Lord, no, sir! In the first place Tommy Taylor and I believewe may persuade Mr Davies to swap his good one forTommy's instrument. It would not really matter to Mr Daviesyou see. Besides, sir, Captain Anderson, M r Smiles andsome other officers are also engaged in the navigation.""I see. You do not merely shoot the sun. You subject him toa British Broadside! I shall watch with interest and perhapstake a hand in shooting the sun too as we roll round him.""You could not do that, sir," said Willis i n what seemed akindly way. "We wait here for the sun to climb up the skyand we measure the angle when it is greatest and take thetime too."“Now look, lad," said I. "You are taking us back into theMiddle Ages! You will be quoting Ptolemy at me next!""I do not know of him, sir. But we must wait while the sunclimbs up."

"That is no more than an apparent movement," said Ipatiently. "Do you not know of Galileo and his 'Eppur simuove?' The earth goes round the sun! The motion wasdescribed by Copernicus and confirmed by Kepler!"The lad answered me with the purest simplicity, ignoranceand dignity .."Sir, I do not know how the sun may behave among thosegentlemen ashore but I know that he climbs up the sky inthe Royal Navy."I laughed again and laid my hand on the boy's shoulder."And so he shall! Let him move as he chooses! To tell youthe truth, Mr Willis, I am so glad to see him up there with thesnowy clouds about him that he may dance a jig for all Icare! Look-your companions are gathering. Be off with youand aim your instrument!"He thanked me and dived away. I stood on the aftermostpart of the fo'castle and looked back a t the ceremonywhich, I own, pleased me. There was a number of officerson the quarterdeck. They waited on the sun, the brasstriangles held to their faces. Now here was a curious andmoving circumstance. A ll those o f the ship's people whowere on deck and some of the emigrants too, turned andwatched this rite with silent attention. They could not beexpected to understand the mathematics of the operation.

That I have some notion of it myself i s owing to education,an inveterate curiosity and a facility in learning. Even thepassengers, or those of them on deck, stood at gaze. Ishould not have been surprised to see the gentlemen lifttheir hats! But the people, I mean the common sort, whoselives as much a s ours depended o n a n accuracy ofmeasurement b e yo nd their comprehension and theapplication of formulae that would be as opaque to them asChinese writing, these people, I say, accorded the wholeoperation a respect such as they might have paid . to thesolemnest moment o f a religious service. You might beinclined to think as I did that the glittering instruments weretheir Mumbo Jumbo. Indeed, Mr Davies's ignorance and MrTaylor's defective instrument were feet of clay; but I felt theymight have a justifiable faith i n some of the older officers!And then their attitudes! The woman watched, the halfpluckedhen in her lap. Two fellows who were carrying asick girl up from below-why, even they stood and watcheda s i f someone h a d s a i d hist, while thei r burden layhelplessly between them. Then the girl, too, turned her headand watched where they watched. There was a moving andendearing pathos about their attention, a s i n a dog thatwatches a conversation it cannot possibly understand. I amnot, as your lordship must be aware, a friend to those whoapprove the outrageous follies of democracy in this and thelast century. But at the moment when I saw a number of oursailors in a posture of such intense regard I came as nearas ever I have done to seeing such concepts a s "duty","privilege", and "authority" in a new light. They moved out of

ooks, out of the schoolroom and university into thebroader scenes of daily life. Indeed, until I saw these fellowslike Milton's hungry sheep that "look up", I h a d notconsidered the nature of my own ambitions nor looked forthe justification o f them that was here presented t o me.Forgive me for boring your lordship with my discovery ofwhat you yourself must know so well.H o w noble w a s t h e prospect! O u r vessel w a s urgedforward under the force of sufficient but not excessive wind,the billows sparkled, t he white clouds were diversedlymirrored i n the deep-et cetera. The sun resisted withoutapparent effort our naval broadside! I went down the ladderand walked back towards where our navigators werebreaking from their rank and descending from thequarterdeck. Mr Smiles, the sailing master, i s old, but notas old as Mr Davies, our senior midshipman, who is nearlyas old as the ship! He descended not merely the ladder tothe level of the waist where I was but the next one down aswell-going away with a slow and broken motion for all theworld like a stage apparition returning to the tomb. Afterleave obtained, Mr Willis, my young acquaintance, broughthis companion t o m e with some-ceremony. M r TommyTaylor must be a clear two years younger than Mr Willis buthas the spirit and well-knit frame that his elder lacks. MrTaylor is from a naval family. He explained at once that MrWillis was weak in his attic and needed retiling. I was tocome to him, Mr Taylor, if I wished to fi nd o ut aboutnavigation, since M r Willis would soon have. m e o n the

ocks. Only the day before, he had informed Mr Deverel thatat the latitude of sixty degrees north, a degree of longitudewould be reduced to half a nautical mile. On Mr Deverelasking him-evidently a wag, Mr Deverel-what it would bereduced to at sixty degrees south, Mr Willis had replied thathe had not got as far as that in the book. The memory ofthese cataclysmic errors sent Mr Taylor into a long peal oflaughter which M r Willis did not appear t o resent. H e isdevoted t o hi s young friend evidently, admires him andshows him off to the best advantage. Behold me, then,pacing to and fro between the break of the afterdeck andthe mainmast, a young acolyte on either side; the youngerone on my starboard hand, full of excitement, information,opinion, gusto; the other, silent, but smiling with open mouthand nodding at his young friend's expressions of opinion onany subject under and, indeed, including the sun!It was from these two young hopefuls that I learnt a littleabout our passengers-I mean of course those who havebeen accommodated aft. There is the Pike family, devotedto each other, all four. There is of course, one Mr Prettiman,known to us all. There is, 'I learn from precocious Mr Taylor,in the cabin between my own hutch and the dining saloon, aportrait-painter and hi s wife with their daughter-a younglady characterized by the aforesaid young gentleman as "aregular snorter"!I found this to be M r Taylor's utmost i n the description offemale charm. Your lordship may imagine that this news of

the presence o n board o f a fair incognita lent an addedexhilaration to my animal spirits!Mr Taylor might have conducted me through the whole listof passengers; but as we were returning from the mainmastfor (it may be) the twentieth time, a - or rather, the-parsonwho had earlier spewed so copiously into his own facecame out of the lobby of the passenger accommodation.He was turning to ascend the ladder to the afterdeck, butseeing me between my young friends, and perceiving meto be of some consequence I suppose, h e paused andfavoured m e with a reverence. Observe I do not call it abow or greeting. It was a sinuous deflection of the wholebody, topped by a smile which was tempered by pallor andservility as his reverence was tempered by an uncertaintyas to the movements of our vessel. As a gesture calledforth by nothing more than the attire of a gentleman it couldnot but disgust. I acknowledged i t by the briefest lifting ofmy hand towards the brim of my beaver and looked himthrough. He ascended the ladder. His calves were in thick,worsted stockings, his heavy shoes went up one after theother at an obtuse angle; so that I believe his knees, thoughhis long, black coat covered them, must be by nature morethan usually far apart. He wore a round wig and a shovel hatand seemed, I thought, a man who would not improve onacquaintance. He was hardly out of earshot when Mr Taylorgave it as his opinion that the sky pilot was on his way tointerview Captain Anderson on the quarterdeck and thatsuch an approach would result in his instant destruction.

"He has not read the captain's Standing Orders," said I, asone deeply versed in the ways of captains and their ordersand warships. "He will be keel-hauled." The thought of keelhaulinga parson overcame Mr Taylor completely. When MrWillis had thumped him t o a tear-stained and hiccuppingrecovery he declared it would be the best sport of all thingsand the thought set him off again. It was at this moment thata positive roar from the quarterdeck quenched him like abucket of cold water. I believe-no, I am sure-the roar wasdirected at the parson but the two young gentlemen leaptas one, daunted, as it were, by no more than a ricochet orthe splinters flying from where the captain's solid shot hadlanded. It appeared that Captain Anderson's ability tocontrol his own officers, from Cumbershum down to thesebabes-in-arms, was not to be questioned. I must confess Idid not desire more than the one engagement I had hadwith him as a ration per diem."Come lads," said I. "The transaction i s private to CaptainAnderson and the parson. Let us get out of earshot andunder cover."We went with a kind of casual haste into the lobby.I was about to dismiss the lads when there came the soundof stumbling footsteps on the deck above our heads, then aclatter from the ladder outside the lobby

-which turned at once to a speedier rattle as of ironshodheels that had slipped out and deposited their wearer at thebottom with a jarring thump! Whatever my distaste for thefellow's-shall I cal it-extreme unction, in common humanity Iturned to see if he required assistance. But I had taken nomore than a step in that direction when the man himselfstaggered in. He had his shovel hat in one hand and his wigin the other. His parsonical bands were twisted to one side.But what was of all things the most striking was no, not theexpression-but the disorder of his face. M y p e n falters.Imagine if you can a pale and drawn countenance to whichnature has afforded no gift beyond the casual assemblageo f features; a countenance moreover t o which s he hasgiven little i n the way o f flesh but been prodigal of bone.Then open the mouth wide, furnish the hollows under themeagre forehead with staring eyes from which tears wereon the point o f starting-do all that, I say, and you will stillcome short of the comic humiliation that for a fleetingmoment met me eye to eye! Then the man was fumbling atthe door of his hutch, got through it, pulled it to and wasscrabbling at the bolt on the other side. Young Mr Taylorstarted to laugh again. I took him by the ear and twisted ituntil his laugh turned into a yelp-“Allow me to tell you, MrTaylor," said I, but quietly as the occasion demanded,"that one gentleman does not rejoice a t the misfortune ofanother in public. You may make your bows and be off, thetwo of you. We shall take a constitutional again some day, Idon't doubt."

"Oh lord yes, sir," said young Tommy, who seemed to thinkthat having hi s ear twisted half off was a gesture ofaffection. "Whenever you choose, sir.". "Yes, sir," said Willis with his beautiful simplicity. "Wehave missed a lesson in navigation."They retreated down a ladder to what I am told is the GunRoom and suppose to be some sort of noisome pit. Thelast words I heard from them that day were spoken by MrTaylor to Mr Willis in tones of high animation-"Don't he hatea parson above anything?" I returned to my cabin, calledWheeler and bade him get off my boots. He responds soreadily to the .demands I make on him I wonder the otherpassengers d o not make an equal use of his services.Their loss is my gain. Another fellow-Phillips, I think-servesthe other side of the lobby as Wheeler serves this one."Tell me, Wheeler", said I as he fitted himself down i n thenarrow space, "why does Captain Anderson so dislike aparson?""A little higher if you please, sir. Thank you, sir. Now theother if you would be so good.""Wheeler!"' I'm sure I can't say, sir. Does he, sir? Did he say so, sir?"

"I know he does! I heard him as did the rest of the ship""We do not commonly have parsons in the Navy, sir. Thereare not enough to go round. O r i f there are, the reverendgentlemen do not choose the sea. I will give these a brushagain, sir. Now the coat?""Not only did I hear him but one of the young gentlemenconfirmed that Captain Anderson has a strong antipathy tothe cloth, a s di d Lieutenant Cumbershum earlier, now Irecollect it.""Did he, sir? Thank you, sir.""Is it not so?""I know nothing, Mr Talbot, sir. And now, sir, may I bring youanother draught of the paregoric? I believe you found it verysettling, sir.""No thank you, Wheeler. As you see, I have eluded thedemon.""It is rather strong, sir, as Mr Cumbershum informed you.And of course as he has less left, the purser has to chargemore for i t. That's quite natural, sir. I believe there is agentleman ashore as has wrote a book on it."I bade him leave me and lay on my bunk for a while.

I cast back in memory-could not remember what day of thevoyage it was-took up this book, and i t seemed to be thesixth, so I have confused your lordship and myself. I cannotkeep pace with the events and shall not try. I have, at amoderate estimate, already written ten thousand words andmust limit myself if I am to get our voyage between theluxurious covers of your gift. Can it be that I have evadedthe demon opium only to fall victim to the furor scribendi?But if your lordship do but leaf through the book-A knock atthe door. It is Bates, who serves in the passengers' saloon.I think it is the seventh-or the fifth-or the eighth perhaps-let" X " d o i t s algebraic duty a n d represent t h e unknownquantity. Time has the habit o f standing still so that a s I"Mr Summers's compliments to Mr Talbot and will Mr Talbottake a glass of wine with him in the saloon?""Mr Summers?""The first lieutenant, sir.""He is second in command to the captain, is he not? Tell MrSummers I shall be happy to wait on him in ten minutes'time."It is not the captain, of course-but the next best thing. Corm!We are beginning to move in society!(X)

Properly announced, then, a s the door was held open, Istepped into a scene of animation that resembled morethan anything else what you might find i n the parlour ordining room o f a coaching inn. A ll that distinguished thepresent gathering from such a job lot was the blue horizona little tilted and visible above the crowded heads throughthe panes of the great stem window. The announcement ofmy name caused a silence for a moment or two and Iwrite in the evening or night when sleep is hard to come by,m y candle shortens imperceptibly a s stalactites andstalagmites form i n a grotto. Then all at once, time, thisindefinable commodity is in short supply and a sheaf ofhours has fled I know not whither!Where was I? Ah yes! Well then-I proceeded t o thepassenger saloon t o keep m y rendez-vous with the firstlieutenant only to find that his invitation had been extendedto every passenger in this part of the vessel and was nomore than a kind of short preliminary to dinner! I have foundo u t since, tha t the y ha ve heard s uc h gatherings arecustomary in packets and company ships and indeed,wherever ladies and gentlemen take a sea voyage. Thelieutenants have concluded to do the same in this vessel, tooffset, I suspect, the peremptory and unmannerlyprohibitions the captain has displayed in his "Ordersregarding the Behaviour of the Ladies and Gentlemen whohave been afforded" -afforded, mark you, not taken-“Passage.”

peered at an array of pallid faces before me without beingable t o distinguish much between them. Then a well-builtyoung man in uniform and two or three years my seniorcame forward. He introduced himself as Summers anddeclared I must meet Lieutenant Deverel. I did so, andthought him to be the most gentlemanlike officer I had yetfound in the ship. H e i s slimmer tha n Summers, haschestnut hair and sidewhiskers but is c1eanshaven aboutthe chin and lips like all these fellows. We made an affableexchange of i t and both determined, I don't doubt, t o seemore of each other. However, Summers said I must nowmeet the ladies and led me to the only one I could see. Shewas seated to the starboard side of the saloon on a sort ofbench; and though surrounded or· attended by somegentlemen was a severe looking . lady of uncertain yearswhose bonnet was designed as a covering-for the headand as a genuine ' privacy for the face within i t rather thana s a n ambush t o excite the curiosity of the observer. Ithought she had a Quakerish air about her, for her dresswas grey. She sat, her hands folded i n her lap, and talkeddirectly up to the tall young army officer who smiled down ather. We waited on the conclusion of her present speech."-have always taught them such games. It is a harmlessamusement for very young gentlemen and a knowledge ofthe various rules at least appropriate i n the education of ayoung lady. A young lady with no gift for music mayentertain her parti in that way as well as another might withthe harp or other instrument." The young officer beamed

and drew his chin back to his collar."I am happy to hear you say so, ma'am. But I have seencards played in some queer places, I can tell you!""As to that, sir, of course I have no knowledge. But surelygames are not altered in themselves by the nature of theplace in which they are played? I speak of it as I must,knowing no more of the games than as they are played int h e houses of gentlefolk. But I would expect someknowledge of-let us say-whist, as necessary to a younglady, always provided-" and here I believe there must havebeen a change of expression on the invisible face, since acuriously i ro ni c inflection entered the voice-"alwaysprovided she has the wit to lose prettily." The tall youngofficer crowed in the way these fellows suppose to belaughing and Mr Summers took the opportunity ofpresenting me to the lady, Miss Granham. I declared I hadoverheard part of the conversation and felt inferior in nothaving a wide and deep knowledge of the games theyspoke of. Miss Granham now turned her face on me andthough I saw she could not be Mr Taylor's ' regular snorter"her features were severely pleasant enough when lightedwi th t he social smile. I praised the innocent hours ofenjoyment afforded by cards and hoped that at some timein our long voyage I should have the benefit of MissGranham's instruction.Now there was the devil of it. The smile vanished.

That word "instruction" had a denotation for me and aconnotation for the lady!"Yes, Mr Talbot” said she and I saw a pink spot appear ineither cheek. "As you have discovered, I am a governess.”Was this my fault? Had I been remiss? Her expectations inlife must have been more exalted than their realization andthis has rendered her tongue hair-triggered as a duellingpistol. I declare to your lordship that with such people thereis nothing to be done and the only attitude to adopt withthem is one of silent attention. That is how they are and onecannot detect their quality in advance any more than thepoacher can see the gin. You take a step, and bang! goesthe blunderbuss, o r the teeth of the gin snap round yourankle. It is easy for those whose rank and position insociety put them beyond the vexation of such trivial socialdistinctions. But we poor fellows who must work or, should Isay operate, among these infinitesimal gradations find theirdetection in advance as difficult as what the papists call"the discernment of spirits”.But to return. No sooner had I heard the words “I am agoverness", or perhaps even while I was hearing them, Isaw that quite unintentionally I had ruffled the lady."Why, ma’am,” said I soothingly a s Wheeler's paregoric," yours i s i ndeed the most necessary and genteelprofession open to a lady. I cannot tell you what a dear

friend Miss Dobson, Old Dobbie as we call her, has beento me and my young brothers. I will swear you are as secureas she in the affectionate friendship of your young ladiesand gentlemen!"Was this not handsome? I lifted the glass that had been puti n m y hand a s i f to salute the whole useful race, thoughreally I drank to my own dexterity in avoiding the lanyard ofthe blunderbuss or the footplate of the gin.But it would not do."If," said Miss Granham severely, "I am secure in theaffectionate friendship of my young ladies and gentlemen itis the only thing I am secure in. A lady who is daughter of alate canon of Exeter Cathedral and who i s obliged by hercircumstances to take up the offer of employment among afamily in the Antipodes may well set the affectionatefriendship of young ladies and gentlemen at a lower valuethan you do."There was I , trapped and blunderbussed-unjustly, I think,when I remember what an effort I had made to smooth thelady's feathers. I bowed and was her servant, the armyofficer, Oldmeadow, drew his chin even further into hisneck; and here was Bates with sherry. I gulped what I helda nd seized another glass i n a w a y that it must haveindicated my discomfiture, for Summers rescued me,saying he wished other people to have the pleasure of

making my acquaintance. I declared I had not known therewere so many of us. A large, florid and corpulent gentlemanwith a portwine voice declared h e would wish t o turn agroup portrait since with the exception of his good lady andhis gal we were all present. A sallow young man, a MrWeekes, who goes I believe to set up school, declared thatthe emigrants would form an admirable background to thecomposition." N o , no , " s a i d t h e large gentleman, " I m us t n o t bepatronized other than by the nobility and gentry.""The emigrants," said I, happy to have the subject changed."Why, I would as soon be pictured for posterity arm in armwith a common sailor!""You must not have me in your picture, then," saidSummers, laughing loudly. "I was once a 'common sailor'as you put it.""You, sir? I cannot believe it!""Indeed I was.""But how-"Summers looked round with an air of great cheerfulness."I have performed the naval operation known as 'coming aftthrough the hawsehole.' I was promoted from the lower

deck, o r, a s yo u would say, from among the commonsailors."Your lordship can have little idea of my astonishment at hiswords and my irritation at finding the whole of our smallsociety waiting in silence for my reply. I fancy it was asdextrous as the occasion demanded, though perhapsspoken with a too magisterial aplomb."Well, Summers," I said, "Allow me to congratulate you onimitating to perfection the manners and speech of asomewhat higher station in life than the one you was bornto.”Summers thanked me with a possibly excessive gratitude.Then he addressed the assembly."Ladies and gentlemen, pray let us be seated. There mustbe no ceremony. Let us sit where we choose. There will, Ihope, be many such occasions in the long passage beforeus. Bates, bid them strike up out there."At this there came the somewhat embarrassing squeak ofa fiddle and other instruments from the lobby. I did what Icould to ease what might well be called constraint."Come Summers," I said, "if w e are not t o b e portrayedtogether, let us take the opportunity and pleasure of seatingMiss Granham between us. Pray, ma'am, allow me."

\Vas that not to risk another set-down? But I handed MissGranham t o her seat under the great window with moreceremony than I would have shown a peeress of the realm,a nd there w e were. W hen I exclaimed a t the excellentquality o f the meat Lieutenant Deverel, who had seatedhimself on my left hand, explained that one of our cows hadbroken a leg in the late blow so we were taking what wecould while it was still there though we should soon be shortof milk. Miss Granham was now in animated conversationwith Mr Summers on her right so Mr Deverel and Iconversed for some time on the topic of seamen and theirsentimentality over a cow with a broken leg, their ingenuityin all manner of crafts both 'good and bad, their addiction toliquor, their immorality, their furious courage and theirdevotion, only half-joking, t o t he ship's figurehead. Weagreed there were few problems in society that would notyield to firm but perceptive government. It was so, he said,in a ship. I replied that I had seen the firmness but was yetto be convinced of the perception: By now the, shall I say,animation of the whole party had risen to such a height thatnothing could be heard of the music in the lobby. One topicleading to another, Deverel and I rapidly gained a degreeof mutual understanding. He opened himself to me. He hadwished for a proper ship of the line, not a superannuatedthird-rate with a crew small in number and swept uptogether in a day or two. What I had taken to be anestablished body of officers and men had known eachother for at most a week or two since she came out ofordinary. It was a great shame and his father might have

done better for him. This commission would d o hi s ownprospects no good at all let alone that the war was runningdown and would soon stop like an unwound clock.Deverel's speech and manner, indeed everything abouthim, is elegant. He is an ornament to the service.The saloon was now as noisy as a public place can well be.Something was overset amidst shouts o f laughter andsome oaths. Already a mousey little pair, Mr and Mrs Pikewith the small twin daughters, had scurried away and nowat a particularly loud outburst, Miss Granham started to herfeet, though pressed to stay both by me and Summers. Hedeclared she must not mind the language of naval officerswhi ch became habitual a n d unconscious a mo ng thegreater part of them. For my part I thought the ill-behaviourcame more from the passengers than the ship's officersGood God, said I to myself, if she is like this at the afterend, what is she like at the other? Miss Granham had notyet moved from her seat when the door was opened for alady of a quite different appearance. She appeared youngyet richly and frivolously dressed. She came in with such asweep and 8utter that the bonnet fell to the back of herneck, revealing a quantity of golden curls. We rose-or mostof us, at least-but with an admirable presence she seatedus again at a gesture, went straight to the florid gentleman,leaned over his shoulder and murmured the followingsentence in accents of exquisite, far, far too exquisite,beauty.

"Oh Mr Brocklebank, at last she has contrived to retain amouthful of consom!" Mr Brocklebank boomed us anexplanation. "My child, my little Zenobia!" Miss Zenobiawas at once offered a choice of places at the table. MissGranham declared she was leaving so that her place at itwas free if another cushion might be brought. But the younglady, as I must call her, re· plied with whimsical archnessthat she had relied on Miss Granham to protect her virtueamong so many dangerous gentlemen."Stuff and nonsense, ma'am," said Miss Granham, evenmore severely than she had addressed your humbleservant, "stuff and nonsense! Your virtue is as safe here asanywhere in the vessel!""Dear Miss Granham," cried the lady with a languishing air,"I am sure your virtue is safe anywhere!"This was gross, was it not? Yet I am sorry to say that fromat least one part of the saloon there came a shout oflaughter, for we had reached that part of dinner whereladies are better out of the way and only such as the latestarrival was proving to be can keep in countenance.Deverel, I and Summers were on our feet in a trice but itwa s the army officer, Oldmeadow, w ho escorted MissGranham fro m o u r midst. The voice of the port-winegentleman boomed again. "Sit by me, Zenobia, child. 'Miss Zenobia fluttered i n the full afternoon sunlight that

slanted across the great stem window. She held her prettyhands up to shield her face."It is too bright, Mr Brocklebank, pa!""Lord ma'am," said Deverel, "can yo u deprive u s poorfellows in the shadows of the pleasure of looking at you?""I must," she said, "I positively must and will, take the seatvacated by Miss Granham."She fluttered round the table like a butterfly, a painted ladyperhaps. I fancy that Deverel would have been happy tohave he r b y hi m b ut s he sank i nto t he seat betweenSummers and me. Her bonnet was still held loosely b y aribbon at the back of her neck so that a charming profusionof curls was visible by her cheek and ear. Yet i t seemedtome even at the first sight that the very brightness o f hereyes-or the one occasionally turned on me-owed a debt tothe mysteries of her toilette and her lips were perhaps atri8e artificially coral. As for her perfume-Does this appeartedious to your lordship? -The many charmers whom I haveseen to languish, perhaps in vain, near your lordship-deviltake it, how am I to employ any flattery on my godfatherwhen the simple truth-To return. This bids fair t o b e alengthy expatiation o n the subject o f a young woman'sappearance. The danger here is to invent. I am, after all , nomore than a young fellow! I might please myself with arhapsody for she is the only tolerable female object in our

company! There! Yet-and here I think the politician, thescurvy politician, as my favourite author would have it, isuppermost in my mind. I cannot get me glass eyes. I cannotrhapsodize. F or Miss Zenobia i s surely approaching hermiddle years and i s defending indifferent charms beforethey disappear for ever by a continual animation whichmust surely exhaust her as much as they tire the beholder.'A face that is never still cannot be subjected to detailedexamination. May it not be that her parents are taking her tothe Antipodes as a last resort? After all, among the convictsa nd Aborigines, among t h e emigrants and pensionedsoldiers, the warders, the humbler clergy-but no. I d o thelady an injustice for she is well enough. I do not doubt thattheless continent o f our people will find her an object ofmore than curiosity!Let us have done with her for a moment. I will turn to herfather and the gentleman opposite hi m, w h o becamevisible" to me by leaping to his feet. Even i n the resumedbabble his voice was clearly to be heard." M r Brocklebank, I would have yo u know that I a m theinveterate foe of every superstition!"This of course was Mr Prettiman. I have made a sad job of.his introduction, have I not? You must blame Miss Zenobia.He i s a short, thick, angry gentleman. You know of him. Iknow-it matters not how-that he takes a printing press withhim to the Antipodes; and though it is a machine capable of

little more than turning out handbills, yet the Lutheran Biblewas produced from something not much bigger.B ut M r Brocklebank w a s booming back. H e h a d notthought. It was a trifle. He would be the last person to offendthe susceptibilities. Custom. Habit. Mr Prettiman, stillstanding, vibrated with passion. "I saw it distinctly, sir! Youthrew salt over your shoulder!""So I did, sir, I confess it. I will try not to spill the salt again."This remark with its clear indication that l\·tr Brocklebankhad no idea at all of what Mr Prettiman meant confoundedthe social philosopher. His mouth still open he sank slowlyinto hi s seat, thus almost passing from m y sight. MissZenobia turned to me with a pretty seriousness round herwide eyes. She looked, as it were, under her eyebrows andup through lashes but no. I will not believe that unassistedNature-"How angry M r Prettiman i s, M r Talbot! I declarethat when roused he is quite, quite terrifying!"Anything less terrifying than the absurd philosopher wouldbe difficult to imagine. However, I saw that we were aboutto embark on a familiar set of steps i n an ancient dance.S he w a s t o become more a nd more t h e unprotectedfemale in the presence of gigantic male creatures such asMr Prettiman and your godson. We, for our part, were toadvance with a threatening good humour so .that i n terrorshe would have to throw herself on our mercy, appeal to ourgenerosity, appeal to our chivalry perhaps: and all the time

t h e animal spirits, the , a s D r J ohnson called them,"amorous propensities" of both sexes would be excited tothat state, that ambiance, in which such creatures as she isor has been, have their being.This was a distancing thought and brought me to seesomething else. The size, the scale, was wrong. It was toolarge. The lady has been at least an habituée of the theatreif not a performer there! This was not a normal encounterfornow she was describing her terror in the late blow-butone, as it were, thrown outwards to where Summers at herside, Oldmeadow and a M r Bowles across the table andindeed anyone in earshot could hear her. We were toperform. But before act one could be said to be well underweigh-and I must confess that I dallied with the thought thatshe might to some extent relieve the tedium of the voyage -when louder exclamations from M r Prettiman and louderrumbles and even thunders from Mr Brocklebank turned herto seriousness again. She was accustomed to touch wood.I admitted t o feeling more cheerful i f a black cat shouldcross the road before me. Her lucky number was twentyfive.I said at once that her twenty-fifth birthday would provet o b e most fortunate for her-a piece o f nonsense whichwent unnoticed, for Mr Bowles (who is connected with thelaw in some very junior capacity and a thorough bore)explained that the custom of touching wood came from apapistical habit of adoring the crucifix and kissing it. Iresponded with my nurse's fear o f crossed knives asindication of a quarrel and horror at a loaf turned upside-

d o wn a s presage o f a disaster a t sea-whereat sheshrieked and turned to Summers for protection. He assuredher she need fear nothing from the French, who were quitebeat down at this juncture; but the mere mention of theFrench was enough t o set her off and 'we ha d anotherdescription of her trembling away the hours of darkness inher cabin. We were a single ship. We were, as she said inthrilling accents,"-alone, alone,All, all alone,Alone on et wide, wide sect!"Anything more crowded than the teeming confines of thisship is not to be found, I believe, outside a debtor's gaol ora prison hulk. But yes she had met Mr Coleridge. MrBrocklebank-pa-had painted hi s portrait a nd there hadbeen talk of an illustrated volume but it came to nothing.A t about this point, M r Brocklebank, having presumably.caught his daughter's recitation, could b e heard boomingon metrically. It was more of the poem. I suppose he knew itwell i f h e had intended t o illustrate i t. Then h e a nd thephilosopher set to again. Suddenly the whole saloon wassilent and listening to them."No, sir, I would not," boomed the painter. "Not in any

circumstances!""I, sir!""Then refrain from eating chicken, sir, or any other fowl!""No sir!""Refrain from eating that portion of cow before you! Thereare ten millions of Brahmans in the East who would cut yourthroat for eating it!""There are no Brahmans in this ship.""Integrity-" ."Once and for all, sir, I would not shoot an albatross. I am apeaceable person, Mr Prettiman, and I would shoot youwith as much pleasure!""Have you a gun, sir? For I will shoot an albatross, sir, andthe sailors shall see what befalls-""I have a gun, sir, though I have never fired it. Are you amarksman, sir?""I have never fired a shot in my life!""Permit me then, sir. I have the weapon. You may use it.""You, sir?"

Mr Prettiman bounced up into full view again. His eyes hada kind of icy brilliance about them."Thank you, sir, I will, sir, and you shall see, sir! A nd thecommon sailors shall see, sir-"He got himself over the bench on which he had been sitting,then fairly rushed out of the saloon. There w a s somelaughter and conversation resumed but a t a lower level.Miss Zenobia turned to me."Pa is determined we shall be protected in the Antipodes!""He does not propose going among the natives, surely!""He has some thought of introducing the art of portraitureamong them. He thinks it will lead to complacency amongthem which he says is next door to civilization. He owns,though, that a black face will present a special kind ofdifficulty.""It would be dangerous, I think. Nor would the governorallow it.""But Mr Brocklebank-pa-believes he may persuade thegovernor to employ him.""Good God! I am not .the governor, but-dear lady, think ofthe danger!"

"If clergymen may go-""Oh yes, where is he?" Deverel touched my arm."The parson keeps his cabin. We shall see little of him, Ithink, and thank God and the captain for that. I do not misshim, nor do you I imagine:I had momentarily forgotten Deverel, let alone the parson. Inow endeavoured to draw him into the conversation but hestood up and spoke with a certain meaning..." I go on watch. But you and Miss Brocklebank, I have nodoubt, will be able to entertain each other."He bowed to the lady and went off. I turned to her again andfound her to be thoughtful. Not I mean that she was solemnno, indeed! B ut beyond t he artificial animation o f hercountenance there w a s some expression wi th which Iconfess I was not familiar. It was-do you not rememberadvising me to read faces?-it was a directed stillness of theo r b s a n d eyelids a s i f whi le t h e outer woman wasemploying the common wiles and archnesses o f her sex,beyond them was a different and watchful person! Was itDeverel's remark about entertainment that had made thedifference? W hat was-what is-she thinking? D o e s shemeditate a n affaire, as I am sure she would call it, pour

passer le temps?(12)As your lordship can see by the number at the head of thissection I have not been as attentive to the journal as I couldwish-nor is the reason such as I could wish!W e have had bad weather again and the motion o f thevessel augmented a colic which I trace to the late andunlamented Bessie. However, the sea is now smoother.The weather and I have improved together and b y dint ofresting the book and inkstand on a tray I am able to write,though slowly. The one thing that consoles me for myindisposition is that during my long sufferings the ship hasgot on. We have been blown below the latitudes of theMediterranean and our speed has ·been limited, accordingt o Wheeler (that living F alconer), more b y t he ship'sdecrepitude than by the availability of wind. The peoplehave been at the pumps. I had thought tha t pumps"clanked" a nd that I would hear t he melancholy soundclearly but this was not so. I n the worst o f the weather Iasked my visitor, Lieutenant Summers, fretfully enough whythey did not pump, only to be assured the people werepumping all the time. He said it was a delusion caused bymy sickness that made me feel the vessel to be low i n thewater. I believe I may be more than ordinarily susceptible tothe movement of the vessel, that is the truth of it. Summersassures m e that naval people accept t he condition as

nothing t o be ashamed of and invariably adduce theexample of Lord Nelson to bear them out. I cannot but think,though, that I have lost consequence. That Mr Brocklebankand La Belle Brocklebank were also reduced to the state inwhich the unfortunate Mrs Brocklebank has been ever sincewe left home is no kind of help. The condition of the twohutches in which that family lives must be one it is better notto contemplate.There is something more to add. Just before thenauseating complaint struck me-I am n i g h enoughrecovered, though weak-a political event convulsed oursociety. The captain, ha vi ng through M r Summersdisappointed the parson's expectation that h e would beallowed to conduct some services, has also forbidden himthe quarterdeck for some infraction of the Standing Orders.What a little tyrant it is!M r P rettiman, w h o parades t h e afterdeck ( w i t h ablunderbuss!), was our intelligencer. He, poor man, wascaught between hi s detestation o f any church at all andwhat he calls his love of liberty! The conflict between theseattitudes and the emotions they roused i n him was painful.He was soothed by, of all people, Miss Granham! When Iheard this comical and extraordinary news I got out of mytrough and shaved and dressed. I was aware that duty andinclination urged me forward together. T h e broodingcaptain should not dictate to me in this manner!

What! Is he to tell me whether I should have a service toattend or not? I saw at once that the passenger saloon wassuitable and n o man unless hi s habit of. command hadbecome a mania could take it from our control.The parson might easily hold a short evening service therefor such of the passengers as chose to attend it. I walkedas steadily as I could across the lobby and tapped on thedoor of the parson's hutch.He opened the door to me and made his usual sinuousgenuflection. My dislike of the man returned."Mr-ah-Mr-""James Colley, Mr Talbot, sir. The Reverend Robert JamesColley at your service, sir.""Service is the word,-sir."Now there was a mighty contortion! It was as if he acceptedthe word as a tribute to himself and the Almighty together."Mr Colley, when is the Sabbath?""Why today, sir, Mr Talbot, sir!"The eyes that looked up at me were so full of eagerness, ofsuch obsequious and devoted humility yo u would havethought I had a brace o f livings i n m y coat pocket! He

irritated me and I came near to abandoning my purpose."I have been indisposed, Mr Colley, otherwise I would havemade the suggestion sooner. A few ladies and gentlemenwould welcome i t i f you was to conduct a service, a shortservice i n the passenger saloon a t seven bells i n theafternoon watch or, if you prefer to remain a landsman, athalf-past three o'clock." He grew in stature before my eyes!His own filled with tears."Mr Talbot, sir, this is-is-it is like you!"My irritation increased. It was on the tip of my tongue to askhim how the devil he knew what I was like. I nodded andwalked away, t o hear behind m y back some mumbledremark about visiting the sick. Good God, thought I-if hetries that, he will go off with a flea i n his ear! However, Imanaged to get to the passenger saloon, for irritation i s inpart a cure for weakness in the limbs, and found Summersthere. I told him what I had arranged and he greeted theinformation with silence. Only when I suggested that heshould invite the captain to attend did he smile wryly andreply that he should have to inform the captain anyway. Hewould make bold to suggest a later hour. I told him the hourwas a matter of indifference to me and returned to my hutchand canvas chair i n which I sat and felt myself exhaustedbut recovered. Later in the morning, Summers came to meand said that he had altered my message somewhat andhoped I did not mind. He had made it a general request

from the passengers! H e hastened t o add that this wasmore conformable to the customs of the sea service. Well.Someone who delights as I do in the strange but whollyexpressive Tarpaulin language (I hope to produce someprize specimens for you) could not willingly allow thecustoms of the sect service to suffer. But when I heard thatthe little parson was to be allowed to address us I must ownI began to regret my impulsive interference and understoodhow much I had enjoyed these few weeks of freedom fromthe whole paraphernalia of Established Religion!However, i n decency I could not back down no w a nd Iattended the service our little cleric was allowed to perform.I was disgusted b y it. Just previous t o the service I sawMiss Brocklebank and her face was fairly plastered withred and white! The Magdalene must have looked just so, itm a y b e leaning against the outer wall of the templeprecincts. Nor, I thought, was Colley one to bring her to am o r e decorous appearance. Ye t later I found I hadunderestimated both her judgement and her experience.For when it was time for the service the candles of thesaloon irradiated her face, took from it the damaging years,while what had been paint now appeared a magical youthand beauty! She looked at me. Scarcely had I recoveredfrom the shock o f having this battery play o n m e when Idiscovered what further improvement M r Summers hadmade on my original proposal. He had allowed in, to shareour devotions with us, a number of the more respectableemigrants-Grant, the farrier, Filton and Whitlock, who are

clerks I think, and old Mr Grainger with his old wife. He is ascrivener. Of course any village church will exhibit just sucha mixture of the orders; but here the society of thepassenger saloon is so pinchbeck-such a shoddy examplet o them! I was recovering from this invasion when thereentered to us -we standing in respect-five feet nothing ofparson complete w i t h surplice, c a p o f maintenanceperched on a round wig, long gown, boots with iron-shodheels -together with a mingled air of diffidence, piety,triumph and complacency. Your lordship will protest at oncethat some of these attributes cannot be got together underthe same cap. I would agree that in the normal face there isseldom room for them all and that one in particulargenerally has the mastery. It is so in most cases. When wesmile, do we not do so with mouth and cheeks and eyes,indeed, with the whole face from chin to hairline!But this Colley has been dealt with by Nature with theutmost economy. Nature has pitched-no, the verb is tooactive. Well then, on some corner of Time's beach, or onthe muddy rim of one of her more insignificant rivulets, therehave been washed together casually a nd indifferently anumber of features that Nature had tossed away as of nouse to any of her creations. Some vital spark that mighthave gone to the animation of a sheep assumed thecollection. The result is this fledgling of the church.Your lordship may detect i n the fore-going a tendency tofine writing: a not unsuccessful attempt, I flatter myself. Yet

as I surveyed the scene the one thought uppermost in mymind was that Colley was a living proof of old Aristotle'sdictum. There is after all an order to which the man belongsb y nature though some mistaken quirk of patronage haselevated him beyond it. You will find that order displayed incrude medieval manuscripts where the colour has noshading and the drawing no perspective. Autumn will beillustrated by men, peasants, serfs, who are reaping in thefields and whose faces are limned with just such a skimpedand jagged line under their hoods as Colley's is! His eyeswere turned down in diffidence and possibly recollection.The corners of his mouth were turned up-and there was the.triumph and complacency! Much bone was strewn aboutthe rest of his countenance. Indeed, his schooling shouldhave been the open fields, with stone-collecting and birdscaring,his university the plough. Then all those featuresso irregularly scarred by the tropic sun might have beenbronzed into a unity and one, modest expression animatedthe whole!We are back with fine writing, are we not? But myrestlessness and indignation are still hot within me . Heknows o f m y consequence. A t times i t w a s difficult todetermine whether he was addressing Edmund Talbot orthe Almighty. He was theatrical as Miss Brocklebank. Thehabit of respect for the clerical office was all that preventedm e fro m breaking i nto indignant laughter. A mong therespectable emigrants that attended was the poor, palegirl, carried devotedly by strong arms and placed in a seat

ehind us. I have learned that she suffered a miscarriage inour first blow and her awful pallor was in contrast with themanufactured allure of La Brocklebank. The decent andrespectful attention of her male companions was mockedby these creatures that were ostensibly her betters-the onein paint pretending devotion, the other with his book surelypretending sanctity' .When the seance began there alsobegan the most incredulous of all the circumstances of thatridiculous evening. I set aside the sound o f pacing stepsfrom above our heads where Mr Prettiman demonstratedhis anticlericalism as noisily on the afterdeck as possible. Iomit the trampings and shouts at the changing of the watch- a ll done surely a t t h e captain's behest o r w i t h hisencouragement or tacit consent with as much rowdiness ascan be procured among skylarking sailors. I think only of thegently swaying saloon, the pale girl and the farce that wasplayed out before her!F o r n o sooner d i d M r C olley c a tc h s i g ht o f MissBrocklebank than he could not take his eyes off her. She forher part-and "part" I am very sure it was-gave us such apicture of devotion as you might find in the hedge theatresof the country circuits. Her eyes never left his face but whenthey were turned to heaven. Her lips were always parted inbreathless ecstasy except when they opened and closedswiftly with a passionate "Amen!" Indeed there was onemoment when a sanctimonious remark in the course· of hisaddress from Mr Colley, followed by an "Amen!" from MissBrocklebank was underlined, as it were (well, a snail has a

gait!) b y a resounding fart fro m tha t windmachine MrBrocklebank s o a s t o s e t m o s t o f the congregationsniggering like schoolboys on their benches.However much I attempted t o detach myself fro m theperformance I was made deeply ashamed by it and vexedat myself for my own feelings. Yet since that time I havediscovered a sufficient reason for my discomfort and thinkm y feelings in this instance wiser than my reason. For Irepeat, we had a handful of the common people with us. Itis possible they had entered the after part of the ship inmuch the same spirit a s those visitors who declare theywish to view your lordship's Canalettos but who are reallythere to see if they can how the nobility live. But I think itmore probable that they had come in a simple spirit ofdevotion. Certainly that poor, pale girl could have no otherobject than to find the comforts of religion. Who would denythem to such a helpless sufferer, however illusory they be?Indeed, the trashy show of the preacher and his paintedMagdalene may not have come between he r a nd theimagined object of her supplications, but what of the honestfellows w ho attended he r? T he y m a y we ll ha ve beenstri cken i n the tenderest regions of loyalty andsubordination.Truly Captain Anderson detests the church! His attitude hasbeen at work on the people. He had given no orders, it issaid, but would know how to esteem

those officers who did not agree with him in his obsession.Only Mr Summers and the gangling a rmy officer, MrOldmeadow, were present. You know why I was there! I donot choose to submit to tyranny!"gentlemen", he swung to her and with a swooningarchness exclaimed, “Or ladies, madam, howeverbeautiful," before going on with his theme. I heard apositive hiss from within M i s s Granham's bonnet andMost of the fellow's address was over before I made themajor discovery in my, as it were, diagnosis of the situation.I had thought when I first saw how the painted face of theactrice engaged the eye of the reverend gentleman, that heexperienced disgust mingled perhaps with the involuntaryexcitement, the first movement of warmth-no, lust-that anevident wanton will call from the male body rather thanmind, by her very pronouncement of availability. But I soonsaw that this would not do. Mr Colley has never been to atheatre! Where, too, would he progress, in what must surelybe one of our remoter dioceses, from a theatre to a maisond'occasion? His book told him of painted women and howtheir feet go down to hell but did not include advice on howto recognize one by candlelight! He took her to be what herperformance suggested to him! A chain of tawdry linkedthem. There came a moment i n his address when havingused the word of all others

Summers crossed then uncrossed his knees.It ended at last, and I returned to my hutch, to write thisentry, in, I am sorry to say, increasing discomfort though themotion of the ship is easy enough. I do not know what is thematter with me. I have written sourlv and-feel sour, that isthe fact of the matter.(17)I think it is seventeen. What does i t matter. I have sufferedagain-the colic. Oh Nelson, Nelson, how did you manage tolive so long and die at last not from this noisome series ofconvulsions but by the less painful violence of the enemy?(?)I am up and about, pale, frail, convalescent. It seems thatafter all I may live to reach our destination!I wrote that yesterday. M y entries are becoming short assome of M r Steme's chapters! But there is one amusingcircumstance that I must acquaint your lordship with. At theheight of my misery and just before I succumbed to a largedose of Wheeler's paregoric there came a timid knock atm y hutch door. I cried "Who is there?" To which a faintvoice replied, "It is I, Mr Talbot, sir. Mr Colley, sir. Youremember, the Reverend Mr Colley, at your service." Bysome stroke of luck rather than wit I hit on the only reply that

would protect me from his visitation."Leave me I beg you, Mr Colley-" a dreadful convulsion ofthe guts interrupted me for a moment; then -"I am atprayer!”E ither a decent respect f o r m y privacy o r Wheelerapproaching with the good draught in his hand rid me ofhim. The paregoric-it was a stiff and justifiable dose thatknocked me out. Yet I do have some indistinct memory ofopening my eyes in stupor and seeing that curiousassemblage of features, that oddity of nature, Colley,hanging over me . G o d knows when that happened-if ithappened! But now I am up, if not about, the man surely willnot have the impertinence to thrust himself on me.The dreams of paregoric must owe something surely to itsconstituent opium. Many faces, after all, floated throughthem so it is possible his was no more than a figment of mydrugged delirium. The poor, pale girl haunted me-I hopeindeed she may make a good recovery. There was underher cheekbone a right-angled hollow and I do not recollectever .having seen anything so painful to behold. The hollowand the affecting darkness that lived there, and moved dids he b ut turn he r head, touched me ina way I cannotdescribe. Indeed I was filled with a weak kind of rage whenI returned in thought to the occasion of the service andremembered how her husband had exposed her to such amiserable farce! However, today I am more myself. I have

ecovered from such morbid thoughts. O ur progress hasbeen as excellent a s m y recovery. Though the a i r hasbecome humid a nd ho t I a m no longer fevered b y thepacing of M r Prettiman overhead. He walks the afterdeckwith a weapon provided of all things by the sot Brocklebankand will discharge a positive shower from his antiqueblunderbuss to destroy an albatross in despite of MrBrocklebank and Mr Coleridge and Superstition together!He demonstrates to the thoughtful eye how really irrational arationalist philosopher can be!(23)I think it i s the twenty-third day. Summers i s to explain themain parts of the rigging to me. I intend to surprise him witha landsman's knowledge-most collected out of books hehas never heard of! I also intend to please your lordshipwith some choice bits o f Tarpaulin language for I begin,haltingly it is true, to speak Tarpaulin! What a pity this noblevehicle of expression has so small a literature!(27)Can a man always be counting? In this heat and humidity-Itwas Zenobia. Has your lordship ever remarked-but ofcourse you have! What am I thinking of? There is a known,true, tried and tested link between the perception of femalecharms and the employment of strong drink! After threeglasses I have seen twenty years vanish from a face like

snow in summer! A sea voyage added to that stimulant-andone that has set us to move gently through the tropics of allplaceshas an effect on the male constitution that may benoted i n the more recondite volumes o f the profession-Imean the medical profession-but had not come my way inthe course of an ordinary educationo Perhaps somewherein Martial-but I have not got him with me-or that Theocritusyouremember, midday and summer's heat TOV°n&.va.&8oUcap.Efo Oh yes, we may well fear Pan here or hisnaval equivalent whoever i t may be! B ut sea gods, seanymphs were chill creatures. I have to admit that the womani s most damnably, most urgently attractive, paint and all!W e have met and met again. How should w e not? Andagain! It is all madness, tropical madness, a delirium, if nota transport! But now, standing by the bulwarks in the tropicnight, stars caught among the sails and swaying very gentlyall together, I find that I deepen my voice so that her namevibrates and yet I know my own madness-she meanwhile,why she heaves her scarcely covered bosom with moremotion than stirs the glossy deep. It is folly; but then, how todescribe-Noble godfather, if I do you wrong, rebuke me.Once ashore and I will be sane again, I will be that wise andimpartial adviser, administrator, whose foot you have set onthe first rung-but did you not say "Tell all"? You said, "Letme live again in you!"I am but a young fellow after all.Well then, the problem, devil take it, was a place of

assignation. To meet the lady was easy enough and indeedunavoidable. But then so was meeting everyone else!M r Prettiman paces t h e afterdeck. T h e Famille Pike,father, mother and little daughters, hurry up and down theafterdeck and the waist peering on this side and that lestthey should be accosted, I suppose, and subjected to someindignity or impropriety. Colley comes by in the waist; andevery time nowadays he not only favours m e wi th hisreverence but tops it off with a smile of such understandingand sanctity he is a kind of walking invitation to mal demer. What could I do? I could scarcely hand the lady intothe foretop! You will ask what is wrong with my hutch or herhutch. I answer "Everything!" Does Mr Colley but cry "Hem!"on the other side of the lobby he wakes Miss Granham inthe hutch just aft of him. Does that windbag Mr Brocklebankbut break wind-as he does every morning just after sevenbells-our timbers shudder clear through my hutch and intoM r Prettiman's just forrard of me. I have had to prospectfarther for a place suitable to the conduct of our amours. Ihad thought of finding and introducing myself to the purserbutto my surprise I found that all the officers shied awayfrom mention of him as if the man were holy, or indecent, Icannot tell which, and he never appears on deck. It is asubject I propose to get clear in my mind-when I have amind again and this, this surely temporary madness-(30)

In sheer desperation I have got M r Tommy Taylor t o takeme down to the gun room which, though it has only threemidshipmen instead of the more usual complement, isnevertheless so roomy it is used for the warrant officers aswell, because their mess-I cannot go into the politics of itall-is too far forrard and has been taken over for the bettersort o f emigrant. These elders, the gunner, the carpenterand the sailing master, sat in a row beyond a table andwatched me in a silence that seemed more knowing thanthe regard of anyone else in the ship if we except theredoubtable Miss Granham. Yet I did not pay muchattention to them at first because of the extraordinary objectthat M r Willis revealed a s h e moved his bony lengthtowards the ladder. It was, of all things, a plant, some kindof creeper, its roots buried in a pot and the stem roped tothe bulkhead for a few feet. There was never a leaf; andwherever a tendril or branch was unsupported it hungstraight down like a piece of seaweed which indeed wouldhave been more appropriate and useful. I exclaimed at thesight. Mr Taylor burst into his usual peal and pointed to MrWillis as the not particularly proud owner. Mr Willisvanished up the ladder. I turned from the plant to Mr Taylor."What the devil is that for?""Ah," said the gunner. "Gentleman Jack.""Always one for a joke, Mr Deverel," said the carpenter."He put him up to it."

The sailing master smiled across at me with mysteriouscompassion."This air i s confoundedly close, gentlemen. I wonder you"Mr Deverel told him i t was the way t o get on." . TommyTaylor cried with laughter-literally cried, the tears fallingfrom him. H e choked and I beat his back more severelythan h e liked. B ut unalloyed high spirits are a nuisanceanywhere. He stopped laughing."It's a creeper, you see!""Gentleman Jack," said the carpenter again. "I couldn't helplaughing myself. God knows what sort of lark Mr Deverelwill get up to in the badger bag.""The what, sir?"The gunner had reached below the table and brought up abottle."You'll take an observation through a glass, Mr Talbot.""In this heat-"I t was rum, fiery and sticky. I t increased the heat i n myblood and seemed to increase the oppressiveness of theair. I wished that I could shed m y coat a s the warrantofficers had; but of course it would not do.

can endure it day after day.""Ah," said the gunner, "It's a hard life M r Talbot, sir. Heretoday and gone tomorrow.""Here today and gone today," said the carpenter."Do you mind that young fellow, Hawthorne I think, comeaboard at the beginning of this commission? Boatswaingets him to tail on a rope with the others, only last man likeand says, says he, 'Don't you go leaving go no matter whathappens.' The boat begins to take charge on the yard anddrops 'cause the rest jumps clear. Young Hawthorne, whodon't know the crown of a block from its arse-he come off afarm, I shouldn't wonder-he holds on like he's been told."The gunner nodded and drank."Obey orders."It seemed the story had come to an end. "But what waswrong? "What happened?""Why, see," said the carpenter, "the tail of the rope runs upto the block-swit!-just like that. Young Hawthorne he was onthe end of it. He must have gone a mile.""We never saw him again.""Good God."

"Here today and gone today, like I said.""I could tell you a story or two about guns if it comes to that,"said the gunner."Very nasty things, guns when they misbehave, which theycan do so in ten thousand different ways. So if you take upto be a gunner, Mr Talbot, you need your head."M r Gibbs the carpenter nudged the sailing master. "Why,even a gunner's mate needs a head, sir," he said. "Did younever hear the story of the gunner's mate who lost hishead? It was off Alicante I believe-""Now then George!""This gunner, see, was walking up and down behind hisbattery with his pistol in his hand. They was swopping shotwith a fort, a foolish thing to do in my view. A red hot shotcome through a gun port and takes off the gunner's headclean as this gallantine the Frenchies make use of. Onlysee the shot was red hot and cauterizes the neck so thegunner goes on marching up and down and nobody noticesnothing until they run out o f orders. Laugh! They nigh ondied until the first lieutenant wants to know why in the nameo f Christ the guns ha d fell silent i n the after starboardmaindeck battery, so they asks the gunner what to do buthe had nothing with which to tell them.

"Really gentlemen! Oh come!""Another glass, Mr Talbot.""It's getting so stuffy in here-"The carpenter nodded and knocked on a timber with hisknuckles."It's hard to tell whether the air sweats or her wood." Thegunner heaved once or twice with laughter inside him like awave that does not break."We should open a winder," he said. "You remember thegals, Mr Gibbs? 'Couldn't we 'ave a winder open? I'vecome over queer like.' "Mr Gibbs heaved like the gunner."Come over queer, have you? Along here, my little dear. It'sthe way for some nice fresh air."" 'Oh what was that, Mr Gibbs? Was it a rat? I can't abiderats! I'm sure it was a rat-'"Just my little doggie, my dear. Here. Feel my little doggie."I drank some of the fiery liquid."And commerce can be obtained even in such a vessel asthis? Did no one see you?"

The sailing master smiled his beautiful smile. "I saw them."The gunner nudged him."Wake up, Shiner. You wasn't even i n the ship. We hadn'thardly come out of ordinary.""Ordinary," said Mr Gibbs. "That's the life that is. No nastysea. Lying up a creek snug in a trot with your pick of theadmirals' cabins and a woman on the books to do thegalley work. That's the best berth there is in the Navy, MrTalbot, sir. Seven years I was i n her before they cameaboard and tried to get her out of the mud. Then they didn'tthink they'd careen her what with one thing and another sothey took what weed they could off her bottom with the dragrope. That's why she's so uncommon sluggish. It was seawater, you see. I hope this Sydney Cove or whatever theycall it has berths in fresh water.""If they took the weed off her," said the gunner, "they mighttake the bottom with it."Clearly I was no nearer my original objective. I had but onepossible resource left me."Does not the purser share this commodious apartmentwith you?" Again there was that strange, uneasy silence. Atlast Mr Gibbs broke it.

"He has his own place up there on planks over the watercasks among the cargo and dunnage."It was a strange and unpleasant journey where indeed ratsscurried. M r Taylor, being accustomed, I suppose, to thiskind of journey, made short work of it. Until I ordered him"Which is?""Bales and boxes," said the gunner. “Shot, powder, slowmatch, fus e , g ra p e and chain, and thirty twentyfourpounders, all of 'em tompioned, greased, plugged andbowsed down.""Tubs," said the carpenter. "Tools, adzes and axes,hammers and chisels, saws and sledges, mauls, spikes,trenails and copper sheet, plugs, harness, gyves, wroughtiron rails for the governor's new balcony, casks, barrels,tuns, firkins, pifkins, bottles and bins, seeds, samples,fodder, lamp oil, paper, linen.""And a thousand other things," said the sailing master. "Tenthousand times ten thousand.""Why don't you show the gentleman, M r Taylor," said thecarpenter. "Take the lantern. You can make believe asyou're the captain going his rounds." Mr Taylor obeyed andwe went, or rather crept forrard. A voice called behind us."You may even glimpse the purser."

ack he got so far ahead of me that I was left in complete,and need I say, foetid, darkness. When he did return partway i t was only t o reveal with his lantern our narrow andirregular path between nameless bulks and shapes thatseemed piled around us and indeed over us without orderor any visible reason. Once I fell, and my boots trod thatsame noisome sand and gravel of her bilge that Wheelerhad described to me on the first day: and it was whilefumbling to extract myself from between two of her vasttimbers that I had my one and only glimpse of our purser-orat least I suppose it was the purser. I glimpsed him up therethrough a kind of spyhole between, it may be, bales orwhatnot; and since he of all people does not have to stinthimself for light that hole, though i t was far below deck,blazed like a sunny window. I saw a vast head with smallspectacles bowed over a ledger-just that and nothing more.Yet this was the creature, mention of whom could producea silence among these men so careless of life and death!I scrambled out of the ballast and onto the planks over thebowsed down cannon and crawled after Mr Taylor till a quirkof our narrow passage hid the vision and we were alonewith the lantern again. We reached the forepart of the ship.Mr Taylor led me up ladders, piping in his treble-"Gangwaythere!" Yo u must not imagine h e w a s ordering somemechanism to be lowered for my convenience. In Tarpaulin,a "gangway" is a space through which one may walk andhe was acting as my usher, or lictor I suppose, andensuring that the common people would not trouble me. So

we rose from the depths, through decks crowded withpeople of all ages and sexes and smells and noises andsmoke and emerged into the crowded fo'castle whence Ipositively fled out into the cool, sweet air of the waist! Ithanked Mr Taylor for his convoy, then went to my hutch andhad Wheeler take away my boots. I stripped and rubbedmyself down with perhaps a pint of water and felt more orless clean. But clearly, however freely the warrant officersobtained the favours o f young women i n these shadowydepths, it was of no use for your humble servant. Sitting inmy canvas chair and in a mood of near desperation I cameclose to confiding in Wheeler but retained just enoughcommon sense to keep my wishes to myself.I wonder what is meant by the expression "Badger Bag"?Falconer is silent.(Y)It has come to me in a flash! One's intelligence may marchabout and about a problem but the solution does not comegradually into view. One moment it is not. The next, and it isthere. If you cannot alter the place all that is left to alter isthe time! Therefore, when Summers announced that thepeople would provide us with an entertainment I broodedfor a while, thinking nothing of it, then suddenly saw with apolitical eye that the ship was about to provide me not witha place but with an opportunity! I am happy to inform youno,I do not think gaiety comes into it, rather a simple

dignity; M y lord, I have a t s e a emulated o n e o f LordNelson's victories! Could the merely civil part of our countryachieve more? Briefly, I let it be known that such trivialaffairs as the seamen's entertainment held no attraction forme, that I had the headache and should pass the time in'my cabin. I took care that Zenobia should hear me! I stood,therefore, gazing through the louvre as our passengers tooktheir way t o the afterdeck and quarterdeck, a clamorouscrowd only too happy to find something out of the ordinary,and soon our lobby was empty and silent as-as it could wellbe. I waited, hearing the trampling of feet over my head;and soon, sure enough, Miss Zenobia came tripping downto find perhaps a shawl against the tropic night! I was out ofmy hutch, had her by the wrist and jerked her back in withme before she could even pretend a startled cry! But therewas noise enough from other places and noise enoughfrom the blood pounding in my ears so that I pressed mysuit with positive ardour! We wrestled for a moment by thebunk, she with a nicely calculated exertion of strength thatonly just failed to resist me, I with mounting passion. Mysword was in my hand and I boarded her!She retired in disorder to the end of the hutch where thecanvas basin awaited her in its iron hoop. I attacked oncemore and the hoop collapsed. The bookshelf tilted. MollFlanders lay open on the deck, Gil Blas fell on her and myaunt's parting gift to me, Hervey's Meditations among theTombs (MDCCLX) 1 I vols London covered them both. Istruck them all aside and Zenobia's tops'ls too. I called on

her to yield, yet she maintained a brave if uselessresistance that fired me even more. I bent for the maincourse. We flamed against the ruins o f the canvas basinand among the trampled pages of my little library. Weflamed upright. Ah-she did yield at last to my conqueringarms, was overcome, rendered up all the tender spoils ofwarlHowever-if your lordship follows me-although it is our maleprivilege to debellare the superbos-the superbos, if youwill-it is something of a duty I think to parcere the subjectis!In a sentence, having gained the favours of Venus I did notwish to inflict the pains o f Lucina! Yet her abandonmentwas complete and passionate. I did not think female heatcould increase -but as bad luck would have it, at that verycritical moment there came from the deck above our headsthe sound of a veritable explosion.She clutched me frantically.“Mr Talbot," she gasped, "Edmund! The French! Save me!"Was there ever anything more mistimed and ridiculous?Like most handsome and passionate women she is a fool;and the explosion (which I at once identified) put her, if notme, in the peril from which it had been my generousintention to protect her. Well there i t is. The fault was hersand she must bear the penalties of her'follies as well as the pleasures. It was-and is all the same-

confoundedly provoking. Moreover s he i s I believe tooexperienced a woman not t o b e aware o f what she hasdone!"Calm yourself, m y dear," I muttered breathlessly, a s myown too speedy paroxysm subsided-confound the woman-“It is Mr Prettiman who has at last seen an albatross. Hehas discharged your father's blunderbuss in its generaldirection. You will not be ravished by the French but by ourcommon people if they find out what he is at."( In fact I found that M r Coleridge ha d been mistaken;Sailors are superstitious indeed, but careless of life in anydirection. The only reason why they do not shoot seabirdsis first because they are not allowed weapons and secondbecause seabirds are not pleasant to eat.)Above us, there was trampling on the deck and much noiseabout t h e s hi p in general. I could only suppose theentertainment was being rowdily successful, for such as likethat sort of thing or have nothing better in view."Now my dear," said I, "we must get you back to the socialscene. It will never do for us to appear together.""Edmund!"This with a great deal of heaving and-glowing, as it iscalled. Really, she was in a quite distasteful condition!

"Why-what is the matter?""You will not desert me?"I paused and thought."Do you suppose I can step overboard into a ship of myown?”"Cruel!"We were now, as your lordship may observe, i n about actthree o f a n inferior drama. She was to be the desertedvictim and I the heartless villain."Nonsense, m y dear! D o n o t pretend tha t these arecircumstances-even t o our somewhat inelegant posturethatthese are circumstances with which yo u are whollyunfamiliar!""What shall I do?""Fiddlesticks, woman! The danger i s slight a s you knowvery well. Or are you waiting for-"I caught myself up. E ven t o pretend that there might besomething about this commerce that w a s commercialseemed an unnecessary insult. To tell the truth I found therewere a number o f irritations combined wi th m y naturalsense of completion a nd victory a nd a t t he moment I

wished nothing s o much a s that she would vanish like asoap bubble or anything evanescent."Waiting for what, Edmund?""For a reasonable moment t o slip into your hutch-cabin Iwould say-and repair your, your toilette.""Edmund!".."We have very little time, Miss Brocklebank!""Yet if-if there should be-unhappy consequences-“"Why, my dear, we must cross that bridge when you cometo it! Now go, go! I will examine the lobby-yes the coast isclear!"I favoured her with a light salute, then leapt back into mycabin. I restored the books to their shelves and did my bestto wrench the iron support o f the canvas basin back intoshape. I lay at last in my bunk and felt, not the Aristoteliansadness but a continuance of my previous irritation. Reallythe woman is such a fool! The French! It was her sense oftheatre that had betrayed her, I could not help thinking, atm y expense. B ut the party was breaking u p o n deck. Ithought that I would emerge later when the light in the lobbywas a concealment rather than discovery. I would take the

ight moment to go to the passenger saloon and drink aglass with any gentleman who might be drinking late there.I. did not care to light my candle but waited and waited invain! Nobody descended from the upper decks! I stole intothe passenger saloon therefore and was disconcerted tofind Deverel there already, seated at the table under thegreat stem window with a glass in one hand and of allthings a carnival mask in the other! He was laughing tohimself. He saw me at once and called out."Talbot my dear fellow! A glass for Mr Talbot, steward!What a sight it was!" Deverel was elevated. Hi s speechwas not precise and there was a carelessness about hisbearing. He drank to me with grace, however exaggerated.He laughed again."What famous sport!"For a moment I thought he might refer to the passagebetween me and Miss Zenny. But his attitude was notexactly right for that. It was something else, then."Why yes," said I. "Famous, as you say, sir." He returnednothing for a moment or two. Then"How he does hate a parson!"I was, as we used to say in the nursery, getting warmer."You refer to our gallant captain."

"Old Rumble-guts."."I must own, Mr Deverel, that I am no particular friend to thecloth myself; but the captain's dislike o f i t seems beyondanything. I have been told that he has forbidden Mr Colleythe quarterdeck on account of some trivial oversight." .Deverel laughed again."The quarterdeck-which Colley supposes includes theafterdeck. So he is confined more or less to the waist.""Such passionate detestation is mysterious. I myself foundColley to be a, a creature of-but I would not punish the manfor his nature other than to ignore him." Deverel rolled hisempty glass on the table."Bates! Another brandy for Mr Deverel!""You are kindness itself, Talbot. I could tell you-" He brokeoff, laughing."Tell me what, sir?"The man, I saw too late, was deep i n his cups. Only thehabitual elegance o f his behaviour and bearing hadconcealed the fact from me. He murmured.

"Our captain. Our damned captain.""I have never been better entertained, Miss Brocklebank." Ireturned to my cabin, where it seemed to me the woman'sperfume yet lingered. To tell the truth, though irritation wasstill uppermost i n m y mind, a s I sat down and began tomake this entry-and as the entry has progressed-irritationhas been subsumed into a kind of universal sadness-GoodGod! Is Aristotle right in this commerce of the sexes as he_His head fell forward on the saloon table, his glass droppedand broke. I tried to rouse him but could not. I called thesteward who is accustomed enough to dealing with suchsituations. Now at last the audience were indeed returningfrom the upper decks, for I could hear feet on the ladder. Iemerged from the saloon to be met by a crowd of them inthe lobby. Miss Granham swept by me. Mr Prettiman hungat her shoulder and orated to what effect I know not. TheStocks were agreeing with Pike pere et mere that the thinghad gone too far. But here was Miss Zenobia, radiantamong the officers as if she had made one of the audiencefrom the beginning! She addressed me, laughing.“Was it not diverting, Mr Talbot?"I bowed, smiling.,

is in the orders of society? I must rouse myself from too dulla view of the farmyard transaction b y which our wretchedspecies is lugged into the daylight.ZETAI t is the same night and I have recovered from what I nowthink a morbid view of practically everything! The truth is Iam more concerned with what Wheeler may discover andpass on to his fellows than considerations of a kind ofmethodistical moralism! For one thing, I cannot get the ironring back into precise shape and for another, that curstperfume .lingers yet! Confound the fool of a woman! As Ilook back, it seems to me that what I shall ever rememberis not the somewhat feverish and too brief pleasure of myentertainment but the occasional and astonishing recourseto the Stage which she employed whenever her feelingswere more than usually roused-or perhaps when they weremore than usually definable! Could an actress convey anemotion that i s indefinable? A nd would she not thereforewelcome with gratitude a' situation where the emotion wasdirect and precise? And does this not account for stageybehaviour?" In my very modest involvement with amateurtheatricals at the university, those whom we had hired to beo ur professional advisers named f o r u s s o me o f thetechnicalities of the art, craft or trade. Thus, I should havesaid that after my remark "Why, my dear, we must cross

that bridge when you come to it!" she did not reply in words;but being half-turned away she turned wholly away andstarted forward away from me-would have gone muchfurther had the hutch allowed of it-would have performed themovement we were told constituted a break down stageright! I laughed to remember it and was somewhat moremyself again. Good God, as the captain would agree, oneparson in a ship is one too many, and the stage serves asan agreeable alternative to moralism! Why, was there not aperformance given us by the reverend gentleman and MissBrocklebank in the course of the one service we have hadto suffer? I am this very moment possessed by a positivelyand literally Shakespearean concept. H e had found herattractive and s h e had shown herself, as women will,anxious to kneel before a male officiant-they made a pair!Should we not do them good-or, as an imp whispered tome, do us all three good? Should not this unlikely Beatriceand Benedict be brought into a mountain of affection foreach other? "I will do any modest office to help my cousin toa good husband." I laughed aloud as I wrote that-and canonly hope that the other passengers, lying in their bunks atthree bells of the middle watch think that like Beatrice Ilaughed in my sleep! I shall for the future single out MrColley for the most, shall I say, distinguished attentions onmy part-or at least until Miss Brocklebank proves to be nolonger in danger from the French!(Z)

Zed, you see, zed, I do not know what the day is-but herewas a to-do! What a thing!I rose at the accustomed hour with a faint stricture about thebrows, caused I think by my somewhat liberal potations withMr Deverel of a rather inferior brandy. I dressed and wenton deck to blow it away when who should emerge from ourlobby but the reverend gentleman for whom I planned toprocure:-the word is unfortunate-such a pleasant future.Mindful of my determination I raised my beaver to him andgave him good day. He bowed and smiled and raised histricorn but with more dignity than I had thought he had inhim. Come, thought I to myself, does Van Diemen's Landrequire a bishop? I watched him in some surprise as hewalked steadily up the ladder t o the afterdeck. I followedhi m t o where Mr Prettiman still stood and cradled hisridiculous weapon. I saluted him; for if I have a personalneed, now, of Mr Colley, as you know, Mr Prettiman mustalways be an object of interest to me."You hit the albatross, sir?"Mr Prettiman bounced with indignation." I d i d no t , s i r ! T h e whole episode-the weapon wassnatched from my hands-the whole episode was grotesqueand lamentable! Such a display of ignorance, of monstrousand savage superstition!"

"No doubt, no doubt," said I soothingly. "Such a thing couldnever happen in France."I moved o n towards the quarterdeck; climbed the ladder;and what was my astonishment to find Mr Colley there! Inround wig, tricorn and black coat he stood before CaptainAnderson on the very planks sacred to the tyrant! As I cameto the top of the ladder Captain Anderson turned abruptlyaway, went to the rail and spat over the side. He was red inthe face and grim as a gargoyle. Mr Colley lifted his hatgravely, then came towards the ladder. He saw LieutenantSummers and went across to him. They saluted each otherwith equal gravity."Mr Summers, I believe it was you who discharged MrPrettiman's weapon?""It was, sir.""I trust you injured no one?""I fired over the side.""I must thank you for it.""It was nothing, sir. Mr Colley-""Well, sir?""I beg of you, be advised by me."

"In what way, sir?""Do not g o immediately. W e have not known our peoplelong enough, sir. After yesterday-I am aware that you are nofriend to intoxicants of any sort-I beg you to wait until thepeople have been issued with their rum. After that there willensue a period when they will, even if they are no more thannow open to reason, be at least calmer and more amiable-""I have armour, sir.""Believe me, I know of what I speak! I was once of theircondition-""I bear the shield of the Lord.""Sir! Mr Colley! As a personal favour to me, since youdeclare yourself indebted-I beg of you, wait for one hour!"There was a silence. Mr Colley saw me and bowed gravely.He turned back to Mr Summers."Very well, sir. I accept your advice."T h e gentlemen bowed o nc e again, M r C olley cametowards me so we bowed to each other! Versailles couldhave done no better! Then the gentleman descended theladder. It was too much! A new curiosity mingled with myShakespearean purposes for him. Good God, thought I, the

whole southern hemisphere has got itself an archbishop! Ihurried after him and caught him as he was about to enterour lobby.I t was extraordinary. His face, burned and blistered a s itwas by exposure to the tropic sun, reddened even more,then as suddenly paled. I swear that tears stood in his eyes!His Adam's apple positively danced up and down beneathand above his bands!"Mr Colley!"."Sir?""I have long wished to be better acquainted with you butowing to an unfortunate indisposition the occasion has notpresented itself-"His mug split with a grin. He swept off his hat, clasped it tohis stomach and bowed, o r sinuously reverenced over it.The archbishop diminished t o a country curate-no, to ahedge priest. My contempt returned and quenched mycuriosity. But I remembered how much Zenobia might standi n need o f hi s services a nd that I should keep him inreserve-or as the Navy would say-in ordinary!"Mr Colley. We have been too long unacquainted. Will younot take a turn with me on deck?"

“Mr Talbot, sir-words cannot-I have long desired but at sucha moment-this is worthy of you and your noble patron-this isgenerous-this is Christian charity in its truest meaning-Godbless you, Mr Talbot!"Once more he performed hi s sinuous and ducking bow,retired a yard or two backwards, ducked again as if leavingthe presence, then disappeared into his hutch.I heard a contemptuous exclamation above me, glanced upand saw Mr Prettiman gazing down at us over the forrardrail of the afterdeck. He bounced away again out of sight.But for the moment I spared him no attention. I was stillconfounded by t he remarkable effect o f m y words onColley. M y appearance i s that o f a gentleman and I amsuitably dressed. I have some height and perhaps-I say nomore than perhaps-consciousness of my futureemployment may have added more dignity to my bearingthan is customary in one of my years! In which case, sir, youare obliquely to be blamed for-but I wrote earlier did I notthat I would not continue to trouble you with my gratitude?To resume then, there was nothing about me to warrant thisfoolish fellow treating me as a Royal! I paced between thebreak of the afterdeck and the mainmast for half an hour,perhaps to rid myself of that same stricture o f the brows,and pondered this ridiculous circumstance. Something hadhappened and I did not know what it was-something, I saw,during the ship's entertainment while I was so closely

engaged with the Delicious Enemy!Does your lordship detect a theatricality in my response? ItWhat it was, I could not tell, nor why it should make myrecognition of Mr Colley more than ordinarily delightful toh i m . A n d Lieutenant S ummers h a d discharged MrPrettimao's blunderbuss without injuring anyone! Thatseemed like an extraordinary failure on the part of afighting seaman! It was a great mystery and puzzle; yet theman's evident gratitude for my attentions-it was annoyingthat I could not demand a solution to the mystery from thegentlemen or officers, for it would not be politic to reveal anignorance based on a pleasant preoccupation with amember of the Sex. I could not at once think how to go on. Ireturned to our lobby, proposing to go into the saloon anddiscover if I could by attending to casual conversations thesource of Mr Colley's extreme gratitude and dignity. But as Ientered the lobby Miss Brocklebank hurried out of her hutchand detained me with a hand on my arm."Mr Talbot-Edmund!""How may I serve you, ma’am?”Then throatily, contralto but pianissimo"“A letter-Oh God! What shall I do?""Zenobia! Tell me all!"

was so indeed. We were at once borne along on a tide ofmelodrama."Oh heavens-it, it is a billet-lost, lost!""But my dear," said I, leaving the stage at once, "I havewritten you nothing." Her magnificent but foolish bosomheaved."It was from Another!""Well," I murmured to her, "I refuse to be responsible forevery gentleman in the ship! You should employ his offices,not mine. And so-"I turned to leave but she held me by the arm." T he no t e i s wholly innocent b u t m a y be-might bemisconstrued-I may have dropped it-oh Edmund, you wellknow where!"" I assure you," said I , "that while I rearranged m y hutchwhere i t h a d been disturbed by a certain exquisiteoccasion I should have noticed-""Please! Oh please!"S he gazed into m y eyes with that look o f absolute trustmingled with anguish which so improves a pair of orbshowever lustrous. (But who am I to instruct your lordship, still

surrounded as you are by adorers who gaze on what theywould have but cannot obtain-by the way, is my flattery toogross? Remember you declared it most effective whenseasoned with truth!)Zenobia came close and murmured up at me."It must be in your cabin. Oh should Wheeler find it I amlost!" The devil, thought I. If Wheeler finds it, I am lost ornear enough-is she trying to implicate me?"Say no more, Miss Brocklebank. I will go at once." I exitedright-or should it be left? I have never been certain, wherethe theatre is concerned. Say then that I moved towards myspacious apartment on the larboard side of the vessel,opened the door, went in, shut it and began to search. I dono t know anything more irritating than to be forced tosearch for an object in a confined space. All at once I wasaware that there were two feet by mine. I glanced up."Go away, Wheeler! Go away'"He went. After that I found the paper but only when I hadgiven up looking for it. I was about to pour water into mycanvas basin when what should I see in the centre of it but asheet of paper, folded. I seized it at once and was about toreturn it to Zenobia's hutch when I w a s stopped b y athought. I n the first place I had performed my ablutionsearlier in the morning. The canvas basin had been emptied

and the bunk remade.Wheeler!At once, I unfolded the note, then breathed again.The-hand was uneducated.DEAREST MOSTADORABLE WOMAN I CANWATE NOLONGER! I HAVE AT LAST DISCOVERED A PLACEANDNO ONE IS IN THE NO! MYHART THUNDERS INMY BOSSOM AS IT NEVER DID IN MY FREQUENTHOURS OF PERIL! ONLYACQUAINT ME WITH THE

TIME AND I WILL CONDUCT YOU TO OUR HEVEN!YOUR SAILOR HEROGood Cod, thought I, this is Lord Nelson raised to a higherpower o f the ridiculous! S he i s having a n attack of theEmmas and has infected this Unknown Sailor Hero withher own style of it! I fell into a state of complete confusion.Mr Colley, all dignity-now this note -Summers withPrettiman's blunderbuss that was really Brocklebank's-Ibegan to laugh, then shouted for Wheeler."Wheeler, you have been busy in my cabin. What should Ido without you?" He bowed but said nothing."I am pleased with your attentiveness. Here is a half-guineafor you. You are sometimes forgetful though, are you not?"The man's eyes did not flicker towards the canvas bowl."Thank you, Mr Talbot, sir. You may rely on me in every waySir.”H e withdrew. I examined t h e no te again. I t w a s notDeverel's, obviously, fo r the illiteracy was not that of agentleman. I wondered what I should do. Then-really, atsome later date I must amuse myself by seeing how the

thing would fit into a farce-I saw how the theatre wouldprovide a means whereby I might rid myself of Zenobia andthe parson together -I had but to drop the note in his cabin,pretend to discover it-Is not this note addressed to MissBrocklebank sir? And you a minister of religion! Confess,you dog, and let us congratulate you on your success withyour inamorata!It was at this point that I caught myself up in astonishmentand irritation. Here was I, w h o considered myself anhonourable and responsible man, contemplating an actionwhich was not merely criminal but despicable! How did thatcome about?You see I hide nothing. Sitting on the edge of my bunk Iexamined the train that had led me to such gross thoughtsand found its original in the dramatic nature of Zenobia'sappeal-straight back to farce and melodrama-in a word, tothe theatre! Be it proclaimed in all the schools- Plato wasright!I rose, went t o the next hutch, knocked. S he opened, Ihanded her the note and came away.(Omega)Omega, omega, omega. The last scene surely! Nothingmore can happen-unless it be fire, shipwreck, the violenceof the enemy or a miracle! Even in this last case, I am sure

the Almighty would appear theatrically as a D eus exMachina! Even if I refuse to disgrace myself by it, I cannot,i t seems, prevent t h e who le s hi p from indulging intheatricals! I myself should come before you now, wearingthe cloak of a messenger i n a play-why not your Racineforgiveme the "Your" but cannot think of him as otherwise-Or may I stay with the Greeks? It is a play. Is it a farce or atragedy? Does not a tragedy depend on the dignity of theprotagonist? Must he not be great to fall greatly? A farce,then, for the man appears now a sort of Punchinello. His fallis in social terms. Death does not come into it. He will notp ut o ut hi s eyes o r be pursued b y t he Furies-he hascommitted no crime, broken no law-unless our egregioustyrant has a few in reserve for the unwary.After I had rid myself of the billet I went to the afterdeck forair, then t o the quarterdeck. Captain Anderson was notthere, but Deverel had the watch together with our ancientmidshipman M r Davies, who i n bright sunlight looks moredecayed than ever. I saluted Deverel and returned to theafterdeck, meaning to have some kind of exchange with MrPrettiman w h o still patrols in all his madness. (I ambecoming more and more convinced that the man cannotconceivably be any danger to the state. No one would heedhim. Nevertheless, I thought it my duty to keep anacquaintance wi th hi m.) H e p a i d n o attention t o myapproach. H e was staring down into the waist. My gazefollowed his.

What was my astonishment to see the back view of MrColley appear from beneath the afterdeck and proceedtowards the people's part of the vessel! This in itself wasastonishing enough, for he crossed the white line a t themainmast which delimits their approach t o u s unless byinvitation or for duty. But what was even more astonishingwa s that Colley wa s dressed i n a positive delirium ofecclesiastical finery! That surplice, gown, hood, wig, caplooked quite simply silly under our vertical sun! He movedforward at a solemn pace as he might in a cathedral. Thepeople who were lounging in the sun stood at once and, Ithought, with a somewhat sheepish air. Mr Colleydisappeared from my sight under the break of the fo'castle.This, then, was what he had spoken of with Summers. Thepeople must have had their rum-and indeed now Irecollected that I had heard the pipe and the cry of "UpSpirits!" earlier on without paying any attention to a soundthat by now had become so familiar. The movement of thevessel was easy, the air hot. The people themselves wereindulged with a holiday or what Summers calls a "Make andMend". I stood on the afterdeck for a while, hardly attendingto Mr Prettiman's diatribe on what he called this survival ofbarbaric finery, for I was waiting with some curiosity to seethe parson come out again! I could not think that heproposed to conduct a full service! But the sight of a parsonnot so much walking into such a place as processing into itforthere had been about him that movement, that air, whichwould suppose a choir, a handful of canons and a dean atleast-this sight I say at once amused and impressed me. I

understood his mistake. He lacked the natural authority of agentleman and had absurdly overdone the dignity o f hiscalling. He was now advancing on the lower orders in all themajesty of the Church Triumphant-or should i t b e theChurch Militant? I was moved at this picture in little of one ofthe elements that have brought English-and dare I sayBritish-Society to the state of perfection it now enjoys. Herebefore me was the Church; there, aft of me and seated inhis cabin was the State in the person of Captain Anderson.Which whip I wondered would prove to be the moreeffective?The cat-o' -nine-tails, only too material in its red serge bagand at the disposal of the captain, though I have not knownhim order its use; o r the notional, the Platonic Idea o f awhip, the threat of hell fire? F or I had no doubt (from thedignified and outraged appearance of the man before thecaptain) that the people had subjected Mr Colley to someslight, real or imagined. I should not have been toosurprised had I heard the fo'castle to resound with wails ofrepentance or screams of terror. For a time-I do not knowhow long-I waited to see what would happen and concludedthat nothing would happen a t all! I returned t o m y cabin,where I continued with the warm paragraphs which I trustyou will have enjoyed. I broke off from that employment at anoise.Can your lordship guess what the noise was? No sir, noteven you! (I hope to come by practice to subtler forms of

Battery.)The first sound I heard from the fo'castle was applause! Itwas not the sort of applause that will follow an aria andperhaps interrupt the business of an opera for wholeminutes together. This was not hysteria, the audience wasnot beside itself. Nor were the people throwing roses-orguineas, as I once saw some young bloods try to into thebosom of the Fantalini! They were, my social ears told me,doing what was proper, the done thing. They applaudedmuch as I for m y part have applauded i n the Sheldonianamong m y fellows when some respectable foreigner hasbeen awarded an honorary degree by the university. I wentout on deck quickly, but there was now silence after thatfirst round o f applause. I thought I could just hear thereverend gentleman speaking. I had half a mind to advanceon the scene, conceal myself by the break of the fo'castleand listen. But then I reflected on the number of sermons Ihad heard in my life and the likely number to come. Ourvoyage, so wretched in many ways, has nevertheless beenan almost complete holiday from them! I decided t o wait,therefore, until o ur newly triumphant Colley should havepersuaded our captain that our ancient vessel needed asermon or, worse, a formal series of them. There evenfloated before my thoughtful e ye s t h e image o f , say,Colley's Sermons or even Colley on Life' s Voyage, and Idecided in advance not to be a subscriber.I was about to return from where I stood in the gently moving

shadow of some sail or other when IHeard, incredulously, a burst of applause, warmer this timeand spontaneous. I do not have to point out to your lordshipthe rarity of the occasions on which a parson is applaudedin full fig or as what young Mr Taylor described as "Dressedover all". Groans and tears, exclamations of remorse andpious ejaculations he may look for if his sermon be touchedwith any kind of enthusiasm: silence and covert yawns willbe his reward if he is content to be a dull, respectablefellow! But the applause I was hearing from the fo'castlewas more proper for an entertainment! It was as i f Colleywere an acrobat or juggler. This second round of applausesounded as if (having earned the first one by keeping sixdinner plates in the air at once) he now had added a billiardcue stood on his forehead with a chamber pot revolving onthe top of it!Now my curiosity was really roused and I was about to goforrard when Deverel descended from his watch and atonce, with what I can only call deliberate meaning, began todiscuss La Brocklebank! I felt myself detected and was atonce a little flattered as any young fellow might b e and ali ttle apprehensive, w h e n I imagined the possibleconsequences of my connection with her. She herself I sawstanding on the starboard side of the afterdeck and beinglectured by Mr Prettiman. I drew Deverel with me into thelobby, where we fenced a little. We spoke of the lady withsome freedom and i t crossed m y mind that during my

indisposition Deverel might have had more success thanhe cared to admit, though he hinted at it. We may both be inthe same basket. Heavens above! But though a navalofficer he is a gentleman, and however things turn out weshall not give each other away. We drank a tot in thepassenger saloon, he had gone about his business and Iwas returning to my hutch when I was stopped in my tracksby a great noise from the fo'castle a n d t h e mostunexpected noise of all-a positive crash of laughter! I wasquite overcome by the thought of Mr Colley as a wit andconcluded at once that he had left them to themselves andthey were, like schoolboys, amusing themselves with amocking pantomime of the master, who has rebuked thenleft them. I went up to the afterdeck for a better view, then tothe quarterdeck, but could see no one on the fo'castleexcept the man stationed there as a lookout. They were allinside, all gathered. Colley had said something, I thought,and is now in his hutch, changing out of his barbaric finery.But word had flown round the ship. The afterdeck was fillingbelow me with ladies and gentlemen and officers. Thosewho dared had stationed themselves by me at the forrardrai l o f t he quarterdeck. The theatrical image tha t hadhaunted m y mind a nd coloured m y speculations i n theearlier events now seemed t o embrace the whole vesselFor one dizzy moment I wondered if our officers were out inthe expectation of mutiny! But Deverel would have known,and he had said nothing. Yet everyone was looking forwardt o the great, unknown part of the ship where the peoplewere indulging in whatever sport was afoot. W e were

spectators and there, interruptedly seen beyond the boatson the boom and the huge cylinder of the mainmast, wasthe stage. The break of the fo'castle rose like the side oft h e house, y e t furnished w i t h t w o ladders a n d twoentrances, one on either side, that were provokingly like astage-provoking, since a performance c o uld n o t beguaranteed and our strange expectations were likely to bedisappointed. I was never made so aware of the distancebetween the disorder of real life in its multifarious action,partial exhibition, irritating concealments and the stagesimulacra that I had once taken as a fair representation ofit! I did not care to ask what was going on and could notthink how to find out unless I was willing to show anunbecoming degree of curiosity. O f course your lordship'sfavourite would have brought forward the heroine and herconfidante-mine would have added the stage instructionEnter two sailors. Yet all I could hear was amusementgrowing in the fo'castle and something the same amongour passengers, not to say officers. I waited on the event,a nd unexpectedly i t came! Tw o ship's boys-not YoungGentlemen-shot out of the larboard doorway of the fo'castle,crossed out of sight behind the mainmast, then shot assuddenly into the starboard entrance! I was reflecting on theabject nature of the sermon that could be the occasion ofsuch general and prolonged hilarity when I became awareof Captain Anderson, who also stood by the forward rail oft h e quarterdeck a n d sta re d forward inscrutably. MrSummers, the first lieutenant, came racing up the ladder,his every movement conveying anxiety and haste. He went

straight to Captain Anderson."Well, Mr Summers?""I beg you will allow me to take charge, sir.""We must not interfere with the church, Mr Summers.”"Sir-the men, sir!""Well, sir?""They are in drink, sir!""Then see they are punished for it, Mr Summers." CaptainAnderson turned away from M r Summers and for the firsttime appeared to notice me. He called out across the deck."Good day, Mr Tal1bot! I trust you are enjoying ourprogress?”I replied that I was, couching my rejoinder i n words I haveforgotten, f o r I was preoccupied by the extraordinarychange in the captain. The face with which he isaccustomed to await the approach of his fellow men maybe said to be welcoming as the door of a gaol. He has, too,a way of projecting his under-jaw and lowering the sullenmass of his face on it, all the while staring up from under hisbrows, that I conceive t o b e positively terrifying t o hisinferiors. But today there was in his face and indeed in his

speech a kind of gaiety!But Lieutenant Summers had spoken again. "At least allowme-look at that, sir!" He was pointing. I turned.Has your lordship ever reflected o n the quaintness o f thetradition tha t signalizes our attainment o f learning byhanging a medieval hood round our necks and clapping aplasterer's board on our heads? (Should not the chancellorhave a silver gilt hod carried before him? B ut I digress.)Two figures had appeared at the larboard entry. They werenow processing across the deck t o the starboard one.Perhaps t he striking o f t he ship's b e ll a n d t h e surelysarcastic cry of "All's well'" persuaded me that these figureswere those in some fantastic clock. The foremost of thefigures wore a black hood edged with fur, and wore i t nothung down his back but up and over his head as we see inilluminated manuscripts from the age of Chaucer. It was upand round his face and held by one hand close under thechin in the fashion that I believe ladies would describe as atippet. The other hand was on the hip with elbow akimbo.T he creature crossed t he deck wi th a n exaggeratedlymincing parody of the female gait. The second figure woreapartfrom the loose garments o f canvas which are thepeople's commo n we a r-a mortarboard of decidedlybattered appearance. It followed the first figure inshambling pursuit. As the two of them disappeared into thefo'castle there was another crash of laughter, then a cheer.

Dare I say what from i ts subtlety your lordship may wellconsider to be retrospective wisdom? This playacting wasnot directed only inwards towards the fo'castle. I t wasaimed aft at us! Have you not seen a n actor consciouslythrow a soliloquy outwards and upwards to the gallery andeven into one corner of it?These two figures that had paraded before u s had casttheir portrayal of human·weakness and folly directly aft to where their betters wereassembled! If your lordship has any concept of the speedwith which scandal spreads in a ship you will the morereadily credit t h e immediacy-no, t h e instantaneity-withwhich news of the business in the fo'castle, whatever it was,now flashed through the ship. The people, the men, thecrew-they had purposes of their own! They were astir! Wewere united, I believe, in our awareness of the threat tosocial stability that might at any moment arise among thecommon sailors and emigrants! It was horseplay andinsolence at liberty i n the fo'castle. M r Colley and CaptainAnderson were at fault-the one for being the occasion ofsuch insolence, the other for allowing it. During a wholegeneration (granted the glory attendant on our successfulanals) the civilized world has had cause to lament theresults of indiscipline among the Gallic Race. They willhardly recover, I believe. I began to descend from thequarterdeck in disgust with a bare acknowledgement ofsalutations on every side. Mr Prettiman now stood with

Miss Granham on the afterdeck. He might well, I thoughtbitterly enough, have an ocular demonstration of the resultsof the liberty he advocated!Captain Anderson had left the quarterdeck t o Summers,who still stared forward with a tense face as if he expectedthe appearance of the enemy or Leviathan or the seaserpent. I was about to descend to the waist when MrCumbershum appeared from our lobby. I paused,wondering whether to interrogate him; but while I did so,young Tommy Taylor positively burst out of the fo'castle ofall places and came racing aft. Cumbershum grabbed him."More decorum about the deck, young fellow!" "Sir-I mustsee the first lieutenant, sir-it's true asGod's my judge!""Swearing are you again, you little sod?""It's the parson, sir, I told you it was!""Mr Colley to you, sir, and damn your impudence for asqueaking little bugger'""It's true, sir, it's true! Mr Colley's there in the fo'-castle asdrunk as the butcher's boots!""Get below, sir, or I'll masthead you!"

Mr Taylor disappeared. My own astonishment wascomplete at finding the parson had been present i n thefo'castle during all the various noises that had resoundedthence-had been there while yet there was play-acting andthe clock-figures mountebanking for our instruction. I nolonger thought of retiring to my hutch. For now not merelythe afterdeck and quarterdeck were crowded. Thosepersons who were sufficiently active had climbed into thelower parts o f the mizzen shrouds while below me , thewaist-the pit, I suppose i n theatrical terms-had yet morespectators. What was curious was that round me on theafterdeck, the ladies no less than the gentlemen were in, orexhibited a condition of, shocked cheerfulness. They would,it seemed, have been glad to be assured the news was nottrue-would rather b e assured-were desperately sorry i f itwas true-would not for the wide world have had such a thinghappen-and if, against all probability, no, possibility, it wast r ue , w h y ne ve r, ne ve r, never-Only M i s s Granhamdescended with a set face from the afterdeck, turned andvanished into the lobby. Mr Prettiman with his gun staredfrom her to the fo’castle and back again. Then he hastenedafter her. But other than this severe pair the afterdeck wasfull of whispering and nodding animation fitted more for theretiring room at an assembly than the deck of a man-of-war.Below me Mr Brocklebank leaned heavily on his stick withthe women nodding their bonnets at him on either side.Cumbershum stood by them, silent. It was at some point inthis period of expectancy that the silence became generalso that the gentle noises of the ship-sea noises against her

planks, the soft touch o f the wind fingering he r riggingbecameaudible. In the silence, and as if produced by it, myears-our ears-detected the distant sound of a man's voice.It sang. We knew at once it must be Mr Colley. He sang andhis voice was meagre as his appearance. The tune and thewords were well enough known. I t might be heard in analehouse or a drawing room. I cannot tell where Mr Colleylearnt it."Where have you been all the day, Billy Boy?" Then therefollowed a short silence, after which h e broke i nto adifferent song that I did not know. The words must havebeen warm, I think, country matters perhaps, for there waslaughter to back them. A peasant, born to stone-gatheringand bird-scaring, might have picked them up under thehedge where the workers pause at noon.When I go over the scene in my mind I am at a loss toaccount for our feeling that Colley's misdemeanour wouldb e rounded out t o the fullness o f the event. I had beenvexed earlier to see how little the stage of the fo'castle wasto be relied on for conveying t o u s t h e shape anddimensions o f this drama! Ye t no w I t o o waited. Yourlordship might demand with reason, "Have you never heardo f a drunken parson before?" I can only reply that I hadindeed heard of one but had not yet seen one. Moreover,there are times and places.The singing stopped. There began to be laughter again,

applause, then a clamour of shouts and jeers. It seemedafter a while that we were indeed to be cheated of theevent-which was hardly to b e borne, seeing how much insickness, danger and boredom we had paid for our seats.However, i t w a s a t thi s critical juncture that CaptainAnderson ascended from his cabin to the quarterdeck, tookhis place at the forrard rail of it and surveyed the theatreand audience. His face was as severe as Miss Cranham's.He spoke sharply to Mr Devere1, who now had the watch,informing him (in a voice which seemed to make the factdirectly attributable to some negligence on Mr Deverel'spart) that the parson was still there. He then took a turn ortwo round his side of the quarterdeck, came back to therail, stopped by it, and spoke to Mr Deverel more cheerfully."Mr Deverel. Be good enough to have the parson informedhe must now return to his cabin."I believe not another muscle stirred in the ship as MrDeverel repeated the order to Mr Willis, who saluted andwent forward with all eyes on his back. Our astonished earsheard Mr Colley address him with a string of endearmentsthat would have-and perhaps did-make L a Brocklebankblush like a paeony. The young gentleman came stumblingout of the fo'castle and ran back sniggering. But in truthnone among us paid him much attention. For now, likesome pigmy Polyphemus, like whatever is at once strangeand disgusting, the parson appeared in the lefthanddoorway of the fo'castle. His ecclesiastical garment had

gone and the marks of his degree. His wig had gone-hisvery breeches, stockings and shoes had been taken fromhim. Some charitable soul had in pity, I supposed, suppliedhim with one of the loose canvas garments tha t thecommon people wear about the ship; and this because ofhis diminutive stature was sufficient to cover his loins. Hewas not alone. A young stalwart had him in charge. Thisfellow was supporting Mr Colley, whose head lay back onthe man's breast. As the curious pair came uncertainly pastthe mainmast, Mr Colley pushed back so that they stopped.It was evident that his mind had become only lightly linkedto his understanding. He appeared to be in a state ofextreme and sunny enjoyment. His eyes moved indifferently,as if taking no print of what they saw. Surely his frame wasnot one that could afford him any pleasure! His skull nowthe wig no longer covered i t was seen t o b e small andnarrow. His legs had no calves; but dame Nature in afrivolous mood had furnished him with great feet and knotsof knees that betrayed their peasant origin. He wasmuttering some nonsense of fol de rol or the like. Then, asif seeing his audience for the first time, he heaved himselfaway from his assistant, stood on splayed feet and flung outhis arms as if to embrace us all."Joy! Joy! Joy!"Then his face became thoughtful. H e turned t o hi s right,walked slowly and carefully t o t he bulwark a nd pissedagainst it. What a shrieking and covering of faces there

was from the ladies, what growls from us! Mr Colley turnedback to us and opened his mouth. Not even the captaincould have caused a more immediate silence.Mr Colley raised his right hand and spoke, though slurredly."The blessing of God the Father Almighty, God the Son andGod the Holy Ghost be with you and remain with youalways."Then there was a commotion I can tell you! I f the man'suncommonly public micturation had shocked the ladies, tobe blessed by a drunk man in a canvas shirt causedscreams, hasty retreats and, I am told, oneévanouissement! It was no more than seconds after thistha t t h e servant, Phillips, a n d M r Summers, t h e firstlieutenant, lugged the poor fool out of sight while theseaman who had helped him aft stood and stared afterthem. When Colley was out of sight the man looked up atthe quarterdeck, touched his forelock and went back to thefo'castle. On the whole I think the audience was well enoughsatisfied. Next to the ladies Captain Anderson seemed tobe the principal beneficiary of Colley's performance. Hebecame positively sociable with the ladies, voluntarilybreaking away from his sacred side of the quarterdeck andbidding them welcome. Though h e firmly but courteouslydeclined to discuss l' affaire Colley, there was a lightnessabout his step and indeed a light in his eye that I hadsupposed occasioned in a naval officer only by the

imminence of battle! What animation had possessed theother officers passed away quickly enough. They must haveseen enough drunkenness and been part of enough to seethis as no more than an event in a long history. And whatwas the sight of Coney's urine to naval gentlemen who hadperhaps seen decks smeared with the viscera andstreaming with the blood of their late companions? Ireturned to my hutch, determined to give you as full andvivid an account of the episode as was in my power. Yeteven while I was busy leading up to the events, the furtherevents of his fall raced past me. While I was yet describingthe strange noises from the fo'castle, I heard the sound of adoor opened clumsily on the other side of the lobby. Ijumped up and stared (by means of my louvre or spyhole)across it. Lo, Colley came out of his cabin! He held a sheetof paper i n his hand and he still smiled that smile of aerycontentment and joy. He went in this joyous distraction inthe direction o f the necessary offices o n that side o f theship. Evidently he still dwelt in a land of faery which wouldvanish presently and leave him-Well. Where will i t leavehi m? H e i s quite unpractised i n t h e management ofspiritous liquors. I imagined hi s distress o n coming tohimself and I started to laugh-then changed my mind. Thecloseness of my cabin became a positive fetor.(51)This is the fifty-first day of our voyage, I think; and thenagain perhaps it is not. I have lost interest in the calendar

and almost lost it in the voyage too. We have our shipboardcalendar of events which are trivial enough. Nothing hashappened since Colley entertained u s . H e i s muchcondemned. Captain Anderson continues benign. Colleyhimself has not been out of his hutch in the four days whichhave passed since his drunkenness. No one but the servanthas seen him i f you except me on the occasion when hetook his own paper to the loo! Enough of him. What mightamuse you more is the kind of country dance we youngfellows' have been performing round La Brocklebank. Ihave not yet identified her Sailor Hero but am sure thatDeverel has had to do with her. I taxed him with it and drewan admission from him. We agreed that a man might wellsuffer shipwreck on that coast and have decided to standshoulder to shoulder in mutual defence. A mixed metaphor,my lord, so you can see how dull I find myself. To resume.W e both think that at the moment she is inclined toCumbershum. I owned that this was a relief t o m e andDeverel agreed. We had feared, both o f us, t o b e i n thesame difficulty o ve r o u r common inamorata. Yo u willremember that I had some hare-brained scheme, sinceColley was s o clearly epris with her, o f having a MUCHADO ABOUT NOTHING and bringing this Beatrice andBenedict into a mountain of affection for each other! I toldDevere1 this, at which he was silent for a while, then burstout laughing. I was about t o inform him plainly that I tookexception to his conduct when he asked my pardon in themost graceful way. But, said he, the coincidence was past

the wit of man to invent and he would share the jest with meif I would give him my word to say nothing of what he toldme. We were interrupted at this point and I do not knowwhat the jest is, but you shall have it when I do.

ALPHAI have been remiss and let a few days go by withoutattention to the journal. I have felt a lethargy. There hasbeen little to do but walk the deck, drink with anyone whowill, walk the deck again, perhaps speaking to thispassenger or that. I believe I did not tell you that when "MrsBrocklebank" issued from the cabin she proved to be ifanything younger than her daughter! I have avoided bothher and the fair Zenobia, who glows i n this heat s o asalmost to turn a man's stomach!Cumbershum is not so delicate. The boredom of thevoyage in these hot and next to windless latitudes hasincreased the consumption o f strong spirits among us. Ihad thought to give you a full list of our passengers but havegiven up. They would not interest you. Let them remain IC.1TpOO-flYlTa. What i s o f some interest however i s thebehaviour-or the lack of it-of Colley. The fact i s that sincethe fellow's fall he has not left his cabin. Phillips the servantgoes in occasionally and I believe that M r Summers hasvisited him, I suppose thinking i t part of a first lieutenant'sduty. A lustreless fellow like Colley might well feel somediffidence at coming again among ladies and gentlemen.The ladies are particularly strict on him. For my own part,the fact that Captain Anderson rode the m a n hard, in

Deverel's phrase, is sufficient to temper any inclination Imight have absolutely to reject Colley as a human being!Deverel and I agree that Brocklebank is or has been thekeeper of both the doxies. I had known that the world of artis not to be judged by the accepted standards of moralitybut would prefer him to set up his brothel in another place.However, they have two hutches, one for the “parents" andone for the "daughter," so he does at least make a tinygesture towards preserving appearances. Appearancesare preserved and everyone is happy, even Miss Granham.As for Mr Prettiman, I suppose he notices nothing. Long liveillusion, say I. L et us export i t t o our colonies with all theother benefits of civilization!(60)I have just come from the passenger saloon, where I havesat for a long time with Summers. The conversation is worthrecording, though I have a n uneasy feeling that it tellsagainst me. I am bound to say that Summers is the personof all in this ship who does His Majesty's Service the mostcredit. Deverel is naturally more the gentleman but notassiduous in his duties. As for the others-they may bedismissed en masse. The difference had been in my mindand I did, in a way I now fear he may have found offensive,discuss the desirability of men being elevated above theirfirst station in life. It was thoughtless of me and Summersreplied with some bitterness.

"Mr Talbot, sir, I do not know how to say this or indeedwhether I should-but you yourself made it plain in a way thatput the matter beyond misunderstanding, that a man'soriginal is branded on his forehead, never to be removed.""Come, Mr Summers-I did not so!""Do you not remember?""Remember what?"He was silent for a while. Then-"I understand. It is plainwhen I see it from your point of view. W hy should youremember?""Remember what, sir?"Again he was silent. Then he looked away and seemed tobe reading the words of the following sentence off thebulkhead."'Well, Summers, allow me to congratulate you on imitatingt o perfection the manners and speech of a somewhathigher station in life than the one you was born to.' 'Now it was my turn to be silent. What he said was true. Yourlordship may, if you choose, turn back i n this very journaland find the words there. I have done so myself, and rereadthe account of that first meeting. I believe Summers

does not give me credit for the state of bewilderment andembarrassment i n which I had then found myself, but thewords, the very words, are there!"I ask your pardon, Mr Summers. It was-insufferable.""But true, sir," said Summers, bitterly. "In our country for allher greatness there is one thing she cannot do and that istranslate a person wholly out of one class into another,perfect translation from one language into' another isimpossible. Class is the British language.""Come, sir," sai d I , "will yo u no t believe m e ? Perfecttranslation from one language to another is possible and Icould give you an example of it. So is perfect translationfrom class to class.""Imitating to perfection-""Perfect in this, that you are a gentleman." Summersflushed red and his face only slowly resumed its wontedbronze. It was high time we moved our ground."Yet you see, my dear fellow, we have at least one exampleamong us where the translation is not a success'""I must suppose you to refer to Mr Colley. It was mypurpose to raise that subject.""The man has stepped out of his station without any merit to

support the elevation.""I do not see how his conduct can be traced to his originalfor we do not know what it was.""Come. It appears in his physique, his speech and aboveall in what I can only call his habit of subordination. I swearh e ha s g o t o ut o f t he peasantry b y a ki nd of greasyobsequiousness. N o w f o r example-Bates, t h e brandy,please!-I can myself drink brandy a s long a s you pleaseand I issue a guarantee that no man and particularly no ladywill see in me the kind of behaviour by which Mr Colley hasamused us and affronted them. Colley, plied, as we mustsuppose, with spirits there in the fo’castle, had neither thestrength to refuse it nor the breeding which would haveenabled him to resist its more destructive effects.""This wisdom should be put in a book.""Laugh if you will, sir. Today I must not be offended withyou.""But there is another matter and I had intended to raise it.We have no physician and the man is mortally sick.""How can that be? He is young and suffering from no morethan over-indulgence in liquor.""Still? I have talked with the servant. I have entered thecabin and seen for myself. In many years of service neither

Phillips nor I have seen anything like it. The bed is filthy, yetthe man, though he breathes every now and then, does notstir in it. His face is pressed down and hidden. He lies onhis stomach, one hand above his head and clutched intothe bolster, the other clutching a n old ringbolt left i n thetimber.""I marvel you can eat after it.""Oh that! I tried to turn him over.""Tried? You must have succeeded. You have three timeshis strength.""Not in these circumstances.""I own, Mr Summers, that I have not observed muchintemperance in Colley's line of life. But the story goes thatthe Senior Tutor at my own college, having dined too wellbefore a service, rose from hi s seat, staggered t o thelectern, slumped, holding on t o the brass eagle and washeard to mutter, 'I should have been down had it not beenfor this bleeding Dodo.' But I daresay you never heard thestory." Mr Summers shook his head."I have been much abroad," he replied gravely."The event made little noise in that part of the Servicewhere I then was."

"A hit, a palpable hit! But depend on it, young Colley will liftup his head." Summers stared into his untouched glass."He has a strange power. It i s almost as i f the NewtonianForce is affected. The hand that holds the ringbolt might bemade of steel He lies, dinted into his bunk, drawn down intoit as if made of lead.""There he must stay then.""Is that all, Mr Talbot? Are you as indifferent to the man'sfate as others are?""I am not an officer in this ship!""The more able to help, sir.""How?""I may speak to you freely, may I not? Well then how has theman been treated?""He was at first an object of one man's specific dislike, thenan object of general indifference that was leading tocontempt even before his latest-escapade." Summersturned and stared out of the great stem window for a while.Then he looked back at me."What I say now could well ruin me if I have misjudged yourcharacter."

"Character? M y character? Yo u h a v e examined mycharacter? You set yourself up-""Forgive me-nothing is further from my mind than offendingyou and if I did not believe the case desperate-'"What case, for God's sake?""We know your birth, your prospective position why-menandwomen-will flatter you in the hope or expectation ofgaining the governor’s ear-""Good God-Mr Summers!""Wait, wait! Understand me, Mr Talbot-I do not complain!""You sound uncommonly like a man complaining, sir!"I had half-risen from my seat; but Summers stretched outhis hand in a gesture of such simple"supplication" Isuppose I must call it-that I sat down again."Proceed then, if you must!""I do not speak in my own behalf."For a while we were both silent. Then Summers swallowed,deeply as if there had been a real drink in his mouth andthat no small one.

"Sir, you have used your birth and your prospective positionto get for yourself an unusual degree of attention andcomfort-I do not complain-dare not! Who am I to questionthe customs of our society or indeed, the laws of nature? Ina sentence, you have exercised the privileges of yourposition. I am asking you to shoulder its responsibilities.""A visit from you, sir, to such a man-"During-it may be-half a minute; for what is time in a ship, orto revert to that strange metaphor of existence that came tome so strongly during Mr Colley's exhibition, what is time ina theatre? During that time, however long or short, I passedthrough numberless emotions-rage I think, confusion,irritation, amusement and an embarrassment for which Iwas most annoyed, seeing that I had only now discoveredthe seriousness of Mr Colley's condition."That was a notable impertinence, Mr Summers!" As myvision cleared I saw that the man had a positive pallorunder his brown skin."Let me think, man! Steward! Another brandy here!"Bates brought i t at the run for I must have ordered i t i n amore than usually peremptory voice. I did not drink at oncebut sat and stared into my glass. The trouble was that ineverything the man had said, he was right!After a while, he spoke again.

"I? Go in that stinking hole?""There is a phrase that suits your situation, sir. It isNoblesse oblige.""Oh be damned to your French, Summers! But I tell you thisand make what you choose of it! I believe in fair play!""That I am prepared to accept.""You? That is profoundly generous of you. sir!" Then wewere silent again. It must have been in aharsh enough voice that I spoke at last."Well. Mr Summers, you were right, were you not?I have been remiss. B ut those who administer correctionout of school must not expect to be thanked for it. ""I fear not.'This was too much."Fear nothing, man! How mean, how vindictive, how smalldo you think I am?Your precious career is safe enough from me. I do not careto be lumped in with the enemy!"

A t this moment. Deverel came i n with Brocklebank andsome others s o that the conversation perforce becamegeneral. As soon as possible I took my brandy back to myhutch and sat there. thinking what t o do. I called Wheelerand told him to send Phillips to me. He had the insolence toask me what I wanted the man for and I sent him about hisbusiness in no uncertain terms. Phillips came soon enough."Phillips. I shall pay a call on Mr Colley. I do not wish to beoffended by the sights and smells of a sickroom. Be goodenough to clean up the place and as far as you can, thebunk Let me know· when it is done."I thought for a moment he would demur but he changed hismind and withdrew. Wheeler stuck his head in again but Ihad plenty of rage left over and told him if he was so idle hemight as well go across and lend Phillips a hand. Thisremoved him at once. It must have been a full hour beforePhillips tapped on my door and said he had done what hecould. I rewarded him, then fearing the worst went acrossthe lobby attended by Phillips but with Wheeler hovering asif expecting a half-guinea for allowing Phillips the use ofme. These fellows are as bad as parsons over fees forchristenings, weddings and funerals! They were disposedto mount guard at the door of M r Colley's cabin but I toldthem t o b e off and watched till they disappeared. I thenwent in.Colley's hutch was a mirror image of mine. Phillips, if he

had not rid it completely of stench, had done the next bestthing by covering it with some pungent but not unpleasantlyaromatic odour. Colley lay a s Summers ha d said. Oneha nd still clutched what both Falconer and Summersagreed was a ringholt in the side of the ship. His scrubbyhead was pressed into the bolster, the face turned away. Istood by the bunk and was at a loss. I had little experienceof visiting the sick."Well sir, if not today, then when you are ready! I will awaityou. Pray call on me!" Was that not a foolish thing to say? Itwas an open invitation to the man to pester me as much ashe would. I backed to the door and turned in time to see"Mr Colley!"There was no reply. I tried again." M r C olley, s i r. S o m e d a y s a g o I desired furtheracquaintance with you. B ut you have not appeared. Thiswas too bad, sir. May I not expect your company on decktoday?".That was handsome enough, I thought in all conscience. Iwas so certain of success in raising the man's spirits that afleeting awareness of the boredom I should experience inhis company passed through my mind and took some edgeoff my determination to rouse him. I backed away.

Wheeler and Phillips vanish. I looked round the cabin. Itcontained even less than mine. The shelf held a Bible, aprayer book, and a dirty, dogeared volume, purchased Iimagine at third hand and clumsily rebound in brown paper,which proved to be Classes Plantarum. The others wereworks of devotion-Baxter's Saints Everlasting Rest, andthe like. There was a pile of manuscript on the flap of thetable. I closed the door and went back to my hutch again ..Scarce had I got my own door open when I found Summersfollowing m e close. He had, it appeared, watched mymovements. I motioned him inside."Well Mr Talbot?""I got no response from him. However, I visited him as yousaw and I did what I could. I have, I believe, dischargedthose responsibilities you were so kind as to bring to mynotice. I can do no more."To my astonishment he raised a glass of brandy to his lips.He had carried it concealed or at least unnoticed-for whowould look for such a thing in the hands of so temperate aman?"Summers-my dear Summers! You have taken to drink!"That he had not indeed was seen only too clearly when hechoked and coughed at the first taste of the liquid.

"You need more practice, man! Join Deverel and me sometime!" He drank again, then breathed deeply."Mr Talbot, you said that-today you could not be angry withme. You jested but it was the word of a gentleman. Now Iam to come at you again.""I am weary of the whole subject.""I assure you, Mr Talbot, this is my last."I turned my canvas chair round and sank into it."Say what you have to say, then." ."Who is responsible for the man's state?""Colley? Devil take it! Himself! Let us not mince round thetruth like a pair of church spinsters! You are going tospread the responsibility, are you not? You will include thecaptain a nd I agree-who else?-Cumbershum? Deverel?Yourself? The starboard watch? The world?""I will be plain, sir. The best medicine for Mr Colley wouldbe a gentle visit from the captain of whom he stands in suchawe. The only man among us with sufficient influence tobring the captain to such an action, is yourself.""Then devil take it again, for I shall not!"

"You said I would 'Spread the responsibility'. Let me do sonow. You are the man most responsible-""Christ in his heaven, Summers, you are the-""Wait! Wait!""Are you drunk?""I said I would be plain. I will stand shot, sir, though mycareer is now in far more danger from you than it ever wasfrom the French! They, after all, could do no more than killor maim me-but you-""You are drunk-you must be!""Had you not i n a bold and thoughtless way outfaced ourcaptain on his own quarterdeck-had you not made use ofyour rank and prospects and connections to strike a blow atthe very foundations of his authority, all this might not havehappened. H e i s brusque and h e detests the clergy, hemakes no secret of it. But had you not acted as you did atthat time, he would never in the very next few minutes havecrushed Colley with his anger and continued t o humiliatehim because he could not humiliate you.""If Colley had had the sense to read Anderson's StandingOrders-""You are a passenger as he is. Did you read them?"

Through my anger I thought back. I t wa s true t o someextent-no, wholly true. O n m y fi rst d a y Wheeler hadmurmured something about them-they were to be foundoutside my cabin and at a suitable opportunity I should-"Didyou read them, Mr Talbot?""You have said enough.""No.”Has your lordship ever come across the odd fact that to beseated rather than erect induces or at least tends towards astate of calm? I cannot say that my anger was sinking awaybut it was stayed. As if he, too, wished us both to be calm,Summers sat on the edge of my bunk, thus looking slightlydown a t me. Our relative positions seemed to make thedidactic inevitable."The captain's Standing Orders would seem to you asbrusque as he is, sir. But the fact is they are whollynecessary. Those applying to passengers lie under thesame necessity, the same urgency, as the rest.""Very well, very well!""You have not seen a ship at a moment of crisis, sir.A ship may b e taken flat aback a nd sunk a ll i n a fewmoments. Ignorant passengers, stumbling i n t h e way,delaying a necessary order or making it inaudible-"

"I hope so.""You are certain I am responsible for nothing else that hasgone awry? Perhaps Mrs East's miscarriage?""If our captain could be induced to befriend a sick man-“"Tell me, Summers-why are you so curious about Colley?"He finished his drink and stood up."Fair play, noblesse oblige. My education is not like yours,sir, it has been strictly practical. But I know a term underwhich both phrases might be-what is the word?-subsumed.I hope you will find it."With that, he went quick1y out of my hutch and awaysomewhere, leaving me in a fine mixture of emotions!Anger, yes, embarrassment, yes-but also a kind of ruefulamusement at having been taught two lessons i n one dayby the same schoolmaster! I damned him for a busybody,then half undamned him again, for he is a likeable fellow,common or not. What the devil had he to do with my duty?Was that the word? An odd fellow indeed! Truly as good atranslation as yours, my lord! All those countless leaguesfrom one end of a British ship to the other! To hear him giveorders about the deck-and then to meet him over a glasshecan pass between one sentence and the next from allthe jargoning of the Tarpaulin language to the plain

exchanges which take place between gentlemen. Now theheat was out of my blood I could see how he had· thoughthimself professionally a t risk in speaking so to me and Ilaughed a little ruefully again. We may characterize him inour theatrical terms as-enter a Good Man!Well, thought I to myself, there i s this i n common betweenGood Men and children-we must never disappoint them!Only half of the confounded business had been attended to.I had visited the sick-now I must try my influence in adjustingmatters between Colley and our gloomy captain. I own theprospect daunted me a little. I returned to the passengersaloon and brandy and in the evening, to tell the truth, foundmyself i n no condition t o exercise judgement. I think thiswas deliberate and an endeavour to postpone what I knewmust be a difficult interview. At last I went with what musthave been a stately gait to my bunk and have somerecollection o f Wheeler assisting m e into it. I was boskyindeed and fell into a profound sleep to wake later with theheadache and some queasiness. When I tried my repeaterI found it was yet early in the morning. Mr Brocklebank wassnoring. There were noises coming from the hutch next tomine from which I inferred that the fair Zenobia was busywith yet another lover or, it may be, client. Had she, Iwondered, also wanted to reach the governor's ear?Should I one day find myself approached by her to get anoffi ci al portrai t o f t h e governor executed b y MrBrocklebank? It was a sour consideration for the earlyhours that stemmed straight from Summer's frankness. I

damned him all over again. The air in my hutch was thick,so I threw on my greatcoat, scuffed my feet into slippersand felt my way out on deck. Here there was light enough tomake out the difference between the ship, the sea, and thesky but no more. I remembered my resolution to speak withthe captain on Colley's behalf with positive revulsion. Whathad seemed a boring duty when I was elevated with drinknow presented itself a s downright unpleasant. I called tomind that the captain was said to take a constitutional onthe quarterdeck at dawn, but such a time and place was tooearly for our interview. Nevertheless, the early morning air,unhealthy as it may have been, seemed in a curious way toalleviate the headache, the queasiness and even my slightuneasiness at the prospect of the interview. I therefore setmyself to marching to and fro between the break of theafterdeck and the mainmast. While I did so, I tried to see allround the situation. We had yet more months of sea travelbefore u s i n the captain's company. I neither liked noresteemed Captain Anderson nor was able to think of himas anything but a petty tyrant. Endeavour-it could be nomore-to assist the wretched C o lle y c o ul d n o t butexacerbate the dislike that lay just beyond the bounds of theunacknowledged truce between us. The captain acceptedmy position as your lordship's godson, et cetera. I acceptedhis as a captain of one of His Majesty's ships. The limit ofhis powers in respect of passengers was obscure; and sowas the limit of my possible influence with his superiors!Like dogs cautious of each other's strength we steppedhigh and round each other. And now I was to try to influence

hi s behaviour towards a contemptible member o f theprofession he hated! I was thus, unless I was very careful, indanger of putting myself under an obligation to him. Thethought was not to be borne. At one time and another in mylong contemplation I believe I uttered a deal of oaths!Indeed, I had half a mind to abandon the whole project.However, the damp but soft air of these latitudes, no matterwhat the subsequent effect on one's health, is certainly tobe recommended as an antidote to an aching head andsour stomach! As I came more and more to myself I found itmore and more in my power to exercise judgement andcontemplate action. Those ambitious of attaining tostatecraft or whose birth renders the exercise of itinevitable would do well to face the trials-of a voyage suchas ours! It was, I remember, very clearly in my mind howyour lordship's benevolence had got for me not only someyears of employment i n a new and unformed society buthad also ensured that the preliminary voyage should giveme time for reflection and the exercise of my notinconsiderable powers of thought. I decided I must proceedon the principle of the use of least force. What would moveCaptain Anderson to do as I wished? Would there beanything more powerful with hi m than self-interest? Thatwretched little man, M r Colley! B ut there wa s n o doubtabout it. Whether it was, as Summers said, my fault in partor not, there was no doubt he had been persecuted. Thathe was a fool and had made a cake of himself was neitherhere nor there.

Well! I returned to my hutch, washed, shaved and dressedwith care. I took my morning draught in the saloon and thendrew myself up as before a regular stitcher. I did not enjoythe prospect of the interview, I can tell you! For if I hadestablished my position in the ship, it was even moreDeverel, little Tommy Taylor, Summers himself-they allimplied that captain Anderson for no matter what reasonhad deliberately made the man's life intolerable to him. Thedevil was i n i t i f I could find any word t o s um u p bothSummers's phrase of "Noblesse Oblige" and mine of "FairPlay" other than"Justice". There's a large a nd schoolbook word t o rundirectly on like a rock in mid-ocean! There was a kind ofterror i n i t too since i t had moved out o f school and theuniversity onto the planks of a warship-which i s to say theplanks of a tyranny in little! What about my career?Yet I was warmed b y Summers's belief i n m y ability andmore by his confident appeal to my sense of justice. Whatcreatures we are! Here was I, who only a few weeks beforehad thought highly of myself because my mother wept tosee me go, now warming my hands at the small fire of alieutenant's approval!However, at last I saw how to go on.(61)

Well then, I stationed myself on the opposite side of thequarterdeck, affecting to take no notice of the man otherthan to salute him casually with a lifted finger. My hope wasevident that the captain had established hi s! H e wasindeed our moghool. To remove my foreboding I went verybriskly t o t h e quarterdeck, positively bounding u p theladders. Captain Anderson, the wind no w being o n thestarboard quarter, was standing there and facing into it.This is his privilege; and is said by seamen to rise from thearcane suggestion that "Danger lies to windward" though inthe next breath they will assure you that the most dangerousthing in the world is "a lee shore". The first, I suppose,refers to a possible enemy ship, the second to reefs andsuchlike natural hazards. Ye t I have, I believe, a morepenetrating suggestion t o make a s t o the origin o f thecaptain's privilege. Whatever sector o f t h e s hi p i s towindward is almost fre e fro m t h e stench s h e carrieseverywhere with her. I do not mean the stink o f urine andordure but that pervasive stench from the carcass o f theship herself a nd he r rotten bilge o f gravel a n d sand.Perhaps more modem ships with their iron ballast maysolely more sweetly; but captains, I dare say, in this Noah'sservice will continue to walk the windward side even if shipsshould run clean out of wind and take to rowing. The tyrantmust live as free of stink as possible. I find that withoutconscious intention I have delayed this description as I haddallied over my draught. I live again those moments when Idrew myself together for the jump!

that his recent gaiety and elevation of spirits would lead himto address me first. My judgement was correct. His new airof satisfaction was indeed apparent, for when he saw mehe came across, his yellow teeth showing."A fine day for you, Mr Talbot!""Indeed it is, sir. Do we make as much progress as iscommon in these latitudes?""I doubt that we shal1 achieve more than an average of aknot over the next day or two.""Twenty-four sea miles a day."" J ust s o , s i r. Warships a r e generally slower i n theiradvance than most people suppose.""Well sir, I must confess to finding these latitudes moreagreeable than any I have experienced. Could we but towthe British Isles to this part of the world, how many of oursocial problems would be solved! The mango would fall inour mouths.""You have a quaint fancy there, sir. Do you mean to includeIreland?""No sir. I would offer her to the United States of America,sir."

"Let them have the first refusal, eh, Mr Talbot?""Hibernia would lie snugly enough alongside New England.We should see what we should see!""It would remove half a watch of my crew at a blow.""Well worth the loss, sir. What a noble prospect the oceanis under a low sun! Only when the sun is high does the seaseem to lack that indefinable air of Painted Art which weare able to observe at sunrise and sunset.""I am so accustomed to the sight that I do not see it. Indeed.I a m grateful-if the phrase is not meaningless in thecircumstances-to the oceans for another quality.""And that is?""Their power of isolating a man from his fellows.""Of isolating a captain. sir. The rest of humanity at sea mustlive only too much herded. The effect on them i s not of thebest. Circe's task must not have been hindered, to say theleast, by the profession of her victims!" Directly I had saidthis I realized how cutting i t might sound. But I saw by theblankness of the captain's face, then its frown, that he wastrying to remember what had happened to any ship of thatname."Herded?"

"Packed together. I ought to have said. But how balmy theair is! I declare it seems almost insupportable that I mustdescend again and busy myself with my journal." CaptainAnderson checked at the word "journal" as if he hadtrodden on a stone. I affected not to notice but continuedcheerfully."It is partly an amusement, captain, and partly a duty. It is. Isuppose, what you would call a 'log’.”"You must find little to record in such a situation as this.""Indeed, sir, you are mistaken. I have not time nor papersufficient to record all the interesting e ve nts andpersonages o f t h e vo ya g e together w i t h m y ownobservations on them. Look-there is M r Prettiman! Apersonage for you! Hi s opinions are notorious, are theynot?"But Captain Anderson was still staring at me."Personages?"“You must know," said I laughing, "that had I not hislordship's direct instructions to me I should still have beenscribbling. It i s my ambition to out-Gibbon Mr Gibbon andthis gift to a godfather falls conveniently."Our tyrant was pleased to smile; but quiveringly, like a manwho knows that to have a tooth pulled is less painful than to

have the exquisite torturer left in."We may all be famous, then," said he. "I had not looked forit.""That i s fo r the future. Yo u must know, sir, that to theunhappiness of us all, his lordship h a s found himselftemporarily vexed by the gout. It i s my hope that in such adisagreeable situation, a frank, though private account ofmy travels and of the society, in which I find myself mayafford him some diversion. 'Captain Anderson took a n abrupt turn u p and down thedeck, then stood directly before me."The officers of the ship in which you travel must bulk largein such an account."."They are objects of a landsman's interest and curiosity.""The captain particularly so?"'"You sir? I had not considered that. But you are, after all, theking or emperor of our floating society with prerogatives ofjustice and mercy. Yes. I suppose you do bulk large in myjournal and will continue to do so.”Captain Anderson turned on his heel and marched away.

He kept his back to me and stared up wind. I saw that hishead was sunk again, his hands clasped behind his back. Isupposed that his jaw must be projecting once more as afoundation on which to sink the sullenness of his face.There was no doubt at all of the effect of my words, eitheron him or on me! For I found myself quivering as the firstlieutenant h a d quivered whe n h e dared t o beard MrEdmund Talbot! I spoke, I know not what, to Cumbershum,who had the watch. He was discomforted, for it was cleanagainst the tyrant's Standing Orders and I saw, out of thecorner of my eye, how the captain's hands tightened oneach other behind his back. It was not a situation thatshould be prolonged. I bade the lieutenant good day anddescended from the quarterdeck. I was glad enough to getback into my hutch, where I found of all things that my handsstill had a tendency to tremble! I sat, therefore, getting mybreath back and allowing my pulse to slow.At length I began to consider the captain once more and tryto predict his possible course of action. Does not theoperation of a statist lie wholly in his power to affect thefuture of other people; and is not that power foundeddirectly on his ability to predict their behaviour? Here,thought I, was the chance to observe the success or failureof my prentice hand! How would the man respond to thehint I had given him? I t was not a subtle one; but then, Ithought, from the directness of his questions that he was asimple creature at bottom. It was possible that he had notnoticed the suggestiveness of my mentioning Mr Prettiman

and his extreme beliefs! Yet I felt certain that mention of myjournal would force him to look back over the whole lengthof the voyage and consider what sort of figure he might cutin an account of it. Sooner or later he would stub his toeover the Colley affair and remember how he had treated theman. He must see that however I myself had provoked him,nevertheless, by indulging his animosity against Colley, hehad been cruel and unjust.How would h e behave then? How had I behaved whenSummers had revealed to me my portion of responsibility inthe affair? I tried out a scene or two for our floating theatre. Ipictured Anderson descending from the quarterdeck andwalking in the lobby casually, so as not to seem interestedin the man. He might well stand consulting his own fadingOrders, written out in a fair and c1erkly hand. Then at aconvenient moment, no one being by-oh no! he would haveto let it be seen so that I should record it in my journal! -hewould march into the hutch where Colley lay, shut the door,sit by the bunk and chat till they were a couple of bosoms.Why, Anderson might well stand in for an archbishop oreven His Majesty! How could Colley not be roused by suchamiable condescension? The captain would confess thathe himself had committed just such a folly a year or twobefore-I could not imagine it, that is the plain truth. Theconceit remained artificial. Such behaviour was beyondAnderson. He might, he might just come down and gentleC olley somewhat, admitting h i s o w n brusqueness butsaying it was habitual in a captain of a ship. More likely he

would come down but only to assure himself that Colleywas lying in his bunk, prone and still and not to be rousedby a jesting exordium. But then, he might not even comedown. Who was I to dip into the nature of the man, cast thevery waters of his soul and by that chirurgeonly experimentdeclare how his injustice would run its course? I sat beforethis journal, upbraiding myself for my folly i n my attempt toplay the politician and manipulator of his fellow men! I hadto own that my knowledge of the springs of human actionwas still in the egg. Nor does a powerful intellect do morethan assist in the matter. Something more there must be,some distillation of experience, before a man can judge theoutcome i n circumstances o f such quantity, proliferationand confusion.And then, then can your lordship guess? I have saved thesweet to the last! He did come down. Before my very eyeshe came down as if my prediction had drawn him down likesome fabulous spell! I am a wizard, am I not? Admit me tobe a prentice-wizard at least! I had said he would comedown and come down he did!Through my louvre I saw him come down, abrupt and grim,to take his stand in the centre of the lobby. He stared at onehutch after another, turning on his heel, and I was only just intime t o pull m y face away from the spyhole before hislouring gaze swept over it with an effect I could almostswear like the heat from a burning coal! When I riskedp e e p i ng again-for s o me ho w i t s e e m e d positively

dangerous that the man should know I had seen him-he hadhis back to me. He stepped to the door of Coney's hutchand for a long minute stared through it. I saw how one fistbeat into the palm of the other hand behind his back. Thenhe swung impatiently to his left wi th a movement thatseemed to cry out -I'll be damned if I will! He stumped tothe ladder and disappeared. A few seconds later I heardhis firm step pass along the deck above my head.Captain Anderson did not come down. He sent amessenger. I was just writing the sentence about theThis was a modified triumph, was it not? I had said hewould come down and he had come down. But where I hadpictured him endeavouring to comfort poor Colley he hadshown himself either too heartless o r too little politic tobring himself to do so. The nearer he had come todissimulating his bile the higher it had risen in his throat.Yet now I had some grounds for confidence. His knowledgeof the existence of this very journal would not let him be. Itwill be like a splinter under the nail. He would come downagain-BETAWrong again, Talbot! Learn another lesson, my boy! Youfell at that fence! Never again must you lose yourself i n thecomplacent contemplation of a first success!

splinter when there came a knock at the door and whoshould appear but Mr Summers! I bade him enter, sandedmy page-imperfectly as you can see--closed and locked myjournal, stood up and indicated my chair. He declined it,perched himself on the edge of my bunk, laid his cockedhat on it and looked thoughtfully at my journal."Locked, too!"I said nothing but looked him in the eye, smiling slightly. Henodded as if he understood-which indeed I think he did."Mr Talbot, it cannot be allowed to continue.""My journal, you mean?"He brushed the jest aside."I have looked in on the man by the captain's orders.""Colley? I looked in on him myself. I agreed to, youremember;""The man's reason is at stake.""All for a little drink. Is there still no change?""Phillips swears he has not moved for three days."I made a perhaps unnecessarily blasphemous rejoinder.

Summers took no notice of it."I repeat, the man is losing his wits.""It does indeed seem so.""I am to do what I can, by the captain's orders, and you areto assist me.""I?""Well. You are not ordered to assist me but I am ordered toinvite your assistance and profit by your advice.""Upon my soul, the man is flattering me! Do you know,Summers, I was advised myself to practice the art? I littlethought to find myself the object of such an exercise!""Captain Anderson feels that you have a social experienceand awareness that may make your advice of value."I laughed heartily and Summers joined in."Come Summers! Captain Anderson never said that!""No, sir. Not precisely.""Not precisely indeed! I tell you what, Summers-" I stoppedmyself in time. There were many things I felt like saying. Icould have told him that Captain Anderson's sudden

concern for Mr Colley began not at any moment of appealby me but at the moment when he heard that I kept a journalintended for influential eyes. I could have given my opinionthat the captain cared nothing for Colley’s wits but soughtcunningly enough t o involve m e i n t he events a n d soobscure the issue or at the very least soften what might wellbe your lordship's acerbity and contempt. But I am learning,a m I no t ? B efore t h e wo rd s reached m y tongue Iunderstood how dangerous they might be to Summers-andeven to me."Well, Mr Summers, I will do what I can.""I was sure you would agree. You are co-opted among usignorant tars as the civil power. What is to be done?""Here we have a parson who-but come, should we not haveco-opted Miss Granham? She is the daughter of a canonand might be presumed to know best how to handle theclergy!""Be serious, sir and leave her to Mr Prettiman.""No! It cannot be! Minerva herself?""Mr Colley must claim all our attention.""Well then. Here we have a clergyman who-made too muchof a beast of himself and refines desperately upon it."

Summers regarded me closely, and I may say curiously."You know what a beast he made of himself?""Man! I saw him! W e all saw him, including the ladies!Indeed, I tell you, Summers, I saw something more than therest!""You interest me deeply.""It is of little enough moment. But some few hours after hisexhibition I saw him wander through the lobby towards thebog, a sheet of paper in his hand and for what it is worth amost extraordinary smile on that ugly mug of his.""What did the smile suggest to you?""He was silly drunk."Summers nodded towards the forward part of the vessel."And there? In the fo'castle?""How can we tell?""We might ask.""Is that wise, Summers? Was not the play-acting o f thecommon people-forgive me!-directed not to themselves butto those in authority over them? Should you not avoid

eminding them of it?"Behind me, Summers spoke gently."It is the man's wits, sir. Something must b e risked. Whoset him on? Beside the common people there a re theemigrants, decent as far as I have met them. They have nowish to mock at authority. Yet they must know as much asanyone." Suddenly I remembered the poor girl and heremaciated face where a shadow lived and was, as it were,feeding where i t inhabited. S he must have had Colley'sbeastliness exhibited before her at a time when she had aright to expect a far different appearance from a clergyman!"But this is terrible, Summers! The man should be-""What is past cannot be helped, sir. But I say again it is theman's wits that stand in danger. For God's sake, make onemore effort to rouse him from his, his-lethargy!"."Very well. For the second time, then. Come."I went briskly and, followed by Summers across the lobby,opened the door of the hutch and stood inside. It was trueenough. The man lay as he had lain before; and indeedseemed if anything even stiller. The hand that had clutchedthe ringbolt had relaxed and lay with the fingers hookedthrough it but without any evidence of muscular tension.

"Here is Mr Talbot, Mr Colley, come to see you." I must ownto a mixture of confusion and strong distaste for the wholebusiness which rendered me even more than usuallyincapable of finding the right kind of encouragement for thewretched man. Hi s situation a nd the odour, the stench,emanating I suppose fro m his unwashed person wasnauseous. It must have been, you will agree, pretty strong tocontend with and overcome the general stench of the shipto which I was still not entirely habituated! However,Summers evidently credited me with an ability which I didnot possess for he stood away from me, nodding at thesame time as if to indicate that the affair was now in myhands.I cleared my throat."Well Mr Colley, this is an unfortunate business but believeme , si r, yo u are refining t o o much o n i t . Uncontrolleddrunkenness and its consequences is an experience everyman ought to have at least once i n his life or how i s he tounderstand the experience of others? A s for your relievingnature on the deck-do but consider what those decks haveseen! And in the peaceful counties of our own far-off land-Mr Colley I have been brought to see, by the good offices ofMr Summers, that I a m i n however distant a way partlyresponsible for your predicament. Had I not enraged ourcaptain-but there! I shall confess, sir, that a number ofyoung fellows, ranged at upper-storey windows, did once,

at a given signal, make water on an unpopular and boskytutor who was passing below! Now what was the upshot ofthat shocking affair? Why nothing, sir! The man held out hishand, stared frowning into the evening sky, then opened hisumbrella! I swear to you, sir, that some o f those sameyoung fellows will one day be bishops! In a day or two weshall all laugh at your comical interlude together! You arebound for Sydney Cove I believe and thence to VanDiemen's Land. Good Lord, Mr Colley, from what I haveheard they are more likely to greet you drunk than sober.What you need now is a dram, then as much ale as yourstomach can hold. Depend upon it, you will soon see thingsdifferently."I gestured him into my hutch and we sat side by side on thebunk. A thought occurred to me.There was no response. I glanced enquiringly at Summersbut he was looking down a t the blanket, his lips pressedtogether. I spread my hands in a gesture of defeat and leftthe cabin. Summers followed me."Well, Summers?""Mr Colley is willing himself to death.""Come!""I have known it happen among savage peoples. They areable to lie down and die."

"Was he perhaps an enthusiast? It may be that he is takinghis religion too much to heart-come now, Mr Summers!There is nothing to laugh at in the matter! Or are you sodisobliging as to find my remark itself a subject for yourhilarity?" Summers dropped h i s hands fro m h i s face,smiling. "God forbid, sir! I t i s pain enough t o have beenshot a t b y a n enemy without t he additional hazard ofpresenting oneself as a mark to-dare I say-one's friends.Believe me properly sensible of m y privilege i n beingadmitted t o a degree o f intimacy w i t h y o u r noblegodfather's genteel godson. But you are right in one thing.As far as poor Colley is concerned there is nothing to laughat. Either his wits are gone or he knows nothing of his ownreligion.""He is a parson'""The uniform does not make the man, sir. He is in despair Ibelieve. Sir, I take it upon myself a s a Christian-as ahumble follower at however great a distance -to aver that aChristian cannot despair'""My words were trivial then.""They were what you could say. But of course they neverreached him.""You felt that?"

"Did not you?"I toyed with the thought that perhaps someone of Colley'sown class, a man from among t he ship's people butunspoilt b y education o r such modest preferment as hadcome his way, might well find a means to approach him.But after the words that Summers and I had exchanged ona previous occasion I felt a new delicacy in broaching sucha subject with him. He broke the silence."We have neither priest nor doctor.""Brocklebank owned to having been a medical student forthe best part of a year.""Did he so? Should we call him in?""God forbid-he does so prose! He described his turningfrom doctoring to painting as 'deserting Aesculapius for theMuse'. '"I shall enquire among our people forrard.""For a doctor?""For some information as to what happened.""Man, we saw what happened!" ."I mean in the fo'castle or below it, rather than on deck."

"He was made beastly drunk."I found that Summers was peering at me closely. "And thatwas all?""All?""I see. Well, sir, I shall report back to the captain.""Tell him I shall continue to consider how we may devisesome method of bringing the wretched fellow to hissenses.""I will do so; and must thank you for your assistance."Summers left and I was alone with my thoughts and thisjournal. It was so strange to think that a young fellow notmuch above my years or Deverel's and certainly not as oldas Cumbershum should have so strong an instinct for selfdestruction!Why, Aristotle or no, half an hour of L a Brocklebank-evenPrettiman and Miss Granham-and there, thought I , i s asituation I must g e t acquainted wi th f o r a number ofreasons, the least of them entertainment: and then-What doyou suppose was the thought that came into my mind? Itwas of the pile of manuscript that had lain on the flap ofColley's table! I had not noticed the flap or the papers whenSummers a n d I entered t h e cabin; b u t no w, b y theincomprehensible faculties of the human mind I, as it were,

entered the cabin again and surveying the scene I had justleft, I saw in my mind that the writing-flap was empty! Thereis a subject for a savant's investigation! How can a man'smind go back and see what he saw not? But so it was.Well. Captain Anderson had co-opted me. He should findout, I thought, what sort of overseer he had brought into thebusiness!I went quickly to Colley's cabin. He lay as before.Only when I was inside the hutch did I return to a kind atleast of apprehension. I intended the man nothing but goodand I was acting on the captain's behalf; yet there was in mymind an unease. I felt it as the effect of the captain's rule. Atyrant turns the slightest departure from his will into a crime;and I was at the least contemplating bringing him to bookfor his mistreatment of Mr Colley. I. looked quickly round thecabin. The ink and pens and sander were still there, aswere the shelves with their books of devotion at the foot ofthe bed. It seemed there was a limit to their efficacy! Ileaned over the man himself.It was then that I perceived without seeing-I knew, but hadno real means of knowing-There had been a time when heha d awakened i n physical anguish which had quicklypassed into a mental one. H e lay like that i n deepeningpain, deepening consciousness, widening memory, hiswhole being turning more and more from the world till he

could desire nothing but death. Phillips could not rouse himnor even Summers. Only I-my words after all had touchedsomething. When I left him after that first visit, glad enoughto be gone, he had leapt from his bunk in some new agony!Then, in a passion of self-disgust he had swept his papersfrom the table. Like a child he had seized the whole andhad jammed them into a convenient crack as if it would stayunsearched till doom's day! Of course. There was, betweenthe bunk and the side of the vessel a space, just as in myown hutch, into which a man might thrust his hand as I thendid in Colley's. They encountered paper and I drew out acrumpled mass o f sheets all written, some cross-written,and all, I was certain, material evidence against our tyrant inthe case of Colley versus Anderson!I put the papers quickly into the bosom of my coat, cameout-unseen I pray God!-and hurried t o m y cabin. There Ithrust the mass o f papers into m y own writing-case andlocked i t as i f I were concealing the spoils o f a burglary!After that I sat and began to write all this in my journal as ifseeking, in a familiar action, some legal security! Is that notcomic?Wheeler came to my cabin."Sir, I have a message, sir. The captain requests that yougive him the pleasure of your company at dinner in anhour's time. '

"My compliments to the captain and I accept with pleasure."GAMMAWhat a day this ha s been. I commenced i t with somecheerfulness and I end it with-but you will wish to know all! Itseems so long ago that the affair was misty and my ownendeavours to pierce the mist so complacent, so selfsatisfied-Well.As Summers said, I am partly to blame. Soare we all in one degree or another; but none of us, I think,in the same measure as our tyrant! Let me take you withme, my lord, step by step. I promise you-no, notentertainment but at the very least a kind o f generousindignation and the exercise not of my, but your judgement.I changed and dismissed Wheeler only t o find hi s placetaken by Summers, who looked positively elegant."Good God, Summers, are you also bidden to the feast?""I am to share that pleasure.""It is an innovation, for sure.""Oldmeadow makes a fourth:"I took out my repeater."It still wants more than ten minutes. What i s etiquette for

such a visit on shipboard?"'Come i n, M r Talbot, come i n! I must apologize fo r not"Where the captain is concerned, on the last stroke of thebell.""In that case I shall disappoint his expectations and arriveearly. He anticipates, I believe, knowing me, that I shallarrive late."M y entry i nt o C aptain Anderson's stateroom w a s asceremonious as an admiral could wish. The cabin, or room,rather, though not as large as the passengers'saloon or even the saloon where the lieutenants messed,was yet o f palatial dimensions when compared with ourmeagre individual quarters. Some o f the ship's full widthwas pared off on either side for the captain's own sleepingquarters, his closet, his personal galley, and another smallcabin where I suppose an admiral would have conductedthe business of a fleet. As in the lieutenants'wardroom and the passenger saloon, the rear wall, o r inTarpaulin language the after bulkhead, was one vast,leaded window by means of which Something like a third ofthe horizon might be seen. Yet part of this window wasobscured in a way that at first I could scarcely credit. Part ofthe obscuration was the captain, who called out as soon asI appeared in what I can only call a holiday voice.

greeting you at the threshold! You have caught me in mygarden."It was so indeed. The obscuration to the great window wasa r o w o f climbing plants, each twisting itself round abamboo that rose from the darkness near the deck where Idivined the flower pots were. Standing a little to one side Icould see that Captain Anderson was serving each· plantinto its flower pot with water from a small watering can witha long spout. The can was the sort of flimsy trifle you mightfind a lady using i n the orangery-not indeed, t o serve thetrees in their enormous vats, but some quaintness of DameNature's own ingenuity. The morose captain might bethought to befit such a picture ill; but as he turned I saw tomy astonishment that he was looking positively amiable, asif I were a lady come to visit him."I did not know that you had a private paradise, captain."The captain smiled! Yes, positively, he smiled!"Do but think, Mr Talbot, this flowering plant that I amtending, still innocent and un fallen, may have been one withwhich Eve garlanded herself on the first day of hercreation.""Would that not presuppose a loss of innocence, captain,precursor to the fig leaves?""It might be so. How acute you are, Mr Talbot."

"We were being fanciful, were we not?"You might as well throw the seeds overboard!' B ut I havepersevered and in the end I had a box of them-seedlings, Imean-enough to supply a Lord Mayor's banquet, if-to followyour fancy-they should ever require their aldermen t o begarlanded. But there! It is not to be imagined. Garlandswould be as out of place as in the painted hall atGreenwich. Serve Mr Tallbot. What will you drink, sir? Thereis much to hand, though I take no more than an occasional"I was speaking my mind. The plant is called the GarlandPlant. The ancients, I am told, crowned themselves with it.The Rower, when i t appears, i s agreeably perfumed andwaxen white.""We might be Grecians then and crown ourselves for thefeast.""I do not think the custom suited to the English.But do you see I have three of the plants? Two o f them Iactually raised from seed!""Is that a task as difficult as your triumphant tone wouldimply?" Captain Anderson laughed happily. His chin wasup, his cheeks creased, twin sparks in his little eyes."Sir Joseph Banks said it was impossible! 'Anderson: hesaid, 'take cuttings, man!

glass myself.""Wine for me, sir.""Hawkins, the claret if you please! This geranium you see,M r Talbot, has some disease of the leaf. I have dusted itwith Bowers of sulphur but to no effect. I shall lose i t nodoubt. But then, sir, he who gardens at sea must accustomhimself to loss. On my first voyage in command I lost mywhole collection.""Through the violence of the enemy?""No sir, through the uncommon nature of the weather whichheld us for whole weeks without either wind or rain. I couldnot have served water to my plants. There would have beenmutiny. I see the loss of this one plant as no great matter.""Besides, you may exchange it for another at SydneyCove.""Why must you-"He turned away and stowed the waterpot in a box down bythe plants. When he turned back I saw the creases in hischeeks again and the sparks in his eyes."We are a long way and a long time from our destination,Mr Talbot."

"You speak as though you do not anticipate our arrival therewith pleasure: The sparks and creases vanished."You are young, sir. You cannot understand the pleasuresof, no, the necessity of solitude to some natures. I would notcare if the voyage lasted for ever!""But surely a man is connected to the land, to society, to afamily-""Family? Family?" said the captain with a kind of violence."Why should a man not do without a family? What is thereabout a family, pray?""A man is not a, a garland plant, Captain, to fertilize his ownseed!" There was a long pause i n which Hawkins, thecaptain's servant, brought us the claret. Captain Andersonmade a token gesture towards his face with half a glass ofwine."At least I may remind myself how remarkable the flora willbe at the Antipodes'""So you may replenish your stock." His face was gay again."Many of Nature's inventions in that region have never beenbrought back to Europe."I saw now there was a way, i f not t o Captain Anderson'sheart, at least to his approval. I had a sudden thought, one

worthy o f a romancier, that perhaps the stormy or sullenface with which he was wont to leave his paradise was thatof the expelled Adam. While I was considering this and myglass of claret, Summers and Oldmeadow entered thestateroom together."Come in, gentlemen," cried the captain. "What will youtake, Mr Oldmeadow? As you see, Mr Talbot is content withwine-the same for you, sir?" Oldmeadow cawed into hiscollar and declared he would be agreeable to a little drysherry. Hawkins brought a broad-bottomed decanter andpoured first for Summers, as knowing already what hewould drink, then for Old meadow."Summers," said the captain, "I had meant to ask you. Howdoes your patient?""Still the same, sir. Mr Talbot was good enough to complywith your request. But his words had no more effect thanmine.""It is a sad business," said the captain. He stared directly atme. "I shall enter in the snip's log that the patient-for such Ibelieve we must consider him-has been visited by you, MrSummers, and by you, Mr Talbot."It was now that I began to understand Captain Anderson'spurpose i n getting us into his cabin and his clumsy wayabout the business of Colley. Instead of waiting till the wine

and talk had worked on us he had introduced the subject atonce and far too abruptly. It was time I thought of myself!I saw it all-saw the entry in the log-visited by a gentleman ofsome medical experience! He was crude but cunning, wasthe captain! He was, as Deverel would say, "keeping hisyardarm free," Observe how he i s forcing me t o report toyour lordship in my journal that he has taken every care ofthe man, had him visited by his officers, by me, and by agentleman of some medical experience!"You must remember, sir," said I, "that if the wretched manis to be considered a patient, m y opinion i s valueless. Ihave no medical knowledge whatsoever. Why, you woulddo better to consult Mr Brocklebank!""Brocklebank? Who is Brocklebank?""The artistic gentleman with the port-wine face and femaleentourage. But I jested. He told me he had begun to studymedicine but had given it up.""He has some medical experience, then?""No, no! I jested. The man is-what is the man, Summers? Idoubt he could take a pulse!" ."Nevertheless-Brocklebank you said? Hawkins, find MrBrocklebank and ask him to be good enough to come andsee me at once."

No one said anything for a while. We three guests staredinto our glasses as if rendered solemn by a reminder of thesick. But it could not have been more than two minutesbefore Hawkins returned to say that Mr Brocklebank wouldbe happy to wait on the captain."We will sit down, then," said the captain. "Mr Talbot on myright-Mr Old meadow here, sir! Summers, will you take thebottom of the table? Why, this is delightfully domestic! Haveyou room enough, gentlemen? Summers has plenty ofcourse. But we must allow him free passage to the door incase one of ten thousand affairs takes him from us aboutthe ship's business. "Oldmeadow remarked that the soup was excellent.Summers, who was eating his with the dexterity acquired ina dozen fo'castles, remarked that much nonsense wastalked about Navy food."You may depend upon it," he said, "where food has to beordered, gathered, stored and served out by the thousandsof ton there will be cause of complaint here and there. Butin the main, British seamen eat better at sea than they doashore.""Bravo!" I cried. 'Summers, you should be on thegovernment benches!"

•"A glass of wine with you, Mr Summers," said the captain."What is the phrase?'No heel taps'? A glass with a ll yo u gentlemen! B ut toreturn-Summers, what do you say to the story of the cheeseclapped on the main as a mastcapping? What of the snuffboxescarved out of beef!I saw out of the corner of my eye how the captain did nomore than sniff the bouquet of his wine, then set the glassdown. I determined to humour him if only to see round hisschemes."Summers, I must hear you answer the captain. What of thesnuff-boxes and mastcheeses-""Mastcappings-""What or the bones we hear are served to our gallant tarswith no more than a dried shred of meat adhering?"Summers smiled." I fancy you will sample the cheese, sir; and I believe thecaptain is about to surprise you with bones.""Indeed I am,". said the captain. "Hawkins, have thembrought in."

"Good God,"' I cried, "marrow bones!""Thankee, thankee. Marrow bones! How the devil did you"Bessie, I suppose," said Oldmeadow. "A very profitablebeast." I bowed to the captain."We are overwhelmed, sir. Lucullus could do no better.""I am endeavouring to supply you with material for yourjournal, Mr Talbot.""I give you my word, sir, the menu shall be preserved for theremotest posterity together with a memorial of the captain'shospitality!"Hawkins bent to the captain."The gentleman is at the door, sir.""Brocklebank? I will take him for a moment into the office ifyou will excuse me, gentlemen."Now there occurred a scene of farce. Brocklebank had notremained at the door but was inside it and advancing.Either he had mistaken the captain's message for such aninvitation as had been issued t o me, o r he was tipsy, orboth. Summers had pushed back his chair and stood up.As if the first lieutenant had been a footman, Brocklebanksank into it.

know, sir? I don't doubt one of my gals told you. Confusionto the French!"He drained Summers's glass at a draught. He had a voicelike some fruit which combines the qualities-if there be sucha fruit-of peach and plum. He stuck his little finger in his ear,bored for a moment, inspected the result on the end of itwhile no one said anything. The servant was at a loss.Brocklebank caught a clearer sight of Summers andbeamed at him."You too, Summers? Sit down, man!"Captain Anderson, with what for him was rare tact, brokein."Yes, Summers, pull up that chair over there and dine withus." Summers sat at a corner of the table. He wasbreathing quickly as if he had run a race. I wonderedwhether he was thinking what Deverel thought and hadconfided to me in his, or perhaps I ought to say our, cups-No, Talbot, this is not a happy ship.Oldmeadow turned to me."There was mention of a journal Talbot. There is a devil of alot of writing among you governmentpeople."

."You have advanced me, sir. But it is true. The offices arepaved with paper." The captain pretended to drink, then setthe glass down."You might well think a ship is ballasted with paper.We record almost everything somewhere or another, fromthe midshipmen's logs right up to the ship's log kept bymyself.""In my case I find there is hardly time to record the events ofa day before the next two or three are upon me.""How do you select?""Salient facts, o f course-such trifles a s ma y amuse theleisure of my godfather."."I hope," said the captain heavily, "that you will record oursense of obligation to his lordship for affording us yourcompany.""I shall do so."Hawkins filled Brocklebank's glass. It was for the third time.

"Mr, er, Brocklebank," said the captain, "may we profit fromyour medical experience?""My what, sir?""Talbot-Mr Talbot here," said the captain in a wexed voice,"Mr Talbot-""What the devil is wrong with him? Good God! I assure youthat Zenobia, dear, warm-hearted gal-""I myself," said I swiftly, "have nothing to do with the presentmatter. Our captain refers to Colley.""The parson is it? Good God! I assure you it doesn't matterto me at my time of life. Let them enjoy themselves I said-onboard I said it-or did I?" Mr Brocklebank hiccupped. A thinstreak of wine ran down his chin. His eyes wandered."We need your medical experience," said the captain, hisgrowls only just below the surface, but in what for him was aconciliatory tone. "We have none ourselves and look to you-""I have none either," said Mr Brocklebank. "Garcon,another glass!""Mr Talbot said-""I looked round you see but I said, Wilmot, I said, this

anatomy is not for you. No indeed, you have not thestomach for it. In fact as I said at the time, I abandonedAesculapius for the Muse. Have I not said so to you, MrTalbot?""You have so, sir. O n a t least two occasions. I have nodoubt the captain will accept your excuses.""No, no," said the captain irritably. "However little thegentleman's experience, we must profit by it.""Profit," said Mr Brocklebank. "There is more profit in theMuse than in the other thing. I should be a rich man now hadnot the warmth of my constitution, an attachment more thanusually firm t o the S ex and the opportunities for excessforced on my nature by the shocking corruption of EnglishSociety-""I could not abide doctoring." said Oldmeadow. "All thosecorpses, good God!""Just so, sir. I prefer to keep reminders of mortality at arm'slength. Did you know I was first in the field after the death ofLord Nelson with a lithograph portraying the happyoccasion?""You were not present!""Arm's length, sir. Neither was any other artist. I must admitto you freely that I believed at the time that Lord Nelson had

expired on deck.""Brocklebank," cried I, "I have seen it! There is a copy onthe wall in the tap of the Dog and Gun! How the devil didthat whole crowd of young officers contrive to be kneelinground Lord Nelson i n attitudes o f sorrow and devotion atthe hottest moment of the action?"Another thin trickle of wine ran down the man's chin."You are confusing art with actuality, sir.”"It looked plain silly to me, sir.""It has sold very well indeed, M r Talbot. I cannot concealfrom you that without the continued popularity of that wade Ishould be in Queer Street. It has at the very least allowedme to take a passage to, to wherever we are going, thename escapes me. And imagine, sir, Lord Nelson dieddown below in some stinking part of the bilges, I believe,with nothing to see him by but a ship's lantern. Who in thedevil is going to make a picture of that?""Rembrandt perhaps.""Ah Rembrandt. Yes, well. At least Mr Talbot you mustadmire the dexterity of my management of smoke.""Take me with you, sir."

"Smoke is the very devil. Did you not see it when Summersfired my gun? With broadsides a naval battle is nothing buta London Particular. S o your true craftsman must tuck itaway to where it does not obtrude-obtrude-""Like a clown.""Obtrude-""And interrupt some necessary business of the action.""Obtrude-Captain, you don't drink"The captain made another gesture with hi s glass, thenlooked round a t the other three of his guests in angryfrustration. But Brocklebank, his elbows now on either sideof the marrow bone intended for Summers, droned on."I have always maintained that smoke properly handled canb e o f ma-material assistance. You are approached bysome captain who has had the good fortune to fall i n withthe enemy and get off again. He comes to me as they did,after my lithograph. He has, for example, i n company withanother frigate and a small sloop-encountered the Frenchand a battle has ensued-I beg your pardon! As the epitaphsays, 'Wherever you b e let your wind g o free for holdingmine was the death of me.' Now I ask you to imagine whatwould happen-and indeed my good friend, Fuseli, youknow, the Shield of Achilles, and-well. Imagine"

I drank impatiently and turned to the captain. "I think, sir,that Mr Brocklebank-" It was of no avail and the mandrooled again without noticing."Imagine-who pays me? If they all pay there can be nosmoke at all! Yet they must all be seen to be hotly engaged,the devil take it! They come to blows, you know!”"Mr Brocklebank," said the captain fretfully, "MrBrocklebank-""Give me one single captain who has been successful andgot his K! Then there will be no argument!""No", said Oldmeadow, cawing into his collar, "no indeed!"Mr Brocklebank eyed him truculently."You doubt my word) sir? Do you, because if you do, sir-“"I, sir? Good God no, sir!""He will say, 'Brocklebank’, he will say. 'I don't give atuppenny damn for me own part, but me mother, me wifeand me fifteen gals require a picture of me ship at theheight of the action!’ You follow? Now after I have beenfurnished with a copy of the gazette and had the battledescribed to me in minutest detail he goes off in the happydelusion that he knows what a naval battle looks like!”The captain raised his glass. This time he emptied i t at a

gulp. H e addressed Brocklebank in a voice which wouldhave scared Mr Taylor from one end of the ship to the otherif not farther."I for my part, sir, should be of his opinion!" .Mr Brocklebank, to indicate the degree of his owncleverness, tried to lay a finger cunningly on the side of hisnose but missed it."You are wrong, sir. Were I to rely on verisimilitude -but no.Do you suppose that my client, who has paid a deposit-foryou see he may be off and lose his head in a moment-Summers stood up. "I am called for, sir."The captain, with perhaps the only glimmer o f wit I havefound in him, laughed aloud."You are fortunate, Mr Summers!"Brocklebank noticed nothing. Indeed, I believe if we had allleft him he would have continued his monologue."Now do you suppose the accompanying frigate i s t o beportrayed with an equal degree of animation? She has paidnothing! That is where smoke comes in. By the time I havedone my layout she will have just fired and the smoke willhave risen up round her; and a s for the sloop, which willhave been i n the hands of some obscure lieutenant, i t willbe lucky to appear at all. My client's ship on the other hand

will be belching more fire than smoke and will be beingattacked by all the enemy at once.""I could almost wish," said I, "that the French would affordus an opportunity for invoking the good offices of yourbrush.""There's no hope of that," said the captain glumly, no hopeat all." Perhaps his tone affected Mr Brocklebank, who wentthrough one of those extraordinarily swift transitions whicha r e c o m m o n e no ug h a m o n g t h e inebriated fromcheerfulness to melancholy."But that is never the end of it. Your client will return and thefirst thing he will say is that Corinna or Erato never carriedher foremast stepped as far forrard as that and what is thatblock doing on the main brace? Why, my most successfulclient-apart from the late Lord Nelson i f I may so describehim-as a client I mean-was even foolish enough to object tosome trifling injuries I had inflicted on the accompanyingfrigate. He swore she had never lost her topmast, her foretopmast I think he said, for she was scarcely i n cannonshot. Then he said I had shown no damage in the region ofthe quarterdeck o f his ship, which was not accurate. Heforced me to heat two gunports into one there and carryaway a great deal of the rail Then he said, 'Could you notdash m e i n there, Brocklebank? I distinctly rememberstandin' just b y the broken rail, encouragin' the crew andindicatin' the enemy b y wavin' m e sword towards them.'

What could I do? The client is always right, it is the artist'sfirst axiom. 'The figure will be very small, Sir Sammel,' saidI. That is of no consequence,' said he. 'You may exaggerateme a little.' I bowed to him. 'If I do that, Sir Sammel,' said I,'it will reduce your frigate to a sloop by contrast.' He took aturn or two up and down my studio for all the world like ourcaptain here on the quarterdeck. 'Well', said he at last, 'youmust dash me in small, then. They will know me by mecocked hat and me epaulettes. It's of no consequence tome, Mr Brocklebank, but me good lady and me gals insiston it.' ""Sir Sammel," said the captain. "You did say 'SirSammel'?""I did. Do we move on to brandy?""Sir Sammel. I know him. Knew him.""Tell us all, Captain," said I, hoping to stem the flow. "Ashipmate?”"I was the lieutenant commanding the sloop," said thecaptain moodily, "but I have not seen the picture.""Captain! I positively must have a description of this," saidI. "We landsmen are avid, you know, for that sort of thing!""Good God, the sloop! I have met the sh-the other sh-thelieutenant. Captain, you must be portrayed. We will waft

away the sh-the smoke and show you in the thick of it! '"Why so he was," said I . "Can w e believe him anywhereelse? You were in the thick of it, were you not?"Captain Anderson positively snarled."The thick of the battle? In a sloop? Against frigates? ButCaptain-Sir S ammel I suppose I must s a y mus t havethought m e a young fool for h e called m e that, bawlingthrough his speaking, trumpet, 'Get to hell out of this, youyoung fool, or I’ll have you broke!"I raised my glass to the captain."I drink to you, sir. But no blind eye? No deaf ear?""Garcon, where is the brandy?I must limn you, Captain, at a much reduced fee. Your futurecareer-" Captain Anderson was crouched at the table'shead as if to spring. Both fists were clenched on it and hisglass had fallen and smashed. If he had snarled before, thistime he positively roared."Career? Don't you understand, you damned fool? The waris nigh over and done with and we are for the beach, everyman jack of us,"There was a prolonged silence in which even Brocklebankseemed t o find that something unusual had happened to

him. His head sank, then jerked up and he looked roundvacantly. Then his eyes focused. One by one, we turned.Summers stood in the doorway."Sir. I have been with Mr Calley, sir. It is my belief the manis dead." Slowly, each of us rose; coming, I suppose, froma moment of furious inhospitality to another realization. Ilooked at the captain's face. The red suffusion of his angerhad sunk away. He was inscrutable. I saw in his faceneither concern, relief, sorrow nor triumph. He might havebeen made of the same material as the figurehead. He wasthe first to speak."Gentlemen. This sorry affair must end our, our meeting.""Of course, sir.""Hawkins. Have this gentleman escorted to his cabin. MrTallbot. Mr Oldmeadow. Be good enough to view the bodywith Mr Summers to confirm his opinion. I myself will do so.I fear the man's intemperance has destroyed him.""Intemperance, sir? A single, unlucky indulgence?""What do you mean, Mr Talbot?""You will enter it so in the log?"Visibly, the captain controlled himself.

"That is something for me to consider in my own time, MrTalbot." I bowed a nd said nothing. O ld meadow a nd Iwi thd re w a n d B rocklebank was half-carried andhalfdragged behind us. The captain followed the little groupthat surrounded the monstrous soak. It seemed that everypassenger i n the ship, or at least the after part o f it, wascongregated in the lobby and staring silently at the door ofColley's cabin. Many of the crew who were not on duty, andmost of the emigrants, were gathered at the white linedrawn across the deck and were staring at u s i n equalsilence. I suppose there must have been some noise fromthe wind and the passage of the ship through the water butI, at least, was not conscious of it. The other passengersmade way for us. Wheeler was standing on guard at thedoor of the cabin, his white puffs of hair, his bald pate andlighted face-I c a n f i nd no other description for hisexpression Of understanding all the ways and woes of theworld-gave him an air of positive saintliness. When he sawthe captain he bowed with the unction of an undertaker orindeed a s i f the mantle o f poor, obsequious Colley hadfallen on him. Though the work should have gone to Phillips,i t was Wheeler who opened the door, then stood t o oneside. The captain went in. He stayed for no more than amoment, came out, motioned me to enter, then strode tothe ladder and up to his own quarters. I went into the cabinwith no great willingness, I can assure you! The poor manstill clutched the ringbolt-still lay with his face pressedagainst the bolster, but the· blanket had been turned backand revealed his cheek and neck. I put three hesitant

fingers on his cheek and whipped them back as if they hadbeen burned. I did not choose, indeed I did not need, tolean down and listen for the man's breathing. I came out toConey's silent congregation and nodded to Mr Oldmeadowwho went in, licking pale lips. He too came out quickly.Summers turned to me. "Well, Mr Talbot?""No living thing could be as cold."Mr Oldmeadow turned up his eyes and slid gently down thebulkhead until he was sitting on the deck. Wheeler, with anexpression of holy understanding, thrust the gallant officer'shead between his knees. But now, of all inappropriatebeings, who should appear but Silenus? Brocklebank,p e rha p s a little recovered or perhaps. in someextraordinary trance of drunkenness, reeled out of his cabinand shook off the two women who were trying t o restrainhim. The other ladies shrieked and then were silent, caughtbetween the two sorts of occasion. The man wore nothingbut a shirt. He thrust, weaving and staggering, into Colley'scabin and shoved Summers aside with a force that madethe first lieutenant reel."I know you all," he shouted, "all, all! I am an artist! The manis not dead but shleepeth! He is in a low fever and may berecovered by drink-" I grabbed the man and pulled himaway. Summers was there, too. We were mixed withWheeler and stumbling round Oldmeadow-but really, death

i s death a nd i f that is not to be treated with someseriousness-somehow we got him out into the lobby, wherethe ladies and gentlemen were silent again. There aresome situations for which no reaction i s suitable-perhapsthe only o ne would have been f o r them all t o retire.Somehow w e got him back t o the door o f hi s hutch, hemeanwhile mouthing about spirits a n d l o w fever. Hiswomen waited, silent, appalled. I was muttering in my turn."Come now, my good fellow, back to your bunk!""A low fever-""What the devil is a low fever? Now go in-go in, I say! MrsBrocklebank-Miss Brocklebank, I appeal to you-forheaven's sake-"They did help and got the door shut on him. I turned away,just as Captain Anderson came down the· ladder and intothe lobby again."Well gentlemen?"I answered both for Oldmeadow and myself."To the best of my belief, Captain Anderson, Mr Colley isdead." He fixed me with his little eyes."I heard mention of 'a low fever,’ did I not?" Summers cameout, closing the door of Colley's cabin behind him. It was an

act of curious decency. He stood, looking from the captainto me and back again. I spoke unwillingly-but what elsecould I say?"It was a remark made by Mr Brocklebank who is, I fear, notwholly himself." I swear the captain's cheeks creased andthe twin sparks came back. He looked round the crowd ofwitnesses."Nevertheless, Mr Brocklebank has had some medicalexperience!" Before I could expostulate he had spokenagain and with the tyrannical accents of his service."Mr Summers. See that the customary arrangements aremade.""Aye, aye, Sir."The captain turned and retired briskly. Summers continuedin much the same accents as his captain."Mr Willis!"."Sir!""Bring aft the sailmaker and his mate and three or fourable-bodied men. You may take what men of the off-dutywatch are under punishment."

"Aye, aye, sir.".Here was none of the pretended melancholy ourprofessional undertakers have as their stock-in-trade! MrWillis departed forrard at a run. The first lieutenant thenaddressed the assembled passengers in his customarymild accents."Ladies and gentlemen, you will not wish to witness whatfollows. May I request that the lobby be cleared? The air ofthe afterdeck is to be recommended." Slowly the lobbycleared until Summers and I were left together with theservants. The door of Brocklebank's hutch opened and them a n stood there grotesquely naked. He spoke withludicrous solemnity.“Gentlemen. A low fever is the opposite of a high fever. I bidyou good day." He was tugged backwards and reeled. Thedoor was shut upon him. Summers then turned to me."You, Mr Talbot?""I have the captain's request still to comply with, have I not?""I fancy it has ended with the poor man's death.""We talked of noblesse oblige and fair play. I found myself

translating the words by a single one."I went into the passenger saloon and found Oldmeadowslumped there i n a seat under the great stem window, anempty glass in his hand. He was breathing deeply andperspiring profusely. But colour was back in his cheeks. Hemuttered to me."Which is?""Justice."Summers appeared to consider. "You have decided who isto appear at the bar?""Have you not?""I? The powers of a captain-besides, sir, I have no patron.""Do not be so certain, Mr Summers."He looked at me for a moment in bewilderment.Then he caught his breath. "I-?"But men of the crew were trotting aft towards us. Summersglanced at them, then back at me."May I recommend the afterdeck?""A glass of brandy is more appropriate."

"Damned silly thing to do. Don't know what came over me.""Is this how you behave on a stricken field, Oldmeadow?No, forgive me! I am not myself either. The dead, you see,lying in that attitude as I had so recently seen him-why eventhen he might have been-but now, stiff and hard as-wherethe devil is that steward? Steward! Brandy here and somemore for Mr Oldmeadow!""I know what you mean, Talbot. The truth is I have neverseen a stricken fie1d nor heard a shot fired in anger exceptonce when my adversary missed me by a yard. How silentthe ship has become'"I glanced through the saloon door. The party o f men wascrowding into Colley's cabin. I shut the door and turnedback to Oldmeadow."All will be done soon. Oldmeadow-are our feelingsunnatural?"" I wear the King's uniform yet I have never before seen adead body except the occasional tarred object in chains.This has quite overcome me touching it I mean. I amCornish, you see.""With such a name?""We are not all Tre, Pol and Pen. Lord, how her timbers

grind. Is there a change in her motion?""It cannot be.""Talbot, do you suppose-""What, sir?,”"Nothing."We sat for a while and I attended more t o the spreadingwarmth of the brandy through my veins than anything else.Presently Summers came in. Behind him I glimpsed a partyof men bearing a covered object away along the deck.Summers himself had not yet recovered from a slightdegree of pallor."Brandy for you, Summers?"He shook his head. Oldmeadow got to his feet. "Theafterdeck and a breath of air for me, I think. Damn silly ofme it was. Just damned silly." Presently Summers and Iwere alone."Mr Talbot," he said, in a low tone, "you mentioned justice.""Well, sir?""You have a journal."

"And-?" ."Just that."H e nodded meaningly a t me, got up , a nd left. I stayedwhere I was, thinking to myself how little he understood meafter all. He did not know that I had already used that samejournal-nor that I planned this plain account to lie before onein whose judgement and integrity-My Lord, you waspleased to advise me to practise the art of flattery. But howcan I continue to try i t on a personage who will infalliblydetect the endeavour? Let me be disobedient to you if onlyin this, and flatter you no more!Well then, I have accused the captain of an abuse of power;and I have let stand on the page Summers's ownsuggestion that I myself was to some extent responsible forit. I do not know what more the name of justice can demandof me. The night is far advanced-and it is only now as I writethese words that I remember the Colley Manuscript inwhich there may be even plainer evidence of your godson'sculpability and our captain's cruelty! I will glance throughwhat the poor devil wrote and then get me to bed.I have done so oh God, and could almost wish I had not.Poor, poor Colley, poor Robert James Colley! Billy Rogers.S ummers fi ri ng t h e g un, D everel and Cumbershum,Anderson, minatory, cruel Anderson!

If there is justice in the world-but you may see by the stateof my writing how the thing has worked on me and I-I!There is light filtering through my louvre. It is far advancedtowards morning then. What a m I t o d o ? I cannot giveColley's letter, this unbegun, unfinished letter, cannot givehis letter to the captain, though that for sure, legalistical asit might sound, is what I ought to do. But what then? It wouldgo overboard, be suppressed, Colley would have died of alow fever and that would be all. M y part would disappearwith it. Do I refine too much? For Anderson i s captain andwill have chapter and verse, justifications for everything hehas done. Nor can I take Summers into my confidence. Hisprecious career is at stake. He would be bound to say thatthough I was perhaps right to appropriate the letter I haveno business to suppress it.Well. I d o not suppress i t. I take the only wa y towardsjustice-natural justice I mean, rather than that of the captainor the law courts-and lay the evidence in your lordship'shands. He says he is "For the beach." If you believe as I dothat he went beyond discipline into tyranny then a word fromyou in the right quarter will keep him there.And I? I am writ down plainer in this record than I intended,to be sure! What I thought was behaviour consonant withmy position-Very well, then. I, too. Why Edmund, Edmund!This is methodistical folly! Did you not believe you were aman of less sensibility than intelligence? Did you not feel,

no, believe, that your blithely accepted system of moralityfor men in general owed less to feeling than to theoperations of the intellect? Here is more of what you willwish to tear and not exhibit! But I have read and written allnight a nd ma y b e forgiven f o r a little lightheadedness.Nothing is real and I am already in a half-dream. I will getglue and fix the letter in here. It shall become another part ofthe Talbot Manuscript. His sister must never know. It isanother reason for not showing the letter. He died of a lowfever-why, that poor girl there forrard will die of one likeenough before we are done. Did I say glue? There must besome about. A hoof of Bessie. Wheeler will know,omniscient, ubiquitous Wheeler. And I must keep all lockedaway. This journal has become deadly as a loaded gun.The first page, 'or i t may b e two pages, are gone. I sawthem, o r i t, i n hi s hand when he walked, in a trance ofdrunkenness, walked, head up and with a smile as ifalready in heaven-Then a t some time after he had falleninto a drunken slumber, h e woke-slowly perhaps. Therewas, it may be, a blank time when he knew not who or whathe was-then the time of remembering the Reverend RobertJames Colley. No. I do not care to imagine it. I visited himthat first time-Did my words bring to his mind all that he hadlost? Self-esteem? His fellows' respect? My friendship?My patronage? Then, then in that agony he grabbed theletter, crumpled it, thrust it away as he would have thrust hismemory away ha d i t been possible-away, deep down

eneath the bunk, unable to bear the thought of it-Myimagination is false. For sure he wined himself to death, butnot for that, not for any of that, not for a casual, a single-Hadhe committed murder-or being what he was-! It is amadness, absurdity. What women are there at that end ofthe ship for him?So I have drawn a veil over what have been the most tryingand unedifying of my experiences. My prolonged nauseahas rendered those first hours and days a little less distinctin my memory, nor would I attempt to describe to you in anydetail the foul air, lurching brutalities, the wantonness, thecasual blasphemies to which a passenger in such a ship isexposed even if he is a clergyman! But now I am sufficientlyrecovered from m y nausea t o b e able t o hold a pen, Icannot refrain from harking back for a moment to m y firstappearance on the vessel. Having escaped the clutches ofAnd I? I might have saved him had I thought less of my ownconsequence and less of the danger of being bored!O h t h o s e jud i c i o us o p i ni o ns , t h o s e interestingobservations, those sparks o f wit with whi ch I onceproposed to entertain your lordship! Here instead is a plaindescription of Anderson's commissions and my ownomissions.Your lordship may now read:COLLEY'S LETTER

a horde of nameless creatures on the foreshore andhaving been conveyed out t o our noble vessel i n a mostexpensive manner; having then been lifted to the deck in akind of sling-somewhat like but more elaborate than theswing hung from the beech beyond the styes-I found myselffacing a young officer who carried a spyglass under hisarm."Oh C-, a parson! That will send old Rumble-guts flying intothe foretop'" This was but a sample of what I was to suffer. Iwill not detail the rest, for it is now many days, m y dearsister, since we bade farewell to the shores of Old Albion.Though I a m strong enough t o si t a t the little flap whichserves me as priedieu, desk, table and lectern I am still notsecure enough to venture further. My first duty must be, ofcourse (after those of my calling) to make myself known toour gallant captain, who lives and has his being some twostoreys, or decks as I must now call them, above us. I hopehe will agree to have this letter put on a ship proceeding ina contrary direction so you may have the earliest news ofme. A s I write this, Phillips (my servant!) has been i n mysmall cabin with a little broth and advised me against apremature visit to Captain Anderson. He says I should getup my strength a little, take some food in the passengersaloon as a change from having it here what I could retainInstead of addressing m e a s one gentleman ought toaddress another he turned to one of his fellows and madethe following observation.

of it!-and exercise myself i n the lobby or further out in thatlarge space of deck which he calls the waist and which liesabout the tallest of our masts.Though unable to eat I have been out, and oh, m y dearsister, how remiss I have been to repine at my lot! It is anearthly, nay, an oceanic paradise! The sunlight is warm andlike a natural benediction. The sea is brilliant as the tails ofJuno's birds (I mean the peacock) that parade the terracesof Manston Place! (Do not omit to show any little attentionthat may be possible in that quarter, I must remind you.)Enjoyment o f such a scene i s a s good a medicine a s aman could wish for when enhanced by that portion of thescriptures appointed for the day. There was a sailappeared briefly o n the horizon and I offered u p a briefprayer for our safety subject always to HIS Will. However, Itook my temper from the behaviour of our officers and men,though of course in the love and care of OUR SAVIOUR Ihave a far securer anchor than any appertaining to thevessel! Dare I confess to you that as the strange sail sankbelow the horizon-she had never appeared wholly above it-Icaught myself day dreaming that she had attacked us andthat I performed some deed of daring not, indeed, fitted foran ordained minister of the Church but even as when a boy,I dreamed sometimes of winning fame and fortune a t theside of England's Hero! The sin was venial and quicklyacknowledged and repented. Our heroes surrounded meon all sides and it is to them that I ought to minister!

Well, then, I could almost wish a battle for their sakes! Theygo about their tasks, their bronzed a n d manly formsunclothed to the waist, their abundant locks gathered in aqueue, their nether garments closely fitted but Bared aboutthe ankles like the nostrils of a stallion. They disportthemselves casually a hundred feet up in the air. Do not, Ibeg you, believe the tales spread by vicious and un-Christian men, of their brutal treatment! I have neither heardnor seen a flogging. Nothing more drastic has occurredthan a judicious correction applied to the proper portion ofa young gentleman who would have suffered as much andborne it as stoically at school.I must give you some idea of the shape of the little societyin which we must live together for I know not how manymonths. We, the gentry as i t were, have our castle i n thebackward or after part of the vessel. At the other end of thewaist, under a wall pierced by two entrances and furnishedwith stairs or, as they still call them, ladders, a r e thequarters o f our Jolly Tars a nd the other inferior sort ofpassenger-the emigrants, and so forth. Above that again isthe deck of the fo'castle and the quite astonishing world ofthe bowsprit! You will have been accustomed, as I was, tothinking of a bowsprit (remember Mr Wembury's ship-in-abottle!)as a stick projecting from the front end of a ship.Nay then, I must now inform you that a bowsprit is a wholemast, only laid more nearly to the horizontal than the others.It has yards a n d mastcapping, sidestays and evenhalyards! More than that, as the other masts may be

likened to huge trees among the limbs and branches ofwhich our fellows climb, so the bowsprit is a kind of road,steep in truth but one on which they run or walk. It i s morethan three feet in diameter. The masts, those other"sticks", are of such a thickness! Not the greatest beechfrom Saker' s Wood has enough mass to supply suchmonsters. W hen I remember that some action of theenemy, or, even more appalling, some act of Nature maybreak or twist them off as you might twist the leaves off acarrot, I fall into a kind of terror. Indeed it was not a terror formy own safety! It was, it is, a terror at the majesty of thishuge engine of war, then by a curious extension of thefeeling, a kind of awe at the nature of the beings whose joyand duty it is to control such an invention in the service oftheir GOD and their King. Does not Sophocles ( a GreekTragedian) have some such thought in the chorus to hisPhiloctetes? But I digress.The air i s warm and sometimes hot, the .sun lays such alively hand on us! We must beware of him lest he strike usdown! I am conscious even as I sit here at my desk of awammess about my cheeks that has been occasioned byhis rays! The sky this morning was of a dense blue, yet nobrighter nor denser than the whiteflecked blue of the broadocean. I could almost rejoice in that powerful circling whichthe point of the bowsprit, o u r bowsprit, ceaselesslydescribed above the sharp line of the horizon!

Next day.I am indeed stronger and more able to eat. Phillips saysthat soon all will be well with me . Ye t t he weather issomewhat changed. W he r e yesterday t he r e w a s ablueness and brightness, there is today little or no wind andthe sea is covered with a white haze. The bowsprit -whichin earlier days had brought on attack after attack of nauseaif I was so rash as to fix my attention on it-stands still.Indeed, the aspect of our little world has changed at leastthree times since our Dear Country sank-nay, appeared tosink-into the waves! Where, I ask myself, are the woodsand fertile fields, the flowers, the grey stone church in whichyou and I have worshipped all our lives, that churchyard inwhich our dear parents-nay, the earthly remains of our dearparents, who have surely received their reward in heavenwhere,I ask, are all the familiar scenes that were for both ofu s the substance o f o u r lives? T h e human m i nd isinadequate to such a situation. I tell myself there is somematerial reality which joins the place where I am to theplace where I was, even as a road joins Upper and NetherCompton. The intellect assents but the heart can find nocertainty in it. In reproof I tell myself that OUR LORD is hereas much as there; or rather that here and there may be thesame place in HIS

EYES!I have been on deck again. The white mist seemed denser,yet hot. Our people are dimly to be seen. The ship is utterlystopped, her sails hanging down. My footsteps soundedunnaturally loud and I did not care to hear-them. I saw nopassengers about the deck. There is no creak from all ourwood and when I ventured to look over the side I saw not aripple, not a bubble in the water.Well! I am myself again-but only just!I had not been out i n the hot vapour for more than a fewminutes when a thunderbolt of blinding white dropped out ofthe mist on our right hand and struck into the sea. The clapcame with the sight and left my ears ringing. Before I hadtime to turn and run, more claps came one on the other andrain fell-I had almost said in rivers! But truly it seemed theywere the waters over the earth! Huge drops leapt back ayard off the deck. Between where I had stood by the railand the lobby was but a few yards, yet I was drenchedbefore I got under cover. I disrobed as far as decencypermits, then sat at this letter but not a little shaken. For thelast quarter of an hour-would that I had a timepiece! -theawful bolts have dropped and the rain cascaded.Now the storm is grumbling away into the distance.

"Mr Smiles-tell me how deep these waters are!"The sun i s lighting what i t can reach o f our lobby. A lightbreeze has set us groaning, washing and bubbling on ourway. I say the sun has appeared; but only to set.What has remained with me apart from a lively memory ofmy apprehensions is not only a sense of HIS AWFULNESSand a sense of the majesty of HIS creation. It is a sense ofthe splendour of our vessel rather than her triviality andminuteness!It is as if I think of her as a separate world, a universe inlittle in which we must pass o ur lives a nd receive ourreward or punishment. I trust the thought is not impious! It isa strange thought and a strong one!It is with me still for, the breeze dying away, I ventured forthagain. It is night now. I cannot tell you how high against thestars her great masts seem, how huge yet airy her sails, norhow far down from her deck the night-glittering surface ofthe waters. I remained motionless by the rail for I know nothow long. While I was yet there, the last disturbance left bythe breeze passed away so that the glitter, that image ofthe starry heavens, gave place to a flatness and blackness,a nothing! All was mystery. It terrified me and I turned awayto find myself staring into the half-seen face of M r Smiles,the sailing master. Phillips tells me that M r Smiles, underthe captain, is responsible for the navigation of our vessel.

He is a strange man, as I know already. He is given to longthought, constant observation. He is aptly named, too, forhe has a kind of smiling remoteness which sets him apartfrom his fellow men."Who can say, Mr Colley?"I laughed uneasily. H e came closer and peered into myface. He i s smaller even than I, and you know I am by nomeans a tall man .."These waters may be more than a mile deep-two mileswho c a n say? W e might sound at such a depth butcommonly we do not. There is not the necessity.""More than a mile!"I w a s almost overcome wi th faintness. H e re w e are,suspended between the land below the waters and the skylike a nut on a branch or a leaf on a pond! I cannot conveyto you, my dear sister, my sense of horror, or shall I say, mysense of our being living souls in this place where surely, Ithought, no man ought to be!I wrote that last night b y the light o f a most expensivecandle. You know how frugal I must be. Yet I am forced in onmyself and must be indulged in a light if nothing else. It is incircumstances such as these present that a man (even if hemake the fullest use of the consolations of religion that are

available to his individual nature), that a man, I say, requireshuman companionship. Yet the ladies and gentlemen at thisend of the ship do not respond with any cheerful alacrity tomy greetings. I had thought at first that they were, as thesaying is, 'shy of a parson". I pressed Phillips again andagain as to the meaning of this. Perhaps I should not havedone so! He need not be privy to social divisions that areno concern of his. But he did mutter it was thought amongthe common people that a parson in a ship was like awoman in a fishing boat-a kind of natural bringer of badluck. This low and reprehensible superstition cannot applyto our ladies and gentlemen. It i s no kind of explanation. Itseemed to me yesterday that I might have a clue as to theirindefinable indifference to me. We have with us thecelebrated, or let me say, the notorious free thinker, MrPrettiman, that friend of Republicans and Jacobins! He isregarded b y most, I think, with dislike. H e i s short andstocky. He has a bald head surrounded by a wild halo-dearme, how unfortunate my choice of words has been-a wildfringe of brown hair that grows from beneath his ears andround the back of his neck.H e i s a ma n o f violent a nd eccentric movements thatspring, w e m u s t suppose, from some well of hisindignations. Our young ladies avoid him and the only onewho will give him countenance is a Miss Granham, a lady ofsufficient years and, I am sure, firmness o f principle toafford her security even in the heat of his opinions. There isalso a young lady, a Miss Brocklebank, of outstanding

eauty, of whom-I say no more or you will think me arch. Ibelieve she, at least, does not look on your brotherunkindly! But she is much occupied with the indisposition ofher mother, who suffers even more than I from mal de mer. Ihave left to the last a description of a young gentlemanwhom I trust and pray will become my friend as the voyageadvances. He is a member of the aristocracy, with all theconsideration and nobility of bearing that such birth implies.I have made so bold as to salute him on a number ofoccasions and he has responded graciously. His examplemay do much among the other passengers.This morning I have been out on deck again: A. breeze hadsprung up during the night and helped us o n our way butnow it has fallen calm again. Our sails hang down and thereis a vaporous dimness everywhere, even at noon. Oncemore and with that same terrifying instantaneity cameRashes of lightning in the mist that were awful in their fury! IBed to my cabin with such a sense of our peril from thesewarring elements, s uc h a return o f m y sense o f oursuspension over this liquid profundity, that I could scarceget m y hands together i n prayer. However, little b y little Icame t o myself a nd t o peace though a l l outside wasturmoil. I reminded myself, as I should have done before,that one good soul, One good deed, good thought, andmore, one touch o f Heaven's Grace was greater than allthese boundless miles of rolling vapour and wetness, thisintimidating vastness, this louring majesty! Indeed, Ithought, though with some hesitation, that perhaps bad men

in their ignorant deaths may find here the awfulness inwhich they must dwell by reason of their depravity. You see,my dear sister, that the strangeness o f our surroundings,the weakness consequent on my prolonged nausea and anatural diffidence that has led me too readily to shrink intom y shell ha s produced i n me something no t unlike atemporary disordering o f t h e intellects! I found myselfthinking of a seabird crying a s one o f those lost souls towhom I have alluded! I thanked GOD humbly that I had beenallowed to detect this fantasy in myself before it became abelief.I have roused myself from my lethargy. I have seen at leastone possible reason for the indifference with which I feelmyself treated. I have not made myself known to our captainand this may well have been thought a slight upon him! I amdetermined to undo this misapprehension as soon aspossible. I shall approach him and express m y sincereregret f o r t h e l a c k o f S abbath observance t ha t myindisposition has occasioned in the ship, for she carries nochaplain. I must and will eradicate from my mind theungenerous suspicion that on reaching or joining the ship Ireceived less courtesy from the officers than i s due to mycloth. Our Stout-hearted Defenders cannot, I am sure, be ofsuch a sort. I will walk a little on deck now in preparationbefore readying myself to visit the captain. You remembermy old diffidence at approaching the face of Authority andwill feel for me!

I have been into the waist again and spoken once morewith our sailing master. He was standing o n the lefthandside of the vessel and staring with his particular intentnessat the horizon; or rather, where the horizon ought to havebeen."Good morning, Mr Smiles! I should be happier if thisvapour were to clear away!" He smiled at me with thatsame mysterious remoteness."Very well, sir. I will see what can be done."I laughed at the quip. His good humour restored mecompletely to myself. So that I might exorcise those curiousfeelings of the strangeness of the world I went to the side ofthe vessel and leaned against the railings (the bulwarks asthey are called) and looked down where the timbers of ourenormous vessel bulge out past her closed gunports. Herslight progress made a tiny ripple in that sea which I mademyself inspect coldly, as it were. My sense of its depth-buthow am I to say this? I have seen many a millpond or cornerof a river seem as deep! Nor was there a spot or speck in itwhere our ship divided i t, a closing furrow i n the poetHomer's"Unfurrowed ocean." Yet I found myself facing a new puzzleandone that would not have presented itself t o the poet!(You must know that Homer is commonly supposed to havebeen blind.) How then can water added to water produce

an opacity? W h a t impediment t o t h e vi s i o n cancolourlessness and transparency spread before us? Do wenot see clear through glass or diamond or crystal? Do wenot see the sun and moon and those fainter luminaries (Imean the stars) through unmeasured heights o f pendantatmosphere? Yet here, what was glittering and black atnight, grey under the racing clouds of awful tempest, nowbegan little by little to turn blue and green under the sun thatat last broke through the vapour!Why should I, a cleric, a man of GOD, one acquainted withthe robust if mistaken intellects of this and the precedingcentury and able to see them for what they are-why, I say,should the material nature o f the globe so interest, sotrouble and excite me? They that g o down t o the sea inships! I cannot think o f our Dear Country without findingmyself looking not over the horizon (in my imagination, ofcourse) but trying to calculate that segment of water andearth and terrible deep rock that I must suppose myself tostare through in order to look in your direction and that ofour-let me say our-village! I must ask Mr Smiles, who will bewell enough acquainted with the angles and appropriatemathematics of the case, as to the precise number ofdegrees i t i s necessary to look beneath the horizon! Howimmeasurably strange it will be at the Antipodes to stare(near enough I think) at the buckles of my shoes andsuppose you-forgive me, I am off in a fantasy again!Do but think that there the very stars will be unfamiliar and

the moon stood on her head!Enough of fantasy! I will go now and make myself known toour captain! Perhaps I may have some opportunity ofentertaining him with the idle fancies I have alluded toabove.I have approached Captain Anderson and will narrate theplain facts to you if I can. My fingers are almost nervelessand will scarcely allow me to hold the pen. You may deducethat from the quality of this handwriting.Well then, I attended t o m y clothes with more than usualcare, came out o f my cabin and ascended the flights ofstairs t o that highest deck where the captain commonlystations himself. At the front end of this deck and ratherbelow it are the wheel and compass. Captain Andersonand the first lieutenant, Mr Summers, were staring togetherat the compass. I saw the moment was unpropitious andwaited for a while. At last the two gentlemen finished theirconversation. The captain turned away and walked to thevery back end of the vessel and I followed him, thinking thismy opportunity. But no sooner had he reached the rail at theback than he turned round again. As I was following closelyI had to leap sideways in what must have appeared amanner hardly consonant with the dignity o f m y sacredoffice. Scarcely ha d I recovered m y balance when hegrowled a t m e a s i f I had been at fault rather than he. Iuttered a word or two o f introduction which he dismissed

with a grunt. He then made a remark which he did nottrouble to modify with any show of civility."Passengers come t o the quarterdeck b y invitation. I amnot accustomed to these interruptions in my walk, sir. Goforrard if you please and keep to looard.”"Looard, captain?"I found myself drawn forcibly sideways. A young gentlemanwas pulling me to the wheel whence he led me-I complyingtothe opposite side of the ship to where Capfain Andersonwas. He positively hissed in my ear. That side of the deck,whichever it may be, from which the wind blows is reservedto the captain. I had therefore made a mistake but could notsee how I was at fault but by an ignorance natural i n agentleman who had never been a t sea before. Yet I amdeeply suspicious that the surliness of the captain towardsm e i s n o t t o b e explained so readily. I s i t perhapssectarianism? If so, as a humble servant of the Church ofEngland-the Catholic Church of England -which spreads itsarms so wide in the charitable embrace of sinners, I cannotbut deplore such divisive stubbornness! Or if it is notsectarianism but a social contempt, the situation is asserious-nay, almost as serious! I a m a clergyman, boundfor an honourable if humble situation at the Antipodes. Thecaptain ha s n o more business t o look b i g o n me-andindeed less business-than the canons of the Close or thoseclergy I have met twice at my Lord Bishop's table! I have

determined therefore t o emerge more frequently from myobscurity and exhibit my cloth to this gentleman and thepassengers in general so that even if they do not respectme they may respect it! I may surely hope for some supportfrom the young gentleman, M r Edmund Talbot, from MissBrocklebank and Miss Granham-It is evident I must return tothe captain, offer him my sincere apologies f o r myinadvertent trespass, then raise the question o f SabbathObservance. I would beg to offer Communion to the ladiesand gentlemen-and of course to the common people whoshould desire it. There is, I fear, only too plainly room formuch improvement in the conduct of affairs aboard thevessel. There is (for example) a daily ceremony of which Ihad heard and would now wish to prevent-for you know howpaternally severe m y L o r d B i shop h a s b e e n i n hiscondemnation of drunkenness among the lower orders! Yethere it is only too true!The people are indeed given strong drink regularly! Afurther reason for instituting worship must be theopportunities it will afford for animadverting on the subject! Ishall return to the captain and proceed by a process ofmollification. I must indeed be all things to all men.I have attempted to be so and have failed abjectly,humiliatingly. It was, as I wrote before, in my mind to ascendto the captain's deck, apologize for my previous trespass,beg his permission to use it and then raise the question ofregular worship. I can scarcely bring myself to recount the

truly awful scene that followed on my well-meant attempt tobring myself t o t he familiar notice o f t he officers andgentlemen. As soon as I had written the foregoingparagraph I went up to the lower part o f the quarterdeckwhere one of the lieutenants stood by the two men a t thewheel. I lifted my hat to him and made an amiablecomment."We are now in finer weather, sir."The lieutenant ignored me. But this was not the worst of it.There came a kind of growling roar from the back rail of theship."Mr Colley! Mr Colley! Come here, sir!"This was not the kind of invitation I had looked for.I liked neither the tone nor the words. But they were nothingto what followed as I approached the captain."Mr Colley! Do you wish to subvert all my officers?""Subvert, sir?""It was my word, sir!""There is some mistake-"“It is yours then, sir. Are you aware of the powers of a

captain in his own ship?""They are rightly extensive. But as an ordained minister-""You are a passenger, sir, neither more nor less. What ismore, you are not behaving as decent as the rest-""Sir!""You are a nuisance, sir. You was put aboard this shipwithout a note to me. There is more courtesy shown meabout a bale or a keg, sir. Then I did you the credit tosuppose you could read-"."Read, Captain Anderson? Of course I can read!""But despite my plainly written orders, no sooner had yourecovered f r o m your sickness than you have twiceapproached and exasperated my officers-""I know nothing of this, have read nothing-""They are m y Standing Orders, sir, a paper prominentlydisplayed ne a r your quarters and those of the otherpassengers.""My attention was not drawn-"

"Stuff and nonsense, sir. You have a servant and the ordersare there.""My attention-""Your ignorance is no excuse. If you wish to have the samefreedom as the other passengers enjoy in the after part ofthe vessel-or do you wish not t o live among ladies andgentlemen, sir? Go-examine the paper!”"It is my right-""Read it, sir. And when you have read it, get it by heart.""How, sir! Will you treat me like a schoolboy?""I will treat you like a schoolboy if I choose, sir, or I will putyou in irons if I choose or have you flogged at the gratings ifI choose or have you hanged at the yardarm if I choose-""Sir! Sir!""Do you doubt my authority?"I s a w i t a l l now. L i ke m y poor young friend Josh-youremember Josh-Captain Anderson wa s mad. J osh wasalways well enough i n his wits except when frogs were inquestion. Then his mania was clear for all to hear, andlater, alas, for all to see. Now here was Captain Anderson,well enough for the most part, but by some unfortunate

chance fixing o n m e i n hi s mania fo r a n object t o behumiliated-as indeed I was. I could do nothing but humourhim for there was, mad or no, that in his enrageddemeanour which convinced me he was capable ofcarrying out at least some of his threats. I answered him aslightly as possible but in a voice, I fear, sadly tremulous."I will indulge you in this, Captain Anderson.""You will carry out my orders."I turned away and withdrew silently. Directly I was out of hispresence I found my body bathed in perspiration yetstrangely cold, though my face, by some contrast, was asstrangely hot. I discovered in myself a deep unwillingness tomeet any eye, any face. As for my own eyes-I was weeping!I wish I could say they were tears of manly wrath but the truthis they were tears of shame. On shore a man is punished atthe last by the Crown. At sea the man is punished by thecaptain who is visibly present as the Crown is not. At sea aperson's manhood suffers. It is a kind of contest-is that notstrange? So that men-but I wander in my narrative. Suffice itto say that I found, nay, groped m y w a y back t o theneighbourhood o f m y cabin. When m y eyes had clearedand I had come to myself a little I searched for the captain’swritten Orders. They were indeed displayed on a wall nearthe cabins!Now I did remember too that during the convulsions of my

sickness Phillips had talked to me about Orders and eventhe captain's Orders; but only those who have suffered as Ican understand how slight an impression the words hadmade on my fainting spirits. But here they were. It wasunfortunate, to say the least. I had, by the most severestandards, been remiss. The Orders were displayed in acase. The glass was somewhat blurred on the inside by acondensation of atmospheric water. But I was able to readthe writing, the material part of which I copy here.Passengers are in no case to speak to officers who areexecuting some duty about the ship. In no case are they toaddress the officer of the watch during his hours of dutyunless expressly enjoined to do so by him.I saw now what a hideous situation I was in. The officer ofthe watch, I reasoned, must have been the first lieutenant,who had been with the captain, and at my second attemptthe lieutenant who had stood by the men at the wheel. Myfault was quite inadvertent but none the less real. Eventhough the manner o f Captain Anderson to me had notbeen and perhaps never would be that of one gentleman toanother, yet some form of apology was due to him andthrough him to those other officers whom I might havehindered i n t h e execution o f the i r d uty. T h e n too,forbearance must be in the very nature of my calling. Itherefore easily and quickly committed the essential wordsto memory and returned at once to the raised decks whichare included in the seaman’s term "Quarterdeck". The windwas increased somewhat. Captain Anderson paced up

and down the side, Lieutenant Summers talked to anotherlieutenant b y the wheel, where two o f the ship's peopleguided our huge vessel creaming over the billows. MrSummers pointed to some rope or other in the vastcomplication of the rigging. A young gentleman who stoodbehind the lieutenants touched his hat and skipped nimblydown the stairs by which I had ascended. I approached thecaptain's back and waited for him to turn. CaptainAnderson walked through me!I could almost wish that he had in truth done so-yet thehyperbole is not inapt. He must have been very deep inthought. H e struck m e o n the shoulder with his swingingarm and then his chest struck me in the face so that I wentreeling and ended by measuring my length on the whitescrubbedplanking of the deck!I got my breath back with difficulty. My head wasresounding from a concussive encounter with the wood.Indeed, for a moment i t appeared that not one b ut twocaptains were staring down at me. It was some time beforeI realized that I was being addressed."Get up, sir! Get up at once! Is there no end to yourimpertinent folly?" I was scrabbling on the deck for my hatand wig. I had little enough breath for a rejoinder."Captain Anderson-you asked me-"

"I asked nothing of you, sir. I gave you an order.""My apology-'"I did not ask for an apology. We are not on land but at sea.Your apology is a matter of indifference to me""Nevertheless-"There was, I thought, and indeed was frightened by thethought, a kind of stare in his eyes, a suffusion of blood inall his countenance that made me believe he might wellassault me physically. One of his fists was raised and I ownthat I crouched away a few steps without replying. But thenhe struck the fist into the other palm."Am I to be outfaced again and again on my own deck byevery ignorant landsman who cares to walk there? Am I?Tell me, sir!""My apology-was intended-""I am more concerned with your person, sir, which i s moreapparent to me than your mind and which has formed thehabit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time-repeatyour lesson, sir!"My face felt swollen. It must have been as deeply suffusedas his. I perspired more and more freely. My head still rang.The lieutenants were studiously and carefully examining the

horizon. The two seamen a t the wheel might have beencast in bronze. I believe I gave a shuddering sob. Thewords I had learned so recently and easily went clean out ofm y head. I could s e e b ut dimly through m y tears. Thecaptain grumbled, perhaps a thought-indeed I hope so-athought less fiercely."Come, sir. Repeat your lesson!""A period for recollection. A period-""Very well. Come back when you can do it. Do youunderstand?" I m us t ha ve m a d e s o m e reply, f o r heconcluded the interview with his hectoring roar."Well, sir-what are you waiting for?"I did not so much go to my cabin as flee to it. As Iapproached the second flight of stairs I saw Mr Talbot andthe two young gentlemen he had with him-three morewitnesses t o m y humiliation!-hurry o ut o f sight i nto thelobby. I fell down the stairs, the ladders as I suppose I mustcall them, hurried into my cabin and flung myself down bymy bunk. I was shaking all over, my teeth were chattering. Icould hardly breathe. Indeed I believe, nay, I confess that Ishould have fallen into a fit, a syncope, a seizure or the likesomethingat all events that would have ended my life, orreason at least, had I not heard young Mr Talbot outside thecabin speak in a firm voice to one of the young gentlemen.

He said something like-Come, young midshipman, onegentleman does not take pleasure in the persecution ofanother!At that my tears burst forth freely but with what I may call ahealing freedom! God bless Mr Talbot! There is one truegentleman in this ship and I pray that before we reach ourdestination I may call him Friend and tell him how much histrue consideration has meant to me! Indeed, I now knelt,rather than crouched by my bunk and gave thanks for hisconsideration a nd understanding-for hi s noble charity! Iprayed for us both. Only then was I able to sit at this tableand consider my situation with something like a rationalcoolness.However I turned the thing over and over, I saw one thingclearly enough. As soon as I saw it I came near to fallinginto a panic all over again. There was-there is no doubt-Iam the object of a particular animosity o n the part o f thecaptain! It was with a thrill of something approaching terrorthat I recreated in my imagination that moment when hehad, as I expressed it, "walked through me". For I saw nowthat it was not a n accident. His arm, when i t struck me,moved not after the common mannerinwalking

utcontinueditsswingwithanunnaturalmomentum-augmented immediately after by the blow fromhis chest that ensured my fall I knew, or my person knew, bysome extraordinary faculty, that Captain Anderson haddeliberately struck me down! He is an enemy to religion-itcan only be that! Oh what a spotted soul!M y tears had cleansed my mind. They had exhausted butnot defeated me. I thought first of my cloth. He had tried todishonour that; but I told myself, that only I could do: Norcould he dishonour me as a common fellow-being since Ihad committed no fault, no sin but the venial one of omittingt o read hi s Orders! For that, my sickness was more toblame than I! It is true I had been foolish and was perhapsan object of scorn and amusement to the officers and theother gentlemen with the exception of Mr Talbot. But thenandI said this in all humility-so would, my Master have

een! At that I began to understand that the situation, harshand unjust as it might seem, was a lesson to me. He putsdown the mighty and exalteth the humble a n d meek.Humble I was o f necessity before a ll the brutal powerswhich are inherent in absolute command. Meek, therefore,it behoved me to be. My dear sister-Yet this is strange.Already what I have written would be too painful for your-forher-eyes. It must be amended, altered, softened; and yet-Ifnot to my sister then to whom? To THEE? Can it be thatlike THY saints of old (particularly Saint Augustine) I amaddressing THEE, OH MOST MERCIFULSAVIOUR?I have prayed long. That thought had flung me to my kneeswasat once a pain and a consolation to me. Yet I was ablet o put i t away a t last a s to o high fo r me ! To have-oh,indeed, not touched the hem of those gamlents-but to haveglanced for a moment towards THOSE FEET-restored meto a clearer view of myself and of my situation. I sat, then,and reflected.I concluded at last that it would be proper to do either of twothings. Item: never to return to the quarterdeck, but for theremainder of our passage hold myself aloof from it withdignity; the other: to go to the quarterdeck, repeat CaptainAnderson's Orders to him and to as many gentlemen asmight be present, add some such cool remark a s "Andnow, Captain Anderson, I will trouble you no further," then

withdraw, absolutely declining to use that part of the vesselin any circumstances whatever-unless perhaps CaptainAnderson himself should condescend (which I did notbelieve) to offer me an apology. I spent some timeemending and refining my farewell speech t o him. B ut atlast I was driven t o the consideration that he might notafford me the opportunity of uttering it. He is a master of thebrutal and quelling rejoinder. Better then to pursue the firstcourse and give him no further cause or opportunity to insultme.I must own t o a great feeling o f relief a t reaching thisdecision. With the aid of PROVIDENCE I might contrive toavoid him until the end o f our voyage. However, m y firstduty, as a Christian, was to forgive him, monster as he was.I was able t o d o this but not without recourse t o muchprayer a nd some contemplation of the awful fate thatawaited him when he should find himself at last before theTHRONE. There, I knew hi m f o r m y brother, w a s hiskeeper, and prayed for us both.That done, to trifle for a moment with profane literature, likesome Robinson Crusoe, I set to and considered what partof the vessel remained to me as my as I expressed it-mykingdoml It comprised my cabin, the corridor or lobbyoutside it, the passenger saloon, where I might take suchsustenance as I was bold enough to in the presence of theother ladies and gentlemen who had been all witnesses ofmy humiliation. There were too the necessary offices on

this side of the vessel and the deck, or waist as PhiIlipscalls it, as far as the white line at the main mast whichseparates u s from the common people, b e they eitherseamen· or emigrants. That deck was to be for my airing infine weather. There I might meet the better disposed of thegentlemen-and ladies too! There-for I knew h e used it-Ishould further and deepen my friendship with Mr Talbot. Ofcourse, in wet and windy weather I must be content with thelobby and my cabin. I saw that even if I were to be confinedto these areas I might still pass the months ahead withouttoo much discomfort and avoid what is most to be feared, amelancholv leading on to madness. All would be well.This was a decision and a discovery that gave me moreearthly pleasure, I believe, than anything I have experienceds i nc e parting f r o m tho s e scene s s o d e a r t o me.Immediately I went out and paced round my is-land-mykingdom!-in the meantime reflecting on all those who wouldhave welcomed such an expansion of their territory as theattainment of liberty-I mean those who in the course ofhistory have found themselves imprisoned for a just cause.Though I have, so to speak, abdicated from that part of thevessel which ought to be the prerogative of my cloth andconsequent station in our society, the waist is in some waysto be preferred to the quarterdeck! Indeed I have seen MrTalbot not merely walk to the white line, but cross it and goamong the common people in a generous and democraticfreedom!

Since writing those last words I have furthered myacquaintance with Mr Talbot! It was he of all people who didin fact search me out! He is a true friend to religion!He came to my cabin and begged me i n the most friendlyand open manner to favour the ship's people in the eveningwith a short address! I did so in the·passenger saloon. I cannot pretend that many of the gentry,as I may call them, paid much attention to what they heardand only one of the officers was present. I thereforeaddressed myself particularly to those hearts I thoughtreadily open to the message I have to give-to a young ladyof great piety and beauty and to Mr Talbot-himself, whose devotion does credit not only to him inperson but through him to his whole order. Would that thegentry and Nobility of England were all imbued with a likespirit!It must be the influence o f Captain Anderson; o r perhapsthey ignore me from a refinement of manners, a delicacy offeeling-but though I salute our ladies and gentlemen fromthe waist when I see them up there on the quarterdeck, theyseldom acknowledge the salutation! Yet now, truth t o tell,and for the past three days there has been nothing tosalute-no waist to walk on since it is awash with sea water. Ifind myself not sick as I was before-I am become a propersailor! Mr Talbot, however, is sick indeed. I asked Phillips

what was the matter and the man replied with an evidentsarcasm-belike it was summat he ate! I did dare to crossthe lobby softly and knock, but there was no reply. Daringstill further I. lifted the latch and entered. The young man layasleep, a week's beard on his lips and chin and cheeks-Iscarce dare put down here the impression his slumberingcountenance made on me-it was as the face of ONE whosuffered for us all and as I bent over him in some irresistiblecompulsion I do not deceive myself but there was the sweetaroma of holiness itself upon his breath! I did not thinkmyself worthy of his lips but pressed my own reverently onthe one hand that lay outside the coverlet. Such is thepower of goodness that I withdrew as from an altar!The weather has cleared again. Once more I take my walksi n the waist and the ladies and gentlemen theirs on thequarterdeck. Yet I find myself a good sailor and was aboutin the open before other people!The ai r i n m y cabin i s ho t a nd humid. Indeed, w e areapproaching the hottest region of the world. Here I sit at mywriting-flap in shirt and unmentionables and indite thisletter, if letter it be, which is in some sort my only friend. Imust confess to a shyness still before the ladies since thecaptain gave me my great set-down. Mr Talbot, I hear,improves and has been visible for some days, but with adiffidence before my cloth and indeed it may be with somedesire to spare me embarassment, he holds aloof.

Since writing that, I have walked again in the waist. It is nowa mild and sheltered place. Walking there I have come tothe opinion of our brave sailors which landsmen have everheld of them! I have observed these common peopleclosely. These are the good fellows whose duty it is to steerour ship, to haul on the ropes and do strange things with oursails in positions which must surely be perilous, so highthey go! Their service is a continual round and necessary, Imust suppose, to the progress of the vessel. They are forever cleaning a nd scraping a nd painting. They createmarvellous structures from the very substance of rope itself!I had not known what can be done with rope! I had seenhere and there on land ingenuities of Woodcarving inimitation of rope; here I saw rope carved into the imitationof wood! Some of the people do indeed carve in wood or inthe shells of coconuts or in bone or perhaps ivory. Someare making the models of ships such as we see displayedin the windows of shops or inns or alehouses nearseaports. They seem to be people of infinite ingenuity.All this I watch with complacency from far off in the shelter ofthe wooden wall with its stairways that lead up to where theprivileged passengers live. Up there is silence, or the lowmurmur of conversation or the harsh sound of a shoutedorder. But forward, beyond the white line, the people workand sing and keep time to the fiddle when they play-for likechildren, they play, dancing innocently to the sound of thefiddle. It is as if the childhood of the world were upon them.A ll this has thrown me into some perplexity. The ship is

crowded at the front end. There is a small group of soldiersin uniform, there are a few emigrants, the women seemingcommon as the men. B ut when I ignore all but the ship'speople, I find them objects of astonishment to me. Theycannot, for the most part, read or write. They know nothingof what our officers know. But these fine, manly fellows havea complete what shall I call it? "Civilization" it is not, for theyhave no city. Society it might be, save that i n some waysthey a re joined t o the superior officers, and there areclasses o f men between the one and the other warrantofficers they are called!-and there appear to be grades ofauthority among the sailors themselves. What are they then,these beings at once so free and so dependent? They areseamen, and I begin to understand the word. You mayobserve them when they are released from duty t o standwith arms linked o r placed about each other's shoulders.They sleep sometimes on the scrubbed planking of thedeck, one it may be, with his head pillowed o n another'sbreast! T he innocent pleasures of friendship-in which I,alas, have a s yet s o little experience-the j o y o f kindlyassociation or even that bond between two persons which,Holy Writ directs us, passes the love of women, must be thecement that holds their company together. It has indeedseemed to rile from what I have jestingly represented as"my kingdom" that the life of the front end of the vessel issometimes to be preferred to the vicious system of controlwhich obtains aft of the mizzen or even aft of the main!(The precision of these two phrases I owe t o m y servant

Phillips.) A las that my calling and the degree in societyconsequent on it should set me so firmly where I no longerdesire to be!We have had a spell of bad weather-not very bad, butsufficient to keep most of our ladies in their cabins. MrTalbot keeps his. My servant assures me that the youngma n i s no t seasick, ye t I have heard strange soundsemanating from behind his locked door. I had the temerityto offer my services and was both disconcerted andconcerned t o wring from the poor young gentleman theadmission that he was wrestling with his soul in prayer! Far,far be it from me to blame him -no, no, I would not do solBut the sounds were those of enthusiasm! I much fear thatthe young man for all his rank has fallen victim to one of theextremer systems against which our Church has set herface! I must and will help him! But that can only be when hei s himself again and moves among us with his customedease. These attacks of a too passionate devotion are to befeared more than the fevers to which the inhabitcmts ofthese climes are subject. He is a layman; and it shall be mypleasant duty to bring him back to that decent moderationin religion which is, if I may coin a phrase, the genius of theChurch of England!H e h a s reappeared; a n d avoids m e , perhaps i n anembarrassment a t havi ng been detected at his tooprotracted devotions; I will let him be for the moment andpray for him while we move day by day, I hope, towards a

mutual understanding. I saluted him from far off this morningas he walked on the quarterdeck but he affected to take nonotice. Noble young man! H e who has been s o ready tohelp others will not deign, on his own behalf, to ask for help!This morning in the waist I have been spectator once againof that ceremony which moves me with a mixture of griefand admiration. A barrel is set on the deck. The seamenstand in line and each is given successively a mug of liquidfrom the barrel which he drains off after exclaiming, "TheKing! G O D bless him!" I would His Majesty could haveseen it. I know of course that the liquid is the devil's brewand I do not swerve one jot or title from my previous opinionthat strong drink should be prohibited from use by the lowerorders. For sure, ale is enough and too much-but let them have it!Yet here, here on the bounding main, under the hot sun andwith a whole company of bronzed young fellows bared tothe waist-their hands and feet hard with honest anddangerous toil-their stem yet open faces weathered by thestorms o f every ocean, their luxuriant curls fluttering fromtheir foreheads i n t h e breeze here, if there w a s nooverthrowing o f m y opinion, the re w a s a t le a s t amodification and mitigation o f i t . Watching o n e youngfellow' i n particular, a narrow-waisted, slim-hipped yetbroad-shouldered Child of Neptune, I felt that some of whatwas malignant in the potion was cancelled b y where and

who was 'concerned with it. For it was as if these beings,these young men, or some of them at least and one of themin particular, were of the giant breed. I called to mind thelegend of Talos, the man of bronze whose artificial framewas filled with liquid fire. I t seemed t o me that such anevidently fiery liquid as the one (it is rum) which a mistakenbenevolence and paternalism provides for the sea-servicewas the proper ichor (this was the blood of the GrecianGods, supposedly) for beings of such semi-divinity, of suchtruly heroic proportions! Here and there among them themarks of the discipline were evident and they bore theseparallel scars with indifference and even pride! Some, Iverily believe, saw them as marks of distinction! Some, andthat not a few, bore on their frames the scars ofunquestioned honour-scars of the cutlass, pistol, grape orsplinter. None were maimed; or if they were, it was in sucha minor degree, a finger, eye or ear perhaps, that theblemish hung on them like a medal. There was one whom Icalled in my mind my own particular hero! He had noughtbut four or five white scratches on the left side of his opena nd amiable countenance as if like Hercules he hadstruggled with a wild beast! (Hercules, you know, wastabled to have wrestled with the Nemaean Lion.) His feetwere bare and his nether limbs-my young hero I refer to,rather than the legendary one! His nether garments clung tohis lower limbs as if moulded there. I was much taken withthe manly grace with which he tossed off his mug of liquorand returned the empty vessel to the top of the barrel. I hadan odd fancy. I remembered t o have read somewhere in

the history of the union that when Mary, Queen of Scots, firstcame into her kingdom she was entertained at a feast. Itwas recorded that her throat was so slender and her skinSO white that as she swallowed wine the ruby richness ofthe liquid was visible through it to the onlookers! This scenehad always exercised a powerful influence over m y infantspirits! It was only now that I remembered with what childishpleasure I had supposed my future spouse would exhibitsome such particular comeliness o f person-in addition ofcourse to the more necessary beauties of mind and spirit.But now, with Mr Talbot shy of me, I found myself, in mykingdom of lobby, cabin and waist, unexpectedly dethronedand a new monarch elevated there! For this young man ofbronze with his flaming ichor-and as he drank the liquordown it seemed to me that I heard a furnace roar and withmy inward eye saw the fire burst forth.,...it seemed to mewith my outer eye that he could be no other than the king! Iabdicated freely a nd yearned t o kneel before him. Mywhole heart went out in a passionate longing to bring thisyoung man to OUR SAVIOUR, first and surely richest fruit ofthe harvest I am sent forth to gamer! After he retired fromthe barrel, my eye followed him without my volition. But hewent where I, alas, could not go. He ran out along that fourthmast laid more nearly horizontal, the bowsprit I mean, withi ts complication o f ropes and tackles a nd chains andbooms and sails. I was reminded of the old oak i n whichyou and I were wont to climb. But he (the king) ran out thereor up there and stood at the tip of the very thinnest spar andlooked down into the sea. His whole body moved easily to

counter our slight motion. Only his shoulder leaned againsta rope, so that he lounged as he might against a tree! Thenhe turned, ran back a few paces and lay down o n thesurface of the thicker part of the bowsprit as securely as Imight in my bed! Surely there is nothing so splendidly freeas a young fellow in the branches of one of His Majesty'stravelling trees, as I may call them! Or forests, even! Therelay the king, then, crowned with curls-but I grow fanciful. Weare in the doldrums. Mr Talbot still avoids me. He has beenwandering round the ship and descending into her verybowels as if searching for some private place where,perhaps, he may continue his devatians withaut hindrance. Ifear sadly that my approach was untimely and did moredamage than good. I pray far him. What can I do more?We are motionless. The sea is polished. There is no skybut only a hot whiteness that descends like a curtain onevery side, dropping, a s i t were, even below the horizonand so diminishing the circle of the ocean that is visible tous. The circle itself is of a light and luminescent blue. Nowand then some sea creature will shatter the surface and thesilence by leaping through it. Yet even when nothing leapsthere is a constant shuddering, random twitches andvibrations of the surface, as if the water were not only thehome and haunt of all sea creatures but the skin of a livingthing, a creature vaster than Leviathan. The heat anddampness combined would be quite inconceivable to onewho had never left that pleasant valley which was our home.

Our own motionlessness-and this I believe you will not findmentioned in the accounts of sea voyages-has increasedthe effluvias that rise from the waters immediately round us.Yesterday morning there was a slight breeze but we weresoon still again. All our people are silent, so that the strikingof the ship's bell is a loud and startling sound. Today theeffluvias became intolerable from the necessary soiling ofthe water round us. The boats were hoisted out from theboom and the ship towed a little way from the odious place;but now if we do not get any wind it will all be to do again. Inmy cabin I sit or lie in shirt and breeches and even so findthe air hardly to be borne. Our ladies and gentlemen keeptheir cabin in a like case, lying abed I think, in hope that theweather and the place may pass. Only Mr Talbot roams asif he can find no peace-poor young man! May GOD be withhim and keep him! I have approached hi m once but hebowed slightly and distantly. The time is not yet.How next to impossible is the exercise of virtue! It requiresa constant watchfulness, constant guard-oh my dear sister,how much must you and I and every Christian soul rely atevery moment on the operation of Grace! There has beenan altercation! It was not, as you might expect, among thepoor people in the front o f the ship but here among thegentlemen, nay, among the very officers themselves!It was thus. I was sitting at my writing-flap and recutting aquill when I heard a scuffle outside in the lobby, then voices,soft at first but raised later.

"You dog, Deverel! I saw you come from the cabin!""What are you about then, Cumbershum, for your part, yourogue!""Give it to me, sir! By G--I Will have it!""And unopened at either end-You sly dog, Cumbershum, I'llread it, I swear I will!"The scuffle became noisy. I was in shirt and breeches, myshoes under the bunk, my stockings hung over it, my wig ona convenient nail. The language became so much moreblasphemous and filthy that I could not let the occasionpass. Not thinking of my appearance I got up quickly andrushed out of the cabin, to find the two officers strugglingviolently for possession of a missive. I cried out."Gentlemen! Gentlemen'"I seized the nearest to me by the shoulder. They stoppedthe fight and turned to me.“Who the devil is this, Cumbershum?""It's the parson, I think. Be off, sir, about your ownbusiness!"" I am about my business, my friends, and exhort you i n a

spirit of Christian Charity to cease this unseemly behaviour,this unseemly language, and make up your quarrel!"Lieutenant Deverel stood looking down at me with hismouth open."Well by thunder!"T h e gentleman addressed a s C umbershum anotherlieutenant-stuck his forefinger so violently towards my facethat had I not recoiled, it would have entered my eye." W ho i n t h e na m e o f a l l that's wonderful g a ve youpermission to preach in this ship?""Yes, Cumbershum, you have a point.""Leave this to me Deverel. Now, parson, i f that’s what youare, show us your authority.”"Authority?""D--n it man, I mean your commission!"“Commission!""Licence they call i t, Cumbershum, old fellow, licence topreach. Right parson-show us your licence!" I was takenaback, nay, confounded. The truth is, and I record it here foryou to pass to any young clergyman about t o embark on

such a voyage, I had deposited the licence from my LordBishop with other private papers-not, a s I supposed,needed on the voyage-in my trunk, which had been loweredsomewhere into the bowels o f the vessel. I attempted toexplain this briefly to the officers but Mr Deverel interruptedme."Be off with you, sir, or I shall take you before the captain!" Imust confess that this threat sent me hurrying back into mycabin with some considerable trepidation. For a moment ortwo I wondered whether I had not after all succeeded inabating their mutual wrath, for I heard them both laughingloudly as they walked away. B ut I concluded that suchheedless-I will not call them more-such heedless spiritswere far more likely to be laughing at the sartorial mistake Ihad made and the result of the interview with which theyhad threatened me. It was clear that I had been at fault inallowing myself a public appearance less explicit than thatsanctioned by custom and required by decorum. I beganhurriedly to dress, not forgetting my bands, though my throati n t he heat felt the m a s an unfortunate constriction. Iregretted that my gown and hood were packed or, should Isay, stowed away with my other impedimenta. At length,then, clothed in at least some o f the visible marks o f thedignity and authority o f m y calling, I issued forth from mycabin. But of course the two lieutenants were nowhere to beseen.But already, in this equatorial part of the globe, after being

fully dressed for no more than a moment o r two I wasbathed in perspiration. I walked out into the waist but felt norelief from the heat. I returned t o the lobby and m y cabindetermined to be more comfortable yet not knowing what todo. I could be, without the sartorial adornment of my calling,mistaken for an emigrant! I was debarred from intercoursewith the ladies and gentlemen and had been given noopportunity other than that first one of addressing thecommon people. Yet to endure the heat and moisture in agarb appropriate to the English countryside seemedimpossible. On an impulse derived, I fear, less fromChristian practice than from my reading of the classicalauthors, I opened the Sacred Book and before I was wellaware of what I was doing I had employed the moment in akind of Sortes Virgilianae, or consultation of the oracle, aprocess I had always thought to be questionable even whenemployed by the holiest servants of the Lord. The words myeyes fell on were II Chronicles viii. 7-8. "The Hittites, and theAmorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and theJebusites which were not of Israel" -words which in the nextmo me nt I h a d appli ed t o C aptai n A nderS on andLieutenants Deverel and Cumbershum, then Hung myselfon my knees and implored forgiveness!I record this trivial offence merely t o show the oddities ofbehaviour, the perplexities of the understanding, in a word,the strangeness of this life in this strange part of the worldamong strange people and in this strange construction ofEnglish oak which both· transports and imprisons me! (I am

aware, o f course, of the amusing "paranomasia" in theword "transport" and hope the perusal of it will afford yousome entertainment!).To resume. After a period a t m y devotions I consideredwhat I had better do in order to avoid any future mistake asto my sanctified identity. I divested myself once more of allbut shirt and breeches, and thus divested, I employed thesmall mirror which I have for use when shaving to examinemy appearance. This was a process of some difficulty. Doyou remember the knothole in the barn through which in ourchildish way we were wont to keep watch for Jonathan orour poor, sainted mother, or his lordship's bailiff, M r Jolly?Do you remember, moreover, how, when we were tired ofwaiting, we would see by moving our heads how much ofthe exterior world we could spy through the knot? Then wewould pretend to be seized of all we saw, from Seven Acreright up to the top of the hill? In such a manner did I contortmyself before the mirror and the mirror before me! But hereI am-if indeed this letter should ever be sent-instructing amember of the Fair Sex in the employment of a mirror andthe art of, dare I call it, "Self-admiration"? In my own case,of course, I use the word in its original sense of surpriseand wonder rather than self-satisfaction! There was muchto wonder at in what I saw but little to approve. I had not fullyunderstood before how harshly the sun can deal with themale countenance that is exposed to its more nearly

vertical rays. My hair, a s yo u know, i s o f a light butindeterminate hue. I now saw that your cropping of it on theday before our parting-due surely to our mutual distresshadbeen sadly uneven. This unevenness seems t o havebeen accentuated rather than diminished by the passage oftime so that my head presented an appearance not unlike apatch of ill-reaped stubble. Since I had not been able toshave during my first nausea (the word indeed derives fromthe Creek word for a ship!) and had feared to do so in thelater period when· the ship was in violent motion-and at lasthave been dilatory, fearing the pain I should inflict o n mysunscorched skin, the lower part of my face was coveredwith bristles. They were not long, since my beard is of slowgrowth-but of varying hue. Between these two crop-yieldingareas, as I may call them, of scalp and beard, king Sol hadexerted his full sway. What is sometimes called a widow'speak of rosy skin delineated the exact extent to which mywig had Covered my forehead. Below that line the foreheadwas plumcoloured and in one place burst with the heat.Below that again, my nose and cheeks appeared red as onfire! I saw at once that I had deceived myself entirely if Isupposed that appearing in shirt and breeches and in thisguise I should exert the authority inhering in my profession.Nay-are these not of all people those who judge a man byhis uniform? My "uniform," as I must in all humility call it,must be sober black with the pure whiteness o f bleachedlinen and bleached hair, the adornments o f the SpiritualMan. To the officers and people of this ship, a clergymanwithout his bands and wig would be of no more account

than a beggar. True, it was the sudden sound of analtercation and the desire to do good that had drawn meforth from my seclusion, but. I was to blame.· I drew in mybreath with something li k e f e a r a s I envisaged theappearance I must have presented to them-with a barehe a d , unshaven, sunblotched, unclothed! I t w a s withconfusion and shame tha t I remembered t h e wordsaddressed to me individually at my ordination-words I mustever hold sacred because of the occasion and the saintlydivine who spake them-"Avoid scrupulosity, Colley, andalways present a decent appearance." Was this that I nowsaw in the mirror of my imagination the figure of a laboureri n that country where "the fields a re white t o harvest"?A mong those with whom I now dwell, a respectableappearance is not merely a desideratum but a sine quanon. (I mean, my dear, not merely desirable but necessary.)I determined at once to take more care. When I walked inwhat I had thought of as my kingdom, I would not only be aman of GOD-I would be seen to be a man of GOD!Things are a little better. Lieutenant Summers came andbegged the favour o f a word with me. I answered himthrough the door, begging him not to enter as I was not yetprepared i n clothes o r vi sage f o r a n interview. Heassented, but i n a low voice as if afraid that others wouldhear. He asked my pardon for the fact that there had beenno more services in the passenger saloon. He hadrepeatedly sounded the passengers and had met with

indifference. I asked him if he had asked Mr Talbot and hereplied after a pause that Mr Talbot had been muchoccupied with his own affairs. But he, Mr Summers, thoughtthat there might b e a chance o f what he called a smallgathering on the next Sabbath. I found myself declaringthrough the door with a passion quite unlike my usual eventemper-"This is a Godless vessel!"Mr Summers made no reply so I made a further remark."It is the influence of a certain person!"At this I heard Mr Summers change his position outside thedoor a s i f h e had suddenly looked round him. Then hewhispered to me."Do not, I beg you, M r Colley, entertain such thoughts! Asmall gathering, sir-a hymn or two, a reading and abenediction-"I took the opportunity to point out that a morning service inthe waist would be far more appropriate; but LieutenantSummers replied with what I believe t o b e a degree ofembarrassment that it could not be. He then withdrew.However, it is a small victory for religion. Nay-who knowswhen that heart of awful flint may be brought to yield as yieldat last it must?

I have discovered the name of my Young Hero. He i s oneBilly Rogers, a sad scamp, I fear, whose boyish heart hasnot yet been touched with Grace. I shall try to make anopportunity of speaking with him.I have passed the last hour in shaving! It was indeed painfuland I cannot say that the result justifies the labour. However,it is done.I heard an unwonted noise and went into the lobby.As I did so, I felt the deck tilt under me-though very slightlybutalas! The few days of almost total calm have unfitted mefor the motion and I have lost the "sea legs" I thought I hadacquired! I was forced to retire precipitately to my cabinand bunk. There I was better placed and could feel that wehave some wind, favourable, light and easy. We are movingon our way again; and though I did not at once care to trustto my legs I felt that elevation of the spirits which must cometo any traveller when after some let or hindrance hediscovers himself to be on the move towards hisdestination._________________________A day's rest lies in that line I have drawn above thesewords! I have been out and about, though keeping as muchas possible away from the passengers and the people. Imust re-introduce myself to them, as it were, by degrees

until they see not a bare-headed clown but a man of God.The people work about the ship, some hauling on this rope,others casting off or slackening that one with a morecheerful readiness than is their wont. The sound of ourprogress through the water is much more clearly audible!Even I, landsman that I am and must remain, am sensible ofa kind of lightness in the vessel as if she too were notinanimate but a partaker in the general gaiety! The peopleearlier were everywhere to be seen climbing among herlimbs and branches. I mean, of course, that vastparaphernalia which allows all the winds of heaven toadvance us towards the desired haven. We steer south,ever south, with the continent of Africa on our left hand buthugely distant. Our people have added even more area tothe sails by attaching small yards (poles, you would callthem) from which is suspended lighter material beyond theouter edge of our usual suit! (You will detect the degree towhich by a careful attention to the conversations going onround m e I have become imbued with the language ofnavigation!) This new area o f sail increases our speed,and, indeed, I have just heard one young gentleman cry toanother-I omit a n unfortunate expletive-"How the old ladylifts up her p-tt-c-ts and makes a run for it!" Perhaps theseadditional areas are to be called "p-tt-c-ts' in nauticalparlance; for you cannot imagine with what impropriety thepeople and even the officers name the various pieces ofequipment about the vessell This continues even i n thepresence of a clergyman and the ladies, as if the seamenconcerned were wholly unconscious of what they have said.

Once again a day has passed between two paragraphs!The wind has dropped and my trifling indisposition with it. Ihave dressed, nay, even shaved once more and moved fora while into the waist. I should endeavour, I think, to definefor you the position in which I find myself vis-a-vis the othergentlemen, not to say ladies. Since the captain inflicted apublic humiliation on me I have been only too aware that ofall the passengers I am in the most peculiar position. I donot bow how to describe it, for my opinion of how I amregarded alter from day to day and from hour to hour! Wereit not for my servant Phillips and the first lieutenant MrSummers, I believe I should speak to no one; for poor MrTalbot has been either indisposed or restlessly movingtowards what I can only suppose to be a crisis of faith, inwhich i t would be m y duty and profound pleasure t o helphim, but he avoids me. He will not inflict his troubles on anyone! Now as for the rest of the passengers and officers, Ido sometimes suspect that, influenced by the attitude ofCaptain Anderson, they disregard me and my sacred officewith a frivolous indifference. Then i n the next moment Isuppose it to be a kind of delicacy of feeling not always tobe found among our countrymen that prevents them forcingany attention on me. Perhaps-and I only say perhaps-thereis an inclination among them to let me be and make beliefthat no one has noticed anything! The ladies, of course, Icannot expect to approach me and I should think the less ofanyone who did so. But this (since I have still limited mymovements to the area that I called, jestingly, my kingdom)

has by now resulted in a degree of isolation which I havesuffered i n more than I should have supposed. Yet all thismust change! I am determined I if either indifference ordelicacy prevents them from addressing me, then I must bebold and address them!I have been again into the waist. The ladies and gentlemen,or those who were not in their cabins, were parading on thequarterdeck where I must not go. I did bow to them from faroff to show how much I desire some familiar intercourse butthe distance was too great and they did not notice me. Itmust have been the poor light and the distance. It couldhave been nothing else. The ship is motionless, her sailshanging vertically down and creased like aged cheeks. As Iturned from surveying the strange parade on thequarterdeck-for here, in this field of water everything isstrange-and faced t he forward part o f t he s hi p I sawsomething strange and new. The people are fastening whatI at first took to be an awning before the fo'castle-before, Imean, from where I stood below the stairs leading up to thequarterdeck-and at first I thought this must be a shelter tokeep off the sun. But the sun is dropping low and, as wehave eaten our animals, the pens had been broken up, sothe shelter would protect nothing. Then again, the materialof which the"awning" is composed seems unnecessarily heavy for sucha purpose. It is stretched across the deck at the height ofthe bulwarks from which it is suspended, or stretched,

ather, by ropes. The seamen call the material "tarpaulin" if Iam not mistaken; so the phrase "Honest Tar" here finds itsoriginal. After I had written those words I resumed my wiga nd coat (they shall never see me other than properlydressed again) a nd went back t o the waist. O f a ll thestrangenesses of this place at the world's end surely thechange in our ship at this moment is the strangest! There issilence, broken only by bursts of laughter. The people, withevery indication of enjoyment, are lowering buckets overthe side on ropes that run through pulleys or blocks, as wecall them here. They heave up sea water-which must, I fear,be most impure since we have been stationary for somehours-and spill i t into the tarpaulin, which i s now bellieddown by the weight. There seems no way in which this canhelp our progress; the more so as certain of the people (myYoung Hero among them, I a m afraid) have, s o t o say,relieved nature into what is none other than a containerrather than awning. This, in a ship, where by the propinquityof the ocean, such arrangements are made as might wellb e thought preferable t o those o ur fallen state makesnecessary on land! I was disgusted by the sight and wasreturning t o m y cabin when I was involved i n a strangeoccurrence! Phillips came towards me hastily and wasabout to speak when a voice spoke or rather shouted athim from a dim part of the lobby."Silence, Phillips, you dog!"The man looked from me into the shadows from which none

other than Mr Cumbershum emerged and stared him down.Phillips retired and Cumbershum stood looking at me. I didnot and do not like the man. He is another Anderson I think,or will be should he ever attain to captaincy! I went hastilyinto my cabin. I took o ff m y coat, wi g a nd bands andcomposed myself to prayer. Hardly had I begun when therecame a timid knocking a t the door. I opened it to findPhillips there again. He began to whisper."Mr Colley, sir, I beg you-'"Phillips, you dog! Get below or I'll have you at the grating!"I stared round i n astonishment. It was Cumbershum againand Deverel with him. Yet at first I only recognized them byCumbershum's voice a nd Deverel's a i r of unquestionedelegance, for they too were without hat or coat. They sawme, who had promised myself never to be seen so, andthey burst out laughing. Indeed, their laughter hadsomething maniacal about it. I saw they were both to somedegree in drink. They concealed from m e objects whichthey held in their hands and they bowed to me as I enteredmy cabin with a ceremony I could not think sincere. Deverelis a gentleman! He cannot, sure, intend to harm me!The ship is extraordinarily quiet. A few minutes ago I heardthe rustling steps of the remainder o f our passengers gothrough the lobby, mount the stairs and pass over my head.There i s no doubt about it. The people a t this end o f theship are gathered on the quarterdeck. Only I am excluded

from them!I have been out again, stole out into the strange light for allmy resolutions about dress. The lobby was silent. Only aconfused murmur came from M r Talbot's cabin. I had agreat mind to go to him and beg his protection; but knewthat he was at private prayer. I stole out of the lobby into thewaist What I saw a s I stood, petrified as it were, will bestamped on my mind till my dying day. Our end of the shipthetwo raised portions at the back-was crowded withpassengers and officers, all silent and all staring forwardover my head. Well might they stare! There never was sucha sight. No pen, no pencil, not that of the greatest artist inhistory could give any idea of it. Our huge ship wasmotionless and her sails still hung down. On her right handthe red sun was setting and on her left the full moon wasrising, the one directly across from the other. The two vastluminaries seemed to stare at each other and each tomodify the other's light. On land this spectacle could neverbe so evident because of the interposition of hills or treeso r houses, but here w e see down from our motionlessvessel on all sides to the very edge of the world. Hereplainly to be seen were the very scales of GOD.The scales tilted, the double light faded and we werewrought of ivory and ebony the moon. The people movedabout forward and hung lanterns by the dozen from therigging, so that I saw now that they had erected somethinglike a bishop's cathedra beyond the ungainly paunch of

tarpaulin. I began to understand. I began to tremble. I wasalone! Yes, in that vast ship with her numberless souls I wasalone in a place where on a sudden I feared the Justice ofGOD unmitigated by HISMercy! On a sudden I dreaded both GOD and man! Istumbled back to my cabin and have endeavoured to pray.NEXT DAYI can scarcely hold this pen. I must and will recover mycomposure. What a man does defiles him, not what is doneby others-My shame, though it burn, has been inflicted onmeI had completed my devotions, but sadly out of a state ofrecollection. I had divested myself of my garments, allexcept my shirt, when there came a thunderous knocking atthe cabin door. I was already, not to refine upon it, fearful.The thunderous blows on the door completed my confusion.Though I had speculated on the horrid ceremonies of whichI might b e the victim, I thought then of shipwreck, fire,collision or the violence of the enemy. I cried out, I believe."What is it? What is it?"To this a voice answered, loud as the knocking. "Open thisdoor!" I answered in great haste, nay, panic. "No, no, I am

unclothed-but what is it?" There was a very brief pause,then the voice answered me dreadfully."Robert James Colley, you are come into judgement!"These words, s o unexpected and terrible, threw m e intoutter confusion. Even though I knew that the voice was ahuman voice I felt a positive contraction of the heart andknow how violently I must have clutched my hands togetheri n that region, for there is a contusion over my ribs and Ihave bled. I cried out in answer to the awful summons."No, no, I am not in any way ready, I mean I am unclothed-"To this the same unearthly voice and i n even more terribleaccents uttered the following reply."Robert James Calley, you are called to appear before thethrone." These words-and yet part of my mind knew themfor the foolery they were-nevertheless completely inhibitedmy breathing. I made for the door to shoot the bolt but as Idid so the door burst open. Two huge figures with heads ofnightmare, great eyes and mouths, black mouths full o f amess of fangs drove down at me. A cloth was thrust overm y head. I was seized and hurried away by irresistibleforce, my feet not able to find the deck except every nowand then. I am, I know, not a man of quick thought or instantapprehension. For a few moments I believe I was renderedtotally insensible, only to be brought to myself again by thesound o f yelling a n d jeering a n d positively demonic

laughter. Some touch of presence of mind, however, as Iwas borne along all too securely muffled, made me cry out"Help! Help!" and briefly supplicate MY SAVIOUR. Thecloth was wrenched off and I could see clearly -all tooclearly-in the light of the lanterns. The foredeck was full ofthe people and the edge of it lined with figures of nightmareakin to those who had hurried me away. He who sat on thethrone was bearded and crowned with flame and bore ahuge fork with three prongs i n his right hand. Twisting myneck as the cloth came off I could see the after end of theship, my rightful place, was thronged with spectators' Butthere were too few lanterns about the quarterdeck for me tosee clearly, nor had I more than a moment to look for afriend, for I was absolutely at the disposal of my captors.Now I had more time to understand my situation and thecruelty of the "jest", some of my fear was swallowed up inshame at appearing before the ladies and gentlemen, notto refine upon it, half-naked. I, who had thought never toappear but in t h e ornaments o f t h e Spiritual M a n! Iattempted to make a smiling appeal for some covering asif I consented to and took part in the jest but all went toofast. I was made to kneel before the "throne" with muchwrenching and buffeting, which took away any breath I hadcontrived to retain. Before I could make myself heard, aquestion was put to me of such grossness that I will notremember it, much less write it down. Yet as I opened mymouth to protest, it was at once filled with such nauseousstuff I gag and am like to vomit remembering it. For sometime, I cannot tell how long, this operation was repeated;

and when I would not open my mouth the stuff was smearedover my face. The questions, one after another, were ofsuch a nature that I cannot write any of them down. Norcould they have been contrived by a ny b u t t h e mostdepraved of souls. Yet each was greeted with a storm ofcheering and that terrible British sound which has everdaunted the foe; and then it came to me, was forced inupon my soul the awful truth-I was the foe'It could not be so, of course. They were, it may be, hot withthe devil's brew-they were led astray-it could not be so! Buti n t he confusion and-to me-horror o f the situation thethought that froze the very blood in my veins was only this –I was the Foe!To such an excess may the common people be led by theexample of those who should guide them to better things!At last the leader of their revels deigned to address me."You are a low, filthy fellow and must be shampoo’d."Here was more pain and nausea a nd hindrance t o mybreathing, so that I was in desperate fear all the time that Ishould die there and then, victim o f their cruel sport. Justwhe n I thought m y e nd . w a s c o m e I w a s projectedbackwards with extreme violence into the paunch of filthywater. Now here was more of what was strange and terribleto me. I had not harmed them. They had had their sport,their will with me. Yet now as I struggled each time to get

out of the wallowing, slippery paunch, I heard what the poorvictims of the French Terror must have heard in their lastmoments and oh!-it is crueller than death, it must be-it mustbe so, nothing, nothing that men can do to each other canbe compared with that snarling, lustful, storming appetite-By now I had abandoned hope of life and wasendeavouring blindly to fit myself for m y end-as i t werebetwixt the saddle and the ground-when I was aware ofrepeated shouts from the quarterdeck and then the soundof a tremendous explosion. There was comparative silencein which a voice shouted a command. The hands that hadbeen thrusting me down and in now lifted me up and out. Ifell upon the deck and lay there. There was a pause inwhich I began to crawl away in a trail of filth. But there cameanother shouted order. Hands lifted me up and bore me tomy cabin. Someone shut the door. Later-I do not know howmuch later-the door opened again and some Christian soulplaced a bucket of hot water by me. It may have beenPhillips but I do not know. I will not describe thecontrivances by which I succeeded in getting myselfcomparatively clean. Far off I could hear that the devils-no,no, I will not call them that-the people of the forward part ofthe ship had resumed their sport with other victims. But thesounds of merriment were jovial rather than bestial. It was abitter draught to swallow! I do not suppose that in any othership they have ever had a "parson" to play with. No, no; IWill not be bitter, I will forgive. They are my brothers even ifthey feel not so-even if I feel not so! As for the gentlemenno,I will not be bitter; and it is true that one among them, Mr

Summers perhaps, o r M r Talbot i t may be, did interveneand effect an interruption to their brutal sport even if late init!I fell into a n exhausted sleep, only t o experience mostfearful nightmares of judgement and hell. They waked me,praise b e t o GOD ! F or had they continued, my reasonwould have been overthrown.I have prayed since then and prayed long. After prayer andin a state of proper recollection I have thought.I believe I have come some way to being myself again. Isee without any disguise what happened. There is muchhealth in that phrase what happened. To clear away the, asi t were, undergrowth o f m y o wn feelings, m y terror, mydisgust, my indignation. clears a path by which I have cometo exercise a proper judgement. I am a victim a t severalremoves o f the displeasure that Captain Anderson hasevinced towards me since our first meeting. Such a farceas was enacted yesterday could not take place without hisapproval or at least his tacit consent. Deverel andCumbershum were his agents. I see that my shame-exceptin the article of outraged modesty-is quite unreal and doesmy understanding little credit. Whatever I had said -and Ihave begged my SAVIOUR'S forgiveness for it-what I feltmore nearly was the opinion of the ladies and gentlemen inregard t o me . I wa s indeed more sinned against thansinning but must put my own house in order, and learn all

over again-but there i s no end t o that lesson!-to forgive!What, I remind myself, have the servants of the LORD beenpromised in this world? If it must be so, let persecution bemy lot henceforward. I am not alone.I have prayed again and with much fervour and risen frommy knees at last, I am persuaded, a humbler and a betterman. I have been brought to see that the insult to me wasas nothing and no more than an invitation to turn the othercheek! . Yet there remains the insult offered not to me, butthrough me to ONE whose NAME is often in their mouthsthough seldom, I fear, in their thoughts! The true insult is tomy cloth and through it to the Great Army of which I am thelast and littlest soldier. MY MASTER HIMSELF has beeninsulted and though HE may-as I a m persuaded H E willforgiveit, I have a duty to deliver a rebuke rather than sufferthat in silence!Not for ourselves, O LORD, but for THEE!I slept again more peacefully after writing those words andwoke to find the ship running easily before a moderatewind. The air, I thought, was a little cooler. With a start offear which I had some difficulty in controlling I rememberedthe events of the previous evening. But then the interiorevents of my fervent prayer returned to me with great forceand I got down from my bunk or I may say, leapt down fromit, with joy as I felt my own renewed certainties of the GreatTruths o f the Christian Religion! My devotions were, you

must believe, far, far more prolonged than usual!After I rose from my knees I took my morning draught, thenset myself once more to shave carefully. My hair would havebenefited from your ministrations! (But you shall never readthis! The situation becomes increasingly paradoxical-I mayat some time censor what I have written!) I dressed withequal care, bands, wig, hat. I directed the servant to showme where my trunk was stowed and after some argumentwas able to descend to it in the gloomy interior parts of theship. I took out my Hood and Square and extracted hislordship's licence which I put in the tailpocket of my coat.Now I had-not my but MY MASTER'S quarrel just, I wasable to view a meeting with anyone i n the ship a s anencounter no more to be feared than-well, as you know, Ionce spoke with a highwayman! I climbed, therefore, to theupper portion o f the quarterdeck wi th a fi rm step andbeyond i t t o the raised platform a t its back o r after end,where Captain Anderson wa s commonly t o be seen. Istood and looked about me. The wind was on the starboardquarter and brisk. Captain Anderson walked up and down.Mr Talbot with one or two other gentlemen stood by the railand he touched the brim of his beaver and moved forward. Iwas gratified at this evidence of his wish t o befriend me,but for the moment I merely bowed and passed on. I wentacross the deck and stood directly in Captain Anderson'spath, 'taking off my hat as I did so. He did not walk throughme, as I expressed it, on this occasion. He stopped andstared, opened his mouth, then shut it again.

The following exchange then took place. "CaptainAnderson, I desire to speak with you." He paused for amoment or two. Then-"Well, sir. You may do so." Iproceeded in calm and measured accents. "CaptainAnderson. Your people have done my office wrong. Youyourself have done it wrong."The hectic appeared in his cheek and passed away.He lifted his chin at me, then sank it again. He spoke, orrather muttered, in reply."I know it, Mr Colley."“You confess as much, sir?”He muttered again."It was never meant-the affair got out of hand. You havebeen ill-used, sir." I answered him serenely."Captain Anderson, after this confession o f your fault Iforgive yo u freely. But there were, I believe, a nd I amcontent t o suppose they were acting not s o much underyour orders as by force of your example, there were otherofficers involved and no t merely the commoner sort ofpeople. Theirs was perhaps the most out-rageous insult tomy cloth! I believe I know them, sir, disguised as they were.Not for my sake, but for their own, they must admit the fault."

Captain Anderson took a rapid turn up and down the deck.He came back and stood with his hands clasped behindhim. He stared down at me, I was astonished to see, notmerely with the highest colouring but with rage! I s i t notstrange? He had confessed hi s fault yet mention o f hisofficers threw him back into a state which is, I fear, only toocustomary with him. He spoke angrily."You will have it all, then.""I defend MY MASTER'S Honour as you would defend theKing's." For a while neither o f us said anything. The bellwas struck and the members of one watch changed placeswith another. M r Summers, together with M r Willis, tookover from Mr Smiles and young Mr Taylor. The change was,a s usual, ceremonious. Then Captain Anderson lookedback at me."I will speak to the officers concerned. Are you nowsatisfied?"" L et them come t o me , sir, a nd they shall receive myforgiveness as freely as I have given it to you. But there isanother thing-'Here I must tell you that the captain uttered an imprecationof a positively blasphemous nature. However, I employedthe wisdom of the serpent as well as the meekness of thedove and affected at this time to take no notice! It was not

the moment to rebuke a naval officer for the use of animprecation. That, I already told myself, should come later!I proceeded."There are also the poor, ignorant people in the front end ofthe ship. I must visit them and bring them to repentance.""Are you mad?""Indeed no, sir.""Have you no care for what further mockery may be inflictedon you?""You have your uniform, Captain Anderson, a nd I havemine. I shall approach them in that garb, those ornamentsof the Spiritual Man!""Uniform!""You do not understand, sir? I shall go to them in thosegarments which my long studies and ordination enjoin onme. I do not wear them here, sir. You know me for what Iam.""I do indeed, sir.""I thank you, sir. Have I your permission then, to go forwardand address them?" Captain Anderson walked across the

planking and expectorated into the sea. He answered mewithout turning."Do as you please."I bowed to his back, then turned away myself. As I came tothe first stair Lieutenant Summers laid a hand on mysleeve."Mr Colley!"."Well, my friend?""Mr Colley, I beg you to consider what you are about!" Herehis voice sank to a whisper. "Had I not discharged MrPrettiman's weapon over the side and so startled them all,there is no knowing how far the affair might have gone. Ibeg you, sir-let me assemble them under the eyes of theirofficers! S o m e o f t he m a r e violent men-one of theemigrants-""Come, Mr Summers. I shall appear to them in the raimentin which I might conduct a service. They will recognize thatraiment, sir, and respect it.""At least wait until after they have been given their rum.Believe me, sir, I know whereof I speak! lt will render themmore amiable, calmer-more receptive, sir, to what you have

t o s a y t o them-I b e g yo u, s i r ! Otherwise, contempt,indifference-and who knows what else-?"“And the lesson would go unheeded, you think, theopportunity lost?"“Indeed, sir!"I considered for a moment."Very well, Mr Summers. I will wait until later in the morning.I have some writing in the meantime which I wish to do."I bowed to him and went on. Now Mr Talbot steppedforward again. He asked in the most agreeable manner tobe admitted to a familiar degree of friendship with me. Hei s indeed a young man who does credit t o his station! Ifprivilege were always in the hands of such as he-indeed, itis not out of the question that at some future date-but I runon!I had scarcely settled myself to this writing in my cabin whenthere came a knock at the door. It was the lieutenants, MrDeverel and Mr Cumbershum, my two devils of theprevious night! I looked m y severest o n them, for indeedt h e y deserved a little chastisement b e fo re gettingforgiveness. M r Cumbershum said little b ut Mr Deverelmuch. He owned freely that they had been mistook and thathe had been a little in drink, like his companion. He had notthought I would take the business so much to heart but the

people were accustomed to such sport when crossing theequator, only he regretted that they had misinterpreted thecaptain's general permission. In fine, he requested me totreat the whole thing as a jest that had got out of hand. Had Ithen worn such apparel as I was now suited in, no onewould have attempted-in fact the d-v-l was i n i t i f they hadmeant any harm and now hoped I would forget the wholebusiness.Then they had departed. I own I felt a t peace for the firstI paused for a while as if cogitating, though I knew alreadywhat I would do. It was no moment at which t o admit myown sense of unworthiness at having appeared before ourpeople in a garb that was less than fitting. Indeed, thesewere the sort of men who needed a uniform-both one towear, and one to look up to!I spoke at last."I forgive you freely, gentlemen, as I am enjoined to do byMY MASTER. Go, and sin no more."On that, I shut the cabin door. Outside it, I heard one ofthem, Mr Deverel, I think, give a low, but prolonged whistle.Then a s their steps receded I heard Mr Cumbershumspeak for the first time since the interview began." I wonder who the d-v-l his Master is? D'you think he's inwith the d-mned Chaplain to the F1eet?"

time for many, many days. All was now to be well. I saw thatlittle by little I might set about my work, not merely amongthe common people but later, among the officers and gentrywho would not be, could not he now so insensible to theWORD as had appeared!Why-even the captain himself had shown some small signsandthe power of Grace is infinite. Before assuming mycanonicals I went out into the waist and stood there, free atlast-why, no doubt now the captain would revoke his firstharsh prohibition to me of the quarterdeck! I gazed downinto the water, the blue, the green, the purple, the snowy,sliding foam! I saw with a new feeling of security the long,green weed that wavers under the water from our woodensides. There was, it seemed too, a peculiar richness in thecolumns of our rounded sails. Now i s the time; and afterdue preparation I shall go forward and rebuke these unrulybut truly lovable children of OUR MASTER! It seemed to methen-it still seems s o that I was and am consumed by agreat love of all things, the sea, the ship, the sky, thegentlemen and the people and of course OURREDEEMER above all! Here at last is the happiestoutcome o f a ll m y distress a nd difficulty! A L L THINGSPRAISEHIM!

___________________________________As your lordship knows, Colley wrote no more. After deathnothing.There must be nothing! The only consolation I havemyself over the whole business is that I can ensure that hisp o o r sister wi ll never k no w t h e truth o f i t . DrunkenBrocklebank may roar in his cabin, "Who killed cockColley?" but she shall never know what weakness killedhim, nor whose hands-mine among them-struck him down.When I was roused by Wheeler from a too brief and uneasysleep, I found that the first part of the morning was to bepassed in an enquiry. I was to sit, with Summers and thecaptain. Upon my objecting that the body should-in thesehot latitudes-be buried first of all, Wheeler said nothing. It isplain that the captain means to cloak his a n d ourpersecutions of the man under a garment of proper, officialproceedings! We sat, then, behind the table in the captain'scabin and the witnesses were paraded. The servant whohad attended Colley told no more than we knew. Young MrTaylor, hardly subdued by the man's death but i n a properawe of the captain, repeated that he had seen Mr Colleyagree to taste of the rum in a spirit of something or other,he could not recollect quite whatOn my suggesting that theword might be "reconciliation" he accepted it. What was MrTaylor doing there, forrard? (This from Mr Summers.) MrTommy Taylor was inspecting the stowage of the cableswith a view to having the cable to the bower anchor roustedout and walked end-for-end. This splendid jargon satisfied

the naval gentlemen, who nodded together as if they hadbeen spoken to in plain English. But what was Mr Taylordoing, in that case, out of the cable locker? M r Taylor hadfinished his inspection and was coming up to report andhad stayed for a while, never having seen a parson i n thatstate before. And then? (This from the captain.) M r Taylorhad "proceeded aft, sir, to inform Mr Summers" but hadbeen "given a bottle by Mr Cumbershum before I could doso."The captain nodded and Mr Taylor retired with what lookedlike relief. I turned to Summers."A bottle, Summers? What the devil did they want with abottle?" The captain growled."A bottle is a rebuke, sir. Let us get on."The next witness was one East, a respectable emigrant,husband t o the poor girl whose emaciated face had sostruck me. He could read and write. Yes, he had seen MrColley and knew the reverend gentleman by sight. He hadnot seen him during the "badger bag," as the sailors calledit, but he had heard tell. Perhaps we had been told howpoorly his wife was and he was i n near enough constantattendance on her, himself and Mrs Roustabout takingturns, though near her own time. He had only glimpsed MrColley among the seamen, did not think he had said muchbefore taking a cup with them. The applause and laughter

we had heard? That was after the few words the gentlemanhad spoken when he was being social with the sailors; Thegrowls and anger? H e knew nothing about that. H e onlyknew the sailors took the gentleman away with them, downwhere the young gentleman had been among the ropes. Hehad had to look after his wife, knew nothing more. Hehoped we gentlemen would think i t no disrespect but thatw a s a l l anyone knew except the sailors who had thereverend gentleman in charge.He was allowed to withdraw. I gave it as my opinion that theonly man who might enlighten us would be the fellow whohad brought or carried him back to us in his drunken stupor.I said that he might know how much Colley drank and whohad given it to him or forced it on him. Captain Andersonagreed and said that he had ordered the man to attend. Hethen addressed us in not much above a whisper:"My informant advises me this is the witness we shouldpress." It was my turn." I believe," I said, and braced myself-"we are doing whatyou gentlemen would call 'making heavy weather of it'! Theman was made drunk. There are some men, as we nowknow to our cost, whose timidity is such that they arewounded almost to death b y another's anger and whoseconscience is so tender they will die of what, let us say, MrBrocklebank would accept as a peccadillo, i f that! Come,gentlemen! Could w e not confess that hi s intemperance

killed him but that our general indifference to his welfarewas likely enough the cause of it!" This was bold, was itnot? I was telling our tyrant that he and I together-But hewas regarding me with astonishment."Indifference, sir?""Intemperance, sir," said Summers, quickly, "let us leave itat that.""One moment, Summers. M r Talbot. I pass over your oddphrase, ' o u r general indifference'. B u t d o y o u notunderstand? Do you think that a single bout of drinking-""But you yourself said, sir-let us include all under a lowfever!”"That was yesterday! Sir, I tell you. It is likely enough that theman, helplessly drunk, suffered a criminal assault by one, orGod knows how many men, and the absolute humiliation ofit killed him!""Good God!"This was a kind of convulsion of the understanding.I do not know that I thought anything at all for minutestogether. I, as it were, came to, to hear the captain talking."No, M r Summers. I will have n o concealment. Nor will I

tolerate frivolous accusations which touch me myself in myconduct of the ship and in my attitude to the passengers inher.""Summers tells me you have claimed some skill in cross-Summers was red in the face. "I have made a submission,sir. I beg your pardon if you find it beyond the line of myduty. '"Very well , Mr Summers. Let us get on.""But captain," said I, "no man will admit to that!""You are young, Mr Talbot. You cannot guess what channelsof information there are in a ship such as this, even thoughher present commission has been of such a short duration.""Channels? Your informant?""I would prefer us to get on," said the captain heavily. "Letthe man come in." Summers himself went out and fetchedRogers. It was the man who had brought Colley back to us. Ihave seldom seen a more splendid young fellow. He wasnaked to the waist and of a build that one day might beover-corpulent. But now he could stand a s a model toMichelangelo! His huge chest and columnar neck were of adeep brown hue, as was his broadly handsome face savewhere it was scarred by some parallel scratches of a lightertone. Captain Anderson turned to me.

examination.""Did he? Did I?"Your lordship will observe that I was b y no means a t mybest i n all this sory episode. Captain Anderson positivelybeamed at me."Your witness, sir."This I had not bargained for. However, there was no help forit."Now, my good man. Your name, if you please!" "BillyRogers, my lord. Foretop man."I accepted the honorific. May it be an omen!"We want information from you, Rogers. We want to knowin precise detail what happened when the gentleman cameamong you the other day.""What gentleman, my lord?""The parson. The reverend Mr Colley, who is now dead."Rogers stood in the full1i2ht of the great window. I thoughtto myself that I had never seen a face of such wide-eyedcandour."He took a drop too much, my lord, was overcome, like."

It was time to go about, as we nautical fellows say. "Howcame you by those scars on your face!'"A wench, my lord.""She must have been a wild cat, then.""Nigh on, my lord.""You will have your way, whether or no!'"My lord?""You would overcome her disinclination for her own good?"“I don't know about all that, my lord. All I know is she hadwhat was left of my pay in her other hand and would havebeen through the door like a pistol shot if I had not took afirm hold of her."Captain Anderson beamed sideways at me."With your permission, my lord-'Devil take it, the man was laughing at me!"Now, Rogers. Never mind the women. What about themen?""Sir!'

Mr Co1ley suffered an outrage there in the fo'castle. Whodid it?" The man's face was without any expression at all.The captain pressed him."Come, Rogers. Would it surprise you to know that youyourself are suspected of this particular kind ofbeastliness?"The man's whole stance had altered. He was a littlecrouched now, one foot drawn a few inches behind theother. He had clenched his fists. He looked from one to theother of us quickly, as if trying to see in each face whatdegree of peril confronted him. I saw that he took us forenemies.""I know nothing, Captain sir, nothing at all!""It may not have anything to do with you, my man.But you will know who it was.""Who was who, sir?""Why the one or many among you who inflicted a criminalassault on the gentleman so that he died of it!""I know nothing-nothing at all"I had got my wits back.

"Come, Rogers. You were the one man we saw with him. Indefault of any other evidence your name must head the listof suspects. What did you sailors do?" I have never seen aface of more well-simulated astonishment. ,"What did we do, my lord?""Doubtless you have witnesses to testify to your innocence.I f you are innocent then help us to bring the criminals tobook."He said nothing, but still stood at bay. I took up thequestioning again."I mean, my good man, you can either tell us who did it, orat the very least you can furnish us with a list of the peopleyou suspect or know to be suspected of this particular formof, of interest, of assault."Captain Anderson jerked up his chin."Buggery, Rogers, that's what h e means. Buggery." Helooked down, shuffled some papers before him and dippedhis pen in the ink. The silence prolonged itself into ourexpectancy. The captain himself broke i t a t last with asound of angry impatience."Come along, man! We cannot sit here all day!" There wasanother pause. Rogers turned his body rather than his head

to us, one after the other. Then he looked straight at thecaptain."Very well, Rogers. That will be all. You may return to yourduties." The colour came and went in the man's face. He letout his breath in a prolonged gasp. He knuckled hisforehead, began to smile, turned and went away out of the"Aye aye, sir." ..It was only then that there was a change in the man's face.He thrust his upper lip down, then as i f i n an experimentalmanner tried the texture of his lower lip judiciously with hiswhite teeth."Shall I begin with the officers, sir?"It was of the utmost importance that I should not move. Theslightest flicker of my eye towards either Summers o r thecaptain, the slightest contraction o f a muscle would haveseemed a fatal accusation. I had absolute faith in them bothas far as this accusation of beastliness was concerned. Asfor the two officers themselves, doubtless they also had amutual faith, yet they too did not dare risk any movement.We were waxworks. Rogers was waxworks too.It had to be the captain who made the first move and heknew it. He laid his pen'down beside the papers and spoke gravely.

cabin. I cannot say how long the three of us sat without wordor movement. For my part, it was something as simple andordinary as the rear of doing or saying the wrong thing; yetthe "wrong thing" would be, so to speak, raised to a higherpower, to such a power as to be fearful and desperate. I felti n the long moments of our silence as i f I could· not allowmyself to think at all, otherwise my face might redden andthe perspiration begin to creep down my cheek. I made bya most conscious effort my mind as nearly blank as mightbe and waited on the event. For surely of the three of us itwas least my part to speak. Rogers had caught us in amantrap. Can your lordship understand how alreadytouches of suspicion came to life in my mind whether Iwould or no and flitted from the name of this gentleman tothat?Captain Anderson rescued us from our catalepsy. He didnot move but spoke as if to himself."Witnesses, enquiries, accusations, lies, more lies, courtsmartial-theman has it in his power to ruin us all if he bebrazen enough, as I doubt not he is, for it would be ahanging matter. S uch accusations cannot b e disproved.Whatever the upshot, something would stick."He turned to Summers."And there, Mr Summers, ends our investigation. Have weother informants?"

"I believe no, sir. Touch pitch-""Just so. Mr Talbot?""I am all at sea, sir! But it is true enough. The man was atbay and brought out his last weapon; false witness,amounting to blackmail.""In fact," said Summers, smiling at last, "Mr Talbot is theonly one of us to have profited. He had at least a temporaryelevation to the peerage!"“I have returned to earth, sir-though since I was addressedas 'my lord' by Captain Anderson, who can conductmarriages and funerals-""Ah yes. Funerals. You will drink, gentlemen? Call Hawkinsin, Summers, will you? I must thank you, Mr Talbot, for yourassistance.'"Of little use I fear, sir."The captain was himself again. He beamed."A low fever then. Sherry?'"Thank you, sir. But is everything concluded? We still do notknow what happened. You mentioned informants-""This is a good sherry," said the captain brusquely.

"I believe, Mr Summers, you are averse to drinking at thistime of the day and you will wish to oversee the variousarrangements for the unfortunate man's c0mmittal to thedeep. Your health, Mr Talbot. You will be willing to sign, orrather counter-sign, a report?"I set down my glass and Hawkins took it away. The captain1 thought for a while."I have no official standing in this ship." "Oh, come, MrTalbot!" 1 thought again."I will make a statement and sign that."Captain Anderson looked sideways up a t m e from underhi s thick brows and nodded without saying anything. Idrained my glass."You mentioned informants, Captain Anderson-" But hewas frowning at me."Did I, sir? I think not!""You asked Mr Summers-""Who replied there were none," said Captain Andersonloudly. "None at all Mr Talbot, not a man jack among them!Do you understand, sir? No one has come sneaking to menoone! You can go, Hawkins!"

watched him leave the stateroom, then turned to me again.At three o'clock we were all assembled in the waist. Therewas a guard, composed of Oldmeadow's soldiers, withflintlocks, or whatever their ungainly weapons are called.Oldmeadow himself was in full dress and unblooded sword,as were the ship's officers. Even our young gentlemen woretheir dirks and expressions of piety. We passengers weredressed as sombrely as possible. The seamen were drawnup b y watches, and were a s presentable a s their variedgarments permit. Portly Mr Brocklebank was erect butyellow and drawn from potations that would have reducedMr Colley to a ghost. As I inspected the man I thought thatBrocklebank would have gone through the whole of Colley's"Servants have ears, Mr Talbot!""Why certainly, sir! I am very sure my fellow Wheeler has."The captain smiled grimly."Wheeler! Oh yes indeed! That man must have ears andeyes all over him-""Well then, until the sad ceremony of this afternoon I shallreturn to my journal.""Ah, the journal. Do not forget to include in it, Mr Talbot, thatwhatever may be said of the passengers, as far as thepeople and my officers are concerned this is a happyship!"

ordeal and fall with no more than a bellyache and a sorehead. Such are the varied fabrics of the human tapestry thatsurrounds me! Our ladies, who must surely have had suchan occasion in their minds when they fitted themselves forthe voyage, were in mourning-even Brocklebank's twodoxies, who supported him o n either side. M r Prettimanwas present at this superstitious ritual by the side of MissGranham, who had led him there. What is all his militantAtheism and Republicanism when pitted against thisdaughter of a canon of Exeter Cathedral? I made a note asI saw him fretting and barely contained at her side, that shewas the one o f the two with whom I must speak and towhom I must convey the kind of delicate admonition I hadintended for our notorious Freethinker!You will observe that I have recovered somewhat from theeffect of reading Colley's letter. A man cannot b e foreverbrooding o n what i s past nor o n the tenuous connectionbetween hi s own unwitting conduct and someone else'sdeliberately criminal behaviour! Indeed, I have to own thatthis ceremonious naval occasion was one of great interestt o met One seldom attends a funeral i n such, dare I callthem, exotic surroundings! Not only was the ceremonystrange, but all the time--or some of i t a t least-our actorsconducted their dialogue i n Tarpaulin language. You knowhow I delight i n that! You will already have noted someparticularly impenetrable specimens as, for instance,mention of a badger bag-does not Servius (I believe it washe) declare there are half a dozen cruxes in the Aeneid

which wi ll never b e solved, either b y emendation orinspiration or any method attempted by scholarship? Wellthen, I shall entertain you with a few more naval cruxes. .The ship's bell was struck, muffled. A party of sailorsappeared, bearing the body on a plank and under the unionflag. It was placed with its feet towards the starboard, orhonourable side, by which admirals and bodies andsuchlike rarities make their exits. It was a longer body than Ihad expected but have since been told that two of our fewremaining cannon balls were attached to the feet. CaptainAnderson, glittering with bullion, stood b y i t. I have alsobeen told since, that he and all the other officers were muchexercised as to the precise nature of the ceremonies to beobserved when, as young Mr Taylor expressed it, "piping asky pilot over the side".Almost all our sails were clewed up and we were what theMarine Dictionary calls, technically speaking -and whendoes it not?- hove to, which ought to mean we werestationary i n the water. Yet the spirit o f force (speakingperfectly exquisite Tarpaulin) attended Colley to his end. Nosooner was the plank laid o n the deck than I heard MrSummers mutter to Mr Deverel:"Depend upon it, Deverel, without you aft the driver ahandspan she will make a sternboard."Hardly had he said this when there came a heavy and

hythmical thudding from the ship's hull under water a s ifDavey Jones was serving notice or perhaps getting hungry.Deverel shouted orders of the warrarroohoowassst! variety,the seamen leapt, while Captain Anderson, a prayerbookclutched like a grenade, turned on Lieutenant Summers." M r Summers! Will you have the sternpost out of her?"Summers said nothing but the thudding ceased. CaptainAnderson's tone sank to a grumble."The pintles are loose as a pensioner's teeth."Summers nodded in reply."I know it, sir. But until she's rehung-""The sooner we're off the wind the better. God curse thatdrunken superintendent!" He stared moodily down at theunion flag, then up at the sails which, as if willing to debatewith him, boomed back. They could have done no betterthan the preceding dialogue. Was it not superb?At last the captain glanced round him and positively started,as if seeing us for the first time. I 'wish I could say that hestarted like a guilty thing upon a fearful summons but hedid not. He started like a man in the smallest degreeremiss who has absentmindedly forgotten that he has abody to get rid of. He opened the book and grunted a sourinvitation to us to pray-and so on. Certainly he was anxious

enough t o get the thing over, fo r I have never heard aservice read so fast. The ladies scarce had time to get outtheir handkerchiefs (tribute o f a tear) and we gentlemenstared for a moment as usual into our beavers, but then,reminded that this unusual ceremony was too good to miss,all looked up again. I hoped that Oldmeadow's men wouldfire a volley but he has since told me that owing to somedifference of opinion between the Admiralty and the WarOffice, they have neither flints nor powder. However, theypresented arms i n approximate unison a nd the officersflourished their swords. I wonder-was all this proper for aparson? I do not know, neither do they. A fife shrilled outand someone rattled on a muffled drum, a kind of overture,or postlude should I call it, or would envoi be a better word?You will observe, my lord, that Richard is himself again-orshall we say that I have recovered from a period of fruitlessand perhaps unwarranted regret?A nd yet-at the last (when Captain Anderson's grumblingvoice invited us to contemplate that time when there shallbe no more sea) six men shrilled out a call on the bosun'spipe. Now, your lordship may never have heard these pipesso I must inform you that they have just as much music inthem as the yowling of cats on heat! And yet and yet andyet! Their very harsh and shrill unmusicality, their burst ofhigh sound leading to a long descent that died awaythrough an uneasy and prolonged fluttering into silence,seemed t o vo i c e something beyond words, religion,

philosophy. It was the simple voice of Life mourning Death.I had scarcely time to feel a touch o f complacency a t thedirectness of my own emotions when the plank was liftedand tilted. The mortal remains of the Reverend RobertJames Colley shot from under the union flag and enteredthe water with a single loud phut! as if he had been themost experienced of divers and had made a habit ofrehearsing his own funeral, so expertly was it done. Ofcourse the cannon balls assisted. This subsidiary use oftheir mass was after all in keeping with their general nature.S o the remains of Colley dropping deeper than did everplummet sound were to be thought of as now finding thesolid base of all. (At these necessarily ritualistic momentsof life, if you cannot use the prayer book, have recourse toShakespeare! Nothing else will do.)Now you might think that there was then a moment or two ofsilent tribute before the mourners left the churchyard. Not abit of it! Captain Anderson shut his book, the pipes shrilledagain, this time with a kind o f temporal urgency. CaptainAnderson nodded to Lieutenant Cumbershum, whotouched his hat and roared:“Leeeoonnawwll!”Our obedient vessel started to turn as she moved forwardand lumbered clumsily towards her original course. Theceremonially ordered ranks broke up, the people climbedeverywhere into the rigging to spread our full suit o f sails

and add the stun's'ls to them again. Captain Andersonmarched off, grenade, I mean prayerbook in hand, back tohis cabin, I suppose to make an entry in his journal. A younggentleman scrawled on the traverse board and all thingswere as they had. been. I returned to my cabin to considerwhat statement I should write out and sign. It must be suchas will cause his sister least pain. It shall be a low fever, asthe captain wishes. I must conceal from hi m that I havealready laid a trail of gunpowder to where your lordship mayignite it. God, what a world of conflict, of birth, death,procreation, betrothals, marriages for all I know, there is tobe found in this extraordinary ship!(&)There! I think the ampersand gives a touch of eccentricity',does it not? None of your dates, or letters of the alphabet,or presumed day of the voyage! I might have headed thissection "addenda" but that would have been dull-far too, toodull! For we have come to an end, there is nothing more tobe said. I mean-there is, of course, there is the daily record,but my journal, I found on looking back through it, hadinsensibly turned to the record of a drama-Colley's drama.Now the poor man's drama i s done and he stands there,how many miles down, on his cannon balls, alone, as MrColeridge says, all, all alone. It seems a different sort ofbathos (your lordship, as Colley might say, will note theamusing "paranomasia") to return to the small change ofday to day with no drama in it, but there are yet some

pages left between the rich bindings of your lordship's giftto me, and I have tried to stretch the burial out, in the hopethat what might be called The Fall and Lamentable End ofRobert James Colley together with a Brief Account of hisThalassian Obsequies would extend right to the last page.All was of no avail. His was a real life and a real death andno more to be fitted into a given book than a misshapenfoot into a given boot. Of course my journal will continuebeyond this volume-but i n a book obtained f o r m e byPhillips from t he purser a nd no t t o be locked. Whichreminds me how trivial the explanation o f men's fear andsilence concerning the purser proved t o be. Phillips toldme, for h e i s more open than Wheeler. A ll the officers,including the captain, owe the purser money! Phillips callshim the pusser."T h e m a n h a s disappeared. H e h a s fallen overboard.Wheeler! He has gone like a dream, with his puffs of whitehair, and his shining baldness, his sanctified smile, hiscomplete knowledge of evervthing that goes on in a ship,his paregoric, and his willingness to obtain for a gentlemananything in the wide, - wide world, provided the gentlemanpays for it! Wheeler, as the captain put it, all over ears andWhich reminds me again-I employed Phillips because nomatter how I shouted, I could not rouse Wheeler. He isbeing sought now.He was being sought Summers has just told me.

eyes! I shall miss the man, for I cannot hope for as great ashare in the services of Phillips. Already I have had to pulloff my own boots, though Summers, who was present in mycabin at the time, was good enough to help. Two deaths inonly a few days!"At least' , said I to Summers with meaning, “no one canaccuse me of having a hand in this death, can they?"He was too breathless to reply. He sat back on his heels,then stood up and watched me pull on my embroideredslippers”"Life is a formless business, Summers. Literature is muchamiss in forcing a form on it!""Not so, sir, for there are both death and birth aboard. PatRoundabout-""Roundabout? I thought it was 'Roustabout'!""You may use either indifferently. But she is delivered of adaughter to be named after the ship:'"Poor, poor child! But that was the mooing I heard then, likeBessie when she broke her leg?""It was, sir. I go now to see how they do."So he left me, these blank pages still unfilled. News, then,

news! What news?There is more to be recorded but germane to the captain,not Colley. It should have been fitted in much earlier-at ActFour or even Three. Now it must come limping after thedrama, like the satyr play after the tragic trilogy. It is not adenouement so much a s a p a le illumination. CaptainAnderson's detestation of the clergy! You remember. Wellnow, perhaps, you and I do know all.Hist, as they say-let me bolt my hutch door!Well then-Deverel told me. He has begun to drink heavilyheavilythat is in comparison with what he did before, sincehe has always been intemperate. It seems that CaptainAnderson-fearful not only of my journal but also of the otherpassengers who now with the exception o f steely MissGranham believe "Poor Colley" was mistreated-Anderson, Isay, rebuked the t w o men, Cumbershum and Deverel,savagely for their part in the affair. This meant little toCumbershum, who is made of wood. But Deverel, by thelaws of the service, is denied the satisfaction of -agentleman. He broods and drinks. Then last night, deep indrink, he came to my hutch and i n the dark hours and amuttered, slurred voice gave me what he called necessaryobservations on the captain's history for my journal. Yet hewas not so drunk as to be unaware of danger. Picture usthen, by the light of my candle, seated side by side on thebunk, Deverel whispering viciously into my ear as my head

was inclined to his lips. There was, it appears, and there is,a noble family-not I believe more than distantly known toyour lordship-and their land marches with the Deverels'.They, Summers would say, have used the privilege of theirposition and neglected its responsibilities. The father of thepresent young lo r d h a d in keeping a lady of greatsweetness of disposition, much beauty, little understandingand, as it proved, some fertility. The use of privilege issometimes expensive. Lord L--(this is perfect Richardson,is it not?) found himself in need of a fortune, and thatinstantly. The fortune was found but her family in a positivelyWesleyan access of righteousness insisted on thedismissal of the sweet lady, against whom nothing could beurged save lack o f a fe w words spoke over he r b y aparson. Catastrophe threatened. T h e dangers o f herposition struck some sparks from the sweet lady, thefortune hung in the balance! At this moment, as Deverelwhispered in my ear, Providence intervened and theincumbent of one of the three livings that lay in the family'sgift was killed in the hunting field! The heir's tutor, a dul1sort of fel1ow, accepted of the living and the sweet lady andwhat Deverel called her curst cargo together. The lord gothis fortune, the lady a husband and the Reverend Andersona living, a wife and an heir gratis. In due course the boy wassent to sea, where the casual interest of his real father wassufficient to elevate him in the service. But now the old lordis dead and the young one has no cause to love his bastardhalf-brother!

Al1 this by an unsteady candle light, querulous remarks inhis sleep from Mr Prettiman, with snores and farts from MrBrocklebank i n the other direction. Oh that cry from thedeck above us-"Eight bells and all's well!" Deverel, at thiswitching hour, put his arm about me with drunken familiarityand revealed why he had spoken so. This history was thejest he had meant to tell me. At Sydney Cove, or the Capeof Good Hope, should we put i n there, Deverel intends-orthe drink i n him intends-to resign his commission, call thecaptain out and shoot him dead! "For", said he in a loudervoice and with his shaking right hand lifted, " I can knock acrow off a steeple with one barker!" Hugging and pattingme and calling me his good Edmund he informed me I wasto act for him when the time came; and if, if by some luck ofthe devil, he himself was taken off, why the information wasto be put fully in my famous journal-I had much ado to F himtaken to his cabin without rousing the whole ship. But hereis news indeed! So that is why a certain captain so detestsa parson! It would surely b e more reasonable in him todetest a lord! Yet there is no doubt about it. Anderson hasbeen wronged by a lord-or by a parson-or by life-GoodGod! I do not care to find excuses for Anderson!Nor do I care as much for Deverel as I did. It was amisjudgement on my part to esteem him. He, perhaps,illustrates the last decline of a noble family as Mr Summersmight illustrate the original of one! My wits are all to seek. Ifound myself thinking that had I been so much the victim ofa lord's gallantry I would have become a Jacobin? Edmund

Talbot?It was then that I remembered my half formed intention tobring Zenobia and Robert James Colley together to ridmyse1f of a possible embarrassment. It was so likeDeverel's jest I came near to detesting myself. When Irealized how he and I had talked, and how he must havethought me likeminded with the "Noble family" my facegrew hot with shame. Where will all this end?However, one birth does not equal two deaths.There is a general dullness among us, for say what you will,a burial a t sea, however frivolously I treat' i t, can not becalled a laughing matter. Nor will Wheeler's disappearancelighten the air among the passengers.Two days have passed since I diffidently forbore t o askSummers to help me on with my slippers! The officers havenot been idle. Summers-as if this were a Company shiprather than a man of war-has determined we shall not havet o o much time left hanging on our hands. We havedetermined that the after end of the ship shall present theforrard end with a play! A committee has been formed withthe captain’s sanction! This has thrown me will-he, nill-he,into the company of Miss Granham! It has been an edifyingexperience. I found that this woman, this'handsome, cultivated maiden lady, holds vi ews which

However, the announcement has cheered everyone up. Youm a y imagine the public felicitations and the privatecomments! I myself sincerely hope that Captain Anderson,gloomiest of Hymens, will marry them aboard s o that wemay have a complete collection of all the ceremonies thataccompany the forked creature from the cradle to thegrave. The pair seem attached they have fallen in love· afterwould freeze the blood of the average citizen in his veins!She does literally make no distinction between the uniformworn by our officers, the woad with which our unpolishedancestors were said to paint themselves and the tattooingrife in the South Seas and perhaps on the mainland ofAustralia! Worse-from the point of view of society-she,daughter of a canon, makes n o distinction between theIndian's Medicine Man, the Siberian Shaman, and a Popishpriest in his vestments! When I expostulated that she bidfair to include our own clergy she would only admit them tobe less offensive because they made themselves lessreadily distinguishable from other gentlemen. I was sostaggered by this conversation I could make no reply to herand only discovered the reason for the awful candour withwhich she spoke when (before dinner in the passengersaloon) i t was announced that she and M r Prettiman areofficially engaged! I n t h e unexpected security o f herfiancailles the lady feels free to say anything! But with whata n eye she has seen us! I blush t o remember the manythings I have said in her presence which must have seemedlike the childishness of the schoolroom.

their fashion! Deverel introduced the only solemn note. Hedeclared i t was a great shame the man Calley had died,otherwise the knot might be tied there and then by aparson. A t thi s , the re w a s a general silence. MissGranham, who had furnished your humble servant with herviews on priests in general might, I felt, have said nothing.But instead, she came out with a quite astonishingstatement."He was a truly degraded man.""Come, ma'am,,, said I, "de mortuis and all that! A singleunlucky indulgence-The man was harmless enough!""Harmless," cried Prettiman with a kind of bounce, "a priestharmless?"" I was not referring t o drink," said Miss Granham i n hersteeliest voice, "but to vice in another form.""Come, ma' am-I cannot believe-as a lady you cannot-""You, sir," cried Mr Prettiman, "you to doubt a lady's word?""No, no! Of course not! Nothing-""Let it be, dear Mr Prettiman, I beg of you.""No, ma'am, I cannot let it go. Mr Talbot has seen fit todoubt your word and I will have an apology-"

"Why," said I laughing, "you have it, ma'am, unreservedly! Inever intended-'"We learnt of his vicious habits accidentally," said MrPrettiman. "A priest! It was two sailors who weredescending one of the rope ladders from the mast to theside of the vessel. Miss Granham and I-it was dark-we hadretired to the shelter of that confusion of ropes at the foot ofthe ladder-""Chain, ratlines-Summers, enlighten us!""It is no matter, sir. You will remember, Miss Granham, wewere discussing the inevitability o f the process b y whichtrue liberty must lead to true equality and thence to-but thatis no matter, neither. The sailors were unaware of ourpresence so that without meaning to, we heard all!""Smoking is bad enough, Mr Talbot, but at least gentlemengo no further!""My dear Miss Granham!""It is as savage a custom, sir, as any known amongcoloured peoples!" Oldmeadow addressed her in tones ofcomplete incredulity. "By Jove, ma'am-you cannot mean thefellow chewed tobacco!"There was a roar of laughter from passengers and officers

alike. Summers, who is not given to idle laughter, joined in."Little moment, sir, when a lady's word-it cannot be allowedto pass, sir. One of these sailors said to the other as theydescended side by side-'Billy Rogers was laughing like abilge pump when he come away from the captain's cabin.He went into the heads and I sat by him. Billy said he'dknowed most things in his time but he had never thought toget a chew off a parson!'""It is true," said he, when there was less noise. "On one ofmy earlier visits I saw a large bunch of leaf tobacco hungfrom the deckhead. It was spoilt by mildew and I threw itoverboard.""But Summers," said I. "I saw no tobacco! And that kind ofman-""I assure you, sir. It was before you visited him.""Nevertheless, I find it almost impossible to believe.""You shall have the facts," said Prettiman with hi s usualcholer. "Long study, a natural aptitude and a necessaryhabit of defence have made me expert in the recollection ofcasual speech, sir. You shall have the words the sailorsspoke as they were spoken!"Summers lifted both hands in expostulation. "No, no-spareus, I beg you! It is of little moment after all!"

The triumphant but fierce look on M r Prettiman's face, hisflying hair and the instant decline of his educated voice intoa precise imitation of a ruffian sort threw our audience intowhoops. This disconcerted the philosopher even more andhe stared round h i m wildly. W a s anything e ve r moreabsurd? I believe i t was this diverting circumstance whichmarked a change in our general feelings. Without thesource of it being evident there strengthened among us thedetermination to get on with our play! Perhaps i t was MrPrettiman's genius for comedy-oh, unquestionably we musthave him for our comic! But what might have been highwords between the social philosopher and your humbleservant passed off into the much pleasanter business ofdiscussing what we should act and who should produce andwho should do this and that!Afterwards I went out to take my usual constitutional in thewaist; and lo’ there by the break of the fo'castle was "MissZenobia" in earnest conversation with Billy Rogers! Plainly,he is her Sailor Hero who can "Wate no longer". With whatkindred spirit di d h e concoct hi s misspelt but elaboratebillet-doux? Well, if he attempts to come aft and visit her inher hutch I will see him flogged for it. Mr Prettiman and MissGranham walked in the waist too but on the opposite sideof the deck, talking with animation. Miss Granham said (Iheard her and believe she intended me to hear) that as heknew they should aim first at supporting those parts of theadministration that might be supposed still uncorrupted. Mr

Prettiman trotted beside her-she is taller than he -noddingwith vehemence at the austere yet penetrating power of herintellect. They will influence each other-for I believe they areas sincerely attached as such extraordinary characters canbe. But oh yes, Miss Granham, I shall not keep an eye onhim-I shall keep a n eye o n you! I watched them pass onover the white line that separates the social orders andstand right up in the bows talking t o East and that poor,pale girl, his wife. Then they returned and came straight towhere I stood in the shade of an awning we have stretchedfrom the starboard shrouds. T o m y astonishment. MissGranham explained that they had been consulting with MrEast! He is, it seems, a craftsman and has to do with thesetting o f type! I d o not doubt that they have i n view hisfuture employment. However I did not allow them t o seewhat a n interest I to o k i n the matter a n d turned theconversation back to the question of what play w e shouldshow the people. Mr Prettiman proved to be as indifferentto that as to so much of the common life he i s allegedlyconcerned w i t h i n h i s philosophy! H e dismissedShakespeare as a writer who made too little comment onthe evils o f society! I asked, reasonably enough, whatsociety consisted in other than human beings only to findthat the man did not understand me-or rather, that therewas a screen between his unquestionably powerful intellectand the perceptions of common sense. He began to oratebut was deflected skilfully by Miss Granham, who declaredthat the play Faust b y the German author Goethe wouldhave been suitable-"But," said she, "the genius of one

language cannot be translated into another,"With that and a bow to Miss Granham I took myself off, Iscored, did I not? But really-they a r e a provokinglyopinionated pair! Yet if they are provoking and comic to meI doubt not that they are intimidating to others! While I waswriting this I heard them pass my hutch on the way to thepassenger saloon and listened as Miss Granham cut up"I beg your pardon, ma'am?"" I mean," said she, patiently, a s t o o ne o f he r younggentlemen, "you cannot translate a work of genius entirelyfrom one language to another!""Come now, ma'am," said I, laughing, "here at least I mayclaim to speak with authority! My godfather has translatedRacine entire into English verse; and in the opinion ofconnoisseurs it equals and at some points surpasses theoriginal!" The pair stopped, turned and stared at me asone.Mr Prettiman spoke with his usual febrile energy."Then I would have you know, sir, that it must be unique!" Ibowed to him."Sir,' said I, "it is!".

some unfortunate character."Let us hope he learns in time, then!""Despite the disadvantage o f hi s birth a nd upbringing,ma’am, he is not without wit.""I grant you," said she, "he always tries to give a comic turnto the conversation and indeed one cannot help finding hislaughter at his own jests infectious. But as for his opinionsin general-Gothic is the only word to be applied to them!"With that they passed out of earshot. They cannot meanDeverel, surely-for though he has some pretension t o wit,his birth and upbringing are of the highest order, howeverlittle he may have profited from them. Summers is the morelikely candidate.I do not know how to write this. The chain would seem toothin, the links individually too weak-yet something within meinsists they are links and all joined, so that I now understandwhat happened to pitiable, clownish Colley! It was night, Iwas heated and restless, yet my mind as in a fever-a lowfever indeed! went back over the whole affair and would notlet m e be. I t seemed a s i f certain sentences, phrases,situations were brought successively before me-and these,a s i t were, glowed with a significance that was by turnsfarcical, gross and tragic. Summers must have guessed.There was no leaf tobacco! He was trying to protect thememory of the dead man!

Rogers in the enquiry with a face of well-simulatedastonishment-"What did we do, my lord?" W a s thatastonishment well-simulated? Suppose the splendid animalwas telling the naked, the physical truth! Then Colley in hisletter- what a man does defiles him, not what is done byothers-Colley in his letter, infatuated with the-deserted, abandoned by me who could have saved himovercomeby kindness and a gill or two of the intoxicant-Icannot feel even a pharisaical complacency i n being theonly gentleman not to witness his ducking. Far better had Iseen it so as to protest at that childish savagery! Then myoffer of friendship might have been sincere rather than-Ishall write a letter to M i ss Colley. I t wi ll b e li es frombeginning t o end. I shall describe m y growing friendshipwith her brother. I shall describe m y admiration for him. I"king of my island" and longing to kneel before him-Colleyin the cable locker, drunk for the first time in his life and notunderstanding his condition and in a state of madexuberance-Rogers owning in the heads that he hadknowed most things in his life but had never thought to get achew off a parson!., Oh, doubtless the man consented,jeeringly, and encouraged the ridiculous, schoolboy trickevenso, not Rogers but Colley committed the fellatio thatthe poor fool was to die of when he remembered it.Poor, poor Colley! Forced back towards his own kind,made an equatorial fool of

shall recount all the days of his low fever and my grief at hisdeath. A letter that contains everything but a shred of truth!How is that for a start to a career in the service of my Kingand Country?I believe I may contrive to increase the small store of moneythat will be returned to her.It is the last page of your journal, my lord, last page of the"ampersand"! I have just now turned over the pages, ruefullyenough. Wit? Acute observations? Entertainment? Why-ithas become, perhaps, some kind of sea-story but a seastorywith never a tempest, no shipwreck, no sinking, norescue a t sea, n o sight nor sound o f a n enemy, nothundering broadsides, heroism, prizes, gallant defencesand heroic attacks! Only one gun fired and that ablunderbuss!What a thing he stumbled over in himself! Racine declaresbutlet me quote your own words to you.Lo! where toils Virtue up th'Olympian fteep-With like fmall fteps doth Vice t'wads Hades creep!True indeed, and how should it be not? It is the smallness ofthose steps that enables the Brocklebanks of this world tosurvive, to attain a deboshed and saturated finality whichdisgusts everyone but themselves! Yet not so Colley. He

was the exception. Just a s hi s iron-shod heels shot himrattling down the steps of the ladders from the quarterdeckand afterdeck to the waist; even so a gill or two of the fieryichor brought him from the heights of complacent austerityto what his sobering mind must have felt as the lowest hellof self-degradation. In the not too ample volume of man'sknowledge of Man, let this sentence be inserted. Men candie of shame.The book i s filled all but a finger's breadth. I shall lock it,wrap it and sew it unhandily in sailcloth and thrust it away inthe locked drawer. With lack of sleep and too muchunderstanding I grow, a little crazy, I think, like all men atsea who live too close to each other and too close therebyto all that is monstrous under the sun and moon.