of _vice_. Both looked thorough sailors, and both appeared as happy as
kings. There seemed also to exist a perfect understanding between the
pair, and their remarks and anecdotes kept the passengers in excellent
good humour during dinner.

The doctor had been the first to enter, and he came sailing in with aunt,
whom he seated on his right hand. Now aunt was the only young lady among
the passengers, and she certainly had dressed most becomingly. I could not
help admiring her--so did the doctor, but so also did the captain.

When he entered he gave his surgeon a comical kind of a look and shook his
head.

'Walked to windward of me, I see!' he said. 'Miss M'Crimman,' he added,
'we don't, as a rule, keep particular seats at table in this ship.'

'Don't believe a word he says, Miss M'Crimman!' cried the doctor. 'Look,
he's laughing! He never is serious when he smiles like that. Steward, what
is the number of this chair?'

'Fifteen, sir.'

'Fifteen, Miss M'Crimman, and you won't forget it; and this table-napkin
ring, observe, is Gordon tartan, green and black and orange.'

'Miss M'Crimman,' the captain put in, as if the doctor had not said a
word, 'to-morrow evening, for example, you will have the honour to sit on
my right.'

'Honour, indeed!' laughed the doctor.

'The honour to sit on my right. You will find I can tell much better
stories than old Conserve-of-roses there; and I feel certain you will not
sit anywhere else all the voyage!'

'Ah, stay one moments!' cried a merry-looking little Spaniard, who had
just entered and seated himself quietly at the table; 'the young lady weel
not always sit dere, or dere, for sometime she weel have de honour to sit
at my right hand, for example, eh, capitan?'

There was a hearty laugh at these words, and after this, every one seemed
on the most friendly terms with every one else, and willing to serve every
one else first and himself last. This is one good result that accrues from
travelling, and I have hardly ever yet known a citizen of the world who
could be called selfish.

There were three other ladies at table to-night, each of whom sat by her
husband's side. Though they were all in what Dr. Spinks afterwards termed
the sere and yellow leaf, both he and the good captain really vied with
each other in paying kindly attention to their wants.

So pleasantly did this our first dinner on board pass over that by the
time we had risen from our seats we felt, one and all, a