ce of some internal
and irresistible agency, will occasionally spring from the table with an
energy that is but too soon painfully exhausted, upsetting a few side
dishes as their feet catch the corner of the cloth. Others will rise,
and try to look dignified and composed, the hypocrisy whereof is
unpleasantly revealed ere they reach the door of the saloon; others eat
and drink with an ever-increasing vigour, which proves irresistibly the
truth of the saying, "_L'appetit vient en mangeant_." Heads that walked
erect, puffing cigars like human chimneys in the Mersey, hang listless
and 'baccoless in the Channel (Mem., "Pride goes before a fall").
Ladies, whose rosy cheeks and bright eyes, dimmed with the parting tear,
had, as they waved the last adieu, told of buoyant health and spirits,
gather mysteriously to the sides of the vessel, ready for any emergency,
or lie helpless in their berths, resigning themselves to the ubiquitous
stewardess, indifferent even to death itself. Others, again, whose
interiors have been casehardened by Old Neptune, patrol the deck, and,
if the passengers are numerous, congratulate each other in the most
heartless manner by the observation, "There'll be plenty of room in the
saloon, if this jolly breeze continues!"

All these things are familiar to most travellers, suffice it, therefore,
to say, that on the present occasion Old Neptune was in a good humour,
"the jolly breeze" did not last long, nor was it ever very jolly. My
American friend and the Household Brigade-man tried very hard to make
out that they felt sick at first, but I believe I succeeded in
convincing them that it was all imagination, for they both came steadily
to meals, and between them and my brother, who has the appetite of a
Pawnee when at sea, I found that a modest man like myself got but
"monkey's allowance" of the champagne which I had prescribed as a
medicine, erroneously imagining that those internal qualms usually
produced by a sea voyage would have enabled me to enjoy the lion's
share.

We saw nothing during the voyage but a few strange sail and a couple of
icebergs, the latter very beautiful when seen in the distance, with the
sea smooth as a mirror, and the sun's rays striking upon them. I felt
very thankful the picture was not reversed; the idea of running your
nose against an iceberg, in the middle of a dark night, with a heavy
gale blowing and sea running, was anything but pleasant.

In due time we made Cape Rac