chess with me. Accordingly, he paid little or no
attention to the game. I, on the other hand, was in deadly earnest.

I moved out my king's pawn; then the king's bishop; then the queen. My
heart was in my mouth; surely so experienced a player was not going to
walk open-eyed into such a booby-trap. But the sirens had lured his
attention away. Next move I gave him "fool's mate." That moment was one
of the proudest of my life; I had beaten the champion, the Admirable
Crichton of games of skill, the man whose word was law in all matters
relating to sport in our little community.

Unfortunately, however, I was too young and inexperienced to support my
triumph with becoming dignity. I rushed up the companion stair shouting
the news of my victory at the top of my voice. I told it to the
captain, the officers, the passengers, and to such members of the crew
as I was acquainted with. But I was astute enough never again to offer
to play chess with Mr. Woodrooffe, and even to decline when he
suggested our having a return game.

The Biscayan tides were kind; but no sooner had we passed Finisterre
than a gale struck us, and for many woeful days the Asia behaved
like a drunken porpoise. I do not think a single passenger escaped
sea-sickness. The gale continued until the night before we reached
Madeira. I shall never forget the enchanting prospect which Funchal
afforded as we glided to our anchorage in the early morning. The
misery of the previous week was forgotten in the rapture of a moment.
The sky was cloudless and the contours of the lovely island were
bathed in opaline light. What joy the first sight, smell, and taste
of the tropical fruits brought. Cold storage, by bringing all
descriptions of exotic fruit to Europe, has robbed travel towards the
tropics of one of its keenest delights.

We passed to the westward of Teneriffe in perfectly clear weather. The
recent storms encountered by us had extended far to the south;
consequently the great peak was clothed in dazzling snow to an unusual
distance below its summit. The impression left on my memory by that
mountain mass, with the snow-mantle glowing in the rose-red light of
sunset, will never fade. I can well remember being sadly disappointed
at the first view of the Southern Cross. The voyage was uneventful
until we reached the vicinity of the Cape, where we again encountered a
most violent south-west gale. For two days we steamed against a
tremendous sea. Wave after wave sw