t proved so good. Many we knew well beforehand. On the whole,
however, we have very little cause to complain of our crew; all pull
well together when they are kept up to their work and have plenty to
do.

_Sunday, April 22nd_.--Clouds veiled the sunrise this morning, which
was a welcome relief; still it was too hot for service in the saloon,
and it was therefore held on deck. A light breeze sprang up ahead
during its performance, which cooled and refreshed us immensely. About
twelve o'clock we passed another pair of 'Brothers,' a couple of
odd-looking rocks or islands, like tables, rising straight out of the
sea; there is a beacon on the northernmost one. While we were at
lunch, the breeze freshened so much that we were all glad to add some
wraps to our light and airy costumes. A little later, a summer gale
was blowing ahead, making some of us feel very uncomfortable and long
for the halcyon days of the past, even with the accompaniment of the
inevitable heat. Such is mankind, and womankind too for that matter,
'never blessed but always to be blessed.' The gale freshened, the
screw was raised, the yacht pitched and rolled, and we were obliged to
put her off her course and under sail before night fell. The spray
came over the decks, and there was a strong wind dead ahead. We all
felt cold and miserable, though the thermometer still registered 75 deg..
The poor monkeys and parrots looked most wretched and unhappy, and had
to be packed away as speedily as possible. Nine monkeys in an empty
wine case seemed very happy and cuddled together for warmth, but the
two larger and more aristocratic members of the party required a box
to themselves. The gazelle had a little tent pitched for him specially
in a sheltered corner, and the birds were all stowed away and battened
over in the smoking fiddle. Dinner was rather a lame pretence, and it
was not long before we all retired, and certainly no one wished to
take his or her mattress on deck to-night. It is the first night I
have slept in a bed on board the yacht for many weeks, and a very
disturbed night it was, for the waves ran high, and we have lately
been sailing so steadily over smooth seas, that we did not know what
to make of this.

_Monday, April 23rd_.--The gale blew as hard as ever, and quite as
dead ahead. About noon we made the island of Shaduan, or isle of
Seals, so named by the ancients, when the sea and gulf abounded with
seals. There are still a few occasionally to