exceeding eighty degrees, even at the hottest period of the day, it is
alternately colder and warmer than the land, and the direction of the
wind accordingly oscillates between the two. The minimum temperature
being at a little before sunrise in the early morning and the maximum
somewhere about two o'clock in the afternoon, the change of these
breezes usually occurs at some little time after these hours, the one
lulling and the other setting in in due rotation--that is, of course,
near the coast, for out in the open sea their effect is not so apparent.

In August, which is one of the "hurricane months" of the tropics, when
the _Josephine_ left Grenada on her voyage to England, the winds are
more variable, blowing at odd and uncertain times; so, there was every
reason for Captain Miles' taking advantage of the first cat's-paw of air
off the land now, as otherwise, perhaps, he might not have been able to
make an offing before morning, when he would lose the advantage of the
current amongst the islands towards Saint Vincent, where he had to call
in for some puncheons of rum and coffee to complete his cargo.

Under the direction of Moggridge, the crew made short work of hoisting
in my traps and innumerable boxes, including the cocoa-nuts Doctor
Martin had sent down for me, all of which Captain Miles ordered to be
taken into the cabin he allotted to me on the starboard side of the ship
near his own; and then, the boat itself was hauled on board by the
derrick amidships which had been used for getting in the cargo, there
being no davits at the side as in a man-of-war.

After seeing this operation satisfactorily accomplished, I went up the
poop-ladder and walked aft to the side of Captain Miles, who was now
busy about getting the vessel under weigh.

"Hands up anchor!" he roared out with a stentorian shout, and
immediately there was a bustle forward of the men with much thumping of
their feet on the planks and a clanking of the chain as the windlass
went round under their sturdy hands. Mr Marline, the first mate, I
noticed, had charge of the crew engaged in heaving, while Moggridge went
on the forecastle to see that everything was clear for catting and
fishing the anchor as soon as it was run up out of the water and the
stock showed itself above the bows.

"Clink, clank! clink, clank!" came the measured rattle as the slack of
the cable was wound round the windlass and carried along the deck to the
chain locker; and then