r ladyship generally approached when I was serving out the men's
ration of gin, and requested me to fill her tumbler. Of course, I
gallantly complied. When I returned from deck below with the bottle,
she again required a similar dose, which, with some reluctance, I
furnished. At dinner the dame drank _porter_, but passed off the gin
on her credulous husband as water. This system of deception continued
as long as the malt liquor lasted, so that her ladyship received and
swallowed daily a triple allowance of capital grog. Indeed, it is
quite astonishing what quantities of the article can sometimes be
swallowed by sea-faring _women_. The oddness of their appetite for the
cordials is not a little enhanced by the well-known aversion the sex
have to spirituous fluids, in every shape, on shore. Perhaps the salt
air may have something to do with the acquired relish; but, as I am
not composing an essay on temperance, I shall leave the discussion to
wiser physiologists.

My companions' indulgence illustrated another diversity between the
sexes, which I believe is historically true from the earliest records
to the present day. _The lady_ broke her rule, but _the captain_
adhered faithfully to his. Whilst on duty, the allotted three glasses
completed his potations. But when we reached Rio de Janeiro, and there
was no longer need of abstinence, save for the sake of propriety, both
my shipmates gave loose to their thirst and tempers. They drank,
quarrelled, and kissed, with more frequency and fervor than any
creatures it has been my lot to encounter throughout an adventurous
life. After we got the vessel into the inner harbor,--though not
without a mishap, owing to the captain's drunken stubbornness,--my
Irish friends resolved to take lodgings for a while on shore. For two
days they did not make their appearance; but toward the close of the
third, they returned, "fresh," as they said, "from the theatre." It
was very evident that the jolly god had been their companion; and, as
I was not a little scandalized by the conjugal scenes which usually
closed these frolics, I hastened to order tea under the awning on
deck, while I betook myself to a hammock which was slung on the main
boom. Just as I fell off into pleasant dreams, I was roused from my
nap by a prelude to the opera. Madame gave her lord the lie direct. A
loaf of bread, discharged against her head across the table, was his
reply. Not content with this harmless demonstration of r