messes. He forwarded, as
well, a case of valuable wine of some special vintage for Captain
Farmer's own table.

No one in fact who had done him a kindness when on board passed out of
his remembrance, apparently, on his leaving; for, to the doctor he sent
a diamond ring, to Lieutenant Jellaby a lady's fan, which, judging by
what he had heard of his partiality for the fair sex, I suppose he
thought would please him most; and to Corporal Macan and Bill Bates, who
had been especially prominent at his rescue, a box of cigars each, while
he also sent to the captain a handsome sum of money for him to
distribute amongst the crew as he thought best.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

"CAPE SMOKE!"

We only stopped at Madeira long enough to get a few purser's stores to
add to the supply with which the generosity of Don Ferdinando had
already provided us. We also took in some water, for two of our tanks
below had been "started" during our bucketting about in the bay, and
Captain Farmer feared we might run short when we reached the warm
latitudes; as, in the event of our falling across the usual calms
prevalent in the neighbourhood of the Equator, we might be rolling about
a week or two, roasting, in the Doldrums!

But, luckily, we were blessed with favouring winds and made a good
passage, picking up the North-East Trades shortly after we said
"good-bye" to Funchal, with its pretty white villas nestling on the
hillside amid a background of greenery; and then, meeting with strong
westerly breezes instead of calms, on getting further south into the
Tropics, we crossed the Line on Christmas Day, when all the good people
at home, I thought at the time, would be shivering with cold and saying,
as they snuggled up to the fire, gazing perhaps on a snow-covered
landscape without, "What seasonable weather we are having!" while we
were sweltering in the heat under a copper sky, with the thermometer up
to 98 degrees in the shade of the awnings!

From the Equator, we had a splendid run to the Cape, taking altogether
exactly sixty-five days clear for our passage from England.

During this interval I and my brother cadets had to attend "school"
every morning from half-past 9 o'clock to 11:30 in the captain's outer
cabin under the poop, where the chaplain, who also filled the post of
naval instructor, officiated as schoolmaster-in-chief, teaching us
mathematics and the theory of navigation, as well as seeing that we kept
up our logs, which C